Fight the Self-Driven Gospel


One of the more deceptive elements of our Christian walk arises from our own sense of performance.  Because God commands obedience and holiness, we often forget that only Christ can provide the righteousness we need for salvation.  We work, which isn't bad, but we focus on our striving.

Let's consider this another way.  We may intellectually accept the premise that we are saved by grace through faith, and we would not openly boast, we sometimes live as though salvation is by works (cf. Eph 2:8-9).  We tend to either neglect or forget the good news of the gospel in our Christian walk.

We confuse the categories of justification and sanctification in our lives.

Consider this quiz (from here) to examine how well you hold to the gospel. 
With which are you absorbed? (Answer A or B) 
1 (A) your personal righteousness,
(B) The vicarious righteousness of Christ? 
2 (A) the condition of your faith
(B) Christ’s faithful obedience on your behalf? 
3 (A) your self-crucifixion
(B) His crucifixion? 
4 (A) your new life
(B) His sinless life? 
5 (A) your experience of Christ
(B) His experience for you? 
6 (A) your love for God
(B) His love for you? 
7 (A) The depth of your personal surrender
(B) The depth of Christ’s personal surrender? 
8 (A) Your victorious life
(B) His victorious life on your behalf? 
9 (A) Your attainment
(B) His atonement? 
10 (A) The work of the Spirit in you
(B) the work of Christ for you? 
If you answered “B” in all 10 questions, you have a grasp of the gospel, but better yet, the gospel has a grasp of you.
If you didn't fair that well, it may be that you are simply a Christian whose forgotten (or never fully considered) the wondrous good news of Christ.  As a result, your focus tends to be more self-ward than it should.

We all drift, and we all need occasional correctives.  Back in 2003, the late Jerry Bridges wrote an important article for Modern Reformation.  This article was passed onto me by a friend, and it helped clear some of the legalistic cobwebs from my faith.  It's called "Gospel-Driven Sanctification," and I recommend it to you (PDF here).

If you're looking for books to grow in your knowledge of this topic, Jerry Bridges has written several on this theme. 

Some by other authors would be (in no particular order):

  • A Gospel Primer for Christians: Learning to See the Glories of God's Love by Vincent Milton
  • Hidden in the Gospel: Truths You Forget to Tell Yourself Every Day by William P. Farley
  • The Whole Christ: Legalism, Antinomianism, and Gospel Assurance—Why the Marrow Controversy Still Matters by Sinclair Ferguson
  • The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification by Walter Marshall
  • Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

May you grow through the grace of the gospel of Christ, never forgetting that Jesus paid it all.

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