Category: Gospel Centered

The Gospel’s Work in Believers, Part 2

~ fundyreformed ~ 10 Comments

Continued from part 1.

So, in the gospel, as unbelievers we found acceptance through Christ and forgiveness from sin. But as believers, don’t we rely on that acceptance as we work out our salvation? Don’t we need to be constantly challenged to obey more and be more faithful to God? Does our spiritual life depend in some sense on our own efforts and our obedience to Christ? Yes and No. Let’s look at what the Bible says about the Gospel’s work in believers more closely.

The Gospel and the Believer

1. Spiritual growth comes by hearing the Gospel and believing.

Galatians 2:19-3:5 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain? if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?

Just as we initially receive the Spirit when we are converted by hearing (the gospel) with faith (Vs. 2). Even so, our continued life in the Spirit comes by hearing (the gospel) with faith (Vs. 5). We cannot live our spiritual lives by fleshly effort (vs. 3, 2:20, cf. Col. 2:20-3:4).

2. All of life is to be lived in accordance to the Gospel.

Gal. 2:14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all,….

Paul challenged Peter that his conduct was not measuring up to the gospel, implying that our conduct needs to measure up to the gospel. Paul could have scolded Peter for displaying the sin of racial prejudice. He could have called him to the carpet for disobeying the command to love his neighbor. Instead, Paul pointed out how Peter had failed to live in accordance with the gospel. The gospel has claims on us and requires we live in light of it as we make decisions in all of life.

3. Holiness, and proving that one has a genuine faith, depends on not shifting from the hope of the gospel.

Col. 1:21-23 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has not been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I Paul, became a minister.

Holiness and growth in godliness depend on keeping close to the gospel. Proving that one is indeed reconciled, that they have a genuine faith is manifested by how they continue in believing the gospel.

4. Strength is supplied to us by the gospel.

Rom. 16:25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith.

Strength is from the gospel, which is further described as the “preaching of Jesus Christ”. This preaching brings about the obedience of faith. So strength to obey and persevere in faith comes from the revelation of Christ in the gospel.

5. The Gospel is the very Power that Saves us.

Rom. 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (literally = everyone [presently/continually] believing), to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, The righteous shall live by faith.

In one sense we are already saved from having believed the gospel, but in a very real sense we are not yet ultimately saved. When the New Testament uses the term saved or salvation, it often refers to the point in time when we are glorified in heaven, when we actually arrive there. Often Scripture speaks of salvation as in a sense a work in progress, it’s not yet complete. This is reflected well in how the ESV translates the meaning of the Greek tenses for the word sowzo (saved) in the following passages.

1 Cor. 1:17-18 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1 Cor. 15:1-2 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you””unless you believed in vain.

Salvation depends on us “holding fast to the word … preached” . When this doesn’t happen, it reveals that the individual has “believed in vain” . They have a faith like that described in Luke 8, they “believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away” (see also 1 Jn. 2:19). True saving, genuine faith endures to the end and doesn’t fail. What supplies us with that kind of faith is a holding on to the Gospel. The Gospel has a power by which it saves us.

To conclude this point: we have seen the Gospel has many purposes for believers beyond initial conversion. It is as much for believers as unbelievers. We’ll explore some practical ways we can avail ourselves of the power of the Gospel in our Christian life, in the third and final post in this series.

For more on the idea of “being saved”, check out posts in my topic on perseverance, especially My 219 Epiphany.

The Gospel’s Work in Believers, Part 1

~ fundyreformed ~ 5 Comments

The following is taken from an adult SS lesson I taught this past Sunday. I thought it would be a blessing to share it by means of my blog for a wider audience.

1 Thess. 2:9-13 For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

What does the Gospel do in believers? Many would say it supplies us with assurance of forgiveness, a home in heaven, and it obligates us to server God to Whom we are greatly indebted. The gospel when received admits us into the church, we become believers in Christ, and we now start the work of living by faith in God’s principles. We now, since we believed (past tense), work on growing into the kind of people God wants us to be. We work hard, train ourselves to flee from sin, we develop habits of prayer and Bible study, and we look to the Bible for guidance on how to use money, succeed at work, have a blessed life and a good family, how to do church, reach the lost, and worship God.

Sounds pretty good. But where does the gospel fit in again? Is it only the first hoop of many that we must jump through as Christians? Is it what gives us the uniform to be a soldier for Christ? Is it the Get-Out-of-Hell-Free Card that settles our conscience and encourages us that living for God has benefits?

Consider the following texts again:

1 Thess. 2:13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

Acts 20:32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. (cf. 20:24 & 14:3 word of grace = gospel message)

Col. 1:3-6 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. OF this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing, as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.

So what do you think? What does the Gospel do in us believers?

Before we answer that question directly, perhaps its best to focus on this question: What does the Gospel do in unbelievers?

The Gospel and the Lost

1 Thess. 1:5-6, 9 Because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit…. You turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.

The Gospel challenges the lost to repent of their sin and believe Christ. The Gospel says Jesus absorbed the just punishment we deserved and He will accept all who repent and turn to God in faith.

Tim Keller says this about the Gospel:

The gospel is that you are more wicked and flawed then you ever dared believe, and more loved and accepted than you ever dared hope at the same time. Unconditionally loved and radically humbled.

(And) Religion is “if I obey I will be accepted.” Irreligion is “I don’t really have to obey anyone but myself.” The gospel is “since I am accepted, I will obey.”

We’ll continue in the next post to look more closely at what the Gospel actually does for believers. But please use the comment section and share your thoughts on this so far. What does the Gospel do for believers? How does the Gospel impact your life?

Tweeting the Gospel

~ fundyreformed ~ 1 Comment

Twitter is becoming more and more popular these days. One of the things it does is force us to be succinct, which is good. Nine Marks Ministries‘ blog, Church Matters, is challenging all Christian twitterers to share the gospel in 1 tweet. It’s a novel idea, and causes us to focus on the true heart of the gospel. Crafting such a tweet is a good exercise, but it also challenges us to use Twitter for good ends, by challenging those with whom we interact on Twitter, with the gospel.

I enjoyed crafting my tweet, but I would have loved more than 140 characters! Here’s my tweet, and then a better one.

G=S+J<M / Gospel=Sin [spurning God & His law] + Judgment [eternal punishment] < Mercy [Jesus died in our place offering peace with God] #9M

The #9M enters me in the contest, and can be searched easily via Twitter. Take some time to read through the results of that search, and you’ll encounter many other ways to simply declare the heart of the gospel.

My tweet stopped short of calling people to believe this message. But I think the Gospel, when understood, carries the weight of a response within the message itself. When one understands G=S+J<M, he may then value the truth in this message and cherish it. In short, he will come to believe it.

A much better attempt at distilling the beauty of the gospel in a few words was accomplished by songwriter Drew Jones:

Holy God, in love, became / Perfect Man to bear my blame / On the cross He took my sin / By His death I live again

These words form the entire length of The Gospel Song (music by Bob Kauflin). It is one of my favorite songs; learn more about it here.

So what’s your gospel tweet? Post it on twitter, or add it to the comments at the Church Matters’ blog (contest runs through Wednesday night). But please share your gospel tweet in the comments here. 140 comments or less. Let’s rejoice in the clarity of the gospel together.

“Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Passion and Power of Easter” edited by Nancy Guthrie

~ Bob Hayton ~ 10 Comments

Author: Compilation of several authors, edited by Nancy Guthrie
Format: Softcover
Page Count: 148
Publisher: Crossway
Publication Date: 2009
ISBN: 1433501813
Rating: 5 of 5 stars

As we approach Easter, Christians everywhere remember Christ’s sufferings on the old, rugged cross and the triumph of his resurrection. Indeed, the symbol of the cross is one of the few near universal Christian symbols. Protestants, Catholics and those who view themselves as neither, still cling to the cross. The gospel depends on it, Jesus’ earthly life is shaped by it, the Four Gospels almost speak of nothing else. Salvation depends on it, and sanctification is fed by it. And with Paul, we all should seek to boast in nothing but the cross or our Lord Jesus Christ.

For this reason I was thrilled at the opportunity to review a book like Nancy Guthrie’s Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Passion and Power of Easter (Crossway). I assumed it would be a good read since it is a compilation of several prominent church leaders, contemporary (Tim Keller, John Piper, Ligon Duncan, Phil Ryken and John MacArthur) and from years past (Augustine, Luther, Calvin, J.C. Ryle and Charles Spurgeon). Yet, the book excelled far beyond my expectations, high though they were.

Nancy Guthrie did a phenomenal editing job in piecing together various meditations on the Cross into a wonderfully unified book. And the selections she chose were truly the best of the best that these authors had to offer. Finding each of these was an amazing accomplishment in its own right.

Here’s a small sampling of the topics covered in this small volume. Martin Luther challenges us to find a proper view of self in light of the Cross. Alistair Begg ponders the innocent Christ being crushed by God. C.J. Mahaney unpacks the weightiness of the cup that Jesus chose to drink completely for us. R. Kent Hughes shows the Biblical theological background to the symbolism inherent in Jesus’ betrayal in the garden at Gethsemane. Spurgeon marvels that the Lord of the Universe allowed sinners to spit in his face, and he chillingly shows that we too have tragically spit in his face. J.C. Ryle wants us to find ourselves in the Sufferings of Christ. Martyn Lloyd-Jones focuses on Christ’s destruction of the Devil. John Calvin points out the connection between the Passover Lamb and Christ as shown in the blood and water flowing from his side. Jonathan Edwards shows Christ’s sacrifice as not merely satisfying God’s wrath, but accruing merit in that it was a sweet smelling, acceptable offering to God. Tim Keller explains how resurrection power should transform our lives.

In all of this, our focus should not be on the human authors Nancy compiles. Rather each are gifted with the ability and graced with the desire to show forth Christ in all His beauty and glory. And such a feast, an extended meditation on our Savior, Jesus Christ, is appropriate not merely for Easter and Passion Week, but all the year, and all the days of our life, long.

I encourage you to pick up a copy of this fantastic book, start it this Easter and let the message of the Cross grip your heart in the weeks following. This will surely be a devotional book I’ll pick up again and again.

Stay tuned as I’ll post several selections from this book during the week preceding Easter (which is next week!).

Disclaimer: this book was provided by the publisher for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to provide a positive review.

This book is available for purchase at the following sites: Westminster Bookstore, Amazon.com, or direct from Crossway.

Christless Christianity

~ Bob Hayton ~ 5 Comments

When I came across Alex Chediak’s post on Michael Horton’s new book: Christless Christianity, I had to wonder if this is not primarily to blame for Ray Boltz’s fall. In so many ways, American Christianity has become a man-centered mess. I started (not sure if I totally finished it) a series on this issue in the past, you can find my last post here (which links to all the posts in the series).

Look to my Vodpod widget on my sidebar and watch the 5 minute video clip of Horton explaining why he thinks American Christianity has become Christless. This is a book that’s now at the top of my wish list!