“The gospel is an unrelenting assault on graceless religion, on all the ways we try to avoid grace.” + Scotty Smith<\/p>\n
As I read this quote from the commentary notes in the Gospel Transformation Bible, the grace of God struck me upside the head.<\/p>\n
Christianity is the only religion where grace is the means of attaining salvation. This is one of the reasons why at times there has been a target on Christianity since it’s beginnings. Because the gospel declares that all other works-based religions are invalid. Working to try to attain salvation, or trying to be a better person to earn God’s favor is vain, useless, and inadequate. The gospel assaults this sort of self-salvation project by pronouncing your failures and your need for grace.<\/p>\n
God graciously grants salvation to undeserving sinners because of the righteousness of Christ imputed to them through faith. The gospel is gloriously unfair. The gospel declares that those who have abandoned their good works and right behavior and who cling to the grace of God found in Christ are the only ones fit for salvation. At the point of justification, the gospel says, quit working, and believe.<\/p>\n
God only saves by grace. There is no other way in which God saves. He will not accept your self-righteousness, for it is not the righteousness of God. He will not allow you to contribute, or chip in to your salvation.<\/p>\n
And this is offensive and assaulting on our human nature. Many want to hold up their religious resume to God and say, “I am qualified for heaven.” But God will accept no such resume. God gives grace to undeserving sinners. Do not reject this grace and hold on to your self-perceived goodness and say to yourself, “God loves what I do for him.” He does not. God loves Jesus. And God loves those in Jesus. Throw out the resume and be fastened into Christ – the only safe haven from the wrath of God toward the sin of self-righteousness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“The gospel is an unrelenting assault on graceless religion, on all the ways we try to avoid grace.” + Scotty Smith As I read this quote from the commentary notes in the Gospel Transformation Bible, the grace of God struck me upside the head. Christianity is the only religion where grace is the means of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":685,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[245,274,557,562,567,679,890,1039,1079,1098],"class_list":{"0":"post-752","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"tag-by","8":"tag-christ","9":"tag-god","10":"tag-gospel","11":"tag-grace","12":"tag-jesus","13":"tag-only","14":"tag-religion","15":"tag-salvaiton","16":"tag-saves","17":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3468,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/crazy-good-news\/","url_meta":{"origin":752,"position":0},"title":"Crazy Good News","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"January 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news that guilty sinners are reconciled to a holy and just God through the perfect life, sacrificial death, bodily resurrection and ascension of Jesus to the right hand of God where he sits even now interceding for his people. That's a fairly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/faith\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/01\/img_1099.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/01\/img_1099.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/01\/img_1099.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/01\/img_1099.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1717,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/how-to-live-the-christian-life-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":752,"position":1},"title":"How to Live the Christian Life: Grace","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"May 23, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ...\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "theology"","block_context":{"text":"theology","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/theology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2017\/05\/glory-4.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2017\/05\/glory-4.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2017\/05\/glory-4.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2017\/05\/glory-4.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2017\/05\/glory-4.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2017\/05\/glory-4.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":429,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/the-gospel-house\/","url_meta":{"origin":752,"position":2},"title":"The Gospel House","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"June 11, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"What is the gospel? 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