Most people think Christianity is about moral rule-following.
"Don't drink, cuss, or chew or run with girls who do."
But Jesus looked at the most moral religious leaders in the world and said, "The prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God before you" (Mat. 21:31).
Wait. What?
How can a prostitute enter God's kingdom before a priest? Jesus explains in the next verse:
"For John came to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him" (Mat. 21:32).
Prostitutes were entering the kingdom of God before priests because they believed John's message and the priests did not.
OK, so what was John's message?
John summarizes it with one verse: "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (Jn. 1:29).
According to John, the way of righteousness, the way to God, is not through a code of ethics, but through a person.
You see, Christianity says that all of us, priests and prostitutes, have a morality problem; a sin problem (Rom. 3:10). In various ways we have all rejected and rebelled against our Creator. No one merits salvation. No one climbs the ladder. No one follows the rules. No one gets to God through moral effort.
So, since we couldn't get to God, two thousand years ago in a manger in Bethlehem, God came to us. Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, came to solve our sin problem.
"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Tim. 1:15).
Though we rightly deserve punishment for our sin and rebellion against God, Jesus took our punishment for us, in our place, on the cross. And through his death and resurrection, salvation comes to every person the same way: by grace, through faith, in Christ (Eph. 2:8).
God's solution for our inability to follow the rules is not more rules, it's grace! The grace found at the cross of Christ.
Literally anybody can get in on this.
If you're a prostitute, a drug dealer, a murderer, a liar, a whatever, you can easily enter God's kingdom before many preachers. How? Not by good works, but through faith in Jesus' good works (1 Cor. 15:1-5).
This is the gospel. This is Christianity. It's not a morality project, it's a grace project.
Sadly, many Christians don't grasp the power of this gospel for their lives. They think the gospel is used to "get people saved,” and then after a person becomes a Christian, they can move on from the gospel. But the apostles explicitly warned against that. According to them, a Christian should never move on from the gospel of grace:
"Do not move from the hope held out in the gospel" (Col. 1:23).
“Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 3:18).
Obviously, salvation is one incredible benefit of the gospel. But there are many more benefits after a person becomes a Christian! Grace is vital for salvation and discipleship.
Three examples:
1. The Gospel Provides Balance
The gospel gives me balance between two extremes: On one hand, while my sins make me insecure and crush my spirit, the gospel reminds me that I’m loved and forgiven (Rom. 5:8). On the other hand, while my "successes" and good works inflate my ego, the gospel, reminds me that I’m loved and accepted by grace, not my works (Eph. 2:8-9). The gospel takes my head out of the clouds and my heart out of the gutter.
2. The Gospel Provides Confidence
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). Notice, Paul is not presenting the gospel itself but something that is true “now” because of the gospel. He's explaining one of the gospel's benefits, and it is stunning! Because Jesus took my sin on the cross, I am totally free from the guilt and shame that sin brings. Now I can stand confidently before God, knowing that even though I still sin, God fully loves and accepts me in Christ.
"In [Christ] and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence" (Eph. 3:12).
3. The Gospel Provides Rest
Everywhere I turn I'm being told I'm not doing enough. Even the most genuine Christians and well-meaning pastors are (at least implicitly) saying I'm not reading my Bible enough, I'm not loving my neighbor enough, I'm not praying enough, I'm not giving enough, I'm not serving enough, etc. But when is "enough" enough? And whose standard of "enough" am I supposed to use? It's confusing and stressful.
But the gospel floods my anxious soul with rest because I'm reminded that Jesus' message to me is not "Do better! Try harder!" but "It is finished."
As it turns out, Jesus is enough. He's done all the work. He's checked all the boxes.
"Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Mat. 11:28).