While setting up my website I've been looking at so many books that talk about grace (supposedly) but really talk about getting serious with God and being a real christian, getting real with God, etc (ad nauseum). They all keep saying we have to be more like Christ, do more, strive more, die to self every day, put Him first, do this, do that, blah blah blah... so few actually talk about the real gospel and the truth of what Jesus did...
The gospel is so simple. It saves us and stays with us into eternity. It IS good news. Nothing about it is bad - there is no "yes but". According to Paul in his letters, Jesus is IN us and we are IN Him. He is IN the Father, we are seated with him next to the Father - not will be - we ARE. Our spirit is there already, not when we die. We can't do anything to get closer to Father, we can't get more "anointing", he doesn't "come down" to us, we don't have to beg for more of Him - we have it already!!
The implications of this fact are huge. All we need to do is believe it and let it work in us. We have full unlimited access to the heart of Father right now. He will show what we need when we need it. How to pray, when to pray. He is intimately involved with every aspect of our lives.
We are no longer under ANY law, we don't even have to think in terms of law. We just allow Holy Spirit to be himself in us and us in Him. If we sin, we are forgiven - every sin we will ever commit is already forgiven. We don't get separated from God because of sin, its already gone! If we sin, just thank Jesus for what he did on the cross and go on - he'll give us the grace and strength to fix any mess we make with our sins, so we don't have to worry.
It's all there in the Paul's letters, staring us in the face. Paul was given the revelation of the gospel for the gentiles (that's most of us - and it applies to the jews anyway). He continually talks about the fulness of Christ in us, our position with Him, with Father, Holy Spirit, he keeps saying it over and over, but we just keep missing it and want to "get more of God" in some way. We want to pursue some religious activity to feel more worthy, to make sure we don't distance ourselves, keep repenting of sins, get lots of inner healing, pray more, tithe (don't get me started on that), intercede. None of these things are even good "principles". If we live by "principles" we are back under the law - yep, that's right, principles are just more laws we hang around our neck! Its just Jesus, nothing but Jesus in us, Jesus plus nothing. That is the gospel, the GOOD news. When we get it, all the other stuff becomes a non-issue, we live Christ, He lives through us. We don't have a license to sin - we don't want to sin when we are one with the fulness of the triune God.
I could rabbit on for ages. I have a library of nearly 1000 books, and I feel like throwing most of them out. They just keep telling me to do more stuff, live by principles, 10 easy steps to intimacy, on and on... even many famous authors and theologians, just keep dumping on us to try harder.
Jesus' yoke is easy, his burden is light, gospel = good news, if it isn't, you aint got it!
