My notes for Gospel Fluency by Jeff Vanderstelt (The Gospel Coalition Courses).

…so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Ephesians 4:14-16 (ESV)

• Speak the truth of the Gospel into each others’ lives. Not just speaking truth in a loving way, but speaking the truth of Christ into everything.
• Gospel Fluency = “People learning how to speak the truth of Jesus into the everyday stuff of life”
• Our greatest desire should not be to change behaviour, but to lead people to Christ.

Q: What ideas and philosophies “toss” you around? How about your friends and neighbors?

One of the biggest, unacknowledged, “ideas and philosophies” that generally toss Christians in North America around is the lie of leisure culture. It is allowing leisure to take an oversized portion of your time. Of course it is not a bad thing to rest. The issue is when it becomes excessive, even to the point of feeling like we’re entitled to leisure that it can become an issue, even idolatrous – meaning, sinful. I definitely fall into this trap as the temptation to “zone out” is all too present with all of the things available to distract us from the things in life that really matter.

Q: What does speaking the truth in love look like for you, today?

I can definitely relate with what Jeff is talking about in the lecture/chapter, that we certainly act as if we don’t believe in Jesus when it comes to some aspects of our lives. As such, it’s important to speak the Gospel into these things and allow the Christ to transform us.

Q: How would you need to grow in order to speak the truth in love to those around you so they can grow up in Christ?

I would need to be more observant and to be more sensitive to the application of the Gospel in many things in life. I aspire to learn how to personalize and specify the fallen condition in order to make the Gospel relevant to those around me.