Do You Want Bad News or Good News? – by Bilyana De Soto

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Apr 8, 2016 2024

I would like to share with you some bad news – it is called ‘the gospel of lack of assurance’.  Lack of assurance can hardly be called good news.  Lack of assurance equals insecurity in Christ. It leads to suspicion about God, namely I can’t quite be sure what God is thinking, in particular what He thinks of me on any given day.  Mind you it’s not so much that I am not trying hard enough to please Him. It’s just that I don’t seem to quite have a handle on that thing called assurance. How do I know that I’ve done sufficient to get a smile of approval from Him?  How do I know that I am achieving perfection or even if I am anywhere near close enough? Does He really expect a mere mortal to be divine?  What sin dredging and excavation equipment does God use to disqualify me from peace and joy and the abundant life?  What mathematical formula is He applying –95% of Christ + 5% my effort, my goodness, my achievement?  Or is it 50% /50%? Or 99% His work and 1% mine? 

Perhaps you may not have verbalised any of the above sentiments but somehow rather you suspect that your theology isn’t quite letting you experience full assurance of salvation and that peace that comes with knowing that God is totally happy with you.

What criteria is God using to measure me up and to give me the tick of His approval and the promised salvation?  Did Jesus die on the cross for you and me only to heighten my lack of fitness for His kingdom by relentless increasing the speed on the treadmill of performance?  What a miserable way to be a Christian!  What a taunting, haunting God to believe in! 

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me”, Jesus read from Isaiah Scrolls, applying the words to himself, “because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.”  (Is.61:1). Then at another time Jesus said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 5:3)

The good news that Jesus brings to you today is that your Creator is also the Redeemer of his creation. The moment you believe in Jesus Christ, you are redeemed. God is not mad at you.  If Jesus paid for your sins, God’s wrath over your sin debt no longer remains. Sin is oppression – Jesus has freed you from oppression. Trusting in your performance is a relentless treadmill – Jesus has turned off both the incline and the speed dial and is asking you to step right off into His kingdom of grace for “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Eph. 2:8,9; Living Bible).  So come and rest in Jesus – “For we who have believed enter that rest.” (Heb.4:3)

– Bilyana De Soto