Revelation Media, Chapter Five: Legality Hill

In the city Morality where Legality Hill stood, Christian would find a giant mountain, studded with commandments...

Forward this Email to a Friend Legality Hill Email 5 in a 16 part series on the 16 Worlds of The Pilgrim's Progress "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." -Eph. 2:8-9 [ESV] Christian hesitantly placed his foot on the golden pathway created by Worldly Wiseman. The new path seemed much easier than the path that Evangelist had instructed him to follow. Worldly Wiseman advised Christian that he would find a way to get rid of his burden if he followed this path to the end. In the city Morality where Legality Hill stood, Christian would find a giant mountain, studded with commandments. There, at that mountain, his burden would be lifted—at least that's what he thought. Struggling under the increasing weight of his burden, Christian sees that this hill is too steep to climb. Legality's voice thunders from the top of the mountain. He refuses to take away Christian's burden until he climbs the mountain. In order to reach the top, he must obey every commandment without missing any. "Don't Move!" "Obey the Rules." "Walk." "Don't Question My Authority." The laws continued to pop up around Christian. "I can't do the work for you!" shouts Legality. This is precisely where the difference between a religion driven by morality and the truth of the Christian faith lies: that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus, not by our own works. It is, simply put, because Jesus did the work for us that we are saved.  This is precisely where the difference between a religion driven by morality and the truth of the Christian faith lies: that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus, not by our own works.  When Jesus came, He followed every one of God's commandments perfectly. He earned the title "righteous." Through His death in our place, and His resurrection, He delights to give that righteousness to us. This is not a religion of morality, but of a great exchange. He took upon Himself our sin, and we have received His righteousness as a gift.  This not a religion of morality, but of great exchange. He took upon Himself our sin, and we have received His righteousness as a gift. Just when Christian begins to lose hope and falls to the ground, The King sends him help. Looking up, Christian recognizes Evangelist's feet. "Commandments cannot give you what you seek Christian. They will only be a reminder that you are not able to keep them all" he explains. This is true for us as well. The law is good because it is God's will for our lives, but because we are sinful, we cannot obey the law perfectly. The law of God now serves to show us our sin and reveal to us that we need a savior.   Salvation has been accomplished by Christ on the cross, and it is freely given to all who believe in Him. There is no standard of law-keeping that we must meet to merit this gift. Morality and Legality, then, cannot rid us of our burden, just like they could not rid Christian of his; they can only make our burden increase because where the knowledge of sin increases, so does our desperation.  An added complication arises when we, sinful humans, decide to invent our own law in order to try to earn God's favor. The endeavor to earn love or favor from God will always be fruitless, and will be just as frustrating as when Christian sees the ever-multiplying contradictory commandments coming out of the ground around him, impeding his path up the hill. Christian's first response when Evangelist convicts him of his sin is to say, "It wasn't my fault!" How often do we, when confronted with our sin, blame others instead of taking responsibility?  But quickly, Christian realizes his error, and tearfully repents. He acknowledges that, "It's no one's fault but my own, and I'm sorry." Evangelist encourages Christian that with repentance such as this, The King will always forgive. We will also fail daily in our pursuit of God's path. We are called to live holy, set apart lives as Christians, which is not an easy task! But, our sins will always be forgiven if we turn to The King with repentance.  Our sins will always be forgiven if we turn to The King with repentance. Evangelist uses this as an opportunity to instruct Christian about his missteps. Christian had rejected the instructions that The King sent to him, and brought the frustration and difficulty of his confrontation with Legality upon himself. If he had stayed on the path toward the Celestial City, though the path would have been difficult, Christian would have been walking in line with the law of God. Evangelist points out that this misstep, though forgiven because of the grace of The King, still served to reveal that Christian's deceiver accomplished two things:  Worldly Wiseman convinced Christian so easily to leave The King's path.    Worldly Wiseman made it seem like the difficulty of the journey on The King's path was something to be avoided.  Difficulty in the Christian life is not to be avoided, and it is pleasing to God when we follow Him, even when it is hard to do so. So follow Him. Stay on the narrow path, trusting that when you fail, you will be forgiven in Christ.    The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. -Ps. 19:7-9 [ESV] WATCH THE PILGRILM'S PROGRESS ONLINE FOR FREE Help Produce The 16 Worlds of The Pilgrim's Progress and Reserve Your Free Copy! The 16 Worlds of The Pilgrim's Progress: The Journey Begins is a 16-lesson book and video collection that guides individuals through Christian's journey from this world to that which is to come. It will feature The Pilgrim's Progress movie, broken into 16 powerful segments. These segments are designed to disciple the next generation to stay on the straight path. Each of the 16 chapters will also will feature all new, exclusive video content with special guests, and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of The Pilgrim's Progress movie.   Help Produce the 16 Worlds of The Pilgrim's Progress Devotional Copyright © 2020 RevelationMedia, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: RevelationMedia PO Box 518 McKinney, Texas 75070 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can *update your preferences or *unsubscribe from this list.

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