“For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”
~1 Corinthians 15:3-4
We hear the word “gospel” thrown around all the time these days. And, in a lot of ways, that’s awesome! As believers we do need to be living gospel-centered lives. We need to be living in light of the good news and implications of the gospel. The gospel needs to shape what we do.
But what is the actual gospel? And what is instead but an implication of or an outworking of the gospel? This is where I find there to be a lot of confusion sometimes in our day and age.
The gospel itself is outlined succinctly by Paul in today's passage, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4,
“For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”
The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ for our sins is the gospel. That’s it.
The gospel DOES have implications for how we live, however. For example:
“There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus.” ~Galatians 3:28
Racial reconciliation is not the gospel. But that is an outworking of the gospel.
Caring for the poor is not the gospel. But that is an outworking of the gospel.
The gospel is not good works of any kind. But good works are an outworking of the gospel, a way for us to live out the good news of the gospel and its implications, for “faith without works is dead” (see James 2:14-26).
This is an important differentiation, because without grasping the true gospel, one cannot be saved. And without living out the implications of the gospel one can not adequately be the hands and feet of Christ as His ambassador.
May we remember what the gospel actually is and be faithful Great Commission workers living it out every day of our lives!
Reflection Questions:
1) Where has your understanding of the gospel been wrong or perhaps incomplete?
2) What are some implications of the gospel, some ways in which you are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus, that God is leading you to incorporate into your daily life?
3) What do you need to do with what you read today? How is the Spirit speaking to your heart?
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