The Scope of the Gospel – Grace, a Message of the Heart

There is a desperate need for Christians to arrive at their own conclusions, to establish their own convictions, in their own way, through their own experiences and in their own time. It simply will not do to have people who assert their spiritual authority above others, to come along and dictate what is right or wrong to others.

The Gospel is not a matter of determining what is right or wrong: such a pursuit constitutes eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – notice it is the knowledge of good and evil, not good and evil themselves. It becomes religious oppression when a minister forces their will and opinions on others, especially when their attitude is patronising and threatening. Even if universal morals are established which most people agree to – there is no way to enforce those morals other than through fear-mongering.

The Gospel is a message of the heart, not the mind. The Gospel must be known, in the heart, not logically reasoned and debated. If you don’t come to know the Gospel, the message of God’s love for you, in your own heart – you will be left intellectualising the Bible.

Word of Faith teaching drummed into me the importance of following the Spirit and The Word, “The Word” meaning the Bible. Bible teachers like Kenneth E. Hagin would emphasise the importance of finding back-up verses in scripture for everything that you do. But experience told me that you cannot live your life like that. If you do, you find yourself anxiously scouring the Bible for verses that you can creatively take out of context to mean what you want them to mean.

I believe that to the greatest extent, Christians really have to live their life from their heart, according to their own convictions. As soon as rules and standards are imposed, people live unnatural, restricted lives, becoming someone they are not. Rules suppress honesty and integrity, promoting dishonesty and repression. Rule keeping turns people into actors as they make a performance out of trying to behave like someone they are not. This way of life is unappealing to others as they think you have got something to hide and you can become rather weird.

James 5:16 in the NKJV begins with; “Confess your trespasses to one another.” We make this into some sort of stuffy, formal, religious practice. But I believe that The Living Bible translates this more accurately, “Admit your faults to one another.” I believe that instead of making a big fuss over sin, which has already been remitted, it would be better to simply be honest with other people about your faults – rather than trying to pretend to be someone you are not.

Sure, people are likely to make mistakes, but they have to be allowed to live their lives, without the constant pressure and fear that comes from constantly matching against the Bible. I believe that there is no replacement for love, self-acceptance, confidence and self-esteem – not even the Bible! It is for this reason that people in the world win hands-down when it comes to living life in freedom, love, happiness and fulfilment.

Grace allows people to be just as they are in that moment. Grace allows people to establish their own convictions, in their own way and in their own time, without external coercion. Grace does not seek to determine universal rights and wrongs, but lovingly welcomes people’s differences and shortcomings. People have to grow, mature and develop in their own method and timing. My Christian life turned around when I realised that simply establishing and holding onto a sentiment, was not enough for me to establish positive changes in my character and behaviour.

Photo Heart courtesy of seyed mostafa zamani.