I’m convinced that we must be continually reminded of the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In this world, we face a great a great accuser (Rev. 12:10), an expert liar (John 8:44b) who desires to skew and pervert the profound and freeing truth that is the gospel of Christ Jesus (Romans 5:1-2). If, therefore, we are not transformed daily by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2), we are susceptible to his subtle mistruths which are designed to lead us away from the appointed path of peace, joy, and grace.

For me, this sort of deception can creep in unnoticed in the form of a small seed of discouragement, cynicism, or doubt. Slowly, my view of God will begin to drift from the Biblical teaching of a loving and compassionate Father to a false perception of a God who is distant or disappointed. I then find myself traveling down the slippery slope of legalism, hoping to sin infrequently enough to appease my self-loathing, or to do enough good to maintain the appearance of righteousness. Sooner or later I will realize how far from the mark I’ve drifted.

All this to say, the simple yet profound doctrine of the gospel of Christ should never be viewed as something which we as the Church have somehow “moved beyond” in order to address more sophisticated or pressing matters. We must continually be reminded of the fundamental truth of the gospel. When other believers are doubtful or discouraged, we must point them back to Christ’s peace and grace. When we feel the tinges of cynicism and fatigue in our own hearts, we must imbibe the nourishing words of scripture. Satan would like nothing more than to cause us to embrace the subtle lies that lead us away from the joy and peace of Jesus. Let’s never let the message of Christ be far from the forefront of our minds or the tips of our tongues.

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1-2)