The Gospel Grid

INTRODUCTION

This a study to help us apply the Gospel in all of life.

To do that we need to understand the Gospel.

The Gospel is best understood as a story.

So that is what we will do tonight.

TEACHING POINTS

We will see the Gospel story.

We will see the Gospel Grid.

QUESTION OF APPLICATION

Am I shrinking or growing the Cross?

THE GOSPEL STORY

Romans 1:16 ESV

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

CREATION: THE WORLD WE WERE MADE FOR

The Story begins not with us but with God.

We are not ultimate. It is not all about us.

The Bible says that God is infinite, eternal and unchanging.

He created all things out of nothing

Genesis 1:31–2:2 ESV

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

The God who created the world exists in three Persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Matthew 28:19 ESV

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

God created the world out of the overflow of his perfection—it was not because He needed anything but wanted an arena for His glory.

He made us in His image which gives us dignity.

We are human —created and dependent on the Creator.

Genesis 1:27 ESV

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

We are made to worship, love and enjoy God and serve Him—not ourselves.

In God’s original creation, everything was good and there was no sin or death or disorder.

FALL: THE CORRUPTION OF EVERYTHING

Instead of living under God’s authority, humanity turned from God in sinful rebellion.

Genesis 3:6–7 ESV

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

Our defection plunged the whole world into the darkness and chaos of sin.

The wholeness and harmony of creation is shattered.

All humans beings are sinners as a result.

Ephesians 2:1–3 ESV

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

We often excuse sin by claiming we aren’t that bad.

This reveals that we have a shallow and superficial view of sin.

Sin is not just an action. Primarily it is a disposition.

It is the state of a soul that is in rebellion against God and has an aversion to Him.

It manifests in pride, selfishness, attempts at independence and our lack of love for God and others.

Sometimes sin is obvious and external, sometimes it is less obvious and more internal.

Sin enslaves us.

Romans 6:17–18 ESV

But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

It leads us to give our time, love, money and effort to false gods

Sin condemns us.

Romans 6:23 ESV

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If you break the eternal law of an eternal God, the result is eternal punishment.

REDEMPTION: JESUS COMES TO SAVE US

All good stories have a hero and Jesus is the Hero of the Bible.

Humanity needs a Redeemer and Deliverer and Jesus is the Redeemer and Deliverer.

The Redeemer must be truly human to pay the debt we owe to God, but he can be merely human because he must conquer sin (only the God-Man can do that).

Jesus is fully God and fully man. The 2nd Person of the Trinity.

Born to a human mother.

Lived a real life and blood existence, but never sinned.

God sent Jesus to stand in our place and bear the punishment we deserve. He is our Substitute.

1 John 4:14 ESV

And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

He took our place on the Cross, dying for our sin.

He received the condemnation and death we deserve so that, when we trust Him, we will receive all the blessings of salvation.

Jesus then rose from the death, showing off His victory over sin, death and Hell.

His resurrection is called the firstfruits—a sign of the total cosmic renewal coming to the people of God and all of creation

All that was lost and corrupted in the Fall is put right by the work of Christ.

A NEW PEOPLE: THE STORY CONTINUES

We become a part of the story by faith and trust.

Ephesians 2:8–9 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.

When we trust in Jesus, we are resting ourselves in the Gospel and committing ourselves to the Gospel.

The results is that we are forgiven and given eternal life

We are also now free to say NO and YES to God.

We are free to stop living for ourselves and start living for Him

1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Finally, God has promised that Jesus will return to judge sin and make all things new.

Until then He is gathering up a people for Himself from all nations and He will rule over them forever.

God will be our God and we will be His people.

THE GOSPEL GRID

GROWING THE CROSS

That is the Gospel story, but how do we live it out in our lives.

It is not just the entrance into the faith.

Through the Gospel we bear fruit and grow in the faith.

Colossians 1:5–6 ESV

because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth,

If there is a lack of transformation, Peter says we forgot the Gospel:

2 Peter 1:5–9 ESV

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.

Many Christians have a truncated view of the Gospel.

It is what you believe to become a Christian, but they don’t see it as what they believe to stay Christian.

They only see it as a door and not a path.

Not just deliverance from sin, but the release from its power.

The Gospel makes us right with God (justification) and frees us to delight in God and become more like Him (sanctification).

It changes everything!

The starting point of the Christian life is conversion.

At the point of conversion, we have a limited view of God’s holiness and our sin.

The more we grow, the more we realize how great God is and how great our sin is.

God’s great:

Isaiah 55:8–9 ESV

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

We are sinful:

Jeremiah 17:9–10 ESV

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

The Cross looms larger as we get closer to the Savior who died on it.

SHRINKING THE CROSS

Unfortunately sanctification isn’t as simple as we would like because of the sin that remains in us.

We minimize the Gospel or “shrink the Cross” when we:

A) Minimize God’s holiness, thinking of Him to be less than the Bible declares (God knows my heart)

B) Elevate our righteousness, thinking of ourselves to be someone better than we are (I’m not as bad as that guy!)

SIX WAYS WE SHRINK THE CROSS

DEFENDING

We can’t bear feedback about our weaknesses or sin.

We explain things away, talk about successes or justify decisions

Others are hesitant to approach us and we rarely have conversations about hard things in our lives.

Romans 3:23–24 ESV

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,

FAKING

Strive to keep up appearances and maintain an image

Behavior is driven by what others think of us

Do not like to think reflectively about life

Not many people really know me

Galatians 1:10 ESV

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

HIDING

Tend to conceal as much as we can about our lives—especially “bad stuff”

Different from faking because you don’t care about impressing—you just want safety from shame and rejection.

You are pretty sure people would not love the real you

Hebrews 4:12 ESV

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

EXAGGERATING

Talks and thinks more highly of ourselves than we should

Blow things out of proportion—often to get attention

Things become a bigger deal than they should be, which causes stress and anxiety for you and others

Proverbs 12:22 ESV

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.

BLAMING

Quick to blame others for my sin or my circumstances

Difficult time owning my sin or contributions to conflict

This is due to one of two things:

Pride: Proverbs 16:18

Proverbs 16:18 ESV

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

Fear: 1 John 4:18

1 John 4:18 ESV

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

DOWNPLAYING

Tend to give little weight to circumstances and sin in my life

Act like they are “normal” or “not that bad”

Then they mount and become overwhelming

Jeremiah 6:13–14 ESV

“For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.

FIGHTING TO KEEP THE CROSS BIG

All of us are prone to do some of these more than others.

All of us are prone to do all of these on some level from time to time.

How do we avoid it?

We must nourish our minds with biblical truth.

We need to read and hear the Word and know and cherish the righteous character of God.

We need to read and hear the Word to know and admit our own sinfulness and brokenness.

Our aim in this is not “doing what Christians are supposed to do,” but having the life God wants for us.

A life marked by transforming joy, hope and love in the Gospel.

Growing in the Gospel means that we are nourished by the Word more and more, expanding in our knowledge and love for Christ, as well as our own sinfulness.

The message of the Cross shows us a GREAT GOD who came to die for MISERABLE SINNERS.

We have to keep hearing and meditating upon that message, so that we love that great God more and more and love our miserable sin, less and less.

We will explore more and more how to use the Gospel Grid in this way in the weeks to come.