I'm Still Remembering I Had a Hard Time Believing the Gospel

I was reading "Hard to Believe" by John MacArthur and there's one thing worth thinking - the Gospel is indeed hard to believe. When I mean it's hard to believe - I'm not saying that it requires you to work for it. Rather, the problem of the Gospel is that it challenges your mind and the way you think. It's not just a call to depart from a lifestyle of sin but also to depart from self-righteousness. No wonder Jesus said that the publicans and the harlots enter Heaven before the Pharisees. It's because the publicans and harlots were seeing their sinfulness and the Pharisees have not.

I grew up Roman Catholic and it was all about doing more good than bad. Every time I did something bad - I was told that God was going to outweigh my sins vs. my good works. I was told, "Always be good and you will enter Heaven someday." It's a very common theme in almost everything we see whether in works of fiction or in theology. Salvation by works is nothing more than a fairy tale when you get into the light of God's Word! It works in fairy tales but it never works in the light of God's Word.

I remembered the first time I heard the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31. I was really in bad vibes (at first) with a pastor who said that the rich man's biggest sin was not receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. I remembered getting a pocket Bible from the Gideons and seeing the plan of salvation. It sounded ridiculous to simply believe in Jesus Christ and He will deliver you from your sins. I was told I can never be sure of it. But the Bible says you can be sure.

I had a hard time believing the Gospel is all about the sin of pride. The idea man isn't basically good is hard to believe. The idea that God the Father sent His Son to die on the cross for the worst of sinners is hard to believe. The message to love your enemies isn't very pleasing either. The Bible is not a convenient truth. It doesn't sugarcoat its message just because the sinner will be upset. Pride comes before the fall. Many people today refuse to believe the Gospel and that God provides salvation from sin for the worst of sinners is because of self-righteousness. It never appeals to pride!

How did I react to the message? I thought it taught Antinomianism. I had to hear the message many times. It wasn't until I heard an Anabaptist preaching that convinced me that I had to get saved because I was a sinner. I was already too burdened with sin and wanted O-U-T of it. I didn't want to keep on sinning. I had no choice as an immature teenager. That time was never the same because I was getting into a war because the beliefs I held on to were shattered before my eyes. I never saw everything the same ever again. It was a dividing issue that I'm going to keep holding to the truth of the Bible because I'm not perfect but God is. I'm on the path to perfection by God's grace. 

Right now, I'm even thinking of Calvinism. I don't think I can believe if I wasn't chosen by God. It's a hard-to-believe message that even some of the best preachers didn't like it. J. Vernon McGee quoted John Calvin a lot but didn't buy Calvinism completely. Aiden W. Tozer was also non-Calvinist. Right now, I just want to think that I couldn't believe if it wasn't for the doctrine of election.