Yesterday at HLPC we considered this diagram in relation to Romans 8:1-17 as we looked at a “life of repentance.” [Check out the Martin Luther quote below]  If you found this a bit confusing, let me elaborate a bit more. This perspective on the Christian life is in contrast to the view that sees the gospel as the first step- and little else. I’ll call this the “ticket gospel”. It sees the gospel as your “ticket to heaven.” Once you have claimed by faith God’s forgiveness through Christ and His free gift of eternal life, you need to move on. You need to get busy as a committed Christian, busy earning God’s pleasure and living the “abundant Christian life.” The ticket gospel sees the gospel as only that which non-Christians need.

The “Spiritual Combustion Cycle” sees the whole of the Christian life as one of repentance and faith. As you move forward in the Christian life and seek to live as becomes a follower of Christ the law of God shows you your sin and failure. You see your sin in action and in motivation. You then repent of your sin- you repent of your idols, those things that have grabbed the affections of your heart aside from Christ. You don’t dwell on your sin but flee to the gospel wherein the righteousness of Christ is claimed as your record, His forgiving work on the cross reminds you that you are forgiven. You realize that in Christ all the promises of God are “yes” and so see the emptiness of your idols.

What happens then? You move forward in the Christian life, seeking to live for the One who died for you. In your living, you see your sin as the law confronts you and the cycle starts all over again. The gospel then becomes a message you need daily, hourly, even moment by moment. Repentance leads to joy because you keep coming back to the beauty and glory of Christ and His gracious work for you.

The ticket gospel sees the gospel as the starting line that is left behind as you move forward on your own. The other view, presented here, sees the gospel as central to your life that you must, to borrow from Martin Luther, beat into your head continually because you always need it. The life of repentance becomes a pathway to joy because for every one look at self, you take ten looks at Christ (to borrow from Robert Murray McCheyne). Growing as a Christian means that Christ grows more sweet and precious to you as you see more and more what He has accomplished for you in the gospel.