How to Preach the Gospel to Yourself Every Day

"Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?" (Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

"No one is more influential in your life than you are because no one talks to yourself more than you do." (Paul David Tripp)

"Every day, we are faced with 2 simple choices: we can either listen to ourselves and our constantly changing feelings about our circumstances, or we can talk to ourselves about the unchanging truth of who God is and what He's accomplished for us at the cross. The cross centered life starts with cross-centered days." (CJ Mahaney)

 So how in the world do I preach the gospel to myself?

The following is adapted from Joe Thorn's book Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself

When we preach the gospel to ourselves we are essentially denying self and resting in the grace of Christ in his life, death, and resurrection. But this means we have to know how the gospel addresses our current spiritual state, whether happy, sad, afraid, broken, proud, weak, or self-righteous. 

Jesus is Your Righteous (His Life)

The life of Jesus offers hope to the broken, to those who recognize their inability to keep God's law, and to those who are frustrated with their fallings and failings. The gospel is the life of Jesus for sinners. His righteousness is our righteousness, and this give us hope and confidence before God (2 Cor. 5:21)

Jesus is Your Forgiveness (His Death)

The death of Jesus offers hope to those who are overcome with guilt by offering cleansing and acceptance. Though we are sinners, God will not count our sins against us (Rom. 8:1) because of Christ's substitutionary death on the cross for us.

Jesus is Your Victory (His Resurrection)

The resurrection of Jesus offers courage and strength to persevere because his victory over sin and death is ours both in this life and the one to come. The same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, sanctifies us, and empowers us to follow Christ and serve the mission of the church. 

Preaching to yourself demands asking a lot of questions, both of God's Word and especially of yourself. You will have to ask and be honest about you motives, struggles, and needs. You will need to clarify to yourself what God's law means, but also what it requires specifically of you. You will need to ask how the gospel meets your needs and heals your brokenness. To preach to yourself is to challenge yourself, push yourself, and point yourself to the truth. It is not so much uncovering new truth as much as it is reminding yourself of the truth you so often forget.