I was 13 when I first gave my heart to the Lord. It was a simple moment. I had a strong feeling to tell my parents about my decision to become a Christian, so I did. Not long after, I was baptized at our family Baptist church… and that was about it. There was no dramatic change in my heart or spirit. Life went on as usual, for a while. Later that year, my brother accidentally shot himself, and my parents’ marriage fell apart in the aftermath. My small flame of faith slowly burnt out, though I would continue to call myself a Christian. 

More than 30 years later, everything changed. In November 2015, my daughter Bryn and I visited a prayer group in New Brunswick. They were a community of mature and passionate believers who welcomed me in and began to mentor me. A deep hunger to read the Bible filled me, and my relationship with Jesus was gradually rekindled. This was the first time I truly made Jesus the Lord of my life and made my faith my own, not based on my family's or anyone else's beliefs.

When I finally surrendered and made Jesus Lord of my life, the Holy Spirit began to transform everything about me. I finally went all in! Before then, I had not experienced the unshakable Kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit that I do now. I had no idea such peace was possible while on Earth.

Preaching the Gospel

When was the last time you preached a sermon on the gospel message? Have you considered that some or many in your congregation may not be saved? 

These days, there is a pull to preach feel-good, self-help sermons. While helping people grow and develop godly character is certainly an important role for those in ministry (and often the missing link), let’s not forget the reason we are all in the room: Jesus saved us. And because He saved us, we are empowered to bear good fruit, submit to the sanctification process, and grow in likeness to our Savior. The fruit of our lives, as a display of His splendor, allows others to taste and see that the Lord is good. 

At its core, the gospel is about how much God loves people and much less about how lost they are, although the Bible is clear about the cost of sin (the things we do against God’s commands that separate us from Him). Consider this excerpt from my book More Than Gold on “The Good News Gospel.” 

What does it cost? It will cost you everything. It cost Jesus His life! It will cost you yours too, but in a different way. Salvation requires you to make Jesus the Lord of your life. It requires a divine exchange, your life for His, your pain for His healing, your ashes for His beauty, your control for His Lordship, your plans for His better way. 

The gospel is just the entry point into the Kingdom of God, but it changes everything. It changes lives and transforms hearts. It brings heaven to earth and sets hearts on fire. This week, I want to challenge you to build your sermons around the gospel, remembering the centrality of Christ and the cross in our daily lives. Transformed hearts transform lives and will transform your church and community in the process. What more could we want? 

(For more, read “The Good News Gospel” on pg. 27 of my book More Than Gold: Reflections on Living in Glorious Freedom or check out this blog series). 

Life is Short

Think about how short life is in the context of eternity. 

If the gospel is true, it’s the most important truth we could ever know. We should approach our salvation with fear and trembling. While desiring to become a better person and help our congregations become better people is admirable, it’s a desire that ultimately misses the mark. We ought to desire to become more Christlike. It is an ongoing process of transformation. It is never about comparing ourselves to others but engaging in our personal journey with Jesus. We learn to be Christlike by knowing the Savior, and we get to know the Savior first and foremost through understanding the gospel’s message. 

The broken-hearted are the people aware that they are spiritually bankrupt and helpless, humble and remorseful over their sins. These are the ones who will inherit the Kingdom of God. They know they need a savior and are ready to receive the gift of salvation expressed through the gospel. 

If we truly believe that we are sinners in need of a savior and that Jesus Christ is our risen Savior, all we have to do is simply declare it out loud and receive His salvation by faith. This is the gift of grace through faith. 

Looking like Jesus

We become like the one we behold, and what we hold in our hearts will have expression on the earth. If we keep our eyes on Jesus, we become like Him as our mind renews to the truth of our identity in Him. To truly encourage those we serve, the best thing we can do is share Jesus by regularly sharing the gospel. We share the gospel as we become the hands and feet of Jesus on the earth, fulfilling the new command to love one another. We love as He first loved us. It is all about grace, knowing that everything we have, from our very life to our gifts and abilities, are from God and are given to be a blessing to others and the world.

Inspiration for this blog comes from Bryan’s new book, More Than Gold: Reflections on Living in Glorious Freedom, now available in hardcover and on Audible! For more on this topic, listen to The Father Pursuit: Starting With The Gospel. Bryan is currently working on his latest book, Greater Than Silver, along with a book on apologetics he co-authors with Bryn.