“..And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and
born of the virgin Mary,
who Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell;
on the third day He rose again from the dead.”
-Apostles’ Creed
Many of us have heard this Gospel truth for years, but may you stop to ponder it anew. The Creator and Almighty God of the universe, completely holy and sovereign, stepped down to His creation to become man. Jesus walked this earth, experienced the struggles and limitations of time, space, and being human, to serve and live the perfect life we had no chance of living. Then, out of submission to the Father and love for those He created, He willingly sacrificed His own life to reconcile God’s enemies, children of wrath, to be adopted into the family as beloved sons and daughters, heirs with Christ. Even when He was about to face death, He washed His disciples’ feet, forgave a denying Peter and a repentant thief, healed a man coming to arrest Him, remained silent when accused, and kept His gaze on the cross. Good Friday came when our Savior endured the full wrath of God, completely forsaken, and died for our punishment. Saturday was silent. But then came Sunday morning!
Our lives are forever changed when we put our complete hope in Jesus and no longer in our “good works” or “filthy righteousness” trying to work our way out of sin. Paul reminds us in Galatians 3:3 “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” Growing up in a Christian home and being saved at a young age, it took some time for me to understand the depth of my depravity. Now in my old age (I’m over the hill now!) the depth of my depravity stares me in the face and lurks around every corner. I find how I operate in selfishness daily. This has driven me to understand a crucial fact that I often forget:
I don’t just need Jesus to be my Savior at the time of conversion. I need Jesus to be my Savior every day!
I fall short of the glory of God each day. I sin (whether through commission or omission) daily. My heart tends to trust in itself. My mind continues to justify my own sinful actions. My body is prone to indulging instead of diligence. I seek to build my own kingdom instead of bringing Christ’s kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven” (Mt. 5:10). I forget to pray (1 Thess. 5:17). I forget to give grace to others like I have received. I forget to reach out to those in need. I forget to let the “Word of Christ dwell in me richly” (Col. 3:16) and live out of it. I forget to hide God’s Word in my heart (Ps 119:11). I forget to forgive as Christ forgave me (Eph. 5:32). I forget to love as Jesus did (1 Jn. 3:16-18). I forget to look for opportunities to serve. This has been referred to as “Gospel amnesia”. I suffer from Gospel amnesia. Since it is likely a struggle for you as well, we need to be reminded of the Gospel daily because we need Jesus daily. We need to preach the Gospel to ourselves. We need to share the Gospel with others. We need to focus our hearts on the Gospel.
No longer are we under the wrath of God, but we have peace with God through the death of His Son (Rom. 5:1). We have freedom to live the life God has called us to live (Eph. 5:1). We live each day knowing our identity is in Christ as “dearly loved children” (1 Jn. 3:1) and that identity can never be taken from us. We rejoice in the new life Christ has given us (1 Cor. 5:17). We are indwelled by the Holy Spirit of God who is our seal of redemption (Eph. 4:30). We have unhindered access to the throne of God for grace and mercy (Hebrews 4:16). We celebrate that our names are written in the book of life (Luke 10:20) and that one day we will be completely restored to live with Christ forever! Hallelujah! May we never neglect a God-given opportunity to proclaim this truth over and over again. Every time you confess your wrongs to another person, every time you ask the Father to forgive you your sins, every time you remind someone who they are in Christ, every time you show mercy and grace in the midst of someone else’s wrong, every time you overlook an offense (Prov. 9:11) and do not repay evil for evil (1 Thess. 3:14), every time you share the burden of someone else’s pain (Eph. 6:2), every time you proclaim God’s forgiveness when you hear a confession, every time you bring peace where there was conflict, every time you see someone else as someone for whom Christ died you demonstrate the amazing truth of the Gospel. You remind others, and yourself, that our hope and life is found in Christ alone.
This is my prayer for you in this sacred of seasons. May the Lord infuse your life with opportunities to be reminded of the Gospel. May your heart rejoice in the Gospel. May your mind not suffer from Gospel amnesia. May your worship explode because of what Christ has done – for you! May we be reminded of our need for Jesus today…and every day. All praise and glory and honor and majesty and dominion be to our God forever and ever. Amen.
*For further study, review these passages:
Isaiah 53
Matthew 26:47-Matthew 28:10
Romans 5
Ephesians 2
2 Peter 1:3-15