One of my good friends said that because of the message he was hearing in church, he expected to sin regularly. Why is this?
Because the message of the church today may not, in fact, always be the message of Jesus. His offer is not simply “get forgiven — go to heaven.” Jesus’ message is, “I will give you a new heart.” — Radiant, strong, inclined towards goodness … and not towards sin. More to the point he says, “I will give you my own heart, removing the one that used to lead you into sickness, distrust and rebellion.” Take my heart.

You can now expect holiness from your heart, the  goodness and vitality of Jesus himself within you. And this gives you permission:  to indulge your deepest desires — for they are now untainted and noble. (Didn’t God promise to “give you the desires of your heart?” How did he do that?) He gave you a new heart — with fresh desires, some of which are unique only to your heart.

You can now expect to dream more earnestly.
Delight more relentlessly.
Resist your tempters more confidently.

Your heart is stronger and more noble than you think. Expect that.

Yep, you’ve reached the site of author, Jim Robbins. Just the site’s look has changed.  The new look should reflect the intent and feel of my new book, Recover Your Good Heart.
All the site’s content has remained the same. Only the look has changed. Enjoy.

Today’s Church preaches a partial, and therefore weakened, anemic gospel. The Gospel has been reduced to: get forgiven—go to heaven. You’ve been pardoned, but now it’s your job to be a “good Christian” and keep your nose clean until Heaven. What starts with grace ends in pressure to be good. (Just get people to do the right thing.) The Christian life soon becomes about acting like a good Christian (religious duty) so that you don’t disappoint God or those around you. The externals (behavioral expectations) become more important than internal realities (the new resources of your heart). Even good practices such as serving others, worship, ministry and kindness become religious obligations, rather than the overflow of a new heart that is now genuinely for others and for God.

Here’s what one Christian discovered about the emptiness of living from religious duty and obligation:

I was a faithful Christian. I went to church every week and joined the men’s ministry—even went on a mission trip to Bulgaria. I want to say I was living for God, but I was living more out of duty and obligation. It was the ‘wanting to do the right thing’ type of living. On the outside I was the model Christian. However, I had a nagging sense of ‘there is something more,’ but I could not identify what the ‘more’ was.[i]

Any “gospel” that pressures people to be good inevitably brings shame; because ‘good enough’ is never good enough. How do we recognize the gospel of duty and pressure, and therefore, shame? This false gospel comes with the following message: “You’re not doing enough, you’re not spiritual enough, committed enough, selfless enough.” It’s the “not enough” gospel and it is often called “sanctification.” And how can you argue with that? Don’t you want to grow spiritually? Shouldn’t we serve, become more “Christ-like,” be committed to the mission? Here’s a troubling question, though: How can you ever know when enough is enough?

• When you’ve read your Bible enough?
• Shared your faith enough?
• Been committed enough?
• Love God enough?

To learn more about why good Christian behavior is not the point of Jesus’ message, explore Jim’s new book, Recover Your Good Heart — Living Free from Religious Guilt and the Shame of Never Good-Enough.

Here is one reader’s comments about my new book, Recover Your Good Heart.