GRACE, FAITH AND GLORY:
Freedom in Christ
By Dominic Smart. Authentic Lifestyle. 111 pages
ISBN 1 85079 533 3
This book is a valuable vaccination against a common and depressing spiritual illness, namely 'Legalism'.
First given at the Keswick Convention, it now comes as a handy paperback which should be read by every serious evangelical Christian and especially by pastors, elders, and Christian counsellors.
It first of all outlines the shocking scale of the problem and the necessity of grasping the real meaning of being justified by faith. Mr. Smart spells out the tendency of churches to construct a system of 'house rules' which may be the required and respected standards of a particular church or group but actually undermine the whole notion of grace.
Pointing out that legalism is not the same as New Testament holiness, but being rooted in human pride and self-sufficiency, it actually further alienates us from God. 'Like carbon monoxide it creeps in and snuffs out our spiritual liveliness'. With careful reference to key New Testament passages such as Romans 3.20 and Hebrews 10.19ff, the author shows how the Scriptures expose the futility of our 'best efforts' as the ground of our acceptance with God.
This is not to suggest that the author is soft on sin - far from it. He shows a profound grasp of the absolute necessity of the inward work of the Spirit to reveal its true guilt and power, leaving us with no escape by virtue of our own efforts but only through the humbling experience of true repentance and dependence upon God's mercy and forgiveness in Christ, something which the legalist is naturally resistant towards and unappreciative of.
This is a powerful, searching little book which deserves a wide circulation, especially among churches in the Reformed tradition.
