“…be filled with the Spirit, addressing
one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody
to the Lord with all your heart,….”
- Ephesians 5:18-19
“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.”
- 1 Corinthians 15:1-2
“In him we have redemption through his
blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his
grace,….”
- Ephesians 1:7
“The gospel is the air we breathe in the
house of God. To change metaphors, the gospel is the conversation taking place
in the house—our Father speaking to us, his children, about the gift of his
Son. The gospel is the life-transforming story with a promise for all who hear
and believe.”
- Alfred Poirier, The Peacemaking Pastor
“…be on your guard against the neglect of
grace.”
- Sinclair Ferguson, In Christ Alone, p.
215
A number of
years ago Judy and I sat across the table from a wise pastor and his wife. Though
Judy and I had been Christians for a while we found ourselves starving for the
gospel. I asked this wise pastor to explain the gospel to us and as we sat with
them we wept as he slowly and painstakingly took us through a biblical
understanding of man’s total inability, God’s unconditional electing love in
Christ, the extent of Christ’s atonement, God’s irresistible grace in drawing
sinners to Himself, and God’s ultimate preserving power in the life of the
Christian. When he finished I asked him to start over again. I had been a
Christian for years and had never heard the simple, straightforward gospel. Up
until that point my Christian theology was a muddled mix of legalism,
phariseeism, and fear. As I understood it my performance dictated my right-standing
with God and though I understood myself to be a Christian my belief was woefully
uninformed. It seems that misunderstandings of the gospel or inadequate views
of the gospel are rampant in these days. Old thought processes in the mind of
the legalist die hard. The gospel must be continually fought for in the
battleground of our minds. And some of the ways we can do that is by being
faithful to continually remind one another of the gospel by speaking, praying,
and singing the gospel when we’re together, by availing ourselves of the means
of grace God provides in baptism and the Lord’s Table, and by gladly hearing
the Word of God expounded as the gospel is brought to bear upon us through the
Scriptures. Without diligence in these things our inclination is drift away
from the gospel. The remedy for drift is reminder. I need you to remind me of
the gospel and you need me to remind you of the gospel. Husbands must remind
their wives of the gospel and wives must remind their husbands of the gospel,
and both need to remind their children of the gospel. The gospel alone is the
power of God to change us. Performance, legalism, and the commitment to do
better will not change us. We must be renewed by the transformation of our
minds through the Word of God through the power of the gospel. Under the
efficacious influence of the Holy Spirit the oft-repeated rehearsal of the
truth of the gospel will change us. Incrementally, and by degrees, the gospel
will work its work in us.
- DJM
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