Good News

The Good News: The creator of the universe says that you are His child. He says that you are awesomely and wonderfully made! (Psalms 139).

God loves you and wants a relationship with you. He says, "come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). He promises to give you a new life and a fresh start (Isaiah 43:25). God doesn't ask you to 'clean-up' your life, and He doesn't demand that you change. No, He invites you just as you are. He says that when you call on Him, He will meet you where you are and pour out an unimaginable love on you - a love like you've never experienced.

Questions & Answers - What does the Bible Actually say?

What are Christians supposed to do?

The bible actually tells us that God commands Christians to Love. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself." (Matthew 22:37-39). God is first and other people are second. That order can sometimes lead Christians to justify unloving behaviour towards others, but a Christian cannot profess to love God without actually loving others. With that said, love does not mean accepting a person's actions (see below, "love does not rejoice in unrighteousness").

What does it mean to Love?

The bible gives a beautiful description of what love is: "Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of wrong suffered, it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails". (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). This verse gives Christians an awesome list to assess our own actions to determine if they are loving or not.

Aren't Christians just hypocrites?

Too often those who profess to be Christians are also the ones who say one thing but do another behind closed doors. These people judge and point out flaws in others but do the same things. The bible actually tells us that Jesus hates hypocrites. To those 'holier-than-thou' people, Jesus says: "you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. So you too, outwardly appear righteous to people, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." (Matthew 23:27-28).

Christians aren't perfect, but Jesus actually says, "he who is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone" (John 8:7). This means that we aren't supposed to judge other people (throw stones). Instead, God calls us to recognize that we are all flawed, we all make mistakes, and we all have wrong motives from time to time. Jesus tells us that every action is rooted in a motive of the heart: anger, lust, love, joy, etc. And while we may not do the exact same thing as other people, the motives of our heart are all the same. For that reason, we have no business judging other people. God says that when we do, we are actually casting judgment on ourselves: "you foolish person, everyone of you who passes judgment; for in that matter in which you judge someone else, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things." (Romans 2:1).

Isn't Christianity all about rules?

No, true Christianity is actually not about rules at all. Let me explain in 3 parts:

First, the bible is divided into two sections: the "Old Testament" and the "New Testament". A 'testament' is an agreement. In Law, we know that term in reference to a person's 'Last Testament' or 'Will'. It's an agreement to give somebody something. The bible's Old and New Testaments are God's testaments/agreements/contracts with His creation.
Second, the Old Testament is about rules. The Old Testament contains the ten commandments and 600+(!!) other rules (also known as the "law"). God was essentially saying to His creation, "If you do this and this and this, you will have earned 'righteousness'". But human nature is such that rules drive us to break them. God's purpose for the rules was to show us that we are incapable of earning righteousness on our own. We all fall short. "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin." Romans 3:20.
Third, the New Testament is God's new agreement with His creation. Or, put another way, the New Testament describes how God fulfilled His promise to creation. God promised to send us a savior to do what we could not do ourselves: earn righteousness. He fulfilled His promise by sending His Son (Jesus) into this world to live a sinless life, die a criminal's death (take the punishment for all of our wrongdoing), and overcome death. Now, instead of trying to earn righteousness by doing good things, all we need to do is believe that Jesus earned it for us, and when we do, God imputes His righteousness to us. We call this "grace" (an unearned gift). "...being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus..." Romans 3:24.

Righteousness and Sin - What are they?

Righteousness is perfect love. Sin is anything that contradicts God. It is an offence and the opposite of righteousness.

God wants us to experience righteousness (perfect love, perfect goodness), and He wants to keep all sin away from us. Why? Because God is the embodiment of perfect love (righteousness), and because perfect love and imperfect love (sin) cannot coexist. In 2 Corinthians 6:14, God asks, "For what do righteousness and lawlessness share together, or what does light have in common with darkness?" The answer is nothing. They are complete opposites.

We tend to think of sin in terms of the 'big' stuff: murder, adultery, and hatred. In Matthew 5, Jesus tells us that sin actually goes much deeper. He says,

"You have heard it said, 'You shall not murder' ... but I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment."
"You have heard it said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
"You have heard it said, 'Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you".

Jesus is explaining that our understanding of sin falls woefully short. He's saying that, yes, murder and adultery are sins, but so are holding a grudge (unforgiveness), lust, and hatred. Jesus is saying that sin is not the outward action, but the inner workings of our hearts.

This is the reality: the motives of our hearts separate us from God (perfect love). So how do we fix it? We don't. No matter how many 'good' deeds we do, they can never erase the 'bad' motives of our hearts (which we all have, from time to time). But here's the good news: God created us knowing that we would fall short - that we would never obtain righteousness on our own or in our own strength.

God never intended to leave us to our own devices; He promised to rescue us, to forgive our wrongdoings, and to remember our sins no more (Hebrews 8:12). God created us knowing and promising to make a way for us to co-exist with Him and experience perfect love. He fulfilled His promise by sending Himself (Jesus) to take the penalty for our wrongdoing. God's Word tell us, "God made Him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21.

Instead of relying on our own deeds, we rely on Jesus. We give control of our life to God. When we do, God imputes His own righteousness to us. It's simple but difficult to understand. God wants us to experience perfect love, but we are incapable. So, He does it for us. He says, 'Just know me - know that I am God and you are not."

It might not make sense to you right now. But if you're tired, burdened, and worn out, and you ask God to take over, He'll show you what this all means. He'll make all the wrongs right, change the workings of your heart, and you will experience perfect love.

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