For five or six days now, I have been down with a really bad flu or something, and while I am certainly improved, I am still feeling the effects of it. This illness has gone through almost every person in my household, but thank God, we are on the mend.
Meanwhile, I have neglected reading my books the entire days I have been sick and am only now hoping to review the three books I had finished a week ago. This first one should be the easiest to review because it was under 100 pages and had a simple premise: Christians need to recite to themselves the gospel every day. The author provided the why and how, with supporting references to and examples from Scripture.
PART I is a series of Reasons to Rehearse the Gospel Daily. But here, I just included a portion of my notes while reading through those reasons.
1. Paul taught believers how to apply the gospel to their own lives.
2. It is a daily battle to believe the gospel.
3. The gospel is the power of God.
4. We should give the gospel a central place in our thoughts each day.
5. We are commanded daily to take up and put on the whole armor of God for our own protection, and to put on each piece with prayer. We were actually chosen for prayer.
6. Make preaching the gospel to self an obsession of the heart.
7. Be in the gospel at all times, and God will supply all your needs.
8. Stop dwelling on your sin and the guilt thereof. Start using the gospel to liberate yourself from that guilt because Jesus took care of it for you.
9. Become practiced at celebrating the gospel. Should cause joy and then a passion for the lost.
10. You should come to realize: "I deserve hell. Jesus died for me (in my place) and now I do not have to go there. That's how much He loves me." (Jesus did not deserve to die. I do/did.)
11. Self-love is NOT liberating. It is lonely, mundane, and tiresome. The gospel frees us from the self-love shackles.
12. The gospel makes good news out of every aspect of life, including trials. Trials are for God's purpose to improve our character and conform us to Christ.
13. God had to do something so radical (like the death of His Son on the cross) because of the hardness of our hearts, the arrogance and selfishness of man. It could not have been something as simple as "Jesus loves you" that saves us from God's wrath.
14. God prepared works for us to do and prepared us to do them. The works He prepared for us to do are refreshing to our souls. The works are so valuable to Him that Jesus died on the cross so they could be performed.
Part II offers a gospel narrative, a refreshing prose version of the TRUTH. I highlighted every word because all of it was so good. Here are the sections and a favorite truth from each:
1. The Glory of God: He is unimaginably awesome in all of His perfections, absolutely righteous, holy, and just in all of His ways.
2. My Sin Against God: Instead of giving thanks to Him and humbly submitting to His rule over my life, I have rebelled against Him and have actually sought to exalt myself above Him.
3. God's Work on My Behalf: God loved me so much that He was willing to suffer the loss of His Son, and even more amazingly, He was willing to allow His Son to suffer the loss of Him at the cross.
4. My Salvation: In saving me, God also justified me, and being justified through Christ, I have a peace with God that will endure forever.
I don't deserve any of this, even on my best day, but this is my salvation, and herein I stand. Thank You, Jesus.
Part III is a poetic version of the Gospel Narrative, and it is very beautiful. It probably would be very nice to memorize, too.
I love this little book and will read it again and again until I lose my eyesight. It really is an essential help for Christians. It lays out a concise and uncomplicated understanding of the gospel in a way that is applicable to one's daily walk in faith.
After I finished this book, I was listening (via YouTube) to a pastor speak at a convention and he said that the gospel should be preached in every sermon, but the reason he gave was for those in church who had not heard it, yet. And immediately I corrected him in my mind and recalled why the gospel is absolutely crucial for every Christian to hear and recite daily, including in church. The gospel message is not just to reach the lost; it is especially for believers, and now I understand why.
I read the list of points you gave and felt how far short I fall in making this application of the gospel daily to my life. My wife told me that we are renewed each day because of the justification in our lives due to the finished work of the Lord on the cross. You give a telling insight about constantly impressing this upon ourselves for those who are believers, not just the unsaved.
ReplyDeleteWe all fall short. Great point, though, about being renewed each day bc of what Jesus did on the cross. Very true! But that is one thing this book made clear is how believers need to apply the gospel every day. I am reminded of how raising children is an opportunity to share the gospel every day -- like when we are disciplining them. Give them the gospel! Well, the same is true for adults.
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