The foundation of a gospel-centered, missional life is the decision to offer to God our plans in exchange for his plans. We must allow the truth about who God is, what he has done, and our new identity in Christ to inform all of life.

Learning to speak the good news of the gospel into everyday life and situations–first to ourselves, and then with others–is called "Gospel Fluency".

Speak Gospel Truths

When we intentionally speak the gospel to others, it is often helpful to think about and speak one or more of these four aspects of the gospel: salvation, justification, adoption, and sanctification. Here is a paraphrase:

Because of the perfect life, sacrificial death and eternal resurrection of Jesus we are:

Completely saved from the penalty of our sin, given eternal life with God.
That’s salvation.

Declared righteous because of Jesus perfect life exchanged for ours.
That’s justification.

Children fully loved and accepted by our Father, made part of his forever family.
That’s adoption.

Given a whole new life and identity by the Holy Spirit who now lives in us.
That’s sanctification.

Speak Gospel Implications

So as we think of these gospel truths, it helps us speak the corresponding implications directly into each other’s lives. It helps to remind us of how the gospel works transformation and Jesus’ mission into our lives. Here are a few of the implications for each of these:
 
Because of the gospel we...

Do not have to live with guilt or shame over our past sins–or present areas of our life that God is still working on. We have been given a totally new life in Christ! Therefore, we can extend forgiveness and grace to others with great courage and flexibility. This is salvation.

Do not need to control others’ opinions of us or try to impress God with our spirituality since the Father now sees Jesus’ perfect life and status when he looks at us. Therefore, we can live with deep humility, yet much gratitude, confidence and joy. This is justification.

Have nothing to earn since we’re already fully loved, approved and valued by our Father. Therefore, we can love and serve all people, even our enemies, with no strings attached. This is adoption.

Do not need to look to anything else for identity and purpose since we have been reborn by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we can re-orient our whole lives around the mission of Jesus to make disciples. This is sanctification.

This post is an excerpt from The Gospel Primer: An 8-Week Guide to Transformation in Community by Caesar Kalinowski