The gospel effect

By -
It struck me after I'd read my Bible today and was pondering, how as believers the gospel changes our identity on so many different levels.

Through Christ's death and resurrection...
Relational: God is my father, I'm his child and he takes care of me.
Community: God has made me one of his people who together are charged to love one another and tell others of his glory.
Humanity: God has is making me to be how he originally created humanity to be, as one who bears his image. I am being turned the 'Right Side Up' (title of a new book!).
Legal: I have been made 'right' before God, as my debt has been paid by Jesus' death on the cross.
Heavenly: I can approach God's throne with confidence and without fear because I am made pure and spotless through Christ.

I'm sure there are more...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What makes a good church?!

By -
Looking for a new church in Cardiff, I've been thinking a bit about what characterises a 'good' church (to clarify, by church I mean Christians who meet together, not a building or institution). People might advise us to look for a 'lively' church and/or one which teaches the Bible faithfully. 'Lively' is an essential characteristic- if by it one means that the church is spiritually alive (rather than just lively music etc!). Faithful Bible teaching is important and needed to feed that life, but what if the congregation aren't doing what the Bible says? 'Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says'. (James 1:22) However, the other day I was reading Paul's letters to the Thessalonians and here he seems to be writing to a good, faithful church- He doesn't have any criticisms about them (like his letters to the Corinthians) but rather thanks God for them and encourages them to keep going as they are, doing wh...
Read more

What I learnt from Isaiah / Redemption talks

By -
Back from Oak Hall skiing in Hotel Staubbach, Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. Had a great time, and there were some excellent Bible talks too by Paul Mayo, mainly on Isaiah. There was loads of great stuff and I won't go through it all, but just highlight what particularly challenged me... Isaiah 42 - Jesus by his grace (vs2-3a) is fixing the world (3b-4). And he will definitely succeed (vs 8-9). So what am I spending my life doing? All aspects of life on earth ultimately are futile and pointless by themselves - we try and make a difference, but it is minimal and ultimately doesn't matter. But if Isaiah 42 is true, being involved in Jesus' mission is the only thing to live for, and the only thing to be part of in which I can make a real difference to the world. So many people are 'addicted to trivialities' - and so am I most of the time. My conversations (to both Christians and non-Christians) are usually about trivial things, very rarely about the great things of God an...
Read more