How to walk the gospel talk

The faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel. Colossians 1:5

The gospel is the good news of Jesus’ victory over Satan, sin and death. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 summarise this truth: “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” It’s the good news that Jesus Christ died to provide complete forgiveness of sins, and rose again that those who believe in Him might live forever.

As redeemed people of God, we have believed the gospel and received forgiveness of sins. But our walk as Christians does not end there. There is much more to learn and more room to grow. From the verse above, we see three words for children of God to put into practice: faith, love and hope.

• Faith: Paul gives thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for the faith of the believers at Colossae (Col. 1:3), because the Colossians are holy brothers in Christ, who have put their faith in the Lord of the gospel. The gospel is received by saving faith in Jesus Christ. With Christ as its object, our faith is as secure as a house on a solid foundation. True saving faith includes repentance, obedience and good works, for faith produces good works in us.

True saving faith includes repentance, obedience and good works, for faith produces good works in us

• Love: Genuine faith will result in a changed life. One of the visible fruits of saving faith is love for fellow believers (Colossians 1:4). Our love for fellow believers is a reflection of God’s love for us. Look carefully at verse 4: Paul gives thanks that the Colossians love all the saints. Their love was not selective. Does that mean we feel an emotional attachment toward everyone? No, it doesn’t. True Biblical love is much more than emotion, it is sacrificial love to others in need. We show godly love when we sacrifice ourselves to meet the needs of others. God does expect us to serve one another.
• Hope: Paul is thankful for the hope of the Colossian believers. He describes that hope as laid up for them in heaven. So, hope is the chain that connects a Christian inseparably to God’s throne. God established our hope by making us His sons and daughters, and He will fulfil our hope by making us like His Son (1 John 3:2) As believers, we look for a heavenly hope. We live in light of eternity, knowing our citizenship is in heaven. We should set aside our prerogatives, obey God’s will and discipline ourselves to win an incorruptible crown.

But now abide faith, hope, love… but the greatest of these is love.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we praise and thank You for granting us faith to trust in Your Son,  the Lord Jesus, as our Lord and Saviour. Father, help us as your children to walk the talk of faith, love and hope that we saw in the believers at Colossae. May we be genuine in our faith, in our love toward fellow believers, and look for a hope that is in heaven. We pray this in the powerful name of Your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.