Grace Over Legalism, Truth Over License

More from Costly Grace:

"If I am full of grace, there is no excuse for legalism in my life (Matthew 23:4; 11:28-30).

If I am full of truth, there is no excuse for unrestraint (licentiousness) either (Matthew 5:17-20; John 8:11).

The only reason to live legalistically or licentiously is unbelief in the adequacy of the indwelling Lord Jesus Christ who freely supplies grace and truth for my every need. Or an unwillingness to let him be himself - full of grace and truth - through me.

We must go to Jesus not only to learn how to live, but to receive the life from which we live - his life place in us to create in us the righteousness of God and the characteristics of Christ.  The essence of discipleship, then, is to know Christ at a level of intimacy that can only be sustained by his constant presence in our lives."

Jon Walker, Costly Grace: A Contemporaries View of Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship, page 21