Saturday, January 28, 2012

Do and Done

Do and Done?


What up with that you ask? And why am I posting about it?


I'm glad you asked.


Let's get the definitions for these words.


Do: to perform (to act)


Done: past participle of do(in other words, performed)

People think that they have to do all this stuff.
Churches tend to tell their people 'you must do this in order for Jesus to like you.' So you follow this long list of rules, do good things, and hope that Jesus will see you as a good person. You fill out your checklist and boom, you're a good Christian. Much better than so-and-so who only did this or forgot to read their Bible for 5 hours today. You are the poster-perfect Christian.

You may think that all this stuff you do makes you this. Makes Jesus love you more and so you become buddy-buddy with Him. You are higher up on the scale.

Nope.

Now don't get me wrong, this stuff is good. reading your Bible will help your relationship with God and doing good things opens doors to share the Gospel, but they won't help Jesus love you more.

Like this guy, my pastor, said in a sermon series he did on the gospel, "In Christ, there is nothing I could do to make You[Jesus] love me more; nothing I have done that makes You love me less."

There is nothing, nothing, that you and I can do to make Jesus love us more. He already loves us so much. So much, He died on the Cross for our sins, for our wretched souls. He loves us that much.

Jesus DID so we DON'T.

Religion, that checklist? Yeah, that says DO. Do this, do that, you'll earn Jesus' approval.
Jesus, the Son of God Who died on a tree, He says DONE.

'Jesus + Nothing = Everything' - Tullian Tchividjian

Not Jesus plus this or that. Jesus is it. He is everything.

Religion says do.
The gospel says done.

"Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."' John 14:6a 

~tJf~