When we speak about the accomplishment of the gospel, our discussion often begins with the crucifixion of Jesus and ends with the resurrection. Is it possible that there is more to Jesus accomplishment than this?
Beloved, you can know that you are saved. You can know that you are in a right relationship with the Father through the Son and by the Holy Spirit. Without this assurance you are robbed of your joy in the Holy Spirit; without it, it is doubtful whether you will make any progress in the Christian life. As John Calvin pointed out so many years ago, your relationship with God must be settled before you can grow in grace, before you can grow in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. In whatever ecclesiastical circle it surfaces, the idea that lack of assurance is a proper motivation for good works is erroneous too. Good works arise from changed affections which in turn arise from the work of the Holy Spirit. Our assurance rests firmly on the three-legged stool of the precious promises of God, the changed affections and their outward manifestation in the Christian life, and the internal witness of the Holy Spirit.
I was recently introduced to the phrase, "going-to-hell sin." This intrigued me because, from my own studies of Scripture when I was a young Christian, I always thought it was clear that all sins were "going-to-hell sins." But apparently not. Hollywood certainly has us thinking that they are not. You can hardly watch a movie in which hell is mentioned without reference to a character who has done some particularly terrible things--as over against other characters who are doing smaller, less "hell-deserving," evils. So, obviously, some sins send you to hell, and others...well, don't?
He in our place. "He has borne our griefs" (Is. 53:4). "He was wounded for our transgressions" (Is. 53: 5). "He was crushed for our iniquities" (Is. 53:4). "Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace and with his stripes we are healed" (Is. 53:5). He was our substitute. It has been argued that this is unjust; it isn't right. Some enemies of the gospel have gone so far as to say that Christ being our substitute was some sort of divine child-abuse. However, that is far from the case.
There is this sneaking habit among Evangelicals to dabble with what I call “magic spell” Christianity. In practice, some Christians believe that if they say or write the correct word--like those in our book title engine--then things will actually happen. It is the temptation to avoid the hard work of growth in grace by just saying someone is “gospel-driven.” It is the temptation to avoid working through conflict with a spouse and just claim that the marriage is “christ-centered."
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