The Offense of The Gospel

Many times people expect to hear a spectacular, jaw dropping, mystical, story that causes goosebumps when they ask about my salvation experience.

How are you today precious reader? Thank you for coming up here to read from me. I know you will be blessed. Don’t forget to share this when it blesses you.

The SIMPLICITY of the gospel of Jesus that brings salvation is what is offensive to many. The foolishness that is in accepting that such simplicity is the cure to the complexity of sin and darkness and even the world’s trouble is very offensive to many.

You see, often times, when you take your eyes off that simple “story” of the cross and try to search for something more spectacular in your salvation experience, you begin to doubt your salvation, am I right?

Of course I am. Listen, in such moments, restore your gaze to that which was offensive to your intelligence… Return to your childlikeness because if you don’t, you will find yourself adding to faith works of the flesh.

Romans 1:16-17 (KJV)
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”

God could have made salvation very difficult, you see, but He didn’t. As I often say, God gave man the easiest task he could carry out but from man’s perspective, because of his proud state, it is as though he just got the most difficult task ever. God has asked us to believe, to rest, yet man would rather expend power and display might but none of these can save him. This is offensive. It hurts his pride.

All the gospel requires you to do is believe and repent and the power to live will be poured into you… That’s all??? Like, that is it??? All my sins are gone??? This is hard to just accept so Man naturally wants to earn whatever comes to him. Even if he doesn’t get to beat his chest and say it publicly, he wants to be able to reference something he did for him to have merited the salvation. He wants to work for his salvation by sowing seeds, by paying tithes, listen to this, even by obeying the commands of God, by attending Church services, by joining the sanctuary workers, by doing all kinds of good works… why??? because a brother who is sorry for his previous life of fraud and other forms of unrighteousness is trying to earn his salvation… The simplicity of the gospel is not enough for him… It’s too simple, it’s too easy for his grave sins, in fact, it is offensive.

Oh, how good it will be for an unbeliever to read this post and be converted to Christ. However, the post is directed at the one who is already converted to Christ.

The thing about the gospel is this… Pay attention… The gospel is not just what brings you into the knowledge of Christ, who He is and what He represents, the gospel is what keeps you in Christ until you see Him face to face.

Though innocent, it is still an erroneous belief that the gospel is just that message you heard that made you answer the Preacher’s call or go out to be baptized… No sir!!! It is what you need till the very end. That same “offensive” gospel.

He is the author and the perfecter of our faith, therefore, nothing else but that gospel keeps you.

You might have escaped the first point of offense when you heard the gospel that brought you into Christ, but listen, everyday, you face the same temptation to stop resting in the grace of Jesus… You begin to think “oh Jesus has settled my soul but I gotta hustle for the body” … That’s not the gospel… The gospel is God’s entire counsel of life (not life as we know it but as He predestined and ordained it) given in a person called Jesus. This is why the Bible tells us that it is in this counsel, this gospel that the righteousness of God is revealed… Listen to this… “by faith from the beginning to the end”… From when you began to when you see Him.

As You walk this Christian walk, You will be tempted often to add and glory in your works. You will be offended by the simplicity of grace and faith. You will look at the severity of situations around you and compare with the simplicity of the gospel and you will be tempted to make a move to “support the ark from falling” by the arm of flesh… If you continue like that, if you don’t learn to remain in faith, you will not endure to the end.

Again I say, the simplicity of the gospel is offensive, I know but please, leave it like that, don’t touch it.

Thank you for joining me this week… You can say a short prayer “Lord I will learn to rest, teach me to rest.”

I’ll write to you again next week. God bless you.

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