What, out of all the things in your life would you say is of first importance to you? Our lives are like a building. We have many rooms and we have the choice on how to decorate and keep things maintained across the many aspects that make up our lives. Of ‘first importance’ in any building are the foundations. Without correct footings, we are like the proverbial house built on sand.
God has established Jesus to be the correct foundation for your life; the gospel, therefore is to be of ‘first importance’. Paul wrote,
‘By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.’ (1 Corinthians 15:2-4)
‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.’ (Romans 1:16)
God wants us to understand that the gospel message is always to be the foundation of our lives and of first importance to us.
Firstly, ‘by this gospel you are saved’. Faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus for our sin, saves us and transforms us. By faith we are justified; God acquits us of all guilt by believing in the substitutionary death fo Jesus for us. However, the gospel also imparts resurrection life in us so that we live a new life for God’s glory. No matter what is going on in our lives, being right with God through the gospel is always the most important thing.
However, we are warned to ‘hold firmly to the word’. It’s not automatic that we will keep what is most important as the most important thing. A church or an individual Christian need to consider the gospel message and its implications as a lifestyle. Foundations, for the Christian, are not laid only to be forgotten about. We are urged to keep building our lives with active reference to the gospel,
‘For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.’ (1 Corinthians 3:9-11)
RESPONSE
The gospel is to be of ‘first importance’ to us. J.I. Packer wrote,
“We never move on from the gospel; we move on in the gospel.”