Preaching the Gospel to Yourself

Preaching the Gospel to Yourself

"May I never boast except in the cross of Jesus Christ." Galatians 6:14

For many of us the gospel is what we share with those who are lost. It is what we first heard that opened our eyes to the need for a Savior. But the gospel is something that we should keep in front of us on a daily, moment by moment basis.

Dr. Jack Miller, founder of New Life Presbyterian Church and World Harvest Mission, taught that we should preach the gospel to ourselves daily. Author and speaker, Dr. Jerry Bridges, picks up on this theme in his book The Discipline of Grace -- God's Role and our Role in the Pursuit of Holiness:

Preaching the gospel to ourselves every day addresses both the self-righteous Pharisee and the guilt-laden sinner that dwell in our hearts. Since the gospel is only for sinners, preaching it to ourselves every day reminds us that we are indeed sinners in the need of God's grace. It causes us to say to God, in the words of an old hymn, "Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to thy cross I cling." It helps us to consciously renounce any confidence in our own goodness as a means of meriting God's blessing on our lives.

Perhaps more importantly, though, preaching the gospel to ourselves every day gives us hope, joy, and courage. The good news that our sins are forgiven because of Christ's death fills our hearts with joy, gives us courage to face the day, and offers us hope that God's favor will rest upon us, not because we are good, but because we are in Christ.

Bridges goes on to quote a letter he received from a pastor in Kenya that expresses so beautifully this truth:

Sin grieves God. We must not down-play the seriousness of it in the life of a believer. But we must come to terms with the fact that God's grace is GREATER THAN ALL OUR SIN. Repentance is one of the Christian's highest privileges. A repentant Christian focuses on God's mercy and God's grace.
Any moment in our lives when we bask in God's mercy and grace is our highest moment. Higher than when we feel snug in our decent performance and cannot think of anything we need to confess.

Whenever we fail -- and fail we will, the Spirit of God will work on us and bring us to the foot of the cross where Jesus carried our failures. That is potentially a glorious moment. For we could all that moment accept God's abundant Mercy and Grace and go forth with nothing to boast except Christ Himself, or else we struggle with our shame, focusing on that as well as our track record. We fail because we have shifted our attention from Grace and Mercy. One who draws on God's Mercy and grace is quick to repent, but also slow to sin!

Brothers, preach the gospel to yourself today. Run to the cross and bask in His mercy and grace!!! -- Bill Welte is President and CEO of America's KESWICK

God's WORD for YOU: Proverbs 27; Jeremiah 12-14; 2 Timothy 1

Great Quote: God is at work bending, breaking, molding, and doing exactly as He chooses. And why is He doing it? He is doing it for only one purpose -- that He may be able to say, "This is My man, and this is My woman." We have to be in God's hand so that He can place others on the Rock, Jesus Christ just as He has placed us. -- Oswald Chambers