We are emphatically told by Scripture that grace and faith are God’s gift. The sovereignty, initiative, and power in salvation originate entirely in God. This does not, however, deny the reality of our own secondary initiative and power in the exercise of grace and faith. It is a gift, but it is a gift to us and to be exercised by us. It is a gift which is now inseparable from our life, and its use by us brings reward. Thus, Rahab’s faith ( Heb 11:31: By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she received the spies with peace”) was manifested in action: the received the spies “with peace.” She protected and defended them out of faith in God.
Legalism is a code of deeds and observances as a means oif justification before God. It substitutes man’s acts for Gods redeeming act in Christ as the means of justification. A false view of justification leads to a belief in immediate judgment and immediate blessing. Where legalism leads to an undue burden on the law, undue consequences are attributed to every act. Legalism ascribes undue powers to man as far as salvation is concerned, and all too little where responsibility is concerned. Adam and Eve claimed they could be their own gods, in terms of the tempters plan (Gen 1:5)., but they soon coupled it with an environmentalism and a lack of responsibility. The environment was to be held guilty of their sin, not themselves. The sociology of legalism is thus little different from the sociology of sin.
