Topic: legalism

The most famous passage in all of Scripture is couched in a conversation Jesus has with a Religious man named Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a Pharisee who was taught how to, "get it all just right." What Jesus told him has the power to bring hope to an exhausted, religious Christian who just wants to know they're enough. "For God so loved the world!" is a statement about God's goodness. In this sermon we see how Jesus teaches us to live by the Spirit. It's not about our works. Our works is an overflow of the life-giving Spirit inside us.

"That is not who you are. That may be what you did. But that is not where you hang you hat. You hang your hat on the person of Jesus Christ - who did it right, who did it for you, who lived out the law to perfection. When you were striving to do things right you were getting it wrong. Because it was never about you getting it right. It was never about your best efforts. It was always about Jesus!"