How the Gospel Changes How We View Ourselves

Great to be here. We've been wanting to come to this church for quite some time, and it's great to be here. I get to be here on a Sunday.

Just a bit of background. My name is Seth, as I said. My wife is in the back. She's Jessica, and we've got a little two-year-old girl back there.

She just turned two, Rebecca, and two boys, Daniel and David, as well.

So, yeah, we both, as you can probably tell, are from America, but we've been living in y'all for the last about five and a half years,

working to help the team that is working to start that church there from Middleton.

So we did go to Middleton for a while, so we like Middleton. It's a good place.

But we also, we love it in y'all.

So, what I'm going to just share with you this morning, I think it's something that's maybe familiar, maybe even too familiar.

We've heard it a thousand times, many of us.

We've gotten to the point where we can really quite easily recite the main points without even thinking.

And we hear somebody else start talking about it, and we just can tune out because, oh, sure, I know this already.

But maybe, maybe we're not really familiar enough.

Maybe it's just words that we're saying, and it's, we've forgotten what they really mean.

Maybe the power and the wonder of what we're talking about is lost in familiarity,

is lost because it's just so ordinary to us, because we've just heard it too many times.

And that is, of course, the gospel, the good news.

The good news that starts with an amazing creator.

Like we were reading earlier, I didn't tell you to read it, but it is perfect, because in Psalm 8 it says,

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you've ordained,

what is man that you are mindful of him?

I want you to catch something in there.

He says the heavens, the whole universe, that God didn't even have to use his full strength to create these things.

He was able to make them, it says the picture is, with his fingers.

As if the universe is something so small that God had to use his fingers to make it.

This is how big a God we are talking about.

A God that is so big that the universe to him is something small that he makes with his fingers.

This is the same God who knits us together before we're born.

This is the God who is the perfection and the definition of everything good, of everything wonderful.

This is God.

But this is the God that we ignore.

This is the God that we decided wasn't really worth listening to, wasn't really worth our time or our attention.

This is the God that we decided doesn't really have a clue about what's best for me.

So I'm going to take matters into my own little tiny hands that can't create universes.

They can only take what God's already created and make different things out of them.

We're going to take matters into our own tiny little fingers and try to sort things out and say,

Well, God, you know what?

Leave me alone because I'm going to handle my own little universe myself.

Thank you very much.

And in so doing, we have made ourselves worthy of the wrath of this God.

And yet the gospel, the good news, is that this is the same God, the one that we rebelled against,

is the same God who didn't leave us to rot in our rebellion.

This is the God who died to take the punishment so that we, the tiny little specks of dust who hated him,

wouldn't have to take the punishment that we deserved.

And this is the God who defeated death once and for all so that he could give life and change treasonous rebels like us

into his adopted children.

That's good news.

And this is the God who no longer condemns his children, but works all things together for good.

That's the gospel.

That's good news.

It's not some feel-good fairy story.

It's not a hopeful fiction.

It's not some little thing that's written in an old book.

It's the foundation of reality.

And it's the foundation of our lives.

I want you to turn to, if you've got one of the church Bibles, it's 1161.

It's 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, page 1161.

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

And we'll start in verse 14, just read a few verses.

So 2 Corinthians 5, 14 says,

So from now on, we regard no one from a worldly point of view.

Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

The old has gone.

The new has come.

And we were singing about that earlier.

The old has gone.

The new has come.

A new creation.

The new has come.

Everything is made new.

The gospel changes everything.

Like he was saying earlier, that it's the news that changes the whole thing.

That changes everything about everything.

It's more essential, and I'd say it permeates the world more completely than the air that we breathe.

And it affects everything.

So what we're going to do is this week, we'll look at how does the gospel change,

how does it change my perspective on myself?

Because it says here, we should no longer live for ourselves, but for him who dies.

It also says, we regard no one from a worldly point of view.

That if anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation.

It changes everything.

So what we're going to focus on this week is to say,

how does the gospel change how I view myself?

My perspective on myself.

And then next week, we'll look more into how does the gospel change my view of others,

and how I relate to others.

What does it mean to not regard them from a worldly point of view,

and how does the gospel change my view of them?

But the first, for this week, we'll say,

how does the gospel change my perspective of myself?

And I think the first thing we can say about it,

if we're looking at God, and how great and big God is,

then the gospel really exposes who I really am.

It changes my view of myself because it exposes who I really am.

The first thing it shows us is that compared to God,

I'm pretty small.

Understatement of the century.

But compared to God, my fingers are small fingers.

They can't do very much.

The picture in Psalm 8 is that God's fingers create universes.

So I'm pretty small compared to that.

Another thing that we see when we look at the gospel

is that my sin is extremely serious.

It's not something I can brush aside.

It's not something, it doesn't really matter.

It's very serious because I've rejected my creator,

and I've rebelled against my rightful king.

And this is serious.

Because of who God is, my sin is serious.

And I fully deserve his wrath.

But the gospel also shows us that God,

well, like the song was saying,

I'm special because God has loved me.

Not because of something I've done,

but because God has loved me.

And he has been willing to give himself,

to die my death,

because I had no strength or ability to do it.

So the gospel shows us that basically God didn't,

God couldn't just tell us,

you know, 10 steps to get to heaven or something,

and we could just sort it out on our own.

There was no ability in us.

We couldn't do it ourselves.

My view of myself changes because I,

I have no ability to make it back to God.

But he had to die for me to do that.

But he was willing to do it.

Which shows both that I am totally unable to save myself,

and also that God loves me very much,

and values me,

and wants to.

So all of these things, I think,

have an effect on us.

And the fact,

the first effect, I think,

would be,

it just has to kill our pride.

There's no room for pride in the gospel.

I mean, what good can we claim in comparison to God's good?

What accomplishments can we claim in comparison to God's accomplishments?

And, I mean, it's laughable,

but what moral superiority could we ever claim

when our sin had to be paid for by Christ's death?

We have no pride.

We have no space for pride.

And Ralph was reading earlier,

when Paul said,

you know,

whatever was gained to me,

I consider loss

for the sake of Christ.

And what is more,

I consider everything a loss

because of the surpassing worth

of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord,

for whose sake I have lost all things,

and consider them rubbish,

that I may gain Christ,

and be found in Him,

not having a righteousness of my own

that comes from the law,

but that which comes through faith in Christ,

the righteousness that comes from God.

So even the good that we have

was not a good that we could create ourselves.

Even the good that we have

is a good that we were given from God.

So Paul says,

everything that he was proud of,

everything that he valued before,

is a loss to him

compared to the treasure that he's found in Christ,

and having Christ's righteousness.

So there's just absolutely no room

for pride in the gospel.

No room for it at all.

But on the other hand,

humility grows very well.

Humility grows very well

in the soil of the gospel.

But I don't want you to misunderstand me

because humility is not just

talking badly about myself.

That's not necessarily humility at all.

Because whether we're talking good about ourselves,

building ourselves up,

or whether we're downing ourselves

and talking badly about ourselves,

a lot of times,

they have something in common.

In both of those cases,

really the focus is ourselves.

So whether we're talking ourselves up

or we're talking ourselves down,

we're still talking about ourselves.

We're still putting ourselves in the spotlight.

We're still putting ourselves in the center.

And the gospel has the effect

of taking us out of the center.

C.S. Lewis says it this way,

that humility is not thinking less of yourself.

It's thinking of yourself less.

It's keeping ourselves in proper perspective.

It's realizing that we really are not

the center of the universe.

And it was a shocker.

It's hard for us to remember.

It's hard for us to keep that.

Even though we may know it's true,

it's hard to actually live that way.

Because we tend to look out for number one.

And we tend to look out for number one

because we feel like

nobody else is going to do it

as well as we will.

We tend to think that

if we don't look out for ourselves,

who else is going to do it?

We don't really trust that God is going to,

really has our best interest in mind.

But what does the gospel do to this?

The gospel proves,

without a shadow of a doubt,

that God is better at looking out

for our best interest than we are.

Much better.

Much better than we are.

So it frees us.

It frees us to take ourselves

out of the spotlight

and to put God there.

And it proves that

I don't deserve my own devotion.

I don't deserve my own love

as much as God does.

Really, He's the one

that's worthy of my love,

worthy of my total commitment,

that I'm not the one

that's worthy of those things.

So humility grows well in the gospel.

And it frees us

from our constant obsession

with ourselves.

It frees us to look to God.

To put Him in the center

where He belongs.

Which is a very, very freeing thing

when it comes to daily life.

So the gospel shows who I am.

That's the first thing.

It puts me in perspective

by showing me really who God is

and how I relate to Him.

But it does more than that.

It changes my view of myself

not only by showing me who I am

but also by freeing me

from the power of sin.

Paul said in Romans 8,

there is now no condemnation

for those who are in Christ Jesus.

So the gospel frees me

from the power of sin

by freeing me from the guilt of sin.

Because of what Christ has done,

God does not condemn.

Forgiveness is offered,

forgiveness is given

and it is complete.

And that's extremely,

extremely important

for us to remember

in our daily lives.

1 John says that

if we confess our sins,

He is faithful to forgive us

and cleanse us

from all unrighteousness.

So we don't have to live

in the muck of guilt.

We don't have to live

with this weight

of condemnation over our heads.

We're free.

We really are free.

And even though we may feel guilty,

we have, the Bible says,

the accuser that tries to accuse us

before God.

The devil tries to make us feel guilty.

But you know,

even he doesn't really believe it.

I mean, he doesn't care

if we follow God's law.

He'd rather we didn't.

But he does care

if he can drive a wedge

between us and God

and our guilt

when it's already been paid for.

feeling guilty

after we're not

is a wedge

that is driven

between us and God.

So if we,

as God's children,

if we really are God's children,

if we're not,

then yes,

we are guilty.

But if we really are God's children

and Christ has really paid

for our sin,

then we're not guilty.

God doesn't see us that way.

Not even,

the devil doesn't even see us that way

because he doesn't,

he doesn't want us to obey God.

So really,

we'd be the only ones

that would see ourselves as guilty

if we're in Christ.

And the cure for that

is to trust God

and believe what he says.

That it really is true

that he has taken

all of our guilt.

That he really means

what he says

and that his forgiveness

is real.

And that he really can cleanse us

from all unrighteousness.

So if we look at ourselves,

it's easy to despair

because we see all the reasons

that we would be guilty.

But if we look to Christ,

we see that our sin

really is paid for.

And we have to trust,

trust him

that he really is saying the truth.

But the gospel goes further

in freeing us from sin.

Not only does,

not only does God declare us

not guilty

because of Jesus,

but he also fills us

full of himself.

Paul prayed

to the Ephesians,

he prayed for the Ephesians

that they would be filled

up to the fullness of God.

Jesus also promised

that he who comes to me

will not hunger,

he who believes in me

will not thirst.

See, the power,

the draw of sin

is that it promises

to fill us.

It promises to fill

those places in us

where we are longing

for satisfaction.

We're longing for something

to fill our hungry,

our empty places.

And sin makes

all these promises

that yes,

it can fill us.

Of course it lies.

It can't.

It doesn't deliver

on the promises.

It leaves us more empty

than before.

But the draw of sin

is that it promises

all of these things

and it promises

to fill a hunger

that really is there.

We are hungry

for satisfaction.

But what if

we were full?

What if we were already

full of the goodness

of God?

What if we were full

of real satisfaction?

What would that do

to sin's draw for us?

Proverbs says it this way,

One who is full

loathes honey

from the comb,

but to the hungry

even what is bitter

tastes sweet.

That when we're full,

even things that look sweet,

we don't want them

because we're already full.

So the pull of sin,

the power of sin

to draw us

and attract us

is disarmed

when we're full

of God's goodness.

If we stay close to Him,

then sin actually

loses its power

to attract us

because we already

have the real thing.

We already have

real satisfaction

and all those

empty promises

start to lose

their power.

So the gospel,

it shows me

who I am,

but it also

grants me the freedom

to pursue

real joy

and real satisfaction

in God

without the burden

of trying to appease Him

or trying to pay

for the debt

that we've owed Him

because He's already

done that.

So it frees us up

to fill ourselves

full of God's goodness

without having to

try to earn that.

So it frees us

from sin,

from the guilt of sin

and from the power

of sin.

But even that,

that's not all

because the gospel

also gives us

a confident

hope for the future.

We already said

the gospel proves

without a doubt

that God

has our best interest

in mind.

I mean,

it's obvious

that God is willing

to do whatever it takes

to secure our goods

in His glory.

So,

I mean,

what we can say

is that,

you know,

like Paul said,

He who spared

not His own Son

but delivered Him

up for us all,

how shall He not

also with Him

freely give us

all things?

God was willing

to do

the ultimate thing

to save us.

So,

how can we not

trust Him

for all of the

smaller things as well?

Paul says that

all things work together

for good.

We've said it

a few times today.

All things work together

for good

for those who love God

and are called

according to His purpose.

He even said

that we can exalt

in our tribulations,

in the hard things,

because they make us

more like Christ.

There's a guy

called Milton Vincent.

He wrote a great

little book called

The Gospel Primer

for Christians.

I got some of the ideas

for the sermon

from that book,

actually.

I highly recommend it.

But he said it this way.

He said,

The Gospel

is not just

one piece

of good news

that fits into my life

somewhere

among all the bad things.

The Gospel

actually makes

genuinely good news

out of every

other aspect

of my life,

including

my severest trials.

The good news

about my trials

is that God

is forcing them

to bow

to His Gospel purpose

and to do good

unto me

by improving

my character

and making me

more conformed

to the image

of Christ.

And Paul

says it this way,

Our light

and momentary troubles

are achieving

for us

an eternal glory

that far

outweighs

them all.

So God

has promised us

that He will work

all things

and He means

all things

for good,

for those who love Him.

He's promised us

a future,

He's promised us

an inheritance

for those who are in Him

that is beyond anything

that we can imagine

and makes all the troubles

of this life

seem light

and momentary

in comparison.

And He's done more

than enough

to prove

that He is able

to keep His promises

and that He really

does mean

what He says.

Peter says

in His great mercy

He's given us

new birth

into a living hope

through the resurrection

of Jesus Christ

from the dead

and into an inheritance

that can never perish,

spoil,

or fade

which is kept

in heaven for you.

So the gospel changes

how I view myself

because it changes,

it shows me really

who I am

in comparison

to who God is.

It puts me

in perspective

but it also

frees me

from guilt

which would be natural

if it was just,

if the gospel

only showed me

myself

in comparison

to God,

it would make me

despair.

But the gospel

frees me

from the guilt

of my sin

and lets me

pursue joy

in God

and real satisfaction

and real life

in God

and lets me

go after that

freely

to a God

who is

happy to give

and wants to give

life to us.

and it gives me

this confident

hope for the future

that no matter

what

tomorrow brings,

no matter

what

the future

brings

while I'm here

on earth,

that I have

this confident

hope

that God

is working,

He is forcing

all things

to work

for my good.

So what

is our response

to all of this?

Well,

I think there's

a few things.

Obviously,

we've talked about

it already,

but one is that

just,

we're humble,

we're humbled

because we recognize

that God

is ultimate.

He's the one

in the center stage.

He's the one

that the universe

is about.

So we are humbled,

we are put in our place,

but not devalued

because God

has shown

great value for us

and that He loved us

and was willing

to give His Son

for us.

So yes,

humility

is one response,

but also obedience.

And I think obedience

because we recognize

that God's commands,

they're coming from

this God who loved us

and was willing

to do anything,

so much to save us.

So these commands

are coming from

this God

who has proven

that He wants

what's best for us.

So our obedience,

even when we don't

see clearly

why it would be

best for us,

we can recognize

that it's coming

from a God

who does know

and does do

what is best for us.

And so we delight

to obey

because of the commands,

where the commands

are coming from

and because they bring

us closer to Him.

I think also

all of this

makes us thankful.

Basically,

we deserved

a cup

full of God's wrath.

We deserved,

you know,

a cup

that just

all the way

full of God's wrath

for our sin.

and yet

Jesus

drank

all of that

wrath

for us.

But He didn't

just leave it empty.

If He had left it

empty with no wrath,

that would be

something

to be amazed at.

But He didn't.

He didn't leave it

empty.

He filled it again.

The Bible says

He's given us

every

spiritual blessing.

That He's filled us

to overflowing

with His blessings.

So,

not only has Jesus

drained every drop

of God's wrath

against us,

there's none of it left.

But He's also

filled us

so full

that we are

overflowing

with God's blessings.

That

should make us

overflow

with thankfulness

forever.

Also,

it results

in our ability

to love.

The Bible says

we love

because He

first loved us.

He's shown us,

He's proved to us

what love

really is.

He's defined

love for us.

And He's given us

the ability,

by Him loving us,

He's given us

the ability

to love Him

in return

and to even

show that love

to others,

which we'll talk

about more

next week.

But also,

He's given us

access to Him

at all times.

The Bible says

that we can come

boldly,

we can come

confidently

before the throne

of grace

because

there's nothing

standing in the way

because of what

Jesus has done.

Our sin is paid for.

We can come

boldly before God

at any time

and approach Him

in prayer

as we would

approach our Father

because He is

our adopted Father

who loves to hear

and loves to answer

the prayers

of His children.

So we have

this access to God.

But also,

I think that

all of this

makes us,

gives us

the ability

to really

just forget

ourselves

because

our lives

we're free

to actually

focus

on the one

who is really

worthy

of all of our

love,

all of our

devotion,

and all of the

glory and honor

and praise

forever.

And there's a

huge amount

of freedom

in just being

able to

look outside

of ourselves

and not be

so consumed

with myself

and all the

things about me

and trying to

force everything

to fit

into what I want

and to

actually live

with an

outward focus

and with a

God focus.

So there's a

huge amount

of freedom

in just

self-forgetfulness.

And I think

we could go

on and on.

This gospel,

like I said,

it's more

essential and

it permeates

the world much

more than

the air that

we breathe.

The implications

reach into

everything,

literally

everything.

But these

are a few

things,

that it

changes the

way that I

view myself,

that it

changes my

standing before

God,

it takes care

of my guilt,

makes me free

to pursue Him

and joy in Him

and it also

gives me this

confident hope

for the future.

But I think

we can constantly

just live our

lives out of

the overflow

of all the

amazing things

that the gospel

teaches us

about God

and about

ourselves

because it

just changes

everything.

So,

yeah,

next week

we'll continue

by just

seeing how

this

truth of the

gospel changes

our relationships

with others.

So,

I hope to see

you then.

just

do

now.

I

do

thing