Ready. Set. Go! Share the Gospel!Sample

REMOVING THE OBSTACLES—SIN SEARCH

Read today's scripture passages, then read and watch below.

Ask yourself, “Do I believe the gospel?” You might quickly say yes, but let’s pause for a moment and think about this. Our doctrine directly impacts our deeds.

We can think that because we believe something in our minds, we must believe it in our hearts, but that is not the case. Believing something intellectually is different than believing it in our hearts and living it in our lives. One of the ways we can know what we believe in our hearts is by observing our behaviors and listening to our words.

So let’s ask ourselves again, “Do I believe the gospel? If I do, am I living like I do? Is Jesus worth living for? Is Jesus worth losing everything for?” Ask God to search your heart to reveal any obstacles of sin and unbelief (Ps. 139:23-24).

The one who laid His life down for you wants you to be willing to lay your life down for Him. He doesn’t ask this of you to rob you of anything, but rather to strip you of your unrighteousness and give you himself in return. Himself! His righteousness! Offer your heart to Jesus and ask Him for His grace to grant you a better understanding of what He has done for you. Would you give Him the freedom to mold and shape you (Eph. 4:17-24)?

Allow your tender, loving shepherd to reveal any discrepancy between what you say you believe and what you do or don’t do. James, the brother of Jesus, gives us wisdom and caution here, because we can be so easily deceived by our “good works” and “sacrifice” (James 2:14-26).

Our goal is to dissolve any sanitized, minimized, or humanized view of sin. If we cannot grasp even a portion of the weight of our offense, it is impossible for us to comprehend the weight of what was required to accomplish our reconciliation with God and to fully receive and rejoice in His amazing grace.

It’s important for us to remember that in Christ we have been given every spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3). Through the blood of Christ, the penalty was paid for all of our sin, and provision was made for our weakness. He not only took our sin upon himself, He gave us His righteousness in exchange, and with it, He gave us the power to overcome sin!