Knowing is for Living

It is a treat when the first line of a book grabs you. This happened to me as I broke open the pages of The Christian Life by Sinclair Ferguson. In a modern church culture where the gospel is woefully tarnished for lack of use and believer’s lives are suffering as a consequence, it is encouraging to read the following right out of the gate:

When I first became involved in teaching God’s Word, I tended to assume that one of the great needs of Christians is to be instructed in the ‘deeper truths’ of the gospel. It was not long before experience (of my own life) and observation (of others’ lives) taught me how mistaken I had been. I began to see that in fact the ‘deeper truths’ (if there are such things) are really the old basic truths of the gospel. Far from being luxuries, they are necessities for Christian living (p.1, emphasis added).

He goes on later in the chapter to state:

As we understand and appreciate the mercies of God we will live more fully for Christ (p.5).

As we find our minds expanded by the grace of God, our hearts should be correspondingly enlarged with love for him for all that he has done for us in Christ. This is turn should lead us to a richer experience of his love for us (p.7).

It is out of this richer experience of his love for us that we in turn are enabled & inspired to love others. Growth in our understanding of the gospel is key to our growth in Chrisitan living. Doctrine and godliness go hand in hand (Titus 1:1). As Ferguson so aptly puts it:

The conviction that Christian doctrine matters for Christian living is one of the most important growth points of the Christian life (p.2).

May the Lord create in our understanding rich gospel soil from which will grow abundant fruit for other’s good and his glory. Gospel blessings!