On June 2nd I launched a sermon series called Gospel Centered Living. I am continually telling the congregation that they have to "preach the Gospel to themselves daily" if they want to grow in their relationship with Jesus. It has been neat to see how the Spirit is using that phrase and helping them apply it, but I also realized that maybe I should flesh it out for them in a series.
Aside from the Bible (especially Galatians) I recommend Jerry Bridges' "The Discipline of Grace," CJ Mahany's "The Cross Centered Life" and an article by Rev. Tim Keller "The Centrality of the Gospel. http://download.redeemer.com/pdf/learn/resources/Centrality_of_the_Gospel-Keller.pdf. I will confess up front that these resources heavily influenced my first message in this series.
If you look at Galatians 2:14 Paul challenged Peter that his conduct "was not in line with the Gospel." It would be easy to say "Come on Paul what is the big deal, so Peter rediscovered his roots and got a little religion." This is where Rev. Keller does a great job pointing out the following:
- The Gospel is the very power of God (Romans 1:16)
- "It is not just the A,B,C's of Christianity but the X,Y,Z also." It is not just for unbelievers, but rather it is how we grow (Colossians 1:5-6)
- "There are 2 thieves that rob the Gospel of its power...religion and irrereligion and Christianity isn't a balancing act between the two, but rather a wholly other way"
To illustrate this I say: "You can never grow beyond your need for Jesus. You can never get to a place where you can say 'Thanks Jesus I'll take it from here' and step outside of Him." You also cannot walk around and say "I have Jesus in my back pocket and can do whatever I want." No Jesus' life, death and resurrection won't allow that either...
So the challenge becomes what are you resting/trusting in? If you are living centered on the Gospel (Jesus) your life will look radically different than if you are resting/trusting in yourself. The key question here is always to ask "What is motivating me? Is it self or Jesus? Is it me or the Gospel? Self always says either "I will do it my way" or "I can do/earn this in my own strength," but in the end is all about "me." The Gospel says I am a new creation...I am no longer my own...I have been bought with a price...die to self live to Christ aka take up your cross...the truth will/has set you free...
For example the command to "take every thought captive" then isn't something you do simply by shear will power, but rather something you do as every thought comes in line with the Gospel. If it is something that you produce it is worthless and self-centered...if you ignore the command as too hard that too is self-centered. But if you preach the Gospel to yourself, live in tune with the Spirit, the power of the Gospel will be unleashed in you enabling life transformation to take place.
Over my next several articles we will look at how this plays out in marriage, parenting, finances and our witness to name a few.
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