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Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prositutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were... (I Corinthians 6:9 - 11)
Sin — of any kind — bars us from fellowship with God. Unless we are realistic about that, we can never have a real relationship with God.
The gospel treats it realistically, and pulls no punches. The slanderer, the idolater and the sexually immoral have no place in God's kingdom, regardless of their protests.
The Gospel is
assurance of forgiveness.
It is false hope to say, "God understands my weaknesses
and the pressures I have had to work under. He will forgive me."
As someone pointed out, that's toleration — not forgiveness.
I'd rather be forgiven then tolerated.
Forgiveness costs. This is what forgiveness involves...
...the wounded party gives up the right to vengeance or compensation.
...the wrongdoer admits to the wrong
...the relationship is re-established by mutual agreement.
The Bible says,
God has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred
us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption,
the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1: 13,14.
It also assures us that
Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. (Hebrews
9:22)
The good news of the gospel is that Jesus Christ, in response to his Father's love, gave himself as a sacrifice for your sins and mine to break down forever the dividing wall of sin between us and God.
He died, not for sins of his own, but for your sins and mine. Had I been the only sinner in all creation, he would still have given himself for me.
The gospel is
assurance of acceptance
Many people become bound by their need to prove themselves to
God. They try harder and harder to do something which will makehem
acceptable to God, and they will never achieve it!
The Bible says,
We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making his
appeal through us. We plead with you on Christ's behalf, 'Be
reconciled to God.'
(II Corinthians 5:20).
elsewhere it says,
By grace* you have been saved through faith — and that
is not of yourselves, it is God's gift — not by works, so
that no one has grounds for boasting.
(Ephesians 2: 8,9)
In fact, it even tells us,
God commends his love to us in that, while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
It is no surprise, then, that the Bible reminds us,
Therefore, being justified** by faith, we have peace with God. (Romans 5:1)
Because Christ's
sacrifice makes us acceptable, our efforts to make ourselves
suitable for friendship with God are, in fact, continuous acts
of rebellion against him, because
they reject the provision God has made,
they are based on radical self-interest
they treat God as though he can be 'bought': pay the right price,
and he will be your friend!
The good news is that Christ's death and resurrection make us
acceptable to God, through our faith in all Christ has done.
The gospel is
worthy of our belief
You can know all the facts of the gospel, but never make it your
own.
We can achieve nothing to make us acceptable to God, or to gain
his attention. Our only option is to trust that what Jesus has
done for us is enough.
Do you baulk
at the idea of faith? It almost seems to make a mockery of morality.
But the faith we are talking about is not mere intellectual agreement
to certain propositions. It is a full trust which says, "Because
God loves me and Jesus died for me, I will trust Jesus never
to lead me in wrong paths. He is my Lord, and I will follow where
he leads." As James reminds us, Faith without works is dead.
Christian faith is a faith put into action.
As we read in Romans,
If you shall confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord', and
believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead,
you shall be saved. (10: 9)
*Grace:
God's undeserved gift of favour and empowerment. (back)
**Justified:
God says we have "no case to answer".(back)
Email contact: pspete1@pnc.com.au