More Thoughts on the gospel

On Thursday, I was reading Chapter 8 from Jesus + Nothing = Everything by Tullian Tchividjian.  I highly recommend this book to everyone.  It would be good for Christians and non-Christians.

Here are a few quotes:

"Therefore, focusing on rules and regulations means missing Jesus altogether."

"The gospel, on the other hand, always addresses the root of the problem. And the root of the problem is not bad behavior."

"We tend to think of the gospel as God's program to make bad people good, not dead people alive. The fact is, Jesus came first to effect a mortal resurrection, not a moral reformation, as his own death and resurrection demonstrate."

"Moral renovation, in other words, is to refocus our eyes away from ourselves to that Man's obedience, to that Man's cross, to that Man's blood-to that Man's death and resurrection!"

"if the focus is on what you must do instead of what Jesus had already done, it's anti-gospel."

"His point (Paul in Colossians 3:9-10) is that Christianity isn't turning over a new leaf; it's receiving a new life."

"But the gospel tells us, "Relax, it is finished."

"In fact, real spiritual growth happens as we look up to Christ and what he did, out to our neighbors and what they need, not in to ourselves and how we're doing."

"The world isn't captivated by people trying to give the impressing they have it all together. That's not what draws them. What captures their attention is the sight of humble, desperate, dependent people who acknowledge their sin and who point to their Savior as the only one who can rescue us. The world, in other words, needs our confession, not our competence."