Like an old computer screen with a burnt-in image, individuals brought up in legalistic theology have a thought process burnt into their mind. Even for those who fully accepted the concept of Salvation through Grace, a former legalist is still haunted by periodic burst of anxiety. Like headlights flashing through the crack in a bedroom curtain; those moments are as real as ever. Satan loves to throw the “doubt card” at every opportunity.
However though for those who never shook the bond of legalism, their only hope is to strive for perfection – though they fail time and time again. And while many run to escape God’s law and the church; these convicts of legalism must return to their bondage for any hope of salvation. This concept is what has been engrained into their mind. So as the alcohoicl returns to become slave to the bottle over and over; the victims of legalism return to become slave to the law and works. A cycle repeated for a lifetime. A cycle which leaves only uncertainty – in life and death.
For the few who live in the belief that they have never fallen, these individuals are like the alcoholic who never gave up the bottle. Who never recognized that drinking was their biggest problem? Their sin of denial, leaves them proud and boastful. And it was the sin of Pride that brought down the most majestic of angels, along with his heavenly partisans.