Tag: Jesus

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?

Quotes to Note 9: Luther on Sanctification

~ Bob Hayton ~ 4 Comments

Today I have a simple quote for you. This comes from Joel Beeke’s Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism. This single quote is worth meditating on today. May God bless us in our walk with Christ.

Martin Luther states, “We in Christ equals justification; Christ in us equals sanctification”. (Beeke, Living for God’s Glory, 202)

Contemplating the Cross: Knowing the Power of Christ’s Resurrection

~ Bob Hayton

For the next few days, I’ll be posting excerpts from Nancy Guthrie’s Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Passion and Power of Easter (Crossway). Join me as I aim to contemplate the cross this passion week.

Today’s meditation is by Tim Keller, from chapter 7 “Knowing the Power of His Resurrection” (pg. 135-136 of Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross, edited by Nancy Guthrie).

…for me to know the power of [Christ’s] resurrection is to have the same power that came into Jesus and raised him up to come into my dead soul and raise me up. This is not about relationship but about supernatural character growth. When Paul says, “I want to know him,” it means, “I want to be with him,” but when he says, “I want to know the power of his resurrection,” it means, “I want to be just like him.”

Look at the deadness in your life. Look at the anger. How is that going to be turned into forgiveness? Look at the insecurity. How is that going to be turned into confidence? Look at the self-centeredness. How is that going to be turned into compassion and generosity? How? The answer is that the dead stuff gets taken over by the Spirit of God.

Many people believe the propositions. They believe the historical facts about Jesus, but their real agenda is personal success. So they go to Christ when they want to and need to. Paul says that a Christian is someone who has turned that all around so that personal success is defined by knowing him and the power of his resurrection, and everything else becomes second.

The minute you decide to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord, the power of the Holy Spirit comes into your life. It’s the power of the resurrection–the same thing that raised Jesus from the dead.

… The more you know him, the more you grow into the power of the resurrection. The more time you spend with him, seek him, read his Word, the more you pray–the more it stirs up the resurrection power that is within you through the Holy Spirit.

Jesus has risen indeed! That He has points to Jesus as owning the greatest power in the universe–that which can conquer sin & Satan, Death & the grave. That same power is in us who believe! What a wonder indeed. If you know Christ this Easter morning, He is alive inside you. Let Him rule, let His power change you and mold you into the person He wants you to be. May we live for Christ rather than let Him live for us–now, this Easter, and always.

Contemplating the Cross: A Sweet Smelling Savor to God

~ Bob Hayton

For the next few days, I’ll be posting excerpts from Nancy Guthrie’s Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Passion and Power of Easter (Crossway). Join me as I aim to contemplate the cross this passion week.

Today’s meditation is by Jonathan Edwards, from chapter 7 “A Sweet Smelling Savor to God” (pg.  112-113 of Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross, edited by Nancy Guthrie).

When we consider Christ’s death only as an expiation for sin, we have no consideration at all of the excellency of the act but only its equivalency to the punishment that we had deserved. But if we consider that holiness and loveliness of it in the sight of God as his voluntary act, so it doth not merely expiate our guilt but merits an infinitely glorious reward.

‘Tis thus especially that the sacrifice Christ offered is said to be a sweet-smelling savor to God. ‘Tis as there was a righteousness in it. It was as Christ in offering up this sacrifice offered up to God a heart full of divine and holy love and respect to God’s authority and command. He expresses such a love by his voluntary bearing or going through those sufferings.

This made Christ’s sacrifice not only satisfactory to appease his anger, but it was a sweet-smelling savor to merit his favor. Ephesians 5:2 says, “Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savor.” By this especially it was that God was well pleased with his Son. He was not only well pleased with our surety so far that his anger was appeased, but so that he infinitely delighted in him for his righteousness’ sake. Isaiah 42:21 says, “The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness….”

… Though Christ be fully rewarded, yet there is merit for us because believers have the benefit of Christ’s merits as being in Christ and so partaking with him…. This is part of the reward that he sought and merited–that believers should be glorified with him. This he greatly set his heart on and earnestly sought this. Itwas the joy that was set before him. And this now he greatly rejoices in.    Herein consists the success of his undertaking. Christ has merited success. Herein he triumphs over Satan. Herein consists much of the glory of his kingdom of grace in bringing home souls to God and to eternal glory….

Glory be to Christ for letting us lowly sinners partake in His glorious reward. His sacrifice removed the wrath of God from us, and it also secured the infinite favor of God for us. Blessed be the Name of our Great Savior, Jesus Christ!