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“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”
A Practical Gospel That Works
A lot of people think they’ve heard the gospel—but many haven’t actually heard the gospel.
They may have heard part of it. They’ve heard something about forgiveness of sins, or about heaven when you die. But they haven’t heard the full gospel—what really happened in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, and how that finished work becomes the source of life for everything we are meant to experience.
I’ve realized something about myself over the years: “All I seriously wanna talk about is what happened in those three days.” The cross. The burial. The resurrection. Because if you understand what happened there, everything else starts to make sense.
If you’re struggling in your marriage, the solution isn’t learning how to fix your spouse. “You can’t do their part—you can only do your part.” What Jesus accomplished on the cross, and what He released through the resurrection by giving us His Spirit, produces peace on the inside of us. That peace strengthens you, stabilizes you, and enables you to bring something healthy into your relationships.
The same is true for healing, provision, emotional stability, and understanding the chaos in the world. Resurrection life works from the inside out.
Why the World Is Broken—and Why That Matters
People are deeply confused about why the world looks the way it does. There’s a widespread belief—even among Christians—that everything happening in the earth is part of some mysterious plan God mapped out before creation. Destruction, death, darkness, suffering—people assume that because God is sovereign, He must be choosing all of it for reasons we’ll understand later.
I said it plainly: “That’s baloney. That’s a cop out.”
That way of thinking minimizes the authority and dominion God gave humanity. God entrusted the earth to mankind, and we broke it by introducing sin. “The reason it looks like it does is because we broke it. He gave it to us and we brought sin in.” That doesn’t mean God’s hands are tied—it means He honors the authority He delegated.
And God’s response to our failure wasn’t abandonment. It was incarnation.
Jesus entered the mess to redeem humanity from the inside out. Now, the call of the Church isn’t to explain away darkness but to step into who we are in Christ so that we live in a way that makes His kingdom attractive.
A Culture That’s More Open Than We Think
Romans 1 tells us that God has revealed Himself to every person, so no one is without excuse. Deep down, everyone knows God is real. But people adopt belief systems that help them reject Christianity—often because of pain, disappointment, or distorted experiences with religion.
What’s interesting right now is that the cultural tide is shifting. I mentioned seeing Joe Rogan talk about going to church—something that would’ve been unthinkable years ago. He’s not a church guy. He’s been openly anti-theist. Yet here he is, attending church and talking about it publicly.
And his takeaway was simple: “They’re just nice… they give you coffee… they’re friendly… it works.”
That may sound shallow to us, but it reveals something important. People aren’t initially looking for theological depth. They’re looking for something that works. They’re looking for kindness, acceptance, and peace.
This aligns perfectly with what Jesus said. He told us that the world would know we are His disciples by our love for one another (John 13:35). In John 17, He prayed that our unity would cause the world to believe the Father sent Him.
That’s how the gospel spreads—through lives transformed by love.
When the Gospel “Doesn’t Work”
One of the most frustrating people on the planet is someone who has encountered the gospel and found that it doesn’t work for them.
Not because the gospel is broken—but because they were handed a version of Christianity that focused on appearance rather than transformation. Condemnation instead of connection. Performance instead of presence.
People see church culture that looks good on the outside but doesn’t produce real life. And when it doesn’t work, they walk away.
The solution isn’t to water down the gospel—it’s to return to its power source: the Holy Spirit.
“It’s all about the work of the Spirit on the inside of you.” That’s grace in action. That’s what saves us and keeps us safe in Christ.
The Difference Between Old Covenant and New Covenant
Abraham was declared righteous because he believed God. God spoke, Abraham believed, and righteousness was credited to him.
But under the New Covenant, we don’t just believe—we’re changed.
God promised a time when He would give us a new heart and a new spirit, cause us to walk in His ways, and dwell within us. That promise is fulfilled in Christ. We now live with the Holy Spirit inside us, affecting our joy, peace, thoughts, decisions, and relationships.
This isn’t about figuring out how to “make it work.” It’s about allowing the Spirit to work.
The Seed, the Heart, and Real Transformation
Jesus explained how the kingdom works through the parable of the seed (Mark 4). A farmer scatters seed, goes to sleep, wakes up, and doesn’t know how it grows—but it grows.
The seed produces after its own kind.
The seed is the Word. The soil is the heart.
Transformation doesn’t come from memorizing Scripture to control behavior. “It’s the living aspect of the spiritual side of the logos of God living in you and through you that then changes you.”
We deal with sin and guard our hearts not for behavior modification, but to keep our inner man clear so we can see Him. “The reason to live well… is so that you’re keeping your inner man pure… because when you see Him, that’s how you transform.”
Jesus said the pure in heart see the kingdom (Matthew 5:8). And when you see the kingdom, you interact with it. The kingdom works like leaven—it quietly permeates everything.
Gratitude, Growth, and Remembering the Testimony
Many believers forget how far they’ve come. We go from zero to seventy percent transformation and fixate on the thirty percent we lack. In doing so, we forget the testimony of God’s faithfulness.
“Be grateful for everything that’s happened up to this point… because it works.”
When we try to make things happen in our own strength, we stall. But when we trust the Spirit’s work, growth continues naturally.
Looking Unto Jesus
Hebrews 12:2 tells us to look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
If your faith feels strained, it’s often because you’ve taken over authorship. Jesus starts it. Jesus finishes it.
He endured the cross for the joy set before Him—and that joy included you. He sat down at the right hand of God because the work is finished. And we are joined to Him in that finished place.
The Word of Life Manifested
In 1 John 1:1–4, John describes Jesus as the Word of life—seen, heard, touched. Life manifested.
The apostles didn’t start a religion. They bore witness to a Person.
John says he wrote these things so that our joy would be full—not so we’d feel condemned, but so we’d experience fellowship with the Father and the Son.
God is light, and in Him there is no darkness (1 John 1:5).
God Abides in You
1 John 4:14–16 tells us that whoever confesses Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in them.
Do you live with that awareness?
God is love. And eternal life is knowing Him (John 17:3).
Love isn’t peripheral to the gospel—it’s the motivation. “God is love. And for you to experience God is to experience His love for you.”
Jesus’ Mission: Healing and Freedom
In Luke 4:14–21, Jesus announced His mission by reading Isaiah:
Good news to the poor
Healing the brokenhearted
Liberty to captives
Sight to the blind
Freedom to the oppressed
Then He said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
That’s the heart of God.
The Preeminent Christ
Colossians 1:9–20 reveals Jesus as the image of the invisible God, Creator of all things, head of the Church, and the One who made peace through the blood of His cross.
This passage rescued me personally. It taught me that I am a saint in light. That I’ve been delivered—not might be delivered—from the power of darkness. That I have redemption and forgiveness now.
When you believe who He is and who you are in Him, transformation follows naturally.
Peace Toward Men
When the angels announced Jesus’ birth, they declared:
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” (Luke 2:13–14)
Not peace among men—peace toward men.
God’s wrath was directed at sin and separation, not humanity. That wrath was exhausted in Christ. What remains is peace.
Practical Application: Behold Him
This season, the invitation is simple: behold Jesus.
Not through pressure.
Not through condemnation.
But through wonder.
Engage the Word until it stirs your heart. Let Scripture move you. Let the Spirit work. Because when you see Him clearly—you change.
That’s the gospel that works.
