The Gospel in Ten Words (22 page)

Some people treat
Christianity like a game of checkers. If you live carefully and navigate your
way safely to the other side you can declare “King me!” But in truth, you were
kinged at the beginning of the game. The moment you were put in Christ, you
became royalty.

If
you have received from the abundant provision of his grace and righteousness,
then you are destined to reign in life. As you walk in your kingly identity
your problems will discover that in you they have more than met their match.
They may be big but your God is bigger still and those who know him shall be
strong and do exploits.

The gospel of the kingdom is the happy announcement that a Great
King sits on the throne and his desire is to see God’s will done on earth as it
is in heaven. In heaven there is no sickness, no sorrow, or poverty. What is
true there is his plan for here.

The gospel is not a vague notion that you get to rule and reign
after you die; it is the glorious announcement that
the reign of the King
is right here
within the reach of faith. The kingdom
of God
is at hand.

T
HE
T
EST
OF
Y
OUR
G
OSPEL

When I first went to
Hong Kong in the late 1980s, an eager man on Nathan Road approached me. “You
wanna buy a Rolex?” I didn’t particularly want to buy a Rolex but when the
watch seller named his price, I was intrigued. Fresh off the plane and I had
stumbled on the bargain of a century!

Of
course these weren’t real Rolex watches he was selling—I knew that. But these
“copy-watches” looked good enough to wear. It was only after I had handed over
my cash that I began to discover just how feeble these counterfeits were. “Oh
look, the hour hand goes backwards.”

Like
others who have lived in Asia for many years, I have become something of an
expert in counterfeit goods. I have learned that while counterfeits may look
like the real deal they seldom work as they are supposed to: the pirated movie
is shot all out of focus; the fake handbag dissolves in the rain; the luxury
pen is an ink explosion waiting to happen.

It’s
the same story with counterfeit gospels. They look like the real gospel but
they don’t actually work. They don’t set you free, they don’t bring lasting
peace, and any joy that comes with them soon runs out.

Buy
into a counterfeit gospel and it won’t be long before you find yourself
burdened with doubt, debt, duty, and depression. You’ll discover that what you
thought was good news is actually bad news sold with a fake label.

How
do you recognize a counterfeit gospel? It’s the one with the price tag. It’s
the one that makes you pay for what God has freely given. It’s the gospel that
treats people as prospects and demands the poor give to the rich. It’s the
gospel with poison in the well and fishhooks in the love.

The vast majority of
Christians have been sold a counterfeit gospel. They have bought into a message
that looks like the real thing but is demonstrably inferior.
[74]

In
the past few years I have met many believers who are trying to earn what God
has freely given them. If you were to ask these people about grace they would
declare, “Yes, I am saved by grace. I thank God for his grace.” But by their
works they testify that God’s grace is not enough. Grace may have got them
started, but now it’s up to them to finish. Having begun with the Spirit they
are trying to attain their goal by human effort (Galatians 3:3). Instead of
working out what it means to
be
saved
, they are working hard to
stay
saved
.

A
counterfeit gospel is what you have when someone tells you God won’t accept you
or bless you unless you first do something for him. Walk down the Nathan Road
of manmade religion and you will be told that for a reasonable price you can become
holy, righteous, and pleasing to God. “Just confess and you’ll be forgiven.
Just turn from sin and you’ll be accepted.”

Browse
the shop windows of carnal Christianity and you will find dead works dressed up
with respectable labels like responsibility, good works, mission, self control,
sowing, and investing. I am not against these things. What I am opposed to is
the lie that says God’s favor depends on you and me doing them.

Make
no mistake; if you think you can do anything to improve your standing with God,
you are saying “Christ died for nothing” (Galatians 2:21). You are, in effect,
calling Jesus a liar (“It is
not
finished”) and elevating yourself to
co-savior (“Jesus needs my help”).

Just
as fake Rolexes are sold to tourists and not locals, counterfeit gospels are
sold to Christians and not sinners. Sinners get the real stuff, pure grace
straight from the tap. But Christians get the dirty grace that spews from the
toxic pipes of rule-based tradition. Sinners are given the unconditional love
of God but Christians are made to pay for it.

A
mother of four who had grown up as a pastor’s kid sent me the following message
after reading one of my articles on grace:

I was raised in
church and I never felt like the good news of God’s grace was for me. It was
always for the worst kind of sinner
—
the one in need of God’s pitying grace
—and
not for those of us
raised inside the faith. We were expected to just behave and not touch this
“cheap grace.” Thanks for telling us that Gods grace is for
all
, including
me. Yay!

I
get messages like this all the time. They come from long-term Christians who
are surprised to learn that grace is for everyone, not just sinners. It’s
obvious when you see it but many
don’t see it. Their
minds are blanketed by the fog of religion. They only see the love of God
through the distorted lens of performance-based Christianity.

I never meant to
write such a big book. When I began, my goal was to present the authentic
gospel without all the baggage that normally comes with it. It was going to be
short and sweet. But, as often happens when I get talking about Jesus, I got
carried away. Beginning each chapter was like walking into a room full of treasure
and being told I could have whatever I could carry. The hard part was not
deciding what to put in but what to leave out.

So
the book turned out longer than planned. But do you really mind? Did I give you
too much treasure?

Despite
the length of the book, I maintain that the gospel is simple enough for a child
to understand: God loves you. Period. That’s it. Bow your heads and musicians
to the front because I am done preaching. I’m serious—it really is that simple.
God loves you.
We will spend eternity unpacking those three little words
and exploring the immeasurable reaches of his love. This is what we were born
for.

I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of
God like a little child will never enter it. (Mark 10:15)

The
gospel is so simple that a child-like understanding is required to see it. It
is so uncomplicated that it confounds the wise.

Any
gospel that doesn’t pass the child test is no gospel at all. If you want to
know whether the message you have bought into is the authentic gospel, tell it
to a child. Their eyes should light up. But if you don’t have a child handy,
here is a simple test to reveal whether the gospel you are listening to is the
same gospel Jesus revealed and Paul preached. Just ask yourself the following
four questions:

Does
the message I’m hearing focus on me or does it cause me to fix my eyes on the author
and perfecter of my faith? Does it emphasize what I’m doing or not doing, or
does it emphasize what Christ has done? Does it make me self-conscious and
introspective or Christ-conscious and grateful?

A counterfeit gospel will always put the focus on you and
your effort. It will leave you thinking, “
I
have to pray,
I
have
to fast,
I
have to give.” The problem is not with
what
you are
doing, but
why
you are doing it. What is your motive? Are you motivated
by the fear of punishment or the need to deal with guilt? Are you striving to
make a good impression or earn a blessing? Motive is everything.

Sometimes religion is subtle. It will tell you what you
must do without clearly explaining why you should do it. Like a manipulative
salesperson it will try and sell you something without showing you the price
tag. Only later do you learn the true cost.

Remember, grace has no price tag. Everything in the
kingdom comes to us on account of the riches of his grace alone. What you do or
don’t do has absolutely no bearing on this except that you can frustrate the
grace of God by trying to pay for it.

A true gospel preacher will always seek to reveal more
and more of Jesus. Jesus is the supreme manifestation of the character and
purpose of God. He is grace personified. Any message that doesn’t reveal Jesus
will likely be a powerless substitute, a flesh-trip, and a wasted opportunity.
Jesus is peerless and nothing compares to him. He is our wisdom from God and I will
boast of nothing else (1 Corinthians 1:30–31).

Here’s the test: The true gospel will lead you to trust
in the all-sufficiency of Christ. It will inspire you to believe in his name—to
step out, to take risks, and to act. In contrast, a counterfeit gospel promotes
activity in your own name, which is a form of unbelief. The true gospel will
make you increasingly dependent on Christ’s love but a counterfeit gospel
glorifies the flesh—your willpower, your own resources, and understanding. The
true gospel will always draw you to Christ but counterfeits will distract you. Fake
gospels result in praise to men but the true gospel will always leave you, like
Mary, magnifying the Lord and rejoicing in God your Savior (Luke 1:47).

Does
the message I’m hearing leave me sin-conscious and condemned or cross-conscious
and blameless? Does it push me to overcome sin in my own strength or does it
lead me to the grace that teaches me to say no to ungodliness?

Sin is a big problem for many people. I regularly hear
from people who are condemned by the sin in their lives. They desperately want
to change but they feel powerless to do so.

I have learned that in the church there are two ways to
deal with sin: (1) preach law or (2) reveal grace. A law-based message will
stir up the flesh in a human-powered quest for a change in behavior. This
approach is inherently flawed, for the purpose of the law is to inflame sin,
not extinguish it (Romans 7:5). The law releases condemnation (which some
mistake for conviction) and ministers death, just as it was designed to do (2
Corinthians 3:7–9).

In contrast, the gospel of grace will point you to the
cross, where your sins were dealt with once and for all, and it will empower
you to overcome sin by revealing your new identity in Christ.

You are not a sinner held captive to sin; you are a new
creation learning to walk. Your old sin software has been nailed to the cross.
You now have the same appetites and desires of Jesus. Past habits are not dealt
with by laying down the law but by reckoning yourself alive to Christ. Again,
the focus is on Jesus, not you. Jesus was tempted in every way yet was without
sin. As you learn to rest securely in him, untroubled by the threats of old
covenant agitators, you will find the grace that enables you to say no to
ungodliness.

Here’s the test: A counterfeit gospel will make a great
show of being opposed to sin but will only drive sin underground. In contrast,
the true gospel will emphasize God’s greater grace that drives sin to
extinction. A counterfeit gospel will make you work for forgiveness and even
then leave you feeling guilty and convicted. But the true gospel reveals a
forgiveness so divine it retains no memory of your sin.
A counterfeit gospel promotes mask-wearing dishonesty and fills churches
with phonies. But the true gospel promotes honest transparency and fills
churches with testimonies of radical transformation.

Does
the message I’m hearing leave me anxious and insecure or does it fill me with
supernatural peace and joy? Does it emphasize my responsibility to perform
for
Christ or release a joy-filled response
to
Christ?

Not every Christian is struggling with sin. Many are just
struggling. They are trying to do the right thing, trying to be pleasing to
God, trying to be good Christians, but it’s hard work and they are exhausted.
They appear to be pillars of their churches but they are straining to hold
things up. It’s only a matter of time before they crack and crumble under the
unholy weight of expectations.

My heart goes out to folks like this. They are sincere in
their desire to serve the Lord, and they have convinced themselves it is normal
for Christians to be busy little bees but it’s not. We’re not insects. Hebrews
4:10 says, “
Anyone
who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.” However,
these folks have no time for rest. There’s work to be done. They’ve got
meetings to attend, programs to run, places to go, and people to see. They
think they’ll rest when they get to heaven but at the rate they’re going,
that’s going to happen sooner rather than later.

The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in
the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). If the message you’re listening to doesn’t
reveal Jesus and the gift of his righteousness, then you will never experience
the peace and joy that comes with it.

This test is actually about righteousness: Are you
resting in his or are you trying to earn points with yours? A false gospel
would have you manufacture righteousness through good works and right living
but it will leave you as stressed as Martha. You’ll wonder,
What has
happened to my joy?
Why has the laughter gone out of my marriage to
Christ?
[75]

Here’s the test: If you stopped doing what you are doing
for Jesus, would you feel guilty? What if you sinned, stopped giving, or
skipped c
hurch? Would you feel condemned? I am not
encouraging you to do any of these things, but someone who
knows they
have been made righteous will never contend with guilt and condemnation.
Conversely, someone who has bought into a false gospel will never know lasting
peace. Even when they’ve done more than their share they will be troubled by an
uneasy restlessness.
Is it enough? Does it please the Lord? Should I do
more?

Paul began every one of his letters declaring, “Grace and
peace to you from God the Father.” The grace of God comes wrapped in peace.
When you receive grace you automatically receive peace and your soul finds
rest. How do you know when you are trusting in his love and grace? You have the
peace of God that guards your heart. And when you understand that the One who
knew no sin became sin so that through him you might become the righteousness
of God, you have joy as well.

The angel was right
—
the
gospel brings great joy to all who receive it.
It brings freedom to the captives,
health to the sick, and life to the dead. The gospel is, and always has been,
the power of God for your salvation.

Just as I hear from people who are struggling with sin, I
also hear from others who have taken hold of this gospel of grace. Those in the
second group all have unique stories but one thing they have in common is they
are all full of joy. Their hearts are well-springs of laughter and they can’t
help but sing the praises of their God. They are living proof of Isaiah’s words:

In
that day you will say … “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be
afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my
salvation.” With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. (Isaiah
12:1–3)

A counterfeit gospel will turn you into a restless
wanderer and leave you wondering “Have I done enough?” But the gospel of grace
leaves you resting in his righteousness, secure in his love, and overflowing
with peace and joy.