Bookends Ch. 2: The Motivation of the Gospel

Chapter 1 ended with these questions: If it is true that God's acceptance of me and His blessing on my life is based entirely on the righteousness of Christ, what difference does it make on how I live? Why should I make any effort? Why should I put myself through the pain of dealing with sin and seeking to grow in Christlike character if it doesn't effect my standing with God? This chapter answers these questions.

We are pointed to the miracle, the vastness and the glory of the gospel-forgiveness! The very fact that we are accepted by God as sinful enemies should cause us to worship not only with our words but with our lives. The authors take us on a journey through lives of three different characters in the bible and gives us their reaction to the good news of forgiveness.

They start with a prostitute, then a respected Jew and finally to Paul who, if anyone had a reason to boast, it would be him. From the lowly prostitute to the self-righteous Pharisee of Pharisees, we see an awe and love for the Savior that worked itself out in action. when they were forgiven. Each one realized they were forgiven much at a great cost.

This knowledge led them to radical worship rather then complacency!

We are motivated to act when we are overwhelmed with gratefulness and love for Jesus.


A point that stood out to me was on page 34: Genuine love for Christ comes through (1) an ever-growing consciousness of our own sinfulness and unworthiness, coupled with (2) the assurance that our sins, however great, have been forgiven through His death on the cross. Only love that is founded on both these foundations can be authentic and permanent. If we lack love for the Savior, both of these prerequisites are deficient.

As we realize how much we have been forgiven , our love with grow. Our love is weak when we do not see how great our need was and is.

I pray that the Lord will grow me in genuine affection as I become more and more aware of my own unworthiness and His great forgiveness. This chapter has caused me to think about the way I measure my growth as a disciple. Often it is based on my behavior rather then how grateful I have become and how much my affections for the savior have grown.

YOUR TURN

What stood out to you?

Did you identify with any of the three people described in this chapter? How?

Would you say that you have become more aware of your sin the longer you have been a believer?

How do you generally measure your spiritual growth?

We are looking forward to hearing from you.

Remember that Betsy will be doing chapter 3 next Friday.