Do not forget that ‘gospel’ from the Greek εύαγγέλιον means ‘good news’. I wonder why? What do you think of when you hear good news? That God is about to punish you for every sin? Is it good news if God tells us that we lose Him as soon as we have only one thought of greed, envy, and lust? No. That would not be a good news to make us happy.
Punishment? No. Grace in place of grace already given
We have not received punishment after punishment from Jesus, but God is pointing to Jesus in His Word (aka Bible): “Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.” (John 1:16; NIV)
A gift cannot be earned
You have received grace. You have not earned this grace, but God and Jesus have given you this grace.
But I did not deserve it.
Of course not. It is a present.
From your heavenly Father. For you.
What good news!
We need a Savior. The Good News: We have a Savior
In the Old Covenant, men had to keep the commandments so that God’s blessing would flow. No one could keep the commandments. Not because the commandments are bad (the commandments are perfect, they come from the perfect God), but because us humans are weak and not perfect.
- How to get saved, according to the Bible
- Are we reconciled to God because we live perfectly? No. There is only one way to be reconciled.
The commandments in the Old Covenant were meant to show us that we need a Savior. And this Savior was sent to us by God in Jesus. “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (Jesus in John 14:6; NIV) This hurts human pride (‘I want to earn my salvation’), but that is the Biblical truth, it is only with and through Jesus.
“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17; NIV)
Grace over grace can flow from Jesus into your life. Put this glorious Jesus back into the center of your thinking. Praise Him. Rejoice in Him. Never forget: Jesus loves you so much, never, never, never will you find anyone who loves you as much as Jesus, who has given you eternal salvation (John 10:27-29).
Have a wonderful, beautiful day.
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