When my husband became associate pastor at our church the man he replaced, Mark Alderton, was the pastor God used in our lives more than any other up to that point. Why was his influence on us so profound? Because he continually pointed us to the gospel during a time when our eyes were being opened to the glorious truths found there.
One way Mark’s ministry affected me personally was through a seminar on Bible study and interpretation that he taught. He made a very simple statement toward the end of the seminar that would have a huge impact on the way I read my Bible. He said, “When you read the Bible, always look for the gospel.” That’s it, no magic formula, just an admonition to look for the gospel. He had of course prior to that statement spent time teaching us how the Bible is God’s story of redemption and that it all points to Christ.
Not long after that I was reading Hebrews. What had once been a somewhat confusing book to me came alive with the gospel. By the time I finished reading it I was in complete awe of Jesus. I will never forget that experience. And that continued to be my experience as I read the rest of the New Testament that year.
But that was the New Testament full of direct references to Jesus, would reading the Old Testament be the same? YES! I’m on a rather slow reading track so I am on my second year of reading the Old Testament and still seeing Christ all over it. If you could peek at the notes in the margin of my journaling bible you’d see that as I’ve read Jeremiah on a daily basis I have thanked God for the gospel. Here is one example of that; I shared this in our church a few weeks ago:
In Jeremiah chapter 14 the Israelites find themselves in a very scary place. Scarier than any trial those of us who believe will ever face. They are under the wrath of God. He says of them in verse 10- Thus says the LORD concerning this people: “They have loved to wander thus; they have not restrained their feet; therefore the LORD does not accept them; now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins.”
He goes on to say how he will punish them in verse 12, “but I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”
I think that God would want to remind us that He is completely righteous and just. His punishment is deserved. It is not harsh or unfair.
I think He would also want to remind us of this: we deserve this same punishment. The fact that we will not see it is purely by God’s grace and mercy and has nothing to do with our goodness – in fact it is despite our sinfulness.
Because of Jesus alone we find ourselves in a very different place where God says to us that he will accept us as his children, he will remember our iniquities no more because Jesus took the punishment for our sins. What can we do but praise Him? We have been spared the greatest trial anyone could ever face because of the gift of faith in Jesus.
How thankful I am for the depths of truth found in the gospel and how thankful I am for men and women who faithfully proclaim it. May I be counted in their number by God’s grace.