“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
— Romans 8:1
The Gospel is not merely the message by which we become Christians. It is the truth in which Christians are called to live every day. We never outgrow our need for the Gospel.
Jerry Bridges often urged Christians to “preach the gospel to yourself every day.” The point is simple but deeply important: my standing before God today does not rest upon yesterday's performance. It rests upon the finished work of Jesus Christ.
We Begin by Grace—and We Continue by Grace
Colossians 2:6 tells us that just as we received Christ Jesus as Lord, we are to walk in Him. We did not earn our salvation. We came to Christ by grace through faith, depending upon Him to do for us what we could never do for ourselves.
Yet after we become Christians, we can begin living as though God's acceptance of us now depends upon our performance. The Gospel calls us back to Christ.
Think about it: When you hear the word Gospel, do you normally think of something unbelievers need—or something you need every day?
The Gospel for Our Guilt
There is an important difference between conviction and condemnation.
Conviction says: “I have sinned. I need to confess my sin and turn from it.”
Condemnation says: “I have sinned. Therefore God must be finished with me.”
The Gospel answers condemnation. Repentance looks honestly at our sin. Faith looks confidently at Christ.
My sin is real, but Christ's sacrifice is sufficient. I have confessed my sin, and God has forgiven me. I will not keep trying to pay for what Jesus has already paid for.
That does not minimize sin. It magnifies Christ.
The Gospel for Our Performance
Ephesians 2:8–10 reminds us that salvation is God's gift, received through faith rather than earned through works. Most Christians know that we cannot earn salvation. Yet after we are saved, we can subtly begin trying to earn God's favor.
On a good day we may think that because we prayed, studied our Bible, helped someone, and resisted temptation, God must be especially pleased with us. On a bad day we may think that because we failed again, God probably does not want much to do with us.
Both ways of thinking can make our performance the basis of our standing before God rather than Jesus Christ.
Titus 2:11–12 teaches that God's grace trains us to reject ungodliness and live godly lives. Grace does not make obedience unnecessary. Grace produces obedience.
We do not obey so that God will love us. We obey because, in Christ, He has already loved us.
The Gospel for Our Identity
Galatians 2:20 and Romans 8:15–17 remind believers that our identity is now found in Christ and that we have been adopted into God's family.
Retirement comes. Health changes. A spouse may die. Children move away. Physical abilities diminish. Positions of responsibility disappear. And we may begin asking, “Who am I now?”
The Gospel gives us an answer. Our deepest identity was never found in what we could do. It is found in whose we are.
If you are in Christ, you belong to Him. You are God's child. Your value to God does not disappear because your circumstances change.
The Gospel for Our Relationships
Ephesians 4:32 tells believers to forgive one another just as God in Christ has forgiven us. The Gospel therefore changes more than our relationship with God. It changes how we see one another.
Forgiven people learn to forgive. Loved people learn to love. Recipients of mercy learn to be merciful. People who live by grace learn to give grace—not perfectly, but increasingly.
How Do I Preach the Gospel to Myself?
What would it actually look like tomorrow morning? Perhaps something like this:
My Daily Gospel Reminder
1. God is holy. He is perfectly righteous and worthy of my worship.
2. I am a sinner. I cannot make myself righteous before Him. — Romans 3:23
3. Jesus did for me what I could never do for myself. He lived the perfect life I could not live.
4. Jesus bore my sin upon the cross. — 1 Peter 2:24
5. Jesus rose from the dead. My Savior is alive.
6. I am justified by faith, not by my performance. — Romans 5:1
7. There is no condemnation for me because I am in Christ. — Romans 8:1
8. The Holy Spirit lives within me and is changing me.
9. Nothing can separate me from God's love in Christ. — Romans 8:38–39
10. Therefore, today I can live in gratitude rather than fear.
One Final Question
If you really believed that the Gospel was just as true about you on your worst Christian day as on your best Christian day, what would change about the way you live?
The answer takes us directly to the heart of It Is Finished.Live.
“It is finished!”
— John 19:30
That is why we preach the Gospel to ourselves every day.
We are not reminding ourselves that we have done enough.
We are reminding ourselves that Jesus has.