Counsel From The Cross

One of my favorite authors is Elyse Fitzpatrick. Yesterday my friend Toby gave me an extra copy of a new book by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Dennis Johnson, Counsel From the Cross: Connecting Broken People to the Love of Christ. I think this is one of those must read books for counselors, pastors, and those in need of counseling (everybody).This morning I skipped ahead and read the chapter, The Gospel and Our Sanctification. Much of the chapter is worth quoting. Here's just one paragraph:

Sanctification is never advanced by self-focused grief or guilt. It is energized by joy and driven by love. This is the distinction that gospelized sanctification emphasizes. Only a remembrance of the gospel will free us from our habitual grief and guilt. Only the gospel can implant the joy and love in our hearts that will free, motivate, and inspire us.