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.
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.
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.
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 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?
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.
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.