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Gratitude and the Gospel (part 1)

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I meet with a lot of young dudes.  Many of them show real leadership potential.  But more than anything else, one of the first things I look for is a deep and real gratitude to God.  I am convinced that one of the first signs that someone really "gets" the gospel (and by "gets," I simply mean "believe") is a deep sense of thankfulness.

In fact, probably the most accurate prayer someone could utter after hearing the gospel is not, "Lord, please forgive me" but "Thank you."

Why?  Because the gospel is the message that Jesus has won for us peace with God.  It's a done deal.  The payment is complete.  When Jesus came as our High Priest and offered himself as the substitutionary sacrificial lamb, he fully paid our sin-debt to God and completely satisfied God's anger toward our sin.  He took the cup of God's wrath and drank it to the dregs.  So, when he rose from the grave, that was proof that the payment was absolutely complete.  Then he did something no Old Covenant priest ever did - he sat down in the presence of God.  His work was done.

And the promise of the gospel is based on that finished work.  "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved."  When we get that - that we are made right the moment we are fully persuaded that Christ paid the price for us - what is there to say but "Thank you?"  The work is done.  The negotiation has already taken place and our advocate has won the day.  You don't have to ask for what is already yours.  In fact, it would be pride to assume you could do anything more.

To be clear, this is not a presumptuous gratitude.  Our debt was substantial.  It was, in fact, eternal.  We had sinned against the only one whose opinion really matters - and in our sin, we were an offense to his holy character.  Our debt was great - but our benefactor was greater still.  And the benefit of his work is extended to us as grace - a completely undeserved favor.

So, it is a sign of humility and genuine faith to simply say, "Thank you - you have done for me what I could never do for myself."

Gratitude is much more, though, than simply a sign of genuine faith in the gospel. It acts as catalyst to our faith.  More on that next time.

To check out my sermon on gratitude from last week, click here.
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