I've had a few people ask about the name of this site, apartfromthelaw.com, so I thought it would be helpful to give a little explanation. The name comes from Romans 3:21-28, where Paul lays out the case for us being justified apart from works of the law:
"But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it–the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just asd the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
"Then what becomes of our boasting? it is excluded. By what kind of law? by a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law." (Romans 3:21-28 ESV)
Early on in my Christian walk, I was legalistic and enslaved to a Law that I couldn't keep. I operated out of fear instead of love. It was a vicious cycle that left me depressed and constantly beating myself up. I couldn't get my head above water, and felt like I was still drowning in my sin.
However, when the truth of the above passage finally clicked in my heart, I saw the freedom of the gospel, and that my works had no bearing on my status or standing with God. We are saved by grace through faith, because of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. He died in our place for our sins to rescue us from sin and death, and He freed us to live in love and fellowship with Him.
That is not to say that our works are unimportant–it only means that they cannot save us in the slightest. They are instead supposed to be the fruit and outworking of the Spirit working inside of us and transforming us to be more and more like Jesus. They only come because we are saved and because we have been adopted as sons and daughters. Because we have been purchased by Jesus' blood.
Once I saw that my confidence in Christ was because of who He is rather than who I am, the cloud lifted and I recognized the great freedom that was ours because of Christ. I could now operate out of love rather than fear, because I had nothing left to fear. When God the Father sees me, He sees me through Christ, my substitute. He sees me as righteous because of Jesus, and not because of anything I had done, or will ever do. Jesus is enough!