Response to "The Heart of the Gospel Message"

I could not agree more with columnist Bill Peatman's declaration that God's love and compassion are unlimited and unconditional.

On the other hand, God is not trying to rescue us from own challenges and disastesr. In fact, the Bible teaches that He already has saved us and continues to do so, if every person who trust in God through Christ would only believe what is written of Him and receive His abundance of grace by faith:

"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

"Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

"According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

"Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

"To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." (Ephesians 1: 2-6)

We are already blessed with all spiritual blessings (v. 3), He has chosen us to be holy and without blame in love (for God is love: 1 John 4:16)

In Christ, whom God has raised us up in, in whom we sit in high places (cf Ephesians 2:6), we have redemption, we have forgiveness of sins -- we have these things in Christ -- we are not seeking redemption, we have it already! We can walk in the Spirit of God, receiving His power, allowing His life to flow through us, for Christ is in us, the Hope of Glory (Colossians 1: 27)

The problem for many people is that they have only received half of the gospel. Yes, they know that Jesus died for our sins, but they think that He died for only those sins that we committed before being saved -- but all of our sins were in the future when Christ died on the Cross!

Not only did Christ die for our sins, but by rising from the dead, He fulfilled the promise to give us life, and that more abundantly (cf John 10: 10), which we receive through the promise of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33)

Many people are struggling in their Christian walk because they do not realize that they are already "sons of light":

"Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness" (1 Thessalonians 5: 5)

And because we who believe on Him walk in the light, as He is in the Light, Jesus blood continues cleansing us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)

If we are still trying to live holy lives, it is because we do not realize the infinite treasure of life within us, the faith of the Son of God! (cf Galatians 2: 20)

This is the full gospel: that God sent His Son to die for all of our sins, becoming our peace (cf Ephesians 2: 14) thus dwelling within us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The fullness of the Gospel must be declared to all believers as well as for those who have not yet believed. I am sure that this will set many readers free!