The Cross As a Pattern for Living – Matthew 16:21-27
June 21, 2015Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Speaker: Jerry Cisar
If you’ve been at Gulf Coast for any length of time, you’ve probably heard or read the expression, “Love the Gospel, Live the Gospel, Advance the Gospel.” These are the value statements listed on our church website describing how we intend to fulfill our mission to build a faithful Gospel witness for this generation and the next. This Sunday we begin a new series which zeroes in on that middle phrase, “Live the Gospel.” What does it mean to “Live the Gospel”?
Be clear, I am not saying that we can be the Gospel. Nor am I saying that the only Gospel some people may ever hear is your life. If that is so, shame on us for not telling them the Gospel. To live the Gospel is not about evangelism (that comes under Advance the Gospel), it is about the obedience of faith, as Paul puts it in Romans (1:5; 16:26).
This Sunday, in launching this series, we will discover that although Live the Gospel is not an actual Biblical command, it is another way of saying a very biblical command, a two word command that are two of the first words of the Gospel, coming right after, “Repent and believe the good news.” Those two words found many times on Jesus’ lips are, “Follow me.” From Matthew 16:21-26 we will explore what it means to follow Jesus. Where are we to follow Him to? What is the path like?