Attractive part 5
The gospel is the good news. Not the scary news. Good news is attractive. Not telling people they NEED to be reconciled to God, but telling them that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. We ARE reconciled. And it had nothing to do with anything we did, or could do. Jesus did it all, so we could get it all. And now we have it all. We have been blessed with all Spiritual blessings in the heavenly Christ. Done deal. We have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness. It is finished. Everything that needed to happen... has happened. And, again, it wasn't us that did it. We were IN Christ when HE did it, so it's just like we did it... but He did it because we COULDN'T do it. That's why Galatians 3:24 says, "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." The Law wasn't given so that we might follow it. The Law was given to show us that we CAN'T follow it. The Law demands perfection without being able to produce perfection. It points out what's wrong with you, but can't do anything about it. The Law was our schoolmaster--again, teaching us that we can't do it--to bring us to Christ. And when He was lifted up from the earth on the cross He drew us all into Himself. And HE did it. He finished the work. He fulfilled the Law. He nailed it to the cross because it was contrary to us and against us. He didn't come to show us what's wrong with us. He came to show us what's RIGHT with us. Not our spots, and wrinkles, and any such thing. But HIS loveliness. Because as He is, so are we in this world. HIS loveliness is OUR loveliness. His perfection is our perfection. His righteousness is our rightouesness. Which is what it means to be justified by faith. When you know and believe the truth... what's already true (and has always been true) becomes true FOR YOU. You begin to receive the gift you've been given. Receive it and release it. Experience it and share it. Receive it BY releasing it. Experience it BY sharing it. And guess what... if you're stuck in the middle of a hampster wheel, running and running and running but never getting anyway... the thing you want always just out of reach... and then someone comes and tells you you've had it the whole time... you can stop working and start resting... that's good news. That's really attractive. That's something I think people would flock to. It's the GOODNESS of God that leads men to repentance. He shows us something attractive, and we run TO Him instead of running FROM Him. He shows us and kindness and love shows up. Guys... it's a gift. Eternal life--knowing the Father and the One whom He sent, living in the context of Sonship, equipped and empowered by the love of the Father--is not something you can earn. You don't do in order to be. You do BECAUSE you be. You don't earn a gift. You CAN'T. You don't get any points for keeping the Law. You can't keep it. If you've broken one part of it, you've broken the whole thing. The Law was given to bring us to Christ. Everything leads us to Him. And He leads us to the Father. That's the GOOD NEWS. That's something better than what we think we've got. That's a more excellent way. And that's... attractive.