Don’t believe the lies, you still need to put in the work

People usually refer to when Jesus Christ made this exact statement before taking His last breath on the cross.

The popular interpretation is that this means that everything has been done so there is nothing left for us to do.

Why this is a lie

The statement — “It is finished” can only be found in the Gospel of John. In the Greek translation, tetelestai, it is an accounting term that means “paid in full.”

When Jesus said those words, He was not saying we never had to do anything ever again, He was simply declaring that He has wiped away the debt owed by mankind — the debt of sin.

He was saying that we are free, we now direct access to the Father, hence the torn veils (Matthew 27:50–51), that we have been redeemed with His death (2 Corinthians 5:18–19).

Romans 5:6–11 reads: “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person — though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die — but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

“Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

He definitely was not saying that He has done everything and that there is nothing left for us, definitely not that.

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ALSO READ: If you aren't studying the Word every single day, you are in trouble!

How do I know?

Because life is a choice, Christianity is a choice and everything we do is a choice. Yes, the debt is made and we now have salvation (Romans 3:23–25), but we still have to make the right decisions.

To choose God over worldly pleasures, to choose the narrow path over the wide one that everyone is on.

This is why it is fallacy to think that we no longer have to make the deliberate decision to read our Bibles, to pray, to live righteously. These things don't just happen because ‘it is finished.’

Best believe, you still have to put in the work, the time to work on your relationship with God, the conscious effort to choose the Godly way over the sinful things people around you may be all be indulging in.

Don’t believe the lies, Christianity is definitely not easy but it is the most rewarding thing you will ever say yes.