Gnostic Writing Excerpts that Don't Suck

I'm not saying these are true quotes or true accounts but I wondered if there were some truths that could be culled from these as there is from any book today. Most of these writings are crap or nonsense. Some easily show you the exact teachings John was writing against in 1 John. If you're not looking to understand the Gnostics don't bother reading these because below are the only good things I could find. Don't think, "Boy there are some wise, graceful things here. Maybe I should check these writings out" because I assure you these are the only wise, graceful things I've found in these writings. Brackets denote paraphrasing or changes made by me. All sub-bullets are notes by me.

From The Apocryphon of John:

• Be not afraid. I am with you all always.
• A saved soul receives eternal rest.
• I am the providence of everything. I became like my own human children.
• I completed everything and you have heard it.

From The Gospel of Mary:

• Beware that no one lead you astray saying look here or look there! For the Son of Man is within you.
• Do not give a law like the lawgiver lest you be constrained by it.

From The Sophia of Jesus:

• The Father is unchanging good. He is faultless. He is eternal. He is blessed. He is immeasurable. He is perfect, having no defect.
• God is full of ever-imperishable glory and ineffable joy. His people are at rest in him, ever rejoicing in ineffable joy in his unchanging glory and measureless jubilation.
• They ever delight themselves on account of their unchanging glory and the immeasurable rest.
• I came here that you might be joined with that Spirit and Breath, and might from two become one, that you might yield much fruit and go up to Him Who Is from the Beginning, in ineffable joy and glory and honor and grace of the Father.
• Those who have the untraceable wealth of the Spirit may take from his goodness, even the wealth of their rest.
• I came to remove them from their blindness, that I might tell everyone about God.

From The Gospel of Thomas:

• The treasures of God are unfailing and enduring.
• The one who lives from the living one will not see death.
• His disciples said to him, "When will the kingdom come?" Jesus said, "It will not come by waiting for it. It will not be a matter of saying 'here it is' or 'there it is.' Rather, the kingdom of the father is spread out upon the earth, and men do not see it."
• Jesus said, "The kingdom of the father is like a certain woman who was carrying a jar full of meal. While she was walking on the road, still some distance from home, the handle of the jar broke and the meal emptied out behind her on the road. She did not realize it; she had noticed no accident. When she reached her house, she set the jar down and found it empty."
• The parable of the empty jar from the Gospel of Thomas strikes me as a true teaching of Jesus that found its way into the gnostic writings.
• My Interpretation:  The meal is sin. Home is heaven. This refers to Jesus taking away our sins here on earth but the majority of us do not realize that they are gone. When we get to heaven all of us will find that our sins had been emptied out. This does fit the experience of the kingdom for most Christians. Many of us think we are taking the meal (sin) home (to heaven) & will be judged for it but we do not realize Jesus has already removed our sins from us.

From The Gospel of Truth:

• The established truth of Jesus as the Savior is unchanging, unperturbed and completely beautiful.
• Jesus is the expression of God's desires.
• The Son reveals the Father so that through the compassion of the Father people may know him & end their wearying search for the Father and rest themselves in him, knowing that He is rest.
• When you are unified with the Father you are complete. Those who do not know the Father are incomplete but when they know the Father, incompleteness, from that moment on, will cease to exist. As one's ignorance disappears when he gains knowledge, and as darkness disappears when light appears, so also incompleteness is eliminated by completeness. You understand yourself when you understand your unity with the Father.
• Say in your heart that you are [in] this perfect heavenly day of salvation, rest, & endless light. Say in your heart that in you the light which does not fail dwells.
• Make sure-footed those who stumble and stretch forth your hands to the sick. Nourish the hungry and set at ease those who are troubled. Foster men who love. Raise up and awaken those who sleep.
• Do not be concerned with that which you have cast forth from yourselves, that which you have dismissed [sin]. Do not return to them to eat them. Do not be moth-eaten. Do not be worm-eaten, for you have already shaken it off. Do not be a place of the devil, for you have already destroyed him. Do not strengthen your last obstacles.
• The Father is sweet and his desires are good. He knows the things that are yours, so that you may rest yourselves in them.
• God came and destroyed the division and he brought love.
• They have not been deprived of the glory of the Father nor have they thought of Him as small, nor bitter, nor angry, but as absolutely good, unperturbed, & sweet.
• They rest in him who rests, without wearying themselves. The Father is in them, and they are in the Father, since they are perfect, inseparable from him who is truly good. They lack nothing in any way, but they are given rest and are refreshed by the Spirit.
• The Father is good and his children are perfect and worthy of his name, because he is their Father.

From The Gospel According to Philip:

• The son is not only a son but lays claim to the inheritance of the father. The dead are heirs to nothing. For how can he who is dead inherit?
• He who has believed in the truth has found life.
• Jesus said "He who shall not eat my flesh and drink my blood has not life in him." What is it? His flesh is the word, and his blood is the Holy Spirit. He who has received these has food and he has drink and clothing.
• This is an interesting possibility.
• Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the removal of sins." (Matthew 26:26-28)
• Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).
• Do not get drunk with wine but be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)
• The father makes a son, and the son has not the power to make a son. For he who has been begotten has not the power to beget, but the son gets brothers for himself, not sons.
• Faith receives, love gives. No one will be able to receive without faith. No one will be able to give without love.
• When the pearl is cast down into the mud, it becomes greatly despised but it always has value in the eyes of its owner. Compare the Sons of God: wherever they may be, they still have value in the eyes of their Father.
• An ass which turns a millstone did a hundred miles walking. When it was loosed, it found that it was still at the same place. There are men who make many journeys, but make no progress towards any destination.
• [You are all equally loved but do not see it]. When a blind man and one who sees are both together in darkness, they are no different from one another. When the light comes, then he who sees will see the light, and he who is blind will remain in darkness.
• When you have knowledge of God's love you will see it as it is & rejoice but when you have an inaccurate view of who God is & how He loves you you will not recognize His love even while it is being poured out on you or in you.
• If you fear the flesh it will gain mastery over you.
• Through the Holy Spirit we are indeed begotten. We are anointed through the Spirit. When we were begotten, we were united.
• Adam's separation became the beginning of death. Because of this, Christ came to repair the separation, which was from the beginning, and to give life to those who died as a result of the separation, and unite them [to Himself].
• Men make gods and worship their creation. It would be more fitting for those gods to worship men!
• To those who so desired, Jesus gave life, that they might not die.
• The law was the tree of knowledge. It has power to give the knowledge of good and evil. It neither removes from evil, nor does it set men in the good, but it creates death for those who eat of it.
• These are the ones which will not be able to rise above the heart of flesh. If they do not know themselves they will not enjoy what they possess. But those who have come to know themselves will enjoy their possessions.
• [Those who are better at abstaining from sin] become arrogant. Even their knowledge gives them a sense of superiority over the whole world. But "Love builds up." Those who are really freed through the truth are willing to live as slaves because of their love for those who have not yet been freed by the truth.
• Spiritual love is [like a] fragrance. All those who love take pleasure in it. Those who are nearby also profit from their love. [Love those who are nearby & they shall be able to love as well because] love heals wounds.
• Knowledge is the light through which we ripen.
• It is not proper to cause anyone distress - whether the person is great or small, unbeliever or believer - and then give comfort only to those who take satisfaction in good deeds. Some find it advantageous to give comfort [only] to the one who has fared well.
• Truth is stronger than ignorance and error. It gives freedom. The Word said, "If you know the truth, the truth will make you free." Ignorance is a slave. Knowledge is freedom. If we know the truth, we shall find the fruits of the truth within us.

From The Book of Thomas the Contender:

• Since you are called my brother learn who you are, in what way you exist. It is not fitting that you be ignorant of yourself.
• Blessed is the wise man who sought after the truth, and when he found it, he rested upon it forever and was unafraid of those who wanted to disturb him.
• It is useful & good for you to rest.
• Their mind is directed to their own selves, for their thought is occupied with their deeds.

From The Apocryphon of James:

• I came down to dwell with you, so that you in turn might dwell with me.
• You are the beloved; you are they who will be the cause of life in many.
• Rejoice, and be glad, as sons of God.
• For your sakes I placed myself under the curse of the law, that you may be saved.

From The Letter of Peter to Philip:

• Why are you asking me to hear you? I am Jesus Christ who is with you forever.
• Be not afraid, I am with you forever.
• Our Lord Jesus Christ is the author of our rest.

From The Prayer of the Apostle Paul:
You are my treasure house open for me!

From The Prayer of Thanksgiving:
From the Father to everyone and everything comes the fatherly kindness and affection and love, and any teaching there may be that is sweet and plain


From The Treatise on the Resurrection:

• We have received rest through our Savior, our Lord Christ. We received it when we came to know the truth and rested ourselves upon it.
• We have known the Son of Man, and we have believed that he rose from among the dead. This is he of whom we say, "He became the destruction of death, as he is a great one in whom they believe." Great are those who believe.
• The mind of those who have known him shall not perish.
• We have received salvation from end to end. Let us think in this way! Let us comprehend in this way!
• The resurrection is the truth which stands firm. It is the revelation of what is, and the transformation of things, and a transition into newness. For imperishability descends upon the perishable; the light flows down upon the darkness, swallowing it up. Why not consider yourself as risen and already brought to this?
• Do not be jealous of anyone who is in your number when he is able to help.

From The Exegesis on the Soul:

• It is by being born again that [lives] will be saved. And this is due not to rote phrases or to professional skills or to book learning. Rather it is the grace & gift of the [Father].
• The Father is good and loves humanity, and he hears the soul that calls upon him and sends it the light of salvation.
• He is long suffering and abundantly merciful.

From The Testimony of Truth:

• Many have sought after the truth and have not been able to find it; because there has taken hold of them the old leaven of the Pharisees and the scribes of the Law. For no one who is under the Law will be able to look up to the truth, for they will not be able to serve two masters.
• For one who is in ignorance, it is difficult for him to diminish his works of darkness which he has done.
• The foolish - thinking in their heart that if they confess, "We are Christians," in word only (but) not with power, while giving themselves over to ignorance, not knowing where they are going nor who Christ is, thinking that they will live, when they are (really) in error - hasten towards the principalities and authorities. They fall into their clutches because of the ignorance that is in them.
• This is the thought that they have within them: "If we deliver ourselves over to death for the sake of the Name we will be saved." These matters are not settled in this way.
• This is the perfect life, that man know himself by means of the All.
• We have been released from the flesh.
• He who has found the life-giving word, and he who has come to know the Father of Truth, has come to rest; he has ceased seeking, having found.
• A free man is not envious.

From Eugnostos the Blessed:

• The Father is unchanging good. He is faultless. He is everlasting.
• The Father is ever full of ineffable joy. They are all at rest in him, ever rejoicing in ineffable joy, over the unchanging glory and the measureless jubilation of the Father.
• The kingdom of the Son of Man is full of ineffable joy and unchanging jubilation, ever rejoicing in ineffable joy over their imperishable glory.
• They ever delight themselves on account of their glory that does not change, and the rest that is not measured.
• He will speak all these things to you joyously and in pure knowledge.

From The Secret Gospel of Mark:
We are children of Light having been illuminated by the dawn of the Spirit of the Lord from on high, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty for all things are pure to the pure.

From The Living Gospel:
The Savior Jesus [is] the head (source) of all these gifts. May he be praised!

From Second Treatise of the Great Seth:

• They put on the new man since they have come to know that perfect Blessed One of the eternal Father, which is I. I came to my own and united them with myself.
• We were hated and persecuted, not only by those who are ignorant, but also by those who think that they are advancing the name of Christ, since they were not knowing who they are. They persecuted those who have been liberated by [Christ]. They weep & groan because they did not fully know [Christ]. Instead, they served two masters, even a multitude.
• We are innocent, pure, & good.
• They have bruised the noble pleasure of the Assembly because they revealed a mixture of ignorance in a counterfeit since they are untaught & have not understood that light [God] has fellowship with light [children of light]. They made an imitation of truth, having proclaimed a doctrine of lies so as to resemble the freedom and purity of the perfect Assembly. It was ludicrous. It is I who bear witness that it was ludicrous. They join themselves with their doctrine to fear and slavery and worldly cares. [They see themselves] as small. They hate the One in whom they are, and love the one in whom they are not. For they do not know the knowledge of the greatness that it is from above and from a fountain of truth, and that it is not from slavery & fear. They freely use the [laws] which are not theirs. They desire a law from themselves over whatever they will wish.
  
  They lead astray those who possess the truth of their freedom. They buy them for servitude & constrain them by cares and fears. Yet they are in slavery themselves. But he who is brought by constraint of force and threat has [still] been guarded by God. Those who are from Him [always] belong to Him. He has made them perfect through the living water. They are perfect & worthy & established & united with Christ. There is no enmity [between them & God but the offer] of good friendship. O those who do not see, you do not see your blindness. The blind ones are always being slaves of law and earthly fear. He who lives in harmony and friendship of brotherly love, naturally and not artificially, this person is truly the desire of the Father who is perfect love.
• This has some interesting & exact language that can apply to Christians & Christian leaders who live under law, how they treat those who are under grace, & how God loves & values both groups regardless. I've gussied it up a little by light editing, reordering, & paraphrasing. So don't go thinking the Gnostics were persecuted grace people. This same document denies Jesus' death & other terrible things.
• I accomplish everything through the Good One.
• Through our fellowship we grasped his teaching.
• He is life & perfect Truth, since he came from the Father. The Father is the union of peace and a friend of good things, and life eternal and undefiled joy. [We know Him by] a great harmony of life and faith.
• [Your union with God will be a] joyful union [when you trust that He] is trustworthy and [you] faithfully listen to [Him].
• The Father is in fatherhood and motherhood and brotherhood and sisterhood and wisdom.
• Union, peace, & love are perfected in Christ.
• They have been blended into the one through the Living Word.
• I am in the spirit and the truth of motherhood.
• I am among those who are united in the friendship of friends forever, who neither know hostility at all, nor evil, but who are united by my knowledge in word and peace. These are in friendship with each other in the spirit.
• All these are from a single Spirit.
• You are perfect and incorruptible ones because [you are born] of the incorruptible and perfect One.
• Present the knowledge of incorruption from the spiritual union. [If you] do not know it, [it is] because the fleshly cloud overshadows [your mind].
• The bosom of the Father is the place of the sons of the Truth. Rest then with me in His bosom, my fellow spirits and my brothers, forever.

From The Three Steles of Seth:

• You have saved, you have saved, you have saved us, O crown-bearer, crown-giver! We bless you eternally. We are perfect on account of you. We became perfect with you who is complete, who completes. You are Perfect! You are Perfect! You are Perfect!
• You have empowered the eternal ones in being; You have empowered divinity in living; You have empowered knowledge in goodness.
• You have come forth to these and from these.
• Salvation has come to us; from you is salvation. You are wisdom, You are knowledge; You are truthfulness. On account of You is life; from You is life.
• Unite us as You have been united. Teach us those things which You do see.
• You have heard! You have heard! You have saved! You have saved! We give thanks! We bless You always! We shall glorify You!
• We bless You Father of divinity and life, creator of mind, giver of good, giver of blessedness!
• We bless You because we were saved. Always we glorify You. We have blessed You, for we are empowered.

From The Teachings of Silvanus:

• Do not flee from the divine and the teaching which are within you, for He who is teaching you loves you very much.
• Cast your anxiety upon God alone.
• A foolish man puts on shame like a garment of sorrow.
• [Partake in] your divine nature. Regard Christ, this true friend, as a good teacher.
• God, the holy Father, the true Life, the Spring of Life
• The divine which is within you will purify you & make you become self-controlled in your soul and body. He will give you a great light & you will become a throne of wisdom.
• Know your birth. Know yourself.
• The created, however, is the [spirit], which has come into being in [the likeness of] the image of God. Live according to the [spirit]. Do not think about things pertaining to the flesh. Acquire strength, for the [spirit] is strong.
• The Adversary comes as a true friend, saying, "I advise good things for you." But you did not recognize the deceitfulness of this one when you received him as a true friend. For he casts into your heart evil thoughts as good ones, and hypocrisy in the guise of true wisdom, eagerness in the guise of conservative frugality, boastfulness and pride in the guise of great self-control, and godlessness as great godliness. And he casts false knowledge into your heart in the guise of mysterious words. My son, how will you be able to comprehend the schemes of this one, or his soul-killing counsel? For his devices, and the schemes of his wickedness, are many.
  
  Accept Christ, who is able to set you free, and who has taken on the devices of that one, so that through these he might destroy him. For this is the king whom you have who is forever invincible, against whom no one will be able to fight nor say a word. This is your king and your father, for there is no one like him. The divine teacher is with you always. He is a helper, and he meets you because of the good which is in you.
• A wise man does not blurt out every word, but he will be discerning toward those who hear.
• Entrust yourself to God as father and as friend.
• Christ is the true light and the sun of life. For just as the sun which is visible and makes light for the eyes of the flesh, so Christ illuminates every mind and the heart.
• Do not think in your heart that God exists in a place. If you localize the Lord of all in a place, then it is fitting for you to say that the place is more exalted than he who dwells in it. For that which contains is more exalted than that which is contained.
• It is necessary to know God as he is. You cannot know God through anyone except Christ, who has the image of the Father, for this image reveals the true likeness in correspondence to that which is revealed.
• Indeed, it is good to ask and to know who God is.
• He who is in darkness will not be able to see anything unless he receives the light.
• Do not cease walking in the way of Christ. Walk in it so that you may receive rest from your labors. If you walk in another way, there will be no profit in it.
• You [are] a temple, (but) you have made yourself [out to be] a tomb. Cease being a tomb, and [know that you are] a temple, [Behold] uprightness and divinity remain in you.
• The Tree of Life is Christ. He is Wisdom. For he is Wisdom; he is also the Word. He is the Life, the Power, and the Door. He is the Light, the Messenger, and the Good Shepherd. Entrust yourself to this one who became all for your sake.
• The Life died for you when he was powerless, so that through his death, he might give life to you who have died.
• Give yourself gladness from the true vine of Christ.
• Do not pierce yourself with the sword of sin. Do not burn yourself with the fire of lust. Do not surrender yourself to barbarians like a prisoner, nor to savage beasts which want to trample upon you. For they are as lions which roar very loudly.
• The [spirit] which is a member of God's household is one which is kept pure, and the [spirit] which has put on Christ is one which is pure. It is impossible for it to sin. Now where Christ is, there sin is idle.
• Let Christ bring to naught all powers which have come upon you.
• Know who Christ is, and acquire him as a friend, for this is the friend who is faithful. He is also God and Teacher. This one, being God, became man for your sake. It is this one who broke the iron bars of the Underworld, and the bronze bolts. It is this one who attacked and cast down every haughty tyrant. It is he who loosened from himself the chains of which he had taken hold. He brought up the poor from the Abyss and the mourners from the Underworld. It is he who humbled the haughty powers; he who put to shame haughtiness through humility; he who has cast down the strong and the boaster through weakness, so that humility for God's sake might be highly exalted; (and) he who has put on humanity.
• God bears patiently with man always.
• Christ has exalted man to become like God, not in order that he might bring God down to man, but that man might become like God.
• The Life of Heaven wishes to renew all, that he may cast out that which is weak that everyone may shine forth in heavenly garments in order to make manifest the command of the Father (who) is exceedingly brilliant, and that Christ may crown those wishing to contend well. Christ, being judge of the contest, is he who crowned every one, teaching every one to contend. This one who contended first received the crown, gained dominion, and appeared, giving light to everyone. And all are made new through the Holy Spirit.
• O Lord Almighty, how much glory shall I give Thee? No one has been able to glorify God adequately. It is You who have given glory to Your Word (Son) in order to save everyone, O Merciful God.
• Christ is illuminates the power of God, and he is an emanation of the pure glory of the Almighty. He is the spotless mirror of the working of God, and he is the image of his goodness. He is the eye which looks at the invisible Father, always serving and forming by the Father's will. He alone was begotten by the Father's good pleasure. He is Wisdom and Life. He gives life to, and nourishes, all living things and powers. For he is the beginning and the end, watching over all. He is troubled on behalf of everyone, and he rejoices and also mourns.
• Raise yourself up when you have left your old man behind like an eagle.
• O this patience of God, which bears with every one, which desires that every one who has become subject to sin be saved!
• For God does not need to put any man to the test. He knows things before they happen, and he knows the hidden things of the heart.
• Open the door for yourself, that you may know the One who is. For he is the Ruler of Faith and the Sharp Sword, having become all for everyone because he wishes to have compassion on everyone.
• If you have Christ, you will conquer this entire world.
• Do not wish to acquire honors which are insecure, nor the boastfulness which brings you to ruin.
• Accept the wisdom of Christ, (who is) patient and mild, and guard this, O my son, knowing that God's way is always profitable.

From The Gospel of Judas:  Nothing worth keeping
From The Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles:  Nothing worth keeping
From The Apocalypse of Paul:  Nothing worth keeping
From The Thought of Norea:  Nothing worth keeping

From The Apocalypse of Peter:

• Those who oppose the truth & are the messengers of error will set up their error and their law against the pure thoughts of God, thinking that good and evil are from one source. They do business in my word and what they spread will result in harsh outcomes.
• I ransomed them from the slavery in which they were to give them freedom.
• They think they are in the spiritual fellowship of those united [by Christ's death & life]. But instead they are in the imitation. Where [brothers] oppress their brothers.
• There shall be others of those who are outside our number who name themselves bishop and also ministers, as if they have received their authority from God. People will bend themselves under the judgment of [these] leaders.
• There are multitudes that will mislead other multitudes of living ones, and destroy them among themselves. And when they speak your name they will be believed.
• This is a picture of all of church history. On the violent side like the Catholics killed those who opposed them for centuries & the protestants killed those such as the anabaptists.
• All that is needed is for people to speak (in) God's name & others will follow them regardless of how ungodly they lead.
• In proportion to their lies they will rule over the little ones.
• He whom you saw on the tree, glad and laughing, this is the living Jesus.
• He whom they crucified is the first-born. He stands joyfully looking at those who did him violence
• Be courageous and do not fear at all. For I shall be with you in order that none of your enemies may prevail unto you. Peace be to you, Be strong!

From The First Apocalypse of James:

• For you descended into a great ignorance, but you have not been defiled by anything in it. You walked in mud, and your garments were not soiled.
• Now since you are a just man of God, you have embraced me and kissed me. Truly I say to you that you have stirred up great anger and wrath against yourself [from men].
• They seize people & sit there as toll collectors. Not only do they demand toll, but they also take away souls by theft.
• A just man will perish through injustice.

From The Second Apocalypse of James:

• This Lord who is present came as a son who sees.
• I hasten to make them free and want to take them to the Father who wants them.
• I am the beloved. I am the righteous one. I am the son of the Father. I speak even as I heard.
• Understand and know the Father who has compassion.
• I tell you judges, you have been judged. And you did not spare, but you were spared.
• Renounce the difficult way, which is so variable, and walk in accordance with Him who desires that you become free men. God will not judge you for those things that you did, but will have mercy on you. He is not a wrathful one, He is a kind Father. But you have judged yourselves, and because of this you will remain in chains. You have oppressed yourselves [thus] you will repent but it will be of no benefit to you at all.
• When you judge yourself & oppress yourself you put chains on yourself, keeping you from experiencing the freedom God wants you to have. In this bound state repenting (trying to sin less/turning from sins) never works out. That was my experience before I saw the freedom God had given me. I would repent for the same things pretty well every day & nothing ever improved. It didn't benefit me because I was judging myself as a sinner struggling in chains instead of knowing God had removed the real chains long ago. The idea of repentance that I grew up with was "feel really bad (ashamed) & promise God I'll never perform that particular action again." It wasn't just of no benefit, it was also additional self-oppression because I was relying on my performance & promises instead of God's on my behalf.
• I am the Just One. I do not act as your master but I act as your helper.
• My God and my Father saved me from dead hope & made me alive.
• Love is alive in me.
• I trusted in you with all my strength, because you are the life of the life!
• Because I am alive in you, your grace is alive in me.

From The Infancy Gospel of Thomas:
Let those bear fruit that were barren and let them see that were blind in heart.

From The Acts of Paul and Thecla:

• Paul's companions Demas & Hermogenes were then full of hypocrisy. But Paul looked only at the goodness of God and did them no harm, but loved them greatly.
• We arose again when we came to the knowledge of God.
• God stands in need of nothing but the salvation of his creatures. He wants to reclaim them from their corruptions, from sin & death.
• Jesus Christ the Son of God alone is the way to eternal salvation and the foundation of eternal life. He is a refuge to those who are in distress, a support to the afflicted, a hope and defense to those who are hopeless, and in a word, all those who do not trust on him shall not live, but suffer eternal death.

From The Gospel of Nicodemus (aka Acts of Pilate):

• They which speak the truth are judged by them that have authority upon earth.
• Blessed be the Lord God, who has redeemed Israel from shedding [the] innocent blood [of Jesus].
• The most beloved Son of God will come upon the earth to raise up the body of Adam and the bodies of the dead. He shall anoint with the oil of lovingkindness all that trust him, and that oil of lovingkindness shall be unto all generations of them that shall be born of water and of the Holy Ghost, unto life eternal.
• Satan the prince of death said, "Jesus has much been mine enemy, doing me great hurt, and many that I had made blind, lame, dumb, leprous, and possessed He has healed with a word: and some whom I have brought to death, them he has taken away."
• Jesus who was able to raise the dead is God, strong in command and mighty. He is the saviour of mankind. He will set free all that are shut up in the hard prison and bound in the chains of their sins that cannot be broken, and will bring them unto the life of his God forever.
• The Lord looked down from heaven that he might hear the groanings of them that are in fetters and deliver the children of them that have been slain.
• The Lord of majesty appeared in the form of a man and lightened the eternal darkness and broke the bonds that could not be loosed: and the help of his everlasting power came to us that sat in the deep darkness of our transgressions and in the shadow of death of our sins.
• In majesty unblemished Jesus in wrath condemned the power of Satan.
• Jesus, so great and so small, both humble and exalted, both soldier and commander, a marvelous warrior in the shape of a bondsman, and a King of glory who bore the cross & was slain upon it.
• Jesus sets free the prisoners that are held bound by original sin and restores them into liberty. Jesus sheds his divine & bright light upon them that were blinded with the darkness of their sins.
• The world of earth has been always subject unto death & sin until Jesus. By His death on the cross He tries to take all men out of the bonds of sin [& give them His life].
• The King of glory in His majesty trampled death & drew mankind to Himself, unto His own brightness.
• Jesus made all the darkness of death flee by the brightness of his majesty & has broken the strong depths of the prisons, and let out the prisoners and loosed them that were bound. And all that were sighing in torment do rejoice. The captives which never could be joyful now threaten the powers of darkness.
• From the beginning until this day they have despaired of life and salvation, BUT NOW none of their usual roarings are heard, neither do any groan, nor is there any sign of tears upon the face of any of them.
• O Satan, the riches which you had gained by the tree of transgression and the losing of paradise, you have lost by the tree of the cross, and all your gladness has perished.
• Satan is the author of death and head of all pride.
• Satan [has been given over to eternal torture] in the stead of Adam and his children.
• The Lord stretching forth his hand, said, "Come unto me, all my holy children which bear my image and my likeness. You that by the tree and the devil and death were condemned, behold now the devil and death condemned by the tree."
• Life is in the Lord's good pleasure.
• O Lord, you have set the name of your glory in the heavens and set up your cross for proof of redemption upon the earth.
• The Lord has made known his saving health, before the face of all nations has he revealed his righteousness.
• God is the Lord and has showed us light. Amen, Alleluia.
• What God is like you, O Lord, taking away iniquity and removing sins? And now you withhold your wrath for a testimony that your are merciful of free will, and you do have mercy on us, your remove all our iniquities and have sunk all our sins in the depths of the sea, as you swore unto our fathers in the days of old.
• All the saints said, "This is our God for ever and ever, he shall be our guide. Amen, Alleluia."
• He brought them all into the glory and beauty (grace) of paradise.
• Blessed be the Lord Almighty, the Father of eternal good things, the Father of mercies, you that has given such grace unto sinners & has brought them again into the beauty of paradise & into your good pastures.

The main problems with the gnostic writings I read are 1. They often depersonify God making him into an incomprehensible thing rather than a loving Father to relate to. 2. They create the idea that certain people are superior to others. 3. They are filled with non-sense with Jesus speaking about things & in such a way that we never see Him speak of elsewhere nor do we see the writers of the NT speak of such things. They support each other some but they find no support in the letters of the NT. 4. Its religious fan-fiction play time. Except for the fact that some narratives have Jesus giving out the information most of these purely resemble man made mythology.

On the plus side they seemed to grasp the idea of spiritual union with God & God's people being created perfect from their rebirth (spiritual identity), something taught by John & Paul yet almost absent from all of Christianity today. They also emphasized resting in God.

The Gospel Without Repentance

It seems to me that Christians publicly speaking against what they consider to be sin actually makes people less likely to come to trust in God. The gospel, the good news is that God isn't holding the world's sins against them (2 Corinthians 5:19).

Many Christians say, "God hates you because of your sin. You need to turn from your sin so He will forgive you."
The gospel says, "God holds nothing against you, just trust in Him to receive His love & His life."

Repent does not mean "turn from sin" in the New Testament, it is a mistranslation. The word repent does not belong in the New Testament. Instead of repent it should be translated as "change your mind."

When the bible says, "the sins of the world are taken away" that means the spiritual barrier of sin has been removed, the law is over, & God holds nothing you've done against you.

Forgive is also a mistranslation, for God to "forgive you" does not mean "God stops holding your sins against you." He stopped doing that at the cross when He "took away the sins of the world." What the bible actually means when you see the word forgive is "God takes away the burden of your sin off of you & He takes away the spiritual condition of your sin."

LIE:  Sin is a problem between you & God. You need Him to forgive you (meaning stop holding your sin against you).
TRUTH:  Sin is not a problem between you & God. God wants you to trust Him so He can remove your burdens & give you eternal life.

I am sick of the performance based "turn from sin" false gospel. We've been taught by almost every evangelist out there that, "You must let go of sin to be saved." But the truth is salvation isn't about you letting go of sin, it is about God making sin let go of you. To be saved you must trust God to remove sin's grip on you. When He does this it is permanently removed. You may grip onto it with your flesh at times but sin will never have a hold on you again!

God forgave us all at the cross. There He stopped charging all of mankind with sins & charged those sins to Himself so He could destroy them. But God cannot remove sin's condition without your permission, you have to willingly trust Him to become your Father by rebirth. The only way to stop death is by resurrection & rebirth.

Nearly all of these truths have been kept from the world & Christianity as a whole. Instead people are told, "God wants to torture & kill you but he'll call off his dogs if you agree to be his slave."

Good news! The King of Love is here! Change your minds to trust in Him. Do this & He will remove the guilt, shame, & burden of your sins. He will give you the gift of Himself, His very own Spirit to pour His love into your heart. He will make you into a new creation by causing your spirit to be reborn & united with His forever.

Related Posts
Jesus Did Not Come To Call The Righteous to Repentance?
Thoughts on Evangelism

Who Killed Jesus?

The cross is the place where sin, guilt, & shame were taken care of. How terrible is it then that the cross has been used to make people feel guilty? The gospel has been flip-flopped to manipulate us & make us feel bad. You didn't kill Jesus. Jesus said He laid down His life willingly (see John 10:17).

LOOK! Here is the Gospel:

YOUR SIN DIDN'T KILL JESUS!
 

JESUS KILLED YOUR SIN!

"God sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and He condemned sin in the flesh" (Romans 8:3)

For more on this read my post The Good News

The Good News

"If a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law." (Galatians 3:21)
People say that the reason people aren't saved is because they aren't acceptable to God because they fall short of God's standard of holiness, referring to the law. But this tells us that even if you kept all of the law all of the time your whole life you still would die because obedience to the law could never give life. You see mankind's problem is the condition of sin, not the actions of sin. The disease of sin leads to death. Mankind got infected by sin.

God only held people's actions against them under the law to help people become aware of their disease so it would not kill them sooner. God didn't hide from Adam & Eve when they sinned, Adam & Eve hid from God. Sin was never about you being "unworthy" in God's eyes to approach God. Sin was about you being too shame-filled to see God & too sick to make it in the next life & dying forever as a result. The God of life wasn't sitting in heaven too stubborn to forgive impure people. He was doing everything He could to preserve them. It was never about God holding our actions against us. How do we know that? Because Jesus doesn't hold anything against us when offering us the cure for sin.

In the New Testament to "be saved" means to "be cured." Jesus took our disease (sin) on the cross & became the cure. He was injected with our sin to bring about the antidote because He was the only one who had immunity to it. We've been taught that "our sin killed Jesus" & that we should feel really bad about that. But neither is true. Jesus said He would willingly lay down His life. We saw this happen on the cross when Jesus willingly announced the giving up of His Spirit from His body & breathed His last. Jesus defeated sin on the cross. Jesus did not die because sin had the power to kill Him. He died so that He could raise again to life to defeat death. He broke the power of sin & death, sin on the cross, death while coming out of the grave.

If the reason we face death is because God holds our actions against us why would Jesus suffer so intensely & die? If God was just saving us from Himself, instead of suffering He could have just saved Himself the trouble & changed His mind to choose to forgive us. The word forgive in the bible is a poor translation. The word in the bible does not mean "stop being offended" as the English word forgive does. It actually means "to take away." So in today's sense of the word forgive, God never forgave a single person living today. We were all born after the law ended & after the cure had been introduced. God has never counted a single sin against us, blamed us, or been mad at us. God took away our sins on the cross meaning He took away the spiritual barrier that sin created between mankind & God. He also took away the law which charged us with sin. Only by trusting in Him do we take the cure. Taking the cure of Christ makes God able to take away our burden of sin (guilt/shame) & the condition of sin from our spirit which cleanses us from all unrighteousness by giving us a new eternally living spirit that is united with God.


Related Posts
Lifted Up to His Glory:  Talks about how "falling short of God's glory" doesn't picture falling short of some kind of standard.

Why so few Believe John 3:16

It is amazing how John 3:16 is the most well known verse from all of the bible yet so few people, Christian & Non-Christian alike, believe that God loves them or that God loves the world.

It takes a TON of unloving religious garbage to distort & invalidate something so simple for so many people. Visible Christianity, historically & presently, has not only misrepresented God.. it has presented Him with the very character of Satan. It says Jesus only saves you to "use you" as His "slave" for "His own glory." It pictures God the Father as the most double minded, demanding, immature, & offendable being to have ever existed. To be honest, most atheists have a better idea of who God should be than Christians do. Many atheists don't believe in God because the "Christian god" they are presented with is not loving. You see "God is love" is so universally true that those who don't see God's love reject His existence. Where they see no love they see no God.

Christians saw God's love at least the day they were saved but every day after that their religion has condemned them by teaching them that sin is the focal point of the Christian life & is something powerful enough to separate us from every aspect of the love of God. Therefore Christians ultimately believe the lie that God is not love or that His love is conditional to our obedience & lack of sinning. So to the Christian God couldn't possibly love the world because He barely loves His own children thus they go on threatening nations & individuals with God's wrathful judgment.

Without God's love for the world there is no good news. When the world doesn't see love & Christians don't feel loved what kind of news is that?


Related Posts
The God & The World of John 3:16

Good News Does Not Make You Feel Bad

The gospel is GOOD news. If you hear something that makes you feel worse than you did before you were listening then it is probably not the gospel. -Mike Kapler

So often people look at the "fruit of the Spirit" as if it were a list of things they are obligated to do, "love, have patience, be kind, be gentle, have self-control." But they are the fruit of the SPIRIT not the fruits of human effort. Branches don't strive to produce fruit, the life of the vine produces fruit through them.

The Spirit produces joy & peace. Remember these two? You can't force joy & peace onto yourself. Joy is good news & it makes you speak of the source of your joy. Peace makes the front page. God makes all of these things come out of you as you feel secure in Him.

Thoughts on Evangelism

Hell is not Good News
Under law everyone deserves hell. Under grace everyone deserves salvation but must choose to trust Christ to receive it. Rejecting Christ is like being given a house but never moving in.

Evangelize means to "proclaim or announce good news." The gospel of Jesus Christ is literally good news. The gospel isn't about hell it is about Jesus Christ taking away our sins so we can know God. People don't have to be warned about hell if you introduce them to our wonderful loving God. The message of Jesus was "Trust me and LIVE!" not "Trust me or DIE!" The gospel message isn't, "You're in danger of going to hell." The gospel message is "God has already bought for you and is offering you every good thing. Trust Him and you will have more joy & experience more love than you ever thought possible."

The book of Acts doesn't mention hell thus we see no basis for it to be used in evangelism. We cannot convince anyone but we can tell them the good news. I think that is why hell never comes up in Acts. If someone doesn't respond positively to the good news of what Jesus has done for them what more is there to say? I would see anything more as manipulation because you feel obligated to "get them saved" because religion teaches that you must or you are a failure.

Fear of Hell Does Not Result in Relationship with God
Using "if you don't trust Jesus you're in danger of going to hell," even after sharing the true gospel, is adding an appeal to human fear at the end rather than letting the gospel rest on God's love. The last thing you say is often the most memorable because it is the most recent. I falsely got baptized based on my fear of hell. I wasn't choosing God or trusting God. I did not know God because of it and I was not saved until 5 years later. Adding "if you reject Him you're in danger of going to hell" every time you share the gospel is sorta like offering someone a million dollars at gun point. Let the riches speak for themselves! If you truly believe the gospel is Good News why would you need to threaten someone into it?

Churches Seek Religious Servants rather than Disciples for Christ
Some say, "Well Jesus talked about hell more than he talked about heaven." I don't know if that is true but I do know that He talked about His Father & His relationship with Him most of all because that is what salvation is, an eternal love relationship with God. I've pretty much never heard anyone evangelize like that. Rarely do you hear, "Jesus wants you to know & experience the love of His incredible Father." Why is that simple truth so rare? Because religion runs on the performances of its people. If people think God already completely loves them and approves of them the minute they are saved then there is no reason to serve a religious system to earn His approval. God did not set up a religious system. I'm not saying this is done maliciously but church attendance/service/membership is almost always included in the sales pitch. "Pray now and you will not only avoid hell but you can go to my church free!"

The Christian Sales Pitch
Most people never see evangelism exemplified. We only see public preaching that is so impersonal & non-interactive that preachers are forced to make blanket statements & assume people's answers because people aren't allowed to personally answer during a sermon. So likewise we may approach evangelism as a "prepared message" rather than a conversation where we listen to the person we are talking to and we listen to the spirit. In churches I've only seen evangelism taught as an intellectual formula to win an argument. Honestly it leaves God out of it. If you have x amount of things to say when does God get a chance to lead you? "Evangelistic training" in the church is basically something used to calm people's fears (which Christ Himself should be doing) & it is a practical substitute for listening to God. Christians are seen as another form of manipulative salesmen by the world & rightly so because that is exactly what they are taught to be.

Getting someone to pray "the sinner's prayer" is how you "close the deal." And just like a salesman you may never speak to this person again after closing the deal because you got them to pray the prayer and show up to your church. Planting and watering are part of a gradual process of care, growth, and relationship. Most Christian witnessing carries the mindset of applying miracle grow so we can quickly add a tally to the conversion board.

Oxymoronic Witnessing
Not only does most "witnessing" end in trying to get people to go to your church but even more often "witnessing" is inviting someone to church to hear a sermon. A "witness" is one who can give a firsthand account of something experienced. A prepared sales pitch is not a witness. Getting someone to go to church in hopes that they will get saved is like a salesman only inviting someone to an infomercial taping. People don't witness because they haven't witnessed anything. If your entire witness is based on what you've read in the bible, you probably haven't witnessed anything. Just because you read about a crime in the paper, doesn't mean that you can go to court during the trial and be a witness.

Several times Jesus told people not to say what He had done for them but they couldn't help themselves because they witnessed the living God, the Messiah. The news is not good if God is not knowable. If I am a witness that means I have seen God's love for me. The good news is that Jesus took away our sin on the cross so that we could know God. As Jesus said in John 17:3, "Knowing God is eternal life!" Witnessing flows from a relationship with God.

Being Motivated by Guilt
If I'm sharing Jesus with my neighbor because I'm going to feel guilty if I don't then it is still about me, its not about them, and they're not going to hear it. Religious obligation turns evangelism into, "I'm gonna feel bad if I don't witness so I'm going to run over there and witness." If your witnessing is motivated by guilt or fear of guilt you in no way exude the gospel. The gospel of Christ removes guilt. If you fear your inactivity will produce feelings of guilt then you need to understand the gospel yourself.

The Gospel Message as Presented by Paul in 2 Corinthians 5-6
"God the Father was in Jesus Christ on the cross making relationship with Himself available to the world by no longer counting people's sins against them. Christ died for all. God has given us this message of relationship to tell others. We speak on behalf of Christ when we plead, “Come to God!” Christ never sinned, but God made Him become sin for all so that all could be made right with God through trusting Christ and become the righteousness of God in Him.

God says to all, “At just the right time, I hear you. On the day of salvation, I help you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation. Now is the right time to call out to God. Today is the right day to be helped. Do not put it off. By knowledge, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by genuine love, by truthful teaching, & by the power of God we tell these things to all."

The Truth About Sin

If You, Lord, kept a record of sins, who could stand? (Psalm 130:3)

Jesus came in the flesh to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself (Hebrews 9:26).

God does not count sins against anyone in the world during this age. (2 Corinthians 5:19)

Those who refuse to trust Jesus store up wrath for themselves for the day of judgement in the next age. The sins that Jesus "put away" are returned to them. (Romans 2:5)

Those who trust Jesus enter into an eternal covenant of peace with Him that He made through the blood of His cross. (Colossians 1:20, Matthew 26:28, Isaiah 54:9-10)

To those who trust Him God says, "I will never remember your sins and lawless deeds" (Hebrews 10:17, 8:12). God takes their sins away forever (Romans 11:27, Psalm 103:12), freeing them from sin (Romans 6:6,7,18,22, 8:2), cleansing and purifying them from their sins forever (Hebrews 1:3, 13:11-12, 1 John 1:7,9).

Blessed is the person whose sin the Lord will never take into account! He will never charge that person with sin! (Romans 4:8)

My post The Sins of the World Taken Away & The Wrath of God goes into more detail.

Reconciliation Now! The Good News of Reconciliation

God the Father was in Christ on the cross, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His plea through us. We plead with you on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God!” (2 Corinthians 5:19-20)

We have reconciliation available now. God reconciled the world to Himself no longer counting people's sins against them. The gospel isn't primarily about heaven and hell. It is not about law or your failure to keep the law. The good news is that sins & all barriers between us and God are taken away. The gospel is about relationship. Jesus said "This is eternal life, to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent." Eternal life isn't about a destination, though it includes one. Eternal life is an intimate and everlasting relationship with the person of God. The good news is this, that I can know God and be known by Him!!

What is Reconciliation?
Reconcile means to restore relations. The word is used in scripture in regard to the fact that in the garden of Eden people did have a close relationship with God. God in Christ restored the availability of relationship by taking away the sins of the world so there is no barrier between God and man. People just need to engage God with trust and they will get to know the amazing God He is. Reconciliation in the broad sense is God lifting mankind up from the fall to where they are free to relate to God again. So today reconciliation refers to God making relationship with Himself available to all.

Jesus is said to be the "propitiation" for our sins. That means His sacrifice removed the animosity God would have towards people for their behavior. He no longer counts sins against people. If we ever doubt the magnitude of God's generous and forgiving love for us we need only to look to the cross.

What Does it Mean to "Repent and Believe?"
The word repent means "to change your mind." The word believe in the bible means "to trust" or "to entrust." This is not a call to change behavior as is so often taught. It is a call to "Forget about what you thought you knew about God, the rule keeping & the rituals. God has revealed Himself fully through His Son Jesus the Christ. He died to take away the sins of the world. He is risen. He is alive now. Trust this risen Jesus, entrust yourself to Him. Nothing stands between you and Him. Nothing stands between you and God. He has already opened His arms to you on the cross as an everlasting invitation to embrace Him."

The following is a reason why changing your mind (repentance) is a part of salvation. "Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil deeds" (Colossians 1:21). We thought we were enemies of God in our minds because of our evil deeds. Once we come to know the peace God has made with us through the death (blood) of Jesus we realize that God does not call us enemies but longs to know us as friends. Jesus is the living Word of God (John 1:1) and our living peace (Ephesians 2:14). Jesus is the living peace treaty of God. If we accept the living peace treaty of God's Son we become God's children and God's friends.

The Incredible Father
God is the Father in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). God the Father is constantly waiting for you to come to Him. The moment He sees you He runs to you filled with love and compassion and throws His arms around you, hugging you and kissing you. His forgiveness is so great that He ignores your sins even when you bring them up to Him. He cares only to celebrate that you are now with Him. When we are lost we have it even better than the sons in this story because Jesus goes out to find us to bring us to the Father.

Reconciled to God Forever
Jesus said in John 6:37 "Whoever comes to me I will never drive away." That is a true "never" for all who come to Him. Whenever you do something that you think comes between you and God it certainly does not. God NEVER drives you away once you come to Him. He does not count your sins against you, ever (2 Corinthians 5:19). He does not consider them. He does not take them into account. His perfect love makes it so you are never punished by Him (see 1 John 4:18). You have no need to fear. Allow His peace to take control of your heart (Colossians 3:15).

Summary
God is reconciled to all mankind.
    He has overcome any animosity He could have towards mankind by judging the world's sins in the body of Jesus
    He offers His friendship to all.
    His love, peace, favor, grace, & goodwill is extending to all.
    He forgave everyone and wants them to know it
   
God wants all people to be reconciled to Him.
    To know the peace He has made with us through the death of Jesus.
    To become aware of the good things He has done for us.
    To become aware of the good things He offers to us.
    To change our minds from distrust to trust.
    To accept all He longs to give us.

Additional Scriptures
The favor of God has appeared with salvation for all people (Titus 2:11)

Mankind treated God as an enemy yet God reconciled all men to Himself through the death of His Son. Since mankind is reconciled to God by His death people will abundantly be saved, cured, & made whole by his life. (Romans 5:10)

God has restored our relationship with himself through Christ, and has given us this task of restoring relationships. God was using Christ to restore his relationship with humanity. He didn’t hold people’s faults against them, and he has given us this message of restored relationships to tell others. Therefore, we are Christ’s representatives, and through us God is calling you. We beg you on behalf of Christ to become reunited with God. God had Christ, who was sinless, take our sin so that we might receive God’s approval through him. (2 Corinthians 5:18-21, GWT)

Our message is that God was making all human beings his friends through Christ. God did not keep an account of their sins, and he has given us the message which tells how he makes them his friends. Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made him take our sin in order that in union with him we might receive the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:19,21 GNB)

We rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received relationship with God! (Romans 5:11)

My Paraphrase from 2 Corinthians 5-6
God the Father was in Jesus Christ on the cross making relationship with Himself available to the world by no longer counting people's sins against them. Christ died for all. God has given us this message of relationship to tell others. We speak on behalf of Christ when we plead, “Come to God!” Christ never sinned, but God made Him become sin for all so that all could be made right with God through trusting Christ and become the righteousness of God in Him.

God says to all, “At just the right time, I hear you. On the day of salvation, I help you.”

Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation. Now is the right time to call out to God. Today is the right day to be helped. Do not put it off.

By knowledge, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by genuine love, by truthful teaching, & by the power of God we tell these things to all.

We work together with Christ and we implore all who receive Christ,
"Please don't ignore one bit of this marvelous life of love & kindness God gives. From now on regard no one according to the flesh. All who are in Christ are new creatures, the old has died, and a new living spirit has been received! All of these things are gifts from God:  His Son, your freedom from sin, your freedom from being charged with sin, your being made right with God, your salvation, your relationship with God, His love, His favor, His grace, His kindness, His righteousness, & your new spirit that is born of God. He brought us to Himself through Christ. Christ died for all so that we who have living spirits no longer live alone but with Him who died for us and rose again. The love of Christ surrounds us!"

The Good News of Justice

Christ died one time for the sins of all people, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18).

The just, Jesus, died for the unjust, mankind. Because of this justice is no longer defined by mankind getting rewarded or punished according to our deeds. Now justice is that all people be saved by trusting Jesus so that Jesus gets who is due Him. Before the cross justice was mankind getting punishment for sin. After the cross justice is the Savior getting who He paid for.
   
So to seek justice now is not to desire that evil be punished, although destructive people should still be prevented from harming others. Seeking justice on Christ's behalf is to desire that all men come to know God.
   
No one deserves punishment because everyone's sin has been taken away and freedom in Christ is a gift waiting to be opened. Come to know Him to share in His riches. God has made relationship with Himself fully available. Come to Him trusting His goodness to embark in that relationship. You can't benefit from a relationship if you refuse to engage with the other person. God is always better than you think.
   
When you trust Jesus God gives you everything you need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). God has given you His Son and because of that He will not hold back from freely giving you all good things in His good timing (Romans 8:32). In fact once you trust Him you receive every spiritual blessing that exists (Ephesians 1:3). We enjoy His gifts and blessings by simply knowing & trusting that they are given.

The Gospel, Good News for the Whole World

Because Jesus took sin into Himself on the cross so God could pour out His wrath for sin:
God is not putting sins into anyone's account.
God is not counting anyone's sins.
God is not charging anyone with sin.
God is not crediting anyone with sin.

God doing this makes relationship with Himself 100% freely available to all who choose to trust Jesus.

Jesus took everyone's sins into His account. They were counted, charged, and credited against Him. The Son of God paid all of the judgment & punishment required for all sins on the cross. When Jesus said "It is finished" that was a term that also meant "paid in full." Because of Jesus God no longer looks at anyone with regard to sin. God does not relate to anyone based on sin!

Sin is not being charged to the world. The sins of the world are taken away. After Jesus rose to life we now live in a pure relational reality with no spiritual barriers standing between us and God. The words believe and faith both mean trust. Choosing to trust the person of Jesus is the only requirement of salvation.

I can either choose to trust a person to engage in a relationship with that person or I can choose not to trust that person and thus have no relationship with them. Salvation is a pure relational reality that is offered with no spiritual barriers. No barriers of sin, work, deed, or law ever exist for anyone because of the cross! Trust Jesus and live loved!

"God the Father was in Christ on the cross making relationship with Himself available to the world by no longer counting people's sins against them. God has given us this message of relationship to tell others. We beg you on behalf of Christ to come to God." (2 Corinthians 5:19-20)

Our Perceptions Do Not Change God's Realities (Galatians)

Sin is defined by the law. Sin means "to miss the mark." Jesus took away that target, the law, by His death on the cross. "Jesus canceled our debt to the law that that stood against us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross" (Colossians 2:14). Romans 4:15 says, "Where there is no law there is no sin." Galatians 3:25 tells us that we who trust Christ are not under the law. The law condemns (2 Corinthians 3:9). It judges us as guilty. God removed us from under the law and put us under His grace (Romans 6:14). In Christ we are no longer found guilty of sin, condemned because of sin, or even charged with sin (Romans 5:13). We are not sinners. This is one reason why 1 John 3:9 says, "Every child of God cannot commit sin and is not able to sin." With this in mind let us look at Galatians 2 and what it means for the Christian to "find himself to be a sinner."

The Law Views Every Man as a Sinner Even If God Does Not
Galatians 2 talks about how Peter, who lives by trust in Christ, compelled the Gentiles to live like the Jews by putting themselves under the law. Galatians 2:14 tells us that Paul said to Peter, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?" Paul goes on to say, "We know that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through trust in Christ Jesus. We have trusted in Christ Jesus so that we may be justified by trust in Christ and not by the works of the Law since no one will be justified by the works of the law." He then says "If, while seeking to be justified in Christ (as Peter does), we ourselves have also been found sinners (by putting ourselves under the law), is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! If I rebuild what I have once destroyed (the law), I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God" (Galatians 2:16-19).

When we put ourselves under the law we rebuild what was once destroyed, the target of the law. Today we can set up our own target which is usually made up of old covenant laws, new testament commands, extracted principles, traditions, & personal obligations & expectations. Colossians 2:23 tells us that "These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, self-denial, and severe bodily discipline but they provide no help in conquering a person's evil desires."

When we put up a target (put ourselves under law) we "find ourselves to be sinners" (Galatians 2:17) and "prove ourselves to be transgressors." Peter was in a sense making sinners out of Gentile saints by requiring them to keep the law. They became sinners in their own eyes. This is talking about our perception and how our life will be lived out but not God's perception. What this scripture tells us is that if we judge ourselves by the law we will always find ourselves to be guilty because as James 2:10 says, "The person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God's laws."

Remember God does not judge us by the law but by our trust in Jesus. That is the point of what Paul is saying here. Paul was not charging Peter with sin. Galatians 2:17 was not saying, "Just because Peter, who seeks to be justified by trust in Christ, sinned doesn't mean Christ is a servant of sin." The story Paul told could be exchanged for any example of a Christian sinning if that was his point. Paul was addressing the fact that if the law charges you with sin because you put yourself under it that does not mean God is charging you with sin. Being under the law does mean you will live like a transgressor (sinner) because you cannot keep the law and not keeping the law will cause you to feel condemned. This is how our lives play out under the law but it is not our spiritual reality in Christ. In Christ we are not condemned and we are not found to be sinners. If you put yourself under the law Christ will not ignore His own blood and put you under the law too. That cannot happen!

If we who trust in Jesus don't rebuild the law we prove ourselves not to be transgressors (sinners) because we are under grace & not under the law (Romans 6:14). If we count ourselves as sinners by putting ourselves under the law that does not mean that "Christ is a server of sin" (Galatians 2:17). Sin does not come out from Christ and we are in Him! Our perception does not change God's reality. Our perception can make our lives miserable but it does not change the truth of the cross! We do not become unborn. The new creation of our spirit is still sinless.

Nullifying Grace
"I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by trusting in the trustworthiness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God (by putting myself under the law), for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died for nothing” (Galatians 2:19-21).

To "nullify the grace of God" means to not live by it. Grace becomes null, nothing, in your life if you put yourself under the law. It doesn't change the fact that God has grace (favor) for you. Putting yourself under the law doesn't remove the true power of the cross to save and make you righteous before God but it does empty it of its power in your day to day life.

People throw around the term "cheap grace" referring to a message that doesn't talk about the "need for repentance" by which they mean turning from sin. How do I turn from something Christ already took away? All salvation requires is that I trust Christ and receive His forgiveness & grace which He bought for me at the cross. The true "cheap grace" is that which says, "What Jesus paid was too cheap. I have to add to it." We are the pearl of great price because Jesus gave all He had, His life, to get us. That is a parable of His love not of our obligation. If I'm still indebted then Jesus didn't pay it all. Paul was pointing out that trying to be justified by the law for salvation or for daily living ignores the grace of God and the cross of Christ. This is why he says in Galatians 3:3 "Are you so foolish to think that having begun by the Spirit that you are now being perfected by the flesh?"

Paul continues in Galatians 3 and tells us why the law was given and how it is no longer of use to those who are children of God. Paul points out that the Galatians are sons born of the Spirit of God (Galatians 4:6) but they have turned back to the law and the weak and worthless things which bring them into bondage (Galatians 4:9). Galatians 5:18 tells us that a man cannot be led by the Spirit if he is under the law. This is because by default they follow the law rather than the Spirit. They, as Romans 7:6 speaks of, live by the old way of the letter (external rules) and not the new way of the Spirit (internal relationship with God).

"Stand firm in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and don’t be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Every man who receives circumcision is a debtor to do the whole law. You are alienated from Christ, you who desire to be justified by the law. You have fallen away from grace. Christ will profit you nothing" (Galatians 5:1-4).

The person who gets circumcised desiring to be justified by the law views himself as a debtor to God. God does not want to relate to us as debtors who try to pay him back. God wants us to live free by recognizing He paid the whole debt. Notice this is about how we live our lives not our spiritual reality in Christ. Galatians 5:6 says, "In Christ Jesus neither circumcision amounts to anything, nor uncircumcision, but trust working through love." Paul's point is that physically receiving circumcision isn't the issue (Timothy was circumcised in Acts 16:3). The condition of your physical body doesn't matter to God. Only trust working through love matters to Him and that comes by the Spirit and not by the law because the law is not based on trust (Galatians 3:12). If you put yourself under the law you walk by the flesh and not by trust in Jesus. This is why Paul says, "If we live by the Spirit (are reborn), let us also walk by the Spirit (put our minds on and trust in Jesus)."

Again this is about how we live our lives not our spiritual reality in Christ. Galatians 6:15-16 says, "In Christ Jesus neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. As many as walk by this rule (that only new creation counts), peace and mercy be on them." Christ doesn't care about your flesh. Jesus said in John 6:63, "The flesh counts for nothing." What matters is if your spirit is a new creation. When you understand that then peace and mercy will be upon you. You will experience peace and have mercy when you "no longer regard anyone (including yourself) according to the flesh" (2 Corinthians 5:16). Trust Jesus using the spirit of your new creation. This is the only kind of trust because your spirit can relationally communicate with Jesus as it is seated with Him beyond what we can see.

The spirit of the Christian is sinless (1 John 3:9, 1 John 5:18, Romans 7:17). Putting yourself under the law makes you count yourself as a sinner. If you think you are a sinner you will act like a sinner. You will feel guilt, shame, and condemnation. You will be burdened with obligations and feel inadequate. You will think you owe God and if you don't pay He won't like you or relate to you. Your new creation, your new man, is designed by God to let Jesus live through it as you trust Him. The Good News is Jesus has already hit the bull’s eye for us! We are Christ’s and God is forever pleased with us.

Shouting to Rest!

Romans 8:15 says, "You did not receive the spirit of bondage leading to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"

What are most Christians afraid of?
That God is not pleased with them. That they will lose favor with God. That they have offended God. That God will break fellowship with them. That God is cursing them because of something they've done. That sin separates them from God. That God won't protect them. That God won't provide for them. That they aren't doing enough, aren't praying enough, aren't witnessing enough, aren't reading the bible enough. That God doesn't love them very much if at all.

Every one of those fears is a lie. Jesus didn't commit the ultimate act of love for you to sit and wonder, "How can God really love me after all I've done and keep on doing?" He loves you more than you'll ever know because "his love surpasses all knowledge" (Ephesians 3:19).

Cry out, "Abba! Father! Jesus! .. Deliver me from believing these lies that make me think 'yeah, you'd die for me but you wouldn't live for me.' Jesus I never again want to feel like your death wasn't good enough so I have to add to it. I don't ever again want to think that your love for me is conditional or that your pleasure in me comes only from my performance. God I want to recognize your love for me every moment I possibly can. May I always know that the gospel is the good news of your graciousness not the bad news of all I have to struggle to give back. I'm tired of trying to earn what I already have and reaching for what is not mine. I want to live in what you give, who you gave. I want your promises to reshape my perceptions. Jesus after you finished offering yourself as the sacrifice for sins you sat down at the right hand of the Father. My life is now hidden with Jesus in you Father because you raised me up with Jesus and sat me with Him. The work is done, it is finished, paid in full! I want to rest with you. You said 'come to me and I will give you rest.' Here I am Lord. Here I am Father. Here I am friend."

How do you rest with someone? You trust them, you feel secure with them, and you relax!

The Good News of Relationship

Jesus said in John 17:3, "This is eternal life, to intimately know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent." Eternal life isn't merely heaven or immortality. Eternal life is relationship with God.

Wrath is not the focal point of the gospel, relationship is. God poured out His wrath for sin in the body of His Son Jesus to defeat sin, free His people from sin, and to remove the need for Him to count sin against people. By doing this He made relationship with Himself fully available to those who choose to trust Him. Wrath was the means God used to condemn sin itself thus making relationship with God available.

The cross wasn't to save us from the anger of the holy Father. It was the anger of the holy Father and the holy Son against sin because it harms and destroys the objects of His affection, mankind. Jesus came to "Save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21) not to save His people from Himself.

"God sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. In the body of Jesus God condemned sin in the flesh declaring an end to sin's control over us. He did this so that the righteous requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us" (Romans 8:3-4).

"God the Father was in Christ on the cross making relationship with Himself available to the world by no longer counting people's sins against them" (2 Corinthians 5:19).

"Jesus took God's wrath for sin on our behalf so now, through trust, we are made right with God by the blood of Jesus and cured of sin. We are made whole by His life" (Romans 5:9-10).

If there were no heaven, if there were no hell God is still worth knowing. He is so loving that love itself is defined by who He is. "We have come to know, rely on, and have put our trust in the love God has for us. God is love" (1 John 4:16).

A Wonderfully Loving Promise Fulfilled in the New Covenant

"I, the Lord, have sworn that I will never be angry with you and I will never rebuke you. For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but My loving kindness will not be removed from you, and My covenant of peace will not be shaken," says the Lord who has compassion on you. (Isaiah 54:9-10)

Here are two scriptures that confirm that this is indeed a new covenant promise. They show us that God's "covenant of peace" mentioned in Isaiah 54 is the new covenant of the blood of Christ's cross which makes peace between us and God.

"This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28).

"Christ made peace with us through the blood of His cross" (Colossians 1:20).

The meaning of angry in Isiah 54:9
God will never be angry with you also means:  He will not be displeased with you. He will not be offended with you. He will not be upset with you. He will not be exasperated with you. He will not have wrath for you. He will not resent you.

The meaning of rebuke in Isiah 54:9
God will never rebuke you means:  He will not repel you from Himself. He will not beat you back. He will not shame, reject, disgrace, blame, disapprove of or condemn you. He will not reject you as worthless. He will prove you to be worthy. He will not break you. He will not mark you as immoral. He will not ruin you. He will not see you as unclean.
It does not have the same meaning as the word rebuke in Proverbs 3:11-12 or in Hebrews 12:5, "Do not lose heart when the Lord rebukes you." There it means "to correct, to lead you out of false beliefs."