Remember the Gospel

We need to remember the Gospel. That might sound too simple or obvious but I need to be reminded of it, and really we all need to be reminded of it. And one of the reasons we need to be reminded of it is because there are areas in our lives that we need to tell ourselves and each other the Gospel. There are times where if we were really honest we don’t believe the Gospel. When I say believe I don’t mean consenting to certain information like if we were checking off boxes of facts that we agree with. What I mean is believing something where it actually affects your emotions, thoughts, and actions. When we sin usually there is a lie we have believed about God or ourselves. That is why we need to constantly be reminded of the Gospel.

In 1 Corinthians 15 the first 2 verses Paul says:

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

Do you see that? We receive the Gospel, we stand on the Gospel, and we are being saved by the Gospel, if we hold fast to it. And then v. 3 and 4 Paul boils downs what the Gospel is.

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures

Paul puts the Gospel in its basic form. Jesus died for our sins, he was buried, and on the third day he rose again.

We can be so familiar with something that we can actually start taking it for granted and be numb to it, don’t let that happen to the Gospel. Think about the wonders of the Gospel. Preach to yourself until you feel it and are moved by it.

Remind yourself that Jesus lived the perfect life we could not live and went to the cross willingly and took our sin and brokenness upon himself and received the wrath we rightfully deserved. Remember that Jesus died. The Author of life died. But death could not defeat him, the grave could not hold him and in Jesus’ death and resurrection the glory of God is vindicated by God and for God.

Remember that we can now be reconciled to our creator by Jesus’ blood on the cross and there is nothing we can do to earn it. There is no amount of good things or religious rituals we can do to earn God’s love, we just receive it. We remind ourselves of his great love no matter what we are going through, no matter where we are at spiritually, even in the midst of our uncertainty and brokenness, we remind ourselves that he has paid it all.