Do We Understand the Gospel?

I have come to the realization that my understanding of the Gospel is perverted, or at least partial.  I will probably be blogging more on this topic, but for now this is something that I wrote a few weeks ago.

I think that there has been a fundamental misunderstanding of the Gospel in Christianity.  Somehow we have made the Christian life into something that I must BE or DO, instead of what Jesus WAS and DID for us.  We ARE righteous because of what Jesus did.  He purchased that righteousness for me.  Therefore, I can't do ANYTHING to GAIN or LOSE God's affection for me.  If I could, then my salvation would be dependent upon how I act.  Texts like 1 John press us to look at the evidences or "fruits" that WILL BE produced by a genuine Christian, and I'm not saying that this is not the case.  What I am saying is that a true believer does not fall in and out of favor with God because of his actions. This is so freeing!! Does that mean that I am sinless? No.  My journey now is to live in practice what I already am positionally – righteous. So the Gospel is focused on what JESUS did to earn God's favor and not what I DO.

What Churches (specifically American) have taught us (my generation) is that "this is what a Christian looks like... they do X, Y, and Z.”  So what do we do?   We conform to X, Y, and Z, but we do it trying to "be the right kind of person so that God will be pleased with us." Constantly failing to live up to these things is a miserable way to live, and we end up running from God in order to “clean ourselves up” so that we can approach Him again.  A mark of maturity as a believer is that we run to God when we sin and fail Him.  Our failures remind us of how loving, forgiving, and gracious God is to us, leading us to worship and fall more in love with Him.  Good deeds come from a heart that is pure and totally in love with Christ.  So conformity is NOT the goal of Christianity, holiness is.  When we begin to understand this, it changes our lives.

If you are a child of God, which means you have been ADOPTED into His family, He loves you more than you can imagine.  Your performance does not change the way He feels about you or your position as His son.  What he has done in adopting you is irrevocable.  God IS NOT mad at you when you sin.  So does this give us permission to sin? NO. (Romans 6)  When that really sinks in, the fact that God's acceptance and affection for you is dependent on Jesus and His death...PERIOD, it will cause us to want to love and obey Him.  The Christian life no longer consists of a bunch of rules and regulations, but an intimate love relationship  

"God, allow this truth to embed itself into our hearts.  Thank you that Jesus and only Jesus is the reason for my acceptance with You, because my heart is wicked and chases after other perversions of the things that you have made. Help me as I understand this truth to no longer go into "performance mode," but to understand the depth of Your love for me, and then to respond in obedience because of that love."