Who is Micah Lang?
gospelmatters creator/writer
We all have a story.
And our stories are part of a bigger story.
God's story.
His story is known as the gospel.
And this story, this gospel, matters.
More than anything.
I was a pastor's kid that loved to draw. I wanted to be a designer and went to college in Boston to study industrial and graphic design. However, in God's grace, he called me to pursue pastoral ministry in the Northeast, a place in desperate need of the gospel. My heart's longing is to see healthy gospel-centered churches develop and be planted all throughout the New England area. God did it before and he can do it again. I have the privilege of pastoring a church in Lewiston, ME called Redemption Hill Community Church. I also have the privilege of being the husband to Felicia and the "papa" to a daughter, Ada and a son, Judah. My story is one of the kindness of God. I do not deserve any of what he has done for me or given me. My one ambition is to make him known and rejoiced in through the proclamation of this glorious story, the gospel.
Why "gospel matters"?
Oh, boy. Another blog. Don't we have enough?
​
Well, you may be right. In fact, very little of what I will say will really be that profound. I love to learn and I love to think deeply about hard things and I love to write. So, in a sense, I believe I will benefit from having a place to articulate what God is teaching me. But I also believe that in a world where there are many "opinions" and "voices" trying to make sense of things, even in Christian circles, I am continually surprised to see how often the story of God's redemption of a people for his glory is lost in this sea of voices. I believe with all my heart that Christians need to look at everything through this lens, the lens of the gospel. The window through which we look must be that which God has revealed for us. Everything is a part of his story, so everything must be seen in the light of that story.
What is this story? What is the gospel?
Well, I'm glad you asked. Because there is nothing that brings me more joy than to tell it. Charles Spurgeon once said that the gospel could be stated in just four words, "Jesus died for me." The gospel is simple but profound. The gospel is the story of God and what he is done. It is also our story, the story of mankind.
​
CREATION
God, in his perfect wisdom and love, created the universe. It is he who brought forth everything that is. And he made it good. He made mankind in his image (the imago dei), meaning that people like you and me have been gifted with the capacity for relationship with God and, in carrying his image, are endowed with worth and dignity and responsibility. Our ultimate purpose is to know and enjoy the God who created us.
​
FALL
Unfortunately, we didn't last very long. We rebelled against the good God that made us and evil entered the world with all its brokenness. All of us are stained with it and all we do is stained with it. We all have a choice to do what is right and we all fail. We all fall short of the ultimate standard, which is God himself. We are broken and in need of repair. We are guilty in the deepest sense of the word. We deserve justice and we cannot save ourselves.
​
REDEMPTION
But then, God did the unthinkable. As scripture says, he is "rich in mercy" and out of his "great love" for us (Eph. 2), he did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He came down. He humbled himself and, coming in human form, took the form of a servant (Phil. 2). The God of the universe became a man, Jesus Christ. He lived the perfect life that we couldn't live and took our guilt and pain and brokenness and sin upon himself. He died in our place, taking the punishment for sins he didn't commit, our sins. In doing so, he made forgiveness and salvation and life possible for all who trust in what he has done. Gloriously, he rose from the dead, securing victory over evil and salvation for all who he would call to himself. We can now have peace and joy and new life forevermore.
​
NEW CREATION
And it gets better. Before Jesus went back to heaven, he made a promise that he would one day return and make all things new. When that happens, he will remove every stain of brokenness and evil from the world. He will bring ultimate justice and rescue his people. He will restore the world and death will be no more, only joy. We will enjoy him and reign with him forever. Until then, we get to tell this story to others and join God in his mission to save people through the gospel. This is that story. This is our story. This is God's story.
