When we "get" the gospel for what it really is -- the power to save, the most thrilling news there could be, the declaration that God's Son died for us and then came back to life! to be the risen Lord and supreme King of the universe, not just the entry fee for heaven but the currency for all of life -- we revel in the new creation it unleashes in its wake at every turn. We never get tired of hearing it. It's the new song that never gets old. "Play it again, play it again!" we will cry.
Jared Wilson warns preachers not to be tempted to drift from proclaiming the gospel, out of fear it will grow old or stale.
I think the same warning applies to regular Joe Christians - don't think that you 'got' the gospel and can take some time to study something else for a few seasons. Don't think you can leave the gospel lie and look at some 'other' aspect of God the father or the Son. And don't pester your minister to do it either. Rather, look at those other things through the lens of the gospel, for the gospel permeates everything that the father is and does.
When we look at obedience without the gospel we get legalism. When we look at grace without the gospel, we get permissive religion. When we look at service without the gospel, we are simply another charity.
The gospel is what makes Christianity distinct from any other system of beliefs or method of thinking or religious philosophy. Our world, and we ourselves, are fundamentally broken and Jesus fixed it. We were in hot water with our creator, but Jesus has patched things up for for us. Other systems are about finding the way for you to help yourself, the gospel doesn't even pretend that you can help yourself, it simply steps in and rescues you, no questions asked.
When we approach everything as disciples of Jesus from the stand point that we are flawed, broken and limited and He has done for us what we could never do ourselves, we see everything of God - grace, love, faith, obedience, etc - differently.
His grace is an astounding gift, undeserved.
His love is astounding in it's depth, determination, lack of conditions, decisiveness and completeness.
Our faith is the only appropriate response, clearly insufficient but yet enough.
Our brokenness is insurmountable, yet utterly vanquished.
Our efforts at obedience are wholly inadequate, but absolutely necessary in view of what we've been given.
As Jared says, when we see the gospel, it makes everything new, and continues to do so, as long as we don't give up on gazing at it.
His grace is an astounding gift, undeserved.
His love is astounding in it's depth, determination, lack of conditions, decisiveness and completeness.
Our faith is the only appropriate response, clearly insufficient but yet enough.
Our brokenness is insurmountable, yet utterly vanquished.
Our efforts at obedience are wholly inadequate, but absolutely necessary in view of what we've been given
Such good stuff
"When we look at obedience without the gospel we get legalism. When we look at grace without the gospel, we get permissive religion. When we look at service without the gospel, we are simply another charity."
Did you come up with that? That's gooood.. Need to make T-shirts or a plaque or something. Really! I like that a lot.
Well, Jared inspired me, but I wrote it. If was real good, it was clearly the Spirit, not me. :-D