Christianity Is A Love Affair

By Tammy Lacock

In this new study, Warren Litzman sets out to make known the true and only gospel for believers today, that is the Apostle Paul’s gospel of grace.

There are two pillars that form the foundation of this gospel, and it’s these pillars that help us to discern it in a world where Christians are commingling gospels.

These pillars are:

“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.” (Ephesians 1:4)

“But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.” (1 Peter 1:19-20)

Both pillars make Paul’s gospel clear that this is a gospel God had in mind before the world was created and now God revealed it to Paul (and later Peter) to proclaim to the whole world in this current dispensation of grace.

Paul’s gospel is quite simple: By Christ’s death (lamb slain) burial, and resurrection, we as believers, are saved by Christ now living in us (chosen in Him). This was a gospel like no other. And when Israel rejected it, Christ told Paul to take it to the Gentiles (Acts 28:28).

“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27)

However, there are two kinds of Christians in our world today. Those who know they are saved by Christ in them and those who know they are saved yet are searching for Christ outside of themselves, commingling grace and works salvation. Paul tells us the problem with this is that believers who search for Christ outside of themselves will never truly live who God created them to be. They are saved and going to heaven, but they never had the mind-change, or mind-renewal, to the Christ that now lives in them. Moreover, they will never get to really know Him and fall in love with Him. Paul tells us we need to have a radical mind-change, moving from an outer mindset to knowing Christ who now lives in us, joined to our spirits making us one spirit in Him (1 Corinthians 6:17).

Warren reminds us that, in order to understand Paul’s gospel, we must rightly divide the word of truth (Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 2:15). To understand what actually took place within us as believers, we must rightly divide our souls and spirits. We were born again in our spirits, made perfect here by the incorruptible seed of Christ. Yet in our souls, where our minds reside and where the Holy Spirit works, we are perfecting (maturing). This is where the love affair with Christ takes place, in our souls. The Holy Spirit teaches us and comforts us in our new life in Christ. It is here where we truly learn to let go of our old selves, the old man, and begin to truly learn Christ. It is here where we begin to learn reciprocal love. It is here where our minds undergo such a radical change that we choose Christ over everything else, making Him our everything, our first love (Revelation 2:4). We were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Now it’s time to choose Him.