The Power of the Gospel {R2g: What is the Gospel?}

I absolutely love the way Greg Gilbert closes out his book What is the Gospel? with this chapter on the power of the gospel!  How appropriate.  And I feel like the suggestions he gives about what to do now are super practical (I like to call this the the "so what" part: "So now that I know _____, what am I going to do about/with it?")  I'll go ahead and list them out for you with a few bullets each in case those of you who haven't been able to read the whole book with us are curious.




1) Repent and Believe

• This is Gilbert's application for anyone who has read his book and is not yet a follower of Jesus.
• "What the gospel calls you to do is to turn your heart away from sin [repenting] and toward Jesus in faith -- that is, trust and reliance." (p. 116)

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.  For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.  For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  (Romans 10:9-13)

2) Rest and Rejoice

• Believers in Christ can rest and rejoice in knowing that their salvation has been eternally secured by Christ's work on the cross.  They don't have to worry about completing daily check lists of spiritually good things. 
• Resting and rejoicing in Christ's completed work glorifies God. 

As John Piper over at Desiring God always says, "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."

3) Love Christ's People

• Realizing that Jesus' blood was shed just the same for other Christians as it was for you ought to humble you and deepen your love for your brothers/sisters in Christ.
• This ought to cause us to seek deep relationships with all other Christians {even those we are not drawn toward}, actively befriending them, forgiving them, and seeking to build them up in their relationship with the Lord.

Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.  (2 Corinthians 13:11)

4) Speak the Gospel to the World

• "It is through our proclaiming the gospel -- whether through preaching or teaching or conversations over meals with friends, family members, and coworkers -- that God has determined to save sinners."  (p. 119)
• I'm convinced that this is one of the most important things which we can devote ourselves to (aside from seeking to know the Lord more intimately).  And as Gilbert adeptly points out in this chapter:  "There are many good things that we can do as Christians, but the fact is that most of those things will happily be done also by people who are not Christians.  But if we Christians fail to proclaim the gospel of Jesus, who else is going to do that?  No one."  (p. 120)

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  (Matthew 28:18-20)

5) Long for Him

• Truly believing the gospel should cause us to long for Christ's presence and glory, which will be fully revealed when He returns.  
• Having this mindset {which I like to call an "eternal mindset"} helps us persevere through hard days.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,  and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”  And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,  saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”  (Revelation 7:9-12)

---

I hope you've enjoyed reading through this great book as much as I have!  I'll have a post up soon with more details on our next one.    :)