Two Sides of the Same Gospel Coin

"In order to receive the redemptive benefits of the gospel, we must repent from trusting in false gods and exercise faith in the one true God. We must fight. Repentance and faith are the two sides to the coin of the gospel. They are not a one-time act to get us into heaven, but an entire way of life to maintain Christian joy. Repentance is not a work we tack onto our faith; it is an expression of faith."--Jonathan Dodson in Fight Clubs

Isn't it funny when you're reading a snippet of writing and your mind will be set off by one phrase that causes you to drop everything sending you on a memory quest seeking the occurrence of a single phrase? Such an occurrence happened to me this day.....I was reading through the Resurgence blog this morning when I came across the phrase "way of life". Upon reading I immediately began to gallivant through my memories of reformed theology classes and readings when it hit me...Martin Luther said something very similar in his 95 theses when he courageously and, I believe, very gospel driven stated, "When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said "Repent", He called for the entire life of believers to be one of repentance." Oh, how He wants us to turn our affections and passion away from the false gods in our lives! He is supremely passionate for His glory, for His name to be known, for our very souls to be satisfied in the riches of His all-surpassing glory. May we let loose of the false gods and false promises this world throws into our lives and take hold of the one true sovereign God with every ounce of our being, with all our affections and actions. May we not be known for simply knowing the way with lip service that has no external differentiation with the world, but being those that follow the Way. It's more than just believing, it's treasuring Christ above all else because He is our greatest treasure. To quote Jonathan Dodd again, "Repentance and faith form the bridge that leads us away from union with false gods and promises and into the promise of joyful union with the one true God. This is a gospel that motivates, that animates the life of a disciple of Jesus!" Amen.