Day 19: Legalism
Illustration
In Matthew 18:21-25, Jesus tells the story of a king's servant who owed a great debt to the king. This debt was so substantial the servant could not pay it off, so the king "took pity on him," that is, the king had mercy on him and gave the servant grace. The king forgave this servant his massive debt and put his servant under grace. The servant was forgiven and freed from his financial obligation to the king.
However, the forgiven servant did not embrace the grace shown to him, for he left the king's presence, went out to his fellow servant, who owed him a small debt, and demanded immediate payment. When the servant with the little debt could not pay, he was thrown into prison by the first servant.
Perhaps the first servant doubted the reality of the king's grace and thought he should be prepared to pay off his forgiven debt just in case the king changed his mind. Or perhaps he was trying to prove that he was worthy of the grace the king had shown him. Either way, the first servant thought he needed to do more. This is what it means to fall from grace. The evidence that he fell from grace was in how he treated others.
To fall from grace is to refuse to accept or to forget that your sin debt has been paid off by Jesus on the cross, and to seek to do more or earn the grace of God. When we place ourselves under the law, we become harsh and unmerciful like the law. But when we fix our eyes on Jesus, believe and receive His grace, remember He has paid our sin debt in full, we can live in generosity and love with others.