This Sunday we will observe the ordinance of communion in our worship service. As I have been preparing for that (and my sermon) this week, I have been thinking about the gospel and its implications. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians, it is most important — of first importance.
John Stott captures some sense of that in The Cross of Christ:
…the same cross of Christ, which is the ground of a free salvation, is also the most powerful incentive to a holy life. But this new life follows. First, we have to humble ourselves at the foot of the cross, confess that we have sinned and deserve nothing at his hand but judgment, thank him that he loved us and died for us, and receive from him a full and free forgiveness. Against this self-humbling our ingrained pride rebels. We resent the idea that we cannot earn — or even contribute to — our own salvation. So We stumble, as Paul put it, over the stumbling-block of the cross [1 Cor. 1:23; Gal. 5:11; cf Mt. 11:6; Rom. 9:32, 1 Pet. 2:8].
Words of Grace 