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.
Read all about it
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).
