When do we need the gospel? Is it a one-time thing? Does it have anything to do with our ongoing walks with God? How could the answers to these questions help us love God more and transform our lives?
Also, read about why we are responsible for our own spiritual growth and whether or not we are hearing solid biblical teaching. And while the word Trinity doesn’t actually appear in the Bible, why we can trust its reality.
Welcome, to “God’s Word Day by Day” where I blog through the Bible in a Year. I hope you’ll join me every day. If you’re not already signed up, you can do it here or subscribe on YouTube.
Today’s Readings:
Leviticus 7 & 8
Psalm 24.7-10
Proverbs 9.10-12
Mark 1.1-22
Is the Gospel a One-Time Thing?
Leviticus 7 & 8:
All of Us Need the Gospel
We have been reading about all the offerings under the Levitical system. Notice that a sin offering had to be made for Aaron and his sons just like all the rest of the people (Leviticus 8.14).
And even those God has placed in the ministry today are imperfect. They are neither sinless nor infallible. All of us need the gospel.
But is the gospel a one-time thing?
Living in Light of the Gospel
You might think, “Well, I heard and accepted the gospel once so that has nothing to do with me any longer.” It is true that when we repent and believe the gospel, receive His forgiveness and cleansing, and are born-again or converted, it is a one-time thing. But it is, also, true that until we get to heaven, we will have the pull of sin constantly at work in us (Rom. 7.13-25). The Apostle Paul said:
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find (Rom. 7.18).
When we fail, we need to remember that we are not only saved by His grace through faith in the gospel, but it’s only by His grace that we can live the Christian life, not any inherent goodness in us.
So when we realize we have sinned, we can run back to the cross, confess our sins and God will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 Jn. 1.9). It doesn’t mean we had lost our salvation. But sin mars our fellowship with God and weighs us down with guilt.
Preaching the Gospel to Yourself
We need to remind ourselves, regularly, that He died for all of our sins: past, present, and future.
The more we contemplate that and understand His goodness, mercy, and grace, rather than giving us a license to sin, it should give us a greater desire to please Him in return. The more we grasp the immensity of our sins and our sinful nature, the more we become like the woman Jesus encountered in Luke 7:
For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little” (Lk.7.47 NASB).
Some have called this “preaching the gospel to yourself.”
It took me a while to understand the importance of this and how transformative it is. I heard it but mentally brushed it away for a while. Yet, I kept coming back to it. Finally, the light bulb started to come on. I hope you’ll consider the idea, as well, if it’s new to you. Begin to preach the gospel to yourself and run back to the cross when you fail. As Elyse Fitzpatrick has said, “It is for this that Christ died.”
Note: A couple of resources that have helped me were a little book by Joe Thorn entitled Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself, Elyse Fitzpatrick’s book, Comforts from the Cross, and another small gem entitled A Gospel Primer by Milton Vincent.
Today’s Other Readings:
Psalm 24.7-10:
The King of Glory
Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in (v. 7).
According to Matthew Henry in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, this pictures Christ’s ascension into heaven after His death and resurrection, and the welcome He received there. He paid the price with His blood for entry, not just for Himself, but for us, also, so that we can enter in with Him! What good news!
Proverbs 9.10-12:
Truth & Lies, Wisdom & Scoffing
If you are wise, you are wise for yourself, and if you scoff, you will bear it alone (v. 12).
We are constantly reminded in Scripture that we alone are responsible for our acceptance or rejection of truth (Ezek. 18.20; 2 Cor. 5.10). We can’t blame our pastors or our teachers or our family. The Word and the wisdom that goes with it are there for all to see and to accept or reject.
That, also, means we are responsible for our own spiritual growth and for whether we are hearing solid biblical teaching. No matter where we attend church or whose teaching we sit under, we must be good Bereans who “received the word with all readiness” and yet “searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17.11).
Far too many people stay in churches where the truth is either watered down or taken out of context because they don’t read the Bible for themselves and learn to be discerning.
Mark 1.1-22:
The Trinity
There are several things I’d like to point out from this passage. The first is in verses 9-11:
It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, ‘You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’
Though the word “trinity” is not mentioned in Scripture, the concept is and this is one example. Here in this passage, we see Jesus coming to be baptized, the Father speaking and the Holy Spirit descending on Christ like a dove.
Repent & Believe
The second is in verse 15. Jesus is beginning His earthly ministry and immediately says:
Repent, and believe in the gospel.
As John MacArthur notes in his Daily Bible, “Repentance and faith are man’s required response to God’s gracious offer of salvation.”
If you’d like to understand more about salvation and what part faith and repentance play, check out our newest discipleship video:
The Call
The third is in verse 17 where Jesus calls the first of His disciples. He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
That’s still our call today: to become His disciples, to go out and share the good news of the gospel, and then to disciple others as we saw in Matthew 28.19-20 in yesterday’s reading. If you’d like to disciple someone else but don’t know where to start, check out our discipleship series on YouTube.
Closing Thoughts:
Think about the Gospel and what it means in your daily ongoing walk with God. Have you ever thought about the need to “preach the gospel to yourself”? In what area of life do you need to apply gospel truths? When do you need to run back to the cross and receive His forgiveness and grace?
If you have not repented of certain sinful thoughts, words, or actions, go to Him, admit your sin, ask for His forgiveness, turn away from that sin, and walk in His forgiveness and grace.
“It is for this that Christ died.”
Coming Up:
In the coming days, we’ll talk about the need to get the logs out of our eyes, how Islam intends to conquer the West largely through cultural invasion, and the contagious nature of many sins.
I hope you’ll join us and if this post spoke to you, please share it on your favorite social media platform.
Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥
What Is Your Plan to Grow Spiritually This Year?
I hope you’re reading through the Bible with me or you have another reading plan in place. If not, you can sign up for my daily email or subscribe here for the YouTube version.
Following along with me can help you stay on track. And I believe you’ll benefit from the additional information I share and grow as you learn to apply God’s Word to your own life.
Below it, you’ll find today’s Bible in a Year video.
Note about this post:
I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years. Some days I make major changes, other days fewer.
A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”
I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.
Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)
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