Living graciously is a gospel-centered life, a joyful life lived in light of the grace we have received in Christ.
Category Archives: The Gospel of Matthew
Of Permanent Value
We were redeemed for a kingdom of permanent value. So, invest your life in it. For, our Lord Jesus Christ invested His life for us.
Pray Like This
The Lord’s Prayer is a lyrical masterpiece in substance and form.Given to us by our Lord Jesus, we pray its words and follow its outline guiding us in our secret and public prayers. …As our standard, in summary we find it to be a prayer of praise, a prayer of petition, and a prayer of provision.
Piety: The Practice of Righteousness
Because God’s perfect standard was achieved in the life of His only Begotten, because God’s righteous justice was satisfied in the death of His Son, and because God raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, we are called and enabled by His Holy Spirit to live pious lives, practicing righteousness for His glory.
A Life of Love
The life of the redeemed in Christ is a redeemed life in Christ. And a life redeemed by the perfect standard of righteousness is a life called to live according to the perfect standard of righteousness.
Say What You Mean, Mean What You Say
Living as the truth, He died for truth, that we might truly know God. And He truly arose from the dead that we might live for Him and with Him forever. We rejoice in this truth, because we know the Truth, (John 8:32), speaking, meaning, and living the truth in Christ.
A Heart for God
With a heart for God, do not hate your brother but be reconciled. We who are forgiven should seek forgiveness. With a heart for God, do not lust but flee it, pursuing “righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart” (2 Tim. 2:22). For in Christ we have been saved from hearts of hate and lust and given hearts for God.
The Testimony of Scripture
For this reason, the testimony of Scripture could never be merely a moral guide of the life of Jesus. We don’t need merely a good example; we need a sinless Savior!
The Glory of Salt and Light
We were not redeemed to be sequestered to a monastic enclave. We were not redeemed to be undecipherable from the world around us. We were redeemed by God’s indelible grace to be salt and light. We are not salt and light for our glory but God’s glory, so “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
The Pure-hearted, Peacemaking Persecuted
For those who are in Christ, we are all of these as the pure-hearted, peacemaking persecuted. For Christ to us is more precious than life itself.
Planter, Pastor, Preacher 