The Gospel

Today's sermon is the first of four sermons in a series called Gospel Training.! This series is mandatory listening for anyone who wants to become a partner.

! Why four sermons on the gospel to become a partner in our church? If we don't agree on the gospel, then we're not going to agree on anything else. The gospel is ground zero when it comes to importance and what we want to base everything on.

And so Philippians 1 verse 5 says, Paul thanks God for the Philippians' partnership in the gospel. And so really at the core, our partnership together is partnership in the gospel.

So if we don't agree on the gospel, it's hard to go from there. So today's sermon is going to be called The Gospel. The Gospel. The word gospel means good news.

What is the gospel? Romans 1.16 is a quintessential verse on this. This is the verse that Martin Luther was wrecked by. Romans 1.16 says, I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

So three things there. I'm not ashamed of the gospel. Four. What is it? It is the power of God. A lot of times people pray, well, I pray that the gospel would be powerful. I pray that my presentation of the gospel would be powerful.

The gospel is power. You can't make it powerful. It is powerful. It is power in and of itself. That's reassuring to know that the very message we preach is power in and of itself.

And what is this power for? It's for salvation. It's the power that is inherent in the gospel message is to save people. Okay? Who? To everyone who believes.

It's the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. So everyone who believes. Anyone who believes receives this power. And it's like no other power. Since this sermon will predominantly be heard by professing believers, let's make sure that as we listen to this, we're doing 2 Corinthians 13, verse 5, which says, Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith.

Test yourselves. For do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless indeed you fail and meet the test. So let's listen that way. Let's make sure that we're listening with those kind of ears.

Where do we begin? We begin with God. We begin with God. God is holy. God is holy. God being holy is bad news for the sinner.

Do you believe that? God being holy is bad news for the sinner. God is holy and the sinner is not. This is of utmost importance. The fact that God is holy, totally other, completely other than us, the fact that God is holy is bad news for the sinner.

I want to look at two main points in regards to the bad news. First one, people must see themselves as sinners. People must see themselves as sinners. Luke chapter 5, 31 to 32.

Jesus answered them, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. All right?

The gospel is of no use to a person who doesn't first see himself as a sinner. The gospel is for sinners. In your preaching of the gospel, be careful that you're not answering questions that people aren't asking.

This happens all the time. All right? Hey, Jesus died for you. So what? Why is that even relevant to me? Why does that matter? Okay? If someone doesn't realize that they're a sinner and you say, Jesus died for you, you're like, So?

What's the point? Like, what relevance does that have to me? They first have to see they're a sinner. You might say, well, everybody sees that. Au contraire, mon frere. They do not all see that. Okay? There are many people who do not see themselves as sinners, especially nowadays.

Especially nowadays. If a person doesn't know the bad news, then the good news isn't good, and the good news isn't relevant. They have to first know that they're a sinner and that they need God. Romans 3, 10-12, and verse 23.

As it is written, None is righteous. No, not one. No one understands. No one seeks for God. All have turned aside. Together they have become worthless. No one does good.

Not even one. All have sinned. Verse 23. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All. Everyone. There's not even one. Every single person has sinned. This is key.

This is important. It has to start here. There is no one righteous. Not even one. That means everyone. Everyone is in need. Everyone is in need. And essentially, everyone is a lawbreaker.

1 John 3, verse 4 in the NIV says, Everyone who sins breaks the law. In fact, sin is lawlessness. Everyone who sins breaks the law. Anyone who sinned, which is everyone, because all have sinned, have broken God's law.

Who is God? God is holy. When you break the law of a holy God, that is a big deal. That is a big deal. Again, that's why we're saying God being holy is bad news for the sinner.

The fact that we broke the law of a holy God is about the worst news we could hear. 1 Timothy 1, 8 through 11 says, We know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully.

Understanding this, That the law is not laid down for the just, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners. Everyone, right? For the unholy and profane.

For those who strike their fathers and mothers. For murderers, the sexually immoral. Men who practice homosexuality. Enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine.

In accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted. Okay, this is in accordance with the gospel. That we broke God's law. Romans 3, 19 to 20 says, We know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped.

And the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law, no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. So the law is necessary to know what is sin.

Okay, because the law had said, do not sin, that's how we know. Romans 7, 7 says, If it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not sinned. You shall not covet.

And the question that a lot of people would ask is, well, but what if I keep most of it? Right? I mean, come on. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Nobody's perfect. I get it. But what if I keep most of it?

What if I'm better than somebody else? James 2, 10 says, Whoever keeps the whole law, but fails in one point, has become guilty of breaking out all of it.

So even if you've done a pretty decent job of obeying most of it, if you've broken it in one place, you've broken all of it. That's what the Bible says. So not only does it say that all have sinned and all have broken his law, it says even if you've obeyed most of it and you broke it at least one point, you have become guilty of all of it.

You've become guilty of all of it. So this flies in the face of our unrighteousness and our self-righteousness. People say, well, unrighteousness is bad, but self-righteousness is good. We need good people.

No. Self-righteousness and unrighteousness are two sides of the same coin. Sin, wickedness, evil. You might even say that self-righteousness, in one sense, is in one sense more arrogant because it's actually saying, I can do enough to be justified.

I can do enough to win God's favor. The arrogance of self-righteousness is an affront to God in so much as the rebellion of unrighteousness is an affront to God.

They're both an affront to God. In fact, Isaiah 64 verse 6 says, we have become like one who is unclean and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.

Like a polluted garment. This kind of polluted garment that it's talking about would be like a menstrual pad. One time I was living in Midtown. I was going down to take out the garbage or something.

I can't remember. I came into the driveway and as is normal in Midtown back in those days, you never know what you find at the end of the driveway, but I saw a filthy used menstrual pad just kind of sitting there at the end of the driveway all dirty and I thought, wow, that's disgusting.

And then I also thought of Isaiah 64 verse 6 and thought all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. That is what our self-righteous deeds are like. They are like a menstrual pad, a dirty, disgusting menstrual pad.

There's nothing in our seemingly self-righteous deeds that could ever be seen as something that's attractive to God, that could earn His favor, that is good enough for God. None of it is good enough and even the fact that we would even possibly believe that anything we could do is good enough is an affront to a holy God.

It is an affront. It's impossible. Second part of the bad news is people must see the severity of their sin. And again, you'd say, hey man, nobody's perfect.

I'm not that bad. Right? I'm not that bad. Certainly, I'm not as bad as some. How bad is our sin? I mean, it's a really relevant question.

I mean, am I going a little too far in saying that our sin is bad? I mean, come on, there are really bad sinners, but certainly the people in this room would never be in that category. I mean, that's reserved for people in jail, you know, people who, you know, the really bad people.

Certainly not people like us. Well, this is a relevant question. How bad is our sin? Let's make it even more personal. How bad was your sin? How bad is your sin? Well, who the sin is against determines the severity of the crime.

Who the sin is against determines the severity of the crime. What do you mean by that? Well, let's take something as simple as just slapping someone in the face. If you slap a stranger, there's not going to be a whole lot of consequence.

They might shove you, maybe they'll punch you, like what's wrong with you? You know, yell at you or something. But it might be minimal response. Now, if you see a police officer and you go slap him, you're going to have a different response than just slapping a stranger.

But it's the same act. It's the same act. Same act, different consequences. One, I slap a stranger. Another, I slap a police officer. Let's say you just happen to be walking around downtown and you see the mayor and you slap him.

That consequence will be even greater than slapping a cop. All right, what if the governor's in town? You slap the governor in the face. Even greater consequence. What if the president of the United States is in town and somehow you get close enough to him and you slap him in the face?

It's all the same thing. It's all slap. The act is not different between any of those people. But notice, the consequence is different. Why? It's not as much what you did, but who you did it to.

And the truth is, your sin is not just in the universe. It's to God. It's breaking of God's law. Sin is sin against a holy God.

And so when you sin against a holy God, it has consequences consistent with the one you've sinned against. And our sins are like a slap in God's face. Do you see it that way?

You must see it that way because let me tell you this, if your sin isn't that bad, then your savior ain't that great. And if your savior ain't that great, then your response is going to be pretty small. And maybe that just answered a really good, a really important question for some of you in this room who've wondered, why is my response so small?

Maybe it's because your savior ain't all that great. And the reason your savior isn't all that great is because your sin is not that bad. There is consequence to believing that your sin is not that bad.

It minimizes the gift of salvation. It minimizes the reality of the savior and therefore minimizes the response to that. Savior and his saving. God is holy.

And not only is he holy, but he is infinite in his holiness. God is infinite in all his attributes. There is no end to him. He's not like us. The fact that he's holy means he's not like us.

That's part of the meaning of holiness is to be other, is to be different. The fact that he is holy means he's not like us in the fact that we are finite. We have end to all our attributes. But God doesn't ever run out.

Right? God's infinite in his attributes. Psalm 145 verse 3. It says, Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. And his greatness is unsearchable. Psalm 147 verse 5.

It says, Great is our Lord and abundant in power. His understanding is beyond measure. It's beyond measure. It's not like you think, Oh, I've reached the end of God's understanding. I've reached the end of his greatness.

It was pretty good while it lasted, but I've exhausted all of it. Never. Never, never, never. You never reach the end of his greatness. You ever reach the end of his understanding, his power, his might, his wisdom, his love, all his attributes.

You don't reach an end to it and you think, Oh, I've exhausted it. If God is infinitely holy, then our sin against him is infinitely wicked.

Or as Romans 7.13 says, Sinful beyond measure. Sinful beyond measure. So the just punishment for sin beyond measure is punishment without end.

Or what Matthew 25.46 calls eternal punishment. Some would say, Eternal punishment for a short little life of sin? It's unjust. It's not right.

How could this be? You're looking at it wrong. You're looking at it wrong. You're looking at amount of time. You're looking at an act. You're looking at multiple acts. You're not looking at who you've sinned against. If God is infinitely holy, and even just one sin against that infinite holy God, deserves eternal punishment.

Eternal punishment. Charles Spurgeon put it this way. He said, If we had lain in hell forever, yet divine justice would not have been fully justified. For after thousands of years of suffering, there would remain still an eternity of debt due to God's justice.

If God had annihilated all the sinners that ever lived, at one stroke, he would not have so honored his justice as he did when he took sin and laid it on his son. And his son bore divine wrath, which was due to that sin.

For now there has been rendered unto divine justice a full equivalent, a complete recompense for all the dishonor which it suffered. Do you believe this?

Do you believe that about your sin? Do you believe that about your sin? The consequence of sin is grave. Romans 6.23 says, John 3.36 says, Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.

Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. The wrath of God remains on him. And that is just.

That is just. There is a coming judgment. Judgment. Hebrews 9.27 says, It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment. Romans 2.16 says, On that day when according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus, we will all stand before the judgment seat.

No one escapes it. No one, no matter what you think or what you try or what you believe, every single person is appointed to die once. And after that comes judgment. There will be judgment.

There will be a judgment seat. And we will stand before the judge. And none of our excuses, none of our facades, none of our things that we foolishly put our hope in will stand against the holy God.

There's only one thing that will stand, and that is our holy God. And that which he paid for. And there will be people who will be sent to a place in the Bible called hell.

And hell is described as eternal fire and punishment. Matthew 25.41 and 46. Eternal fire and punishment. In the lake of fire.

Revelation 20.15. Where they will be tormented day and night, forever and ever, with no rest, day or night. This is Revelation 14.11 and 20.10.

Tormented day and night, forever and ever. No rest, day or night. Will this torment? Away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might. 2 Thessalonians 1 verse 9.

It's important to read those verses. It's important to reference those verses. Because the soul of a man doesn't want to believe these things. And the rationing of the mind wants to say, Oh, no, no, no.

God would never do that. But this is someone who's not thinking about God in a right way. This is not thinking of some God as holy. This is not thinking of God as just. This is not thinking of hell.

And the wrath of God consistently with the word of God. And if you look at the word of God, these words are used. Words like eternal. Words like where the torment never ends. Words like no rest day or night. Words like away from the presence of the Lord.

These are the things that the Bible talks about. The bad news is this. We have sinned against God. We've broken God's law.

We've fallen short of God's glory. And we're justly under the eternal wrath of holy God. Now, all this being said, can you relate to what I've just said personally?

Can you relate to what I've just said personally? Does this sound like something outside you? Does this sound like something foreign? Or do you hear this and think, I am that sinner. That's me.

I'm the sinner. I'm the unrighteous. I'm the self-righteous. You're not thinking of somebody else. You're not thinking of your spouse. You're not thinking of your father or your mother or that person who hurt you.

You're thinking, I am the man. I am the woman. I'm the one who sinned. I'm the one who broke God's law. I'm the one who's justly under the wrath of God. My sin put him on the cross.

It was me. My specific sins. Not a generic sins. But this specific sin and this specific sin and this specific sin. I know what I have justly deserved of.

I know that. I believe it. I've experienced it. See, if you haven't experienced that, then what is the good news to you? If you haven't experienced the weight, the gravity of the bad news.

A great question is, what has Jesus saved you from? What specific immorality has Jesus saved you from? Or what sense of moralism has he saved you from? 1 Corinthians 6, 9-11 says, Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?

Do not be deceived. Listen to these specifics. Neither the sexually immoral, sorry, Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

Verse 11, And such were some of you. Such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God.

This is so important. Such were some of you. The one who has been saved, the one who is a Christian, they have some of these things in their past. They could say, I was sexually immoral.

I was an adulterer. I was an idolater. I was one who practiced homosexuality. I was a thief. I was greedy. I was a drunkard. I was a reviler. I was a swindler.

That's what I was. But I was washed. I was sanctified. I was justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. What is your testimony? You don't have to have some great insane testimony of these wild stories of how you lived wildly.

You just have to have the testimony of someone who was justly under the wrath of God because of specific sins. And your testimony is, that was me. Was me. Such were some of you.

That's my testimony. But I was washed. I was sanctified. I was justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. Ephesians 2, 1-4 says, You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work and the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body, and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Verse 4, But God, this is the good news. That was the bad news. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. We were following our flesh in the ways of the world, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind.

By nature, children of wrath, born into sin. That's who we all were. But God, and here comes the good news. Good news. I want to look at five different aspects of this good news.

But God, Ephesians 2, 4-9, But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, by grace, you have been saved, and raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God. Not a result of works so that no one may boast. Number one aspect of the good news, it's by grace alone.

It's by grace alone. God's undeserved, forgiving love. There is nothing, nothing you can do, could do, or ever will do that could ever earn forgiveness, justification, love.

He gives this to us freely while we were dead. While we were dead. This is grace. Do you know this grace? Do you know this amazing grace?

Romans 4, 1 through 8, what shall we say then, was gained by Abraham, our forefather, according to the flesh. For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.

For what does the scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift, but as is due.

Okay? That's an obvious thing. When you get paid from your boss, it's not a gift. It's your due. You worked, you had an exchange that was agreed upon, I will work for this amount of money, and then you will give me that amount of money.

I don't shake your hand or hug you and celebrate that you gave me a gift. I say, thank you for giving my due. And if you don't give me my due, I'm upset about it because I have a right to that due. The one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift, but as is due.

And to the one who does not work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness. To the one who justifies the ungodly, this flies in the face of the self-righteous person who thinks that God justifies me because I was godly or I had some semblance of godliness.

But that's not what the scriptures say. The good news of the grace of God is that he justifies the ungodly. You might say, I'm ungodly. I feel so like I can't ever receive God's love.

You are actually the most qualified person to receive salvation if you think you're ungodly. Those are the only kind he justifies. Those are the only kind he justifies. He justifies the ungodly.

And when you believe that, your faith is counted as righteousness. Just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works. He says this, Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin. So it's not that you never sinned, it's that your sins are no longer counted against you. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.

Blessed is the man who believes the gospel of the grace of God. Titus 3, 4-7 says, When the goodness and not loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us. Not because of works done in righteousness.

Not because of anything we did. Not because we figured it out. We did good enough things that he says, Oh, you are the one I want to save because you're the good one. You're the good little boy or girl, and so I'll save you.

When the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, when he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the fault of eternal life.

We've been justified by grace, undeserved, forgiving love, nothing in us that we could deserve it. God loves us for who we are, not who we should be, because no one is as they should be.

This is grace. It's a quote from Brent Manning. Romans 5 verse 8 says, God shows his love for us in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That's grace. Grace is dying for people who don't deserve it. Grace is giving something to someone who doesn't deserve it. Grace is God's unmerited favor, giving you something that was not merited.

You didn't do anything to earn it. In fact, you did everything to not deserve it, and yet God looks upon you with grace and mercy and says, I will give this to you because I am merciful, because I am gracious.

God shows his love for us in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That is good news. Romans 5, 1 to 2, therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Through him, we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. We actually stand in grace.

When the Father looks at us, he sees the perfect work of the Son because of grace. We're standing in grace. We oftentimes like to stand in our own efforts. We like to stand in our own merit.

We like to stand in what we've done. But the Christian stands in the grace of God. Acts 20, 24 calls this gospel the gospel of the grace of God.

How have you experienced God's grace personally? Do you know? Can you articulate? Can you articulate what grace means to you and how you experienced it in specific ways? Is grace good news to you?

This is important. In John Newton's famous song that he wrote, Amazing Grace, John Newton, the former slave trader, John Newton, who sold people as slaves and then became a Christian, he said, Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind, but now I see. It was grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come. Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home. In that famous hymn, How Great Thou Art, he said, When I think that God, his son not sparing, sent him to die, I scarce can take it in, that on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, he bled and died to take away my sin.

God is gracious. Number two, first it's put, through grace alone, number two, through faith alone. Ephesians 2.8 says, For by grace, you have been saved through faith. How do we get grace?

Through faith. How do we receive grace? Through faith. Romans 10.9-10 says, If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Listen, you don't ask Jesus into your heart. You don't find any verse that says that. You don't ask Jesus into your heart, you believe with your heart.

If you haven't believed in your heart and you ask Jesus into your heart, he might not come. He's under no obligation to answer that prayer with the coming of himself into your heart if you haven't believed in your heart.

You have to believe in your heart and you have to believe specific things. You can't just say, well, yeah, I believe. Believe what? I have a faith. What do you mean you have a faith? A faith in what? Even demons have a faith.

What do you have faith in? Well, I believe that there's a God. That's not enough. I believe that Jesus lived. That's not, that doesn't save you. You have to believe that Jesus is someone specific.

Just like when Jesus walked the earth, just like when he was born of a woman and had brothers and sisters and lived in a city and walked among people, this human being that was walking around, people had to believe something about him that was different about all the other human beings that were walking around who were born of a woman.

And if they didn't, there was great consequence to that. In the same way, we have to believe not just that Jesus existed, not just that Jesus was a real person, truly man.

We have to believe he was also truly God, that Jesus is God, King, and Lord. You don't make him Lord. You don't say, well, I believe he's my Savior, but I just haven't believed he was my Lord.

You will find nothing of the sort in the scriptures. Not only that, you cannot do that. God isn't some person you can divide up into little pieces and say, oh yeah, he's my Savior, but I just haven't made him my Lord.

He's always been Savior and Lord. He's both of those. You don't make him that. He is that. You just have to believe that. Do you believe it? Do you believe that he rose from the dead? Do you believe that this person was not just a person, but he was truly God as well?

And so he is Savior and Lord. Because if he's not Lord, then he's not your Savior. The only way he can save you, the only one who is mighty to save is God himself. The fact that he's Lord and King and God is what gives him the authority to save you.

Without that, he has no authority to save you. John 3, 16 to 18 says, God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned. Whoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only son of God.

Grace through faith, grace through believing, in the name of God. In fact, John 6, 29 says, Jesus said, this is the work of God that you believe in him who he has sent. Faith is a gift that God gives us that is the medium by which grace comes.

It's through belief. It's through faith. Grace alone through faith alone. Number three, in Christ alone. In Christ alone. Faith in what? Faith in who? Faith in Christ.

John 14, 6, Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. This flies in the face of the universalists that says, oh, they're all the same. All the religions are the same.

The only way that all the religions are the same is if none of them said that one of the people was exclusive. Jesus said that he was exclusive. Therefore, they can't all be true.

There can't be multiple ways to God if one person who said he was God said that there's only one way. It flies in the face of that. No one comes to the Father except through me, Jesus said. Acts 4, 12 says, there is salvation in no one else.

For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. That's pretty unequivocal right there. There's salvation in no one else. This is why we can't say, well, as long as you're sincere in your belief.

No, no, no, no. Sincere belief in the wrong thing is just as foolish as insincere belief in the wrong thing. Maybe even more. Okay? You have to believe in the right person.

There is salvation in no one else. 1 Timothy 2, verse 5 says, there is one God and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

Jesus is the mediator. Jesus is the mediator between us and God. You have to, you get grace through faith and that faith has to be in a specific person to get it and that is in Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5, 21 says, for our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. In him. In Christ.

And when that happens, Romans 8, 1 says, there's now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. When you're in Christ Jesus, there's no more condemnation. The condemnation that was justly upon us because of our sin is no longer on us when we are in Christ Jesus.

when we're in Christ Jesus. This is why we can't add, it can't be, well, I need Jesus but then I also have to be a really good person. No, no, no. It's Jesus plus nothing equals everything.

Jesus alone. Christ alone. It's not Jesus in my good works. It's not Jesus in my good church attendance. It's not Jesus in me being better than the other person or better than my spouse or better than my neighbor or whoever it may be.

It's Jesus plus nothing equals everything. Jesus alone. In Christ alone. Like to him we sing, right? Till on that cross as Jesus died the wrath of God was satisfied.

For every sin on him was laid. Here in the death of Christ I live. And as he stands in victory sin's curse has lost its grip on me. For I am his and he is mine bought with the precious blood of Christ.

It's in Christ alone. It's in Christ alone. So it's by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone with repentance. Number four with repentance. Mark 1 14 to 15 says Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God.

Jesus came in proclaiming the gospel of God. Okay what did he say? He said the time is fulfilled the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel. Repent and believe. This is the gospel that Jesus preached.

Repent and believe. Luke 13 3 says now I tell you unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Unless you repent you will all likewise perish.

Repentance is turning from your sin and turning to God. True faith involves repentance because you're turning from what you were trusting in. Everybody has faith in something. There's no such thing as someone who doesn't have faith.

Everybody believes and trusts in something. Repentance is taking that which you were putting your faith and trust in that was not Christ and turning and putting it into Christ. That's repentance.

You were going one way you turn around and go the other way. Acts 26 19-20 Paul says I declared first to those in Damascus then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea and also to the Gentiles that they should repent and turn to God performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.

There's no such thing as belief without repentance. Do you hear me on that? This is important. There's no such thing as belief without repentance. Repentance is the evidence of belief. They should repent and turn to God performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.

To profess belief that Jesus is God without repentance is not to believe that Jesus is God because the very nature of him being God King Lord requires demands repentance from all things that we've trust in or worshipped apart from him.

You can't say I believe he's God but I'll worship another. I believe he's God but I'll do whatever I want. I'll act like I'm God. That has to be repented of. How have you experienced God's kindness leading you to repentance?

Romans 2.4 says his kindness leads us to repentance. How have you experienced that? How can you testify of that? I was walking the wrong way. I was this is what I trusted in.

This is what I believed in. I believe me personally I believe that my self-righteousness was enough. I believe if I was good enough if I could be better than other people then I'd be okay and the harder I tried to be good enough the more I found I kept screwing up and I kept falling short and I was it was starting to my foundation was unmoored.

I started feeling super insecure and unsteady. That's what led me to Christ. His kindness in revealing the ineptitude of my own selfish self-centered performance and self-righteousness the fact that I could never measure up.

His kindness led me to see that that was not the way but that Jesus was the way the truth and the life and His kindness caused me to turn from my trusting in my self-righteousness my own vain glory and trusting and giving glory to God.

That's how God saved me. How has He saved you? How have you experienced God's kindness in the midst of your sin leading you to repentance? By grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone with repentance and future hope number five Colossians 1 4-5 Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints because of the hope laid up for you in heaven of this you have heard before in the word of the truth the gospel is a future hope.

It gives us future hope. It gives us hope that says this life isn't all there is. The good news of the gospel says Jesus is returning and when we see Him we'll be like Him and we'll be saved from sin ultimately and we'll live with Him eternally.

Galatians 5 verse 5 says through the Spirit by faith we ourselves eagerly await for the hope of righteousness. Are you waiting for this? Are you eagerly waiting for the hope of righteousness?

That right now God is saving you but one day He will save you in the fullest sense that He'll give you a new body and death will be swallowed up in victory and there'll be no more presence of sin in our life. This is the hope of righteousness.

All the futility of sin and the futility of this life the banging up of our heads against the wall day in and day out against all these things that are futile because of the sin of all of us. Death and sickness and sadness pressing in on us and causing us to feel unfulfilled in this world.

We cling to the hope of righteousness that one day the King of Kings will make all things right and He will save us to the uttermost and sin will be swallowed up death will be swallowed up in victory.

Romans 8 23 says not only the creation but we ourselves who have the first fruits of the Spirit groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons the redemption of our bodies.

We long for the day when sin is no longer present in our body. What a great day that will be. 1 Peter 1 3-4 says blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance that is imperishable undefiled and unfading kept in heaven for you.

It's a living hope. It's knowing this is real. We are living in hope. There is a hope that is real. It's a hope that Jesus will return to make all things right. We live in that.

Are you experiencing a living hope? Is it alive in you? Where you're not a comer under but an overcomer. You're not coming under your circumstances because you have a living hope that these circumstances are not the final word.

They're not the final outcome. When it looks like death had won. When it looks like sickness had won. When it looks like sadness and futility had won. We always know that the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus points us to a better way and says, uh-uh.

There's coming a day when all the wrong things will be made right. It's a living hope. And we experience that day in and day out and we can testify of the power of the gospel in this. It's what Fanny Crosby called blessed assurance.

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine. Heir of salvation, purchase of blood, born of his spirit, washed in his blood.

Or like to him, it is well, though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, let this blessed assurance control that Christ has regarded my helpless estate and has shed his own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin not in part, but the whole, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh my soul.

And also Fanny Crosby in the hymn, To God Be The Glory, says, Oh, perfect redemption, the purchase of blood, to every believer, the promise of God, the vilest offender who truly believes that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

Great things he hath taught us, great things he hath done, and great are rejoicing through Jesus the Son, but pure and higher and greater will be our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see.

In conclusion, the gospel is the good news of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, with repentance and future hope.

And I wrap it up here with 25 quick reasons. I'm just going to read through these. I'm not going to talk about them. 25 reasons the gospel is good news. To wrap it up, I just want you to listen to these, receive these, think about these.

This is 25 reasons the gospel is good news. Number one, you are alienated, hostile, and enemies in your minds, and he reconciled you. You were held hostage, he paid your ransom.

You were cursed, he redeemed you. You were a sinner, he forgave you. You were in darkness, he brought you into light. You were an orphan and a slave, and he adopted you as his child. You were wicked, he justified you.

You were unrighteous, he made you righteous. You were enslaved to sin, he set you free. You were guilty, he made you innocent. You were full of shame, he took your shame. You were empty, he filled you up.

You were dead, he made you alive. You were in debt, he canceled your debt. You were far off, he brought you near. You were rejected, he accepted you. You were lost, he found you.

You were born into sin, he rebirthed you and made you anew. You were blind, he gave you sight. You were poor, he made you rich. You were condemned, he removed your condemnation.

You were under wrath, he saved you from his wrath. You were weary and heavy laden, he gave you a light and easy yoke. You were flawed, he made you perfect and you were dirty and he washed you clean.

Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, he washed it white as snow. And when before the throne I stand, in him complete, Jesus died my soul to save, my lips shall still repeat.

Amen? Amen.