The REAL Good News of the Gospel
Do you know the good news of the Gospel?
The real good news?
Surprisingly, many people who consider themselves to be believers or Christians don’t actually know the real good news. At least, not to the extent that Jesus wants them to.
Because the real good news… the real Gospel… is scandalous. It’s outrageous. And in today’s world, it is even offensive to some.
But, that’s what makes it the Gospel - which in and of itself means “nearly too good to be true news.” Except it is… true.
And Jesus wants to make sure you know it.
Over the last three years, the Lord has used me to minister to lots of “ones” along the way. He truly does go after “the one” and my life is a testament to that. As He’s had me on my own journey of transformation and freedom, He has also used me to personally minister to His children as He’s brought them across my path.
Though each and every one of their stories is amazing in its own way, one of my favorite moments happened just recently. When the Lord supernaturally put me in connection with an older gentleman at one of the hotels I was staying at. There was nothing “coincidental” about it and that was quite evident from the moment we started talking.
But, the moment that really stuck out to me and continues to radiate in my spirit was something he said while we fellowshipped over breakfast one morning. I was sharing the story of my faith journey and at one point, he brought up the story of Job. And then, made a comment to the effect of, “I wish I could be like that, but I don’t think I could do it. I think I’d give up.”
To which, the Holy Spirit immediately rose up in me and replied, “You’re right. You will!”
He looked a little surprised as I went on (or should I say, the Holy Spirit went on through me) and said the best thing I could ever share with him is the truth that yes, he will fail. On his own, he won’t be strong enough. He will give up. He will falter. He won’t make it. But, that’s the good news! He doesn’t have to do it on his own! And that’s what Jesus wants him to know - that he can stop trying to be good enough. To ever think he can do it on his own. Because Jesus already knows he can’t and he wants him to know it too. Because he doesn’t have to! That’s the good news!!
As I saw the weight of what I was saying hit him (or more accurately, the lifting of the weight from what I was saying), he said, “In all the churches I’ve been in and all the pastors I’ve listened to… I’ve never heard it told to me like this.”
To which, I smiled and replied, “That’s because this is the Holy Spirit!”
Here was a prime example of someone who loves the Lord and considers himself a believer, yet, he had never really heard the good news of the Gospel. And that’s because… just like he said about the churches and the pastors… it’s been watered-down and altered so much by man that it almost seems “too good to be true” now when you hear it.
The Church at large (or at least the American Church) has made so much of being a believer about us. But, the true Gospel isn’t about us at all. And, I do mean AT ALL. (Prepare yourself for one of those “offensive” parts…) See, as our fleshy selves, we like to think that we bring something to the table. That even though we say we know grace is a free gift, when it comes down to it… we still think we “earn” it by being good. Doing good. Measuring up.
Except guess what? The moment you make it about you at all, you’ve missed the point.
This is why the original Gospel message has gotten so lost. Because you know that feeling that you sense starting in your mind right now? That “twisting” feeling like “wait… that can’t be right, can it?” That’s the effect the man-based, religious church has had on believers.
And that’s the reason most believers do not walk in the freedom Jesus died for us to have.
So, let’s go all the way back to the beginning for a moment, shall we?
In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve weren’t even aware of themselves. They walked in a wonderful, blissful state of self non-awareness. Their eyes were only on God and His creation. They didn’t really give any thought to themselves and it was wonderful.
They never worried about what they said or did. They never worried about not having enough or being without. They never felt jealousy, anger, insecurity, fear, anxiety, betrayal, abandonment, worry or self-consciousness. Because they weren’t - self-conscious, that is.
They were God-conscious. Period.
But, when the devil deceived them (with literally the oldest trick in the book - making them believe God was holding something back from them and not actually for them) and they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they immediately became conscious of themselves. They became aware of their selves.
Which is why, the very first thing they did was run to cover themselves up because they suddenly realized they were naked and felt shame over it. And why God asked them, “Who told you you were naked?” It was never something they were supposed to worry about.
And it’s how the enemy has been keeping God’s children in bondage ever since. By keeping them focused on their selves.
Think about it - everything in today’s society (which is Satan’s territory) is absolutely focused on the SELF. Self-help, self-care, self-made millionaire, self-confidence, self-starter, selfies. It’s all about self. You. What you think. What you do. What you say.
And the world (and unfortunately, many believers) have fallen into it hook, line and sinker.
“Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.” -2 Corinthians 4:4
The general message that we are bombarded with is “What are YOU going to do about it?” If you have a problem, how are YOU going to fix it? If you have a dream, how are YOU going to achieve it? If you’re sick, how are YOU going to get better? If you are in need, what are YOU going to do to get what you need?
It’s all you, you, you.
And for many people (unbelievers and believers alike), the effects of this run deep. Even if you aren’t consciously aware of it.
(That’s why a lot of people probably think that phrase “God helps those who help themselves” comes from the Bible and it DOESN’T!)
After all, this message of the world and the enemy feeds our flesh. Our flesh naturally wants to focus on itself. It wants to make it all about me, me, me. So, it doesn’t take much convincing to go along with it. In fact, from the time we are toddlers, we have to be taught not to focus on ourselves and to be willing to share with others and be kind to them.
Of course, as adults, at our core (in our flesh), we like to think we are pretty “good” people. We like to think we will do the right thing most of the time. That we work hard. Try hard. Are smart, capable and independent.
Except, that’s not what the Bible says…
“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
-1 John 1:8“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” -Romans 3:23
“But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags” -Isaiah 64:6
(You can see why pastors aren’t preaching these verses every Sunday. Imagine the drop in “numbers”! Gasp!)
To God, we are all sinners. We are all unclean, we all fall short of the glory of God and even our very best efforts are nothing but filthy rags to Him.
And not only are we completely incapable of being good enough on our own, but He also expects us to screw up. Continuously. It’s why He chose the analogy of sheep to describe us - we will undoubtedly on our own, get ourselves into trouble over and over again.
People don’t like to think about it. But, those in the Bible who figured this out, immediately understood the gap between themselves and the Lord. Like Isaiah when he cried, “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts” (Is. 6:5) or Peter when he fell to his knees and said to Jesus, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (Luke 5:8).
When we really get over our SELVES and realize just how much we don’t measure up… that’s when we can finally start to fully receive the grace and freedom that Jesus died for us to have.
(I’m going to do a whole separate follow-up post on God’s grace that dives deep into Galatians, so I won’t get into that here. But, I highly recommend sitting with the Holy Spirit and reading that whole book of the Bible very carefully!)
Which goes back to why I said what I said to that man over pancakes at the IHOP. The sooner we realize we can’t do it and we won’t ever measure up… the sooner we can come fully into God’s grace.
I had to take the long way around myself… spending years caught up in the lies of perfectionism and works. Not just when I was in the world, but even in my relationship with the Lord. Down deep, I thought He was going to bless me because I believed enough, trusted enough, suffered enough, waited enough. Whatever it was He needed me to “do”… I was going to “do” it and therefore, receive His approval and blessings.
That is… until the one awful night when He showed me the end of myself and my own efforts. And it wasn’t pretty.
Just like Peter, who thought he would never betray the Lord… I thought I would never give up. I’m the “crazy faith” girl… that’s what I do! Except, He had to show me… YES. I would.
But, that was a blessing! Just like it was with Peter. He had shown Peter that he couldn’t be His disciple in his own strength and he would fail if he believed that. And He had showed me the same thing. And after the initial shock and disappointment (remember… Peter wept?), I realized just how freeing that was. Because now I didn’t have to try to do it in my own strength anymore!
So now, I want to save other people the trouble and help them get to the end result faster than I did!
It would be like being in a car where you are driving and have no idea where you’re going, but the person in the passenger seat knows exactly where you’re going and the best way to get there. But, instead of just letting them drive, you insist on being in the driver’s seat.
Every once and awhile, you might ask them a question or want their opinion on whether or not you should turn here. But, you never stop driving. You want to be in control and get there yourself. So, even though the person in the passenger seat knows how to get you to where you need to go and they even know the best route to get there and can keep you from wasting time or gas, they can’t make you let them drive. They can only hope that at some point, you will relinquish control and let them drive.
God is a gentleman. He doesn’t make you give Him control. He gives you a choice. Ever since Adam and Eve in the garden, we all have a choice. A choice between life and death.
“See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.” -Deut. 30:15
God doesn’t want us to have to take care of ourselves. That was never the plan. In His original creation, He was the provider. And through Jesus’ ministry on earth, He demonstrated that to the people - God as provider. God as healer. God as sustenance. God as peace. God as joy. God as everything they needed.
And that is what He is leading His people back to now.
We always have a choice. And it is up to us what we will choose. But, God sets before us the option between life & prosperity or death & destruction. And that choice isn’t based on performance. That’s what religion and the ways of man will tell you.
No, that choice is based on surrender. Submission. Agreement.
God knows we can’t do it on our own. But, He needs us to surrender and submit to that truth. He needs us to choose to come under His protection and covering. It’s why the Bible uses the analogy of a husband and his bride.
When a husband put his “covering” over a woman, it meant he would take care of her. She was his responsibility. It’s the same as with a parent/child relationship or even a Lord/servant relationship (in the Biblical sense). The role of the husband/parent/Lord is to care for the wife/child/servant. (I’m not saying a wife is a child or a servant… I am using 3 separate examples, so calm down, spirit of offense.)
But, if a woman insists on doing everything herself, a husband can’t help her. If a child insists on being independent, the parent can only do so much. And the same with a servant and their Lord.
We can say that we submit to the Lord, but if we still live like we are “on our own,” then that’s what we’re going to experience.
The Lord gave me an awesome prophetic example of this last year. I pay zero attention to news and most social media “headlines,” but one day while I was out running errands, the DJ on the radio said something about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leaving the palace and heading out to “make it on their own.” And immediately, the Holy Spirit started speaking to me about the symbolism of it. (Note - this is a symbolic analogy, I am not speaking to the spiritual state of Harry or Meghan.)
Just like Harry and Meghan chose to leave all the benefits of being royalty because they thought it was “better” to do it themselves, the same is true for many of His children. Because of the self-based programming of the world, many of His children have chosen (whether they’re aware of it or not) to willingly suffer on their own instead of embracing their identity as royalty.
Even though they have access to a great inheritance as children of God and co-heirs of Christ, they choose instead to identify with the suffering and struggles of the world. Again, some of them do this unknowingly. But others, do it out of pride. Because they have agreed with the lies of the enemy and actually believe that not only is it “better” to struggle and work hard to do it themselves, but that it is also something they should be proud of. (Even though, pride is a sin and Jesus broke the curse of Adam having to toil to live.)
So, instead of receiving the inheritance and resting in the provision and covering of the Lord, they choose to “cover” themselves instead and do it on their own.
Another way the Holy Spirit showed it to me is like it’s literally two different “places.” And in the coming days, those two places will look drastically different. It will be the contrast of being inside the “ark” or outside of it. Which, like my Jeremiah and the Ark word said, means being in God’s protection or being out of it.
We have a choice.
We can try to be like the world and be our own covering, our own protection, our own provision. But, when those things start to fail (like they already have), we will learn the harsh reality of what truly sustains us and what does not.
Which again, is why the Lord wants His people (and the world) to “remember” the true meaning of the Gospel. Because when they realize that it’s not about themselves at all, they will be willing to do what Jesus said to me one day… “Relinquish your SELF to Me.”
I’ve used the examples of Saul and David in posts before, but they are a great demonstration of these two responses to the Lord. Saul received a word from the Lord about his life and then set out to make it happen. Everything was about him - his plans, his efforts, his successes, what people thought of him and on and on.
Whereas, David received a word about his life from the Lord and humbly submitted himself to it. He knew there was no way he could make any of it happen on his own. So, he basically just thanked the Lord and said let these things happen as You’ve said.
The difference between the two men was not their performance. David was not perfect. Remember, he got a married woman pregnant and had her husband killed on purpose! The difference between the two men was their heart posture.
One was submitted to God and one was not.
This is again why it is SO important not to get caught up in man’s doctrine and incorrect teachings. When you are taught the stories of David or Abraham as people to look up to, you miss the entire point of the stories.
How many times have you been taught to look to Abraham as an example of how to be faithful? Yet, he’s the same man who sold his wife out not once, but TWICE, because He didn’t trust God to keep him safe! He’s the one who slept with his wife’s servant because he thought it was a good way to make God’s promise come to pass. He is the one who took Lot with him when God specifically told him to leave his relatives behind.
Abraham was not perfect. But, that’s okay because the story was never supposed to be about him anyway! The stories in the Bible are all supposed to be about God and His faithfulness. Not the men and their faith. And when you make it about the men, that’s when you start getting caught up in self.
The story of Abraham’s near-sacrifice of Isaac wasn’t supposed to be “Wow! Look how brave Abraham was!” It’s supposed to be “Look at how faithful God is to come through.” Same with Job. We’re not supposed to look at his story and marvel at how faithful he was throughout all his hardships. That will get us right where that man was at our breakfast - thinking he could never be “as strong” as Job.
But, even Job got a good verbal-spanking from the Lord to put him back in his place about remembering who He is as Creator of the entire universe.
It was never about the abilities, strength or behaviors of these men. It was always about God’s faithfulness.
Abraham was strong because God was with him. David was strong because God was with him. Joseph was strong because God was with him. Job was strong because God was with him.
The only thing these men had to do was surrender to God. And even in that, they weren’t perfect. But, God knew their hearts.
Because it is always about the heart with God.
We don’t have to be perfect. We don’t have to earn it. We don’t have to live up to a standard. We don’t have to try to “be” anything.
All we have to do is surrender and submit.
But that “all” is a BIG one.
That “all” is what the Bible calls taking up your cross.
“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” -Matthew 16:24
And it’s not for the light-hearted. It’s not easy to “deny yourself.” Your “self” is loud. It’s obnoxious. It’s insistent upon getting its way.
It’s what Paul is talking about in 2 Corinthians when he refers to the “thorn in his flesh.” When you have a thorn in your flesh, you are very aware of it. Constantly.
And it’s basically the same prayer I prayed to the Lord during my own journey… “Lord, please can’t you just flip a switch so I will stop worrying? So I will just trust you 100% and walk through the rest of this journey in constant peace?” And His response to me was the same as it was with Paul - “My grace is sufficient.”
Of course, it would all be easier if He just flipped a magic switch. But again, that would mean we have no choice and God wants to give us a choice. But, He won’t ever leave us on our own once we make that choice.
And that’s where His grace comes in. Grace isn’t just forgiveness of our sins. Grace is SO much more. (Again, I will do a follow-up post all about this.)
Grace is what helps us to get through. Grace is what keeps us going. Grace is what empowers us to do what He’s called us to do. Grace is what enables us to trust Him and have faith. That’s why on that awful night I referenced earlier when He let me see the end of myself, it wasn’t pretty. Because He showed me how His grace had been carrying me along, not me or my own efforts.
It’s why Galatians is such an important book of the Bible because it teaches us about exactly this - recognizing that when we submit ourselves to His Spirit, we are no longer slaves to our flesh and we can subdue it.
And we subdue it by choosing to surrender to Him. Every single day if we have to.
So… where does that leave us? How does all this tie together with the good news of the Gospel?
Because once we learn to “relinquish our selves” to Him, to deny ourselves and our own efforts and beliefs that our salvation, His blessings and His goodness have anything to do with us… then, we can start to finally receive the abundant life that Jesus died for us to have.
And that is the Gospel!
That is the good news!
That Jesus came and took all of the punishments and all the curses for disobedience, so we could receive all of the blessings for obedience (Deut. 28). Not because we deserve them and not because we earn them. But, solely because we believe in Him, we believe His sacrifice was enough and we choose to put ourselves under that covenant with Him.
It does sound too good to be true. That all you have to do is choose and believe. Surrender and submit. But, that is the true Gospel.
That is why it is good. That is why it is free. And that is why it turns religion on its head.
It’s not about you.
It’s about HIM.
Receive the good news of Jesus Christ. Choose to surrender your “self” to Him and receive the freedom that He came for you to have!
It is waiting for you!
