One of the valuable things Martin Luther found about the Bible was that it consists of law and gospel. The law can be found in the Ten Commandments given to Moses. Further, law can be found everywhere in the Bible, where the demands of the holy will of God are expressed. We call the first four books of the New Testament gospels. In fact, gospel can be found everywhere in the Bible in the wonderful promises of God. No one of us has fulfilled the will of God which is written in the law. Yet the demands of God are not unreasonable.
The problem is that we do not want to do what is right. For this reason the law of God brings forth a sense of sinfulness and knowledge about the judgement of God. Although awareness of being under judgement is unpleasant, it is good for us. A sense of sinfulness is somehow similar to the state of pregnancy; you feel heavy, but something new and beautiful is about to be born. The person under the sense of guilt needs to hear the gospel proclaimed. The gospel is the message about forgiveness of sins. A desperate person hears that God justifies a sinner through faith in Jesus: This happens absolutely free of charge as a gift by the grace of God. Hearing the gospel donates faith, which reaches to God’s goodness and trusts in Jesus. When this happens for the first time, we say that the person becomes a believer in Jesus, or we say that a person is born again (1 Pet 1:23). A Christian needs the law and gospel continuously. That is why we come to church every Sunday to hear the voice of our Good Shepherd. In this way God is working in us day by day and strengthens our faith. He uses the Bible first to give us faith and then to enable us to live according to his will. As Christians we are called to sanctification. It is said that sanctification is essentially a deeper knowledge of our sinfulness and the grace of God. The Bible teaches us how to live as Christians: “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:5-8). The Bible teaches us an attitude of humility. Paul also invites us to follow his example as a follower of Christ (1 Cor 11:1).
Since God uses his word, it is our duty to proclaim the word of God to all nations and every person (Luke 24:47-48). Every Christian is called to be part of this great task. You may have friends and relatives who cannot hear the good news about Jesus from anybody else in a way so real and touching as through you alone. God has got a very special calling for you in his kingdom. Share about these special people with other Christians, so that you can pray for them together, as you are thinking about how to tell the gospel. Place yourself in what Paul is writing about faith being a matter of heart and mouth (Rom 10:8-15). The word of God is living and powerful, carrying the force to bring life to where there is no life (Heb 4:12). When Jesus raised Lazarus from death, he needed only words to call him back to life (John 11:38-44). In the same way spiritually dead is donated life and faith.
You can find many personalities from the Old Testament to identify with. You may read, for example, about Joseph; how being taken to a foreign country was used by God to educate him into an important leader for his own nation, and also for the Egyptians, who were the host nation. You may also read about Daniel. Also he was forced to a country where he had to work out how to live as a believer in God in the midst of an alien culture. These are useful readings for anybody new in the country!
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