So how does the gospel heal me? I thought it just saved me.
So, say you are guilty of some really shameful act. You feel so awful that you want to climb under a rock and never come out.
How can the gospel be the medicine that covers the shame to allow you climb out from under the rock?
Two authors, Elyse Fitzpatrick and Dennis Johnson in Counsel from the Cross, are immensely helpful here. They write, “The gospel tell us about the Lord, ourselves, and the methods and motivation of obedience.”
The gospel tells us about God’s nature. He is not surprised that you pulled a bone head move. He knew that it would happen. That is why he set a plan in place longer before you were born to overcome shame with good.
This plan would cost God dearly: a Father willfully sacrificing his only Son, not for his mistakes but for yours, so that you will be spared. Because of this act, God no longer holds your bone headed move against you.
God’s love for you is not based on your performance, but the performance of his Son. Let THAT sink in. Where else in the world does someone’s love for you based on the performance of someone else? Short answer: nowhere. This is precisely why God’s love for us is SO amazing. This is why our faith is unique and set apart from others.
The gospel also reminds us that we are more flawed than we can imagine, yet more loved than we ever dare to believe.
The gospel also reminds us of our motive and methods we use to beat ourselves up and to obey. Both are corrected by the gospel. It tells us that when we confess our sin, it is forgiven and remembered no more. God tells you to “forget about it. I am not going to remember it, nor should you for you are my beloved child.”
The gospel exposes the false notion of becoming obedient in order to comply and replaces it with becoming obedient as an expression of love and devotion for the one who saved us.
Looking at your shame through the lens the of gospel:
- A sense a relief ought to wash over you for he knew of your act before you knew and he had a plan for it.
- A sense of comfort ought to warm your soul for your act is forgivable and forgettable.
- A sense of wonder ought to draw you closer to him for he did all this because of his love for you.
- A sense of joy ought to well up from your heart for you are his beloved child whose soul is worth mending.
This is why the gospel is good medicine for the soul.
