The ironic thing about legalism is that it not only doesn't make people work harder, it makes them give up. Moralism doesn't produce morality; rather, it produces immorality.

The Bible makes it clear that self-righteousness is the premier enemy of the Gospel.

I never realized how much I've become dependent on human approval until God took it away. I didn't even realize that I was in a self-made prison of human approval and human acceptance. Most of the prisons we live in we are not conscious of. God showed me Jesus plus nothing equals everything. And everything minus Jesus equals nothing. That set me free.

Legalism says God will love us if we change. The gospel says God will change us because He loves us.

The deepest fear we have, 'the fear beneath all fears,' is the fear of not measuring up, the fear of judgment. It's this fear that creates the stress and depression of everyday life.

To focus on how I'm doing more than what Christ has done is Christian narcissism

The passive righteousness of faith frees me from passing final judgment on myself.