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for love, but to stay married you have to serve me, give me money, and tell
others how great I am.” What a loveless thing to say.
    And what
exactly is this whole gospel we are supposed to be preaching? The Bible gives
us a straight answer, as we will see, but religion never does. Instead,
religion says “it’s complicated, you have much to learn, and if you really want
to please the Lord you should study Greek and Hebrew.” Phooey!
    Paul told the
Ephesian elders, “I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole counsel of
God” (Acts 20:27). Some translations say “the whole will of God.” The whole
counsel and the whole will and the whole gospel are the same thing because
God’s will and purposes are always good news.
    So what is
the whole counsel of God that Paul proclaimed? He tells us three verses
earlier. The whole counsel of God is “the gospel of God’s grace” (Acts 20:24).
That’s it.
     “Just
grace?!” says the serious man. Yes, grace and nothing but. Not
grace-plus-your-confession, nor grace-plus-your-repentance. Just grace.
    Here is the
last thing Paul said to the Ephesians:
     
    Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace,
which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are
sanctified. (Acts 20:32)
     
    What is the “word of his
grace”? It’s not the Bible; it’s Jesus. Jesus is the Word of God who builds us
up and qualifies us to share in the inheritance of the saints. Jesus is the
Living Word who testifies to the grace of God.
    In essence,
Paul is saying this:
     
    When I came to you I did not hold back from proclaiming
the whole counsel of God, which is the gospel of grace revealed in Jesus. And
now that I am leaving I want to commit you to the word of his grace, which is
Jesus. Do you see my beloved Ephesians? It’s Jesus from start to finish.
     
    If you would preach the gospel,
the whole gospel, and nothing but the gospel of God, then preach Jesus and
nothing else. Jesus is both the will of God and the word of his grace.
    So how can we
get this wrong? How do we not preach the whole gospel? Not by leaving
bits out, but by adding bits in.
    The grace of
God is perfect and cannot be improved upon. Anything we add detracts from its
inherent perfection. What do these gospel additives look like? I am sure you
know them. They are called prayer and fasting, Bible study, the spiritual
disciplines, tithes and offerings, Christian duty, the virtues, works of
service, ministry, self-sacrifice, helps, missions, outreach, submission,
sowing, etc. In the hands of graceless religion, these good things become
death-dealing burdens. If you are being told you must do these things to receive
the favor of God—his love, acceptance, forgiveness, healing, provision,
deliverance, etc.—you are not getting the whole gospel. You are getting a
diluted and contaminated gospel.
    Perhaps
you’ve heard people say, “Grace is an important part of the gospel.” That’s
like saying food is an important part of your diet. Grace is not a part of it,
but the whole of it. Any part of the message that is not grace is not good
news. Anything that distracts you from Christ and his finished work has the
potential to turn you around and lead you away from the path of life. Reject
it. Insist on the good stuff and commit yourself to God and the word of his
grace.
     
     

5. Am I Under Law?
     
    Not too long ago Camilla and I
were having dinner at a restaurant. We found ourselves sitting under a sign
that said, “The Law.” The sign declared that anyone intoxicated would be asked
to leave the premises. What struck me was that the law had clear jurisdiction.
It applied only so far and no further. As long as we were in the restaurant we
were under the supervision of the law. But as soon as we stepped outside, the
law had no hold on us.
    What about
the laws in the Bible? Are they universal or do they have limited jurisdiction?
Do they apply all the time or only some of the time? Do they