The Gospel Gives Direction

1 Timothy -

Getting lost in arguing about directions

Myth of progress / Myth of decline - abortion

What a man knows now is that the whole march of mankind can turn and tramp backwards in its tracks; that progress can start progressing, or feeling as if it were progressing, in precisely the contrary course from that which has been called progress for centuries. …The world is what the saints and prophets saw it was. It is not merely getting better or merely getting worse; there is one thing that the world does; it wobbles. - G.K. Chesterton

The Word of God points to the Gospel

Stewardship/ Aim of Charge=Love Law is for lawless

-23

1 Peter 1:22–23 ESV

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;

The importance of the Gospel… it’s not morality for morality’s sake

Legalism hinders focus on the Gospel by making people’s spirituality about conformity to rules rather than gratitude and dependence on Jesus

Knowledge - if we only go to church to know more, we are missing out on the point of the Gospel and not reflecting the grace of the Gospel

It is not that they are overtly renouncing the good news that Jesus came to live the life we could not, suffer the punishment we deserve and was raised to give us spiritual life instead of death but we see the distortion coming through in the background in many ways:

One student becomes depressed when they recognize their sin, trying to fix it first instead of taking it to Jesus to forgive. Another feels uncertain of their standing with God when they are not doing “enough” for Him. Still another is blinded to their sin because they believe were it exposed, God’s grace would not cover it. Another thinks their spiritual destiny rests on confessing every sin they have ever done. Yet another believes they must earn points with God to be in His “good books” or as Jerry Bridges quotes someone as saying erroneously, “I don’t believe that obedience earns God’s salvation of our souls, but it certainly earns God’s favor in our lives” (The Transforming Power of the Gospel, pg. 81).

The Gospel provides a goal for the church

overview of Timothy 2:1-3; 3:7;4:7-12; 5:7-8; 6:3-4; 6:20-21

Discipleship

Eph 4:11-16

Gospel “seeds”

The Church displays God’s greatness as it fulfills the goal of the Gospel

vs 11 (12-17)

My next step today is...

Look to what God is doing in the world...

Continue developing your love of the Gospel

Choose to get involved in helping others love the Gospel

Is this where Easter lives?

Questions for Small Groups:

How would you explain the Gospel?

What do you see as a discussion or teaching in the church at large that ignores the goal of the church and the Gospel? How does it do so?

Why is the Gospel glorious to you? What makes it so sweet and important?

How do you live day by day reminding yourself of the story of the Gospel?

How does CrossRoad develop following Christ in godliness? What are some way you have been or could get involved?

What’s one way you can celebrate the Gospel this week?

How can you plant Gospel “seeds” this week?