Here’s the real, scriptural truth: the good news of the gospel is not that Christians are to be “good” and “committed to God” —rather, the good news of the Gospel is that God is good and He is committed to us! It’s not all about what we’re supposed to do for Him, but about what He has done for us through Jesus!
Yes, of course I believe in being committed to God, being dedicated to Him, and serving Him. The Bible has plenty to say about how Christians should act. It says we are not our own, we were bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:19–20).
But doing good and living a life that pleases the Lord is meant to be our response to the gospel, not something we try to do in our own strength.
So if you’ve thought you aren’t “good enough” (in whatever area that might be), stop right there. Nobody is! We are good because Jesus is good!
We ministers often tell people to love God, serve God, and be committed to God. But unless we convey to them Who it is that they’re serving and what He’s done for them, we’re missing the boat. When people see what God has done for them and just how dedicated and committed His love is toward them, it causes them to reciprocate.
For all of us, the way to love God fully is to understand how much He loves us.
Pleasing God
Don’t get me wrong, His love isn’t a license to go around sinning or doing whatever your flesh wants to do. Romans 6:1 says, What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
Your response to God’s great love shouldn’t be, “God loves me no matter what, so I can do whatever I want,” or, “How much can I get away with and still go to heaven?” Rather His love allows your response to be, “Father, You love me so much and You’ve given Your all for me that I love You too and want to please You.”
I want God to be pleased with me. He has blessed me so much! When I obey Him and follow His instructions, life goes better. Have you ever noticed that? When you obey Him, you can expect peace.
On the other hand, if you disobey God, you can expect trouble. He will still love you, but disobedience has a cost. When a child disobeys or acts badly, he is still a son; he is still in relationship with his parents, with all the rights and privileges of sonship in that family. But disobedience can jeopardize his fellowship with his parents, and can also cause tension and consequences.
Through all that, however, his parents still love him and still count him as their son. It’s the same with God and His children. We have to get it out of our head that God loves us based on what we do (or don’t do).
You don’t do good to be good. Mankind tried that approach under the old covenant, and it became quite obvious that it doesn’t work. You’re good only because of the price that was paid for you. It was Jesus’s blood, not your perfect behavior, that cleansed you of your sin (Heb. 9:26). Now you’re the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21), not because of what you’ve done, but because of what Jesus has done.
You couldn’t earn or deserve salvation—you simply received it by faith, believing what Jesus did for you. Ephesians 2:8 says, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.
When you received Jesus as Lord of your life, you received the forgiveness of sin and moved into right standing before God (Col. 1:14; Rom. 3:21–24). Now you can walk a holy, disciplined life worthy of the calling you have been given (Eph. 4:1). However, if you slip along the way, God never stops loving you. He loves you unconditionally.
Natural human love always has conditions attached to it. It says, “I love you if you love me” or “I love you if you please me.” But once someone stops making you happy, you might stop loving him. That’s not the same as agape love, the God-kind of love. His love is not based on what you do. God loves you because He is love.
Excerpt permission granted by Karen Jensen Salisbury Ministries
Karen Jensen Salisbury has been in ministry for almost 30 years, and a writer for almost 40. Her teachings and writings have influenced the lives of hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. Her humor, her never-give-up attitude, her love for God and her strong stand on His Word will bless and inspire you. 
