Colorado and the Gospelteer Class

Hello from Colorado!  I am very excited to be back at Ellerslie for a portion of the advanced training program.  These next 5 months is a season of studying God’s word, growing in the knowledge of the Lord, seeking Him in prayer and learning from many wise counselors.  It is an intense time of training with a very busy schedule and lots of homework (which is a new challenge for me but I'm really learning to enjoy it :).  But my mom has been encouraging me to share more on this blog as I go through this training.  So I am going to attempt to post a couple times a week.  It won’t necessarily be long posts, typically just a quote or simple paragraph of what God is showing me.  I'll need to keep it simple if I want to share at all!

A main advanced class I’m taking here is the Gospelteer Class, in which we study how to be a bearer of the Gospel in words and actions, and understand the fullness of the true Gospel.  Each week I’ll be studying an aspect of the Gospel.  I’m so excited for this time to study God’s word and the dig deeper into truth.

The first assignment which I studied last week is The Need of the Soul in Light of the Holiness of God.  What a wonderful subject to study; the holiness of God.  It’s so huge and vast, and a subject to continually grow in.  Following is a portion of my studies.  It's not eloquent writing, but I pray the subject matter blesses you...

The soul of man is under the judgment of God, and the natural state of man is completely corrupt, vile and guilty of all sin.  There is absolutely nothing that a sinner can do in his own power to plead worthy at the throne of God.  But man does not even begin to understand the vileness of his soul until he begins to see the holiness of God.  The knowledge of the holy is key in understanding mans depraved and sinful nature.   The instance Isaiah came to the realization of his personal depravity was when he had his vision of the holiness of God.  In light of the indescribable holiness of God, man is as dust.  God’s holiness must be proclaimed so man may rightly understand his natural state and unworthiness.

Thus, man is in need of a rescuer, in need of someone or something to save his soul when it comes before the presence of the almighty God.  That rescuer is Jesus Christ who the most holy God sent to cover the sin of every depraved soul.  But the blood of Jesus has no significance to man unless the soul is in utter despair over its natural sinful state and the ineffable Holy Lord God Almighty.

As Proverbs 9:10 so accurately reveals to us; “the knowledge of the holy is understanding”.  It is essential to grow in the knowledge of the holy in order to even begin understanding the gospel.  Thus every increase in knowing God’s holiness brings us to a deeper realization of the gospel.  A.W. Tozer writes in Knowledge of the Holy; “Low views of God destroy the Gospel for all who hold them.”  So as bearers of Christ name and carriers of the gospel we must personally seek to constantly grow in the knowledge of God’s holiness.  And also proclaim His holiness whenever we share the gospel, whether it be by words or actions.