Is the Gospel of Jesus Christ Too Good to be True?

June 17, 2014 by

Sermon on the Mount“Even when we were dead in our transgressions, [God] made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).” (Ephesians 2:5)

CHEAP DENTAL WORK

While reading our own local newspaper my eye couldn’t help but be caught by a certain dentist’s ad that read as follows:

“Too Good To Be True (obviously a phrase to hook you!), (it went on) Our gift to you and your family as new patients, Only $1.00 for … Emergency Exam, Initial Dental Exam, Complete Consultation, Necessary X-Rays.”

The ad closed with the dentist’s name, address and phone number.

And I’m really not so interested in marketing cheap dental work in this blog post.

TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE?

But what I am thinking about is there are a lot of things that come along that sound too good to be true. And, as the saying goes, “If it sounds to good to be true, then it probably is.”

But when it comes to the Gospel, though it may sound too good to be true (“Come as you are. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”), the fact is it IS true. (Matthew 11:28; Acts 16:31) (And not just for one appointment like the dentist ad above probably was!)

And let me just say it a second time. The Gospel sounds like it’s too good to be true, but it is true. You really don’t have to do anything. You really don’t have to clean yourself up before you come to take a bath in the grace of God.

INVITE A DEAD PERSON OVER TO DINNER?

And what is it about us anyway that we think we need to do something – that we think we could possibly do anything to merit God’s acceptance?

I mean a dead person (which is what we are in spirit apart from God – see verse above) – a dead person can’t do anything. Have you ever tried to invite one over, say, for dinner? (I don’t recommend it.) Can you just imagine a corpse at the table? They can’t even get themselves up off the floor and into a chair, let alone hold a fork or spoon!

We are no better when it comes to getting right with God. The Lord has to do it all. And He has chosen to with divine pleasure. (Luke 12:32)

I praise God today for His grace that sounds too good to be true, yet it is true.

(Sermon on the Mount picture file above is in the public domain: click here. PD-US)

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About Pastor Mike

Pastor Mike is making the most of web technologies to encourage disciples. A self-proclaimed “twitterholic,” one twitter follower describes him as the “jogging, blogging, tweeting Pastor.” Visits to Pastor Mike’s blog (A Heart For God) number in the hundreds of thousands. His video blogs have been viewed over a half a million times.