On eternally fatal shortcomings.

Believing the Gospel entails at least three major elements.

First is the fact of the resurrection.

Second is the doctrine of Christ’s substitutionary atonement, made possible by His perfect life and made necessary by my sinful one.

But the funny thing about these two parts of the Gospel is that they require almost nothing of the believer except to affirm them, which is why some people are led to think of the Gospel as some sort of easy-believist “Get out of Hell free” ticket.

The real test comes down to the third major element: the moral structure of the Gospel. See, it’s fairly common to affirm the fact and the doctrine of the Gospel, but the real question is whether you also embrace the pattern of generosity, forgiveness, and self-sacrifice which It incarnates. To put it bluntly, this requires everything from the believer.

And although it is certainly necessary to embrace the first two elements, you must also love the Gospel’s moral pattern enough to live it in your own life. And if not, the repeated and clear teaching of the New Testament is that you have not yet been born again by It.