Good News #99: The Gospel Focuses in the Knowledge of Jesus Christ, Not in the Knowledge of Dos and Don’ts!
Nothing against dos and don’ts.
Nothing against motivational talks encouraging for behavior modification, lifestyle changes, etc.
These are all good, noble and necessary for horizontal relationships (humanity amongst humanity)
MOST of us do need those so we all don’t hurt one another but you know what ALL OF US need?
Grace…
Peace….
in our lives…
Both of these can only truly come from above.
But what exactly does the bible mean when it says grace and peace?
Let’s remember…
Jesus is a Jew.
His disciples are Jews.
The prophets of old are all Jews.
All sixty-six books of the bible were written, by the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit, by Jewish authors except for Luke, who was a gentile.
While the new testament had been written in Greek, Peter, in writing his epistle, would have had the Jewish concept of grace and peace in mind.
In Hebrew:
Grace is hêsêd (חסד) which carries the idea of God’s undeserved favor, love, mercy, lovingkindness, goodness.
Peace is shâlôm (שלום) which carries the idea of completeness, safety, soundness in body, welfare, health, prosperity, peace, quietness, tranquility, contentment, peace with men, peace with God, peace from war.
So when Peter wrote his epistle, what he was really conveying is for the church to experience more of God’s undeserved favor, love, lovingkindness, goodness, completeness, safety, soundness in body, welfare, wealth, prosperity, etc…
And he is saying that for these to manifest more in their lives, they need to grow in the knowledge of God and of Christ Jesus….in other words, what God’s character, nature, heart is…and what Jesus has done in obedience to The Father, what His sacrifice, His shed blood, death, burial AND resurrection had accomplished, etc…
Jesus did not come to give us more dos and donts.
Jesus came to give us good news (gospel) and show us the heart of The Father.
And as we grow IN THE KNOWLEDGE of God and Christ Jesus, we become better receivers of His grace and His peace.
Jesus made it so simple for us to receive.
Indeed, His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
✨❤️✨❤️✨❤️✨❤️✨❤️✨
