Are we worthy?

Are we worthy? July 28, 2023

Image: Crossway

“Is he worthy?” asks a line in a contemporary (and just so-so) worship song. “He is” is the reply. But are we worthy? That’s a question that we’re much less likely to ask, either because we don’t think about it in the first place or because we’re uncomfortable with what we no will  be the answer. Namely “we aren’t.”

And yet, we are called to be worthy of the Gospel. Specifically Paul in Philippians 1:27 says “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.” This verse is worked out by Sinclair Ferguson in his little book Worthy: Living in Light of the Gospel. Like most things I’ve read by Ferguson, it is excellent and worth your time.

It is also convicting. Are we living in light of the Gospel? Of course not–that’s why we need an atoning Savior. But there’s more to it than the pat Sunday School answer. We are not worthy of salvation, that’s sheer grace. But we are to be worthy in how we live once we’re saved–that’s sanctification, and that is something we are to work at. What does that working look like? Well, that’s one of the things we’re taught in Scripture and that Ferguson works out here.

“Our transformation into the likeness of Jesus Christ has been God’s purpose for us from before the dawn of creation. It is central to his purposes for us. And he will stop at nothing to accomplish it. He will spare nothing to make you like his Son. We know that because, in order to accomplish it, ‘He… did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all.’ (Rom. 8:32).”

So pick up this little book and learn more about how to live a life worthy of the Gospel.

Dr. Coyle Neal is co-host of the City of Man Podcast an Amazon Associate (which is linked in this blog), and an Associate Professor of Political Science at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, MO

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