Paul states here that the call of God is to preach the gospel. But remember what Paul means by “the gospel,” namely, the reality of redemption in our Lord Jesus Christ. We are inclined to make sanctification the goal of our preaching. Paul refers to personal experiences only by way of illustration, never as the end of the matter. We are not commissioned to preach salvation or sanctification— we are commissioned to lift up Jesus Christ (see John 12:32). It is an injustice to say that Jesus Christ labored in redemption to make me a saint. Jesus Christ labored in redemption to redeem the whole world and to place it perfectly whole and restored before the throne of God. The fact that we can experience redemption illustrates the power of its reality, but that experience is a byproduct and not the goal of redemption. If God were human, how sick and tired He would be of the constant requests we make for our salvation and for our sanctification. We burden His energies from morning till night asking for things for ourselves or for something from which we want to be delivered! When we finally touch the underlying foundation of the reality of the gospel of God, we will never bother Him anymore with little personal complaints.The one passion of Paul’s life was to proclaim the gospel of God. He welcomed heartbreak, disillusionment, and tribulation for only one reason— these things kept him unmovable in his devotion to the gospel of God.

_____________________________________________________

February 1, 2012

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Lord, You have taught us for three years the same lesson,  over and over; the most important element of our spiritual lives is our daily,  minute by minute intimate relationship with You.  You have been teaching David and me this  lesson and continually bringing us back to this primary truth. Now it seems  that You have shifted into a lesson about living out the Gospel. Yesterday we  learned that our sanctification does not come about because we aim or try to  become better people; our sanctification evolves as a result of the Gospel of our lives touching others.  Today, Chambers seems to  reaffirm this notion; that sanctification, personal salvation and spiritual development and growth come about as a result of raising up Jesus.

And God says…”Again I  remind you that Jesus provided but two commandments; love God with all that you  are, and love your neighbor as yourself. As a result of obedience to these two commandments,  everything else in your life will take care of itself. This does not mean that  everything you need and want will come your way, nor does it mean that you will  develop the character of a saint when and how you expect and interpret it. It  means that when you are connected to Me through Jesus, and live out the good  news by loving your brothers and sisters, you are transformed into the very  person of Jesus and are no longer concerned about the circumstances of this  life. You simply know that I will meet all your needs as you are committed to  Me and reach out to others.”

“Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus,  and all that you need will be provided”.