The Gospel is BAD news
to the accomplished Christian, in business, ministry, politics, amateur sports, academia, whatever. It’s BAD news to the Christian good at a hobby. At parenting. At leadership in the Church. At whatever makes you feel good about yourself, worthy. The Gospel is BAD news to you, because it says your worthiness/somebodiness is filthy rags. The Gospel is BAD news to believers with something to LOSE.
The Spirit uses the Gospel to EXPOSE you to yourself, for the fraud you are. You claim to treasure Jesus and His imputed worthiness, but what you REALLY treasure, is your own worthiness. You find Jesus and His imputed worthiness UNsatisfying, and that’s why you have idols in your life, and the biggest idol of them all, is your own worthiness. Pride, not humility.
But. Once you are EXPOSED for the fraud you are, there is HOPE. Jesus came for frauds, for failures, for losers. You QUALIFY for grace, because of your failure to find contentment in Jesus and His imputed worthiness, needing NOTHing else. All else is sinking sand. This problem you have, is the leaven of the Pharisees that Jesus EXPOSED. The Pharisees imagined themselves followers of God, but they were frauds, just like you. And I.
Think I’m being extreme? Consider how you would feel about yourself, if tonight you lost EVERYthing. Job, health, relationships, home, cars, savings, bank cards, your precious reputation, and you became a single homeless person with zero friends, under a bridge. Would Jesus be enough for you? If He would, then you are no fraud. Dave and so many others are frauds. Thankfully, Jesus’ love extends to frauds.
Accomplishment/somebodiness/reputation/success is not bad, but it’s very dangerous. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees,” said Jesus.
— Dave McCarty, GospelFriendships, championing Gospel-awareness, self-awareness, and sovereignty-awareness, in hopes that the Spirit transforms us Christians to become such undone, contrite, humble, lovers of Jesus and others, that the seculars around us want what we have
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