Gospel Project Summary, Lesson 7 (Week of October 14, 2012)

      “On my worst days of sin and failure, the gospel encourages me with God’s unrelenting grace
        towards me. On my best days of victory and usefulness, the gospel keeps me relating to God
       solely on the basis of Jesus’ righteousness and not mine.” ~A Gospel Primer, by Milton Vincent)

   Have you ever felt, no matter how hard you tried, it’s just never good enough? Every person in the world, including you and me, must face the question: “What will it take to be acceptable to enter eternal life?”
    All other religions answer that question by saying: you must do something to become acceptable.   
   Christianity is the only worldview that says “the work has been done.”

   We all desire to be accepted. Because our first parents decided to walk away from the very relationship for which they were created, we lost that sense of belonging. Now we strive to be accepted by others which is a distortion of the desire God has placed in each one of us to be accepted and affirmed by Him. We are always left longing; aren’t we? We fear rejection desperately, but there is good news! God Himself provided the way by which sinners can become totally acceptable in His sight again! We do not need to fear being rejected by God! God said, “I would rather die than to ever live without you.” God Himself left heaven and was tortured in our stead, so that we could be made forever acceptable in His sight by trusting in the work that He accomplished for us!

   Jesus was perfectly obedient to the Father. He succeeded where we failed. Jesus was acceptable and God affirmed Jesus in Luke 3:22 by stating, “You are My beloved Son. I delight in You!” By faith in Jesus Christ, we are acceptable to God and receive the same affirmation Jesus did. Imagine God announcing to you: You are my beloved and I take great delight in you.” (Zeph. 3: 17)

Quote for Discussion: Discuss this quote together.
       “In religion, we try to obey the divine standards out of fear. We believe that if we don't obey we are
         going to lose God's blessing in this world and the next. In the gospel, the motivation is one of gratitude
         for the blessing we have already received because of Christ.” – Tim Keller

How does this change your understanding of a relationship with Jesus?

Conversation Questions:Use these questions to begin thinking through and applying the lessons to your family life:


1. How often do we discuss the uniqueness of Christianity as a family?
2. Where are you most motivated by others’ acceptance and affirmation? What are some things you do that is
     motivated by affirmation?
3. How do people try to overcome the fear of not measuring up to God’s standard? To the standard of people
    around them?
4. Do you struggle with believing the Father has accepted you in Christ?  Are you fully trusting in the work
    Christ accomplished for salvation?
5. How can we ensure our family knows the distinguishing marks of the Christian faith?


6. How can we point any discussion of religion back to the gospel of Christ?