Hope and HolinessEsimerkki

Do You Not Know?— Corporate Worship: The Heart of Discipleship

Over the past eight days, we have looked at eight truths of the gospel that enable and empower us to live sexually pure lives. We looked at the following:

• Adoption— The Highest Blessing of the Gospel
• Regeneration— The Creation of the Gospel
• Definitive Sanctification— The Purpose of the Gospel
• Justification— The Fundamental Blessing of the Gospel
• Resurrection— The Hope of the Gospel
• Union with Christ— The Apex of the Gospel
• Temple of the Holy Spirit— The Fruit of the Gospel
• Redemption— The Heart of the Gospel

Now that you have a better knowledge of the gospel and how it enables and empowers holiness, remember this: We move forward in the gospel, but we never move on from it. Having begun our Christian life in the gospel, we must move on deeper in this gospel, which Paul describes as the unsearchable riches of Christ (Eph. 3:8). The gospel is the ministry of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 3:8). By it, we experience the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit. We are thereby enabled and empowered to live holy lives. The primary way we move deeper into the gospel is by faithfully attending the church’s corporate worship.

Key Question: How does making the church’s corporate worship a priority—where you regularly receive the means of grace—enable and empower sexual purity?

The church’s worship is the heart of discipleship. In corporate worship, the Holy Spirit, working through the means of grace, shapes, reforms, and retrains the thoughts and desires of our hearts. . . Discipleship is a life-encompassing, Monday-through-Saturday process that sometimes involves specialized counseling and therapy. But, discipleship radiates from and is nourished by the worship life of the congregation gathered around Word and Table.

Prayer: O God, who, in generous mercy, poured out the Holy Spirit upon your Church in the burning fire of your love: grant that we may continue steadfast in the Apostles’ teaching, and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayers through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

This study is based on the book Hope and Holiness: How the Gospel Enables and Empowers Sexual Purity by John Fonville. Click here to continue learning how understanding your identity in Christ can free you from sexual sin.