Good News Incarnate

Okay, so today I'm going to talk to you about good news or the gospel.

That's what the gospel means, good news, incarnate or in the flesh.

I'm excited to talk about the gospel this morning.

A little backdrop.

Last week I was not excited about the gospel.

Shocker.

But I say that, all chugging aside, to say that we have sin and we're sinners.

So we need to be saved.

And the gospel is the good news that even when we don't desire God, God gives us himself as true food to nourish us.

So I'm going to talk about the gospel today.

It's not going to be anything new.

You all have heard it.

Some of you might honestly not be excited about it, but my prayer is that you would be this morning.

So it's kind of a festive thing because Christmas is in a couple days.

And we remember what happened on Christmas, on the night Jesus was born.

He came into the world.

That was the inauguration, the first step of the good news in action.

It's him actually condescending.

And so it's a festive message, but it's not just for Christmas.

Obviously, this is for every single day of the year, every waking moment of a believer's life.

We need the gospel.

And so I'm going to first start out by talking about what the gospel is.

And as you guys listen, my prayer is that from the inward parts of you, you would be drawn to Christ.

So Romans 1.16 says,

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,

to the Jew first and also the Greek.

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith.

So right here, Paul says that the gospel is the power of God.

Or that the gospel, the object of the gospel, the object of the good news is the power of God more specifically.

What I mean by that is the gospel is just a message.

It's good news, right?

So if you tell somebody just a bunch of words, that's not the thing ultimately that saves them.

But it's the object of the message, right?

It's what the message teaches that saves.

So God, in Christ Jesus, is the power that saves.

Jesus Christ.

And we proclaim that message.

And so, he is both, Jesus is both the prophet of God,

the one who speaks the words of God,

and the Bible actually calls him the word made flesh.

So he's both the prophet who speaks for God,

but he is also the very word of God in the flesh, incarnate.

It's important for us to know that because throughout a Christian's life,

there's a lot of words that you hear.

You know what I'm saying?

And they can get old.

Kind of like I mentioned before, we've all kind of heard this thing over and over again.

But there is a difference between experiencing a flesh and body word,

or something that you can actually see and feel,

that I believe that the Lord wants us to experience.

Like Seth was talking about food,

I believe that God doesn't give food that doesn't nourish.

You know, I believe that he does give food that actually does fill us.

So, in the gospel is where we get that food.

So, the gospel begins with God.

You all know that God made man and creation perfect and good in the garden.

And in Eden, there was a perfect relationship with creation, with the land,

and with the creator of that creation, with God.

And when man ate of the tree that God told him not to,

it severed the relationship with God and with creation.

So, ever since the garden, man has been trying to regain that relationship with God,

either on his own terms or in his own strength.

And so, there's been this striving in the hearts of man because of sin,

because we broke God's commandment.

Do not eat of the tree that I have told you not to.

So, this has never been, you know, something that,

since the beginning of time, has ever been aced, you know,

on our own terms, in our own strength.

No one has really got there.

And if anyone confesses that they have,

it would be a true form of self-righteousness.

So, a practical example of maybe climbing the ladder of morality

and trying to get to God, to regain fellowship,

a practical example of this that I was listening to or reading about

was when the Russians first put a man in outer space.

And upon returning from the mission, there was a remark,

I can't remember if it was the cosmonaut himself said this,

or Russia kind of remarked that,

they said that,

we've been to outer space,

and we didn't find God or heaven there.

And C.S. Lewis actually responded to this remark by saying,

this is like Hamlet, a character in Shakespeare's play,

looking for Shakespeare in the attic of his home.

Pretty true.

C.S. Lewis says that in order for Hamlet to have a relationship with Shakespeare,

Shakespeare would literally have to write himself into his own story.

Okay, so that's the gospel in a very simple form.

That God, the author of our story of humanity and creation,

although man has permanently severed the relationship with God,

God has taken it upon himself to do something.

In spite of man's attempts,

God has written himself into our story,

not in vain and not to no avail, but to much.

And that is the good news.

So, a little bit more about the story.

You guys know it, but here's a refresher.

So, almost 2,000 years ago,

the Bible teaches that in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy,

Jesus was born of a virgin, the Virgin Mary.

Isaiah 7 is the prophecy that fulfills that.

And Matthew tells us that he comes into this world

conceived of the Holy Spirit.

He began his public ministry at the age of 30,

and he accumulated followers,

and for three years he healed,

he taught,

and he made bold claims that he was the only way.

There was no other way to God.

Okay, so think about, you know,

from the beginning,

this chasm between man and God.

You know, man in his own strength

has tried to figure out ways to get back to God,

and then Jesus comes along and says,

I'm the only way.

There's only one way back to God.

It's me.

Okay?

Very bold claims.

The religious leaders didn't like his teaching,

so they joined together,

formed a,

they invoked a riot,

and brought false accusations against Jesus.

And this ultimately led to a trial,

a sentencing of death by Roman crucifixion.

The Bible says that while Jesus hung on the cross,

Jesus became the curse of sin for us.

And that God placed all of the sin

of all mankind onto Jesus.

And when they took Jesus down from the cross,

they put him in a tomb

with a stone sealing the entrance,

with Roman soldiers keeping guard over the tomb

so that no one would come and take his body.

But according to the scripture,

on the third day he rose from the dead.

And after appearing to many eyewitnesses

and instructing his disciples,

he ascended into heaven

where he is seated at the right hand of God

and serves as our advocate.

So, again, you guys have heard this,

but what does this have to do with you?

You know, all these words that I'm saying.

This happened.

It's a fact, you know.

Many major world religions dispute the details of the facts,

but pretty much everyone confesses that Jesus did live.

He did die.

Some don't think he didn't rise.

You know, I think it's the Jews saying that he died but did not rise.

The Muslims say he didn't die.

And the Christians confess that he indeed died

and indeed did rise.

But no one disputes that Jesus didn't live.

It's part of history.

So it happened.

So what does this have to do with us?

You know, all the way many years later.

Well, the Bible says that we all have sinned

and fallen short of God's perfect standard.

And there's nothing in us,

no good thing in us that can commend us to God.

All of our efforts, all of our righteous deeds

fall short of God's perfect standard.

There's nothing that we can do that can fix

what our sins have broken.

The Bible says that the wages for sin

or the payment for our sins is death.

What we deserve for falling short of God's standard is death.

Not just death of an immediate kind,

but an everlasting death.

We deserve that.

And God calls men everywhere to repent of their sin

and trusting Christ to be saved

and to live a righteous life.

And if we trust Christ like this,

the Bible says we have peace with God.

Now, peace is the main thing

that is propagated in the world today

as either a nice goal or the ultimate end.

You know, you might ask somebody like,

what do you want?

You know, if you could wish for anything.

People kind of just, you know,

flagrant and say, world peace.

You know, that wars would cease.

That's a good thing to wish for.

But unfortunately, the world does not know

how God himself has wrought peace to come about.

Romans 5 says that

through Christ we have peace with God.

Okay, so,

if anyone comes to any solution for peace

that doesn't involve Christ,

it is not true peace.

It's a counterfeit peace.

It's a aesthetic peace.

You know,

the only true peace ultimately comes through the gospel.

And whether we believe that or not,

the day will disclose it.

What I mean by that is one day,

God will come again and make all things right.

But it will not be for a second gospel preaching

so as to save those who are lost.

He came once to deal with sin

and he's coming a second time to judge.

And this is a sobering thing.

This is a sobering thing for us who are alive now

and who have his first coming.

So,

the gospel is very important.

It's not just a one and done deal.

You're not just baptized and that seals you.

You get to do whatever you want.

You know,

the gospel is,

like I said in the beginning,

nourishment that carries you along.

I talked a little bit,

I just mentioned some major world religions,

but

I was kind of studying

about

why people arrive to certain religions

that they do

and why,

you know,

Christianity is so cool and unique,

you know.

and it is unique.

It doesn't seem to be cool

in many respects,

but it is unique

and unlike any other religion.

And if I can dare say that Christianity

is actually not a religion,

I'll explain why

compared to the other ones,

specifically because

of how we understand religion

as a whole.

So,

if you did a survey

of all religions of the world,

you'd probably find,

you know,

the first thing is

some type of initiation,

some type of,

you know,

entrance to the religion,

something,

set of beliefs,

maybe something you have to put behind,

something that initiates you.

And then,

and then in the middle,

when you get going,

there's a,

there's,

you know,

stipulations of the religion

that you have to follow.

There's a way.

Each religion has a way.

And then at the end,

you might call it,

you know,

a gate,

you know,

some,

of some kind of pass through,

the final test

or the final judgment.

You know,

each religion kind of has those things.

And if you kept the way well enough,

then you might have a chance

about getting into heaven

or nirvana

or whatever,

you know,

the,

that end gate is.

And so,

many people

believe

that their good deeds,

their following the way,

will

maybe guarantee

access through that final gate.

Maybe they'll,

maybe they'll escape judgment.

Maybe if my good deeds

outweigh my bad deeds,

you know,

I'll be accepted.

But

this,

in fact,

is not how Christianity is.

That's not what I believe

Christianity says.

This is

actually how many Christians

do believe

in their hearts.

if I just

clean myself up,

maybe I'll be accepted

through that last

and final gate.

But there's this struggle

inside of,

well,

I hope that I'll be accepted,

you know,

but there's no assurance.

There's no guarantee.

And

what I see,

the beautiful thing

about Christianity

is that

the acceptance

does not come

at the end.

we're not held

in derision

our whole lives

wondering,

do I,

will I,

if I do enough,

if I'm clean enough,

will I be accepted?

You know,

there's not this doubt.

But

the thing about religion

is that

the acceptance

comes at the beginning.

And that's not to say

that

there is not a way

or there isn't

requirements,

but the fundamental

drawing

to the way

is that you get

acceptance at the beginning.

The good news

of the gospel

is that

instead of

having a merit-based

religion

depending upon

our merits,

those things are hidden

because of the merits

of Christ.

Because Christ

worked on our behalf,

because Christ

is the way,

right,

then

he guarantees

assurance

to us

so that

we can have

confidence

that that final gate,

that we will

indeed be accepted

not on the basis

of our own works,

but on his own

righteousness.

Okay?

This is why

the gospel

is good news.

Because many people

live in dread

not knowing.

They don't have

peace with God.

They strive

to have peace

with their deeds,

but they don't

have peace

with God

in the ultimate sense,

which permeates

a clean conscience,

which makes you

free

in your heart

and in your mind.

This is true

of many people,

Christians included,

if you can call them

Christians.

This is why

the gospel

is good news,

because he guaranteed

the acceptance

and we get it

at the beginning

as assurance.

The Bible says

that the Holy Spirit

seals us

when we're saved.

That's pretty,

that's like guaranteed

language right there.

John Lennox,

a famous mathematician,

tells a story

about his wife,

wanting to marry

his wife on the subject.

I think it's

kind of funny,

but cool,

because he was

in Cambridge

and he says,

suppose I see

this lady

and I get to know her

and eventually

ask her to marry me

and I say,

Sally,

I think this is

his wife's name,

Sally,

I'd like to marry you,

but I've got

a cookbook here

and it's got

a lot of rules

in it,

inside of it,

and if you follow

the rules of the cookbook

for our meals,

you know,

say for 40 years,

very carefully,

I will think

about accepting me.

And,

how ridiculous

is that,

you know?

But it's not,

it's not that

we think

upon the

obedience

or adherence

to the rules

that the acceptance

comes,

but it's actually

at the beginning

that both of you

in the marriage

come together

for acceptance,

saying whatever comes,

you know,

whoever,

you know,

the terms of the covenant,

if they're violated,

I will remain faithful,

you are accepted to me.

That's how we treat

one another

in an actual marriage,

but that's a reflection

of how God

treats us in Christ.

Is it,

is actually

the acceptance happens

at the beginning

because,

because she does,

because Sally

doesn't have to keep

the rules

of the cookbook,

it actually gives her

the,

it frees her

to keep the rules

and to learn

how to cook.

You see,

if we're guaranteed

at the beginning

that God

would accept us,

then it sets us free

to actually learn

to obey God

versus being condemned

under the law

as we likely should be,

God in Christ Jesus

meets all the demands

for us.

This is really important.

So,

if it's not,

if it doesn't set you free

to obey,

listen to me carefully,

if it doesn't set you free

to obey God,

it's not the gospel.

the gospel sets you free

to obey God

because it's not

resting on our works,

it's not resting

on our obedience

or adherence,

but it rests on God himself.

And that transforms you

from the inside out.

That,

indeed,

is good news.

Okay?

And as we enter

to Christmas,

I pray that

this is the light

and true meaning

of Christmas,

that we see

what Christ did

by condescending

is he inaugurated

for humanity

a better way

through himself.

So,

we celebrate

the arrival

of Jesus

and the preaching

of the good news.

We don't celebrate

the gifts,

we celebrate

the giver,

right?

We don't celebrate

the day ultimately,

although we do,

not demonizing the day,

but we celebrate

the object of the day,

which is Jesus.

We celebrate

the moment

when light

broke into

our darkness,

which indeed

there was darkness.

Don't be deceived

that this world

was all light.

Christ has dawned

by being born

into our darkness

and that's

reason to rejoice.

This is a quote

from the song

Joy to the World,

which kind of

spoke to me

earlier this week.

It says,

No more let sins

and sorrows grow,

nor thorns

infest the ground.

He comes to make

his blessings flow

far as the curse

is found.

Far as the curse

is found.

Galatians 3.10

says,

Cursed be anyone

or everyone

who does not abide

by all things

written in the book

of the law

and do them.

Cursed be that man

who does not obey.

Now it is evident

that no one

is justified

before God

by the law,

for the righteous

shall live by faith.

But the law

is not of faith,

rather the one

who does them

shall live by them.

Christ redeemed us

from the curse

of the law

by becoming

a curse for us.

For it is written,

Cursed is everyone

who is hanged

on a tree,

so that in Christ Jesus

the blessing of Abraham

might come

to the Gentiles

so that we might

receive the promised

spirit through faith.

Cursed be the person

who doesn't obey.

That's all of us.

All of us

have come under

the curse of sin,

have followed

in the footsteps

of Adam,

like Adam and Eve

did in the garden.

but we must look

to the object

of our faith

who redeemed us

from the curse

of the law

by becoming

that curse.

This is

the

saturation

that believers

need to have.

We need to look

to God

not just as

you know

Jesus died

for my sins

you know

I know

it's fine

you know

I've heard that

a thousand times

like I know

he died for my sins

but there's a difference

between knowing

what Jesus did

through dying

for our sins

deep down

in our hearts

knowing that

we were condemned

under the law

that we were

not

sick

and approaching

death

but actually

already dead.

Not spiritually

sick

but spiritually

dead in our sins

and that we

needed resurrection

and that God

himself did that

for us in Christ.

This is

the type of

saturation

that makes you

worship

that makes you

come to

a gathering

like this

and lift your

hands

you know

even if

the worship

is spotty

you know

sometimes you

have a scraggly

voice

and that's okay

but we don't

worship good music

we worship God

who in Christ

has reconciled

the world

to himself

the Bible says

and so

I hope

that as you

guys

gather

with your

families

and celebrate

Christmas

that this is

the thing

that you do

you live

in worship

that you

live

whatever you

do

you don't

worship

the thing

you don't

worship

family

ultimately

but you

worship

God

you say

God

what you

have done

in Christ

for me

is worthy

of praise

for my

inward man

you know

and so

let that be

a worship

of Christ

church

I pray

that Christ

church

does that

that we

would be

true to

our name

Christ

church

we would

exalt

him

and it

would be

worship

so that's

my exhortation

for I

have five

points

to end

the sermon

but my

exhortation

is to

treat

Christmas

as going

to the

new year

your

relationship

with God

as worship

through the

gospel

let it be

worship

whatever

event that

you go

to

don't

don't

look at

whatever's

out here

your

circumstances

the people

you interact

with

as the

means for

life

what

determines

how you

are

what

feeds

you

but

from

the

inside

is

where

you

get

life

the

Lord

said

I

will

put

my

spirit

within

you

right

so

God

is

dwelling

in

us

we

don't

look

to

outward

things

to

satisfy

us

we

don't

look

for

peace

out

here

we

look

for

peace

in

here

if

God

has

deposited

himself

in

us

then

we

are

free

from

the

confines

of

whatever

happens

on the

outside

so let

it be

worship

this

season

so I've

just got

five

points

they're

less

of

exhortations

and

more

of

kind

of

confessions

about

who

Jesus

is

and

what I

mean

by

that

is

Jesus

has

many

attributes

to

himself

I've

chosen

five

that I

think

if you

dwell

on

these

it

will

make

you

worship

so

the

first

point

of

Jesus

identity

I

think

it's

important

to

dwell

on

is

him

as

priest

he

is

the

high

priest

of

God

the

Bible

said

he's

made

like

us

in

every

respect

Hebrews

6

says

that

you

might

say

why

couldn't

God

just

drop

down

and

do

the

deed

die

on

the

cross

rise

again

three

days

it'll

be

done

why

do

he

have

to

be

born

why

do

he

have

to

live

30

years

before

he

started

his

ministry

because

he

had

to

be

made

Hebrews

says

that

he

sympathizes

with

our

weakness

Hebrews

4

says

since

we

have

a

great

high

priest

who

has

passed

through

the

heavens

Jesus

the

son

of

God

let

us

hold

fast

our

confession

for

we

do

not

have

a

high

priest

who

is

unable

to

sympathize

with

our

weaknesses

but

one

who

in

every

respect

has

been

tempted

as

we

are

yet

without

sin

let

us

then

with

confidence

drawn

near

to

the

throne

of

grace

that

we

may

receive

mercy

and

find

grace

in

the

time

of

need

he's

our

high

priest

who

sympathizes

with

us

in

Hebrews

5

it

talks

about

how

the

priest

doesn't

he has

to offer

sacrifices

for his

own

sins

since

he

is

beset

with

weakness

he

offers

for

the

sins

of

the

people

on

their

behalf

but

he

has

to

do

his

own

because

he's

a

weak

vessel

as

well

so

Jesus

is

the

high

priest

of

God

Hebrews

7

says

that

he

always

lives

to

make

intercession

for

them

this

is

this

is

the

intercession

is a

priestly

function

we see

that

in

John

17

when

Jesus

prays

his

prayer

for

his

disciples

famously

called

the

high

priestly

prayer

Jesus

is

the

high

priest

because

he

administers

the

sacrifice

of

God

through

his

own

blood

which

brings me

to my

next

point

point

number

two

Jesus

is

the

scapegoat

and

the

Passover

lamb

Leviticus

16

21

says

that

Aaron

shall

lay

both

his

hands

on

the

head

of

the

live

goat

and

confess

over

it

all

the

iniquities

of

the

people

of

Israel

and

all

their

transgressions

and

all

their

sins

and

he

shall

put

them

on

the

head

of

the

goat

and

send

it

away

into

the

wilderness

by

the

hand

of

a

man

who

is

in

readiness

this

is

a

picture

of

what

has

been

done

to

Jesus

Jesus

is

our

scapegoat

he

most

definitely

had

brutal

hands

laid

on

him

and

he

was

sent

out

outside

the

gate

outside

the

camp

and

he

died

outside

the

city

he

was

lifted

up

as

our

Passover

lamb

on

that

day

as

a

perfect

sacrifice

for

sins

so

Christ

church

in

the

same

way

let

us

hold

fast

to

that

confession

that

Jesus

it

is

indeed

the

final

Passover

lamb

no

sacrifices

need

to be

offered

not

even

in

our

hearts

but

they

were

offered

once

scripture

say

one

time

my

next

point

number

three

is

Jesus

is

I

mentioned

this

before

but

Jesus

is

the

prophet

and

the

word

he

is

the

word

made

flesh

John

12

49

says

that

Jesus

says

that

in

John

12

he

says

I

only

speak

what

the

father

tells

me

that's

a

prophet

but

he

himself

is

called

the

word

he

himself

is

the

person

to be

followed

you

know

old

prophets

we

wouldn't

necessarily

follow

but

we

would

adhere

to

the

word

Jesus

is

the

example

of

that

word

he's

the

word

made

flesh

he's

the

stone

that

the

builders

rejected

and

the

prophetic

word

that speaks

better than

the blood

of

Abel

the word

of

Abel

the word

of

Abel

cries out

for

vengeance

and

recompense

but

the

word

of

Christ

cries

out

for

mercy

having

met

the

recompense

through

his own

blood!

Fourth

number

four

attribute

of

Jesus

that I

think

is

precious

to

dwell

on

and

we

must

dwell

on

is

that

he

is

king

Jesus

is

king

Revelation

19

13

says

he

is

clothed

in

a

robe

dipped

in

blood

and

the

name

by

which

he

is

called

is

the

word

of

God

on

his

robe

and

on

his

thigh

he

has

a

name

written

king

of

kings

and

lord

of

lords

that's

his

name

king

of

all

kings

highest

king

every

other

king

is

under

him

again

he

says

in

John

18

my

kingdom

is

not

he's

a

king

but

not

without

a

kingdom

he

rules

and

we

if

we

are

in

Christ

are

part

of

that

kingdom

Peter

says

in

Acts

2

36

let

all

the

house

of

Israel

therefore

know

for

certain

that

God

has

made

him

both

Lord

and

Christ

both

king

and

savior

right

so

that

goes

against

you

know

the

hyper

grace

people

that's

like

he

saved

me

he

saved

me

I

don't

have

to

do

anything

it's

like

hang on

it says

Lord

and

Christ

you

have

to

follow

him

you

have

to

obey

him

he

is

indeed

savior

which

sets

you

free

to

obey

him

as

king

right

he

he

both

king

and

savior

!

last

point

the

identity

of

Jesus

to

dwell

in

his

worship

in

our

hearts

is

he

he

is

our

friend

possibly

one

of the

most

moving

things

the

almighty

God

can

say

is

to

call

us

friends

think

of

the

highest

king

you

know

on

earth

you

know

and

regard

the

lowest

person

as

a

friend

much

more

God

the

creator

regards

us

as

friends

he

says

in

John

to

his

disciples

on

his

last

night

with

them

no

longer

do

I

call

you

servants

but

I

call

you

friends

someone

mentioned

that this

actually

must have

been deeply

moving

to

his

disciples

because

at that

point

I think

only

Moses

and

Abraham

in

scripture

were

called

God's

friends

God

spoke to

Moses

as

someone

would

speak

with

a

friend

Abraham

is

called

the

friend

of

God

so

when

Jesus

kind

of

moved

from

servants

to

friends

I

can

imagine

maybe

what

they

felt

on

that

night

especially

before

he

went

to

the

cross

but

this

is

how

we

need

to

understand

how

God

speaks

with

us

he

doesn't

deal

with

us

just

as

his

servants

right

although

we

do

serve

him

but

he

deals

with

us

as

friends

through

Jesus

Christ

so

we

so

we