My Most Contrary Convert - Ben Bailey

My Most Contrary Convert

                  Who is the one person you must work on most with the Gospel? Who would you, more than anybody else, like to see conform to the image of Christ? If your answer is anyone other than self, you are not looking in the right direction. Jerry Bridges expressed it correctly when he said, “Preach the gospel to yourself every day.”  We all believe in preaching the Gospel. Reaching our friends and neighbors with the good news is a high priority. But like Mr. Bridges said, I need to preach the Gospel to myself first every day. I am my most contrary convert! Yet, it is encouraging to know I am not the only one who felt this way.

                  The Apostle Paul said, “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Cor. 9:27).  Paul knew it was a challenge every day to crucify self and live for the Master (Gal. 2:20; 1 Cor. 15:31). Like us, his struggle was real. Paul said, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin” (Rom. 7:24-25).  Like the Apostle Paul we must never stop preaching the Gospel to ourselves and striving to live faithful to Jesus every day. Do you remember what Paul said about the struggle? He said, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:12-14).

                  While it is indeed a wrestling match with the flesh every day, do not give up. Keep fighting the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12). Keep dying to self and crucifying self every day (Gal. 2:20; 1 Cor. 15:31)! If our mindset is that we are not going to give up and we are going to keep working on self and walking in the light, then we have the right mindset to win the battle (Luke 9:23; 1 John 1:7). Keep working on your most contrary convert—Yourself! He is worth it! —Ben Bailey