The Living Dead Walk Among Us: Phariseeism In The 21st Century Church

"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction." -- Blaise Pascal

Many churches teach that you have to live by a list of rules ("do this and this and this; don't do that and that and that") in order to be saved or at least to keep your salvation.

As though the Lord has a balance scale and he puts all your sins on one side, all your good deeds on the other, and if it balances toward the good deeds He lets you into heaven.

That's modern-day Phariseeism (legalism), which Paul calls a false gospel which is no gospel at all (Gal. 1); it's works-righteousness, Arminianism, and it is the theology of death.

Legalism is "practicing religion," and there's an infinitely wide difference between practicing religion and salvation. The difference is literally life and death -- yours.

“Sin needs quenching in the Savior's blood, not concealing under the garb of religion.” -- Spurgeon