Gospel-centred life

The Holy Spirit changes me through the gospel.

Consider this

Two years ago, Paul had little time for addicts. He lumped them all together as self-pitying ‘victims’, wallowing in the mess of their own making. That’s why no one was more surprised than him when he offered Jake (the ‘recovering alcoholic’) the opportunity to do an apprenticeship. Jake was the reason the church had set up a support group for families struggling with addiction in the first place. Sarah, Jake’s sister, had got to know a few people from church and it had become obvious that the church had a responsibility to help out this family in a very practical way. There had been some resistance from a small minority — not least Paul — to this family getting ‘involved’ with the church. But that was two years ago. You could say a lot of water had passed under the bridge since then. Paul preferred to think of it as nothing less than a miracle.

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We have a saying that goes something like this: ‘Whatever the question, the gospel is the answer’. Obviously if you wanted to know who won Wimbledon in 2003, this statement might be found wanting. But in questions about life and godliness it comes up trumps every time.

Let’s try it out

How do you encourage people to give financially? You know that manipulation is wrong and getting people to give out of guilt is always going to be short-lived. So take them to the gospel. The answer to stinginess is the good news of God’s lavish generosity in Christ. Having ‘freely received’, I am called to ‘freely give’. In other words, the gospel sets before me a model of generosity. And it doesn’t stop there because, if it did, it would be bad news indeed. But the gospel is good news because it is also the means of generosity. It’s as I reflect on his extravagant grace that my heart is softened towards God and others. The gospel is not merely God’s word to his world — it’s God’s working word to his world. The apostle Paul talks of the gospel as being ‘the power of God’ (Romans 1.16).

But how does it do it? How does a word or message become a means of grace to me by actually changing me? The answer is the Holy Spirit.

There’s a tendency today to highlight (or argue about) the Spirit’s more apparent and spectacular work. This focus has come at a price: namely, a failure to appreciate what we mistakenly consider his more ‘mundane’ work.

Part of the reason for this is a misunderstanding of what ‘miraculous’ means. Ask people to give an example of a miracle, and they will probably talk about somebody coming back from the dead or being healed from an incurable disease. Both events could, of course, rightly be called a ‘miracle’. They would also be very exciting and very good news. But I like the following definition of a miracle: ‘a welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws’. This broadens the category. So a resurrection is a miracle because it’s inexplicable. But so, too, is the stingy becoming generous, the mean becoming kind, the selfish altruistic, the harsh gentle, the stubborn flexible and the proud humble.

Throughout the Bible, the Holy Spirit is spoken of as the giver of life. He is the one who convicts of sin and he is the creator of saving faith. He alone is able to open blind eyes so they can see the beauty of Christ. He alone can give new hearts to sinners so they turn to Christ.

There is no spiritual life without the Holy Spirit. Which is why he is just as crucial in the task of growing me as a Christian as he is in making me a Christian. The primary means through which he works is the word of God, of which he is the author. Understanding the relationship between the Bible and the Holy Spirit is important. Not least because we often make the mistake of setting them against each other. But the Bible is never a dead letter; the gospel of which it speaks is never lifeless truth.

Biblical background: read Romans 8.1-17.

Question for reflection

What are the dangers of believing we can bring about a change of heart in ourselves and others?

Gospel-centred life is published by The Good Book Company. Price £3.00 each, with discounts for bulk purchase. Visit http://www.thegoodbook.co.uk to order.

Fourth of a series of extracts

Consider this

Read all about it

Let’s try it out

Biblical background: read Romans 8.1-17.

Question for reflection

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