Good News!
The gospel is good news, but what is the news and what makes it good?
Much of what is sold as “the gospel” is an inferior substitute for the real thing. Don’t be fooled by cheap knock-offs! There is an easy way to distinguish the authentic from the counterfeit. The true gospel is 100% good news. There’s no bad news in the good news. If the gospel you’ve bought into makes you feel insecure, anxious, guilty, and condemned, then it’s no good. Discard it before it kills you!
The original gospel signaled a great joy for all people. It was, and remains, an announcement about a Man. This Man has done not one, but two deeds of supreme and eternal significance. If you have not heard of this Man and His deeds, then this will be good news for you:
1. Jesus died for you. In the greatest demonstration of love the world has ever seen, Jesus gave His life for us. We had chosen independence from God and reaped the whirlwind. But God loved us so much that He sent His Son to ransom us from the power of sin and death. The Son of God became a son of man and took the punishment that brought us peace. He was rejected that we might be accepted; wounded that we might be healed; cursed that we might be blessed. On the cross He carried our sin and gave us His righteousness. Through Him we have been reconciled to God and our sins are no longer held against us. In the grip of death Jesus cried, “it is finished.” His rescue mission complete, Jesus committed His spirit into the hands of His Father and died.
2. Jesus lives for you. The ransom paid in full, Jesus rose triumphant from the dead. He now sits at the Father’s right hand, a perfect High Priest who ever lives to speak for us. If you believe that Jesus has saved you, then believe that He will keep you for He will never change His mind. He is the Author and Perfecter of our faith and His blood has obtained your eternal redemption. Jesus is not alone in all this. Your heavenly Father loves you with an everlasting love and saving you was His plan all along. In order that we might have a firm and secure hope to cling to, God the Father has sworn a covenant of peace with the Son of Man and neither will ever break it. He has also given us His mighty Spirit – the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead – as a deposit guaranteeing all that He has promised. Through our representative Jesus, and as an expression of His enduring love, our heavenly Father has joined Himself to us, promising never to leave nor forsake us. We stand secure, not on our feeble promises to Him, but on His unconditional and unbreakable promises to us.
The gospel is Jesus and He’s the greatest news in the world!
What should I do in response to the good news?
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Escape to Reality 
Now this is Good News!!
Good work may god bless you hoping to hear from you
You say the “gospel” shouldn’t make you feel guilty, why? The Holy Spirit’s job is to convict the world of sin! How can one repent from sin if they feel guiltless? The good news is that although you deserve eternal torment in hell because of your sin and fallen state before a holy God, he has opened a way back to Himself through Christ.
No conviction of “sin” means no work of God’s spirit on the heart, no repentance, no saviour needed and no salvation promised.
“No bad news in good news”. You are right. But the bad news is that you are going to hell without any way to save yourself. Every person on earth stands condemned because of the LAW of God, his holiness and humanity’s sinful condition. Without this bad news, the good news of Christ has very little significance. How can people be cut to the heart about their evil condition if all they are told is nice things about themselves and God. This is a half truth at best. For sadness as intended by God produces a repentance that leads to salvation, leaving no regret…
He died to bring glory to his Holy Father. To make atonment for sin in the world and to bring ONLY the elect, predestined back to Himself.
Fear God, examine your life and be imitators of Christ. REPENT and believe the good news! Not just believe!
The Holy Spirit doesn’t convict the world of sin but “in regard to sin because men do not believe in me” (John 16:9). Most of us need no convincing of our sin. We know we make mistakes. Our consciences condemn us. The enemy accuses us. The world constantly puts us down. That’s neither news nor is it good. What the Holy Spirit does is convince us that Jesus has dealt with our sins once and for all. That’s the good news.
The law has it’s proper purpose but it is not to break the already broken. It’s to silence the self-righteous and proud.
It is not guilt that leads to repentance – there’s no shortage of guilt in this world – but a revelation of God’s kindness (Rom 2:4). Don’t belittle God’s kindness.
BTW, the word “guilt” that you read in the NIV’s version of John 16:8 is not actually in the Bible. The NIV translators added it.
To repent is to feel deep sorrow about one’s actions etc. 2 tr. (also absol.) wish one had not done, regret. plus the idea of turning from those “sins” and turning to Christ…
What you describe is remorse, not repentance. It’s certainly true that one may feel remorseful for one’s sins, but it’s not true that one must feel remorseful to repent. I repent every time I discover some new about the goodness of God. Most of the time I feel excited and blessed rather than condemned and guilty. Repentance is not turning from sin, per se, but turning to God. The Pharisees turned from sin but never turned to God. As I explain elsewhere repentance is a change of mind brought about by a revelation of God’s goodness and grace.
Guilt is fundamental to scripture regarding sin, repentance and a HOLY GOD! Apart from all the Old Testament references (esp.”guilt offering”) see Jo.8:7 Jesus said the guiltless can launch the stone. They realised they were as guilty as the woman. 15:22 AGAIN Jesus says they are guilty for there sins! 1Tim 5:20 Those guilty of sin must be rebuked before all, as a warning to the rest. Jam 2:10,4:17.
Your idea that the good and perfect LAW was to silence the self-righteous and proud is absurd…
Guilt is actually not that scriptural in the new covenant. The word appears only two times in the New Testament if you read a literal translation. It appears 16 times if you read the NIV and 45 times if you read the Amplified – so your level of guilt may reflect which Bible you are reading. The Holy Spirit is not in the business of condemning and making people feel guilty. That’s what the law does.
That so-called absurd idea comes from Romans 3:19.
It wasn’t until I heard these “nice things” about God and the truth of the whole story of the gospel & grace by faith that I was able to stop my headlong dash towards agnosticism.
I grew up with lip service being paid to the free-gift of God but tons about fear, rules, toeing the line and be good or else. I could not reconcile that lifestyle with Jesus promises about light burdens, and bearable yokes. I also could not see the forest for the trees. I was drowning in laws, rules and guidelines but knew very little to nothing about the full scope of God’s love, mercy and grace towards not only the lost but to His adopted children as well. The Christian church, as well as the world at large, needs a lot more good news. Maybe then we could pass on the life of Christ instead of our obsessive fear of being naughty.
“The law has it’s proper purpose but it is not to break the already broken. It’s to silence the self-righteous and proud.”
I don’t think most people think hey are sinners in need of saving. I think most people think they are basically good and will not be turned away from heaven by a loving God. I love your website and your focus on grace. Please consider adding some law in your Gospel for the unconverted, self righteous and the proud. As is, you may only be reaching the self acknowledged sinners who are searching or God’s love and forgiveness. That is good, but what about all the others. God bless you and this wonderful website.
“How can one repent from sin if they feel guiltless?”… Rom 2:4 – It’s not guilt that causes people to repent, but rather the goodness of God leads to repentance! Guilt only leads to sorrow.
U speak to much,without realising, the writen words good three bear good fruit,bad three bear bad fruits,do u think ur ,convict or guilt gospel ul inspire people? Ur jst leading em away, discourage em.ur jst like other church fear monger,making the efforts of christ nonesense or useless. Examin ur studies dude.
Repentance actually means to “change your mind”. Look up the meaning in the Greek. Check out the word Metanoia, which is the word used in the original translation. Repent is a bad English translation which changes everything. It affects so many Christians, it affected me for years. Once you realise what it really meant it changes everything, grace finally becomes REAL. Jesus said “Repent and believe in the gospel”…In other words, “change your mind and believe in the gospel”. Read this sentence again and see how logical it is. It make so much sense compared to the English translation repent which would then read. “Be very remorseful and sorry for your sins and believe the gospel.” When you change your mind and believe the good news Jesus saves you! How amazing and wonderful God is.
This in itself makes you feel humbled and remorseful for your sin. You are sorry for your sin BECAUSE of the realisation that Jesus died for you and then saved you, because you believed the Gospel! So many people get it the wrong way round and this puts works in place of grace. It leaves the question how do we know we were sorry for our sins, truly sorry, was it enough to say it, did we mean it 100% for all sins for past, present and future? But when we realise no works are required for salvation, merely a change of heart and mind, then it blows you away. God’s grace really is fantastic.
Thanks, Paul! You make sharing the Good News so easy. I am able to share the Gospel with my sphere of influence just by sharing your posts. You make it easy to understand and it is written to regular folk! Be encouraged…you are a blessing to the world! Abundance of Grace is yours today and always! Chris
Wow , I’m able to do this as well..(sharing the good news in these posts). I look forward at passing along Good news!! Cya here or cya there…
Just sharing these posts makes me feel so good inside… thank you Paul for Truth.. we all need this Good news
Nice and short. Just as you promised. And very much the pure and unadulterated Gospel
Well said Paul. 🙂
Wonderful!!!! Thankyou so much for sharing!! I’m leaping for Joy reading your post, as always!!!! I thank God for you!!!!!
I love this comment: “The only thing you can do with a gift is receive it or reject it.” So simple so true. John 1.12
I love this post. Clear and simple. But, many are saying that the gospel of grace is “universalism” (or leads to it) In my own church we who have found grace are being buffeted and chastised that the Grace message is nothing but a pretty packaging of the universalist mindset. It is hard to know how to respond (except with grace :)..How would you respond to this?..thanks 🙂
“I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.” (Mk 3:28-29)
Religious people are quick to quote the second verse but not the first. They refuse to believe Jesus’ promise that all the sins of men would be forgiven, even though Colossians 2:13 declares that promise was fulfilled at the cross. Refusing to accept the grace of God they maintain a focus on their own religious performance. “How’s my walk? Am I in good relationship? Am I confessing my sins? Are my sins hindering my prayers?”
Everyone was forgiven 2000 years ago. Does that mean all are saved? No, grace is a gift. You are not saved unless you receive it by faith (Eph 2:8). Jesus identified one eternal or unforgiveable sin – the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. He was describing those who reject the Holy Spirit and His ministry, which is this:
“When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me.” (Jn 16:8-9)
What would I say to a religious person who mocks the grace of God? “You need to stop blaspheming the Holy Spirit. You need to repent from your dead works (He 6:1) and start doing the work of God, which is to believe in the One He sent (Jn 6:29). Your righteousness does not exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees (Mt 5:20). The gospel reveals the gift of His righteousness which is received by faith from first to last (Rm 1:17). Unbelief in the goodness of God, revealed in the unconditional love shown to us through His Son, has eternal consequences.” And then I would show them this or this.
thank you..your response was very helpful. I myself am still learning and being awakened to grace. Grace was something God showed me through the people I love the most in the lowest/darkest point of my life.(“rock bottom” would just about cover it) After receiving grace, that I in no way deserved, and then being blessed to abundance, God began to show me the truth of what had been imparted to me..It was all because of what Jesus had done for me (and the whole world) on the cross! Beautiful truth. It’s ironic because I had heard the message (or “the gospel”) all my life. But, what had happened to me, the superabundant grace, did not fit with what I had been taught about who God is and how He sees me..The truth was so much better! 🙂 So, it was with sadness (and some hurt) that I realized the gospel of grace was not well received in my current church..We have been called everything from Jezebel spirits to universalistic..I’m trying not to become jaded..
You are sure helping a lot of people around the world see The Creator as He really is!!!!!!!
Pure grace indeed. This is goodnews indeed
May you be blessed for the good works.
Please, how can one share this good news with people of other religions like Islam who do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God?
TBH, it’s pretty tough. Although I’m not an expert on converting people who follow different religions, I do have some tips.
1) Pray for them. Remember that God made everyone special [Gen 1:26-27].
2) Read testimonies on former Muslims who later chose to accept Jesus as L/S. They can be encouraging, too!
3) Don’t be a jerk. Remember, it’s God’s love (not wrath) that gets people to come to Jesus.
4) You don’t have to necessarily talk — you can show people who Jesus is like by ACTIONS. In Luke 5, it’s mainly Jesus’ actions that got Peter to become a follower because he saw that something is up with that guy.
5) When you do talk, don’t forget to trust that the Lord gives you the right words.
I hope this helps!
This is awesome news! I want to read it over and over again! Thanks, so very much Paul; please keep reminding us over and over!
I love this,but I just want to find out what your take on hell fire is?
It’s hot!
Will the unbelievers end up in hell fire forever?
I hope not. No one can say for sure but Jesus spoke of the “everlasting fire” (Matt 18:8, 25:41) so we must act as if it is so while hoping it is not.
Why would you hope for anything that is against the known will of God.
1 Timothy 2
3This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
Thank you Paul! It is awesome to know that God’s will (heart, desire) is for ALL to be saved.
I am new to E2R and enjoy your posts tremendously. They are always concise and precise, witty and uncomplicated in delivery. Always truthful. Thank you and please continue to let your heart beat to the rhythm of the precious Holy Spirit.
Thank you so much. When I first logged in to this site, I so love every word I read. There is a great contrast between relgiion and relationship with Christ. You are so right and brilliantly written, Religion is all about you you you and grace is about its done done done. I felt uplifted reading that all. We constantly need to be reminded as words are like seeds that spits at us all and death and life are in them. Unfortunatly, death words are often preached through the pulpit so thank you for making grace soooooo easy to understand, it saved me all over again, thank you for your emails and your love for setting those bound in religion free.
God bless you and your family andn team, you make undertanding grace so easy, I love it
OK the remnant, I’ve read ur rap sheet. The gospel is good news not bad; full of grace and truth. Sure, people need to believe and accept their need for a saviour cuz they were born in sin and shaped in iniquity and Christ is the way out of eternal separation from God and through Christ, we have life more abundantly. Have you noticed, Christ spoke about the Kingdom constantly? I personally don’t think, we have to go through all that hell hell hell to get someone saved. We are ordained to preach good news period. It may be necessary to briefly talk about hell if someone ask is there really a hell but the good news is what is required and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.
God bless
Paul Ellis AMEN AND AMEN TO THE TALK ON GUILT
does universalism say the right thing? the good news is all of us are saved, if there is someone that is not saved it is a bad news, look i won’t go and sin, you know what i’m saying, if there is torment after death then why there going to be a resurrection? he didn’t said wages of sin is eternal punishment, he said wages of sin is death, that Jesus Christ brought us resurrection, that is the good news, hmm?
MY CONTRIBUTION TO THE ONGOING DISCUSSION IS THAT ONCE YOU ARE SAVED ACCORDING TO JOHN1:12, JOHN3:16 GOD FORGIVES ALL OF YOUR PAST SINS AND OFF COURSE YOU HAVE TO REPENT, IN SIMPLE UNDERSTANDING IS Y0U WOULD HAVE BEEN CONVICTED BY THE HOLYSPIRIT AS YOU HEAR THE WORD OF GOD, GOOD NEWS OF SALVATION. THAT BECAUSE OF GOD’S GRACE, JESUS DIED ON THE CROSS TO TAKE AWAY YOUR SINS, BECAUSE YOU COULD NOT PLEASE GOD BY BEING GOOD ENOUGH OR OBEDIENT ENOUGH TO HIS LAWS. HIS DEATH MEANT THAT WHO EVER BELIEVES IN HIM HE GIVES YOU HIS RIGHTEOUSNES.
“ACCORDING TO JOHN1:12, JOHN3:16 GOD FORGIVES ALL OF YOUR PAST SINS AND OFF COURSE YOU HAVE TO REPENT”. Where does it say “you have to repent”, in the Gospel of John?
ACTS 2: 37 ¶ Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
there is no condemnation in Christ! IF YOU WANT TO FEEL GUILTY OF YOUR SINS ITS YOUR CHOICE. BUT FOR ME I AM BLESSED HIGHLY FAVORED AND DEEPLY LOVED by JESUS. I AM FORGIVEN AND ILL ALWAYS BE!!!!!!!!
So I was raised Catholic. But I severed my connection with the church, and later even convinced myself God wanted me to leave him. (Yeah, I have been diagnosed with a mental illness, okay, so that complicates things.) Anyway, I met my husband and we were both supposedly atheists. We have been married 16 years (together for 25) and in the last couple of years as there were trials in my life, God found me again. I praise Him for that. But I have a secret relationship with God. I will sort of talk about God to my parents, but not to my husband or son. I’m such a coward. How can I truly be saved if I have a personal relationship with God, but won’t acknowledge this to my husband?? I fear he would either yell at me, or even tell me I had i ibetrayed him, and tell me to move out, and I depend on my husband. Do I need to risk everything for Christ? It’s confusing, and like I said, I am a coward out of fear what others would do to me because of my faith. I went to a Catholic school for elementary and high school, but was bullied even there for my love and devotion to Christ. I don’t want to be a martyr. So I’m scared.
Tia – I’m sorry you’re so scared. I’ve been real scared at times and it’s painful. So, here’s my take on your comment. I can back this up with Bible verses, etc. But I’m going to keep this brief. I believe that we are saved if we are willing to ask God (like in a prayer or whatever) to apply that Jesus payment to our sin debt. Then we cross from death to life and there is no way to lose our safe place with God. Whether or not you tell your husband what you believe or not. Jesus isn’t needing anything from you, Tia. You don’t need to serve him like an employee or a slave. He isn’t requiring that you tell your husband this or that. He wants to give YOU stuff you want.
betterthanexpected2013, Thanks for your reply. I am tending to agree with you. I don’t at all really understand the suffering I went through, supposedly in the name of God and Christ, as a child. I just don’t understand it. But all the stuff that I wanted as a child, I have now: a cat, a musical instrument, clothes I like, friends. So I don’t know why I couldn’t have it when I first needed it, but there is worse unfairness in life than what I had. I suffered the agony in the garden, and the Stations of the Cross, and things like that. Finally I couldn’t take it anymore. I turned from God. He found me in the midst of all He has given me. I don’t understand the mystery of suffering. But I understand I am coming into the Light, and it’s about the relationship with Him. So I’m glad to know He doesn’t require I tell my husband, or serve Him as an employee or slave. I don’t understand my past; somehow I trust He does, and is so much bigger than it. So I’m trusting that even on the days I don’t feel Him, He is there. He accepts my doubts, my struggles and yes, my love. I’m trying to trust I am safe in His arms.
Tia – If you’re looking for someone to dialogue with on this, I can do this with you.
Paul, regarding believing and accepting Jesus when he knocks. Relating this to baptism in water, not that water saves, but that it represents a declaration of my agreement to die with Jesus and be raised with him to a new life. Jesus is saying that letting him inside our heart means our death of the old man and regeneration of the new. Much like a remote tech rep takes control of my computer to repair registry/root issues. Thus, I can sin as much as I want but Jesus is behind the scene making root changes in me that effect what I now want. Gradually I begin to want to love God and people with an increasing distaste for sin. Here is my question: can one come to Jesus for forgiveness but because of fearing the loss of autonomy, deny Jesus the permission to make fundamental changes in the heart? And where would that place one with respect to salvation? When we present the gospel to the lost, shouldn’t we clearly say Jesus wants to save you and change your heart? You must agree and trust Him.
Friends, this is so wrong and unbelievable. Heaven is hard to make and that’s a fact. Luke 13:24, Matt 7:21-23, Matt 7:13-14, Acts 14:22. What happens on this blog is shameful cavalcade of denying evident facts/truths.
The walk of salvation is a constant, painful and oft-times blood-stained fight against sin. 2 Tim 2:19, 1 Cor 15:34, James 4:8-10, Heb 12:4.
When a believer engages in sin, they abide under the wrath of God because they suppress the truth they have in the evil they commit Rom 1:18. Sinning, even for Christians leads to death. James wrote to Christians(idiomatically called twelve tribes to refer to their state as the True Jews(Rom 2:28-29)) when he cautioned that their sin would cause death when fully incubated. James 1:12-16. Somewhere John talks of a brother(in Christ) committing sin that leads to death. One of the seals that the foundation God gave us COMMANDS US TO DEPART FROM INIQUITY. 2 Tim 2:19.
The book of Revelation is written to the church…
We have to pursue righteousness…
Friends, the falsehoods you are embracing here are clouding you from the truth. What a delusion most of you here are in!! 2 Thess 2:9-11. You are preaching another Jesus.
Ivan, please adhere to E2R’s comment policy and keep comments <250 words. Thanks.
men, this is an awesome blog! Thank God there are still people who can preach true Gospel and not condemnation! wow!! I love this. now its indeed a joy to serve God.
Ivan, I’m sorry to hear about your heavy yoke. “Heaven is hard to make” only if you are “trying” to make it. I’m glad Jesus made it for me, I could never have done it anyway;)
Brother Paul, God bless you mightily for this good work that you are doing through this awesome website. You have truly helped me to understand the truth of God’s grace at a deeper level. I will be forever grateful. Thank you so very much!!! We need to cover the whole earth with this revelation as the waters cover the sea. Please please keep up the good work. You are already helping so many of us. Do not be discouraged by those who are yet to catch the revelation. They will get it sooner or later as we keep praying for them and reaching out to them in LOVE!!!
Paul, with tremendous love and respect, your message here is generally correct and contains a great deal of truth. But most people need to know MORE than just the “Good News”, they need the “Bad News” too…
There is no bad news in the good news.
I guess it depends how this is understood. I agree, there is no bad news in good news… maybe: a lot of the people I witness to do not want to acknowledge the reality that they are sinners. That, -to them-, is bad news. “I am perfect already” is what they want to hear. If they do not change their minds (“repent”) and see the truth that they are sinners, they will never have a need for the Savior form sin…
I spent most of my years hearing about the ‘good news’ but reminded often about the ‘bad news’ that went along with it… BUT NOW! I have learnt that there is NO bad news! He loves me. Fully. Oh how He loves me (us). 😀
The Bible plainly tells us over and over that to every Jew and Gentile Paul encountered, he preached the “Good News” (of God/Jesus the resurrection). But the Bible also says that to everyone Paul encountered, he preached repentance and salvation through faith. He also instructed about baptism, the laying on of hands, and receiving the Holy Spirit. Now maybe Paul included all these details under the heading of the “Good News”, or perhaps he give these details in supplication to his main “Good News” message. But in any case, Paul DID preach all these things. He DID preach repentance. So unless we are now under some different covenant to Paul, why would we deliberately only preach PART of the message Paul preached and edit out his message that all should repent, the same message that the Lord Jesus preached before him? A serious question for anyone to consider. 🙂
I agree that all should repent.
Friends, wherever the gospel of grace presents itself, accept it wholeheartedly. No I don’t fully understand, but after failing at the perfect law-keeping christianity – I sinned big time – I have felt the full weight of guilt and condemnation no matter how I tried to restore things on my part. Consequences of a failed attempt at perfection. Jesus has got to be our perfection. I tried everything by way of steps, fasting or praying for length of days, etc. but I honestly do not think that any of it helped me. So each day grace claims a little more and more of my heart. Grace has kept me.
We’re not saved by works, or by keeping rules. I’ve never met a Christian who though that.
We’re saved by faith, but not just by ANY token amount of faith, and not “instantly”. Our Lord says we WILL be given eternal life IF we endure in our faith, IF we follow and obey Jesus, IF we endure the trials, IF we remain in our Lord, and IF we go on to bear fruit. THEN we will be given eternal life.
God is certainly not going to let sinful people into his Kingdom, and certainly not gentiles! If they are found without fruit they will be thrown into hell (that place Jesus introduced the world to). And they may say “Lord, Lord!”, but, like the many insincere believers in the Epistles, they will be told “I never knew you”.
“Unconditional love” is a human concept, not a biblical one!
we aren’t saved by faith alone, we are saved by GRACE through faith… 😉
Lee- Apparently you do not know how and when sin was/is dealt with for those who put their faith-trust-hope-beliefe on Jesus. First this is no mere mental assent, aka “token faith”, it is the deep kind of faith that says “Jesus you are the only way I can be made right and whole”. Secondly our personal sins were dealt with one time according to Hebrews 9:24-26 or Jesus would have had to bleed and die over and over again. Just above that passage is another, 9:12-14, that says that the blood offering of Jesus is far stronger than the blood of animals even buying us eternal(forever, everlasting) redemption. He did not buy us a mere chance at maybe staying good enough to get into heaven. He bought us forever. The Law that God gave was full of “ifs” Jesus did not need to suffer and die to offer us “ifs”. God already had through the Law. Jesus did something very different.
we are given eternal life the moment we believe and receive the Holy Spirit. it is Christ’s own Life in us that gives us eternal life. receiving eternal life doesnt just mean we get to live on forever with no ending – it also means that our past has no beginning… and this is only possible because of our union with Christ. His eternal life became ours when we believed -and what God has joined together, no man may separate! i agree that salvation is much more than just being born again, but by your description above, it seems you are suggesting no one is saved until they’ve turned in their resumes at the judgement seat – and thats only if they’ve “endured, followed, obeyed, endured, remained and bore fruit…” last time i checked, fruit doesn’t grow on a branch without it receiving Life from the Vine… 😉
Paul, I’d like to be saved and certain of it, but are you sure this is all there is to it? I’m not talking about works of law here, but it seems to me there may be requirements outside the law that must be met to receive salvation. For instance some versions of Romans 10:9 seem to suggest faith must be proclaimed openly, not privately (a bit intimidating for someone like me who has generally kept this kind of stuff private). And what about the verses suggesting it is necessary to be properly baptized and receive communion?
I encourage you to check out some of the posts in the E2R archives and especially my ongoing series on eternal security.
(Switched to a new eMail due to an issue with the account I was using. Feel free to delete this part of the comment.)
Paul, are there any specific posts you would recommend given the areas I made note of? I’ve rooted around your older posts quite a bit (though there are still many posts I haven’t read), the reason I posted my questions here is because it seemed the most appropriate place to raise them since I couldn’t find a specific post were my questions seemed to be on topic.
I suggest you start with the post entitled “Standing secure on God’s promises.” Read it with an open heart and ask the Holy Spirit to convince you of the truth of what God has said.
You are right being saved is the most difficult thing , and the easiest thing to achieve , it is difficult because it is impossible for us to achieve it, it is easy because there is a man who is also God who achieved salvation for us we just have to believe. You see this is the profound difference between the real God and the gods man dreams up, the real God is the only God that saves man from his predicament without any input from man. He is truly the only God who saves. So I suppose that the question now is do you believe.
it’s nice and all… but it’s kinda empty without interpretation of scripture… what I’m saying is I’m just looking for good interpretation of passages like James 2, Romans 8, Hebrews 6 and 10… ok there is grace… but what about all the “IF’s” …
“and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, PROVIDED we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” (Romans 8:17) … etc… someone please give me some truth???
how are we to understand these things??? I don’t get it…
I encourage you to visit the archives. With 400 posts and counting, you will find many of the “ifs” addressed there.
Re. repent – it is not ‘change of mind’ but change of mindset and thinking when confronted by God’s grace and goodness.
Re. Good News – it was good for the audience whom listened to Yeshua. It is a disturbing news which, for everyone in comfort of the Westernized, Christianized, and Americanized people, makes them uncomfortable and sit up; it demands decision to make a choice. It is the news that the very God is going to challenge and confront both non-believers and believers of ‘Jesus’, the name which did not exist.
The English word ‘REPENT’ that you see in English Bibles comes from the Greek word ‘metanoia.’ The word metanoia is translated as “to change your mind.” I wish Christians would remember that the NT was written in Greek and NOT English. English translations of the Bible and translations in other languages, do not have a 100% word translation accuracy. Many have taken the English word ‘repent’ and have misled people regarding the context repentance is used in the Bible.
i am telling you everybody in the world needs to hear this. when they find the true gospel which is the hyper grace gospel through revalation. it will set them free not 80% not 90% but 100% guaranteed
AMEN! i LOVE GOOD NEWS.
Great revelational truth,
Hi all,, I found this site totally by accident or did I ?…My story of Grace started with me reading about Abraham some years ago.. I was envious of his relationship with God him being able to walk and talk honestly with him and being saved in his life time in every situation he was in.. Including when he was making mistakes God turned them situations into good..I preferred his relationship with God rather than the relationship I had through Christianity.. Basically I’d been taught the common false gospel of turn or burn and be sin free so I’ve been struck with serious anxiety problems absolutely terrified of going to Hell…Well I asked God one day in the middle of a very bad day I was having many years later ” If I have to be so perfect then what was the point in Jesus dying” It appeared to me that Jesus died for nothing. I was then shocked at my question and wanted an answer rapidly. So I went about searching for a Bible! I then found an old one and found myself reading Galatians 2:21..I now have what I wanted all along through Gods revelations {Abraham and the same relationship} and all who believe in the faith of Jesus Christ do also..For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God, Not of works, lest any man should boast. Abraham was before the Law and Jesus nailed that Law to the cross.. Amen.
So how free am I in Christ? Free to sin? Free not to be afraid to sin? I am not looking for a “license to sin” by any means. I understand that i am living from my ‘new” heart and I don’t want to sin. Grace has really set me free of the fear of sinning. However, I am hearing so many “buts” at the end of a grace message; “You are free, but….” I understand that I am free indeed. I understand that I do not want to be a stumbling block to others. I understand that the Grace of God will bring changes to my life. I understand that my mind is being renewed. But what if I don’t change? What if I continue in my sin? Does this nullify Grace in my life? Can I truly tell someone that Grace doesn’t demand any behavioral changes? That sounds like good news to me. I think it would really sound like good news to someone who would like to know that there is a God who loves them unconditionally yet they cannot sincerely promise or guarantee Him that they can ever change. Maybe that is a license to sin. Let God take care of the changing. I don’t think He is threatened at all by someone honest enough to say, “Lord I want you in my life, but honestly at this present moment I can’t sincerely promise you that I can or will change. Will you accept me anyway?
Allen how has that promise turned out for you? I am confused. I want to see an unconditional grace, but I don’t see it. But I just believe it.
Roshan, I truly believe that Grace is always unconditional. Walking in the promise of God’s unconditional grace in this world is not without struggle, frustration and even some discouragement. The world does not understand nor offer grace unconditionally, but the Father does. I am learning to relax in Him and finding that the questions and comments I offered above were things that I wanted to “see”. He has shown me that He doesn’t want me to search for grace but to simply enjoy the grace he has given me this day. The only real thing the Father has called us to do is believe and I can only believe that which He has given me at this point in my life. I am now simply walking in the light that He gives me each day and He keeps giving me more light. He truly does love you unconditionally. God created you to be you and He loves what He created when he made you. He loves you just as you are. So, to answer your question, that promise is turning out more beautiful every day. Just walk in the light that He has given you today. And look to Jesus. You will see Grace personified in Him.
LOVE LOVE LOVE this Paul!
This is dangerous ..well intentioned but dangerous.
It is a partial gospel. It left out repentance .you got to stop your sin. You cant keep being a worker of iniquity . those who are workers of iniquity do not know God.Jesus said so.and he will not recieve you if you keep doing sin .no matter how much you cry grace grace.
entering the Grace Train after living under mixture system.Now my heart is exploding with Thankfullness and Gradidtude when I ponder on the finished work of Christ.Its like I was not having any heart experiences under the system of mixture.I’m so grateful the teachers of the Gospel of Grace.All I kept feeling and hearing was guilt and condemnation,which is not pleasant to be under.So then you feel and hear you need to get busy to clean up your mess so God will be pleased with you again.Its a dead end train.Thanks brother for sharing the Truth in all its purity with the precious Bride of Christ!!!! Mary
I don’t know if it will be a problem but some of your hyper-links are missing the highlight so when it says ‘read this’ i hope people know the convention. but then again like the missing picture of your smiling face, google or the servers already know!
Paul… which is the literal tanslation, as referenced here (in your response to The Remnant?) where can it be obtained?
Thanking you in advance,
justmebb7
“Guilt is actually not that scriptural in the new covenant. The word appears only two times in the New Testament if you read a literal translation. It appears 16 times if you read the NIV and 45 times if you read the Amplified – so your level of guilt may reflect which Bible you are reading. “
There are several literal translations of the Bible (eg: Youngs, Greens). Most can be found online.
Thank you ☺
In a way this is the easiest thing. But it doesn’t come without persecution. You have to keep choosing to believe God is so good. You have to keep choosing to relax. Is that right?
I think what you are talking is the daily battle of walking with God.
I still believe that once we accept Jesus, God secures us in heaven. However, Jesus didn’t die just so I can go to heaven — he wants us to have an abundant life with him. The main reason why we have to “keep choosing” is that the world loves to throw pressure. Walking with Jesus daily leads to a daily rest (though even if we fail, he still loves us and secures us!)
I am glad and happy that Jesus died/rose for us so we can be free from sin/death, but why do we get stuck in sin in the first place? In other words, why do we have to be born in a fallen world?
Definition of grace—
God doing something for us.
Jesus died for you to save, heal and make you wise in His ways. He lives for you to give you a more abundant life.