The Power of Grace

I ran across this article on the Gospel Coalition website.  I am posting the first part to get your attention and I present the URL because I think every pastor ought to read this. There is a cultural pressure for pastors of smaller churches that suggest smaller churches or in an out-of-the way locations mean that you are not very significant. Nothing could be further from the truth.

—————————————————————–

The Geography of the Gospel–by Dane Ortland

. . . remain at Ephesus . . .1 Timothy 1:3

. . . I left you in Crete . . .Titus 1:5

The gospel of grace frees us judicially: despite being guilty in ourselves, we are, at the same time, acquitted through the work of another. The gospel of grace frees us relationally: accepted in Christ, the craving for acceptance from others is emptied. The gospel frees us psychologically: at peace with God and self, the frenetic quest for a self-generated internal stability is emptied, so that we can say with Paul, “I do not even judge myself”  (1 Cor. 4:3). The gospel frees us morally: no longer a slave to sin but now a slave to Christ, united to him and indwelt by his Spirit, we are vitally empowered for true virtue.

The gospel also frees us geographically: no longer needing to be in a certain place, known by certain people, on the social mountaintop, we are free to be anonymous, unknown, in the valley. Grace renders a verdict of acquittal not only over our identity but also over our location. A deep rest, a settled “okayness,” lands not only on who we are but also on where we are. To read the rest of the article, click here.