He is risen, so we can have:
Forgiveness of Sins
Removal of Guilt
Cleansing from Shame
Righteousness in Christ
A New Life in Christ
A Relationship with God
Victory over Sin
Victory over Satan
A Mediator with God
Intercession by Christ
The Sending of the Holy Spirit
The Way to Heaven
The Return of Christ
Personal Resurrection
Hope in Death
Confidence in God’s Word
Mercy or Grace
A Strong Basis for Our Faith
Numerous Reasons to Sing
If Jesus is dead and gone, we have:
No Forgiveness of Sins
No Removal of Guilt
No Cleansing from Shame
No Righteousness in Christ
No New Life in Christ
No Relationship with God
No Victory over Sin
No Victory over Satan
No Mediator with God
No Intercession by Christ
No Sending of the Holy Spirit
No Way to Heaven
No Return of Christ
No Personal Resurrection
No Hope in Death
No Confidence in God’s Word
No Mercy or Grace
No Basis for Our Faith
No Reason to Sing
Soli Deo Gloria – To The Glory Of God Alone
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. – Ephesians 1:3-14 (ESV)
Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! – Psalm 115:1 (ESV)
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. – I Corinthians 10:31 (ESV)
Questions for Reflection
In whom are we saved? So who gets the praise and glory?
How does God’s love and faithfulness to you encourage you to give him glory?
Are you seeking to live for his glory in all of life? What would that look like?
In what ways are you tempted to live for your own glory?
Solus Christus – In Christ Alone
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. – John 14:6 (ESV)
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. – Acts 4:12 (ESV)
Questions for Reflection
What is the only way to come to God, the only way to be saved?
Are you looking to Christ alone?
In what ways are you tempted to look to yourself?
Sola Gratia & Sola Fide – By Grace Alone Through Faith Alone
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it – the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. – Romans 3:21-24 (ESV)
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. – Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV)
Questions for Reflection
Do we receive the righteousness of God through faith or works?
Are we justified (declared righteous) by grace or by works?
Are you looking to Christ and resting in his grace?
In what ways are you tempted to try to earn your salvation?
Sola Scriptura – Scripture Alone
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped or every good work. – II Timothy 3:17-17 (ESV)
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. – Psalm 119:105 (ESV)
Questions for Reflection
Where do we learn about salvation?
What should be our guide?
Are you committed to reading God’s Word?
Does God’s Word govern your life?
What other authorities are you tempted to follow instead of God’s Word?
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory,
glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
– John 1:14 (ESV)
Jesus was full of grace and truth, but we tend to lean in one direction or another.
We may lean toward a graceless truth: We look with disgust at sinners. We are quick to condemn someone who fails to live up to the truth – we become the judge, jury, and executioner. Somehow we lose sight of our own failure to live out the truth, our own need of grace.
Or we may lean toward a truthless grace. We treat sin as if it were no big deal. We are quick to excuse sin. It doesn’t matter what anyone does. We easily compromise truth in the name of freedom. Somehow we lose sight of God’s commands, and his expectation of obedience.
But Jesus was full of grace and truth. He confronts our graceless truth and our truthless grace. He graciously reaches out to sinners with forgiveness, even as he calls them to live out the truth.
The world doesn’t need our self-righteous condemnation nor our irrelevant affirmation.
The world needs grace and truth. The world needs Jesus. Just like us.
Most of us spend much of lives working. So why do we work? The Bible gives us several reasons to work:
The Bible gives us many reasons to work. Why do you work? Are you working to fulfill your purpose, provide for yourself, help those in need, and show love to God and people?
In a recent post, I said we needed to preach the gospel to ourselves. We need to remember the cross so we don’t want to sin. We need to consider our new life that means we don’t have to sin. As we remind ourselves of the gospel, we then offer ourselves to God.
We see this in Romans 12:1. It begins by pointing us back to the first eleven chapters all about the gospel. And then in response to the gospel, the verse tells us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. Because of all that Jesus has suffered and done for us, we offer ourselves to God.
We see this again in Romans 6:11-13. It begins by calling us to consider our new life in Christ (v11). And then it goes on to tell us to present ourselves to God rather than sin. Because we died to sin, we should no longer offer ourselves to sin, but rather to God who saved us.
In both passages, we offer ourselves to God in response to gospel truths. And yet, to be more precise, both passages tell us to offer not ourselves, but actually our bodies to God. And Romans 6 goes further telling us to offer the members or parts of our body to God. Applying this to our lives might look something like this:
Father, because of all that Jesus suffered to pay for my sins, I don’t want to sin. Because you have given me a new life, I recognize that I don’t have to sin. And so I offer myself to you.
Because of all that you have done for me, I offer myself to you.
How can we grow up in Jesus? Part of the answer is that we need to preach the gospel to ourselves. We need to constantly remind ourselves of what God has done for us, of the many blessings of salvation that should change the way we live. In Romans 12:1 we read, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God….” These words mark a huge transition in the book. Everything before these words deals with God’s mercy in giving us a great salvation. Everything after these words deals with how we should live in response. It is because of the gospel that we should now live differently. And so we need to preach the gospel to ourselves. Let me take just two elements of the gospel to illustrate this point.
Remember the cross so you don’t want to sin. Part of the God’s mercy is that he became a man and took the judgment we deserved for our sins upon himself on the cross. Consider all that our Savior endured because of our sins. The whipping. The beatings. The mockings. The crown of thorns pressed into his head. The nails piercing his hands and feet. The agony hanging on the cross. As we consider what he endured to pay for our sin, how could we have any desire to sin? When the temptation to sin looks so alluring, place the picture of Jesus hanging on the cross next to the temptation, and the temptation will lose much of its tempting power. As we consider the cross, it motivates us to live for him. We remember the cross so we don’t want to sin.
Consider your new life that means you don’t have to sin. In Romans 6, Paul talks about the reality that we have died to sin and been raised to a new life in Christ. We are no longer slaves to sin. And so he tells us in verse 11 to “consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” He has already established that we have a new life. In verse 11 he wants us to consider this reality. To think about it. To remember it. He wants us to preach the gospel to ourselves. We have a new life. God has enabled us to say no to sin. We don’t have to sin anymore. Too often we hear people say (and we might say ourselves) after sinning, “Well, I just couldn’t help it.” But if we are true Christians, we have been given a new life. We can help it. In the face of temptation, remind yourself that you are no longer a slave to sin, and you don’t want to act like a slave anymore. You can say no. We consider our new life to remind us that we don’t have to sin.
Remember the cross so you don’t want to sin. Consider your new life that means you don’t have to sin. Preach the gospel to yourself.
Brian J. Mikul 