Gospel Crucified
The Cankerworm Eating into our Salvation
The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:20-21)
Generation on fire, I greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus. The topic of the law and sin versus grace is one that has been a stumbling block for Christ’s church since Jesus himself was with us physically. Tertulian, the first century theologian and Christian author laid it out remarkably when he said just as Christ was crucified between two thieves, the gospel of grace is continually being crucified between two mistruths. Both mistruths represent attempts to bend the gospel by removing from it or remaking the gospel by adding to it.
Two fundamental truths underpin the gospel; God is holy and just so our sins require punishment – “Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free” (Proverbs 11:21) and God is gracious, so in Christ our sins are dealt with – "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). The first gospel truth tells us that however sinful we believe we are, we are much worse than we can imagine. To forget or ignore this leads to a kind of permissiveness that allows us to create our own version of God. The second says to us, we are more accepted in Christ that we can ever fathom. To forget or ignore this reverts us to the bondage of the law or a type of legalism or moralism where we begin to work out our own salvation.
Both mistruths are extremely damaging to the body of Christ, and they manifest in different ways. Legalism tells us that God is a consuming fire that destroys sinners, and permissiveness tells us God is a bed of roses with renewed grace in the face of continued sin. But the gospel tells us that God is holy and God is love; He is not one or the other at different times. God’s character of holiness and love are mutually inclusive and cannot be separeted by any scheme or ideology of man, our relationship with God must therefore reflect this inalienable truth. Legalism tells us that we must earn our own righteousness, and permissiveness tells us that we do not need righteousness but the gospel tells us to receive God’s perfect righteousness. Moralism tells us that we should be suspicious of or reject pleasure while permissiveness tells us to satisfy every pleasure craving as is our right, but the gospel tells us that all good things come from God, and we should live wisely and moderately without worshiping things created by God.
In today’s age, legalists want to stand on every corner of the street and shout that hell is real and we are all damned while permissive gospel advocates tell us God is whatever we make Him out to be or how we feel about Him. What is most dangerous is that we who have understanding somehow simultaneously adopt both approaches, the moralistic permissive believers. On the issues where we think we display superior righteousness, we adopt a moralistic posture and, in the areas where we struggle with sin, we adopt the permissive gospel. These two mistruths represent the cankerworm eating into our gift of salvation and we must passionately reject their manifestations. God introduced Himself to us a Yahweh meaning “I AM” (Exodus 3:14) – He does not change and cannot conform to our ideas or feelings about Him. Likewise, God also says “all our righteousness are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6) – meaning that we can never be responsible for our own salvation no matter how hard we try.
When we are confronted with half-truths or cherry-picked gospel – we must remember that an adjusted gospel is no gospel at all. (Galatians 1:7). Growing in Christ requires submission to the immutable word of God. It means that we must accept the full and complete scriptures not parts of it. It means that “God’s law is written in our hearts and our conscience either accuses us when we are in the wrong or defends us when we are in the right” (Romans 2:15). Finally, it means that “there is now no condemnation, no guilty verdict, no punishment for us who are in Christ Jesus and who believe in Him as our personal Lord and Savior” (Romans 8:1). Even when we stumble occasionally and stumble we will, we never remain on the ground for too long and do not marinate in the swamp of unrighteousness. Our reverence for God’s law which is inscribed on our hearts and our deep appreciation of His grace and charity towards us serve as the rail guards for our lives.
Prayer
Father, teach me and instruct me in your unchanging words. Inscribe your law upon my heart and allow me to grow in the knowledge of your character. Open the eyes of my understanding to your holiness as well as your grace. Amen