It's the Gospel: October 14

The Apostles Preaching the Gospel by Gustav Dore

The latest collection of gospel related posts:

• At Hiraeth, Kim has posted a sermon on salvation by Puritan preacher Robert Murray M’Cheyne. 

• At Field Stone Cottage, Dorothy tells us a story about a little girl who heard the gospel.

• I posted on the meaning of the words to a well-known hymn.

Thank you, Kim and Dorothy, for joining in this celebration of the good news.

At Rebecca Writes, we’re celebrating the gospel during the month of October. Twice a week, at least, I’ll be posting something pertaining to the gospel, which, in a nutshell is the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sin and was raised from the dead, so that through faith, we are united with Christ and receive every blessing merited by his work. Still not sure what the gospel is? There are a few links in this post that might help.

As always, you are invited to participate with me. On Tuesdays and Fridays throughout the month, I’ll post a collection of links to gospel related posts. If you post a quote, verse, poem, story, book review, or essay, etc. on a subject connected in some way to the gospel, send me an email with your link (You’ll find the address by clicking the contact button in the sidebar.) and I’ll link back to your post (or posts) on the next Tuesday or Friday. There are no limits, really, on the form or  number of your post, just the subject. You may want to to contribute a link to a post on someone else’s post, too, and that’s okay by me.

Nothing Less Than Jesus' Blood and Righteousness

…teaching…one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs….
(Colossians 3:16)

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.

—From the hymn My Hope Is Built

If we’re teaching each other when we sing hymns, it can’t hurt to spend a little time understanding exactly what the words of hymns mean, can it? So here I am, looking a little closer at the first two lines of this common hymn by Edward Mote, two lines that teach us gospel truth.

My hope is built
Edward Mote uses the word hope the way the Bible does, which is not exactly the way we usually use it. We use it to express our desire for something to happen in the future, and as long as there’s even the slightest possibility that it will happen, we can still say we hope for it. But biblical hope is not just wishing for something that may or may not happen. There is an assurance in biblical hope. Those who hope, as the Bible uses the term, confidently expect the good things promised to them because what they have been promised is certain to happen.

One indication that Edward Mote is using the word hope in this more assured sense is that he tells us that his hope is built. The hope he has is hope that is established hope. It is hope that stands as firm as the foundation it is grounded on.

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Which is the sixth commandment?

The sixth commandment is, Thou shalt not kill.[1]

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