Gospel-centered discipleship

“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.” (Titus 2:11-12)
           
One of the central aspects of the gospel, the good news of Jesus, is found in 2 Corinthians 5:21, where Paul writes that “God made him [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” On the cross, Jesus takes the penalty that we deserve for our sinful rebellion against God and gives us his perfection, so that God relates to us with the same love that He gives to His Son. What an amazing, undeserved gift of grace!
           
However, I have found in my years as a pastor that the effect of this grace on us can go wrong in two distinct ways: legalism or antinomianism. The legalistic attitude can be summed up like this: “If I perform well, God will accept or bless me.” This is the mindset that God’s attitude towards me depends upon my performance or behavior. If I am doing well in my version of Christianity, then I think God is pleased with me, but if I am caught in sin, not praying enough, lacking in love, etc., then I believe God is angry or disappointed with me.
           
On the other end of the continuum is antinomianism or licentiousness. This attitude can be summed up as “Because God has forgiven me, I’m free to disobey.” This is the mindset that because God is a forgiving God, I can live as I please. I end up living as if holiness is unnecessary, and fighting my sin is not important.
           
Where do you tend to fall on the continuum? And depending upon where you fall, what do you need to be reminded of?

If you tend towards legalism, believing that your righteousness is measured by your performance, you need to be reminded of Paul’s words in Romans 3:20–24 – “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Your heart and mind need to hear that it has ALWAYS been grace. From the first to the last moment of your discipleship, God’s favor has and always will be an undeserved gift to you on the basis of Jesus’ life and death and NOT your performance. And now, forever in Christ, “there is no condemnation” for you (Romans 8:1).

And if you tend towards antinomianism, believing that God’s forgiveness is a license for you to live as you please, you need to hear Paul’s words in Romans 6:15-16 – “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” Paul reminds us that living as we please is not freedom but is slavery to sin. You can choose to serve Jesus, who brings true freedom and life to the full (John 10:10), or you can be a slave to sin. And if you find in yourself no desire to honor and follow God, be warned that you may not truly be saved. As John wrote in 1 John 1:5-6, “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.”
 
Most of us tend towards legalism or antinomianism in our discipleship, but the “gospel center” of the continuum is best portrayed in Titus 2:11–12 – “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.” As we gain a deeper understanding of the condemnation we were under because of our inability to follow God’s law, along with a deeper appreciation of the sacrificial love of Jesus that saved us, our heart becomes freed from both legalism and antinomianism and develops a pure desire to forsake sin and worldly pleasures and to give ourselves joyfully to God, embracing the full life He has for us.