There is great security in our salvation and the gospel. God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, and his decision stands. The Holy Spirit has worked in our lives to cause us to be born again and nothing and no one can take that from us. Those who have been justified cannot be made unjustified. Christ exercises his sovereign care over his people. He holds us fast forever. And while these truths of the gospel never change, we can still find ourselves in trouble when we forget the hope of these gospel promises and wander from the gospel.
The gospel is forgotten when it no longer functions as our hope or our confidence before God or when it is no longer essential to our daily life as Christians. The gospel we often forget, must be remembered and it is done through preaching the gospel to ourselves.
Preaching the gospel to ourselves is calling ourselves to return to Jesus for forgiveness and purpose. It is answering any doubts or questions that we may have with the promises of God. Do my sins condemn me? Jesus has paid for them with his precious blood. Do my works fall short? Jesus’ righteousness is counted as mine. Is the world conspiring against me? Nothing and no one can thwart the plans that God has for my life. No one can touch me and utterly destroy me because I am held safely in the arms of Christ. He has promised to hold me and care for me forever. Can I really deny myself, carry my cross, and follow Jesus? Yes, for God is at work in me, willing and working in me for His own pleasure. This is what it looks like to preach to ourselves.
To do this well, we must know God’s word, meditate on his promises and believe them.
We preach the gospel to ourselves primarily through the disciplines of prayer and meditation of Scripture. In prayer, we look to the Lord to graciously meet our needs, and through that act we exercise our faith.
In his exposition of the Lord’s Prayer, Thomas Manton said, “Prayer . . . is a preaching to ourselves in God’s hearing. We speak to God to warm ourselves, not for his information, but for our edification.”
In his exposition of the Lord’s Prayer, Thomas Manton said, “Prayer . . . is a preaching to ourselves in God’s hearing. We speak to God to warm ourselves, not for his information, but for our edification.”
Today, let’s take time to preach the gospel to our souls until they sing with confidence that we are new and cared for and reminded of the steadfast promises of the Lord.
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