Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
The good news of the gospel can so easily be forgotten or taken for granted. If we begin to feel that we need to go beyond it, or we find it irrelevant in our lives or affections, we should be concerned, not complacent. Just as young children need regular reminders to keep them from forgetting what they need to remember, we need to recall routinely the transforming power of Jesus Christ in human hearts.
Why? Because the gospel is not just the way in to salvation but the way of salvation; it is not only the ABC of the Christian life but the A to Z. It is the word to which we must “hold fast.”
As Paul describes it in 2 Corinthians 4:3, life without the gospel is like living with a veil covering our eyes: we are blinded by our own sin, by our pursuit of comfort or doing “enough” good, or even by our own theology or religious adherence. This clouded vision is common to all mankind; by nature, we all face a No Entry sign at the gate of heaven. The road is flooded, and there is apparently no way through. But the gospel, the glorious news, is this: there is one who stands ready to clear the way. In His living, dying, and resurrection, Jesus lived the life we can’t, died the death we deserve, and conquered death once and for all so that all who believe can have a relationship with God.
On the day we first understood the full weight of this—the day when God’s grace opened our clouded eyes, unplugged our ears, and softened our hardened hearts—we could run no other way than toward Him, crying, “Save me!” As the old hymn says:
Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free;
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.[1]
Now, having run to Him as the gospel bids us, we need to remain with Him as the gospel reminds us. So, where does the gospel find you today? Are you living in this freedom? Or are you still occasionally living as though imprisoned, trying, trying, trying with all your might to find the freedom only Christ gives?
To the Christian, the gospel is and must be as water in a dry land. It is the priceless, payment-free water that the Lord Jesus offers—it is the water of life (Revelation 21:6). Be sure to rehearse to yourself the simple gospel today, and every day, so that it never grows cold to you and so that you live in the freedom that Christ died to win for you.
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Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotional by Alistair Begg, published by The Good Book Company, thegoodbook.com. Used by Truth For Life with permission. Copyright © 2021, The Good Book Company.
