The Gospel or Good News about Jesus Christ is that God is inviting everyone to the wedding (spiritual union) of Jesus (the bridegroom) and the Bride (the church). Jesus makes it very that we cannot be accepted if we come with our own sense of SELF-RIGHTeousness, goodness or religion. (Matthew 22 1-14)
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. (Romans 1:16-17, KJV)
Many people think God is only love, however there are more references to God’s justice, righteousness and goodness in the Bible than His love. God’s glory is the sum of all His attributes, who He is. God is love, but also righteous, good, wise, just and perfect. Every mention of the love of God that you find in the Bible is directed either to God in praise or to believers in fellowship.
We cannot just claim God is love without His righteousness. Righteousness is simply a continued act of right thinking and right living. Man-made religion attempts to justify man’s own goodness by reasoning that man can by their own thoughts and works be right apart from God.
This is what God is really like: He is absolutely perfect, good, can never do anything wrong, and will one day punish and banish all evil from the universe. This is good news.
The Gospel absolutely more about God’s righteousness than just God’s love. In fact, you will find that wherever the Gospel was preached in the New Testament, it was more about God’s righteousness than just about God’s love. It’s true that God does love the world, but demonstrated His love once by giving His one and only Son to die on the cross for our sins, justifying many (John 3:16). It is righteous for God to forgive our sin through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, but also for us to not just believe in this but also receive forgiveness by repentance from our sin.
God ultimately deserves our respect, reverence. Excluding God’s righteousness and justice from God’s love produces a water-down gospel and life. You cannot have God’s love without God’s justice and righteousness. Righteousness demands justice, repentance, obedience. The New Testament says Let Us worship God with awe and reverence for our God is a raging fire.
For our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:29, KJV)
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13, KJV)
The word God’s Love, “Agape” is always an active word, something is always done. You do it to people you do not like, to people who are your enemies, to people who hate you. This is the highest love among humans. Agape reaches out to the unlovely, to the ungrateful, to the hateful, horrible, unattractive. When men are helpless and in desperate need, then Agape is a reaction to that situation which transforms itself into action. This is the sort of love God has, and that is why every mention of God’s love is linked to the cross. If you tell unbelievers that God loves you, they will assume that they are attractive in their state of sin and self-righteousness and do not need to turn from themselves and change. Love and forgiveness belong together.
The incredible paradox of God’s righteousness, holiness binded with His love, mercy and justice is that God was pleased to kill His own Son, Jesus Christ, while we did not even love God!
Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hat0h put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. (Isaiah 53:10, KJV)
God loves those who fear (tremble/vibrate) Him. God loves those who keep his commands (Word) in their heart. How can we say to unbelievers that God is Agape Love when He was pleased to crush His own son and expect our all? It is His sheer goodness! So should we not actually be talking to the world about the goodness of God?
People today think goodness is relative and that anything that feels good is good. However, this is the exact opposite of how God defines goodness.
This all simply proves that God is Good! Trustworthy! We can and should trust God even in suffering, this is proof of God’s love and righteousness! You see, God’s ways and thoughts are always higher and better than man’s own religious understanding.
The Gospel is an offer – but not just of forgiveness, for that is only a beginning. It is an offer of righteousness; it is an offer of making bad people into good people, sinners into saints. It is a double exchange, God forgives me and gives me His righteousness (I can never earn it), but I give Him my life in faith and obedience.
Give God your sins and take His righteousness! Most of all our sins are just not trusting in God even in the face of suffering. Trust God, receive His righteousness, forgiveness, give up your own selfish righteousness. Ask God for help with this. Put on Jesus Christ, be clothed with Christ.
Source: The God and the Gospel of Righteousness by David Pawson
