[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you'll be blessed by the preaching of God's Word.
[0:14] That was pretty anemic, but I sure hope you adore him. Amen? Take your Bibles if you would and open them to the book of Romans, chapter 1 and verse 1. And we do adore him, the Lord our God, our King, Jesus, born in Bethlehem, came to the earth to die for us.
[0:32] And I want to talk to you this morning about the Christmas story that you find here in the book of Romans. The Christmas story you find here in the book of Romans. And I would like to tell you up front now what I want you to get today.
[0:45] So I hope you keep a piece of paper out with you. And I hope you take your Bible and I hope you go through it. I want you to know that you know that you know that you're born again. I want you to understand what the Bible says.
[0:56] I want you to take notes. I want you to take the Bible. I want you to compare Scripture with Scripture and make sure that you know that you're saved, that you understand the gospel, that you understand that God came in the form of the human body, in the form of Jesus, and lived and died here for us on this earth and was buried and rose again.
[1:15] So the first thing I want to show you is the preaching of the gospel of God that Paul talks about in verse 1. Read with me Romans chapter 1 and verse 1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated under the gospel of God.
[1:33] Paul, separated under the gospel of God. And I would like to take a few minutes, and this may not sound a whole lot like Christmas to you, but it really is. The word gospel means good news.
[1:45] And if there's anything that you ought to understand in the Bible, it is the gospel message of God, the gospel message of Jesus Christ. If you'll take your Bible and go with me, I'm going to give you a lot of verses.
[1:58] You can write them down. You can study them later. They're verses you'll be able to share with other people, but you should understand the gospel. If you would take your Bible and look at Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 6.
[2:11] I want you to understand the gospel starts with man's failure. The gospel starts, well, it starts with God, but on our part, it starts with us realizing that we're a failure and that we need the good news.
[2:25] It starts with the fact that man sinned against the holy God. If you want to know what Jesus coming at Bethlehem was about, it was about the fact that man sinned, man failed, and man deserved to go to hell.
[2:39] The Bible says in Isaiah 53 and verse 6, and you should memorize this verse, underline this verse, write this verse, and know this verse, and know it well. It says, all we like sheep have, would you repeat these two words to me?
[2:53] All we like sheep have gone astray. Now, this next sentence, after I say we have, I want you to read to the semicolon with me. Are you ready? The Bible says, we have, ready?
[3:07] We have turned every way to his own way. And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Every man did his own thing and went his own way.
[3:22] That's where the problem starts. In the very beginning, God created man. In the very beginning, God placed man on the planet. In the very beginning, God had a plan. And every man, those men and women there in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, they chose to go their own way.
[3:39] That's not just what it says in the Old Testament. That's a New Testament truth. In Romans chapter 3 and verse 10, that you should know by heart. See if you can repeat that verse with me. Are you ready? Romans 3.10.
[3:50] The Bible says, as it is written, none righteous, no not one. How many righteous are there? There is none righteous, no not one.
[4:00] Verse 11. There is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after God. Did you notice how many times it said none? There's none righteous. There's none that understands.
[4:12] There's none that seeks after God. Verse 12. They are all gone out of the way. They are all gone out of the way. They are together become unprofitable.
[4:22] There is none that doeth good, no not one. So I hope somewhere you'll write this down. The problem is man has gone his own way.
[4:33] He has his own opinion, his own idea, what he wants to do. He lives life his way. He only goes around once, so he grabs all the gusto he can.
[4:43] His life is about him. Man's rebellion then brought sin and death upon all men. Man's sin and rebellion brought death upon all men.
[4:56] Romans chapter 5 and verse 12. Romans chapter 5 and verse 12. The Bible says, wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.
[5:12] So sin came into the world, but one got sin. Adam sinned, and Adam rebelled against God, and Adam got his own way. And when he did, sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and death passed on all men.
[5:24] That's why we die today. We die today because man chose to do what he wanted to do, not what God wanted him to do. Sin entered, death came, and death passed all men. But you can't get out of it, and you can't blame Adam.
[5:36] Because he ends the earth by saying, for all have sinned. All of us have sinned against the holy God. But God in his goodness and grace made a plan to rescue sinful man.
[5:51] God in his goodness and grace made a plan to rescue sinful man. 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verses 18 and 19, if you would. 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verses 18 and 19.
[6:03] This is the gospel. This is the good news. This is the gospel of God that Paul preaches. In 2 Corinthians 5, verse 18, the Bible says, And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us a ministry of reconciliation.
[6:21] You got your Bible open there with you right now? And if you don't with a sheet of paper, write this down. If you would look at what it says. It says, God hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ.
[6:32] Who reconciled us? Say it to me. Who reconciled us? God. And how did God reconcile us to himself? He did it by Jesus Christ. God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ.
[6:45] In case you didn't understand, verse 19 helps you understand verse 18. Look what he says in verse 19. To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
[7:04] So, man sinned. Man deserved punishment. But man sinned and death entered. Man dies. Man dies. Our lives end.
[7:15] We are headed to a grave. And after that grave, we're headed to a second death. But God doesn't want us to die. And God doesn't want us to go to a second death. And God doesn't want us to go to hell.
[7:26] And the God of heaven made a plan that would save us and rescue us. In Romans chapter 6 and verse 23, you ought to know this verse very well. Say that with me if you would.
[7:37] Romans 6, 23. Are you ready? Could you say that with me? For the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
[7:50] So wages are what I earn. Wages are what my employer owes me. Wages are what I get because of the work I do. And the wages of sin is death.
[8:02] You sin, you earn death. And death in the Bible refers to physical death and spiritual death and eternal death. It refers to the second death in the book of Revelation.
[8:14] The wages of sin is what? Death. But notice the next verse. Next part of the verse. But the what? Okay, say the word with me. But the gift.
[8:24] But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. Whose gift is it? Help me. Whose gift is it? The gift of who? I don't hear you. The gift of who?
[8:34] The gift of God. And it's a gift. Now what is a gift? You see wages I earn and gifts I get for free. Gifts somebody else pays for. Gifts somebody else gets for me.
[8:46] Gifts somebody else thinks about me and gives me a gift. And so God had a gift. It's the gospel of God. And God had a gift. By the way, what did the gift of God cost? What did the gift of God cost?
[8:58] Read the verse. For the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. So Jesus died. And Jesus paid the sin debt.
[9:10] Jesus carried the consequences for our sins. That's the gospel. The wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
[9:21] John chapter 1 and verse 14. John chapter 1 and verse 14. The gospel of God. You sinned and I sinned and we deserve death and hell. But God loved us and God made a plan.
[9:33] And God had good news and God had a gospel. And God sent Jesus. And Jesus died on a cross to pay our sin debt. John chapter 1 and verse 14. And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us.
[9:45] And we beheld his glory. The glory as of the only begotten of the Father. Full of grace and truth. Look in your Bible would you please. Please underline this in your Bible.
[9:56] Please write this down. Here's what happens at Christmas. It's not about a little baby born. It's not about Mary. And it's not about shepherds. And it's not about kings.
[10:07] And it's not about Santa. And it's not about gifts. It's about this. It's about God coming to earth and taking on human flesh and living among us. In John 1.1 the Bible says.
[10:18] In the beginning was the. In the beginning was the word. And the word was with God. And the word was God. So who are we talking about? Who are we talking about that was in the beginning?
[10:31] Jesus Christ. In the beginning. The Christ. The son of God was in the beginning with God. In the beginning with God. Not only was he with God. He was. Was God.
[10:42] Now back to John 1.14. What's it say? In John 1.14 it says. And that word became flesh. And dwelt among us.
[10:53] Jesus came and lived. And dwelt among us. And you know why he came and lived and dwelt among us? So that God could place your sins on him. So that God could place your sins on him.
[11:06] And he could die in your place. He could carry your sin debt. Look if you would at Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 6. Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 6.
[11:17] The Bible says. And all we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. But look at what it says. And the Lord and God hath laid on him.
[11:29] On who? On the. On Jesus. The sin. The iniquity. The sin of us all. The Bible says. All we like if sheep have gone astray. How many of you have gone astray?
[11:41] If you look back over your past. You would say. You know the truth is. I did try to live my own way. I did try to live in rebellion. I did have my own opinions. And I was doing it my own way. I wasn't really worried about God's way.
[11:52] And I did that. If that happened to you. Say amen. And then he says. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. I didn't say that you thought it was a bad way.
[12:03] But it was your opinion. And it was your way. And it's what you wanted. And we turned there. Everyone has turned to his own way. And when we did that. We sinned. You see the root of all sins rebellion.
[12:14] The root of all sins pride. The root of all sin is. I think I know what I'm doing. The root of all sin is. I'll do what I want to do. And we did what we wanted to do. And this is what God did.
[12:26] He laid on Jesus. The iniquity of us all. And he died. Go back with me to Romans chapter 1. Jesus took our sin debt.
[12:39] That was prophesied in the Old Testament. And you'll look at that in just a minute. But a lot of good people have died. And a lot of people have lived exemplary lives. There's been a lot of great people like Moses.
[12:50] There have been a lot of great people like other religious figures and political figures and statesmen. There have been a lot of good people. There have been a lot of good people that sacrificed a great deal for everybody and made a difference for mankind.
[13:05] But only one. Only one came with the express purpose of dying. Of paying the sin debt. And God raised him from the dead.
[13:16] Look if you would at Romans chapter 1 and verse 4. To prove that this is true. God raised him. He rose from the dead. I'd like you to read with me chapter 1 and verse 4.
[13:29] Romans 1, 4. Would you read that out loud with me please? The Bible says, So here's what?
[13:47] The resurrection of the dead. So here's what Paul starts off and he said, I want to talk to you. I'm called an apostle separated under the gospel of God. I got one thing I talk about.
[13:59] I got one thing I preach. I got one thing that's important. It's the gospel of God. It is that Jesus was God in human flesh. It is that Jesus came to pay the sin price of all mankind.
[14:11] It is that Jesus died for sins he didn't commit and was buried and rose again. It is Jesus. It is that you sinned and I sinned. But Jesus paid the sin debt.
[14:23] Go with me if you would to 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 3. The Bible says, For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. Oh, it's God our Savior.
[14:34] God our Savior. Who will have, how many men? Would you help me? Who will have? All men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. What would he have all men to do?
[14:45] Two things. Would you help me? What would he have all men to do? He would have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men.
[14:58] The man Christ Jesus. Who gave himself a ransom for how many? I can't hear you. He gave himself a ransom for how many? All to be testified in due season.
[15:10] This is the gospel of good news. It's the gospel of God. Always know God loves you. Now, before I go on into the chapter, that's the preaching Paul had.
[15:21] And I took you all through the Bible and I showed you a lot of verses. I showed you quite a few in Romans. But look this way just a second. I need you to understand the gospel. And the gospel is so simple and we can easily overlook it. But here it is. Are you ready? It is that God created us.
[15:34] It is that we are not our own beings. We don't determine our own destiny. It is that God made us. We're not some animal further along evolved than others.
[15:45] There is a creator. And that creator is judge of the earth. It is that God allowed us to have a free will to do what we wanted. And man chose to sin against God.
[15:56] And man chose to go his own way and to do his own thing. And that's what you've been doing. In fact, as you're sitting here listening to me this morning, you're thinking to yourself, Hey, look, buddy, I appreciate what you got to say, but I got my own way of thinking.
[16:08] I know you do. That's why you're going to hell. I know you do. I know you. I just don't think I see it that way. I know. And that's the problem.
[16:18] Because what I'm saying comes out of the word of God. It is what the Bible says. And the Bible says that sin is you doing and thinking your own thing. It's God's thing.
[16:29] It's a man's sin against the holy God. And because of man's sin, there was a consequence. And the consequence was death and hell. There was a consequence, death and the second death.
[16:40] But God loves you. It's the gospel of God. Did you notice that? Some of you got it almost like you think it's the gospel of Mary. Or the gospel of the Baptist. Or the gospel of the church.
[16:51] Or even the gospel of Jesus. And that God's a mean old bad God. This is the gospel of who? Of God. By the way, this is the gospel of Jesus. Because Jesus is God.
[17:03] We'll get that one next. But watch what happens here. God loves you. And Jesus died on the cross and paid your sin debt. He paid your debt. He wants you to be saved.
[17:15] He offers you a free gift. The message this morning is that you can have all of your sins forgiven. That you can know for sure that you are on your way to heaven.
[17:26] That you can know for sure that you are saved. You can know that. Why? Because it's the gospel of God. It's because what God did on Calvary. The whole truth of the Bible is this.
[17:41] You sinned. You deserve hell. God loves you. Jesus died for you. You can receive a free gift. If you don't know that you're going to heaven today. If you came to our church.
[17:51] And it really burdens me and breaks my heart. That some of you don't know you'd go to heaven when you die. And the reason you don't know that you'd go to heaven when you die. Is because you have not admitted something.
[18:03] And the first thing you admit is this. I can't save myself. The first thing you admit is I have sinned against the holy God. The first thing you admit is I'm headstrong.
[18:16] I'm headstrong. And I do what I want to do. And I believe what I want to believe. And I've gone my own way. But today I'll repent of that. And I will believe him. And I'll believe his way.
[18:26] And I'll trust him. And I'll accept the free gift that he offers of salvation. You could be saved right now. Right there where you're sitting you could easily say to him. Lord I'm sorry for always doing my own thing.
[18:37] And believing my own way. I'm sorry I've never trusted that Jesus died on the cross and paid my sin debt. Right now I trust Jesus. You don't have to pray a special prayer. You don't have to come to the front.
[18:48] You don't have to fill out a card. Here's what you got to do. Know you have sinned against the holy God. Know that you deserve to go to hell when you die. Know that God came and took on human flesh.
[19:00] And God died. Jesus died on the cross for your sins. And he offers you a free gift. Would you accept today the gospel of Jesus Christ?
[19:10] The gospel of Jesus Christ. Go back with me now if you would to Romans chapter 1. I hope you will right now. By the way right now in your seat trust Jesus. Tell him I trust you.
[19:23] Tell him I admit I've sinned and today I believe. Today I become a believer. Today I become a believer. Maybe I'd say this before I move on. In Peru we would never use the word Christian.
[19:34] We never called ourselves Christians. Because in Peru there is a cultural Christianity. Everybody in Peru is a Christian. But not everybody is a believer. And this morning maybe you're a Christian.
[19:46] But you're not a believer. And if you're not a believer today is the day for you to believe. Number two. The second thing. We see the preaching of the gospel. The second thing. I want you to see the promised one.
[19:57] I want you to see the promised one. Jesus and the gospel were promised by God in the Old Testament. Romans chapter 1 verse 1. So Paul a servant of Jesus Christ.
[20:08] Called to be an apostle. Separated under the gospel of God. Gospel of God now. Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures.
[20:18] He had promised afore by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures. The gospel is not an afterthought. It's not a change in God's plan. Now listen to this.
[20:30] Look at me. I need you to look and listen to this. Jesus didn't come and be born in a manger. And have plans of. Listen to me. He did not have plans of setting up an earthly kingdom. He did not have plans of going about and doing nice things.
[20:43] He did not have plans of everybody following him. And him overthrowing the Romans. And him setting up a kingdom on earth. That is never his plan. It was not that Jesus was walking along one day.
[20:54] Doing good things. And bad people grabbed him. And they beat him up. And they killed him. And they put him on a cross. And he died. That's not what happened. Here's what happened. He came to die.
[21:07] The second he got here. He knew he was dying. Before he got here. He knew he was dying. Ten gazillion billion years ago. He knew he was going to die. He came to die.
[21:18] It's not a new plan. It isn't like the apostles said. Oh my goodness. Things really messed up. And the kingdom didn't work out. So let's make up a new story. And write it up real quick. No. Jesus came to die.
[21:30] How do we know that? 39 books in the Old Testament. Jesus came to die. The Bible says in Romans 1.1. It's the gospel. It was not the gospel of Paul.
[21:42] But the gospel of God. It's not what Paul made up to cover for Jesus dying. Verse 1. End of the verse. Gospel of God. In chapter 1 and verse 9. It's called the gospel of his son.
[21:54] You know why it's the gospel of his son? Because Jesus is God. And God is Jesus. In verse 16. The Bible says. For I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For it is the power of God unto salvation.
[22:06] It's the gospel of Christ. The gospel of God. Christ is God. The gospel is the message. That Jesus Christ died for our sins. And was buried. And rose again.
[22:17] 1 Corinthians chapter 15. And I won't take the time to read that with you. But Paul writes the Corinthians. And he says. The gospel which I preached unto you. It's the same gospel I received. And here's what he said. He said.
[22:28] It is that Jesus died. And was buried. And rose again. He died for our sins. And he died according to the scriptures. And he was buried. And he rose again.
[22:39] So I want you to look as well. I want you to listen. I want you to look as well. I want you to listen. Jesus was the promised one from God. I'm going to show you in the Bible. He was the promised one from God. He came for a purpose.
[22:51] To set us free from our sins. That's what it's all about. He was promised. The Old Testament is full of the fact. That he was going to be born. We. If we were having a Christmas program.
[23:02] And having children do something. We'd go back. And we'd see the verses where. In Isaiah 7 14. It said a virgin would have a child. And we would see where. The baby would be born in Bethlehem. And we would see all that story.
[23:13] Let me tell you. That story was written before Jesus got here. It was promised. It was promised. It was prophesied. Genesis 3 15. We'll soon be there on the evening services.
[23:26] Look at Genesis 3 15 with me if you would. The Bible says. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman. And between thy seed and her seed. And it shall bruise thy head.
[23:37] And thou shalt bruise his heel. That's the first promise that I know of in the Bible. That talks about Jesus coming to die. Man Adam and Eve were in the garden. Everything was fantastic. Everything was wonderful.
[23:47] Their kitty cat was a lion and a tiger. Their friends were elephants and hippopotamuses. They had everything. God had prepared everything in a fantastic.
[23:59] Snakes didn't bite them. No animals scared them. Every fruit and every vegetable and every plant was there. There weren't thorns to mess it up. There wasn't rocks. They didn't have to sweat to get anything.
[24:10] They were living in paradise. And he only made one rule. Don't eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The devil came along and said I'm going to teach them how to go their own way.
[24:21] And think their own thoughts and do their own thing. And he said you know God doesn't want you to eat of that tree. Because if you do it will be a lot better for you. And God said. Did I say God said that? If I said God said that I didn't mean that.
[24:33] The devil said that. The snake said that. And he said hey don't believe God. God's trying to keep you from eating that tree. Because your eyes will be open. And you'll understand things. And you'll be like God's.
[24:44] And so Adam and Eve thought to themselves and said. You know what? Maybe God's not as good as he says he is. And maybe all this paradise. I mean maybe there's something better than this. And they did their own thing.
[24:55] And they ate that tree. The fruit of that tree. And when they did. They sinned against the holy God. I've told you this before. The beauty of the thing. Oh the beauty of it is.
[25:06] That when they got through eating that fruit. They knew they had sinned. They found out they were naked. And they were ashamed. And they hid themselves. They didn't come looking for God. They didn't cry out to God.
[25:17] And say oh God help us. God forgive us. They hid. And they were ashamed. But Jesus came. The Christ. Before he had been born at Bethlehem.
[25:28] Came. And he was walking in the garden. Like he had a habit of doing. And he said. Hey Adam and Eve. Come on. And they said. We're naked. And we're ashamed. He said. Who told you you were naked?
[25:40] Who told you you should be embarrassed? And they said. We ate that tree. And we know. And instead of anger and wrath. He said.
[25:51] I can cover your sin. I can make things right. Even though you mess things up. That's the story of the gospel. And that's the story of Christmas.
[26:02] And that's the story of the book of Romans. And so he kills an animal. Certainly it was a lamb. And he killed that lamb. And he put those skins on them. And covered their nakedness. And opened fellowship with them again.
[26:14] And then he told Eve. Eve you know. You're the one messed up. You took it. And you invited your husband. So here's what I'll do. I'll let you someday. I'll let a woman someday.
[26:25] Give birth. To a special child. And that child will be the child of God. And that child. Will stomp the head of the snake's child.
[26:38] The devil will suffer. And that child of God's heel will be hurt. But the head of that snake will be wounded. The snake will die. Satan will be defeated.
[26:49] Satan will be destroyed. The power of sin will be destroyed. The power of death will be destroyed. And Jesus will only hurt. He'll be dead three days and rise again. Promised. All the way back in the book of Genesis.
[27:02] All the way back in the very first book. Almost immediately after that. By the way you do know that all through the Bible it talks about Jesus. When you read the Old Testament you find it boring.
[27:13] It's because you're not finding who it's about. In Luke chapter 24 and verse 25 the Bible said. Then he said he unto them. Jesus said to them. Oh fools and slow of heart. To believe all that the prophets have spoken.
[27:26] He said you guys are foolish. You guys are slow. You guys are dumb. You've had the whole new. The Old Testament 39 books. And they talk about the Son of God. They talk about Jesus.
[27:36] And you haven't believed that. Shouldn't. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things. And to enter into his glory. And beginning at Moses.
[27:47] He started all the way back in Genesis. And all the prophets. He expounded unto them all the scriptures. Concerning himself. And so here it is. Jesus walking down.
[27:57] He didn't have a copy of the Bible with him. But here he is walking with these guys. He's died. He's been buried. He's rose again. He's walking down the road with them. And they're all scared. And all upset. And they're all sad. Man everything is falling apart. And Jesus says.
[28:08] No it's not. Let me start in Genesis. Let me tell you about this. From the beginning God had a plan. And man might have messed up. But God had a plan. And God's plan was bigger. And he walked them through the Bible.
[28:19] And he talked to them. And he talked to them. And he talked to them. And he showed them all through the Old Testament. 39 books they'd read. 39 books they'd memorized. 39 books they understood. And he said. About Jesus.
[28:31] It's about Jesus. Verse 32. The Bible says. In Luke 24. 32. The Bible says. And they said one to another. Did not our heart burn within us? While he talked with us.
[28:42] By the way. While he opened to us. The scriptures. They said. As we read it. We knew. He was right. For the first time. Genesis 3. 15.
[28:52] Made sense. For the first time. Isaiah 53. Where he was taken. And he was crucified. And our sins were led on him. For the first time. It made sense to them.
[29:04] Every lamb that was sacrificed. Was a picture. Of Jesus on the cross. From Adam and Eve. Being covered by skins. To the. To the blood that was shed.
[29:14] Of a lamb. That was put on the doorpost. And on the lentil. On the top part of the door. Jesus was pictured. Every time they sinned. In the Old Testament. A lamb died. Jesus was pictured.
[29:25] The ten commandments were written. And not so they could keep the rules. Not so they could be good moral people. Not so they'd be a moral guideline. The rules were written to say.
[29:36] No you can't. You keep messing up. And every time you mess up. I have a solution. And here is the solution. The lamb will die. And pay your sin debt.
[29:48] The lamb will die. And pay your sin debt. So they looked on women. And they lusted in their heart. And they ought to die. But the lamb died for them. They worked on the Sabbath. But the lamb died for them.
[29:59] They murdered in their hearts. But the lamb died for them. Jesus. Paul says hey. The gospel. It was prophesied. All through the Bible. And the prophecies were made.
[30:10] About a person. A person. And that person is Jesus. Romans chapter 1 verse 3. Romans 1 verse 3. Concerning his son. Jesus Christ our Lord.
[30:22] Which was made of the seed of David. According to the flesh. And declared to be the son of God. With power. According to the spirit of his holiness. And the resurrection. Understand this.
[30:33] Listen to this. Jesus. Is. God. In Isaiah 7 14. It said that a virgin. Would have a child. In Matthew chapter 1 18. That verse came true.
[30:45] Jesus is. The son of God. Jesus is God. Jesus is his earthly name. He came to live. And. And. And. And. And. To die. To die among us. And to be buried. And to rise again. He's the king.
[30:56] He's the Lord. Lord means God. He's the king. He's the ruler. He's the boss. He's the sovereign. And he took on human. Flesh. Romans chapter 1 verse 3.
[31:08] Concerning his son. Jesus Christ. Our Lord. Which was made of the seed of David. According to the flesh. He took on. Human flesh. In Colossians 2 9. It said for in Jesus.
[31:20] In Jesus. Would you read with me. Colossians 2 9. Read this part right here. It said. For in him. Say all this with me. For in him. What? Dwelleth all. The fullness. Of the Godhead bodily.
[31:31] Say it again. For in him. For in Jesus. Dwells all the fullness. Of the Godhead bodily. Colossians chapter 1.
[31:42] In verse 19. If you would. Colossians 1 19. For it pleased the father. That in him. Say it with me. Should all. Fullness. Dwell. Jesus.
[31:52] Was. God. In. Human. Flesh. Jesus. Was God. In human flesh. To be honest with you. As you celebrate Christmas. If you at all.
[32:03] Are going to acknowledge. Jesus Christ. Don't acknowledge. A baby God. Don't acknowledge. A baby Jesus. Don't. Don't look at some little. Angelic scene. And say. Oh he's a cute little baby.
[32:14] He wasn't a cute little baby. He was God almighty. In the flesh. Come for us. To die on a cross. And to save us. And to make us holy.
[32:25] Time for me to quit. In the second Corinthians chapter 5. In verse 21. God hath made him. He hath made him. To be sin for us. Who knew no sin.
[32:37] That we may have. He made the righteousness. Of God in him. Do you know what God did? Listen. Listen. Pay attention. God came down. And took on human flesh. And God was born. In a human body.
[32:48] In a stable. And God lived on this earth. 30 years. And in that 30 years. He began a public ministry. And for the next three. Three and a half years. He preached. And taught. And ministered. But the whole time. He had one thing in mind.
[32:58] I came to die. I came to die. I came to die. He told him all through. His three and a half years of ministry. I came to die. And he came to die.
[33:10] He died to make us holy. He died to make us righteous. He took our sin. And gave us his righteousness. So let me finish with this.
[33:20] Romans 1.4. Can you go there with me? Romans 1.4. You got to get this. The gospel. The good news. You know people. Christmas is a happy time.
[33:32] And often. Holy week. Or Easter week. Is a sad time. And people think about how Jesus died. But the truth is. We're happy about his dying. Because his dying paid our sin debt.
[33:44] And we know he's not dead. Do you know why there aren't any. Crucifixes in this room. Because Jesus isn't dead on a cross.
[33:55] He is alive. The cross is empty. The tomb is empty. And Jesus is alive. In Romans 1.4. The Bible says. And he declared to be the son of God.
[34:06] With power. With power. He's the son of God. According to the spirit of holiness. But look at how he was declared to be the son of God. You got your Bible open underlined. Power. By the resurrection.
[34:18] From the dead. Something different about Jesus. He died. He was buried. He was buried. But God said. That's my son. And he will not stay dead. And he will overcome the grave.
[34:30] And he will live forever. And Jesus came back to life. By the way. In the Bible. We find it. There were up to 500 witnesses. At one time. Who saw him.
[34:41] He rose from the dead. That's the gospel. That's the gospel. In Philippians chapter 2. And verse 4. And following. We don't have time to read it right now. But in Philippians chapter 2.
[34:52] And verse 4. He was seated in the heavenlies. The Bible says. Listen to me. He was on the right hand of the father. He was God. He didn't even think it was any kind of robbery. He never even crossed his mind to think.
[35:02] I'm really bragging to say I'm God. Because he was God. And he is God. And he always will be God. And he looked down at a sinful world like us. And he saw all of us on our way to hell. And he saw us all doing our own thing.
[35:14] And there was no way out. Except him. And he left all of that. He laid down the robes. And he laid down all of the praise that he heard every day.
[35:24] And the streets. The street of gold. And all the beauty of everything. And he came down to a manger. And he was born on that manger. In a stable. In a stinky barn. He became a servant.
[35:38] And he lived among us like a nobody. Like a carpenter's son. The creator of the universe. With a hammer and a nail and a saw.
[35:49] 30 years he humbled himself to that. 30 years he let men mock him. 33 years they mocked him. By the time he dies they're spitting on him. They're crowning him with crowns of thorns.
[36:01] And bowing down and acting like. Oh you say you're God. You say you're a king. Ho, ho, ho, ho. They're blindfolded him and punching him. And saying who hit you? He humbled himself. He humbled himself to the death.
[36:12] A death of the cross. But get this. He's the son of God. He wasn't some preacher or prophet. That walked around and got murdered.
[36:25] And mocked. Bad. Evil treated. That's not what happened to him. He was God come to die. God come to be buried. God come to raise again.
[36:36] And he is declared. Hey. He's the son of God. How do you know? God raised him from the dead with his power. That's what the Bible says. And that's the gospel.
[36:47] By the way. In Revelation chapter 1 and verse 17. He said I saw him. And I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand on me. And saying to me. Fear not. Don't be afraid. I'm the first and the last.
[36:59] I was here before anybody else. And I'll be here after everybody says go home. Verse 18. I'm he that liveth and was dead. And behold I'm alive forevermore. And hey. I got the keys. Of hell.
[37:11] And of death. I am. God. In human flesh. God dying on a cross. God buried. God raised again. God living forever.
[37:23] Paul said. It's all prophesied. I'm preaching. I'm preaching the gospel. I'm going to preach the gospel. Paul said I'm going to preach the gospel. It was promised beforehand.
[37:35] And the gospel came in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it was the power of God. That proved. He was. And he is. Who the Bible says he is.
[37:46] I have a question for you this morning. Do you believe? I'm not asking you if you're a Christian. I'm not asking you if you're a church member. I ask you.
[37:56] Are you a believer? Remember. And the wonderful good news of the word of God. If you say. Well I got my doubts. Today you need to repent.
[38:06] And say I will believe God. And trust God. If you've doubted your salvation. You've heard the clear plan of salvation. You've heard what Jesus did. You've heard how he paid your debt. Today believe in him.
[38:17] And trust him. Believe God. It's not about your goodness. It's not about your work. It's not about good things you've done. And good things you will do. It's about believing that Jesus paid for your sin.
[38:31] And you can be saved through him. That's not happening. Today's the day. Trust Jesus. Father in heaven. I love you. And I praise you. And I pray that you would work and move and show your power.
[38:42] God I pray you'd save people. I pray you'd change things. I pray your name would be magnified and glorified. God come down in power and work please. Holy Spirit convict people here this morning.
[38:54] And show them their need to be saved. And confirm to believers that they trust you and they believe you. And they believe these truths. And help us today to know for sure that we'd go to heaven if we were to die.
[39:04] I give you great honor and glory and praise for all you do. You have been listening to Austin Gardner, pastor of Vision Baptist Church. For contact information, location, service times, or more audio and video recordings, log on to www.visionbaptist.com.