Tim Keller gives us the importance of preaching the grace of God in Christ before preaching Christian behavior. Otherwise we’ll preach religion instead of the gospel.

From page 2 of the blog post:

We will be careful with the order in which we communicate the parts of the faith. Pushing moral behaviors before we lift up Christ is religion. The church today is calling people to God with a tone of voice that seems to confirm their worst fears.

Religion has always been outside-in–”if I behave out here in all these ways, then I will have God’s blessing and love inside.” But the gospel is inside-out–”if I know the blessing and grace of God inside, then I can behave out here in all these ways.”