Living the Cross Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing

Only those who are truly aware of their sin can truly cherish grace.

Reminding ourselves of the gospel is the most important daily habit we can establish.

The personal desolation Christ is experiencing on the cross is what you and I should be experiencing--but instead, Jesus is bearing it, and bearing it all alone. Why alone? He's alone so that we might never be alone.

The weakest believer and the strongest saint are alike equally justified. Justification admits no degrees. A man is either wholly justified or wholly condemned in the sight of God.

First importance. The Bible tells us that, while there are many different callings and many possible areas of service in the kingdom of God, one transcendent truth should define our lives. One simple truth should motivate our work and affect every part of who we are. Christ died for our sins. If there's anything in life that we should be passionate about, it's the gospel. And I don't mean passionate only about sharing it with others. I mean passionate in thinking about it, dwelling on it, rejoicing in it, allowing it to color the way we look at the world. Only one thing can be of first importance to each of us. And only the gospel ought to be.

Only those who are aware of God's wrath are amazed by God's grace.

A cross centered life is made up of Christ centered days.

The cross was the centerpiece of Paul’s theology. It wasn’t merely one of Paul’s messages; it was the message. He taught about other things as well, but whatever he taught was always derived from, and related to, the foundational reality that Jesus Christ died so that sinners would be reconciled to God and forgiven by God.

Unless you see yourself standing there with the shrieking crowd, full of hostility and hatred for the holy and innocent Lamb of God, you don’t really understand the nature and depth of your sin or the necessity of the cross.

Very small errors in our understanding of the Gospel can result in very big problems.

Its important to understand that a legalist isn't just someone with higher standards or more rules than you. A lot of us wrongly stereotype a legalistic person as one who doesn't go to the movies, or who thinks that any music with a beat is evil. Legalism is much more subtle and serious than that. Here's a simple definition that I use: Legalism is seeking to achieve forgiveness from God and acceptance by God through obedience to God.

Students in the school of prayer never graduate from the school of the Gospel.

If you are anything like me, you do a lot of listening to yourself everyday.

En una cruz a Cristo vi Cuando Él por mí sufrió; Los ojos Él fijó en mí Cuando Él allí murió. Y su mirada triste allí Jamás olvido yo; Sentí que me acusaba a mí, Mas Él jamás me habló. Sus males luego mi alma vio, Pesares mil sufrí; Fue mi maldad que le causó Morir allí por mí. Y luego Cristo así me habló: «Ya perdonado estás; Mi corazón por ti sangró Y en mí vivir podrás». ¡Oh cuánto amor el Salvador Allí por mí mostró! Amor sentí al ver que allí Jesús por mí murió20. Los himnos como este, y muchos coros contemporáneos también, si están centrados en la cruz, pueden ayudarle a hacer del evangelio la banda sonora de su día.

La cruz era el plato fuerte de la teología de Pablo. No era simplemente uno de los mensajes de Pablo; era el mensaje. También enseñó sobre otras cosas, pero cualquier cosa que enseñara procedía y se relacionaba con la realidad básica de que Jesucristo murió de manera que los pecadores se reconciliaran con Dios y recibieran el perdón de Dios.