The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. That line has been spoken countless times in courts, movies, and interactions. On the surface, we all want the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. However, at least for me, there are times when people give me just that and I don’t enjoy receiving it as much as I thought.

As a follower of Jesus, one who believes Jesus of Nazareth is the only one who can deal with my deepest problem and fulfill my greatest needs, I believe we think of the gospel the same way we view this statement about truth. We love the gospel, the whole gospel, and nothing but the gospel, but when the whole gospel is revealed to us it’s a difficult thing. I think the underlying problem is we don’t actually know or want “The Rest of the Gospel“.

As Craig Ethridge states in his article, “This is why so many Christians live defeated lives. They want salvation, but not change. They want to know God, but they don’t want to obey God. They want God’s love, but they don’t want Him to be Lord.” Ouch! But the reality is the gospel that soothes our souls is also the gospel that changes our lives.

Enjoy the article and as always be with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day. I’d love to hear your feedback and thoughts as well. What do you think? Why is it so easy to accept a gospel that saves us from sin, but difficult to acknowledge that the same gospel transforms our lives?

Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash