Gospel With JD GreearSample

Gospel Acceptance

The gospel affirms that God completely accepts us once for all in Christ. Christ took our place as sinners and died the death we deserved to die; in return, we get to take His place as sons and daughters, receiving all the rights and privileges that were due to Him. God couldn’t love us any more than He does right now because He couldn’t love Christ any more than He does right now, and we’re in Christ. 

At eight weeks old my son had a fever so high that we had to take him to the emergency room. We were nervous. Worst-case scenarios began rolling through my head as I drove my wife and child to the hospital. Do you know what the worst part was for me? I could do nothing to cure my son. Nothing. Everything in me wanted to fix the problem. I wanted control, and I hated not having it. 

The same is true of the way we often come to God. We think if we can manipulate the way we come to God, we can control the way He responds to us. We desperately want control of the one thing God was wise enough to leave us powerless over: His love for us. The gospel declares love over us precisely in our helplessness. 

Religion focuses on external changes. The gospel focuses on the heart. With religion, we obey to get something from God. The gospel changes us so that we obey because we love God. With religion, we change to earn the approval of God. In the gospel, we change because we have the approval of God. 

In Christ there’s nothing you can do that would make God love you more, and there’s nothing you’ve done that would make God love you less.