According to You

“We are living a Gospel, A chapter each day, By deed that we do, By word that we say; Men read what we live, Whether faithless or true, Say! What is the Gospel According to you?”

— Author Unknown

To the church in Corinth, Paul wrote, “You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart” (2 Corinthians 3:2,3). These words of praise should have been a great source of encouragement to these first century Christians. They were living in a rough time, in a rough city for the child of God. Yet, Paul said that they were known and read by all men. Their lives were lived for Christ and people knew it (Philippians 1:21; Galatians 2:20).

 

The prophet Jeremiah told of a day when the new covenant would be established. The new covenant was established when Christ died and the church was established (Acts 2; Hebrews 7-9; Colossians 2:14). Jeremiah said that in that day the new covenant would be in the hearts of men. “Says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (Jeremiah 31:31-34). This passage is quoted and applied to the new covenant in Hebrews 8:1-13. In its application of the passage, the author writes, “For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second… In that He says, “a new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away” (v.7,13). Jesus is the Mediator of the new covenant which went into place after His death (Hebrews 9:15-17). This is good news! “He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13,14). The Law of Moses is no longer the law we must follow. Instead, we follow the law of Christ. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” Romans 8:1,2). We are under the perfect law of liberty (James 1:25). The new covenant has been recorded for us by men inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20,21; 2 Timothy 3:16,17). The New Testament is the will of God that we must know and obey.

While it is recorded in the form of the written word, the gospel must also be written in our hearts. We must hear the word in order to believe and obey it (Romans 10:17). We must believe the gospel which means we must write its truths on our hearts (John 8:24; Hebrews 11:1,6). In order to obey it, it must become a part of who we are. We must live for Christ each day (Philippians 1:20). Then with the word written on our hearts, we can impact the world with the gospel being known and read by men, letting our lights shine before men so that they glorify God (Matthew 5:13-16).

Additionally, we must teach the gospel to a lost and dying world (2 Timothy 2:2). We cannot teach the truth until we know the truth and live the truth. We must spend more time in drawing near to God in study so that we may be living epistles for God.

Questions: What is written on your heart? When others see your life, does it point them to Christ? When others look at you, do they want to know more about God, or do they turn away from God? Do people see you as an example of righteousness? What is the gospel according to you, as demonstrated by your life?