Living Out the Gospel

A recent conversation about what it looks like to live out the gospel generated these comments:

I have found 2 Peter 1:3-9 helpful as I have thought about the subject.

³His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.⁵For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. ⁸For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

There is a lot to glean from this passage. I find several key ideas about daily living in the kingdom of God.

• God, the king, provides everything we need. When we enter the kingdom of God we surrender everything to His reign over our lives. We look to the king for not only sustenance but also protection and strength. Our days are shaped by our trust in our king.
• In his kingdom we enjoy a relationship with the king that is deeply intimate. So much so that, we are endowed with his very nature. He dwells within us. As we nurture that relationship we will find relief from corruption and evil in our lives and increasingly enjoy the benefits of living under the reign of God our king.
• Living in the kingdom of God brings the responsibility of being good subjects of the king. The fundamental trait of people living in the kingdom of God is that they are uncompromising in their trust of the king. For that trust to be demonstrated, we must use the knowledge and power he has given us to make effective and productive citizens of his kingdom. Our efforts are directed toward adding the qualities of goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love to our trust for God.
• If we are not seeing these qualities increasing in our lives, Peter says we are nearsighted and blind and have forgotten that our sins are forgiven. This is, for me, the critical aspect of understanding living out the gospel in our lives. Given that I struggle consistently with being a good citizen on God’s kingdom, the issue is what am I to do about my failure? And just as important, why do I keep failing? In contrast to much Christian counsel on these questions which mostly insists that I “do better”, Peter defines the core problem, forgetting our sins are forgiven. Thus, rather than frantically running about doing better, or perhaps, giving up in despair, I need to remember and keep being reminded that my sins are forgiven. It is the power of the Gospel, the goods news, that will enables and sustains me daily as a good citizen of God’s kingdom.
• I believe the need to remember and continually be reminded of our forgiveness defines why community (the body of Christ, church) is essential and shapes the life of that community. In the absence of that community, we give up the most important source of and context for remembering our forgiveness. Therefore, an highly important criteria for choosing a local community is whether or not the Gospel is its centerpiece. Ideally, every aspect of community life should be in someway reminding me of the Gospel, my sins are forgiven.

How does that look in my daily life? My struggles continue. I am trying to understand and experience the presence of God in every aspect of my life. I strive (?) to surrender to God’s reign over everything. It is my desire to simplify my life, materially and financially. I have resolved to make relationships a priority, both restoring and building existing ones as well as developing new ones. I fight my need to be in control and work and serve for selfish motives. I am intentionally seeking to experience the fruit of the Spirit in my life. I am frustrated with my search for community but convinced more than ever how much I need community. There is much more, but the paradox is that I feel more peace and contentment than at any other time of my life. I believe that comes not from the absence of struggles but from a more profound understanding and confidence in God’s love and the forgiveness that comes as a result.