5 Ways the Gospel Should Affect Our Daily Lives

The gospel is much more than the story of salvation we share with unbelievers. The gospel should affect our daily lives. Here are 5 ways it should do that. #Biblestudy #Romans #WomensBibleStudy #GoodMorningGirls

When I introduced the book of Romans, I wrote these words:

Some women shy away from this book because it is heavy on the doctrinal side but together we will find how alive and exciting and practical doctrine is to our daily lives.

So here is where the hard work begins, as we try to bridge the gap between the doctrinal side of Romans and the practical side of Romans.  I want to stay true to my word and give you both sides of the coin.  Let’s get started!

The Key Vocabulary Words Found throughout the Book of Romans are:

  • Sin
  • Law, judge, judgement
  • Righteous, righteousness
  • Justified
  • Sanctified
  • Glorified
  • Redemption
  • Reconciliation
  • Grace, Faith, Believe

This is a short list.  Other words that could be included would be:  Jesus Christ, Israel, Gentile, circumcised, uncircumcised, predestined, foreknew, chosen, propitiation, wrath, flesh, master, slave, works, death, and life.  If you want to go deeper in your understanding of this book of the Bible, I encourage you to research each one of these words on your own.

Once we understand the book of Romans and the meaning of these words above, we will have a complete understanding of the gospel and salvation and be able to detect any false gospels.

So let’s cover our short list of vocabulary words together here.

The Intensity of Our Sin

In Romans 1, we see the intensity of man’s sin.  In verses 29-30, it says man was filled with “evil, covetousness, malice, envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness, gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, and ruthless.

That’s intense.

The Seriousness of Our Sin

Romans 2:2 says: “the judgement of God rightly falls on those who do such things.”

And in verse 8 it says, for those who “obey unrighteousness there will be wrath and fury.”

God does not wink at our sin. It’s not cute or funny, as many television shows or youtubers may want us to believe. It is very serious.

It is worthy of judgement.

No one is Good

Once we understand the intensity and the seriousness of our sin – we realize we really aren’t as good as we thought.  One of the biggest lies of Satan is that there are good people. So many believe that if they are just “good” they will make it to heaven. They are deceived by their own goodness and will face the wrath and fury of the Lord, unless their eyes are opened to truth.

Romans 3:10 tells us that “none is righteous, no, not one.”

We Are in Dire Need of a Savior

Romans 3:20 tells us “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”

The law, which absolutely no one can fulfill, reveals to us that we are in dire need of a Savior.

We cannot be saved, until we realize we are a sinner.

We cannot be found, until we are first lost.

Through the law, comes knowledge of sin and the fact that we are in dire need of a Savior.  Once our eyes are opened to this truth, there is hope of salvation!

The Sweetness of the Gospel

21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Let me break this down into it’s simplest form…

Salvation is a sweet gift.  

We have all sinned and none of us are good.

Salvation comes through Jesus Christ and his work on the cross.  When we have faith and believe in him, we are declared righteous and justified, by his grace.  We are redeemed and his blood covers over our sins.

Salvation means delivered from harm, ruin or loss.

Faith means to believe or to have complete trust.

Grace means the free and unmerited favor of God.

Justified means declared righteous by God, even though we are unrighteous.

Redemption means the action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt.  We have been bought with the price of Jesus’ blood.

Righteous means right standing with God.  It is not based on our doing but on Christ’s.

In just the first 3 chapters of Romans, we find that we are sinners and apart from Jesus there is no hope. But through our faith in Jesus’ saving grace, we are justified, redeemed and declared righteous!

Friends, if that does not make you fall to your knees in praise of your God, who deeply loves you and accepts you as you are, I don’t know what will?

As you continue your study through the book of Romans, verse by verse and chapter by chapter, you will continually see these same words repeated over and over.  Some other words you will see, that are important to understand are:

Reconciled which means the end of the estrangement, caused by sin, between God and us.

Sanctified which means set apart or declared as holy.

Glorified which means made glorious.

So why does this all matter?

5 Ways the Gospel Should Affect Our Daily Lives

1.)  Be humble.  We are all sinners.  Every single day we sin.  There is no room for pride in the church.  Our salvation comes: by grace alone, through faith alone, through Christ alone, to the glory of God…alone!

2.) Be authentic.  I am drawn to believers who are transparent and obey God’s Word.  The world is looking for authentic people.  The definition of a hypocrite is a pretender.  Many times the world has labeled Christians as hypocrites.  This is because we are still sinners  – only we are forgiven! Let’s not pretend to not sin but rather proclaim the name of the one who has forgiven us, of all of our sins.

3.) Be bold.  Do you have a list of unsaved friends and family who are lost? If you don’t – make one.  Then pray for opportunities to be bold and share the gospel. The gospel is the power of God for salvation.  So speak it.   Give this sweet gift away!

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.  (Romans 1:16)

4.) Be hopeful. We will all face seasons of life when disaster hits and it’s hard and we are hurting.  But Christ is our strength. Though we may not feel happy – we can feel hopeful because we are forgiven and redeemed and our future is secure in Christ!

5.) Be grateful. Sometimes our hearts grow numb to hearing the message of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.  We hear it over…and over…and over and at times, it becomes old news rather than good news!

Friends, let’s not take our salvation for granted!  This is HUGE – through Christ we are justified and declared righteous.  We have been redeemed and reconciled.  We are being sanctified and eventually glorified! (Romans 8:28-30)

Do you see how exciting the gospel is?  Let’s not lose that fervor!

Will you share today?  Write your testimony in the comment section below.

When did you realize for the first time that you were a sinner in need of Jesus and his saving grace? Who told you the gospel? How did it happen?  Let’s rejoice together in the saving work of our Lord and Savior.


I’ll see you back here this Friday, for a wrap up of our week in Romans 1-5!  Until then – don’t forget to join me over on Facebook HERE and Instagram HERE daily.

Walk with the King,

Courtney 

27 Comments

  1. Thank you for this great refresher! I’m guilty of thinking of the “good news” as “old news,” and today’s reading was a much needed wake-up call! I’m so excited you’re able to guide us through the Bible again!

  2. So appreciate the “breaking down” of the verses and explanation of the terminology. I knew all of this, but the enabled me to have a positive and clear way to share with unsaved. Thanks.

  3. Testimony- I was in college making choices that were not the best. I needed to stop living for me and self. So I gave my life to Chirst.. then with the help of my Grandma at her home church I got to show all by being baptized:) But I still had work to do. This time when I made my bad choices which sadly I did(old habits are hard to break in college) the Holy Spirit pulled me to the right path. Which I am so thankful for. I can’t imagine where I would have ended up if I didn’t seek Jesus. That was 17 years ago. The more I seek Him I learn so much. I have learned the most through my mentor in just the last few years along with your studies:). My heart is so full seeing my children knowing way more and committing there lives to Christ young. I am thankful I can help guide them to that path quicker then I had! God is so good! Thankyou Jesus I am saved:)

    1. Hi Bethany,

      Your testimony touched my heart. I too was saved in college, about 6 years ago. I also fell off the straight and narrow shortly after and made some terrible choices. I then recommitted my life to Christ. God has made my life beautiful. I have a four-year-old son and I hope to give him the godly upbringing I never had.

      Thank you for sharing your testimony! I still beat myself up over my mistakes but hearing your story is an encouragement.

      Cassie

  4. Thank you for this reading I am guilty of pursuing comfort in life at work and at home. This has left me shying away from people that may hurt me. I am so glad the Holy Spirit spoke this to me so I can confess and trust God more in my life.

  5. Hello my name is Amber. I grew up in a church that was preached by not only my grandpa who is now 94 and still preaching to us just not in the church we grew up in., but also my dad and uncles. I feel blessed to have that foundation of the word in my life. We were non denomination grandpa preached straight from the Bible and his heart. Now as a teenager and after graduating I guess you could say I strayed a lot. But once my husband and I got married and moved back I seen the need for God in our lives and especially his but it was the.pn I realized the seriousness of my sin and how I needed my savior, so I dove head first right back into the word and have been studying like crazy and became a prayer warrior. I decided to go back through the gospel and actually dig deep to get the full meaning of off of it and what Jesus did for us and does for us I fell in love again. I get my kids involved as much as I can tho we don’t actually attend a church all the time. We still go listen to my grandpa on occasion something about his voice and hear it from him really touches lives. He helped lead my husband to the lord and so did my uncle. My husband is the stron silent type so I do most of the praying and studying and hope one day he will get more into also. I love the Good morning Girls study and the SOAK method, I discovered about two years ago and have been using it since and sharing it with everyone I can.
    Thank you for this time you give us.

  6. Good morning! Beautiful – thank you! I was raised in the Catholic church and loved Jesus so much. I wasn’t taught about a personal relationship with Jesus and this lead to me to writing poem prayers to Him. My dysfunctional childhood left me disheartened and I turned away from church and jumped into wherever the world was taking me which was – Hollywood. The further I got away from God the less I felt He was near and then I began to question whether He really ever existed. Thankfully God never gave up on me and although I thought He was gone, He was right there with me the whole time. I was desperately searching for some spirituality. My lovely husband had grown up in the Southern Baptist Church and had turned away at about the same age as I had and we met 27 years ago in the music business in Hollywood. We then entered the film industry and I was on location in Budapest and we were Skyping and he said, “I’m going to read the Bible.” And I said, “I want to read it too.” He said, “Well your in a hotel, look in the drawer.” That night I started reading the New Testament – I had once read the Bible all the way through when I was young. As I was reading what really hit me was that I had forgotten that Jesus was a healer. I went to work the next day so excited to tell everyone I was working with, “Jesus was a healer, I had forgotten – did you know that Jesus was a healer?” My fellow workers smiled at me and the friend who I was working with came to Christ too. The Holy Spirit was with us! Soon after my husband and I were baptized and I now have a personal relationship with Jesus. Thank you dear Heavenly Father for Your grace and love. Deborah

    1. Praise the name of Jesus! This is so very exciting to hear! Just when we think God cannot work in the entertainment field, He shows me that He can!!!! Deborah, I thank God for you and your husband and the influence you are having on others.

  7. “We cannot be found, until we are first lost.” Love this. We live in a world with many people not even realizing they’re lost. Or they hurt and don’t know the hope and peace (on earth) that can come through a saving knowledge of Jesus nevermind eternity. So grateful!!

  8. I started our first week in Romans unsure of how this study would go. I’ve always skimmed this book of the Bible, and I know the “key” verses, but this is the first time I have really sat and dug deep into everything God is telling us through His servant Paul. Today’s reading was so powerful, and it made me reflect a lot on my walk with Christ since being saved.

    I first accepted Christ 15 years ago, during my sophomore year of college. We had just finished our first Large Group meeting for Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, and although I had been attending for a while (thanks to wonderful friends God brought into my life), I had never opened myself up to a relationship with Him. I even remember being invited to my first Bible Study, before being saved, and feeling gripped by the fear that I didn’t belong. I didn’t think I was good enough! And that had been the story of my life up until that point–I grew up shy, overweight and constantly struggling to fit in. I never strayed much from the values and morals my parents gave me; in fact, I was extremely obedient and had a desire to make them happy in all that I did. But the night that I accepted Christ, I distinctly remember the feelings God was stirring up in my heart–all those years of wanting love and acceptance from others, as well as confidence in who I was, were bubbling at the surface. I felt God calling out for me to be loved by HIM. I sat on a park bench with our Intervarsity leader and accepted Christ, then ran with an eager and excited new spirit to tell the friends who had been praying for me along the way. (One of those friends is now my husband of 11 years. 🙂 )

    That night was certainly life-changing, but today’s reading made me realize that one part of my life has not really changed, and that is the acknowledgement of the depravity of my sin. I know that I am forgiven through the blood of Christ, and I have always known that. But it wasn’t until today that I realized just how GOOD our God is for continuing to use forbearance with my sins–CHOOSING to hold back His wrath and judgement, and instead show me nothing but love. He has every right to judge me, punish me and completely turn me away from His kingdom–just like any earthly king would have already done. But He doesn’t, because God is unlike any earthly king we’ve ever known. He is the creator of all things, including me, and He continually CHOOSES to forgive my sins and simply love me. And as if that wasn’t enough, He eagerly prepares a kingdom into which He will one day welcome me, with open arms!

    Pondering these things has given me a new desire today–to love Him more, obey Him gladly, and to repent with a thankful heart always. Just knowing that He is the King of everything, and I am broken in every way, yet He looks at me and chooses to see the blood of His perfect Son… it’s led me to pray for a renewal of my relationship with God this morning!

  9. EXCELLENT explanation Courtney! You really helped me understand the meaning of the quoted passages! Thanks so much. This type of analysis is so meaningful and it is what keeps me reading your posts and the Bible. Hope all is going better for you! Blessings to you and your family.

  10. Unfortunately, you made the Gospel into Law here. The Gospel is not about what we should do for God! It’s all about what he’s done for us! The Gospel is Jesus becoming our sin as one who didn’t have sin so that we have eternal life and no condemnation for our sin. God already sees us through Jesus! He has no requirements for us to be forgiven and saved for eternity! The to do list is good, but certainly not how Gospel affects our life. The Gospel’s affect is that we are forgiven and redeemed!

    1. Hi Mandi,

      The “5 Ways” I listed above are the ways we respond to the gospel – they are not the gospel.

      I think that is clear in number 1, when I wrote “Our salvation comes: by grace alone, through faith alone, through Christ alone, to the glory of God…alone.”

      And in number 2, when I spoke of the forgiveness of our sins.

      And in number 3, when I spoke of being unashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation.

      And in number 4, when I wrote, “we can feel hopeful because we are forgiven and redeemed and our future is secure in Christ!”

      And in number 5, where I wrote “through Christ we are justified and declared righteous. We have been redeemed and reconciled.”

      I believe that you reiterated exactly what I wrote in point number 5, in your final sentence when you wrote: “The Gospel’s affect is that we are forgiven and redeemed!” So I think we are in agreement as to what the gospel is.

      My hope of this blog post was to take the truth of the gospel (that we both are in agreement on) and “spur one another on toward love and good deeds”(Hebrews 10:24).

      I hope that clarifies.
      Lots of Love,
      Courtney 🙂

      1. You did an amazing job Courtney! This is awesome! Thanks so much! I’m doing a bible study with the ladies at Grace center’s of hope and this is just what we need. Thanks again..

  11. When did you realize for the first time that you were a sinner in need of Jesus and his saving grace? I realized that I was a sinner and in need of his grace was when I was going through a divorce and needed guidance on how to move forward. I started seeking and found how doing, staying in faith was the first step.

    However, I regained my confidence, faith and strength to move on.

    Glory to God I have been married to my 2nd husband for 18 years and 20 years together.

    Who told you the gospel? A friend invited me to her church. We had built a working relationship and started talking, sharing how having faith that God is In Control. He makes no mistakes.

  12. Thank you for explaining the difficult words that makes this study to look like we are almost in a theology class. I love how you have broken it down.

  13. I grew up in a maybe Christian home. There was belief in God, talk of Jesus, and teaching of good morals. We went to church some Easters and candle light Christmas. In middle school I started going to a church group because of a boy. Later, before dating a preacher’s son, he wanted to confirm that I was a Christian. I said yes and thought I was-I went to this youth group, had memorized some verses, even done a fast- must be a Christian, right? I continued this way, God working on my heart. Then going to Church all the time, the privilege of seeing the real life of the Pastor’s family, memorized several more verses, and was baptized. Then, the moment I realized was during a Bible History class (so cool that my public high school had that?!) I think we were talking about Abraham and suddenly hit me so hard: I had a lot of head knowledge but not heart knowledge. I didn’t really KNOW Jesus. That afternoon, I was lost in the truest sense. I knew I needed Jesus but not sure what to do. That evening I committed, accepted Christ personally. I have since been through some really beautiful, peaceful and some very dark times but I knew that even at my lowest God was with me. He is speaking to me now of the things I need to change, to give my children more of scripture, to take action and boldy proclaim Him.

  14. You make it sound like the “law” is a bad thing. Do you understand that the word “Torah” (Genesis – Deuteronomy) actually means “instruction, teaching”? Yes, if it weren’t for the Torah, we wouldn’t know what sin is. Not because the Torah is sin. It is simply His teaching us how He expects us to live – everything else is sin. It is what gave us the knowledge of what is right, good, and acceptable, as well as what is wrong, bad, and unacceptable to God. Is God really so vindictive as to purposely make a set of instructions that none of His beloved creation could fulfill? They’re common sense. Jesus said to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind & to love your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22:37). I believe God tells us how to do that in His “law” and that Jesus explained the “how” by giving us the full meaning of it. For instance, God said not to commit adultery (Ex. 20:14), but Jesus said that if a man looks on a woman with lust has already committed adultery in his heart (Matt. 5:28). We are saved by grace . . . through faith in Jesus, not simply to walk away and “do our own thing” but, as was for the Israelites when they were delivered out of Egypt, the purpose of our freedom is to serve the living God. How do we serve Him? The answer is in the “law” – HIS instructions on how to serve HIM and through Jesus’ explanation – the fuller meaning. Jesus didn’t start a new religion. Paul didn’t teach a new religion, nor did he teach against the “law”. Ever. Paul remained a Torah-observant Jew – yes, even after his Damascus road event – as did the disciples/apostles. In Romans 3:31 Paul said, “Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.” (it seems you left this part out & chose to use the verses that many twist to use in speaking against the law) Most don’t realize that the “New” Testament is simply an explanation of the “law”. Jesus gave Himself as a sacrifice for our sins/disobedience. Many of our sins/disobedience, according to the Torah, warranted the punishment of death. Jesus died so we could receive grace, a 2nd (3rd, 4th, etc.) chance to try to get it right – to be obedient. You spoke about false doctrines, yet there are many being taught in churches today. So many things spoken from the pulpit aren’t even in Scripture. And a lot has been twisted to make it say what the people, or the denomination, want it to say (like twisting, or simply picking & choosing, the verses so they sound like they’re speaking against the “law”). Jesus did not die a Jew and rise a Gentile, nor did He start a new religion. Paul did not teach against the “law”. However, the “law” alone is not enough. We are justified by faith in Jesus, but it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try to serve God and live our lives the way He said we should. Since Jesus and God are One, I don’t think God/Jesus would mess with us by inventing life-guidelines that really don’t mean anything; nor do I think that Jesus would completely do away with all those life-guidelines that God/Jesus said to follow. ??? [The 1,050 laws New Testament Laws explain the 613 Old Testament Laws, which are summarized in the 10 Commandments which rest on 2 pillars: love God & love your neighbor as yourself, which is the core of Torah (the “law”).]

  15. I’m a product of the 80’s, Bible Belt, NC, raised in a church all my life. Saved at least 24 times…maybe more 😉 I think for me, saved was who I was and what we did. I love love what you say….it went from good news to old news. About 7 years ago now, my husband was in a serious car accident at work (police) and we have faced so many obstacles since then. On the outside, things look fine, but on the inside – inside these walls…life just keeps starting back over at square one. It has been a test of perseverance and FAITH, beyond anything I ever have been through. It seems like something so easy to overcome but Satan has had a stronghold – an ashamedly, we’ve opened the door wide open for him. Over the past year, God has begun to “do a new thing” in me….which means stretching and growing and testing that long-standing faith and belief in my salvation. My “age of accountability” finally arrived so to speak and I’ve had to make a true choice to follow HIM…or to wallow in the pits of grief of a former life. It all sounds so Romeo and Juliet, but ultimately God is trying to teach me to LET GO of the things that are of this world. JOBS, STUFF, INCOME, earthly SECURITY, COMFORTABLENESS. All those things that feel good. He’s done a number on my heart. We love to go camping. I’ll never forget the day that my husband stopped in the creek along our hike and baptized our sweet girl in the stream. My eyes saw a faith in him that shook me to my core. God called my husband out of something comfortable…which changed our lives forever….and now we have an option to keep trusting his tour guide or we can make our own travel plans. Since this all happened, we’ve been asked to teach a “Young Adults” sunday school, serve on our Church consistory, lead/teach/pray in ways out of our comfort zone. And the force of the devil is strong, so strong I can feel the weight and the presence of unholiness like it’s a hot breath on my neck. But God’s timing is so perfectly perfect that I cling to that…. whether it is through leading me to friends who are encouraging me on the path to International Missions; leading Church functions; Homeschooling our children; Falling into AGAPE love with my husband; writing/speaking; Volunteering/serving…..whatever it may be. God is faithful and he will bring to completion all good things that are for HIS glory! So all that to say, a believer all my life but a FOLLOWER beginning now. Each day is a choice. And today I choose HIM and HIS ways. And the glory goes to my Abba Father! <3 Thank you for being a leader and teacher. May God give you the perseverance you need to get you through the hardest times and during the easiest times…let you (us) not let the Gospel grow old.

  16. You say that “Our salvation comes: by grace alone, through faith alone, through Christ alone, to the glory of God…alone!” But I read in James 2:14, 17, 20, & 24 that faith alone is dead without works. This whole chapter is good to explain that faith must be accompanied by works. I especially like James 2:22 “faith working together, and by works faith was made perfect. Also, in 1 Peter 3:21 it says baptism saves us. God has said in His holy Word that many things combined save us, but never does it say that faith alone saves us. Please respond.

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