Putting on Christ: The One Thing Needful
If you haven’t noticed by now, we like taking phrases that are very common in Christian circles and examining what they mean and how they apply. We did this in the last series with Jesus’ command “Follow Me,” and we are doing it again with the biblical command, “Put on Christ.”
What does it mean to put Jesus on ourselves? And even if we have a mental grasp of what it means, how do we do it? John and Matthew look to William Mason and his book The Believer’s Pocket Companion , or One Thing Needful to Make Poor Sinners Rich and Miserable Sinners Happy for a bit of help through this two-part series.
One thing we must keep in mind that the command to “Put on Christ” isn’t just for salvation. It is a daily command, something we must do morning by morning, day by day. Let us never grow tired or weary of putting on Jesus Christ.
Special Note: This week the Media Gratiae team is heading out this week to film our next big project we are unofficially calling The Church Project. The filming trip will take us into North Africa, Rome, and across Europe. Please pray for the project, the team, and our families on the home-front. Follow us on Social Media for regular updates on the project.
All the Scriptures mentioned in this week’s episode, along with links to resources, available on the Media Gratiae blog.
0:00 Matthew introduces the topic he and John will focus on for the next two episodes.
2:00 John introduces us to William Mason, his careful theology, and his specific book we are looking to for help. In his book, Mason explains the one thing needful for the sinner.
5:00 Some will take issue with the fact that Mason says one thing is needful for the sinner. But John and Matthew explain where Mason is coming from and why he chose the wording he used.
9:00 Mason draws from Romans 13. After Paul laid out 11 chapters of doctrine, he begins his application section with two applications. One of those is to put on Christ. But how does that happen?
11:00 First, it is an act of faith. And faith is not coming to Jesus with a list of things we want Him to do for us. Instead, it is coming to Him with the words of Scripture and we see what He is and what He does for His people and we say, “I’m going to live as though You don’t lie to Your people.”
15:00 The Christian life begins by having this faith in what God has said about Himself. But we never graduate beyond that. We must begin each day in it as well. That is putting on Christ by faith every morning. John Bunyan illustrates this idea in Pilgrim’s Progress.
18:00 We must be in Christ to come to Him. Moment by moment, day by day, we must come to Him with that same neediness we came to Him in the beginning.
21:00 Why isn’t a good start enough? Why do we have to continue well? Because Christ isn’t just the gate. He is the path. Our need doesn’t diminish and His fullness doesn’t diminish.
25:00 “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.” It is a command we hear often, but few take the time to truly understand what it means. John and Matthew come back to explain what we will focus on in next week’s podcast episode.
Supporters
We conclude our series on hearing the testimonies of believers in Christ Church New Albany in this week’s Supporter Appreciation Episode with Laura McCoy. We have been blessed by hearing the testimonies of the Lord’s kindness to sinners and pray you have been as well.
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Show Notes
Podcast Resources
The Believer's Pocket Companion by William Mason
Luke 11:33-34
Luke 10:41
Romans 13:11-14
Galatians 3:3
Romans 3,4, and 5
Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan