The gospel is basically a very simple transaction: Jesus asks me to believe in Him, and in exchange He forgives all my sin and fills me with His Holy Spirit.
This transaction is not a process, it takes place in a moment. In one moment my sin is wiped out. There is a process, called sanctification, which begins at this point and lasts a lifetime. But the actual transformation of a sinner into a righteous son or daughter of God happens in the twinkling of an eye. And once you’re righteous, you’re righteous.
This is not to say I’m no longer a sinner—I am—but I don’t have to worry about my sin because Jesus has forgiven me. I don’t have to carry the burden of guilt, because He carries it for me. In fact, to the extent that I insist on identifying with my sins and frailties, and indulging in shame over them, it will inhibit my sanctification. My growth in holiness depends upon me not wallowing in guilt but instead wallowing in grace. Christ’s forgiveness is the enzyme that begins to break down my old fallen nature and replace it with virtue. This radical transformation cannot happen in any other way. No amount of willpower or positive thinking can produce it. It is entirely accomplished by faith in Jesus.
The gospel is a covenant, a simple pact, and what’s important is the utter simplicity of the thing. You do this and I’ll do that. You have your part and I have mine. You believe in Me, and I take away your sin. We shake hands and it’s done.
But someone might object: What about the sin I just committed? Don’t I need to repent of that? And then the next sin, and the next, and so on, so that repentance is ongoing? No, no, we’re not going there. You see how you’re already trying to complicate the gospel? Keep it simple. You’re forgiven. It’s forgiveness that is ongoing. By all means repent as you must, but don’t make a big deal of it. Travel light. Live free. Guilt is a very poor motivator. Christians are people of grace.
When these thoughts came to me the other day, it was like hearing the good news all over again. Jesus’ message wasn’t, “Repent, then repent again, and again, and again …” It’s simply, “Repent and believe the good news!” I guess I’d been shouldering a fair amount of guilt, shame, negative self image, or whatever. I’d been trying to expunge my own sin, which is like a game of whack-a-mole. Wherever I whack the darn mole, he just pops up somewhere else. But what if I realize that the mole isn’t the problem? Rather, the problem is my constant whacking—namely, not believing I’m forgiven. Fully forgiven, a child of God in a state of grace.
Focus on who you are in Christ, not on what you do (whether right or wrong). Live and breathe forgiveness, and the mole might keep on popping up, but it’s no longer my concern. I can direct my attention elsewhere, and leave the whacking to Someone Else. This is the gospel, the good news that sets me free. For sin is like the devil—it’s too strong for me. I can’t handle it myself. The only way is to let Jesus forgive me. In effect, to let Him be the garbage collector, following along behind me and picking up my crap.
This is not license to sin, it’s license to live in peace and joy. And it’s not my idea—it’s God’s. God is the one who decreed a new covenant, a new deal, whereby we don’t have to break our necks or jump through hoops or perform a whole lot of rituals or good works in order to clean up ourselves or the world. No, our part, the only thing we must do, is to believe in His Son. That’s it, and the rest is up to Him. For “the work of God is this: to believe in the One He sent” (John 6:29).
So: How long do you want to keep being your own garbage collector? Wouldn’t it be easier just to take your cans out to the curb? Or better still, toss everything down the chute?
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