What is the Gospel? # 4

Over the last few weeks we been learning about Man’s (Mankind) need of salvation

We have learned that Sin has profoundly changed the ‘nature’ of Man (Mankind) Genesis 3, Romans 5: 12, Ephesians 2: 3

And as a result, Man’s (Mankind)…

Mind has become darkened so that he cannot understand the Gospel

Will has become enslaved so that he resists the Gospel

Emotions are set upon the pleasures the World has to offer rather than upon God

And, if Man is not saved from Sin, he will be separated from God forever

2 Thessalonians 1: 9

“So, Pastor David, you said the Gospel is Good News – where’s Good News”!

Here is the Good News:

In knowing the truth about our sinful ‘nature,’ we know what we are, and where we came from

When we don’t know what we are, and where we came from, Man’s (Mankind) sinful ‘nature’ creates its own ‘identity’

One popular ‘identity’ is the belief that Man (Mankind) is a product of Life that was ‘seeded’ on the Earth by aliens billions of years ago and has evolved from a simple cell into sea Life, then land Life and eventually into prehistoric ape-like creatures and finally into modern Man

When sinful Man (Mankind) creates his own ‘identity’, he says, maybe:

‘I am a woman trapped inside a man’s body’

‘I am a man trapped inside a woman’s body’

‘I am a black woman trapped inside a white woman’s body’

‘I am a cat trapped inside a human body’

‘I am half a man and half a woman’

‘I am a mutant with supernatural powers’

‘I am a good superhero come to save the World from evil superheroes’

‘I am a devil’s demon straight from the pit of Hell’

‘I am Almighty God Himself’

Canon Law of Rome – “To believe that our Lord God the Pope has not the power to decree as he is decreed, is to be deemed heretical.”

The New York Catholic Catechism – “The Pope takes the place of Jesus Christ on earth…by divine right the pope has supreme and full power in faith and morals over each and every pastor and his flock. He is the true Vicar of Christ, the head of the entire church, the father and teacher of all Christians He is the infallible ruler, the founder of dogmas, the author of and the judge of councils; the universal ruler of truth, the arbiter of the world, the supreme judge of heaven and earth, the judge of all, being judged by one, God himself on earth.”

The worst kind of ‘identity’ self-deception says: “human ‘nature’ is good.”

If human ‘nature’ is good, Man (Mankind) has no need of salvation

Jesus called this deception = self-righteousness

Luke 18: 9 ‘Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else’:

Luke 18: 11 ‘The religious man stood by himself and prayed this prayer: “I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else”

Jesus reserved His greatest condemnation for those people who were righteous in their own eyes

Matthew 23: 28 ‘Outside you look good, but inside you are evil and only pretend to be good’

People who consider themselves to be good say this:

“I am an optimist, I hope I am going to Heaven when I die”

Definition – Optimist: A person who does not know the truth

No! Man (Mankind) is not the product of evolution and Man (Mankind) is certainly not good!

Romans 3: 9 ‘all people are under the power of sin’

Romans 3: 19 ‘the entire World is guilty before God’

In conclusion: what are we and where did we come from?

We are God’s supreme creation, created male and female, created sinless, created eternal, created for fellowship with God and created for His glory!

But, because Man (Mankind) is fallen from God’s Grace, Man (Mankind) is separated from God and desperately in need of salvation!

That’s why we need the Gospel!

The Gospel is the good news of God’s sovereign saving work in our lives

Ephesians 2: 5 ‘It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved’!

What is the Gospel? # 3

The Gospel is the good news of God’s sovereign saving work in your Life

Last week I was saying that to explain the Gospel we must first understand Man’s (Mankind) need of salvation

Last week we learnt that the first humans, Adam and Eve, were created by God, made in His own image, made for fellowship with God, made sinless in ‘nature’, and made to live forever
(Genesis 1 & 2)

We also learnt that Adam and Even sinned against God and as a consequence they were banished from God’s presence to struggle in life and eventually die (Genesis 3)

Adam and Eve became the subjects of God’s punishment

Because we are related biologically and spiritually to Adam and Eve we too have become the subjects of God’s punishment

Ephesians 2: 3 ‘By our very nature we were subject to God’s punishment’

If ‘Man’ (Mankind) is not set free from his sinful ‘nature’ he will be condemned to Hell

2 Thessalonians 1: 9 ‘They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from His glorious power.’

When Sin entered the human ‘Race’ it profoundly changed the ‘nature’ of Man (Mankind) from what God originally intended it to be

1/ Man’s (Mankind) mind became darkened by sin

When you share the Gospel with a non-Christian friend have you ever wondered why they find it so difficult to understand what you are saying?

They will say things like: ‘No, I don’t understand what you are saying’

The reason they don’t understand is because their mind is darkened by sin

Ephesians 4:18 ‘Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him’.
Example: Jesus talking to Nicodemus John 3: 1-11

John 3: 1-3 Jesus talks to Nicodemus about the Kingdom of God

John 3: 4 ‘What do you mean’?

John 3: 9 ‘How are these things possible’?

John 3: 10-11 Nicodemus mind was darkened by sin and could not believe in Jesus

2/ Man’s (Mankind) will became enslaved by sin

When you share the Gospel with a non-Christian friend have you ever wondered why they resist what you are saying?

They will say things like: ‘No, I don’t believe you’

The reason they resist what you are saying is because their will is enslaved to sin

Apostle Paul said this about the enslaved will:

Romans 7: 14-15 ‘I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate’

Example: Jesus talking to Jewish religious leaders

Luke 22: 67-68 ‘they said, “Tell us, are you the Messiah?” He replied, “If I tell you, you won’t believe me. And if I ask you a question, you won’t answer”’.

The Jewish religious Leader’s will was enslaved by sin, and they refused to believe in Jesus

3/ Man’s (Mankind) emotions are set upon the pleasures of sin

When you share the Gospel with a non-Christian friend have you ever wondered why they choose the temporary pleasures of this World, which will eventually lead them to Hell, over the eternal blessings of God, which will eventually lead them to Heaven?

They will say things like: ‘No, this is my life and I will live it how I want’
The reason they dismiss what you are saying is because their emotions are set on the pleasures of sin

2 Timothy 3:4 ‘They…love pleasure rather than God’.

Example: Jesus talking to the rich young ruler

Luke 18: 18-23

Luke 18: 22-23

The rich young ruler’s emotions were set on the pleasures of sin and he chose not to believe in Jesus

In conclusion:

Wouldn’t you think that those people who had face to face encounters with Jesus would understand what He said, accept what He said, and choose to follow Him

The truth is: they couldn’t understand Him, they wouldn’t accept what He said, and they didn’t choose to follow Him, because their ‘nature’ was profoundly changed by sin

Nicodemus, the Jewish Religious Leaders and the Rich Young Ruler all had a face to face encounter with Jesus Christ, the visible image of the invisible God, through Whom God created everything (Colossians 1: 15-16), and yet they could not, would not, and chose not to believe in Him (at that time) and be saved!

How can that be possible?

‘Man’s’ (Mankind) ‘nature’ is spiritually dead in sin

Ephesians 2: 1

Man’s only hope of salvation is God’s sovereign saving work

Ephesians 2: 5 ‘It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved’!

What is the Gospel? # 2

Galatians 1: 6 ‘I am astonished that you are so quickly turning away from Him Who called you in the Grace of Christ to be His people and are turning to a different gospel.’

The Gospel is the good news of God’s sovereign saving work in your Life

Let’s begin explaining the Gospel by understanding Man’s (Mankind) need of salvation

*** In the beginning God created Man (Mankind)

Genesis 1: 31 Genesis 2: 1 tells us that in 6 days God created the Heavens and the Earth and everything in it, including Man (Mankind)

Genesis 1: 26-27 God made Man, male and female, in His own image, the greatest of all His creation

Genesis 1 & 2 In the beginning:
God created Man to be perfect Beings, just like God
God created Man to be eternal Beings that would live forever and never die, just like God
God created Man for fellowship with God
God created man to rule over all of God’s creation on the Earth
God created a perfect home for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden – a place where they could ‘get busy’ and populate the whole Earth

Special Note: God ordained marriage between the man and the woman, Adam and Eve – God did not ordain marriage between ‘Adam and Steve’

Genesis 2: 18, 22–24

*** Then God made a ‘Covenant’ with Man (Mankind)

This Covenant would protect the relationship between Man and God and ensure that Man would live forever

Genesis 2: 16–17

Compare: ‘Covenant’ vs ‘Agreement’

‘Covenant’: unilaterally decided, non-negotiable set of rules for a successful relationship

God alone decided the rules for Adam and Eve’s relationship with Himself

God said that the success of Adam and Eve’s relationship with Himself was conditional upon their obedience in not eating the fruit of the tree in the middle of the Garden of Eden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil

Genesis 2: 17 ‘If you eat its fruit you are sure to die’

‘Agreement’: bilaterally decided, negotiable set of rules for a successful relationship

Two people or 2 groups of people decide the rules for a relationship

Example: Marriage relationship = 2 people making and agreement

Him – ‘I promise to… her – ‘I promise to…’

*** Something really bad happened, Adam and Eve broke the ‘Covenant’ with God

Genesis 3: 1-8 the devil tempted them to eat the fruit and as they did, Sin was born in their ‘nature’

Genesis 3: 10 In guilt and shame Adam and Eve hid from God

Genesis 3: 9-24 God finds them and declares to them the consequences of their rebellion

Genesis 3: 19 at the end of a life filled with trouble they would die – ‘to dust you will return’

Genesis 3: 23 their relationship with God was broken – ‘God banished them’ from His presence

Adam and Eve became the subjects of God’s punishment

*** What does this mean for you and me who live 6, 000 years later in the 21st Century?

The consequences of Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God have become our consequences

Those consequences are: Separation from God and His blessings, and a Life filled with trouble, which ends in death and eternal separation from God

Romans 5: 12 ‘When Adam sinned, sin entered the World. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned’.

1 Corinthians 15: 22 ‘Everyone dies because all of us are related to Adam’,

Illustrate: Family tree/Adam and Eve the trunk and all people who ever lived are the branches

Because we are related to Adam and Eve we have also inherited Adam and Eve’s sinful ‘nature’

The Apostle Paul said of sinful human nature:

Ephesians 2: 3 ‘By our very nature we were subject to God’s punishment’

*** ‘You said the Gospel is good news – this is not good news’!

In one way you are right, it’s not good news, but in another way it is good news

In the same way that a key to the cell door is good news for a prisoner locked up in jail, the Gospel is good news for Man who is enslaved to Sin and condemned by God

For us to understand the Gospel we must first understand Man’s need of salvation – the Gospel is the ‘key’ to our salvation!

What is the Gospel? # 1

This is a very good question isn’t it?!

It’s a very good question because the Bible warns us that there are many ‘counterfeit’/false gospels that deceive people into believing that they are saved, when in fact, they are not

Apostle Paul said: Galatians 1: 6 ‘I am astonished that you are so quickly turning away from Him Who called you in the Grace of Christ to be His people and are turning to a different gospel.’

Here’s a sample of some of the common 21st Century ‘counterfeit’/false gospels

‘…different gospel’ = The ‘Emergent’ Church gospel, The ‘Seeker Sensitive’ gospel, The ‘Relevant’ Church gospel, The ‘Prosperity’ gospel, The ‘Self Improvement’ gospel, The ‘Ecumenical’ gospel, The ‘Go Back To Rome’ gospel, The ‘Chrislam’ gospel, The ‘Social’ Gospel, The ‘Hebrew Roots and Sacred Name’ gospel, and of course the usual…Jehovah Witness, Mormon, Scientology, Christian Science gospels

In this Message Series I am not going to spend any time explaining the belief systems of any ‘counterfeit’/false gospels

There is a much better way to expose ‘counterfeit’/false gospels than explaining what they believe

Explaining the true Gospel!

When we are familiar with the true Gospel it becomes very easy to recognize the ‘counterfeit’/false gospels

Illustrate: true/genuine $10 note v false/counterfeit $10 note

How do you know this one is the true/genuine $10 note?

Because you are familiar with the true/genuine $10 note?

You have had $10 notes in your wallets for years since 1967

In the same way that you have the responsibility to test a false/counterfeit $10 note in comparing it to a genuine $10 note,

In this new Series of Messages you have a responsibility to test what I say, to make sure that I present the true Gospel to you!

Acts 17: 11 ‘they studied the scriptures every day to see if what they were now being told was true.’
And I have a responsibility before God to accurately explain the true Gospel

Galatians 1: 9 ‘If anyone tells you another way to be saved, he should be condemned’!

I love the Gospel – and I will tell you why:

1/ The Gospel is the power of God to save us

Romans 1: 16 ‘I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes’

2/ The Gospel is the foundation of our faith

Colossians 1: 23 ‘continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the Gospel’

3/ Jesus began His ministry by preaching the Gospel

Luke 4: 18 ‘The Lord has put his Spirit in Me, because He has appointed me to preach the Gospel’

4/ Jesus ministry continues through us as we preach the Gospel

Mark 16: 15-16 ‘Jesus said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned’.

5/ The end of the World will come when the Gospel is preached to every nation

Matthew 24: 14 ‘And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come’.

6/ The early Church grew by preaching the Gospel

(The Apostle Paul was the first person to take the Gospel to Europe)

Acts 16: 10 ‘we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the Gospel to them’.

7/ The Gospel brings the blessings of God into our lives

Romans 15:29 ‘But I know that when I come to you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ’.

8/ The Gospel binds us together as a Church and makes us strong

Philippians 1: 5 ‘fellowship in the Gospel’

I agree with the Great Apostle Paul: 1 Corinthians 9: 16 ‘I’m in trouble if I don’t preach the gospel’.

In this new Message Series my aim in explaining the Gospel is to:

1/ Persuade lost Sinners to be saved – because the Gospel is the only Message that can save the lost

2/ Promote spiritually healthy Christian growth in our Church – because the Gospel has power to make us unshakeable in our faith

3/ Proclaim the glory of God – because the Gospel declares that salvation is a sovereign work of God

What is the Gospel?

Apostle Paul said: Galatians 1: 6 ‘I am astonished that you are so quickly turning away from Him Who called you in the Grace of Christ to be His people and are turning to a different gospel.’

The Gospel is the good news of God’s sovereign saving work in your Life