Day 7: Internalize the Gospel

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Welcome to Day 7 as you Take the Missional Challenge!

Take the Missional Challenge is a 31 Day experience designed to help align believers with Jesus’ mission. Each day’s post includes missional concepts and activities. For more information – click here.

The gospel is primary to missional activity. It’s important to know the gospel, to live the gospel, and to share the gospel.

Without the good news of the gospel – there is no mission! But the gospel is not merely good news for the future: When you die you get to go to heaven. The gospel is also good news for this life! By believing in the gospel, your life is transformed now. You embody God’s gospel message to your neighborhood and your neighbors, to your workplace and your coworkers, to your city and it’s citizens.

Christianity is a faith that was meant to be spread–but not through coercion. God’s love was intended to be demonstrated, not dictated. Our job is not to manipulate or induce others to agree with us or to leave their religion and embrace Christianity. Our charge is to both proclaim and embody the gospel so that others can see, hear, and feel God’s love in tangible ways. When we are living out our faith with integrity and compassion in the world, God can use us to give others a glimpse of His love and character. It is God–not us–who works in the hearts of men and women to forgive and redeem. Coercion is not necessary or even particularly helpful. God is responsible for the harvest–but we must plant, water, and cultivate the seeds. (Richard Sterns, The Hole in Our Gospel)

To live out the gospel – you must first internalize the gospel. It has to be real to you personally. You have to experience God’s grace in your life first, then you can bring God’s grace to those around you.

What is the Gospel?

Read my post on The Priority of the Gospel. It is one event and three questions. The event is the Cross! (Eph 1:10; 1 Cor 1:23). And here are the three questions:

• Who was there? (Who is Jesus?)
• What happened there? (What is the meaning of the Cross?)
• How can it apply to us? (How is it applied?)

Nobody needs the gospel more than you!

Faith and repentance aren’t confined to the beginning of our life in Christ; we need the gospel every day. As you experience the riches of God’s grace daily, you can then extend God’s grace in tangible ways to your neighbors, co-workers, friends and family, as well as to the poor, disenfranchised, and people on the margins.

DAY 7 ACTION STEP: Don’t just memorize, internalize the gospel.

It’s vital to know the basic message of salvation to effectively proclaim the gospel. However, just memorizing verses or an outline isn’t enough; you need to practically live out the gospel in your daily life. Be the gospel in action.

1. Consider how you’d answer these three questions.

• Who was there? (Who is Jesus?)
• What happened there? (What is the meaning of the Cross?)
• How can it apply to us? (How is it applied?)

2. Commit to preach the gospel message to yourself first daily!

3. Start living out the good news that Jesus restores relationship with God. Look for ways to show God’s love to others every day.

Day 7 Missional Challenge: Start gospel habits, practices and behaviors. Demonstrate God’s love in your actions to those who are unemployed, homeless, bereaved, sick and abandoned; and to addicts, alcoholics, minorities, prisoners, orphans and single parents.