“All Christians should become experts in their knowledge and use of the gospel [. . .] so we can speak it to ourselves every day and experience its benefits.”

Wow, that caught my ear.  This is a quote from an article I just read in WorldWide Challenge magazine.  It’s titled “The Gospel for Christians” and is a short adaptation from the book A Gospel Primer by Milton Vincent.

After reading it, my thoughts were “I really need this.”  He makes a good point that we (believers) need the core of the gospel as much or more than non believers.  It’s yet another reason that Easter has meaning beyond mere tradition.  If the gospel is what the gospel says it is, then without it I’m worse off than I dare admit yet by applying the gospel then I’m in so much more of a good position (good standing) with God than I ever realized.

Without a deep soaking of this assurance of justification (good standing) before God, living the Christian life is futile.

Another quote:

“I had always believed I was justified, but I treated my justification as some sort of legal fiction that had little bearing on the mechanics of how God related to me.”

Romans 5:1-2 and Isaiah 53:5-6 unpack these concepts a little bit.  I’m glad it’s clear. And I’m glad Jesus chose blatant Christian sinners like me as friends to redeem.