Gospel Self-assessment
Many Christians live in an “if/then” relationship with God. If I do what is right, then God will love me. If I give extra money to missions, then God will provide me with a raise at work. If I avoid sinful habits, then I will be spared suffering and humiliation. It’s a conditional relationship that is based on the principle of merit. The gospel calls us to live in a “because/therefore” relationship with the Lord. Because we have been justified by faith in Christ, therefore we have peace with God (Rom. 5:1). Because Christ died for us, therefore we are forgiven. Because Christ has fulfilled the law in our place, therefore we are set free from its demands and penalty. This is an unconditional relationship that is based on the principle of grace. The difference between these two perspectives is the difference between religion (“if/then”) and the gospel (“because/therefore”). The “religious” life is not the “gospel-centered” life.
No one should walk through this Gospel Self-Assessment without a clear understanding of this good news! We are happy to engage in self-assessment because the principles we are invited to reflect on in this assessment are not a legalistic code by which we judge our worth or hope to gain God’s approval. We’re unafraid of identifying the ways in which we still come up short because we joyfully recognize that our worth and approval in the sight of God are already rooted in Christ and established by his redemptive work on our behalf. If we are in Christ, then when the Father looks at us, he sees Jesus (2 Cor 5:21).
We can continuously “examine ourselves” (2 Cor 13:5) if we grasp that it is only by the grace of God working in us that we will be able to increasingly, inch by inch, obey and delight in Jesus. Apart from God’s grace, all we can expect from ourselves is a life of failed attempts at righteousness, but in light of the gospel, and with the empowering grace of God by the Holy Spirit, we seek to walk in grace-motivated obedience while God works in us “both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12-13).
Tips for getting the most out of the Gospel Self-Assessment:
This form is a little lengthy. If you don’t think you are able to finish in one sitting, we recommend writing the answers on a Word or Google doc, so once you have all your answers finished you can easily copy and paste.
The point of this self assessment is not to achieve a high-enough grade to "pass" and be approved for community group leadership. Instead, because you may be potentially on the verge of stepping into a leadership role, this self-assessment is designed to provide you an opportunity—in the context of community—to grow in both your knowledge of self and your knowledge of God.