A Christian counselor was troubled by this line in her church's statement of faith: "We deserve God's condemnation." She said she often talks with clients who are so beaten down with self-condemnation that they need to hear, "You deserve God's love."

I commend that therapist for her empathy, but I'm afraid her thinking is subtly flawed. The good news of the gospel is not that we deserve God's love. The good news is that God sees us in all our sin and unworthiness, yet He loves us so much that He has provided for our complete forgiveness and acceptance.

The apostle Paul said that he had persecuted believers "ignorantly in unbelief" (1 Timothy 1:13). Yet this was not an excuse. He accepted responsibility for his unbelief, referring to himself as "formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man." Although he saw himself as the "chief" of sinners (v.15), he wasn't shackled by the guilt of past sins. His primary emphasis was on the Lord's marvelous grace that freed him from a debilitating sense of unworthiness.

It's true that "we deserve God's condemnation," but it's also true that "Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (v.15). That's good news for all of us, no matter what we have done!  — Herbert Vander Lugt