Toxic Gospel

In Tullian Tchividjian's sermon on Job "The Suffering Gospel|Part 5" he makes a series of exceptional observations. I've boldened the most striking parts:

"[Job's] friends have absolutely no concept of grace... It's all works; 'work hard, do more, try harder, confess sin...' and all that stuff is good... confessing sin, praying, reading [the Bible] ...all of that is good and right, we're exhorted to do that in the Bible. But... ultimate relief does not come our way because of something 'good' we do, that is a theology of 'works' not a theology of 'grace.'"

"And the sad thing is, is their prescription - 'how do you fix what's wrong here Job?' sounds a lot like preaching these days; 'Do more, try harder!' There's a lot of preaching these days, a lot of preaching, and as a result a lot of people inside the church believe that. There is so much moral-ism that comes from so many pulpits... the underlying message... is simply this - 'Do more, try harder.'"

"Even the 'health-wealth-prosperity' preachers who you would never charge with being legalistic because they are 'happy' and 'clappy' and 'silly;' they're just as legalistic as... hardcore fundamentalist... both are equally legalistic, because even though they sound different, and their message appears to be different, undergirding both of their messages there is this: 'Do more, try harder...' [That message] is toxic to the soul and it crowds out the Gospel!"

"... you become the hero of your own story, because if you can do 'it' ...then you'll get the 'good stuff.' And if you can't do it...you won't get the 'good stuff.' It's toxic, toxic to the soul, it's 'Gospel-less.' Whether it comes with a 'smile' or whether it comes with a 'stern look' it doesn't matter, it's the same thing: 'Do more, try harder.' "

"That's [Job's] friends... that's the prescription his friends are offering here. Listen...the difference between a moralistic prescription and the prescription of the Gospel is that the Gospel locates 'restoration' in Jesus's performance for us and not our performance for Him. It's Gospel... big big difference... the Gospel is the determining factor in my relationship with God. It's not my past or my present but Christ's past and His present."

Wow...just, wow! Thank you Tullian for the piercing clarity.