What Is The Gospel: Romans 10:13-17

Go ahead and join me if you would in your copy of God's Word in Romans chapter 10.

Romans 10 · chapter mention

Beginning last week, this week, and into next, we're taking a little break from our normal verse-by-verse exposition to answer three questions.

And these are three questions that I think are of greatest importance to answer in the church in our day.

Today, these three questions have seemed to define the work of ministry for me here, and I think will continue to do so.

To the degree that I was musing about why it was that I felt that I was just teaching the same things over and over and over again.

That it seemed that there was nothing deeper to delve, to take my energetic mind and apply to.

And realize that these are the questions that we most need clarified in our day, to be reminded of in our day, brought back to again and again and again.

So last week, we asked the question, what is the Bible?

And we answered it this way, with of course, much explanation.

The Bible is God's inspired, inerrant, authoritative, clear, necessary, and sufficient Word to mankind.

I'm talking about how God has spoken into the world.

He's given us good instruction that we are to follow.

And this Word is to be the foundation on which we build everything else.

Lives of godliness and holiness toward Him.

And so, the question I want to address today is, what is the Gospel?

And then next week, we'll ask the question, what is the church?

What is the Gospel?

Why is it so important for us to answer this question?

Some of you may be thinking, I am sitting, gathered with the church this morning.

Of course, I know what the Gospel is.

But there is much misunderstanding of the Gospel in our day.

I know that I could ask each of you in this room to tell me what the Gospel is,

and we would end up with as many different answers.

Often, the answers that people give to this question are woefully inadequate.

They're not full understandings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

There are many voices in our day, large and loud voices, that would say,

the Gospel is such and such, or the Gospel is this or that.

And it sounds very similar to what we would proclaim to be the Gospel, but it is not.

I hope and pray that we do, in fact, have a clear understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,

because we speak about it constantly.

I hope that we do so with a great deal of clarity.

But the larger culture has much to say about this question.

Many loud voices.

I feel sometimes that the non-Gospel, Gospel presentations are being broadcast through megaphones,

and ours is a quiet whisper.

So it's very easy to get lost in the fray when we're trying to answer these questions.

It was J.I. Packer who once said,

The way of wisdom is like walking a tightrope,

from which one can fall through overbalancing either to the left or to the right.

If you've known me long, I often say, I often misquote J.I. Packer,

and I say there's two ways to fall off a tightrope.

We have to get this one right.

We have to walk this one very carefully right down the middle.

For the sake of our souls and the souls of others,

this question matters.

Whether you think it does this morning or not,

I plead with you to know this question.

And the answer that you arrive at matters.

Paul said in Romans 1 and verse 16,

For I am not ashamed of the Gospel,

for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

This Gospel, right?

This answer we want to arrive at,

is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

The Spirit uses this Gospel to change people from death to life.

To save their souls.

Now we sent out at the end of this year,

to the members of Christ Family Church,

what we call the Member Health Survey.

And I've told you, from time to time,

I'm going to bring up some of the statistics that we've gathered.

Not all of our church members responded to this,

but 105 did.

Thank you to those of you who did and were honest.

And we asked people to rate themselves,

on a scale of one to five,

a number of various questions.

Concerning the Gospel and its proclamation.

Of those respondents,

45% of our church would say,

agree or strongly agree,

that they regularly share the Gospel.

If we start just there,

we have failed to understand the Gospel.

We do not have the right answer to this question,

if only half of us are consistently sharing this good news.

We may have missed the point altogether.

What did Paul say in Romans 1, verse 16?

Romans 1:16

He's not ashamed of the Gospel.

Why?

Why?

This is the power of God.

God, for salvation.

We may not see its great necessity in the world

the way that we should.

Now, a large number of people said that they felt equipped,

agreed or strongly agreed,

85% of our fellowship said they felt equipped

to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Only 53% said they felt comfortable

sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This good news is a discomfort to them

in their sharing.

And then finally,

and the two are not mutually inclusive,

necessarily,

but this year,

only 6% of the respondents

led anyone to faith in Christ

this past year.

Now,

there have been times in history,

even biblical history,

if you look at the prophet Jeremiah,

who cried out faithfully,

and maybe one person

repented of his sin.

There have been times

that God has withheld His favor

in Gospel proclamation.

And so,

I don't want to belittle your faithfulness.

If you have had a clear understanding

of what the Gospel is,

and you have been consistently

and persistently sharing

the good news of Jesus Christ

with somebody,

and you have not seen them come to faith,

I do not want to belittle your obedience.

You are doing exactly

what God has asked of you to do.

But there seems to be

a fairly large disconnect

between these numbers

if,

and I believe this is true,

that God is in the business

of saving souls

through this Gospel of Jesus Christ, right?

It is the power of God

for salvation.

He is about the building

of His church.

And we must ask ourselves a question.

Do we think we find ourselves

in a day

that is so post-church

that God no longer intends

to save our classmates

and roommates

and family members

and co-workers,

our neighbors?

Do we think we're in that day?

I don't believe we are.

Which means there's

some type of disconnect

in our understanding,

in our presentation,

in our fervency

in Gospel proclamation.

So this matters.

It matters a lot.

So we're going to look today

a bit at Romans chapter 10,

Romans 10:13–17

verse 13 through 17.

There's not a concise text

that sums up

the good news of Jesus Christ perfectly.

There's not a quick, simple,

turn to,

let me explain here text

that does this.

I hope that it's possible.

Excuse me.

I thought I could fight

through that one.

I hope that as we began,

when I said,

let's turn to Romans chapter 10,

Romans 10 · chapter mention

your eyes may have fell

to this text

or you thought to yourself,

why this text?

I could think of a bunch

of other wonderful texts

from which to begin

speaking about

what the gospel is.

This would be good for you

to do

and to have many of these

in your back pocket

for gospel proclamation.

But it takes a little more work

to fully answer the question.

We can't just do it

from a single text.

The whole Bible

is God's redemptive story.

So we must read broadly

and we must understand thematically.

But there are

some good summary texts.

Not complete,

but good summary texts.

So we're going to look at this one

in brief

and then we're going to go elsewhere

and I'll bring it back to this

finally at the end.

So don't think me strange

that I'm not going verse by verse

through Romans chapter 10,

Romans 10:13–17

verse 13 through 17.

We remind you, beloved,

that this is God's word to us

written for His glory

and our good.

We would all do well

to listen to it

in order to believe its promises

and obey its commands.

Verse 13.

For everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord

will be saved.

How then will they call on Him

in whom they have not believed?

And how are they to believe

in Him of whom

they have never heard?

And how are they to hear

without someone preaching?

And how are they to preach

unless they are sent?

As it is written,

how beautiful are the feet

of those who preach

the good news.

But they have not all

obeyed the gospel.

For Isaiah says,

Lord, who has believed

what He has heard from us?

So faith comes from hearing

and hearing

through the word of Christ.

In order to see the gospel

in Romans 10,

Romans 10:13–17

verse 13-17,

I want us to take a broader look

at the first four chapters

of Romans.

So you're welcome to join me

in Romans 1.

We're going to zoom back a bit

into the beginning

of Paul's letter

to the Roman believers.

Romans is a phenomenal letter.

Maybe a climactic letter

in all of the Scripture

because it so clearly

lays out systematically

what Christianity is.

This letter preceded

Paul's intended visit to Rome.

And he wanted to clarify.

He wanted to be sure

that the church in Rome

understood this gospel

that he preached.

This, I believe,

is the most succinct place

to find a comprehensive

gospel presentation

in the Scriptures,

chapters 1-4 of Romans.

So, first,

after his salutation,

Paul says that there is a God

who created us

and that we are therefore

accountable to that God.

As the creation,

we are accountable

to the One

who created us.

It leads out strongly

in Romans 1,

Romans 1:18

verse 18.

It says,

For the wrath of God

is revealed from heaven

against all ungodliness

and unrighteousness of men

who by their unrighteousness

suppress the truth.

There is a God

who we are accountable to

and His wrath

is being revealed

against those

who have been what?

Ungodly and unrighteous.

Outside of their created order.

Not God worshippers

the way they were meant to be.

He elaborates on this

and then in verse 21 of chapter 1.

For although they knew God,

they did not honor Him as God

or give thanks to Him,

but they became futile

in their thinking

and their foolish hearts

were darkened.

So mankind has this God

who made them

and to whom

they are accountable.

There is much indictment language

in those two texts.

Romans 1, verse 18.

Romans 1:18

The wrath of God is revealed.

For although they knew God,

they did not honor Him.

Their foolish hearts

were darkened.

But let's look as Paul goes on

in his argument

that he indicts

all of mankind.

So first he does this

at the beginning of chapter 2

of Romans

with the Jews.

Those who have been God's people

have been given His law.

He says,

Therefore you have

no excuse, O man,

every one of you

who judges.

For in passing judgment on another,

you condemn yourself

because you, the judge,

practice the very same things.

So the Jews

would have judged

by the law.

Paul is saying to them,

You have no excuse.

You have shown

in your judgmentalism

that people ought to be

keepers of the law

and you are not keepers

of the law.

You practice the very same things.

And so you are without excuse

before Almighty God

to whom you are accountable.

Second,

he does this with

everyone else.

So people who are not Jewish,

the Gentiles,

the Greeks,

various words are used,

but everyone else.

All of us.

No one is without.

No one is with excuse.

Excuse me.

So,

Romans chapter 2,

Romans 2:12

verses 12 and 13.

Paul writes,

For all who have sinned

without the law

will also perish

without the law.

And all who have sinned

under the law

will be judged

by the law.

For it is not the hearers

of the law

who are righteous

before God,

but the doers

of the law

who will be justified.

And then chapter 3,

verses 9 through 12.

What then?

Are we Jews

any better off?

No,

not at all.

For we have already

charged that all,

both Jews

and Greeks,

everyone else,

are under sin.

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.

Mankind is not

intrinsically good.

Mankind is intrinsically evil.

Rebellious.

Rejectors of our good God

and His instruction.

This is the argument

that Paul is laying out

before us here

at the beginning

of his letter

to the Roman believers.

We have a God

who we are accountable to

and we have rejected

His ways.

All of us,

without fail,

have done this.

No one does good.

Not even one.

This is not good news yet,

is it?

In fact,

this is very,

very bad news.

There is a God

who created us

and will judge us

and we will stand

in that judgment

and will not stand

before Him

in our given human state.

This is bad news.

It's a problem.

It's a problem

that needs remedying.

We need something

to help us

in this condition.

So third,

Paul presents

the solution

to our problem

in the person

and work

of Jesus Christ.

And we say that

a lot around here.

Faith in the person

and work

of Jesus Christ.

And we say both

because we must believe

that Jesus is

who He said

He is.

Right?

The Son of God.

Incarnate.

Came to earth.

Lived a perfect life.

Those things are important

that we understand.

Right?

Jesus wasn't just a man.

We're not saying

that His work

was simply

that He was a man

who was a martyr.

No.

He was the Son of God.

And His work.

He said He fulfilled

the law

in perfect living.

He committed

no sin whatsoever.

He died

a sinner's death.

He bore the wrath

of God

for the sins

of all

who would believe

in Him.

He did not stay

in the grave.

He was raised

from the dead

three days later.

He's conquered death.

He has life.

He ascended.

He's been given

majesty

and honor

in heaven

at the right hand

of the Father.

Right?

These are the works

that we're talking about

when we say

the person and work

of Jesus Christ.

Right?

He is somebody

and He did things.

Right?

He accomplished

things.

This is what we

must believe.

Paul says in

Romans chapter 3

Romans 3:21

verse 21

but now

the righteousness

of God

the rightness

of God

has been manifested

apart

from the law.

You'll see that

it's manifested

in whom?

Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ

fulfilled the righteousness

of God.

And so then

fourth

and finally

Paul tells us

how we can be saved.

Right?

Not an abstract principle

out there

but that

those of us

with this problem

this great

transgressor

of God's law

problem

how is it

that we

can be

saved?

Romans chapter 3

Romans 3 · chapter mention

in verse 22.

2.

The righteousness

of God

through

faith

in Jesus

Christ

for all

who believe.

By believing

in Christ.

Not merely

as an abstraction.

Not merely

as yeah

yeah

Jesus lived

but in His

person

and

His work.

We throw

ourselves

this great

fallen state

we find ourselves

and we throw

ourselves

on the person

and work

of Jesus

Christ.

We say

if I am

to be saved

it will be

by this

person

and this

work

that I will

be saved

and no

other way.

The evangelist

Ray Comfort

uses often

an analogy

of putting

Jesus on

like a parachute.

And too many

in our day

put Jesus on

Jesus will

save me

and we

don't jump

out of the

plane.

We stay

in our

comfort

and in

our place

where we

are.

It's an

ascent.

It's a

mental

ascent.

If I

were to

ever need

such a

thing

it would

save me.

But what

the gospel

says to us

is you

are falling

and you

will die.

Your end

is destruction

and we

put on

we

desperately

cling

to this

parachute

that is

Jesus

Christ

and we

believe

that he

will

save us.

Again

Romans

Romans 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

and verse

5

to the one

who does

not work

but believes

in him

who justifies

the ungodly

his faith

is counted

as righteousness.

So Paul

here says

to be very

clear

you can

do no

working

to find

yourself

saved.

There's no

amount of

effort you

can put

into

your

salvation

but it's

simply

by

faith

that we

get

Christ's

righteousness.

Our greatest

efforts at

perfection

will never

be perfect

and what

God requires

is perfection

so we need

somebody else's

perfection

the perfection

of Jesus

Christ

and that is

granted to

us

by faith.

in him.

Okay.

So here's

the gospel

outline

found in the

first four

chapters of

the book of

Romans.

If you're

familiar with

the Romans

road

that's good.

There's a

reason that

that was a

way we were

taught to

share the

gospel of

Jesus

Christ.

This is a

good place

to show

people the

gospel in

the text.

So having

looked broadly

and a bit

briefly at

Paul's case

from Romans

Romans 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

through 4

we can

see that

he seeks

to answer

four crucial

questions.

And I'm

stealing these

straight out of

Greg Gilbert's

book What is

the gospel?

One of those

that I have a

copy for to

give away.

He seeks

to answer

four crucial

questions.

Number one,

who made us

and to whom

are we

accountable?

We saw that.

Number two,

what is our

problem?

Or in other

words,

are we in

trouble and

why?

Do we have

a problem?

And what

caused that

problem?

Third,

what is God's

solution to

that problem?

How has he

acted to

save us

from it?

And

fourth,

how do I

myself,

right here,

right now?

How do I

come to be

included in

that salvation?

What makes

this good

news for

me and

not just

for someone

else?

And I'll

add to that

or just

generically

good news.

What makes

it good

news for

me?

And so

the questions

and the

answers to

the questions

can be

summarized

as follows

in four

words that

are easy

to remember.

Greg Gilbert

did not

come up

with this.

This has

been around

for a

very,

very long

time.

And they

are as

follows.

God,

man,

Christ,

response.

I want

you to

pick these

up as a

really simple,

easy outline

in your

mind.

Somebody

comes to

you and

says,

what is

the gospel?

I've

heard this

word.

I've

heard you

say this

word.

What is

the gospel?

Don't

answer

God,

man,

Christ,

response.

But use

it,

they'll be

more

confused,

but use

it as

an outline

from which

to think

about the

answer to

this most

important of

questions.

So let's

look at some

other texts.

I want to

go to some

other texts.

I want you

to turn

with me

to some

other texts

and let's

see if we

can't

identify

God,

man,

Christ

response

in these

texts.

So 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15

is the first

place we'll

go.

So 1 Corinthians

verses 1

through 5.

Paul writes,

now I want to

remind you

brothers of

the gospel I

preached to

you,

which you

received in

which you

stand and

by which you

are being

saved.

If you hold

fast to the

word I

preached to

you,

unless you

believed in

vain.

For I

deliver to

you as of

first importance

what I also

received,

that Christ

died for our

sins in

accordance with

the Scriptures,

that he was

buried,

that he was

raised on the

third day in

accordance with

the Scriptures,

and then he

appeared to

Cephas,

then to the

twelve.

God,

man,

Christ

response.

Now,

you get a

little work

and look around

in the text

to find

these things.

We see

Paul talk

about the

need of

salvation

in the text.

Verse 2,

you are being

saved.

Verse 3,

that you

received.

There's a

problem being

presented in

the text,

which is the

problem of

sin,

which includes

God.

So God and

man are found

in the very

fact that

people need

salvation.

This was an

understanding of

the people that

Paul was

writing to.

So God and

man are

presented in

the very

issue of

sin.

Now,

in our day,

this may

not be a

thing that

most people

understand.

You can't

merely walk up

to somebody

and say,

do you believe

that you're a

sinner?

And they

would say,

what does

that even

mean?

We have

such a

relativistic

moralism in

our day.

Most,

I think,

would say,

no,

I think I'm

a good

person.

Some in

our day may

not even

know what

you are

talking about

when you

use the

word sin.

So you

have to,

in some

cases,

back up a

little bit

and take

them to

Genesis

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1,

chapter 2,

and then

to chapter

3 to

establish

more of

the

storyline.

But here,

this understanding

that they

were sinful,

that they

needed salvation,

we see both

God and

man.

God as

holy judge,

man as

transgressor of

his law.

Now,

I hope you

see Christ

in the text,

right?

There was

much Christ

in the text.

Verse 3,

that Christ

died for our

sins,

in accordance

with the

scriptures,

that he was

buried,

that he was

raised on

the third

day in

accordance

with the

scriptures,

and that

he appeared,

right?

So we

see God's

person being

called the

Christ according

to the

scriptures.

This was

understood to

be the

Messiah,

the one

that would

come and

deliver his

people,

his person,

and his

work,

right?

Death,

burial,

and

resurrection.

So a good

text for this,

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 15:1–5

chapter 15,

verses 1

through 5.

God,

man,

Christ.

Response,

right?

Do you see

response in

the text?

Verse 1,

reminds them

of the

gospel he

preached,

which you

received,

and by which

you are

being saved.

Verse 3,

I deliver you

with the

first importance

what I

also received,

right?

So here's the

response that's

given to the

gospel in

these places.

Okay,

turn with me

to Acts

Acts 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3.

We'll look

at two

sermons,

excerpts

from sermons.

First,

a sermon

from Peter

in Solomon's

portico,

verses 18

and 19.

Luke records

for us,

Peter said,

but what God

foretold by the

mouth of all

the prophets,

that his

Christ would

suffer,

he thus

fulfilled.

Repent,

therefore,

and turn back

that your sins

may be blotted

out.

Again,

if you were

to open this

text to an

unbeliever,

or you find

yourself an

unbeliever this

morning,

and you're

looking at this

text,

where do

you see

God,

man,

Christ

response?

Once again,

we see the

need of sins

being blotted

out.

There is a

problem,

right?

That problem

is this

God,

man part

of this

outline,

right?

God,

holy judge,

creator,

our authority,

man's fallen,

transgressed,

his good

command over

us.

We see

Christ in the

text,

Christ suffered.

This is the

one,

the fulfillment

of the

prophets.

Repent,

therefore,

the response.

Repent.

Repent of

your sin.

Turn back.

Turn back

to God

by faith

in Jesus

Christ.

God,

man,

Christ,

response.

Let's look

at one

more.

Acts

Acts 13 · chapter mention

chapter 13.

This is

Paul

preaching.

verses 38

and 39.

We'll do

this very

briefly.

I don't

want to

beat the

dead

horse.

Let it be

known to

you,

therefore,

brothers,

that through

this man,

forgiveness

of sins,

there it is,

God,

man,

is proclaimed

to you.

And by

him,

everyone

who believes

is freed

from everything

from which

you could

not be

freed by

the law

of Moses.

Through

this man

is Christ.

No,

this is Jesus

that he's

referring to

here.

And the

belief you

see in

verse 39.

Everyone

who believes

is freed

from their

sin.

So God

man

Christ

response.

So,

there are

a lot

of really

common

errors

in our

day.

Misunderstandings

of the

gospel of

Jesus Christ.

And I just

want to walk

through some

of those

briefly and

give some

biblical

responses

to these

errors.

Because you

may even

have people

in your

spheres of

influence

that claim

to be

Christ

followers.

And if

you'll

work

asking

them

good

questions,

you may

find them

fall into

these

categories.

And it

would be

such a

loving,

kind

thing

for them

for you

to clarify

what the

gospel of

Jesus

Christ

is.

The

first,

I call

the

temporal

prosperity

gospel.

gospel.

That is

that we,

by believing

in Jesus,

receive

physical

blessing

here and

now.

Temporal,

right?

Not

permanent.

Temporal

blessing

here and

now.

And this

takes a lot

of shapes,

right?

You've heard

probably the

term prosperity

gospel.

There's the

prosperity

gospel

preachers

and their

church

buildings

with purple

carpet and

making

pleas for

jets.

We have

one of

those here

in Atlanta

who does

that.

No,

I do not

need a

jet.

I do

not.

I would

give it

back.

We have

this very

gospel being

preached in

Gainesville

and then a

guy jumps on

a jet and

flies to

California to

preach the

same prosperity

gospel.

That is

one end of

the spectrum

of what I'm

calling the

temporal

prosperity

gospel.

The other

end of

that is

that Jesus

leads you

into a

life of

comfort.

That you

can continue

really to be

just as you

are, but

if you'll

sprinkle a

little Jesus

on it,

things are

going to

get a

little better

for you.

We'll

tidy up

your marriage

and your

job and

your children.

This is

really prevalent

in our day.

People allowed

to be lulled

to sleep

in American

comfort.

by this

temporal

prosperity

gospel.

I'm going

to read to

you a

couple of

texts.

John

John 15:20

chapter 15

verse 20

and 21,

Jesus said,

Remember the

word that I

said to you,

a servant

is not

greater than

his master.

If we're to

be Jesus

Christ followers,

he is our

Lord.

We are his

servants.

He goes

on to

say,

If they

persecuted

me,

they will

also

persecute

you.

If they

kept my

word,

they will

also keep

yours.

But all

these things

they will

do to

you on

account of

my name,

because they

did not

know him

who sent

me.

So the

ungodly

will

persecute

the godly.

Paul wrote to

Timothy,

those who

desire to

live godly

in Christ

Jesus will

be persecuted.

The way of

Christ is the

way of

suffering.

We are

meant to

fill up

what is

lacking in

the affliction

of Christ

by displaying

to the

world around

us that

we do

not love

this world.

We love

one who is

greater than

this world.

If you

are not

signed up

for the

suffering of

Christ,

you don't

love

Christ.

You have

not tasted

and seen

his goodness.

If

Christianity

is an

add-on

for you

so that

you can

live your

best life

now,

you don't

understand

the gospel.

Jesus said

in Mark

Mark 8:34

chapter 8

verse 34

and 35

after calling

a crowd

around him

with his

disciples,

he said,

if anyone

would come

after me,

let him

deny himself

and take

up his

cross

and follow

me.

For whoever

would save

his life

will lose

it,

but whoever

loses his

life for

my sake

and the

gospels

will save

it.

He is

not talking

about little

discomfort.

He's not

talking about

one week

a year

when you

go to a

third world

country and

stay in

its nicest

hotels.

This is

not what

Jesus is

talking about.

The cross

is a place

of death.

This is

what he's

saying.

He's saying,

you must

be willing

to follow

me to

the very

place

that I

went if

you want

to have

me.

This

temporal

prosperity

gospel

has got

so many

Christians

on their

heels,

living in

a peacetime

mentality.

Beloved,

this is

war,

and people's

souls

are at

stake.

Why would

we believe

such a

gospel?

Why would

we believe

such a

gospel that

calls us

to suffer?

My one

word answer

for you

is Christ.

He is

better.

He is

more glorious,

more to be

treasured than

anything this

world could

possibly offer

us.

George

Whitfield,

the great

evangelist of

the first

great awakening,

said,

O free

grace in

Christ Jesus,

with what

love,

peace,

and joy,

does God

fill this

soul of

mine.

Lord,

I am not

worthy,

but thy

mercies in

Christ Jesus

are infinite.

The next

one I'd like

to address

goes by a

number of

names.

Similar,

similar in

nature to the

temporal prosperity

gospel.

You call it

easy-believe-ism

gospel,

the decision-ism

gospel.

gospel.

It's the

teaching that

if you are

to be in

Christ,

all you must

do is make

a mental

assent to

Christ.

Make a

decision to

follow Jesus.

The way the

following looks

isn't really of

importance,

right?

We're going to

get you to

sign something,

wave your

hand,

but nobody's

looking around,

so don't worry

about being

embarrassed.

Christ.

We're going to

get you

baptized so we

can count your

name.

And most of

you have heard

me say this,

but you're going

to hear me say

it a lot if

you're part of

this church.

I had a

pastor at one

point of a

large evangelical

church in our

area who would

say regularly,

if you ever doubt

your salvation,

turn to the front

of the Bible where

you wrote down

the date you

walked the aisle

and take

confidence in

that.

And that's a

damnable lie,

right?

Scary.

I hope this

man's grown past

that.

I'd like to

think that he

has, but has

gotten himself so

wrapped into this

idea of

decisionism, and

I think had a

genuine concern

for people who

doubted their

salvation that

this was the

solution that he

came up with.

What does the

Bible teach?

Let's look at

2 Peter 1.

verses 3-12.

His divine

power is

granted to

us all

things that

pertain to

life and

godliness,

through the

knowledge of

him who

called us to

his own

glory and

excellence.

If we are in

Christ, he's

given us a

spirit who

calls us to

walk in

his ways,

by which he

has granted

to us his

precious and

very great

promises,

so that through

them you may

become partakers

of the divine

nature, having

escaped from

the corruption

that is in

the world

because of

sinful desire.

We're escaping

sinful desire.

For this very

reason, make

every effort to

supplement your

faith with

virtue, and

virtue with

knowledge, and

knowledge with

self-control, and

self-control with

steadfastness, and

steadfastness with

godliness, and

godliness with

brotherly affection, and

brotherly affection

with love.

We list a bunch of

character qualities.

This is what it

should be looking

like for you to

be a Christ

follower, and

these things should

be happening, and

they should be

happening in

increasing order.

Verse 8,

For if these

qualities are

yours and are

increasing, they

keep you from

being ineffective or

unfruitful in the

knowledge of our

Lord Jesus Christ.

For whoever lacks

these qualities is so