Flooded with Law; Deaf to Grace

Something that I have noticed in teaching confirmation classes over the years is that the church has been very good at preaching law but not so much on grace. The questions I often get start out as, "Is it okay for Christians to...?" And while the law is important, the focus on the law as simply prohibitive instead of freeing is a real problem. 

It is steeped in our culture. After all, we fight about the Ten Commandments being displayed in courthouses, but we never have the same discussions about the Beatitudes, which are a definitively Christian contribution that reveals for what and for whom we are freed. 

So, I gently try to steer the questions from "Is it okay for Christians to...?" to "For what or for whom are Christians freed?" "How are we freed to be a living law of love and grace?" 

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