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Why Read the Seven Letters to the Churches?

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Did you know that Jesus sent letters from heaven?

I suspect 90% of people do not know, and many of those who do know dismiss them as irrelevant.

“The seven letters to the Revelation churches are not for me.”

That’s not true. The letters from Jesus were sent to the first-century churches of Asia, but they are timeless. They contain messages for all of us.

Dismiss the seven letters and you might as well dismiss the whole Bible.

The seven letters to the churches

In the seven letters, the Son of God dispenses life-giving words to:

  • the weary and worn out (Ephesus)
  • those living in the shadow of death (Smyrna)
  • victims of bullying and those facing questions of conscience (Pergamum)
  • the misguided who mishandle grace (Thyatira)
  • those worried about their eternal security (Sardis)
  • the powerless who think they have nothing to offer (Philadelphia), and
  • those who are confused over the balance between law and grace (Laodicea)

The letters from Jesus are short but deep. In them we find answers to 21st century questions, such as: What does God expect from me? Does he care that I’m bone tired? Is he angry at my fears and failings? How do I know what the Spirit is saying? How do I overcome life’s trials? How can I face death without fear? What makes me worthy to walk with the Lord? Am I lukewarm? Does God punish me when I sin? If I stumble, will Jesus erase my name from his book? What if I deny him in a moment of weakness?

You’ve got mail – from Jesus!

These “letters to angels” or messengers were not exclusively for individuals. Each letter ends with the phrase, “Hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Jesus is speaking to people, not pastors. In fact, Jesus is speaking to all the churches (see Rev. 2:23), and not just the seven churches of Asia.

These letters are for for the Church, meaning the whole body of Christ. They were written for you and me and your pastor and the organ lady and everyone who needs to know the love of the Lord.

It’s a mistake to think that the Laodiceans were the only lukewarm people in history or that wandering from your first love was a uniquely Ephesian problem. We all need to hear what the Spirit is saying through these letters from Jesus.

In his final letter Jesus says, “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in” (Rev. 3:20). This is a universal invitation. It’s for every one of us.

The letters from Jesus are for all of us, good or bad, saved or unsaved, inside the church or out. No one is excluded from this heavenly correspondence.

The letters from Jesus speak to us at multiple levels. They address personal issues and universal ones. They unveil God’s unchanging purposes for humanity, and they reveal your place in his eternal dream.

We all need to hear the gospel in the seven letters.

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Check out the Grace Commentary to learn more about what Jesus says in the seven letters. If you are a regular user of the Grace Commentary, don’t forget to share your input and shape the direction of the commentary in our first ever Readers’ Survey. The deadline is this Saturday.

Two Lists

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I want to show you a list of 7 names. Count how many you recognize:

  1. Leonardo da Vinci
  2. Johann Sebastian Bach
  3. Ludwig van Beethoven
  4. Johannes Brahms
  5. Rembrandt
  6. George Gershwin
  7. Jackson Pollock

I’m guessing you may be familiar with most of the names on that list. Maybe you recognized 6 or 7 names.

Now I want to show you a second list of names. You probably won’t recognize any of these people:

  1. Isabella d’Este
  2. Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen
  3. Joseph Franz Maximilian
  4. Viktor von Miller
  5. Andries de Graeff
  6. Paul Whiteman
  7. Clement Greenberg

What you might not realize is these two lists are connected. The people on the second list were patrons of the people in the first. Without people like Joe Maximilian, a man with no musical talent but who recognized it when he saw it, you might not have heard of Ludwig van Beethoven. So thank you, Joe Maximilian!

I’m no Beethoven, but like him I could not do what I do without the support of patrons. My patrons may not write about grace, but without their support, neither would I.

Since it’s the season for giving thanks, I would like to give a hearty THANK YOU to all my patrons and donors, especially those in our monthly supporters’ team. You guys make it possible for me to write and give away thousands of books, study notes, tracts and other resources. In addition to keeping Escape to Reality free, your support also makes it possible for me to produce the Grace Commentary, the Grace Bible and the occasional Jesus Script.

I have some exciting projects planned for 2024 which I will tell you about in due course. Until then, thank you for sharing the journey. If you have read, shared, or commented on my work, I appreciate it.

May your family enjoy the peace and favor of God as we celebrate the birth of our King and Savior.

Merry Christmas!

Paul

King Herod and the Christmas Giveaway

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Looking for something fun and Biblical and Christmassy to do with your friends and family? As a special treat for E2R readers, I’m giving away free copies of my script “Herod and the Gift.”

What is it? “Herod and the Gift” is the story of Christmas as told by you and your friends. It’s written as a script which means everyone has a part. You don’t need to dress up or put on a show. In our house we read these around the table with dramatic voices and flourishes. They are great fun.

How? All you need is 4–8 readers. The scripts are written for young and old to enjoy. They are perfect for families and small groups and anyone who likes to have fun. The stories are Biblical but not preachy.

Cost? It’s completely free until Christmas!

Where? Get it here. Just enter “0” in the price box.

Got a preview? Here you go.

What else? If you want to go deeper into the meaning of Christmas, the script comes with a link to a Leaders’ Guide (also free) with discussion questions, illustrations, and sample prayers.

I hope your family has as much fun with this script as mine did.

Merry Christmas!
Paul

The Real Seven Deadly Sins

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Every year on my birthday, my wife makes a delicious gumbo. It’s so yummy I usually have a second helping. And by second, I mean third or fourth. It’s that good!

But according to some theologians, I am sinning when I eat my wife’s gumbo. Why? Because gluttony, which is defined by some as “eating too eagerly” – is one of the seven deadly sins.

Don’t panic.

Gluttony will not send you to hell. An occasional gumbo feast might give you indigestion, but that’s about it.

Are you familiar with the so-called seven deadly sins – gluttony, envy, pride, etc.? You may have heard about the seven deadly sins in Sunday School or from catechism or from a certain Brad Pitt movie.

Some people worry about committing sins that are deadly, but did you know the list was originally invented by pagan philosophers and later adopted by Christian thinkers?

That should tell you something.

People sometimes ask me about the seriousness of their sins. They want to know if they have done one of the really bad ones or if they have got away with a minor sin.

In other words, “How much trouble am I in?” Or “Will God forgive me because what I did was really, really bad?”

Here’s what you need to know about sin: all your sins – past, present and future – were carried by the Lamb of God on the cross (John 1:29). Because he loves you, God is not counting your sins and trespasses against your (2 Cor. 5:19).

Which is really good news.

But does that mean there no deadly sins? Well, there is one deadly sin, which we can express seven different ways.

The Seven Deadly Sins

  1. UNBELIEF in the goodness and grace of God (Acts 13:43–46, Heb. 3:12–15, 10:29)
  2. UNBELIEF in God’s Son the Savior (John 3:16, 36, Heb. 10:29, 12:25, 1 Pet. 2:7, Jude 1:7)
  3. UNBELIEF in the truth of the gospel (Rom. 1:18, 2 Th. 2:12, Heb. 4:6)
  4. UNBELIEF in the finished work of God (Heb. 4:7–10)
  5. UNBELIEF in the gift of righteousness (Rom. 10:3)
  6. UNBELIEF in resurrection of the dead (Mark 16:14, John 20:27, Acts 26:8)
  7. UNBELIEF in the ministry of the Holy Spirit (Acts 16:6–9)

In the end, there is only one deadly sin, and that is the unforgivable sin of unbelief.

The sin of unbelief cannot be forgiven because he who commits it rejects the very thing that would otherwise save him. This rejection may take the form of hard heartedness (“I don’t need God”) or idolatry (“God needs my help”). In either case, the grace of God is rendered ineffective because it is not received.

Unbelief is a killer. There is no other sin like it. Yet we hardly talk about it. Manmade religion distracts you by drawing your attention to lesser sins (like gluttony).

Which is nuts.

(Speaking of nuts, I know a church where an elder was stood down for drinking wine at a family celebration. For a year, they made this man sit at the back near the door in a place of humiliation. They made an example of him because drinking alcohol is a sin. Yet most Sundays, they served communion – with real wine!)

There is far too much emphasis on sin in the church, but if we must talk about sin, let us discuss the dreadful consequences to unbelief.

To reject life is to choose death. To reject salvation is to remain lost. To turn your back, block your ears, and close your eyes to the goodness of God is to embrace darkness.

The subtle shades of unbelief

“Good stuff, Paul. I can think of several people who need to read this. But not me. I’m a believer. I’m saved and sanctified by the blood of Jesus.”

Wonderful. Be strong in the faith of the Lord. But are you attending to your unbelief?

Just as we can feed our faith, we can feed our unbelief, and that’s not something you want to do.

We tend to think of unbelievers as godless atheists, but unbelief comes in subtler shades.

In the church unbelief is manifested in the faithless language of debt and obligation. It’s asking God to do what he’s done. It’s bringing sacrifices and offerings he has not asked for.

An unbelieving believer ought to be a contradiction. Like dry water, there should be no such thing. If you are a born again believer, then believe all the good things God says about you – you are righteous and holy in Christ, completely forgiven and totally loved.

In the kingdom, all is grace. God provides, we receive. But we won’t receive if we think there’s a price to pay or a condition to meet.

This is why we need to be wary of messages that mix grace with dead works, or faith with unbelief.

Faith vs unbelief

The only thing that can render worthless the riches of God’s grace is unbelief. Unbelief prays, “God, please do this, and that, and the other thing,” but faith looks to the finished work of the cross and says, “Lord, you have done it all.”

Unbelief gives — “Lord, look at what I’ve done/built/brought for you” — but faith receives — “Look at what you have done for us.”

Unbelief toils and accomplishes nothing; faith understands that everything comes to us by grace for free.

Unbelief tries but faith trusts. Unbelief works, but faith rests.

The sole condition for receiving the delicious gumbo of God’s grace is you have to want it. The sinner must drop his guns and the saint must put down her offerings so that both may come with empty hands and faith-filled hearts to the table of his blessings.

—

If you are enjoying The Grace Bible series, the good news is it will be doubling in size in 2024. Learn more.

The parable of the Wedding Banquet may be the most misunderstood parable. It raises questions like: Why does the king slaughter the guests who refuse to come? And what is the city that is burned? Read this parable and you may think that God is temperamental, easily angered and that he torches those he doesn’t like. No, no, and a thousand times no. We need to read the parables of Jesus through the lens of new covenant lens. The next exciting installment in my Parables on Patreon series is available now.

The Real Seven Deadly Sins

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Every year on my birthday, my wife makes a delicious gumbo. It’s so yummy I usually have a second helping. And by second, I mean third or fourth. It’s that good!

But according to some theologians, I am sinning when I eat my wife’s gumbo. Why? Because gluttony, which is defined by some as “eating too eagerly” – is one of the seven deadly sins.

Don’t panic.

Gluttony will not send you to hell. An occasional gumbo feast might give you indigestion, but that’s about it.

Are you familiar with the so-called seven deadly sins – gluttony, envy, pride, etc.? You may have heard about the seven deadly sins in Sunday School or from catechism or from a certain Brad Pitt movie.

Some people worry about committing sins that are deadly, but did you know the list was originally invented by pagan philosophers and later adopted by Christian thinkers?

That should tell you something.

People sometimes ask me about the seriousness of their sins. They want to know if they have done one of the really bad ones or if they have got away with a minor sin.

In other words, “How much trouble am I in?” Or “Will God forgive me because what I did was really, really bad?”

Here’s what you need to know about sin: all your sins – past, present and future – were carried by the Lamb of God on the cross (John 1:29). Because he loves you, God is not counting your sins and trespasses against your (2 Cor. 5:19).

Which is really good news.

But does that mean there no deadly sins? Well, there is one deadly sin, which we can express seven different ways.

The Seven Deadly Sins

  1. UNBELIEF in the goodness and grace of God (Acts 13:43–46, Heb. 3:12–15, 10:29)
  2. UNBELIEF in God’s Son the Savior (John 3:16, 36, Heb. 10:29, 12:25, 1 Pet. 2:7, Jude 1:7)
  3. UNBELIEF in the truth of the gospel (Rom. 1:18, 2 Th. 2:12, Heb. 4:6)
  4. UNBELIEF in the finished work of God (Heb. 4:7–10)
  5. UNBELIEF in the gift of righteousness (Rom. 10:3)
  6. UNBELIEF in resurrection of the dead (Mark 16:14, John 20:27, Acts 26:8)
  7. UNBELIEF in the ministry of the Holy Spirit (Acts 16:6–9)

In the end, there is only one deadly sin, and that is the unforgivable sin of unbelief.

The sin of unbelief cannot be forgiven because he who commits it rejects the very thing that would otherwise save him. This rejection may take the form of hard heartedness (“I don’t need God”) or idolatry (“God needs my help”). In either case, the grace of God is rendered ineffective because it is not received.

Unbelief is a killer. There is no other sin like it. Yet we hardly talk about it. Manmade religion distracts you by drawing your attention to lesser sins (like gluttony).

Which is nuts.

(Speaking of nuts, I know a church where an elder was stood down for drinking wine at a family celebration. For a year, they made this man sit at the back near the door in a place of humiliation. They made an example of him because drinking alcohol is a sin. Yet most Sundays, they served communion – with real wine!)

There is far too much emphasis on sin in the church, but if we must talk about sin, let us discuss the dreadful consequences to unbelief.

To reject life is to choose death. To reject salvation is to remain lost. To turn your back, block your ears, and close your eyes to the goodness of God is to embrace darkness.

The subtle shades of unbelief

“Good stuff, Paul. I can think of several people who need to read this. But not me. I’m a believer. I’m saved and sanctified by the blood of Jesus.”

Wonderful. Be strong in the faith of the Lord. But are you attending to your unbelief?

Just as we can feed our faith, we can feed our unbelief, and that’s not something you want to do.

We tend to think of unbelievers as godless atheists, but unbelief comes in subtler shades.

In the church unbelief is manifested in the faithless language of debt and obligation. It’s asking God to do what he’s done. It’s bringing sacrifices and offerings he has not asked for.

An unbelieving believer ought to be a contradiction. Like dry water, there should be no such thing. If you are a born again believer, then believe all the good things God says about you – you are righteous and holy in Christ, completely forgiven and totally loved.

In the kingdom, all is grace. God provides, we receive. But we won’t receive if we think there’s a price to pay or a condition to meet.

This is why we need to be wary of messages that mix grace with dead works, or faith with unbelief.

Faith vs unbelief

The only thing that can render worthless the riches of God’s grace is unbelief. Unbelief prays, “God, please do this, and that, and the other thing,” but faith looks to the finished work of the cross and says, “Lord, you have done it all.”

Unbelief gives — “Lord, look at what I’ve done/built/brought for you” — but faith receives — “Look at what you have done for us.”

Unbelief toils and accomplishes nothing; faith understands that everything comes to us by grace for free.

Unbelief tries but faith trusts. Unbelief works, but faith rests.

The sole condition for receiving the delicious gumbo of God’s grace is you have to want it. The sinner must drop his guns and the saint must put down her offerings so that both may come with empty hands and faith-filled hearts to the table of his blessings.

—

If you are enjoying The Grace Bible series, the good news is it will be doubling in size in 2024. Learn more.

The parable of the Wedding Banquet may be the most misunderstood parable. It raises questions like: Why does the king slaughter the guests who refuse to come? And what is the city that is burned? Read this parable and you may think that God is temperamental, easily angered and that he torches those he doesn’t like. No, no, and a thousand times no. We need to read the parables of Jesus through the lens of new covenant lens. The next exciting installment in my Parables on Patreon series is available now.

Why Does the Virgin Birth Matter?

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One of the questions asked at Christmas is, “Was Jesus really born of a virgin?”

Is this an important question? Some say no. They say they do not need to believe that Jesus was born of a virgin to believe that he is the Savior.

But the virgin birth matters a great deal, for at least three reasons.

First, the prophets said the virgin birth would be a messianic sign:

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)

In the history of the world, there have been billions of births but only one virgin birth. The virgin birth proves that God is with us and not against us (Matt. 1:23). It proves that Jesus came from holy God and not sinful Adam.

Second, John the Baptist said Jesus was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). Jesus could only do that if he came from outside the world. A sinful son of Adam could not carry our sins, but a Son of God can.

Third, we needed a High Priest untouched by sin (see Heb. 4:15, 1 John 3:5), and a virgin birth provides one.

Such a high priest truly meets our need – one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. (Hebrews 7:26–27, NIV)

Remove the virgin birth and we are left with doubts. Is God really with us? Is Jesus really the sinless Savior? Did he carry all our sins?

Who was Jesus’ mother?

How was Jesus the Son of God “fully human”? The traditional answer is he had a human mother. But this creates two problems. First, any human parent would taint the sinless Savior with original sin – if there was indeed such a thing as original sin. Second, only one human parent implies that Jesus was merely half-human, like Commander Spock from Star Trek.

Theologians are nothing if not inventive so they deal with the first problem by saying original sin is a uniquely male disease. Joseph had it; Mary didn’t. Which means we don’t really need Jesus because Mary could’ve been our sinless high priest.

And they deal with the second problem by… well, actually, they don’t deal with the second problem at all. They just ignore it.

The Son of God was fully human because the Creator who made First Adam was quite capable of making Last Adam. Jesus had no mother, at least not in the biological sense. Jesus is the eternal God, the Creator of all including Mary (John 1:1, Col. 1:15–16).

Just as Joseph contributed no DNA to the Savior, neither did Mary. How could she, since she was just as much a part of Adam’s enslaved family as Joseph. Mary provided a womb, but no egg.

When Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me.” (Hebrews 10:5, NIV)

The word for body (soma) means a whole body. The Holy Spirit did not prepare half of a body, but a whole one. In the Passion Translation of this verse, Christ says “You have clothed me with a body.”

For most of us, life begins in the womb, but Jesus had no beginning. The Word who became flesh was with God when creation began (John 1:1). Jesus did not need a sperm donor or an egg donor. He needed a body, and that’s what the Holy Spirit provided.

Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:34–35)

One day, Mary was not pregnant; the next, “she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 1:18, ESV).

There is much mystery in this. How did the miracle of the Virgin Birth take place? We don’t know the how, but we know the Who. How did the Word become flesh? The Holy Spirit is the answer.

But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law. (Galatians 4:4, KJV)

Many translations say Jesus was born of a woman, but on this occasion the King James Version gets it right. Jesus was made of a woman, not born of a woman. (The original verb (ginomai) means to cause, to become, to assemble.) Jesus body was brought forth within Mary’s womb.

Incidentally, this explains why Jesus could say that John was the greatest among those born of women (Matt. 11:11). Surely Jesus is the greatest of all, but Jesus was not born of woman in the conventional sense.

All four Gospel writers refer to Mary as the mother of Jesus, but she was not his biological mother. Mary was a surrogate mother who carried and raised the child from heaven.

Mary was an extraordinary woman, highly favored by God, and rightly honored by the Church. Yet nowhere in scripture does Jesus refer to her as mother. Instead, he calls her woman (John 2:4, 19:26).

If you asked Jesus who his mother was, he would reply, “My mother and brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it” (Luke 8:21). Jesus was not being disrespectful to Mary, but like Melchizedek, he was “without father and mother” (Heb. 7:3).

First Adam had no father and mother and neither did Last Adam.

The significance of the virgin birth is that Jesus was not born into Adam’s enslaved family, and only a free man can ransom a slave. Because of Adam, humanity was enslaved to sin and death. But Jesus is our Redeemer from heaven. A Savior such as this, free and untouched by sin, is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him.

Truly the virgin birth is essential to our faith.

—–

Extracted and adapted from my ebook, Original Sin: What Does the Bible Really Say?

When I tell people I am writing a grace-based series on the Parables of Jesus, they often say, “I’ve always wondered about the one where the king burns down the city.” That fiery scene is from the parable of the Wedding Banquet. My grace-based take on this parable is available now on Patreon.

Watch out for the Holiness Preachers

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As a teenager, I didn’t need anybody to tell me what to do.

As an adult, I wish somebody would.

Life is big and confusing. It’s full of anxiety, uncertainty, and questions that have no answers. And this is why some people prefer law to grace. They’d rather live under the old covenant than the new.

Back then if you wanted to stay on the straight and narrow, you just had to keep all the rules. But in the kingdom of grace, there are no rules. “All things are lawful” (1 Cor 6:12).

For those unacquainted with the security of God’s love, the absence of rules can be terrifying.

“I wish somebody would just tell me what to do!”

Enter the holiness preachers.

[Insert scary organ music here.]

Much of what passes for holiness preaching today is old covenant theology dressed up in new covenant ribbons. See if you can spot the difference:

Then: God promised we would be his holy people if we kept the rules. The law is a how-to manual for holiness.
Now: Am I saved by the law? Oh, no. That’s so old covenant. But the law shows me how to live pleasing to the Lord.

See the difference? Strip away the mumbo-jumbo and there is no difference!

Read some of the comments I get whenever I write about the commands of the Bible or the law written on our hearts, and you will find 101 different ways of saying the same thing: The Rules are a manual for holy living. The only difference between then and now is that some of the rules have changed.

The Israelites lived by the ceremonial rules of Moses; today, many Christians make up their own rules.

“I just keep the red letters of Jesus.”

“I try to do everything in the Bible.”

“I just do whatever my pastor says.”

D.I.Y. holiness

Practical holiness is a term to beware as it often comes with a fishhook. Much of it is toxic mixture, as the following soundbites illustrate:

  • “Following Christ is a lifestyle.” (Okay.) “We’ve got to keep his commands to be his disciples.” (Nope – that’s backwards. That’s putting the fruit before the tree.)
  • “Find out what pleases the Lord.” (Yes!) “Keeping his instructions pleases him.” (No, that’s faithless, law-based living that nullifies grace and inflames sin (Rom. 7). Living by faith pleases the Lord. Trust him.)
  • “If you sow to the flesh you will reap destruction.” (Yep). “So we have to be earnest in getting people to change their behavior.” (But that’s sowing to the flesh! You’re setting them up for failure.)

Holiness preaching that emphasizes what you must do is carnal Christianity. Make no mistake, it comes straight out of the old covenant. Heed this sort of teaching and you will exalt the flesh at the expense of grace.

And it won’t make you holy.

Here are four ways to determine whether the holiness message you’re listening to reflects the condemning covenant of the law or the new and liberating covenant of grace:

  1. Old covenant holiness is based on who you are (a bit of a reprobate) and is sold as a list of things you must do; new covenant holiness is based on who Christ is (our holiness – 1 Cor 1:30) and what he has done (sanctified you – Heb 2:11, Rom 11:16).
  2. Old covenant holiness emphasizes sacrifices you must make; new covenant holiness emphasizes the perfect sacrifice of the Lamb, by which you were “perfected forever” (Heb 10:14).
  3. Old covenant holiness is sold as a process of increasing sanctification – something “we grow into” as we become more like Christ; new covenant holiness is presented as a done deal (Heb 10:10). Your behavior may need to change, but in Christ you are as holy as he is.
  4. Old covenant holiness comes with a big stick – “the Lord will condemn you if you don’t deliver”; new covenant holiness has exhortations but no sticks because there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1).

Beware frowners preaching holiness

Because of these differences in message, we can also recognize differences in the messenger. An old covenant holiness preacher is serious and threatening. He will remind you of Moses warning the Israelites at the foot of Mt Sinai.

But a new covenant preacher of holiness is life-giving and inspirational. He will remind you of Jesus speaking the words of life.

An old covenant holiness preacher will speak the faithless language of longing and lack. But a new covenant preacher will bracket any exhortations with affirmations like these:

Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. (1 Thessalonians 4:1).

Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. (1 Thessalonians 4:9-10)

How to preach holiness

We need to preach holines same way the apostles did. To be holy is to allow the Lord to express his whole and beautiful life through us.

The challenge is that being holy is a new experience for us. As unbelievers, holiness was totally alien to us. That old lifestyle was characterized by brokenness and hurt.

Now that we are in him we have to learn to walk in our new and God-given identity.

The wrong way to approach this is to think of yourself as a flawed sinner trying to become holy. That’s not who you are and that’s not how it works.

Instead, see yourself as a toddler learning to walk. Just as you wouldn’t smack an infant if they stumbled and fell, neither will your heavenly Father smack you. He doesn’t condemn you when you fall, but he lovingly encourages you to get up and walk.

He has given you everything you need for life and godliness. In Christ you lack nothing. You just need to work out who you already are and what he has already given you.

This is the adventure of holy living.

—

WordPress is changing the way it manages subscriptions. If you have recently signed up as an email subscriber, you might not have received the download links for the Grace Pack. Here they are:

  1. Out of the Jungle
  2. Are You Religious?
  3. Who’s Your Daddy?
  4. What Makes the New Covenant New?

What is the Whole Counsel of God?

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Tell people the good news of God’s unconditional love, and I can guarantee that some will chide you for not preaching the whole counsel of God.

Tell people about the goodness of God, and some concerned person will say: “You’ve got to preach the whole counsel of God, brother.”

What they mean is, “You should tell people to do stuff – repent, confess, turn from sin, work, etc. – to earn the free gifts of grace.”

Earn the free gifts of grace?!

What a strange thing to say. How can you compensate God for his priceless gifts?

I am a big fan of repentance, but repentance may not be what you think it is.

I’m also a big fan of confession, but confession may not be what you think it is either.

And turning from sin? Well any time you turn to Jesus you will turn from sin. It’s inevitable.

Sidebar: The issue is not what you are turning from but Who you are turning to. The Pharisees turned from sin every day but they never turned to Jesus. Turning from sin doesn’t make you righteous, just religious.

What is the whole counsel of God?

Paul told the Ephesians “I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). Some translations say, the whole will or whole purpose of God.

The whole counsel and the whole purpose are synonymous with the whole gospel because God’s will is always good news.

What is the whole counsel of God that Paul proclaimed? He tells us three verses earlier:

I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace. (Acts 20:24)

The whole counsel of God is the gospel of his grace. Period.

“Just grace?!” says the serious man.

Grace and nothing but. Not grace-plus-your-confession, nor grace-plus-your-works – just grace.

“I can’t accept that,” says the serious man.

Well, you wouldn’t be the first person to have a problem with grace:

The Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God… (Luke 7:30)

Isn’t that interesting. Those who loved the law rejected God’s counsel. Who else did the Pharisees and law-teachers reject? Jesus (see Mark 8:31)!

What is the whole gospel? Jesus is. He is the whole counsel and the complete will and the eternal purpose of God.

If you want to know what God is like or what he thinks, look to Jesus.

If you want to preach the counsel, the whole counsel, and nothing but the counsel of God, then preach Jesus and nothing else. He is both the will of God made flesh and the means by which God’s will comes to pass.

Jesus is the Good News.

How not to preach the gospel

I have written else on how to teach the gospel of grace, but let me finish by showing you how not to preach the gospel: Add stuff to it.

If you take all the blessings of God – his love, favor, forgiveness, acceptance, healing, provision, deliverance, etc. – and tell people they must do stuff to merit them, then you are diluting the gospel of grace. You’re preaching a mixed gospel of grace-plus-works.

Grace is no longer the whole gospel; it’s only part of some horrendous frankengospel.

Whenever we add things to the gospel of grace we dilute its strength and empty the cross of its saving power.

What do these gospel additives look like?

I am sure you know them. They are called prayer and fasting, Bible study, the spiritual disciplines, tithes and offerings, Christian duty, the virtues, works of service, ministry, self-sacrifice, helps, missions, outreach, submission, sowing, etc. In the hands of graceless religion these good things become death-dealing burdens.

If you think you must do them before God will bless you, you have fallen from grace as hard as any Galatian.

Religion is cruel

Imagine a thirsty man crawls out of the desert and you say to him, “Drink this pure spring water.” That’s good news for the thirsty man. He doesn’t need to do anything except receive what you are offering.

But if you ask that man to run a marathon before you give him the drink, it’s no longer good news. It’s torture.

Telling a thirsty man he must pray for an hour before he can drink is not good news. Nor is telling him that he must keep the rules, play the game, and do what he’s told. This isn’t good news; it’s bad news. It’s a form of bullying that hammered the Galatians, the Ephesians, the Laodiceans and many other believers since.

And telling the thirsty man he may drink provided he pays later is no different. In fact it’s worse because you given him a taste of freedom before binding him with obligation.

Want to see change in your life and the lives of others? Then follow Paul’s lead and preach the whole gospel of grace without adding anything to it.

This emphasis on what we must do before God will bless us is a doctrine of demons. It’s poison in the water. The true gospel is additive-free. It’s grace from start to finish.

If you would preach the whole gospel then preach Christ alone.

Jesus is all you need.

—

Did you know that in just a little over two years the Grace Commentary has become the largest grace-based commentary? Here is a picture our progress.

What Does it Mean to be Alienated from God?

by

Perhaps you know the story of Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda of the Imperial Japanese Army.

When WW2 ended, it was a time of great joy and celebration. Prisoners were set free, and millions of soldiers went home to their families.

But not Lt. Onoda. The dutiful Onoda did not believe broadcasts announcing the end of the war, so for the next 29 years he hid in the jungles of the Philippines refusing to come home.

Knowing he was still out there, the authorities tried to reach him with the news. However, Onoda dismissed leaflets left by the islanders as enemy propaganda. He considered letters, family photos, and newspapers dropped from planes as nothing more than clever tricks.

Eventually, the Japanese Government sent Onoda’s former commanding officer into the jungle with orders for him to stand down. Relieved of duty, Onoda emptied the bullets from his rifle and turned in his weapon. For him the war was finally over. He returned home to a hero’s welcome.

For three decades Lt. Onoda was engaged in a war that existed only in his mind against an imaginary enemy he feared and distrusted.

Sadly, this is how some people relate to God.

Alienated in their minds

Some people are opposed to God in their minds or they think God is gunning for them on account of their sin. They have not heard there has been a cessation of hostilities, that the war has been won and the Prince of Peace now sits on the throne.

Ignorant of this good news and fearful of God they are lying low in the jungles of religion or self-deception.

God hates them—or so they think. His anger is mounting. So they live under a lie, refusing to come home.

In ten years as a pastor and forty years as a churchgoer I have met thousands of believers who tell you they believe the gospel, but their lives reveal a different story.

Instead of reaping from the gospel of peace, they are plowing the hard ground of D.I.Y. religion. Instead of drawing with joy from the wells of salvation, they are baking bricks in the pits of performance-based churchianity.

They may be smiling on the outside, but on the inside they are anxious, insecure, and battling with guilt and condemnation. Fearful of upsetting a touchy God they are trying to do the right thing and make themselves pleasing to the Lord. But since they are never sure if they have done enough they have no peace.

Others run hard after the favor of God but they never seem to arrive. They study the scriptures, fast and pray, and do all they are told, but the promised blessings of the Christian life—God’s forgiveness, acceptance, provision and so on—always seem just out of reach.

Yo-yo believers

Squeezed between the demands of a holy God who expects nothing short of perfection and the flawed performance of their own broken lives, Christians are among the most neurotic people on the planet. Like yo-yos they are up one day but down the next. They are testifying on Sunday but confessing on Monday.

Each time they stumble they promise Jesus they will try harder next time but it’s no use. They feel like frauds and wonder what will happen to them when their shortcomings are eventually exposed.

The number one reason why many Christians are joyless and tired is because they have never heard the gospel of grace. I know it’s hard to believe but it’s true—the gospel is almost never preached.

Visit any church or switch on a Christian TV channel and chances are you will hear anything and everything but the undiluted gospel. You will hear a mixed gospel that leaves people fearful and insecure.

Don’t blame the preachers. Many of them are doing the best they can. But they can’t give what they haven’t got, and they can’t preach what they haven’t heard.

The gospel is good news. This is what the word “gospel” literally means: good news. By definition, any gospel that leaves you fearful of an angry and judgmental God is no gospel at all. It is not good news.

Any gospel that leaves you insecure and uncertain, forever wondering, Am I accepted? Am I forgiven? is not good news.

Any gospel that demands you sign up for a lifetime of progressive sanctification and yet offers no guarantee that you will ever make it, is not good news.

Any gospel that forces cripples to jump through hoops of religious performance is no gospel at all.

And now for the news…

The gospel is the glad and merry news that God is good, he loves you, and he will happily give up everything he has so he can have you.

Contrary to popular belief, God is not mad at you. He is not even in a bad mood. The good news declares that God is happy, he is for you, and he wants to share his life with you forever.

Jesus is the proof.

On the cross God showed that he loved us while we were sinners and that he would rather die than live without us. And through the resurrection he proved that nothing—not even death—can separate us from the love that is ours in Jesus Christ.

Through our representative Jesus our heavenly Father has joined himself to us, promising never to leave nor forsake us. We stand secure, not on our feeble promises to him, but on his unbreakable promises to us.

And that’s it: God loves you and wants to be with you.

It’s simple but it’s the biggest truth in the universe. We will spend eternity discovering in a billion different ways the limitless expressions of his unending love. This is what we were made for—to receive and respond to his divine love. This is the fundamental law of our existence and the reason for our being.

This is the best news you ever heard.

—–

Extracted from Out of the Jungle: Why the Good News May Be the Best News You Never Heard, a free ebook you get when you sign up as a subscriber to Escape to Reality.

You are not a Doorkeeper in the House of God

by

“I am a bondservant of the Lord.” So said Paul and every other New Testament epistle writer. Works-preachers ever since have been saying that we are God’s servants who serve so get busy serving.

And the result is a flesh-powered, fatigued and fruitless church.

You are not God’s servant. You are his dearly-loved child (Eph. 5:1, 1 John 3:1). You’re a son, not a slave. Big difference.

What does God need servants for anyway? He created the universe with a word. How exactly do you think you can serve him? Can you move continents and govern the tides? Can you keep the planets in their orbits? Can you create matter and energy?

“I put the chairs out on Sunday.”

That is a useful thing to do but it’s your job, not your identity. You are not God’s royal chair-putter-outer. You are his beloved child, who happens to put out the chairs.

It’s important that you distinguish your identity from your occupation.

You may be a preacher to millions or a telemarketer who rings people during dinner, but those are things you do. They are not who you are.

You could be the most awarded vocalist in history and everybody calls you “The Voice.” But you are not The Voice. You are much more than your gift. You are your Father’s beloved child.

Bondservants of Christ

When Paul et al. introduced themselves as bondservants of Christ, they were saying, “I serve people in the name of Jesus.”

For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. (2 Corinthians 4:5)

Jesus, the Son of God, took the form of a bondservant (Php. 2:7). He was not confused about his identity, but he was servant-hearted (Mark 10:45). He is the Son who serves. It’s the same with us.

For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. (1 Corinthians 9:19)

Although we are free in Christ, we choose to serve in the name of Christ so that the orphans of this world might come to know their Father who loves them. Like Christ, we are the sons who serve. We do not serve to curry favor with God, but to reveal the Servant-king to people.

“I’m just a humble doorkeeper in the house of my Lord.”

No, you are not.

Jesus didn’t suffer and die to increase the size of heaven’s household staff. He did not come to recruit doorkeepers and maids as though heaven was some kind of Downton Abbey.

It is imperative that you get this lest you be tempted into dead works and fall from grace.

Draw near, doorkeeper

The psalmist who wrote those famous words about being a doorkeeper in the house of God (see Ps. 84:10) was unacquainted with the new covenant. He lived under the old covenant when no one got close to God. Back then, the best you could hope for was being a distant doorkeeper. But now, everything has changed.

Then: Stay away or die (Ex. 19:12, Num. 18:7)
Now: Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. (Jas. 4:8)

Thanks to Jesus, we see God for who he really is. God is not your employer or your boss. He is your heavenly Father and he wants you to approach him with confidence.

This is what makes the new covenant new.

So enough with the doorkeeper talk. Learn to speak the new language of the new covenant, which sounds like this:

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1)

When you pray, see yourself as talking to your Father who loves you and accepts you.

When you sing, see yourself as singing to your Father who loves you and accepts you.

And when you lie down at the end of a long day of putting out chairs or recording hit singles or cold calling people during dinner, see yourself resting under the smiling face of your Father who loves you and accepts you.

—

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Will I Lose My Salvation if I Keep Sinning?

by

I’m just gonna say it: it is not God’s will for you to live in sin.

“Wait, Paul. I thought you were a grace preacher. Aren’t you supposed to accept people just as they are? Aren’t you supposed to be inclusive and forgiving like Jesus?”

Look, I get it. Grace attracts sinners. Why do you think tax collectors and prostitutes were drawn to Jesus?

He loved them. He accepted them. He also set them free.

Since I preach radical grace, I often hear from people who are fooling around with sin. Some are looking for help in overcoming sin, but most want an assurance that God will continue to love them despite their bad behavior.

Here are my responses to five commonly asked questions:

1. Will God love me if I keep sinning?

Yes, absolutely.

I know this is not what manmade religion has told you, but you need to know that God’s love for you is unaffected by your moral performance.

There are many variables in life but God’s love is the one constant you can bank on. You can be certain that God loves you.

A better question to ask is, “Do you know and enjoy his love?” The prodigal’s father loved him constantly but the prodigal did not know and benefit from his love for as long as his attention was elsewhere.

Every one of us has needs. These needs are meant to lead us to Jesus. If you’re not getting your needs met in Jesus, you will make inferior choices – and this is where the trouble starts.

2. Does God’s grace mean I can continue to live in sin?

No. Grace brings freedom and yes, that includes the freedom to make poor choices, but if you use your freedom to enslave yourself to sin or religion, you have missed the point of grace (Gal. 5:1).

A Christian who runs after sin is like a prisoner who has been released by a gracious king, who uses his freedom to re-offend and do all the things that got him imprisoned in the first place. Now our King is extremely gracious. He won’t send you back to prison. But you may send yourself there.

Jesus didn’t give his life as your ransom just so that you run back to the clay-pits of Egypt. Egypt is history. You’ve got places to go. Move on to the Promised Land of his love.

3. Will I lose my salvation if I keep sinning?

No. Jesus is your salvation and the Holy Spirit is your eternal guarantee (2 Cor. 1:22). If sinning caused us to lose our salvation, heaven would be empty.

But the question troubles me. Religion has got us so obsessed with making heaven and avoiding hell that we’ve put life on hold.

The earth is not a waiting room for eternity. This is where Real Life begins (John 17:3).

Don’t put your life on hold by living captive to the flesh. Salvation is not there and then, but here and now.

God’s will is for you to experience heaven-on-earth today. But choose the way of sin and you’ll experience hell-on-earth.

Religion would have us frame the questions of life in terms of good and evil. “Shouldn’t we do good and avoid evil?” This is fruit from the wrong tree. It’s not that the question above is inherently bad, it just won’t lead you to the right Answer.

Grace is the antidote to the poison of sin. Now that you’ve been saved from death, stop drinking the poison. Drink from the well of his life.

4. If my salvation is secure, why can’t I keep doing what I’m doing?

Because sinning is stupid. Like texting on the freeway. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

The world will tell you that “if it feels good, do it” and “as long as it’s harming no one, what’s the problem?” These are flawed mantras. Sin carries a hefty price tag. Live from your feelings and you’ll end up enslaved to your appetites. You will be a shadow of your real self.

Understand that I am not calling you to take a vow of chastity. Following Jesus is not about starving the flesh. Following Jesus is about reckoning yourself dead to the world and allowing him to live his life through you.

“As long as it’s harming no one…”

This line usually comes from those who are fooling around. How do you know it’s not harming no one? Do you have perfect knowledge of the future? Do you know for sure that the lady you’re keeping house with is going to be your wife and not the wife of another? Will she be the mother of your children or the mother of someone else’s children?

If you are certain that she will be your wife for life, marry her. If you’re uncertain, stop playing games and man up. People are too precious to fool around with.

5. I can’t help myself. I’m not sure that I could stop even if I wanted to.

That’s not a question but a declaration of unbelief in the liberating grace of God.

Perhaps you are enslaved to sin. You’re in so deep that you can’t see the sun. But that doesn’t mean you are without help and without options.

Your Maker is your Helper, and no one is beyond the reach of his transforming love and grace.

I’ve met countless people who have been changed by his grace. This happens all the time. But transformation rarely happens among those who don’t believe.

Stop playing the victim, and stop speaking lies over your life. Look to your Redeemer. Confess your true identity in Christ.

When you get up in the morning, look at yourself in the mirror and say, “I am my Father’s son and he loves me. I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. As he is in heaven, so am I in this world.”

The world will try and tell you that you are the product of your choices and behaviors, but God says you are his beloved child. Choose who you will listen to and be who you really are.

This is not the place where I talk about overcoming sin.

But beware any message that doesn’t empower you to overcome sin. Don’t listen to those who insist on “being tough on sin” and “laying down the law.” Appeals to try harder, do better, and keep your promises never lead to lasting change because they call you to rely on the flesh. Failure, guilt and condemnation are the inevitable result.

Grace is so much better. Grace is not a set of rules to follow or a whip to keep you in line.

Grace is a victorious Overcomer living his overcoming life through you.

—

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More articles on your eternal security. Get a sneak peek at Paul’s next book!

Will I Lose My Salvation if I Keep Sinning?

by

I’m just gonna say it: it is not God’s will for you to live in sin.

“Wait, Paul. I thought you were a grace preacher. Aren’t you supposed to accept people just as they are? Aren’t you supposed to be inclusive and forgiving like Jesus?”

Look, I get it. Grace attracts sinners. Why do you think tax collectors and prostitutes were drawn to Jesus?

He loved them. He accepted them. He also set them free.

Since I preach radical grace, I often hear from people who are fooling around with sin. Some are looking for help in overcoming sin, but most want an assurance that God will continue to love them despite their bad behavior.

Here are my responses to five commonly asked questions:

1. Will God love me if I keep sinning?

Yes, absolutely.

I know this is not what manmade religion has told you, but you need to know that God’s love for you is unaffected by your moral performance.

There are many variables in life but God’s love is the one constant you can bank on. You can be certain that God loves you.

A better question to ask is, “Do you know and enjoy his love?” The prodigal’s father loved him constantly but the prodigal did not know and benefit from his love for as long as his attention was elsewhere.

Every one of us has needs. These needs are meant to lead us to Jesus. If you’re not getting your needs met in Jesus, you will make inferior choices – and this is where the trouble starts.

2. Does God’s grace mean I can continue to live in sin?

No. Grace brings freedom and yes, that includes the freedom to make poor choices, but if you use your freedom to enslave yourself to sin or religion, you have missed the point of grace (Gal. 5:1).

A Christian who runs after sin is like a prisoner who has been released by a gracious king, who uses his freedom to re-offend and do all the things that got him imprisoned in the first place. Now our King is extremely gracious. He won’t send you back to prison. But you may send yourself there.

Jesus didn’t give his life as your ransom just so that you run back to the clay-pits of Egypt. Egypt is history. You’ve got places to go. Move on to the Promised Land of his love.

3. Will I lose my salvation if I keep sinning?

No. Jesus is your salvation and the Holy Spirit is your eternal guarantee (2 Cor. 1:22). If sinning caused us to lose our salvation, heaven would be empty.

But the question troubles me. Religion has got us so obsessed with making heaven and avoiding hell that we’ve put life on hold.

The earth is not a waiting room for eternity. This is where Real Life begins (John 17:3).

Don’t put your life on hold by living captive to the flesh. Salvation is not there and then, but here and now.

God’s will is for you to experience heaven-on-earth today. But choose the way of sin and you’ll experience hell-on-earth.

Religion would have us frame the questions of life in terms of good and evil. “Shouldn’t we do good and avoid evil?” This is fruit from the wrong tree. It’s not that the question above is inherently bad, it just won’t lead you to the right Answer.

Grace is the antidote to the poison of sin. Now that you’ve been saved from death, stop drinking the poison. Drink from the well of his life.

4. If my salvation is secure, why can’t I keep doing what I’m doing?

Because sinning is stupid. Like texting on the freeway. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

The world will tell you that “if it feels good, do it” and “as long as it’s harming no one, what’s the problem?” These are flawed mantras. Sin carries a hefty price tag. Live from your feelings and you’ll end up enslaved to your appetites. You will be a shadow of your real self.

Understand that I am not calling you to take a vow of chastity. Following Jesus is not about starving the flesh. Following Jesus is about reckoning yourself dead to the world and allowing him to live his life through you.

“As long as it’s harming no one…”

This line usually comes from those who are fooling around. How do you know it’s not harming no one? Do you have perfect knowledge of the future? Do you know for sure that the lady you’re keeping house with is going to be your wife and not the wife of another? Will she be the mother of your children or the mother of someone else’s children?

If you are certain that she will be your wife for life, marry her. If you’re uncertain, stop playing games and man up. People too precious to fool around with.

5. I can’t help myself. I’m not sure that I could stop even if I wanted to.

That’s not a question but a declaration of unbelief in the liberating grace of God.

Perhaps you are enslaved to sin. You’re in so deep that you can’t see the sun. But that doesn’t mean you are without help and without options.

Your Maker is your Helper, and no one is beyond the reach of his transforming love and grace.

I’ve met countless people who have been changed by his grace. This happens all the time. But transformation rarely happens among those who don’t believe.

Stop playing the victim, and stop speaking lies over your life. Look to your Redeemer. Confess your true identity in Christ.

When you get up in the morning, look at yourself in the mirror and say, “I am my Father’s son and he loves me. I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. As he is in heaven, so am I in this world.”

The world will try and tell you that you are the product of your choices and behaviors, but God says you are his beloved child. Choose who you will listen to and be who you really are.

This is not the place where I talk about overcoming sin.

But beware any message that doesn’t empower you to overcome sin. Don’t listen to those who insist on “being tough on sin” and “laying down the law.” Appeals to try harder, do better, and keep your promises never lead to lasting change because they call you to rely on the flesh. Failure, guilt and condemnation are the inevitable result.

Grace is so much better. Grace is not a set of rules to follow or a whip to keep you in line.

Grace is a victorious Overcomer living his overcoming life through you.

—

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