The Gospel

Today's sermon is the first of four sermons in a series called Gospel Training.

! This series is mandatory listening for anyone who wants to become a partner.

! Why four sermons on the gospel to become a partner in our church?

If we don't agree on the gospel, then we're not going to agree on anything else.

The gospel is ground zero when it comes to importance and what we want to base everything on.

And so Philippians 1 verse 5 says, Paul thanks God for the Philippians' partnership in the gospel.

Philippians 1:5

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,

2 Corinthians 13:5

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith.

Test yourselves.

For do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?

Unless indeed you fail and meet the test.

So let's listen that way.

Let's make sure that we're listening with those kind of ears.

Where do we begin?

We begin with God.

We begin with God.

God is holy.

God is holy.

God being holy is bad news for the sinner.

Do you believe that?

God being holy is bad news for the sinner.

God is holy and the sinner is not.

This is of utmost importance.

The fact that God is holy, totally other, completely other than us, the fact that God is holy is bad news for the sinner.

I want to look at two main points in regards to the bad news.

First one, people must see themselves as sinners.

People must see themselves as sinners.

Luke chapter 5, 31 to 32.

Luke 5 · chapter mention

Jesus answered them,

Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

All right?

The gospel is of no use to a person who doesn't first see himself as a sinner.

The gospel is for sinners.

In your preaching of the gospel, be careful that you're not answering questions that people aren't asking.

This happens all the time.

All right?

Hey, Jesus died for you.

So what?

Why is that even relevant to me?

Why does that matter?

Okay?

If someone doesn't realize that they're a sinner and you say,

Jesus died for you, you're like,

So?

What's the point?

Like, what relevance does that have to me?

They first have to see they're a sinner.

You might say, well, everybody sees that.

Au contraire, mon frere.

They do not all see that.

Okay?

There are many people who do not see themselves as sinners,

especially nowadays.

Especially nowadays.

If a person doesn't know the bad news,

then the good news isn't good,

and the good news isn't relevant.

They have to first know that they're a sinner and that they need God.

Romans 3, 10-12, and verse 23.

As it is written,

None is righteous.

No, not one.

No one understands.

No one seeks for God.

All have turned aside.

Together they have become worthless.

No one does good.

Not even one.

All have sinned.

Verse 23.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

All.

Everyone.

There's not even one.

Every single person has sinned.

This is key.

This is important.

It has to start here.

There is no one righteous.

Not even one.

That means everyone.

Everyone is in need.

Everyone is in need.

And essentially, everyone is a lawbreaker.

1 John 3, verse 4 in the NIV says,

1 John 3:4

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,

Isaiah 64:6

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

Isaiah 64:6

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.

Psalms 145:3

It says,

Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised.

And his greatness is unsearchable.

Psalm 147 verse 5.

Psalms 147:5

It says,

Great is our Lord and abundant in power.

His understanding is beyond measure.

It's beyond measure.

It's not like you think,

Oh, I've reached the end of God's understanding.

I've reached the end of his greatness.

It was pretty good while it lasted,

but I've exhausted all of it.

Never.

Never, never, never.

You never reach the end of his greatness.

You ever reach the end of his understanding,

his power, his might,

his wisdom, his love,

all his attributes.

You don't reach an end to it and you think,

Oh, I've exhausted it.

If God is infinitely holy,

then our sin against him is infinitely wicked.

Or as Romans 7.13 says,

Sinful beyond measure.

Sinful beyond measure.

So the just punishment for sin beyond measure

is punishment without end.

Or what Matthew 25.46 calls eternal punishment.

Some would say,

Eternal punishment for a short little life of sin?

It's unjust.

It's not right.

How could this be?

You're looking at it wrong.

You're looking at it wrong.

You're looking at amount of time.

You're looking at an act.

You're looking at multiple acts.

You're not looking at who you've sinned against.

If God is infinitely holy,

and even just one sin against that infinite holy God,

deserves eternal punishment.

Eternal punishment.

Charles Spurgeon put it this way.

He said,

If we had lain in hell forever,

yet divine justice would not have been fully justified.

For after thousands of years of suffering,

there would remain still an eternity of debt due to God's justice.

If God had annihilated all the sinners that ever lived,

at one stroke,

he would not have so honored his justice

as he did when he took sin and laid it on his son.

And his son bore divine wrath,

which was due to that sin.

For now there has been rendered unto divine justice a full equivalent,

a complete recompense for all the dishonor which it suffered.

Do you believe this?

Do you believe that about your sin?

Do you believe that about your sin?

The consequence of sin is grave.

Romans 6.23 says,

John 3.36 says,

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.

Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life,

but the wrath of God remains on him.

The wrath of God remains on him.

And that is just.

That is just.

There is a coming judgment.

Judgment.

Hebrews 9.27 says,

It is appointed for man to die once,

and after that comes judgment.

Romans 2.16 says,

On that day when according to my gospel,

God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus,

we will all stand before the judgment seat.

No one escapes it.

No one, no matter what you think or what you try or what you believe,

every single person is appointed to die once.

And after that comes judgment.

There will be judgment.

There will be a judgment seat.

And we will stand before the judge.

And none of our excuses,

none of our facades,

none of our things that we foolishly put our hope in

will stand against the holy God.

There's only one thing that will stand,

and that is our holy God.

And that which he paid for.

And there will be people who will be sent to a place in the Bible called hell.

And hell is described as eternal fire and punishment.

Matthew 25.41 and 46.

Eternal fire and punishment.

In the lake of fire.

Revelation 20.15.

Where they will be tormented day and night, forever and ever,

with no rest, day or night.

This is Revelation 14.11 and 20.10.

Tormented day and night, forever and ever.

No rest, day or night.

Will this torment?

Away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.

2 Thessalonians 1 verse 9.

2 Thessalonians 1:9

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,

Romans 5:8

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,

1 Timothy 2:5

there is one God

and there is one mediator

between God

and men,

the man Christ Jesus.

Jesus is the mediator.

Jesus is the mediator

between us and God.

You have to,

you get grace through faith

and that faith

has to be in a specific person

to get it

and that is in Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5, 21 says,

for our sake,

he made him to be sin

who knew no sin

so that in him

we might become

the righteousness of God.

In him.

In Christ.

And when that happens,

Romans 8, 1 says,

there's now no condemnation

for those who are

in Christ Jesus.

When you're in Christ Jesus,

there's no more condemnation.

The condemnation

that was justly upon us

because of our sin

is no longer on us

when we are in Christ Jesus.

when we're in Christ Jesus.

This is why we can't add,

it can't be,

well, I need Jesus

but then I also have to be

a really good person.

No, no, no.

It's Jesus plus nothing

equals everything.

Jesus alone.

Christ alone.

It's not Jesus

in my good works.

It's not Jesus

in my good church attendance.

It's not Jesus

in me being better

than the other person

or better than my spouse

or better than my neighbor

or whoever it may be.

It's Jesus plus nothing

equals everything.

Jesus alone.

In Christ alone.

Like to him we sing, right?

Till on that cross

as Jesus died

the wrath of God

was satisfied.

For every sin on him

was laid.

Here in the death

of Christ I live.

And as he stands in victory

sin's curse

has lost its grip on me.

For I am his

and he is mine

bought with the precious

blood of Christ.

It's in Christ alone.

It's in Christ alone.

So it's by grace alone

through faith alone

in Christ alone

with repentance.

Number four

with repentance.

Mark 1 14 to 15

says Jesus came into Galilee

proclaiming the gospel

of God.

Jesus came in

proclaiming the gospel

of God.

Okay what did he say?

He said the time is fulfilled

the kingdom of God

is at hand.

Repent

and believe the gospel.

Repent and believe.

This is the gospel

that Jesus preached.

Repent and believe.

Luke 13 3

says now I tell you

unless you repent

you will all

likewise perish.

Unless you repent

you will all

likewise perish.

Repentance

is turning from your sin

and turning to God.

True faith

involves repentance

because you're turning

from what you were

trusting in.

Everybody has faith

in something.

There's no such thing

as someone who doesn't

have faith.

Everybody believes

and trusts in something.

Repentance is taking

that which you were

putting your faith

and trust in

that was not Christ

and turning and putting

it into Christ.

That's repentance.

You were going one way

you turn around

and go the other way.

Acts 26 19-20

Paul says

I declared first

to those in Damascus

then in Jerusalem

and throughout all

the region of Judea

and also to the Gentiles

that they should repent

and turn to God

performing deeds

in keeping

with their repentance.

There's no such thing

as belief

without repentance.

Do you hear me on that?

This is important.

There's no such thing

as belief

without repentance.

Repentance

is the evidence

of belief.

They should repent

and turn to God

performing deeds

in keeping

with their repentance.

To profess belief

that Jesus is God

without repentance

is not to believe

that Jesus is God

because the very nature

of him being God

King

Lord

requires

demands

repentance

from all things

that we've trust in

or worshipped

apart from him.

You can't say

I believe he's God

but I'll worship another.

I believe he's God

but I'll do

whatever I want.

I'll act like I'm God.

That has to be

repented of.

How have you

experienced

God's kindness

leading you to repentance?

Romans 2.4

says his kindness

leads us to repentance.

How have you

experienced that?

How can you

testify of that?

I was walking

the wrong way.

I was

this is what I trusted in.

This is what I believed in.

I believe

me personally

I believe that

my self-righteousness

was enough.

I believe if I was

good enough

if I could be

better than other people

then I'd be okay

and the harder

I tried to be good enough

the more I found

I kept screwing up

and I kept

falling short

and I was

it was starting to

my foundation

was unmoored.

I started feeling

super insecure

and unsteady.

That's what led me

to Christ.

His kindness

in revealing

the ineptitude

of my own selfish

self-centered performance

and self-righteousness

the fact that I could

never measure up.

His kindness

led me to see

that that was not the way

but that Jesus

was the way

the truth

and the life

and His kindness

caused me to turn

from my trusting

in my self-righteousness

my own vain glory

and trusting

and giving glory

to God.

That's how God

saved me.

How has He saved you?

How have you experienced

God's kindness

in the midst of your sin

leading you to repentance?

By grace alone

through faith alone

in Christ alone

with repentance

and future hope

number five

Colossians 1

4-5

Since we heard

of your faith

in Christ Jesus

and of the love

that you have

for all the saints

because of the hope

laid up for you

in heaven

of this you have

heard before

in the word

of the truth

the gospel

is a future hope.

It gives us future hope.

It gives us hope

that says

this life isn't all there is.

The good news

of the gospel

says Jesus is returning

and when we see Him

we'll be like Him

and we'll be saved

from sin

ultimately

and we'll live

with Him eternally.

Galatians 5

Galatians 5:5

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.