Gospel Poems
These gospel poems are about the gospel and about sharing the gospel. They’ll help you…
– Discover or rediscover the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ
– Dig deeper into what the gospel means for your life today
– Find encouragement as you share that good news with others
Mark 8:36
Mark 8:36
And what if I should gain the praise
Of all who live on earth,
Yet lose the praise of Him who came
To offer second birth?
And what if I should gain the wealth
Of all the world and more,
Yet lose the riches that will last
Beyond the golden shore?
And what if I should gain such fame
My name was always known,
Yet lose the name ‘beloved of God’
Before God’s holy throne?
And what if I should gain true ease
With all the things I crave,
Yet lose the rest God offers free
To each that He will save?
And what if I should gain the skills
And wisdom of this world,
Yet lose the wisdom hid in Christ
Throughout His Word unfurled?
And what if I should gain the world
With all it offers me,
Yet lose my soul which is my life
For all eternity?
Christina Joy Hommes
“For what shall it profit a man,
if he shall gain the whole world,
and lose his own soul?”
Mark 8:36
Plant, Water, Reap
Plant, Water, Reap
And water it with tears –
Spread everywhere the gospel
Till every creature hears.
For soon will be the harvest,
And those who reap rejoice –
Who’ll hear through you the echo
Of Christ the Shepherd’s voice?
Christina Joy Hommes
Nothing to Fear
Nothing to Fear
Death could not hold the Son of God,
Guards couldn’t keep Him in;
He rose victorious over all
And conquered death and sin.
If death itself was weak before
The mighty Lord of life,
Can anything hold back His hand
Or foil Him in the strife?
If sin is vanquished by the cross
Can anything restrain
The great salvation that He gives
Which breaks sin’s final chain?
If Satan’s head is crushed by Christ
Through death and victory,
What can he do to those Christ loves
The ones from sin set free?
There is no fear or judgment left
For those who know and love
The Lord of life who died to save
And reigns as King above.
Christina Joy Hommes
To Make a Sinner Clean
To Make a Sinner Clean
Upon the cross of shame
To pardon all who by His grace
Will call upon His Name.
He took the guilt that was my own
And died on my account;
My sin was nailed to Calvary –
Too long a list to count.
He bore God’s wrath, beloved Son,
Though He had done no wrong;
It was my due, He bore it all –
Was ever love so strong?
He gave Himself to set me free –
My Savior, Jesus Christ –
On my account He gave His life,
For me was sacrificed.
Oh wondrous thought that God would die
To make a sinner clean!
I can’t repay such love as His,
Yet on His grace I lean.
Christina Joy Hommes
Christ Came to Stand Where Adam Fell
Christ came to stand where Adam fell,
To pass where Adam failed,
Yet when we look at what they faced
‘Twere rougher seas Christ sailed.
For Adam had a perfect world
In which to face his test,
But Jesus lived beneath the curse,
In suffering faced His test.
And Adam had but two commands
To which he must attend,
While Christ had all the Law of God
Yet not one truth would bend.
In Adam’s world all things were sweet
And every need was met,
Instead our Savior knew great want
With trials He was beset.
Despite his blessings Adam fell
And plunged us into woe,
Yet Jesus stood against the world
His grace and love to show.
So when temptation beckons you
In darkness or in light,
Stand in the shadow of the Cross
And choose the path that’s right.
Christina Joy Hommes
What Jesus Christ Can Do
What Jesus Christ Can Do
The blood of Jesus Christ alone
Can wash me white as snow;
The stains of sin He’ll wash away
His matchless grace to show.
The love of Jesus Christ alone
Can make me new and clean;
The habits of the flesh He’ll change,
My soul He will redeem.
The grace of Jesus Christ alone
Can make me fit to come
Before the Father’s throne above
And call His place my home.
The might of Jesus Christ alone
Can make me His and keep
This wayward heart His royal throne;
He shepherds me, His sheep.
The greatest gift I could bestow
Cannot repay His love;
He gives and gives and gives again
And will through years above.
Christina Joy Hommes
The Covenant of Blood
The Covenant of Blood
God made a solemn covenant
And sealed it with blood,
His people were to follow Him
And know Him as their God.
A covenant of blood declares
That he who breaks its terms
Will shed his blood for breach of faith,
A witness this affirms.
This covenant of blood was made
Twixt God and those He chose –
The children born to Abraham.
See now what will transpose:
The people sinned and sinned again,
They broke the covenant.
God in His mercy drew them back,
Each time till they’d repent.
Though death was due, God waited long,
He disciplined and taught,
Yet every time they would rebel –
In grosser sin then caught.
At last the patience had expired,
And justice must be done.
Blood must be shed for all the sin
Which had gone on and on.
This solemn word was read to all,
The future seemed so bleak.
Wait! What was that I heard just now?
Whose death does justice seek?
The Son of God? That cannot be
For Abram’s sons have erred.
God kept His part – with mercy too –
And yet it was declared!
The Son of God, how can He pay
For our side, for our sin?
Only our people can be held
Accountable to Him.
Hark! Hear the news! The Son of God
Will take on flesh and live
A son of Abraham to die,
New life to us to give.
How can that be? Why would He come
And keep the terms for us,
Then die when He deserves to live
To save His enemies?
This cannot be, and yet it is –
Great mystery of God!
He dies Himself to set us free,
In our place sheds His blood.
And with that blood a covenant
On our behalf is made
Between this Son, now one of us,
And God – see grace displayed!
We cannot fail this covenant,
New covenant of blood,
For we are benefactors, yet
The terms are paid by God.
The righteousness of Christ is pledged
On our behalf to stand,
That we might be inheritors
Of all that’s in Gods hand.
What strange design, but O how blessed –
In Christ’s own place I stand!
His life was forfeit for my own,
See what His love has planned.
Christina Joy Hommes
The Mystery of Grace
The mystery of grace through Christ,
For many years concealed,
Has been laid open, and God’s plan
Has been at last revealed.
One hundred facets are revealed
Each time one is explored;
Each seems more dazzling than the last,
And every time we’re floored.
Though now our eyes are clouded, veiled
We see its lustrous face –
Imagine what eternity
Will show us of His grace.
Christina Joy Hommes
What is this Object of Men’s Scorn
What is this object of men’s scorn
Hung up that all might see,
So marred and bloody, badly torn
That hangs on yonder tree?
You said He is the Son of God
Without one spot or stain!
Then tell me how does one so good
Meet such an end of pain?
He hangs for me? My sins He took
Since I could never pay,
To blot them from God’s judgment book?
He died for me today!
He though so pure was counted sin
That I might never die,
But have His righteousness as mine –
His life to mine apply.
How can this be? What grace divine!
A sinner such as I!
He chose to give His life for mine,
For Him I’ll live and die.
Christina Joy Hommes
Good Friday, 2016
Today my Lord was slain for me,
Behold His pain and anguish.
For me He hung upon the tree
My enemy to vanquish.
The substitute for sin He died,
In my place counted guilty;
To Him my record was applied
And He was punished swiftly.
For Him no stand-in could be found
Since only He was able,
And so the innocent was bound
Whose crib had been a stable.
For my dark guilt He took my stripes,
My death, and my affliction.
For Him no angel now alights
To ease His crucifixion.
Deep in my sins, by them defiled,
Though sinless pure and holy,
He bears the weight upon Him piled
And feels the darkness fully.
Yet no relief can be applied –
The punishment is fitting.
The cup of wrath to Him supplied
Is full, yet He’s submitting.
And in that pain His one delight
Is broken and extinguished,
The Father turns away His sight
Until the work is finished.
Fully forsaken and alone
Without one gleam of pity
He hangs in shame none else has known,
And darkness hides the city.
The last drop drunk, my debt is paid –
Remitted to the fullest!
The sun returns to hear it said:
The work is finally “finished.”
Oh words of hope, my sin is gone!
My soul is fully pardoned!
The battle He has fought and won.
My Spirit is unburdened.
What grace divine that God should die
To save His own creation.
What love displayed that He would buy
My soul and my salvation.
Where Jesus died, now sinners live,
His shame becomes my glory.
What more could He apply or give?
This is love’s wondrous story.
The cross of shame becomes a light –
A beacon of salvation.
There burdens flee and guilt takes flight
Replaced by full redemption.
Christina Joy Hommes
Good Friday, 2016