What does it actually look like to live under grace, as opposed to being ensnared by legalism and works? This is not a secondary question. The difference is nothing less than the difference between resting in Christ’s finished work and being tossed about by every wind of doctrine, always striving but never arriving.
The Root of Legalism: Not Seeing Your Completeness in Christ
Legalism begins with a fundamental blindness: the refusal or inability to see that you are already complete in Christ. The legalist imagines there is still something lacking—some spiritual deficiency that must be made up by effort, emotion, or religious activity. This opens the door to manipulation, whether by fear of punishment or the lure of spiritual promotion. It is precisely this sense of lack that makes one vulnerable to every new teaching or religious fad, as Paul warns in Ephesians 4: those who do not grow in the knowledge of Christ are “tossed to and fro” by the cunning of men and the instability of their own hearts.
The legalist’s desires are not wrong in themselves. He wants to draw near to God, to love Him, to be pleasing to Him. But he looks to himself—his own efforts, feelings, and emotions—as the means to achieve these things. Inevitably, this self-focus leads to a cycle of condemnation when he feels far from God, and self-applause when he feels close. When he feels distant, he doubles down on religious activity: more Bible study, more prayer, more giving, more sacrifice. When he feels near, he sets himself up as a guide to others, the supposed example of spiritual attainment. But the root is the same: self as the cause, self as the measure.
Eventually, this treadmill leads to burnout. Some, exhausted by their own striving, simply give up—abandoning spiritual things altogether and turning to the world for comfort. Do not be deceived: both the zealous performer and the one who has given up are driven by the same legalistic root. Both have missed the ground of grace.
The Grace Person: Anchored in Christ’s Finished Work
The one who lives by grace does not look to his feelings or performance for assurance. He looks to the Word and to the blood of Christ. He knows that he has been brought near to God—not by his own efforts, but by the finished work of Jesus. There is no distance, no separation, regardless of his emotional state or outward condition. The greatest blessing is not some feeling or achievement, but God Himself, possessed freely and fully in Christ.
This person does not consult his emotions to determine his standing before God. He starts with the Word: what does God say about me in Christ? As he lays hold of this truth by faith, his heart fills with thanksgiving—not as a forced discipline, but as the spontaneous result of seeing what he already has. The feelings follow faith, not the other way around. “The communication of your faith becomes effectual through the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus” (Philemon 6).
Faith is the connector. It brings you into a simple, Christ-focused appreciation of all that is already yours. There is no striving to attain what has already been given. There is no endless self-examination to see if you measure up. There is only Christ, and in Him, everything.
The Fatal Loss: What Is Forfeited If Legalism Prevails
If you accept the logic of legalism—even in subtle, disguised forms—you forfeit the very foundation of Christian assurance. You lose the joy of sonship, the security of your inheritance, and the settled conscience that comes from knowing your acceptance is in Christ alone. Instead, you are left with a religion of perpetual uncertainty: always measuring, always striving, never arriving. The finished work of Christ is rendered functionally irrelevant, and justification collapses into a project of self-improvement. This is not a minor error; it is a denial of the gospel’s power.
The Source of the Problem: Satanic and Fleshly Conspiracy
Do not be naïve. The drive to “work for” what is already given is not merely a human failing. It is the product of Satan conspiring with your old nature to keep you from resting in Christ. Even the Bible itself, if read apart from the revelation of Christ, can become a tool for works-righteousness. If your reading of Scripture does not continually point you back to Christ as your righteousness, you will inevitably drift into self-effort and its attendant misery.
The Only Escape: Looking Away from Self to Christ
At any moment, the legalist can become a grace person—by looking away from himself as the cause of anything, and fixing his gaze on Christ as the cause of everything. Everything is in Christ. If you look to Him as revealed in the Word—His person, His work, His death and resurrection—you see by faith that you already possess all. But if you look to yourself, everything vanishes, and you are left scrambling for something to do to fix the emptiness.
A legalist is simply someone who thinks he must merit what God has already given in Christ. He does not see himself as accepted in the Beloved, and so he sets out to earn what is already his, or lives in fear that God is not satisfied. This is not humility; it is unbelief.
Growth in Grace: Not a Project, But a Person
We are all, by nature, legalists. Sometimes our focus is on Christ—then we walk in grace. Sometimes our focus shifts back to ourselves—then legalism reasserts itself. But true growth is not in spiritual performance; it is in the knowledge of Christ. Paul’s one pursuit was to be found in Christ, not having a righteousness of his own, but that which is through faith. He pressed on, not because he was already perfected, but because he refused to look anywhere but to Christ for his standing before God.
Discernment: Feeding on What Is Healthy
You must learn to discern the difference between legalistic and grace-based teaching. Much that passes for “grace” today is nothing more than legalism dressed in Pauline language. It is always about you—what you should do, how you should perform, what blessing you might earn if only you would try harder. It may sound passionate and inspiring, but it subtly shifts your gaze from Christ to self, from promise to performance.
To be a grace person, you must be a truth person. There is no alternative. Feed on what is healthy: teaching that anchors you in Christ’s finished work, that exposes the futility of self-effort, and that continually calls you to rest in what God has already accomplished. Only then will you know the assurance, joy, and thanksgiving that are the birthright of every child of God.
Everything is in Christ. Look to Him—and live.
