The Gospel Truth: Saving And Sanctifying Us
I want to ask you a question.
What is the gospel?
Just think about that for a minute. Let that question sink in.
We know that God uses the gospel to save us, but is it only applicable to our salvation? Or does the gospel apply to our sanctification (our daily walk with Christ) as well? Do believers need to hear the gospel as much as unbelievers do?
The answers to these questions shape our view of the Christian life as a whole. Let’s process them together, and find the answers our hearts are longing for.
The Gospel Story
Once upon a time, God created the world and said it was good. He created the first humans, Adam and Eve. They were created to live in perfect relationship with God, just like us. However, Adam and Eve rebelled against God. Sin had entered into the world. Not only did Adam and Eve sin, but because of their sin all human beings are born into sin as well. Since God is holy and sinless, our sin separates us from having a relationship with Him.
God knew this, and because he loves us so much, he sent his one and only son Jesus Christ down to this earth. Jesus lived a perfect sinless life, and died a sacrificial death he did not deserve on the cross. He died so that we (his people) could have a restored relationship with God.
When he rose from the grave three days later, he had defeated sin’s power over those in Christ. Because of Jesus, we, as God’s children, can have a restored relationship with God when the Holy Spirit regenerates us and gives us the faith to believe.
I can imagine you’ve heard that gospel presentation a time or two. As a matter of fact, I bet the Holy Spirit used a similar presentation like the one above to draw you to Christ.
After your eyes were opened to the depravity of your sin, you repented, and placed faith in Jesus. -Christ saved you!
But the gospel’s work isn’t finished in salvation– it’s also what sanctifies us.
Jesus Is The Truth
Scripture teaches that the gospel, Jesus, is the truth that sets us free and saves us (John 8:32). Not only that, but we’re told in John that we are sanctified in the truth as well.
“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17)
If God’s word is the truth, what is his word about? What’s the common theme in Scripture as a whole?
Jesus gives us the answer to these questions in Luke 24. When he was on the road to Emmaus after he was resurrected, he came across two men who were talking about, well, himself! They were discussing whether or not the resurrection had actually happened. Deep down in their hearts, they doubted it.
Jesus was a little frustrated with their lack of faith, “so beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Emphasis mine) (Luke 24:27).
Jesus revealed a great truth to these men. He told them that all of Scripture is about himself. The Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, is all about God’s son, Jesus.
So yes, the gospel is what sanctifies us as well as what saves us. But what does that actually mean? Are we supposed to constantly “share the gospel with ourselves?” And what happens when we forget the truths of the gospel? Is that dangerous?
Forgetting The Gospel
Just like in our church today, the early church experienced issues and problems.
When the Apostle Paul wrote to the church of Corinth, the believers had arguments and questions regarding sex and leadership. Due to the fact that this church was made entirely up of new converts, this shouldn’t surprise us. These believers hadn’t been raised in Christian homes, they had been raised in the world.
In his article titled, 10 Issues the Gospel Solved in the Corinthian Church that was published on TGC, Andy Naselli says that, “The one theme that drives everything Paul writes in 1 Corinthians is the gospel.”
The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to answer questions that the Corinthians had by pointing them back to the gospel and teaching them how to preach the gospel to themselves and each other.
1 Cor. 15: 1-4, “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures (emphasis mine).”
The reason the church in Corinth had issues was due to the fact that they were forgetting the gospel. They had forgotten who God is, what he had done on their behalf through Jesus, and who they were in Christ. In doing so, they lost sight of how to live out of the overflow of the gospel.
Can’t you see how dangerous this is?
When we forget the gospel, we lose sight of Jesus and our identity. Forgetting the gospel causes us to struggle with sin, feel insecure, have negative thoughts, and doubt God’s goodness.
In order to win the war against our sin struggles, we have to learn how to fight with the gospel. We must learn how to preach truth to ourselves.
Jesus Is The Answer
Learning how to fight with the gospel takes time and intentionality. You won’t become “gospel-fluent” overnight.
In my next article, we’re going to talk about how we fight with the gospel. Until then, remember how important the gospel is. Not only is it what saves us, but it’s also what sanctifies us. The gospel applies to every part of our lives.
I once heard an author say that, “If you have a question, Jesus is the answer. If you have a problem, Jesus is the solution.”
