Applying What I Know to Be True
It’s relatively easy to be gospel-centered in the abstract, but then life happens. I know how the gospel applies to my needs, but I sometimes have a hard time turning to the gospel with those needs.
I’m finding the 4Gs by Tim Chester to be really helpful. It’s helped me apply what I know to be true to some of the gospel-resistant areas of my life. Chester writes:
In my book You Can Change
I identified four liberating truths about God. I suggested that underlying all our sinful behavior and negative emotions is a failure to believe one of these truths at a functional level. Embracing, believing, trusting, delighting in the appropriate liberating truth therefore has the power to set us free from sin – though we need to recognize that this typically involves a daily struggle – the fight of faith. These four liberating truths offer a great diagnostic tool for addressing sin in our lives and in the lives of others. The four truths are:
- God is great – so we don’t have to be in control
- God is glorious – so we don’t have to fear others
- God is good – so we don’t have to look elsewhere
- God is gracious – so we don’t have to prove ourselves
Powerful list. It’s helping me apply what I know to be true, but what I often forget.
