How do we respond to the gospel?

Welcome to Theology Thursday! Theology is the study of God, his relation to the world, and our relation to him; it is "faith seeking understanding." I hope these newsletters help enhance your faith and deepen your love for God and his people, the church.

Today's question:
How do we respond to the gospel?

Pastor Brady's thoughts:
Scripture is clear that the gospel is good news for those who believe (Romans 1:16, for one). It is also clear that the gospel doesn’t invite merely intellectual affirmation but active discipleship (Matthew 16:24, among other places). In other words, the gospel isn’t just to be believed, it is to be obeyed (Romans 10:16, as an example).  

So, once we believe the good news that - as our confession of faith generally states - Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and we accept him as our Lord and Savior, what do we do next? If the gospel is to be “obeyed” in addition to “believed” - and indeed if it is our faithful obedience which proves whether we actually believe or not - how do we obey the gospel?

Pastor and author Bobby Harrington says, “It is best to think of the gospel in three related parts:

The Gospel – Jesus is the Messiah, the promised saving King described in Scripture. He came into our world as God’s Son from heaven, and he died for our sins and rose from the dead. He is now enthroned at God’s right hand, and he is coming back as humanity’s Judge.

Gospel Benefits – Jesus offers you forgiveness, right standing with God, hope, his indwelling presence [via the Holy Spirit], and new life in his kingdom now and after you die, in eternity.

Gospel Response – You respond by making the decision to place your faith in Jesus and his gospel, which means you will trust and follow Jesus in all things. You turn to Jesus by turning from your sinful lifestyle, by verbally expressing your faith in him and by surrendering to his new life in water baptism.”

Coming to saving faith in Jesus and embracing his gospel is an act of grace from God, who has been and is at work nudging and drawing anyone with “eyes to see and ears to hear” to him. When we become a Christian, we don’t just mentally affirm a set of truths, we accept God’s invitation to let him into our heart permanently, allow him to put our old life to death, and transform us into the kingdom-citizen he has always desired us to be. This involves a major identity shift that includes giving our allegiance, loyalty, faithfulness, and worship exclusively to God. 

Biblically, responding to the gospel looks like this: 

1. Repentance from sin and choosing obedience
2. Deep conviction
3. Confession
4. Baptism (immersion)
5. Hope
6. Sacrifice and suffering, even to the point of losing one’s family or one’s life
7. Service and love for others,
8. Generosity and compassion
9. Proclaiming the gospel to others,
10. Living a life worthy of the gospel.

The first four in this list are about placing our faith in Jesus for salvation, and numbers 5-10 are about continuing to grow in faithfulness to Jesus all the days of our lives. Faith and faithfulness - this is Christianity and the Christian life. The gospel is about salvation, but it doesn’t stop at salvation. It’s something we respond to over and over again, forever. 

We see from various places in the New Testament that this response is more than mental or intellectual. Consider the scene in Acts 2. The apostle Peter has preached a sermon describing the core components of the gospel, then says, “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah” (Acts 2:36).

Acts 2:37-39 tells us how his audience responded:

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.’

This is one of my places in scripture we turn to for our teaching on how unbelievers can respond to the gospel: belief, repentance, and baptism in Jesus’ name for the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

That’s what Peter taught, and it’s still what we teach today. While believer’s baptism is usually a one-time thing, confession, repentance, and the rest should be regular (daily!) practices for the Christian. 

God has saved us, God is saving us, and God will save us. Thank God for the gospel!

TO KNOW GOD AND TO MAKE HIM KNOWN!
- Pastor Brady

Have a question for Theology Thursday? Send an email to office@minierchristian.org and we'll respond, or we'll include in a future Theology Thursday Buffet.