The Gospel is How You Grow

Is the Gospel just the starting point of the Christian life? Is it exclusively the means by which we are saved, and something we grow past as we mature as Christians?

John Webster didn’t think so. He wrote that,

“Growth in the Christian life is simply growth in seeing that the gospel is true; that Jesus Christ is the preeminent reality of all things.“ 

Tim Keller agrees. He wrote that,

“The gospel is the way people are called to faith, and the way people grow in faith.”

Sometimes we think that the Gospel is just something we need to share with others – a gateway of sorts into the kingdom of God. And that is part of it, but it is so much more. It is the means by which we grow in faith, trust, and sanctification. As Christians, it is who we are – a people joined together to Christ, by his atoning death and glorious resurrection. We are a people defined by someone other than ourselves. A people empowered, not by our own strivings, but by the Spirit of Christ in us.

Gospel Saturation

But too often we forget who we are. We forget our freedom and the privileges we have in Christ. We forget the Gospel and we start trusting (or despairing) in ourselves, instead of Christ.

Charles Spurgeon experienced this in his own life, and that is why he wrote, 

“The most important daily habit we can possess is to remind ourselves of the Gospel.” 

Martyn Lloyd Jones thought the same thing –

“Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?”

King David in Psalms was constantly reminding his soul of the goodness of God (Psalm 62, 103, 104). And there is no clearer place that we see the goodness and glory of God than in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. It is the pinnacle of God’s plan of redemption. It is a multi-faceted diamond, that looks different and more beautiful at every angle. The more we saturate ourselves in the Gospel the more we will begin to look like who we already are in Christ.

The Day After Your Wedding Day

It is a little like the feeling the day after your wedding day – you have to keep looking at the ring on your finger to remind yourself, and glory in the fact, of your marriage. Just feeling it and looking at it reminds you that you are now different. Nothing physically has changed, but you are now totally different because of who you are now joined together with. In the Gospel we see the same thing. We are totally different because we are joined together with Christ. Physically we may remain the same for now, but in our inward being we have been transferred from death to life. From wrath to belovedness. From an enemy of God to a precious child. The more we look at this truth, the more the reality will sink into our minds and hearts.

In the Gospel

In the Gospel we see that everything that is Christ’s is now ours (Rom 8:16-17).

In the Gospel we see that all of our strivings to be “better” are foolishness. Christ is our life and He has given us His better life (Gal 2:20). 

In the Gospel we see that the power to overcome sin in our lives isn’t found through trying harder, but through embracing the power of Christ in us through His Spirit (Gal 5:16). 

In the Gospel we see that we aren’t defined by our failures and successes, but by the fact we are God’s beloved, ransomed by the shed blood of His Son (1 Peter 2:9).

In the Gospel we see that living under the lordship of Christ isn’t about adhering to strict rules and regulations, it is about finding the true joy of living as who we were made to be (Gal 2:16, Rom 6:1-4).

In the Gospel we see that we are not alone and unlovable – we are chosen and loved beyond our wildest dreams (Eph 1:3-10).

In the Gospel we see that our lives are best lived, not for ourselves, but for the glory of God, who is our greatest joy and the only one who can satisfy our restless souls (Rom 11:36, Matt 11:29).

Assembly Around the Gospel

“The church is assembly around the gospel… and the church’s vocation is to hear, and then live and proclaim, this good news.” John Webster

At St. George’s we meet on Sunday mornings together as the body of Christ, to assemble around the Gospel. We speak it. We hear it. We remember it. We sing it. And then we live and proclaim it to the world and to ourselves. Because it is our very life and breath. Apart from it we are still dead, and in it we see that we are alive, free, empowered, and destined for eternal joy and satisfaction.

When we preach the Gospel to our souls we grow and are reminded of who we really are. This week speak to your soul. Saturate yourself in the glorious truth of the Gospel. Grow in the transforming reality of the good news of Christ.