The Positive Gospel
The word of God contains instructions concerning things true disciples of Jesus Christ are to do. If we do these things, God promises to pour out blessings on us until they overflow (Mal. 3:10).
What are some of the things we are instructed to do? We are commanded by Jesus Christ and God the Father to:
1) Consider our old self dead (Rom. 6:4,11).
2) Cast all our anxieties on Christ. That means our cares, worries, doubts and troubles (1 Peter 5:7-9; Matt 11:28-29).
3) Seek peace and pursue it constantly (1 Peter 3:11).
4) Think on things that are beautiful and lovely (Phil. 4:8).
5) Keep our eyes from seeing violence (Psalm 11:5).
6) Say only what is uplifting, building up one another and never tearing down (1 Peter 4:11).
7) No longer use our mouths for both good and evil, but only for good, as we strive to do only God's Will in our daily lives (Psalm 34:13-14; Col. 3:17; Luke 13:24).
8) Commit our jobs to the Lord and work for our employers as if we were working for the Lord (Eph. 6:5-9). We are to do this even more so if our employers are mean or rude, as it pleases the Lord when we suffer for the sake of righteousness. We have been called for such suffering because it builds godly character (1 Peter 2:18-19; 3:16).
9) Think God's thoughts and stop thinking our own thoughts (Is. 55:8; Prov. 12:5).
10) Speak God's words, not our own words (1 Peter 4:11).
11) Live only to the Spirit and thus put to death the deeds of the flesh. We are not to live our lives for self any longer (Rom. 15:3). Instead, we are to imitate God's Way of life in our mortal bodies (Eph. 5:1). This is to prepare us for the glorified body we are destined to receive at the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:13; Gal. 5:16, 19-25; 6:7-9).
Jesus Christ came here to show those who would repent how to turn from their wicked ways so that He could bless them (Acts 3:26). All it involves is practicing to be a servant of others daily, until we come out of a life of selfishness and inwardness.
This is the positive gospel that Jesus Christ came to show us (Matt. 20:26-28; 23:11; Mark 9:35; 10:43-45; Rom. 15:2-3; 1 Cor. 10:24). If we live by these principles, our lives will be positively blessed, joyful and complete!
To listen to this article, click here to take you to the voice-over edition.