PURPOSE: To help listeners understand that spirituality by works can be as futile as justification by works.

Several years ago a group of ministerial students was asked, "What does the spiritual life look like?" They responded:

The person would go to church Sunday morning and Sunday evening and would attend a Wednesday night service.

The person would contribute generously to the church.

The person would read the Bible every day and witness about Christ to other people.

I. Do you think that this description of what spiritual people do was necessarily wrong?

Would you expect that godly people would do the things that these young ministers suggested?

What would you find unsettling about their description?

II. Is it possible for Christians to do religious actions and yet miss what God wants to do in them?

Is spiritual life by works any different from becoming a Christian by works?

What is the result of simply focusing on behavior? Is that what the New Testament teaches?

Have you ever tried to live the Christian life simply by your own efforts?