Getting the Gospel Right

Thank you for joining us on the CCW podcast.

Make sure you connect with us on social media to stay up to date on ministries and events happening at CCW.

We hope you're encouraged, inspired, and motivated by today's message.

To find out how to connect with us, keep listening after the message ends.

Good morning, CCW.

Amen.

Well, we are about to jump into God's word.

Before we do, I have a couple of things that just need to be said.

Number one, today is Harry and Naiva Duro's 55th wedding anniversary.

Y'all stand up back there.

Look at that.

Miss Naiva, I want to tell you, Harry said the greatest thing in 55 years was you.

And I believe that.

Y'all believe him.

So praise God for your commitment to one another and uh the example you are to us.

Also, today she is not here.

Um we are about to be on a little vacation, but today is my wife Heather's birthday.

So she'll be watching online.

Can y'all give a little clap for Heather?

I would not dare tell you her age, but it is her birthday.

And uh, anyways, happy birthday, Heather.

Um I want to introduce you and talk to you just for a moment.

Uh we have a guest speaker this morning, and uh Kenneth Bruce is the pastor of Westwood Baptist Church.

And uh Kenneth and Dave, maybe y'all don't know this, we're two of the Titan Titan coaches in soccer.

And uh we crossed paths really uh a while back because Dave was coaching YMCA League Soccer, and we got Wyatt and Luke together in Alabaster doing that league, and that was years and years ago, and uh Kenneth's son Nathan was on that team, so we just barely got to know each other, and that was like 2016 maybe.

And um, anyways, about two or three years ago, they're still playing soccer.

Guys are growing, we kind of disconnected, but we came into a championship game, and I was helping Dave, and we had Wyatt and Malin and Luke and players from this church, and we went into I'm not gonna talk about the game, but it was a championship, two of the best teams that I think you know, Boost has maybe ever seen.

I mean, they were for for record, it was incredible players, and we went into this game, and all I could say it was a phenomenal game.

Well, after the game, I got thinking, you know, how do I challenge Wyatt even more?

Maybe I could get on this team with Kenneth, and we'll just see if we can't put these two teams together.

So we ended up taking Luke and Malin and Wyatt and then joining this team, and and nobody ever in that league wanted to play rec league soccer again.

I mean, they killed every team, crushed them, but I want to tell you this about Kenneth that I saw during that time.

Kenneth was a shepherd on the field with these young men.

We're talking about 11, 12 years old, and down to 10 years old, and he would take time during practice, and I watched, he couldn't even help it.

You just would shepherd people, and I saw the heart of a pastor on the soccer field.

By the way, that's how it should be.

And couldn't help it.

It would take time.

We were praying at practices, praying after games, and uh, in a world today that's so full of everything else, it was such a refreshing time.

We ended up two seasons, um, and I got to spend that time with him.

But another thing that happened, so our church, Pastor Danny, let me know that he was going to retire and that transition was coming, but he also let me know don't tell anybody in church until I'm ready to tell everybody.

And so during that season, I did not, I listened to that, and I, you know, I kept that to myself, but I needed somebody to ramp this off of.

I got all these ideas, and I can't wait to one day come become the pastor.

And in that season, Kenneth was a friend to me.

He lent his ear to me and um pushed me towards some podcasts and said, You got this and was such an encouragement and did a work of shepherding that I don't even know that you knew, and it was so needed.

So, would you guys put your hands together for Pastor Kenneth Bruce this morning?

Thank you, Bell.

Faithful Bell, thank you so much.

Thanks, Rick.

Well, good morning, faith family.

It is so, so good to be with you this morning.

What a very kind introduction from Pastor Rick.

My name is Kenneth Bruce.

Uh, I pastor Westwood Baptist Church over in Alabaster.

It is a joy to be with you, my family.

Uh, we came and worshiped with you about a year ago.

It was really sweet and precious.

My wife, Christy and I, we have five children, ages 16, 15, 13, 12, and 9.

Uh, we have two biological sons, two sons from Ethiopia, and a little girl from China.

Uh, she has my heart.

Anything she wants, she gets.

And she looks at me and I'm like, early, you can have whatever you want.

I love you so, so much.

I want you to know that you are a very blessed church.

You have a pastoral staff that loves you, that cares for you.

And I'm grateful by God's grace that there's a church here in Chelsea that where the word of God, week by week, takes center stage.

That you are a church that exalts the Lord Jesus Christ.

And when you gather a bunch of people who are madly in love with Jesus, who gather together and want to make much of him together, God's gonna do something in and through that people.

And I praise God for who you are and for you gathering and continually gathering and making much of Jesus together.

And I'm so grateful for the leadership that God has placed here to shepherd and lead you well towards the Lord Jesus Christ.

You know, Ecclesiastes chapter 3, verse 8 tells us that there is a season for everything under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 3:8

That there is a time for war and a time for peace.

There are times in life in which you pursue harmony, and there are times in which you must fight.

Wisdom is knowing the difference.

It was in the 1700s that there was a Baptist leader's meeting, and a newly ordained young minister gathered in this meeting, and he began telling these men about God's heart for the nations and a passion of pursuing overseas missions.

He was abruptly interrupted by an older minister who said, Young man, sit down.

You are an enthusiast.

When God is pleased to convert the heathen, he'll do it without consulting you or me.

Well, that young minister was William Carey, the father of modern missions, a man who would mobilize thousands to get the gospel to the nations of those who have never heard.

You see, there are times as a believer in which you have to be willing to stand.

There are non-negotiables in Scripture in which we cannot, indeed, we must not compromise.

We must stand on truth.

There are hills worth dying on.

Well, one of those hills is the gospel.

From generation to generation, the gospel is always under attack.

As the culture in which we now live, it pressures denominations, churches, Christ's followers to change what we believe, to change what we have held fast to, the truth of what we have received.

Hear me on this.

The church does not have the right to change the word of God.

Followers of Jesus do not have the freedom to make up whatever we want to believe.

We are a people who have a white-knuckled grip on something that has grabbed hold of us.

We have received from Jesus and the apostles and the prophets the truth that God has revealed in his word.

We cannot change, modify.

We cannot tweak or reinterpret something that might be liked or accepted by a fickle culture that's continually changing its mind.

You see, sound doctrine is a good gift that protects the church from believing lies.

You see, truth in Scripture, it protects us, it prevents us from making catastrophic errors about what we believe about God.

Well, throughout church history, there are many inside the church and outside the church who have sought to change and to undermine the very foundations of the faith that we believe as followers of Christ.

Therefore, as followers of Christ, we must be willing to stand firm, to hold fast, to preach, to believe, to defend something that is greater than us and lasts longer than our lives.

What is it?

It's the gospel.

The gospel is worth giving your life for.

And that is what we see the Apostle Paul and Barnabas doing in Acts chapter 15.

Acts 15 · chapter mention

Let me show you.

Grab your Bible and turn with me to Acts chapter 15.

Acts 15 · chapter mention

In the book of Acts, we see how the good news of Jesus that began in Jerusalem is now spreading outward into Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

The whole premise of the book of Acts begins in Acts chapter 1, verse 8, where Jesus, right before he ascends into heaven and sits down at the right hand of God the Father, he tells the disciples, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Acts 1:8

Well, what we see in the book of Acts is how the gospel that began in Jerusalem is now spreading.

That indeed people who have never heard of Jesus are hearing the gospel as the church and the apostles are taking the gospel outside of Jerusalem to the ends of the earth, under the power of the Holy Spirit who has filled them and changed them.

They are a different kind of people who once were in hiding while Jesus was crucified, and now they're out in public boldly proclaiming this Jesus who died is now alive.

That this crucified Savior is raised and he is ruling and reigning over all.

And may I say to you, church at Chelsea Westover, that indeed this Jesus who was crucified, buried, and raised is now ruling over the cosmos.

He is sovereign over Russia and China and the United States and over every country all over the world.

He is the Lord Jesus Christ, he is sovereign over all and he is good.

Back in Acts chapter 13, we see where Paul and Barnabas are sent out by the church at Antioch.

Acts 13 · chapter mention

They're taking the gospel again to those who have never heard.

They went to Cyprus and then they went north from that island nation up into Galatia, a region, modern-day Turkey, in which they're going, they're preaching the gospel, planting churches as they make disciples.

They then return back to Antioch at the end of Acts chapter 14.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

They're encouraging the church, they're preaching the word.

And that's where we pick up in Acts chapter 15, beginning with verse 1.

Acts 15 · chapter mention

And the scripture says this.

Some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers.

Unless you are circumcised according to the custom prescribed by Moses, you cannot be saved.

After Paul and Barnabas had engaged them in serious argument and debate, Paul and Barnabas and some others were appointed to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem about this issue.

When they had been sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and they brought great joy to all the brothers and sisters.

When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.

But some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses.

The apostles and the elders gathered to consider this matter.

After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, Brothers and sisters, you are aware that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the gospel message and believe.

And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us.

He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.

Now then, why are you testing God by putting a yoke on the disciples' necks that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?

On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way they are.

The whole assembly became silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul describe all the signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

After they had stopped speaking, James responded, Brothers and sisters, listen to me.

Simeon has reported how God first intervened to take from the Gentiles a people for his name.

And the words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written, After these things I will return and rebuild David's fallen tent.

I will rebuild its ruins and set it up again, so the rest of humanity may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who are called by my name, declares the Lord, who makes these things known from long ago.

Therefore, in my judgment, we should not cause difficulties for those among the Gentiles who turn to God, but instead we should write to them, to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from eating anything that has been strangled and from blood.

For since ancient times, Moses has had those who proclaim him in every city, and every Sabbath day he has read aloud in the synagogues.

As the gospel is going forth through the power of the Holy Spirit, through the apostles and the church, we see in the book of Acts that the enemy is simultaneously working against the work of God.

If you were to backpedal to Acts chapter 4, you would see the Sanhedrin persecuting the apostles.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

You go to Acts 5, you see there's church members who are lying to God.

You go to Acts 6, you see infighting amongst the widows within the church.

Acts 7, we see the martyrdom of Stephen.

In Acts 8, we see the persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they scatter outwards.

In Acts 9, we see the hot pursuit of this guy named Saul who's trying to persecute, imprison, and indeed kill followers of Jesus.

We see it in Acts 12, as there's an imprisonment of Peter, and we see the first martyrdom of the apostle James.

We then see Acts 13, the opposition of a sorcerer who begins to push back against Paul and his gospel preaching.

We indeed see in Acts 13 where the entire city seeks to kill Paul.

They leave him left for dead outside of the city.

We see in Acts 14 of the attack of this murderous mob against the apostles.

And each of these trials that we see throughout the book of Acts were indeed permitted and ordained by God.

What a great reminder that when you and I face trials of many kinds, it's not necessarily for our disobedience.

When you face difficulty, it's not always because you've done something wrong.

Indeed, it very well may mean it's because you're doing something right.

That you're being faithful and being obedient.

You're facing hardship and difficulty.

James tells us in James chapter 1, verse 3 take joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

James 1:3

Well, here is the early church walking through difficulty and hardship.

And we get to Acts 15, the Jerusalem Council, and a new opposition has arisen against the church.

This time?

It's false teaching.

Jewish Christians were adding Old Testament law to God's free gift in Christ.

This morning I want you to notice in the text how false teachers were creeping into the church and how we today can deal with this.

The first thing I want you to see is this is that first we must be watchful for a contaminated gospel.

Be watchful for a contaminated gospel.

Luke, the author of Acts, identifies men, verse one, coming into the church in Antioch, proclaiming that circumcision was essential for salvation.

And you can just hear Paul and Barnabas saying, whoa, whoa, whoa, timeout.

No, no, no, no.

That's not right.

You can't add to the gospel.

Well, this leads to verse two, a serious argument and debate.

Hear me on this.

Sound doctrine matters.

It matters.

You see, Paul could have said, Man, you know what?

I'm really busy right now.

I'm going all over the world.

I'm preaching the gospel, planting churches, making disciples, training up pastors.

I don't have time for this.

That's not what he does.

He presses pause on his international ministry, his teaching ministry in Antioch, and he says, Y'all, we gotta get this doctrine right.

We gotta clarify and crystallize the gospel.

Let's get this right.

You see, Paul could not sit back when the integrity of the gospel was at stake.

For to get the gospel wrong is to see a false message take root that would lead people towards condemnation rather than salvation.

Hear me, as followers of Jesus, we cannot sit back when truth is at stake.

When we live in a culture that is filled with confusion and chaos and lies, we must be a people of absolute clarity.

That there are hills we will die on, that there are stands we will take, and the gospel is where we stand firm.

We say this is where we stand and we cannot move from this point.

We must be willing to stand firm and to contend for the faith even when it costs us.

Jude commands followers of Jesus to do this in Jude chapter 1, verse 3.

Jude 1:3

He says, I found it necessary to write, appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

We are commanded to oppose anything that goes against the word of God.

You see, as followers of Jesus, we must be so trained in sound doctrine that we can sniff out false teaching like beagles at an airport.

We're able to discern when someone says something that does not align with scripture.

It means that you, as a follower of Jesus, need to know your Bible.

And here's what I found is that the more you study your Bible, the more your Bible studies you.

It begins to reveal attitudes of your heart, ways of thinking that don't align with God.

And it leads you by his grace and for his glory, he leads you back onto the right path of truth.

You see, as followers of Jesus, we've got to be willing to stand firm.

All right, so Kenneth, how can we sniff it out?

How can I discern when someone is teaching something that is not true?

Let me give you a simple math equation.

It's this Jesus plus anything equals nothing.

Jesus plus anything equals nothing.

If you add anything to the gospel, you completely miss what God has done for you through his son.

In the case here of Acts 15, these Judaizers, these false teachers are trying to add circumcision, verse 1, to the gospel.

They're trying to add obedience to Old Testament law, verse 5, to the gospel.

They're saying it's essential to the gospel.

And this is so serious that Paul and Barnabas press pause on their ministry in Antioch.

They travel 300 miles south to Jerusalem to get the apostles together and say, guys, we got to settle this.

We got to make sure we are clear on the gospel because if you get the gospel wrong, you get Jesus wrong.

If you get Jesus wrong, you miss the whole point of the Bible.

The entire Bible is red letter.

The entire Bible is pointing you to Jesus.

The entire Bible is a hymn book.

It's all about him.

It's about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Kenneth, where do you get that?

Go read Luke 24.

Where Jesus is on the road to Emmaus, and it says, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he began to explain to them all the things concerning himself.

Jesus himself was saying, the entire Old Testament about me.

It's driving you to me.

I'm the fulfillment of the prophets.

I'm the fulfillment of the law.

I'm the one who was perfect in all of his ways.

Where you couldn't keep it, I kept it for you.

I am the fulfillment of the law.

I laid my life down as the sacrificial lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

This is what we're seeing here is that the grace of Jesus here is at stake.

In fact, The entire book of Galatians is where the topic of salvation is the red hot issue of the day.

Paul warned the churches that he planted back in Acts 13 and 14, he's telling them to guard themselves against these Judaizers, these false teachers who are creeping into the church, adding to the gospel.

For the rest of his ministry, Paul would be continually fighting against the Jews who were continually going into churches that he planted, and they would sprinkle in some teaching about adding the law, adding works to the free grace of God in Jesus.

Listen to what Paul tells the Galatian churches.

In chapter 1, verse 6, he says, I'm astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel, which is really no gospel at all.

Evidently, some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.

Church of Chelsea Westover, hear me on this.

May you never turn away from the precious, pure, gracious gospel that we have received.

Don't turn away from this grace.

Hold fast to the free gift of Jesus.

With a white knuckled grip, hold fast of him who has grabbed hold of you.

Be watchful for those who try to persuade you to believe something that is not true.

In fact, I've got some homework for you.

The homework for you this week is to go home and read the book of Galatians.

Alright?

I want you to go home this week, read the book of Galatians.

It's six chapters.

You can read in about 30 minutes.

It'd be a great discussion piece at the dinner table where you just read a chapter and you discuss what Paul's talking about, and you're going to hear what he's dealing with.

And he's trying to challenge, admonish these churches who are trying to add things to the free grace of Jesus.

He's like, no, get away from that false teaching.

Hold fast.

It's Christ and Christ alone.

Hear me, y'all.

We must be vigilant and watchful for false teaching creeping into the church.

But the second thing we see right here in the text is that when it does, we must, number two, be vocal to clarify the gospel.

Be vocal to clarify the gospel.

As Paul and Barnabas arrive in Jerusalem, verse 4, man, there's great joy.

There's a celebration.

It's like a parade amongst the church.

They report all that God has done through their first missionary journey.

They're talking about all that God is doing in Antioch.

Antioch, 300 miles north, third largest city in the Roman Empire.

Okay, this is a city, it's like Chicago.

It's bustling with people and commerce, and the gospel is taking root.

And we see where the church at Antioch becomes the hub of sending the gospel all over the world.

The church that God has called me to shepherd, I'm praying that we would be a church at Antioch, and we love the word of God, and we want to get the gospel to those who have never heard of Jesus.

That's the church at Antioch that's happening here that Paul and Barnabas and others are just investing their lives into.

So they come down south to Jerusalem to kind of, hey guys, let's clarify this.

But once they arrive, these legalistic religious prudes reign on the parade.

They begin talking about salvation is by works that you have to do all of these things.

Then we see verse 6 the Jerusalem Council begins.

It's time to clarify the gospel.

The apostles, whom Jesus appointed, will now have a say on the matter.

Peter steps up and gives the first of three speeches at the council.

Peter goes first.

We then see second, Paul and Barnabas.

Third, we see James, the leader of the church of Jerusalem.

These three speeches that we see here in Acts 15 that we just read are some of the strongest defenses of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, and Christ alone, then you will find in the entire New Testament.

And Peter is pointing to how God has already saved the Gentiles in the church without circumcision, without religious lawkeeping.

You go back to Acts chapter 10, y'all.

Acts 10 · chapter mention

It's crazy.

Peter is at Caesarea.

It's a beautiful beach city.

It's the home of where governors of Rome would stay.

And he the Holy Spirit leads him there.

He goes to the house of Cornelius, a Roman general, and he steps up and he preaches the gospel to these Gentiles.

And Peter's thinking, what am I doing here?

The gospel is for Jews.

Well, as he preaches the gospel, the Holy Spirit falls.

These Gentiles put their faith in Jesus.

And he's like, I can't even believe this.

He goes back Acts 11 to Jerusalem and he tells the apostles, Y'all, you're not gonna believe this.

These Gentiles are putting their faith in Jesus.

The same Holy Spirit that fell on us in Acts 2 is now falling upon them, Acts chapter 10.

Acts 10 · chapter mention

And it's shocking.

The people can't believe it.

Gentiles, they can get in on this?

So now Peter is standing up in front of the Jerusalem council.

All of these pastors, these elders of Jerusalem, the apostles, and he reiterates the gospel by saying, look at verse 9.

It is by faith that their hearts are cleansed.

Not circumcision, not keeping Old Testament law, not by baptism, not by trying to be a good person, not hoping that who you are is good enough.

Peter's argument is if God does not require obedience to Old Testament law as necessary for salvation, then why in the world should we try to enforce that?

These legalists are putting these burdens on these Gentiles that we ourselves can't even bear.

Put your finger there on verse 11.

We believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way they are.

There it is.

Case closed.

And here you and I sit in the American South, where the majority of the people whom you go to school with, the majority of the people that you go to work with tomorrow are people who are banking their souls on their own good works.

They're presuming that because they think that they are a good person, because I'm a nice guy, I'm good.

And the Bible says no one is good.

Not even one.

No one has reached perfection.

Well, perfection, good grief, that's impossible.

That's the point.

The point of the Bible is to show us that we are not perfect.

But God by his grace sent his perfect son, who lived a perfect, sinless life that you and I couldn't live.

And he died a perfect substitutionary death on the cross.

At the cross, Jesus' blood was shed for the forgiveness of all who trust in him.

And anybody who turns from sin, turns from self, and believes upon the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be saved.

This is the gospel, and it's a free gift.

You don't work for it, you don't earn it, you don't deserve it.

It's a free, gracious gift that God gives to anybody who will trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

You may be thinking, My goodness, Kenneth, my life is so messed up.

I've done so many sinful things.

I want to say to you, guess what?

You qualify.

It is essential that you understand that you don't deserve grace.

And once you realize it, God says, Here it is.

Here are these religious leaders who are trying to say, yeah, we believe that Jesus died on the cross, but it's not enough.

His death wasn't sufficient to pay for sin.

So you have to also keep all these Old Testament laws.

You have to do all of these things, or guess what?

You're not saved.

And so now, Acts 15, the apostles are like, we need to clarify this.

And the Apostle Paul's like, I'm your Huckleberry.

I'll deal with this.

I want you to know that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

There was a 2020 survey that I saw a few weeks ago from the Cultural Research Center based out of Arizona, and they found that 48% of American adults believe that being a good person earns you a place in heaven.

There's 330 million Americans.

It's 165 million-ish people who are saying, I'm good enough on my own.

Thank you very much.

Jesus, I don't need you.

What a dangerous place to be.

Maybe you're here today and you're banking your salvation on your church attendance, on your baptism, thinking you're a good person, on your giving record, on your grandma's faith.

And I say to you, none of those things can save you on the last day.

There is one who can save you, the Lord Jesus.

And what he did on the cross is sufficient to pay for all of your sin.

And he has made a way through his perfect work to rescue you so you bank your soul completely on the Lord Jesus Christ.

You trust in him and him alone, and he is mighty to save.

He will save you, he will adopt you, he will provide for you, he gives you a new name, he gives you an inheritance.

He says, You belong to me.

You have a home in heaven, a citizenship that's gonna last forever, and you're gonna be with me and all of the redeemed throughout the ages, and we're gonna gather and we're gonna celebrate and we're gonna make much of him.

That's who he is, and that's what he's come to do for you in the gospel, and it's free.

It's yours.

All you've got to do is receive it.

You receive it by faith, by saying, Yes.

I agree.

Man, my life is broken and messed up.

I have sinned against you, God.

I deserve wrath, I deserve hell.

But Jesus, I believe at the cross, you took the wrath that I deserved.

Lord Jesus, you took the judgment that was supposed to be for me.

You gladly took it on my behalf at the cross, and now I don't have to.

You see, this eternal life, it's a free gift that God gives to anybody who will believe.

It's not by works, it's not by trying to be a good person.

You can't pull up the bootstraps on your own salvation.

Paul says it like this in 2 Timothy 1 9.

He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.

In Titus chapter 3, he says, But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, he saved us not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.

Titus 3 · chapter mention

We see it in Ephesians 2, verses 8 and 9, where it says, For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves.

Ephesians 2:8

It is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.

You see, you cannot add your good works to the gospel.

God is the one who saves, not your works.

God is the one who saves, not your religion.

God is the one who saves, not your goodness.

God is the one who saves, not your effort.

You see, salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone and Christ alone.

That's the point of the gospel.

And when Jesus died on the cross and rose again on the third day, bodily, defeating death, never to die again, he did everything necessary to secure your salvation.

That through his death and resurrection, he says, You now belong to me.

Here's the reality.

At some point in the next 50 to 100 years, you're gonna take your last breath.

And you're gonna be put in a wooden box, and you'll probably be put somewhere right about here.

And Rick or someone else is gonna stand right here and they're gonna preach about Jesus.

The only thing that matters in that moment is do you know Jesus?

That's the only thing that matters in that moment.

Are you banking your soul upon Jesus?

Or are you banking your soul upon yourself?

If you're trusting in your good works, it's insufficient, it's not enough.

But Christ is enough, and He has made a way through the gospel to save you forever.

You see, the gospel points you away from your works and points you to Christ's works for you.

All other world religions and cults tell you you have to do this, you have to do this, you have to do this.

Law, law, law.

If you don't do that, you are punished.

Well, in the gospel, Jesus was punished for our rebellion.

In the gospel, Jesus steps in for our unrighteousness and says, I'm gonna take it, all of it.

I'm gonna drink the cup dry of God's wrath towards sin, and I'm gonna take it all upon me.

Out of my great love for my people, I'm gonna take the judgment that they deserved upon the cross.

He died for your rebellion.

You see, grace is an offense to our flesh.

We like participating and having something to do with our salvation, but the God says, you can't.

The Lord says, No, you can't.

It's all upon me, and what my son has done for you, and what he has done is sufficient.

And here's the reality: if you are in Christ, your salvation is only a work of God's sovereign grace that he has shown you in his son.

Oh, that God has given you Jesus, and Jesus alone is enough to save.

So can I give you some gospel math?

Gospel math looks like this Jesus plus nothing equals everything.

The thing that's funny about the gospel is that when you add something to it, you take something away from it.

When you say, I'm trusting in my good works, you're saying, Jesus, your death wasn't enough.

What you're saying is, God, you're not powerful enough.

Jesus, your blood, I'm grateful for it, but it really didn't cover all of my sin.

In the gospel, God has done everything necessary to rescue you both now and forever.

Oh, that you would humble yourself today and cry out to Jesus and say, Lord, would you please save me today?

I'm done banking my soul upon my good works.

I don't want to trust in my grandmama's faith.

I need my own.

So, Lord, I'm now in my heart saying, I trust in Jesus and Jesus alone.

And I'm a sinner, I'm broken, but Jesus, you died on the cross for me, and I've given my heart, I'm giving my life completely to you.

You put your full weight on the Lord Jesus Christ.

You see, the gospel is not about what you can do, it's about what Christ has done for you.

Grab hold of Jesus.

He's yours forever.

Third and finally, we got to be humble applying the implications of the gospel.

The last speaker of the council is James.

This is not James the disciple.

He's already been beheaded by King Herod Agrippa back in chapter 12.

This is James, the half-brother of Jesus, son of Mary and Joseph, the same James who wrote the book of James.

He's the leader of the church of Jerusalem.

He steps up, gives some closing remarks to the Jerusalem Council.

He makes the argument that salvation of Gentiles, people who are not Jewish, it's always been part of God's plan.

He even references the Old Testament back to Amos 9 and Isaiah 45, and he makes his case.

The Gentiles can get in on this, and it's free grace offered to anybody who believes.

Hey, Judaizers, leave the Gentiles alone.

The gospel's free.

Stop teaching your hot garbage.

It's not true.

It's grace and grace alone.

Now, Gentiles, just because your salvation is free, just because you now possess grace, it doesn't mean that you're free to do whatever you want to do.

You need to be thoughtful of your brothers and sisters who are coming from a Jewish tradition, who are used to all of these Old Testament laws and rules.

You as a Gentile need to think of them.

So though both of you are saved by grace and how you live as a follower of Jesus, you need to be more mindful of how you relate with them.

What is happening here?

We see where the Jerusalem Council is giving a policy saying, hey guys, love each other.

You come from very different worlds and backgrounds and perspectives and ideologies and worldviews and political perspectives.

But you're united in the gospel.

In Christ, there's no Jew or Gentile, slave or free.

We're all in Christ.

And I look across our room of people who come from various backgrounds, perspectives, political ideologies.

We're not the same people.

We have different opinions and perspectives, but we're united around the gospel.

So let's make sure that we keep Christ central.

And though we are saved by grace, we don't use our grace as a way to be a stumbling block to a brother or sister in Christ.

So, Kenneth, what are you calling us to?

It's an impact point.

Here's what I'm asking you to do: defend and display the grace of Jesus in the gospel.

Defend and display the grace of Jesus in the gospel.

In 1521, Martin Luther had to stand before a king who said, unless you recant of all of your writings, we're going to kill you.

And it's in that moment he had to make a decision.

Am I going to stand in the free grace of God and the gospel?

Or am I going to bow to something that is false?

Here was his response.

Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the scriptures, or by clear reason, for I do not trust either in the Pope or in the counsels alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves, I am bound by the scriptures.

My conscience is captive to the word of God.

I cannot, and I will not recant, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience.

I cannot do otherwise.

Here I stand.

May God help me.

What about you?

The moment comes in which your life is on the line.

Either you hold fast to the Lord Jesus Christ or walk away and live.

You see, church, there are hills worth dying on.

But we are a people who will die on this hill because Jesus chose two thousand years ago to go up another hill.

Where he went up Mount Calvary, where he gladly took your place.

He gladly took the judgment of God.

He stepped in and made a way through his death so that in him you can live forever.

This is the gospel.

And it's free, and it's yours if you will receive the Lord Jesus Christ.

We're excited you joined us for today's message.

Our heart is to connect with others in our community, to grow with one another, and build a bigger kingdom.

If you accepted Jesus today, we want to hear about it.

Take a moment and text CCW Connect to 94,000.

Thank you again for joining us on the CCW podcast.

We hope you'll make plans to join us in person on Sundays.