The Gospel- The Driving Force of Our Faith

How do I become more like Jesus? Seems like a simple question, but so often we begin with a lists of actions and are left with a to-do list that makes us more concerned with moral actions than a changed heart.

So what did Jesus and the apostles teach was the center of our life?

The Gospel is the center of the Christian life. It is what begins it, maintains it, and secures it.

The Gospel:

“That in the beginning God made a perfect creation. Mankind rejected God as their King and chose to sin, bringing upon a curse over all of creation. We are now born into sin, separated from, and completely against God. God being perfectly holy cannot be in the presence of sin, and he cannot just blindly overlook it for He is just. Therefore in order to save the world, God the Father sent His Son to take on flesh, live a perfect life, and die a perfect death on our behalf. Jesus Christ by dying on the cross took on the wrath of God we earned, so that we could be forgiven. He also rose three days later, showing that he has defeated death and secured eternal life for all those who would put their faith in Him.”

This is not just a story but it is history, and through Jesus’s actions God has begun to build a kingdom of people that are redeemed and set apart for good works.

Through the gospel, Jesus is changing the world, and specifically he changes us.

Col. 3:1-4

V. 1 “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”

At the point of our conversion, we are born again. The Holy Spirit, brings us from death to life.

The Spirit uses the preaching of the gospel to brings us from death to life.

Heart of Stone to a Heart of Flesh. This is why Paul uses the term raised, as in a resurrection.

To be raised with Christ is to be saved. The Gospel is the beginning point of our salvation. It is belief in the good news of Jesus’s life, death, resurrection, and ascension that God uses to change people.

So someone who is raised with Christ is a person who has repented and believed in the Son of God for the salvation of their souls.

They believe Jesus was who He said He was, did what the Bible says He did, and that He is the Lord of their life.

So the expectation on someone who has believed and experienced this salvation is that they will be different. They are to seek the things above.

Christians’ primary concern is following and obeying Jesus.

So we see here how belief in the Gospel begins our Christian life and radically changes a person.

V.2 “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

Paul goes on to elaborate on the previous instruction.

Christians are new people. Other places in the Bible describe us as aliens and foreigners in this world. Thus, Paul tells us we should be be seeking for the greater and deeper things of life.

Not caught up in materialism, but contentment in what God has given.

Not vain and selfish, but pursuing love and kindness.

V. 3 “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

Paul gives the reasoning behind why we are to seek things above.

Our life hidden with Christ speaks to a couple of different important realities.

First, it points to the reality that my life and salvation are secured forever, not on the basis of my works, but because of what Jesus has done.

If I belong to Jesus, my salvation is permanent, and secured.

My good works and obedience are not to make myself better or make God love me more, but instead they are out of love for God. (John 14:15-17) We are also promised a helper, again reiterating that obedience is out of love and we don’t do it alone.

Second, building off of the permanent nature of our salvation, Paul speaks to us in a way that should make us more conscience of our true home.

The old me is dead, and I live here just waiting for Jesus. This is why Paul said to live is Christ and to die is gain.

This leads to our second point of how the gospel is central. It not only begins my salvation, it secures and maintains it, and as I reflect more on Jesus and what He has done, His Spirit makes me more like Him.

When I reflect on the greater things of the Gospel, I remember my security in Christ, and I am motivated to live for Him out of love.

V. 4 “When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

Because my life is hidden in Christ, my future with Him is secured, and I know that I will be with Him.

I know that Jesus is making all things new, and when He returns, I will be with Him in a new and perfect world forever.

So the gospel is central in the beginning of my salvation as the Spirit uses it to change me. It is central to my Christian life, for by reflecting on it my love for God and security in Christ grows, causing me to be more faithful. Finally, it encourages me as it reminds me that all things will be made new and I will be with Jesus forever.

Discussion Questions:

What is the gospel? and how is it central to the Christian life?

How do you think trusting in Jesus for salvation is different than the message of other religions?

Do you sometimes feel guilty that you are not doing enough as a Christian? How can you be encouraged by the Gospel?