“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
~ Mark 1:1
One of the most fundamental principles in athletics and fitness is that it’s always important to remember the basics. Playing sports growing up our coaches were always reminding us of the basics. Simple footwork drills when running routes as a wide receiver or the basic, standard takedown for wrestling. The basics matter and without a mastery of the basics, more advanced movement cannot be put into play. What’s more is that the basics have to be revisited and trained with regular consistency. In football we are always running the most basic routes as part of our daily practice. In weightlifting we are always doing warm-ups to remind us of the basics surrounding footwork and bar track. The basics matter and straying away from the basics for the more advanced never ends well.
The same is true of the Gospel. Often times, Christians like to make life with Christ more complex than it needs to be and in doing so stray and forget the basic premise of the Gospel. In preparation for the Faith Rx’D training camp this weekend, I got to revisit and savor the basic foundations of the Gospel. We were born depraved, broken sinners. This truth separates us from God. This depravity is so deep and so offensive to a perfect, holy God that it condemns us today. However, God in his mercy saved us from His holy and righteous justice and saved us to a life enriched and embodied by His grace. He saved us by sending His Son to take upon Himself our punishment. Our faith in Him, as a gift granted to us by God, is what saves us.
These basic foundations of the Gospel cannot be forgotten or strayed from. They are the very foundations upon which our lives with Christ remain steadfast. Just like we can’t stray from the basics of our sport if we want to be successful, straying from the basic premise of the Gospel ends in destruction. Often times, believers get caught up in the finer points and the multiple other pieces of the Christian life. Please do not hear that I am just regarding those as negligible or minor. Secondary theological issues are not to be disregarded or considered trivial. These are important in the same way that more advanced pieces of the snatch are important. However, to regard those as primary would be a massive mistake. As Christians we have to remember and savor the basics of the Gospel with regularity and consistency. Don’t stray from the basics. It is the basics in everything that forms our foundation. And in the case of the Gospel, it is the basics of the Gospel that sustain our lives in harmony and joy with Christ.
I am looking forward to the weekend in Denver with the Faith Rx’D training camp where the basics are regarded often and savored deeply.