What Gospel Are We Living?

by Susan Sampson

The goal of our study is to not only learn more about God’s Word or to learn what the gospel is, but to learn how to actually live the gospel day in and day out.  To learn how to take the gospel to our hearts and bring it to life.  Our goal is to live because Jesus suffered and died for us.  Our goal is to die to self so others might live.  We are asking the Lord to teach us how to live the crucified life, walking in grace and truth amid the thorns and thistles in the world and in our own hearts.

Until the day we go home to be with our Lord we will be in a very real battle surrounded by 3 very real enemies; Satan, the world, and our own flesh.  The Lord has equipped us for the battle.  He has given us all we need in the Holy Spirit who dwells in each believer.  He has also given us the body of Christ.  We need one another.  We are weak, we are all prone to wander, going our own way.  We must help one another.  We must preach the gospel to ourselves everyday.  The gospel is the power of God.

So then the question continues to be — What gospel are we living?  Jesus has told us in His Word, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). But my flesh doesn’t want to die.  The only way I will want to die is if I understand the gospel and see myself for who I really am apart from Christ — completely infected by sin from head to toe!  I am seeing that the more I understand the wickedness of my sin, the more beautiful God’s grace becomes and then the more I love Jesus and the more I want to obey.

He loves His precious children, so much so that He died for us though we were His enemies.  Can we together, by God’s grace, make a commitment to one another to put a stake in the ground and love Him and follow Him holding fast to His Word, listening to His voice alone and not to the world?

Lord, enable us by your grace to lay aside all the things that are clamoring for our attention and to fix our eyes on Christ alone and not worry about what everyone else says or thinks, but rather following your Word, coming up under your Word, submitting to your Word, and humbly obeying your Word!  We need you.  We are weak!  Thank you, Lord, for the gospel!  Thank you, Lord, that for our sake you “made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21).

May He give us much grace to know His great love and submit to His Word in humble obedience.