GONE OUR OWN WAY

Romans 3:1-20

Yesterday we saw that the Law exposes our guilt but can’t make us right with God—it reveals the distortion but can’t restore the image. That’s why the gospel isn’t just where the Christian life begins; it’s where we have to keep standing every single day.

I came across an excellent article by Cameron Smart that speaks directly to this: how the gospel isn’t just the doorway into Christianity but the very foundation we stand on every day.

He lists eight reasons why believers need to rehearse gospel truths continually—why we never move past grace, but only deeper into it.

I’ve included a link to the full article at the bottom of this email, but here’s a summary of his main points:

1. To evoke praise and thanks to God. God our Father is the one who should be in the news headlines each day. Rather than taking his incredible saving works on our behalf for granted, we should daily meditate on what he has done in Christ and offer up to him the worship and thanksgiving of which he is so deserving (Romans 11:33–36; Revelation 5).
2. To remind us of our identity in Christ. Hearing the gospel each day and each week focuses us on Christ (Col. 3:1–4; 1 Cor. 15:1–11). We easily forget who Christ truly is and who we are in him. The good news clears away the fog of forgetfulness and reminds us of what God has done in history and in his people.
3. To sustain us. Meditating on God’s Word and gospel truths roots our faith, makes us fruitful, feeds us, waters us, grows us, and keeps us firm through trials (Psalm 1; John 6:22–59; Jude 20–21).
4. To keep us from sin. The gospel sanctifies us because, through it, we grow in love for our Father, and we desire to please him with our lives. The gospel is a greater treasure than temporary gratification, a greater pleasure than sin to enjoy. Knowing that there is no good thing we can do that would make God love us more in Christ actually frees us to love and obey him rather than to take advantage of His grace (see all of Romans 6).
5. To motivate us to do good works. The resurrection of Jesus Christ frees us to spend our lives no longer for ourselves but for those around us (Tit. 2:11–14; Eph. 2:1–10).
6. To protect us from despair. No sin we commit makes God love us less. The gospel frees us from despair. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, which was shown to us through the gospel of the Cross (Rom. 8:31–39).
7. To encourage others around us. When we’re reminded of the gospel, we are more prone to share a word of encouragement with others throughout the day. This encouragement in turn builds them up in the gospel and ministers truth to their hearts (2 Tim. 2:1–7). A terrific resource in this regard is the book Counsel From the Cross: Connecting Broken People to the Love of Christ by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick and Dennis E. Johnson.
8. To beat down our pride. A sober reflection on our sin and what God has done for us in the gospel destroys our pride and cultivates a spirit of humility before the Lord and others (John 3:16, 5:24; Tit. 3:1–7).

Every day we need to hear the gospel again, not because we’ve forgotten the facts, but because our hearts are prone to forget the wonder. Every morning we wake up needing to remember who we are, what God has done, and where our hope rests.

Let’s live this week with hearts anchored in that grace.