This past Sunday, as we continue to work our way through the Book of Philippians, we studied 1:27-30. We especially focused on vs. 27: “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” If we are to do this, we obviously must understand just what is the gospel of Christ.
One of the clearest summaries of the gospel is found in Rom. 3:23-25, which reads, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of His blood – to be received by faith.” Eph. 2:4-5 adds, “But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.”
Every day it would be good to take a moment or two to reflect on what profoundly good news this is! God doesn’t merely love you, he has a “great love” for you. While we have all sinned against God, God is rich in His mercy toward us. All of this God convincingly proved through the sacrificial atonement of Christ on the cross so that we could be justified before God. It’s all God’s grace toward us, to which we respond by faith.
Continually remembering that God loves us so deeply and sacrificially enables us to live each day with deep gratitude, abounding joy, and a confident assurance that the God of all creation holds us securely in His hands – now and forever. Thanks be to God!
Grace and peace,
Pastor Bob