All posts by Phil Gough

In a nutshell… the gospel

GALATIANS 1 v. 4 – 5
‘…the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, in order to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.’

Before he lays into the Galatians for drifting from the true gospel, Paul gives a summary of the gospel good-news:
Jesus gave His life for us –
to combat our sinfulness
to rescue us from this dark and evil age
to fulfill the will of God, for His glory.

Paul is clear the ‘will of God’ is to ‘deliver people from their bondage, to remove the shame and misery of their wrongdoings – by His sovereign bounty in the self-giving of of Christ – and to bring them into the new age, where Christ risen is the firstborn of many.’ (Kenneth Grayston)

‘Look for our role in the rescue. Look carefully. What do you see?
There is absolutely nothing about us!
The gospel is God’s grace at work. We don’t earn it, deserve it, work at it, or add to it.
In Paul’s summary of the gospel we are simply recipients.’ (Peter Mead)

PRAYER
Lord,
this is the essence of the gospel –
You lay down Your life for us – to conquer our sinfulness, to rescue us from darkness, to bring glory to God forever.
Thank You, thank You for Your unfailing resolve and unending love,
by which I am / we are
‘ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven’, rescued,
and equipped and enabled to glorify God,
and bring glory to Him,
today and every day.
AMEN.

CHALLENGE
Choose to live today in gratitude for God’s ‘grace and peace’, hard-won for us
through the self-giving, sacrifice of Jesus.
Determine to bring God glory today in everything you say, think and do,
and reflect at the end of the day how you might have done…