Good News

There is absolutely nothing that excites me more, or that fills me with more hope, than the gospel. The gospel = the good news that Jesus came to do what we couldn’t do ourselves: break the power of sin and death that reigned on this earth (and in us) until he died and rose again.

Paul taught us very clearly that when Jesus died, we died (by faith) with him, and that when he was raised, we were also raised (by faith) to newness of life.

“But we’re human. Mortal. We can’t be like Jesus.”

We still walk around in “earthen vessels,” weak, humble, in desperate need of his power and light each moment. But that doesn’t mean we have to live bound to fear, condemnation, or even to the sins which hindered us from fellowship with Jesus before his resurrection life made us new.

Teaching transformation and rebirth is essential for the health of the Body of Christ. There nothing that grieves me more than hearing that someone believes there is no hope for their freedom in this life, as if the gospel offers forgiveness without the cure. The law offered forgiveness and the constant need to moan and confess and sacrifice. Grace brought the cure.

The entire New Testament teaches that in Christ, God gave us all that we need for life and godliness, that in him, all things are possible. Nothing can separate us from him. By his grace we have become new creatures, born again, enabled and empowered to become the men and women he intended for us to be in the first place.

Anyone who teaches that we must/are doomed remain in bondage until eternity hasn’t embraced the gospel of grace and is still walking in the law. The law brings a constant reminder of sin; grace brings a constant reminder of Christ’s power and victory over it.

We are created for good works, we’ve been told, and we’ve been given new hearts, renewed minds, and the Holy Spirit to live within us so that we can actually do them. We don’t do good works in our own strength, but in his.

I’m always baffled when I hear that people actually believe that God is offended at our attempts to please him. There’s nothing in the scriptures or the New Testament that teaches that. God’s not offended by even the feeblest attempt to honor him. In fact, he makes it clear that he is offended when we don’t put on the armor HE has provided and fight in HIS strength.

Self-righteous = thinking I can be made righteous by myself.

Righteous = enabled and empowered to become more and more like Jesus every day. His power. His grace. His everything.

Humility is not walking around just saying that you can’t. Humility is realizing you can’t, BUT HE CAN.

Let him complete his work in you. He can and he will.

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

12So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sonsf of God. 15For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

Romans 8:11-15

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fill out this field
Fill out this field
Please enter a valid email address.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Why did God let Satan get to Job?
Grace, Gospel, and Hope