God's Glory (Part Two)
January 3, 2008 “The gospel isn’t one class among many that you’ll attend during your life as a Christian -- the gospel is the whole building that all the classes take place in! Rightly approached, all the topics you’ll study and focus on as a believer will be offered to you ‘within the walls’ of the glorious gospel.” (C.J. Mahaney, The Cross Centered Life, 75-76)
Viewing the Gospel rightly offers a correction to "a costly mistake made by Christians who view the gospel as something that has fully served out its purpose the moment they believed in Jesus for salvation. Not knowing what to do with the gospel once they are saved, they lay it aside soon after conversion so they can move on to “bigger and better” things (even Scriptural things). Of course, none of us thinks this is what we are doing at the time, yet after many years of floundering in defeat we can look back and see that this is exactly what we have done." (Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 7)
"Over the course of time, preaching the gospel to myself every day has made more of a difference in my life than any other discipline I have ever practiced. I find myself sinning less, but just as importantly, I find myself recovering my footing more quickly after sinning, due to the immediate comfort found in the gospel. I have also found that when I am absorbed in the gospel, everything else I am supposed to be toward God and others seems to flow out of me more naturally and passionately. Doing right is not always easy, but it is never more easy than when one is breathing deeply the atmosphere of the gospel." (Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 8)
"In most of Paul’s letters to churches, sizable portions of them are given over to rehearsing gospel truths. For example, Ephesians 1-3 is all gospel, Colossians 1-2 is gospel, and Romans 1-11 is gospel. The remainder of such books shows specifically how to bring those gospel truths to bear on life. Re-preaching the gospel and then showing how it applied to life was Paul’s choice method for ministering to believers, thereby providing a divinely inspired pattern for me to follow when ministering to myself and to other believers." (Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 13-14)
[T]he gospel changes my view of God’s commandments, in that it helps me to see the heart of the Person from whom those commandments come. When I begin my train of thought with the gospel, I realize that if God loved me enough to sacrifice His Son’s life for me, then He must be guided by that same love when He speaks His commandments to me. Viewing God’s commands and prohibitions in this light, I can see them for what they are: friendly signposts from a heavenly Father who is seeking to love me through each directive, so that I might experience His very fullness forever.
When controlling my thoughts as described above, the gospel cures me of my suspicion of God, thereby disposing me to walk more trustingly on the path of obedience to His commands. (Deuteronomy 5:29, Acts 20:32, Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 19)
January 3, 2008 “The gospel isn’t one class among many that you’ll attend during your life as a Christian -- the gospel is the whole building that all the classes take place in! Rightly approached, all the topics you’ll study and focus on as a believer will be offered to you ‘within the walls’ of the glorious gospel.” (C.J. Mahaney, The Cross Centered Life, 75-76)
Viewing the Gospel rightly offers a correction to "a costly mistake made by Christians who view the gospel as something that has fully served out its purpose the moment they believed in Jesus for salvation. Not knowing what to do with the gospel once they are saved, they lay it aside soon after conversion so they can move on to “bigger and better” things (even Scriptural things). Of course, none of us thinks this is what we are doing at the time, yet after many years of floundering in defeat we can look back and see that this is exactly what we have done." (Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 7)
"Over the course of time, preaching the gospel to myself every day has made more of a difference in my life than any other discipline I have ever practiced. I find myself sinning less, but just as importantly, I find myself recovering my footing more quickly after sinning, due to the immediate comfort found in the gospel. I have also found that when I am absorbed in the gospel, everything else I am supposed to be toward God and others seems to flow out of me more naturally and passionately. Doing right is not always easy, but it is never more easy than when one is breathing deeply the atmosphere of the gospel." (Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 8)
"In most of Paul’s letters to churches, sizable portions of them are given over to rehearsing gospel truths. For example, Ephesians 1-3 is all gospel, Colossians 1-2 is gospel, and Romans 1-11 is gospel. The remainder of such books shows specifically how to bring those gospel truths to bear on life. Re-preaching the gospel and then showing how it applied to life was Paul’s choice method for ministering to believers, thereby providing a divinely inspired pattern for me to follow when ministering to myself and to other believers." (Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 13-14)
[T]he gospel changes my view of God’s commandments, in that it helps me to see the heart of the Person from whom those commandments come. When I begin my train of thought with the gospel, I realize that if God loved me enough to sacrifice His Son’s life for me, then He must be guided by that same love when He speaks His commandments to me. Viewing God’s commands and prohibitions in this light, I can see them for what they are: friendly signposts from a heavenly Father who is seeking to love me through each directive, so that I might experience His very fullness forever.
When controlling my thoughts as described above, the gospel cures me of my suspicion of God, thereby disposing me to walk more trustingly on the path of obedience to His commands. (Deuteronomy 5:29, Acts 20:32, Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 19)
"Outside of heaven, the power of God in its highest density is found inside the gospel. This must be so, for
the Bible twice describes the gospel as “the power of God.” Nothing else in all of Scripture is ever described in this way, except for the Person of Jesus Christ. Such a description indicates that the gospel is not only powerful, but that it is the ultimate entity in which God’s power resides and does its greatest work. Indeed, God’s power is seen in erupting volcanoes, in the unimaginably hot boil of our massive sun, and in the lightning speed of a recently discovered star seen streaking through the heavens at 1.5 million miles per hour. Yet in Scripture such wonders are never labeled “the power of God.” How powerful, then, must the gospel be that it would merit such a title! And how great is the salvation it could accomplish in my life, if I would only embrace it by faith and give it a central place in my thoughts each day!" (Romans 1:16, 1 Corinthians 1:18, 24, Hebrews 4:12, Ephesians 1 - Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 15).
"The glory of God is the most powerful agent of transformation available to mankind. It is so powerful that it transforms those who merely gaze upon it. The Apostle Paul gives personal testimony concerning this stunning fact. “But we all,” he says, “beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory.” From Paul’s testimony I learn that if I wish to become all that God wants me to be, I must behold His glory each day. But where do I find God’s glory to behold? Indeed, the glory of God is revealed throughout all of Creation, but the Bible indicates that, outside of heaven, the glory of God in its thickest density dwells inside the gospel. It is for this reason that the gospel is described in Scripture as “the gospel of the glory of Christ” and “the gospel of the glory of the blessed God.” Consequently, as I habitually gaze upon the glory of the Lord revealed in the gospel, I can know that actual deposits of God’s very glory are attaching themselves to
my person and transforming me from one level of glory to another. This transformation is deep and abiding, and unfadingly displays the glory of God to others." (2 Corinthians 3:18, Psalm 19:1, Isaiah 6:3, 2 Corinthians 4:4, 1 Timothy 1:11, 2 Corinthians 3:13, 18, Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 17, 18)
the Bible twice describes the gospel as “the power of God.” Nothing else in all of Scripture is ever described in this way, except for the Person of Jesus Christ. Such a description indicates that the gospel is not only powerful, but that it is the ultimate entity in which God’s power resides and does its greatest work. Indeed, God’s power is seen in erupting volcanoes, in the unimaginably hot boil of our massive sun, and in the lightning speed of a recently discovered star seen streaking through the heavens at 1.5 million miles per hour. Yet in Scripture such wonders are never labeled “the power of God.” How powerful, then, must the gospel be that it would merit such a title! And how great is the salvation it could accomplish in my life, if I would only embrace it by faith and give it a central place in my thoughts each day!" (Romans 1:16, 1 Corinthians 1:18, 24, Hebrews 4:12, Ephesians 1 - Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 15).
"The glory of God is the most powerful agent of transformation available to mankind. It is so powerful that it transforms those who merely gaze upon it. The Apostle Paul gives personal testimony concerning this stunning fact. “But we all,” he says, “beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory.” From Paul’s testimony I learn that if I wish to become all that God wants me to be, I must behold His glory each day. But where do I find God’s glory to behold? Indeed, the glory of God is revealed throughout all of Creation, but the Bible indicates that, outside of heaven, the glory of God in its thickest density dwells inside the gospel. It is for this reason that the gospel is described in Scripture as “the gospel of the glory of Christ” and “the gospel of the glory of the blessed God.” Consequently, as I habitually gaze upon the glory of the Lord revealed in the gospel, I can know that actual deposits of God’s very glory are attaching themselves to
my person and transforming me from one level of glory to another. This transformation is deep and abiding, and unfadingly displays the glory of God to others." (2 Corinthians 3:18, Psalm 19:1, Isaiah 6:3, 2 Corinthians 4:4, 1 Timothy 1:11, 2 Corinthians 3:13, 18, Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 17, 18)