Abiding in the Gospel: Moving Beyond the “I Do” Moment
Marriage begins with a beautiful “I do” moment at the altar, but the real journey starts in the everyday moments that follow. Similarly, following Jesus involves more than just an initial commitment. It requires learning to abide in the gospel daily.
What Does It Mean to Abide in the Gospel?
Abiding in the gospel means remaining dependent on what Christ has done rather than graduating to a point where we think we need to figure out what we must do. Too often, we treat the gospel like a doorway rather than a dwelling place. The gospel isn’t just our entry point into faith – it’s meant to be our daily source of nourishment and life.
We can fall into the trap of thinking: “Okay, I’ve committed to follow Jesus. Now I’ll set this over here and do everything I can to live like Christ.” But that misses the point entirely. The gospel wasn’t just the doorway. The gospel is our dwelling place, and our life should flow out of that gospel reality every single day.
Three Theological Anchors from Colossians
Paul provides three crucial theological anchors in his poem about Christ in Colossians 1:15-20:
Jesus Reveals God
“The Son is the image of God.” If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. There is never a moment when God is not like Jesus.
Jesus Holds All Things Together
All things were created through Him and for Him, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, thrones, powers, rulers, and authorities. Christ is like the spine of a book, holding all the pages together, connecting the old creation that is decaying with the new creation that began with His death and resurrection.
Jesus Reconciles Through His Blood
This is the gospel. It’s not good advice or merely an example, but God’s achievement of what He has done for us.
What Is Reconciliation?
Reconciliation simply means the restoration of relationship. The gospel isn’t about sin management or behavior modification. It’s about life transformation through Christ. Paul reminds us that we were once alienated from God and enemies in our minds because of our evil behavior, but now we have been reconciled through Christ’s physical body and death.
A Christmas Eve Story of Reconciliation
On Christmas Eve 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, a German woman named Elizabeth Wienken demonstrated what reconciliation looks like. When American soldiers knocked on her door seeking shelter, she told them to leave their guns outside and welcomed them in. Later, German soldiers also sought shelter. Instead of turning them away, she said, “You could be my sons and so could the ones inside. This one night, let us forget about killing.”
That night, enemies sat in the same room. German soldiers tended wounded Americans. They shared bread, wine, and a meal together. Elizabeth prayed, “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest.” The next morning, they helped each other and went their separate ways.
This story illustrates how the gospel doesn’t deny the reality of enemies – it creates a table where enemies can sit together because grace refuses to let conflict have the final word.
How Do We Continue in Faith?
Paul emphasizes the importance of continuing “firm and established” in faith, not moving from the hope held out in the gospel. Grace doesn’t remove our responsibility, but it removes our desire to be self-reliant. Grace redefines responsibility.
We don’t live faithfully to Christ so that we belong. We live faithfully because we belong. This belonging isn’t based on what we’ve done, but on what Jesus did on the cross.
Growth Takes Time
Like a sequoia tree that grows slowly so its roots can develop and strengthen, spiritual growth doesn’t happen overnight. You can’t rush roots. They take years to develop properly. This slow growth allows for deep, lasting transformation.
Walking in the Light Together
John teaches us that our fellowship with one another flows from walking in the light. We’re joined as the community of God because we all share the same condition – we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, and we are all redeemed by grace.
This creates honest community because we all have just one thing in common: we are sinners saved by grace. We belong not because of what we’ve done, but because Christ invited us to the table.
When Grace Stops Being Central
When grace stops being central to our fellowship, belonging becomes conditional. The church can become like a country club where you need to meet certain requirements. But we belong as the body of Christ for one reason only: what Jesus has done for us.
Life Application
This week, challenge yourself to identify where you’ve been trying to grow through your own strength rather than abiding in the gospel. Ask yourself these three important questions:
- Where have you been trying to grow without grace? Are there areas where you’re relying on your own strength instead of abiding in the gospel of Jesus?
- Where are you managing your faith instead of abiding? Are you finding hope in your church attendance, your giving, or comparing yourself to others rather than resting in Christ’s work?
- Complete this statement: “I belong because…” The only truthful way to finish this is: “I belong because Christ invited me.”
Remember that you are here and belong not because of what you’ve done, but simply because of what Christ has done. This is the good news of the gospel – that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, and we have been brought near by the blood of Christ.