C. J. Mahaney on the Atonement

“As a pastor few things affect me more than interacting with those who are unaware of God’s personal love for them. Normally there isn’t a week that goes by where I’m not talking with someone who hasn’t understood this truth — Christ loved me and gave Himself for me — in personal experience . . . very small errors in a person’s understanding of the Gospel seemed to result in very big problems in that person’s life.”

“For when you are deeply aware of your sin, and of what an affront it is to God’s holiness, and how impossible it is for Him to respond to this sin with anything other than furious wrath — you can only be overwhelmed with how amazing grace is.”

“Legalism is seeking to achieve forgiveness from God and justification before God through obedience to God. A legalist is anyone who behaves as if they can earn God’s forgiveness through personal performance. It says to God in effect, ‘Your plan didn’t work. The cross wasn’t enough and I need to add my good works to it to be saved’ — legalism is essentially self-atonement for self-glorification, and ultimately for self-worship.”

— C. J. Mahaney

(HT:  Adrians Blog)

~ by Jeff de Ruyter on July 6, 2007.