There will always be people, even within the relative safety of the church, who will try to lure us back into the bonds of legalism, of rule following for salvation. Christ has given us freedom with His mercy and grace. Our love for Him should drive our behavior, not a checklist of rules written by man to earn us favor with one another or with God. I don’t imagine, given His choice to give us free will that we may choose to love Him rather than be forced to serve Him, that He would give us any credit at all for following rules simply because we feel like we have to. But when our behavior begins to fall within the guidelines for living that God provided us in His word because we have chosen to love Him and to please Him, then I imagine he takes pride in us and in our actions. We can’t let rules make us unfeeling slaves, don’t give in to that lifestyle or to the people that preach it even for a minute. Don’t let them drag you back into bondage to legalism. Let the truth of the Gospel, your freedom in Christ, remain with you and guide your actions.
In the Living Word 