Legalism Still Among Us? - An Excursus on Articles VII & VIII of the Augsburg Confession
Manage episode 344063329 series 3244823
“Modern Christian churches are so…legalistic.”
Lutheran theologian J. P. Koehler, in his 1914 essay titled “Legalism Among Us”, defined legalism (i.e. within the Christian Church) as an attitude which “takes the motives and forms of [one’s] actions from the law (i.e. God’s commandments) instead of letting them flow from the gospel (i.e. the good news of the saving love of God we have in Christ Jesus our Lord).”
Less technically speaking (and to quote Jeff Mallinson), legalism is an attitude that “emphasizes rules, discipline, codes of conduct, and precise biblical codes of behavior over grace, forgiveness, freedom, and the gospel.”
So, do modern churches struggle with legalism? If so, where might such legalism exist? And does the Bible offer any constructive, yet comforting direction for churches today?
On this episode of The Manna Podcast, Jacob Lewis and Sam Jeske riff a bit more on Articles VII & VIII of the Augsburg Confession (The Church, What the Church Is) and tackle these challenging questions.
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