I was 11 the first time I
truly understood the gospel. It filled me with hope for the future. It was a
hope that lifted my eyes off of the momentary troubles in my life and changed
my perspective. It changed my perspective about my family, my community and my
church. For me, the gospel was truly good news.
The gospel began to bear
fruit almost immediately in my life. By the time I was 14 I knew I wanted to be
in ministry. I preached my first sermon in the 8th grade and somehow
covered the entire book of Revelation in less than 10 minutes. I look back on
that first sermon with a humorous smile realizing that I’ve never understood
that book as clearly as I thought I did that day! Those early days of my faith
were a joyous time of learning, growing and discovering what the gospel could
do in my life.
Do you remember the joy you
felt when the truth of the gospel first came to you? Do you remember how it
changed you? Do you remember the wonder and amazement you had when you learned something
new in the Word or through prayer? Since you received the gospel, have you born
fruit in keeping with the gospel that now dwells in you? Have we genuinely deepened
in our faith or merely become pious?
Titus 3:3-4 reminds us that “we
ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various
passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others
and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our
Savior appeared” he saved us. That salvation was life altering, not only for
us, but for those around us who were also impacted by our understanding of the
gospel. The gospel changes people and it is a change worth experiencing.
Yet billions of people around
the world have yet to hear the truth of the gospel. Millions right here in America only know a cultural gospel that is really no gospel at all. Those of us who are born again Christians can be part of changing that reality. We can rise up as a
people of God and put aside our racial differences, our political differences,
our stylistic differences and share the gospel with those around us. We can pray,
give and volunteer through our churches, through the organizations like the Baptist Convention of New
England, Samaritan's Purse, the Salvation Army and the SBC International Mission Board. In doing so, we can help
those who have yet to hear the gospel for the first time experience the same
mercy and grace that we did when we first believed. Are we willing to do it?
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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:
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