How are you? How is your week going? Have you reminded yourself of the gospel and are you living it out?
I’ve heard of people who have heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they said that it was too good to be true. I have pastor friends who are amazed over and over again that they are forgiven and redeemed. I have seen screw-ups and train-wrecks like me finally understand the implications of God’s love for them in Jesus Christ.
That is the gospel. It is beautiful. It is marvelous. It seems like it is too good to be true, but the amazing part is that it is true. It is real. And it saves us if we trust in Christ.
We finished our 12-week “God’s Mission; Our Mission” sermon series. Through this series, we have been able to see God’s mission to save His people throughout history and into the future, and we’ve seen that we are part of that mission. It is my prayer that we see God’s heart of mission for us and that we may be mobilized for that mission into the world for His glory and kingdom.
On Sunday, we were able to talk about how God’s Mission ties in with Our Vision as a ministry. Our Vision is to grow in the richness of the gospel in our hearts and minds. This means that we are called to know it and to trust in it. And then, we are called to live it out.
What then is the gospel? The gospel is the truth that we are saved by Jesus’ person and work. The Son of God became a man, lived the life we could not live, died the death we should have died, and was resurrected from the dead. We are saved through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
Paul says that we are justified (declared righteous) by faith and not by works of the law. We cannot earn our salvation. God does not look at our good deeds and saves us according to them.
We are called to trust in Christ for our justification. Faith is confessing that we are sinful and broken. Faith is saying that we don’t have it all together. Faith is admitting our failures and sins. Faith is trusting in Jesus alone.
That is the beautiful news of the gospel. Then, what is the gospel-centered life? How do we grow in the richness of the gospel?
The gospel-centered life is a union-centered life (“with Christ”). We are united to Jesus, and that becomes the basis of our salvation.
The gospel-centered life is a cross-centered life (“I have been crucified”). When we believe in Jesus, a death occurs: ourselves. We die to our sin. We die to our shame. We die to our earthly behaviors and desires. We die to our old selves.
The gospel-centered life is a resurrection-centered life (“Christ who lives in me”). We die to our sin, and we live to Christ. We live in Christ. We live out Christ. We are made new. We have new identities. We have new hearts. We have new desires and new priorities. This is the basis of our outreach.
Take a moment this week and enjoy the beauty of the gospel. Bask in the countenance of God’s grace and mercy for you through Jesus Christ. There was nothing you could have done to save yourself. And yet, it was God who still saved you. He has justified you in Jesus Christ. It is free for us, but it came at a huge cost. It was the cost of His blood. We are called to just trust in Christ and receive Him as our Lord and Savior.
This is the gospel. Enjoy it. Cherish it. Be renewed by it. And by His grace, may you live out the gospel-centered life through union, death, and resurrection. May you grow in the richness of the gospel, and may you be empowered to live for God’s glory and kingdom in Jesus’ name.
See you on Sunday for Lord’s Day Worship. Have a blessed week!
In Christ,
Pastor Tim
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