We are in the second week of a sermon series that I have entitled “The practical gospel,” learning to put into practice what Paul said in Philippians 2:12-13, where he told the Philippians to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” Now that you have been saved, now that you have believed the gospel, work out the implications of the gospel into every area of your life as God works in you. Not “work for your salvation,” because we are saved by the grace of God and not by anything we have done, but rather “work out the implications of your salvation.” In other words, think through how the truths of the gospel should shape the different aspects of your life and allow the transformative power of the Holy Spirit to do His work.
The gospel summary statement I will be using this series: “We are sinners who have been saved and justified by grace, learning to live as new creations according to God’s will, trusting in a certain and glorious eternal hope and future.”
If you read that statement closely, you will recognize that it has a past, present, and future dimension. Today, we are going to use those three aspects as our framework and examine what the implications of the gospel are for your parenting.
Please understand this is not “7 steps to becoming the most awesomest parent ever,” but a look at the practical differences believing the gospel makes in your parenting. It is born out of the conviction that the gospel is the power for our lives. It is not just the door into the kingdom, and then we learn and follow principles for living. The more deeply we believe the gospel and apply its truths to every area of our lives, the better we will be. Even if you are not a parent, my hope is that this will still be valuable for you if you have young people in your life or are in any sort of mentoring role.
We are sinners who have been saved and justified by grace.
