Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing

I'm reading a fantastic book by C.J. Mahaney called "Living the Cross Centered Life" and I highly recommend it. In fact, I saw that Professor J. Alan Groves of Westminter Seminary has it on his list of recommendations too.

As a Christian it is very easy to move away from the cross of Christ. It is possible to lose sight of the gospel in our every day lives. I know it sounds ridiculous but for many it is a reality.

Consider these quotes from John Stott:

"All around us we see Christians and churches relaxing their grasp of the gospel, fumbling it, and in danger of letting it drop from their hands altogether".

"The cross is the blazing fire at which the flame of our love is kindled, but we have to get near enough for its sparks to fall on us" .

This book has caused me to think deeply about my relationship with God. I am brave enough to admit this, I sometimes think more deeply about Christians around me and their relationship with God and pointing out their sin than I do about my own self. All the while, it is my heart that has grown cold. You're probably thinking "see, just another hypocrite" but you see that is the point of the gospel, it takes the focus off myself and puts it back onto the Savior.

God has not left me to pull up my spiritual boot-straps on my own or told me to try harder, no, He has brought me back to the cross of Christ and his gospel.

Mahaney outlines three things that attempt to draw the heart and hands from the gospel:
1. Subjectivism-basing my view of God on my changing feelings and emotions.
2. Legalism-basing my relationship with God on my performance.
3. Condemnation-which means being more focused on my sin than on God's grace.

The rest of the book elaborates on these temptations and brings you back to the gospel. It is grounded in scripture and "he explains why the good news of the cross is so infinitely good, and how you can know the grace of God through the message of the cross" (Mohler 10).

It would make a great gift to give someone for Christmas (provided you get a copy for yourself too).

technorati tags: Christian, Gospel,