Les Miserables
25 January 2015
In 2013 I went to the cinema to watch Les Miserables which is a film adaptation of the stage musical which is based on the classic French novel of the same name. And I’ve just seen it again at the suggestion of my daughters. The first time I saw it I thought it was the best film I had ever seen and on second viewing my opinion has not changed.
One of the main themes covered in Les Miserables is that of grace versus law and for that reason I would encourage everyone to watch the film. And even, if you don’t watch the film I would encourage every Christian to study the conflict between grace and the law.
At my home church we’re studying Paul’s letter to the Galatians and one of the main issues covered in the letter is grace and the law. In his day Paul found himself in a battle with the legalists for whom grace was not enough. And that battle remains today in the church. Most evangelical Christians would accept that we are saved by the grace of God alone yet so many still fall into the trap of legalism. J. Sidlow Baxter put it so well when he said of the Galatians, “they were erring from that absolutely distinctive doctrine of the one true Gospel, that the eternal salvation of the soul is altogether of Divine grace in Christ, apart from religious observances and human merit-works of every kind”. And speaking about our present day, he observed that, “Protestantism has become leavened in great degree with the evil leaven of legalism. Law is mixed with grace again. The fatal error is rife, that merit-works and religious observances are part of the Christian message”. I urge all believers today to stand firm and resist those who would rob us of the grace of God and ‘bewitch’ us into accepting a lesser gospel. Grace, grace, grace and nothing but grace.