Free The Gospel in Ten Words by Paul Ellis

not against any of these things. But
saying you must do them in order to be saved is the thin edge of a diabolical
wedge. Just look at what happens next.
    The one who responds to the evangelist’s invitation is presented
with a slightly longer list of deeds. “Now that you’re a Christian you have to
read your Bible and pray every day, join a church, and go tell others about
Jesus.” Keen to please the Lord who saved him, the new believer reads his Bible
and what does he find? More things to do; more rules to keep. He attends the
new members’ meeting at his new church and what does he get? Still more rules
and more expectations.
    Guess what, kid, it never ends.
    It’s not long before the small list becomes a big list and
suddenly following Jesus is sheer hard work. The more he learns about the
Christian life, the more he finds he must do:
     
    Here are
three keys to resisting temptation, five steps to overcoming sin, and eight
more to walking in victory. Don’t forget to pursue the spiritual disciplines,
attend the pre-dawn prayer meeting and the midnight mass. Please support these
eighteen worthwhile causes, get behind this new program, and, while you’re at
it, how about helping out with the youth group on Fridays and Sundays? On
Saturday we expect you to lend a hand with the church clean-up and we hope you
will spend your vacation time building our new prayer chapel.
     
    The new believer was told Jesus would set him free but he doesn’t
feel free at all. He feels like a worker ant toiling for the good of the
colony.
    To keep the worker ant motivated, the higher-ups will provide a
steady stream of rousing pep talks: “I would rather serve in the courts of the
Lord than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” For extra productivity they may
also crack the whip of guilt: “Look how much Jesus has done for you. What will
you do for him?” To advance whatever cause they have bought into they will
manipulate emotions, pretend to speak for God, and shame those who fail to
perform.
    And when the worker ant eventually breaks under the ungodly weight
of works, they will shoot him and toss his broken corpse outside the anthill.
“If you won’t work, you won’t eat.” So grace dies and the devil wins.
    Swallow the lie that says you must prove your salvation through
works — that
faith without self-effort is dead — and you will have fallen from
grace as hard as any Galatian. Fallen from grace does not mean fallen into sin or fallen
out of the kingdom. [29] Fallen from grace means you are trying instead of trusting. Instead of resting
in his work, you are trying to score points with yours. Whether you are working
towards justification, sanctification, or whatever, it just won’t work. Grace
cannot be earned. God does not keep score.
     

Continuing in faith
     
    The
gospel of your salvation was underwritten by the most precious commodity in the
universe; the blood of the Lamb. Jesus paid a high price for your redemption.
The problem with asking you to do anything for Jesus is that it can leave you trusting
in what you have done instead of resting in what he has done. “I turned from
sin, therefore I must be saved. I avoid wickedness, and do good works,
therefore I must be really saved.” No, no, no! That’s old covenant
thinking. It’s mixing faith in what he’s done with faith in what you’ve done.
It is setting aside grace. Jesus didn’t do most of it; he did all of it. Trust
him alone.
     
    He saved us, not
because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. (Titus 3:5a)
     
    Jesus is the author and the finisher. He doesn’t just get
you started; he completes what he began. This is why old Christians need the gospel just as much as young sinners. Grace is for
everyone. Grace saves you at the beginning and it keeps you through to the end.
This was something the Colossian Christians needed to be reminded of.
     
    So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to
live in him, rooted