The gospel is about what God has done for us in Christ, never what we have done for God. As soon as we begin talk of our works, we are no longer talking about the gospel, but perhaps our response to His grace in Christ."
"Anybody can teach the law.
It comes naturally to us. We have had its content knitted into our very
bones and sinews. Scripture tells us that every person has it written
into their hearts, so we both know it and others can recognize it when
they hear it. Even the excuses and accusations we humans employ indicate
that we are trying to escape the moral code engraved into our hearts by
God, as Paul teaches in Rm 2:15.
So it is a cinch to preach the law to understanding, even if resistant,
hearers. It rings true to everyone, even if it only seems to be clearly
accusing "those other sinners." Most of the "lifestyle" preaching that
is delivered from Christian pulpits is really just one or another form
of the law. Telling you how to live your life is not the gospel.
It is far more difficult to
preach the gospel, but for that it is the more important teaching. The
gospel alone gives to the hearer forgiveness of sins, life, and
salvation. The gospel is the news that Christ, the Good Shepherd has
done all by His death and resurrection to save us poor, miserable sheep
from our degraded and fallen existence and restored us to His sheepfold
freely and without any cost to us. The gospel is about what God has done
for us in Christ, never what we have done for God. As soon as we begin
talk of our works, we are no longer talking about the gospel, but
perhaps our response to His grace in Christ.
When
I teach teenagers the faith I require them to keep sermon journals,
that is, they have to keep notes on the sermons to which they listen.
Some years ago, a teenaged girl to whom I was teaching the faith of the
Bible expressed concern about the sermons she had heard at a church
other than her own. She wondered if it was OK to take notes on sermons
in other churches, and when I replied that it was, she looked only
mildly relieved. And when I asked if there were any other problems, she
said, that there were. I wondered what they were. She said, "Pastor,
your outline for our sermon journals asks the question, 'What was the
gospel in the sermon?' What if there were no gospel in the sermon I
heard last week?" Needless to say, I was relieved that this was not a
sermon preached in the church I serve, but I probed, "What do you mean,
there was no gospel?" With a hint of vehemence in her voice, she related
that the preacher had given a very good speech about family values in
her father's church, and even though that was a much needed subject,
especially for her own father, it was not a sermon on what God has done
for His people in Christ, but merely a good speech on getting along in
marriage. This young girl understood the Bible's teaching of the holy
gospel and its importance. All the good advice in the world can never
replace the gospel message that the good Shepherd gave up His life for
the sheep. The gospel is not merely lifestyle preaching, but the life of
Christ preaching."
Rev. Dr Scott Murray
Jeremiah 23:1-6
Martin Luther:
"The voice of this Shepherd (Ps 23:1)
with which He speaks to His sheep and calls them, is the holy gospel.
It teaches us how we may win grace, forgiveness of sins, and eternal
salvation: not by the Law of Moses, which makes us even more shy,
unstable, and discouraged, though even in times past we were excessively
timid, shy, and frightened; but by Christ, who is "the Shepherd and
Overseer of your souls" (1Pt 2:25).
For Christ has sought us miserable, lost sheep and has brought us back
from the wilderness. That is, He has redeemed us from the law, sin,
death, the power of the devil, and eternal damnation. By giving His life
for us He has obtained for us grace, forgiveness of sin, comfort, help,
strength, and eternal life against the devil and all misfortune. To the
sheep of Christ this is a dear, sweet voice. They are sincerely glad to
hear it, for they know it well and let themselves be guided by it. But a
strange voice they neither know nor hear, because it sounds unfamiliar;
they avoid it and flee from it (Jn 10:5).
The
pasture with which Christ feeds His sheep is also the dear gospel, by
which our souls are fed and strengthened, preserved from error,
comforted in all trials and sorrows, protected against the
devil's wile and power, and finally saved from all need. But His sheep
are not all equally strong; in part they are still lost, scattered here
and there, wounded, sick, young, and weak. He does not reject them for
that reason but actually gives more attention to them and
also cares for them more diligently than He does for the others who have
no faults. As the prophet Ezekiel says in his thirty-fourth chapter (Ez 34:16),
He seeks the lost, brings back the strayed, binds up the crippled, and
strengthens the sick. And the young lambs that have just been born, says
Isaiah (40:11),
He will gather in His arms and carry them so that they may not grow
tired, and will gently lead those that are with young. All of this,
Christ, our dear Shepherd, effects through the office of preaching and
the holy sacraments, as is taught elsewhere frequently and with many
words.
Martin Luther Psalm 23, 23.1
Prayer:
Lord Christ, our dear Shepherd, You have found the lost, bound up the wounded and broken hearted, strengthened the weak, and cared for them by pouring out Your blood to cleanse their wounds and rescue them from their trials and suffering. Help us to rest in the arms of Your gospel preaching. Lead all Christian pastors to be true shepherds for the sheep that you send them by giving them the Sprit of truth that they might always preach Your saving gospel. Amen.
Foto: KL
(my thoughts goes to Asia; India, Kazakhstan and China - for the gospel)
Is. 52:7 "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
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