One of my seminary professors Mike Bullmore—of Crossway Church in Kenosha, WI—used to say, two incredible promises of the Bible can be carried in your hands:
“I will be with you” (Josh. 1:5; Deut. 31:8; among others)
“Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3)
Each promise contains five words & can be remembered each time you look at your fingers.
PREACH THE GOSPEL TO YOURSELF
The second of these promises—Christ died for our sins—sums up the gospel & is quite helpful is preaching the gospel to yourself each day.
Do you preach the gospel to yourself each day?
If not, in the chapter of The Discipline of Grace for Community Group this week, Jerry Bridges wants you to start doing so.
In fact, Mr. Bridges advises: “The gospel is not only the most important message in all of history; it is the only essential message in all of history. Yet we allow thousands of professing Christians to live their entire lives without clearly understanding it & experiencing the joy of living by it.”
So, for Community Group this week: Read through Chapter 3: Preach the Gospel to Yourself. And Be ready to learn.
dISCUSSION QUESTIONS TO REVIEW IN PREPARATION
Below are some discussion questions to ponder as you prepare for the meeting. (Many of these are taken from the discussion questions in the back of the book.)
1. Sometime during 1993, a survey was taken at a large Christian convention. One of the survey questions was: “What is the gospel?” Of the many people interviewed, only one gave an adequate answer.
(a) If you had been one of those polled, what answer would you have given? Write down your answer & keep it to yourself for a moment.
(b) Share your answer with the group.
(c) What similarities do you notice in each other’s answer? What differences?
2. Even though many Christians know a lot about the gospel, Mr. Bridges concludes: “In our everyday relationship with God, most of us are no different in our thinking than the unbelievers who think they will go to heaven because they’ve been good enough. To live by grace, we must rid ourselves of such thinking.” (page 38)?
(a) Do you think Mr. Bridges’ assessment is true? Why or why not?
(b) How does the apostle Paul address this misperception, common to believer & unbeliever alike, in Romans 3:21-26?
3. Read Romans 3:21-26 together.
4. Romans 3:21-26 is loaded with theological terms. How does Mr. Bridges define each of these terms in the chapter?
Verse 19: the law
Verse 20: sin
Verse 21: the righteousness of God
Verse 24: grace
Verse 24: redemption
Verse 25: sacrifice of atonement or propitiation
Verse 25: blood of Christ
Verse 26: justification of the believer
5. Mr. Bridges says we must be convinced of our justification in two “courts”: the heavenly court before God & the court of our conscience. We are justified by faith before God through the finished work of Jesus Christ in the heavenly court. How then do we bring the verdict of conscience into line with the verdict of heaven?
6. What aspect of the gospel do you need to become more familiar with? What do you need to preach the gospel to yourself every day?
7. Below are some key verses to help you preach the gospel to yourself:
Psalm 103:12
Isaiah 43:25
Isaiah 53:6
Micah 7:19
Galatians 2:20
Galatians 3:13
Colossians 1:22
Colossians 2:13