“For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come… can never… make those who approach perfect.” Hebrews 10:1
Across most of the world’s religions, reconciliation with God or any divine being is believed to depend on some form of human effort — whether through moral achievement, religious rituals, sacrificial acts, or lifelong devotion intended to earn acceptance or spiritual favor. And although born-again believers are saved by grace through faith, this performance-based mindset still affects many of us more than we realize. It subtly shapes the way we think about obedience, worthiness, and our standing before God. In short, this thinking can enslave us and make us useless and unable to fulfill our Divine Destiny. Equally horrible, it can make us a liability in the spiritual warfare we are engaged in.
Many religious leaders have strayed from teaching the freedom we have in Christ to live in love-based obedience and have instead begun teaching a fear-based obedience that seeks to re-enslave born again believers. This isn’t something new. In fact, we see even the Apostle Peter, who was given “the keys of the kingdom” by Jesus, being corrected by Paul in this very area. It doesn’t matter how much we grow in Christ; satan is constantly at war against the Gospel!
To lay the foundation for understanding how this happened, let’s have a quick look at the Old Testament. Under the Old Covenant, Israel lived under laws, rituals, and sacrifices that shaped every part of their worship. The priests continually offered sacrifices. The sacrifices were repeated because sin was never fully removed. But the problem was not the law—the law was holy and good—rather, it was the condition of the human heart. The law could reveal sin, restrain sin, and regulate worship, but it could not cleanse the conscience or change the inner person. The law demanded righteousness—but it could not supply it.
We’ve done a deep study into the subject of salvation in the Old Testament in a podcast; and we know that folks in the Old Testament were saved by grace through faith just as we are today.
It was not by sacrifices. Not by rituals. Not by keeping commandments. But by grace through faith in the Redeemer who would come and offer the ultimate sacrifice. Remember, Abraham, who lived before God gave the Mosaic law? Four times the Bible tells us that his faith was counted unto him as righteousness. Abraham was declared righteous not because of his works, but because he believed in God for his salvation. (See Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6; and James 2:23)
Every lamb on the altar pointed forward to a greater sacrifice still to come—the Savior. The Old Covenant system was a shadow—a preview—a constant reminder that something greater was needed. A Redeemer was necessary who would not merely cover sin—but take it away completely. When Jesus lifted the cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood” (Luke 22:20), He declared that the shadow of the Old Covenant had finally met its substance. Under the Old Covenant, the priests stood daily because their work was never finished (Hebrews 10:11), but under the New Covenant, Christ offered one sacrifice for sins forever and then sat down at the right hand of God. (Hebrews 10:12) The blood of bulls and goats could never cleanse (Hebrews 10:4), but the blood of Christ brings full forgiveness and gives us a new heart. (Hebrews 9:14; Hebrews 10:22)
But our enemy wants to confuse the message of the Gospel and point us back to works!
The same battle that rages today to interject works as a requisite for obtaining true righteousness—was also present in the early church. In the Book of Galatians, Paul confronted the Judaizers—religious teachers who insisted that faith in Christ was not enough, and that believers had to return to Old Covenant rituals and law-keeping in order to be truly accepted by God. (Galatians 2:4; 3:1–3) They were not denying Christ outright; rather, they were adding requirements in order to be reconciled to Him. Even the apostle Peter was temporarily swept into this error when he withdrew from Gentile believers out of fear of those who promoted circumcision, implying by his actions that faith in Christ alone was insufficient. Paul publicly rebuked Peter because “he was to be blamed,” declaring that his conduct was “not straightforward about the truth of the gospel.” (Galatians 2:11–14) Paul made it unmistakably clear that to add anything to Christ’s finished work is to return to bondage, not holiness:
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” Galatians 5:1
If even Peter could momentarily drift into functional works-righteousness, none of us are immune—making Paul’s warning timeless and urgent. The Judaizers tried to pull believers back into performance-based self-righteousness—but Paul reminded them that the New Covenant is a covenant of grace, not law; of freedom, not slavery. Just as the priests of the Old Covenant never finished their sacrifice, a person trapped in working to earn salvation can never find true peace and real joy.
When we begin to believe that God’s love depends on our performance, our goodness, our rule-keeping, or our religious effort, we are drifting back toward the same bondage Paul confronted.
If we want to live in freedom; we need to be able to quickly identify false teaching today! The Gospel calls us to live not as servants trying to earn favor, but as sons and daughters who have already been reconciled to God by the blood of Christ. (Galatians 4:4–7) The New Covenant frees us from the fear that we must “measure up” and anchors us in the assurance that Jesus has already completed the work on our behalf.
But we must develop a deep understanding of God’s grace if we want to walk in freedom and joy. We must daily dig into God’s Word so we can know Him for who He says He is—not who we have made Him. The danger today isn’t that we return to animal sacrifices; rather, that we quietly become modern Judaizers in our own hearts saying:
“If I do better, God will accept me.”
“If I work harder, God will love me more.”
“If I fail, I have to earn my way back.”
This is stinking thinking for a born again believer! We don’t have to prove ourselves to God because we have already been “made accepted in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:6) Christ now presents us “holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.” (Colossians 1:22) We are free to serve God out of love and gratitude for the righteousness we already have in Jesus Christ!
My friend, the more we develop the mind and attitudes of Christ, the more we enjoy the absolute freedom to live for His glory!
Prayer:
Lord, thank You that salvation has always been by grace and my standing before You is complete in Jesus. I confess that there are still places in my heart where I serve You out of fear, pressure, insecurity, or a desire to prove myself. Please unveil those hidden motives and help me to confess them. Guard my heart from returning to bondage, and train me to walk in the freedom, gratitude, and the joyful zeal of doing all I do for Your glory. Lord, reveal Yourself to me more and more so I can understand who You are and, thus, fall more in love with You each day and serve You out of love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
