Truth Matters: Daily Appropriation of the Gospel

By Ken Askew

“It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” 
ESV Galatians 2:20

(Continuing in a series, today we’ll look at the second of the “Four Essentials for Finishing Well” that I picked up from Jerry Bridges at a fall conference.)

In a previous article, mention was made about two instruments used for guidance; a compass and a sextant.  The compass of course is used to aid in land travel and the sextant is an instrument used to aid vessels navigating open waters.  Both are most invaluable tools for travel.

Do you suppose that the Captain of an ocean going freighter crossing the Pacific, after taking painstakingly careful measurements and plotting his course, would toss his sextant overboard; supremely confident that he would have no further use for it on his voyage?  Well of course not.  The instrument would be carefully stowed for easy retrieval as it would be used at regular intervals during the voyage ahead.

What about a hiker and his compass?  The same would be true.  After taking care to ascertain position and direction of travel, the hiker would not leave his compass by the trail.  Quiet the contrary!  He would keep it close at hand and consult it often as he trekked on to his destination in order to make sure he stayed on the correct path.

As odd as it may seem, these two examples tie in with our text today.  In a spiritual sense, Christians experience three “tenses” of salvation.  At the moment we believed in Christ, we were saved from the penalty of sin; past tense.  As we persevere in the faith, the Holy Spirit grants us salvation from the power and dominion of sin; present tense.  Sometime in the future, Christ will finally and completely save us from the very presence of sin; future tense.  And of course all three tenses (past, present and future) of salvation were paid for with the blood of Christ.  That is the Gospel.  That is the Good News.  That Christ died in my (your) stead so that I (you) might have eternal life; salvation.

And my point is this:  The Gospel (that Christ died for you and me) was invaluable to me at the time of my salvation.  But the Gospel cannot be tossed aside now that I have been saved from the penalty of sin because it is the same Gospel that now frees me from the dominion of sin.  And ultimately, it will be the same Gospel that liberates me from the very presence of sin.  You see, the Gospel is a very present reality.  And just like a Captain needs a sextant to hold his heading, just like a hiker needs a compass to stay on the correct path, Christians need a daily appropriation of the Gospel in order to stay the course and persevere in the faith; to finish well.

By daily reflecting on the Gospel, Christians are both humbled and reminded that the life we now live is lived through the power and blood of Christ.  The Gospel is a very present reality in a Christian’s life and every Christian needs a daily appropriation of the Gospel.