As we go through life, we are not to only preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? Ja 2:14-16

We are to see to the temporal as well as the spiritual needs of those we meet. For the Christian worldview is not about sitting in a rarified spirituality, but a spirituality that is real and breaks into and permeates the everyday moments of life. Whether this is encouraging young people to pursue a good education, or helping someone to find suitable employment, or seeing that a single mother has sufficient support.

So we are to seek the temporal good of those around us. We must also be careful to note we must always share the gospel with others though. What good is it if we see to the needs of the body, but neglect the needs of the soul? A well-educated person, a comfortably employed person, or a well-supported person will not come to faith in Christ without someone telling them the gospel. For we are all sinners, enslaved by sin and ultimately destined to punishment because of our sin.

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. Jn 10:10

If we have eternal life, if we know God and the joy that brings, it would be unkind not to share that life with others.

When we look at the law of God, the ten commandments, we realise we are condemned. For unless we keep the perfect law of God, perfectly, it condemns us. Our own sinful nature stops us from being able to keep the law, and we all fall short of God’s glory.

Yet, just as the laws of the state cease to apply when a person dies. So the law of God ceases to apply when a person dies spiritually in Christ.

For when we put out faith in Christ, we die with him, and our sin is removed from us and he becomes sin for us. It is as though we have served the sentence of eternal punishment in hell, because he has endured it for us – the wrath of God was turned upon him.

Similarly, the righteous which was Christ’s, becomes our righteousness, that we might be justified before God. Our relationship with God, which was once spoiled by sin, is now restored through Christ, and we can now know him. We are born again, to serve him.

We have been purchased with the blood of Christ, and we are no longer our own. Our new life is driven with a new master, the Holy Spirit, who works in us, not that we are perfect straight away, but that we are slowly conformed to the image of Christ.