-Grace Makes All the Difference

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast."
--Ephesians 2:8

If life is “because I have to”—where’s the joy in that?

Too often I hear folks rejecting Christ because they think the Christian life is all about rules and regulations—all about stifling, suffocating ritual.

It happens when we confuse Christ with legalism. Legalism is joyless because it’s endless. There is always another class to attend, another person to teach, another mouth to feed.

Grace! It makes all the difference. I like this quote:

"Gone are the exertions of law-keeping, gone the disciplines of legalism, gone the anxiety that having done everything we might not have done enough. We reach the goal not by the stairs but by the lift . . . God pledges his promised righteousness to those who will stop trying to save themselves."

Grace offers rest. Legalism? Never.

--Max Lucado