There is an interesting verse in 1 Peter 4:17, “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” The last part of the verse says that there are some who do not obey the gospel of God, implying that the gospel is something we obey. Typically we think of the gospel as something we believe, not something we obey, so what does this verse mean? Maybe John 3:36 will be helpful, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

It seems that believing implies obeying. We cannot say that we believe and then live a life that is contrary to what we believe. We believe that in the gospel we have new life in Christ Jesus, we are a new creation. As new creatures we do not carry on in our old ways, living our lives as we used to. With new life in Christ comes new desires to follow after him and obey him in everything. So when we believe the gospel, we believe everything that comes with it. We believe that we have died and our lives are hidden with Christ in God (Col 3:3) so that it is no longer us who live, but Christ in us (Gal 2:20) and the evidence of our belief is in our good works (James 1:18), our obeying.

“And there they continued to preach the gospel” - Acts 14:7

Each Tuesday a different reflection on the gospel and its continual effect on our lives