What is the Gospel? # 7

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

Over the last few weeks we have learnt about

Man’s (Mankind) need of salvation – good news

God’s sovereignty in our salvation – God is sovereign

Today we begin to learn about how God saves us – His saving work

1 Timothy 1: 15 ‘Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners’

God saves us through Jesus Christ ‘sacrificial’ death on the cross for us

Romans 3: 20-25a

20, 23 God’s Word says that as Sinners we are separated from God by our Sin, and as Sinners, we are unable (Ephesians 2: 1) and unwilling (Romans 8: 7) to be ‘made right with God’ – we cannot save ourselves!

21 God has provided the way (John 14: 6) for us to be ‘made right with God’

22 We are ‘made right with God’ by placing our faith in Jesus alone (Acts 4: 12), because there is no other way to be saved

24 On the cross, Jesus took the penalty for our Sin, and through His death we are set free from Sin (Romans 5: 10)

25a We are ‘made right with God’ when we believe in Jesus and what He did for us on the cross (Romans 3: 26b)

The theme of this passage, repeated x3, is: Through Jesus ‘sacrificial’ death on the cross, we are ‘made right with God’

Jesus Himself explains how He we are ‘made right with God’

Matthew 20:28 ‘…the Son of Man came…to give his life as a ransom for many.’

Illustrate: ISIL kidnap victims then demand a ransom for their freedom

The ransom price is usually $millions of U.S.D

The kidnap victim pleads for the ransom to be paid

If the ransom is paid, the victim is set free

If the ransom is not paid the victim’s head is forever separated from his body

Explanation: Sin has kidnapped us and sentenced us to eternal separation from God

The only way to be set free is someone pay the ransom

The problem is, there is not enough money in the World to pay the ransom for our Sin

We plead for our salvation

Romans 7: 24 ‘Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death’?

Only Jesus can set us free!

Jesus has paid the ransom with His precious blood

1 Corinthians 6: 20a ‘Christ has paid the price for you’

Jesus not only paid the price for our freedom from Sin but also purchased us – We now belong to Him!

Romans 8: 1-2

Because we belong to Him we have the responsibility to honor Him with our lives and stay away from Sin

1 Corinthians 7: 23 ‘God paid a high price for you, so don’t be enslaved by the world’

The ransom for your Sin has been fully paid and now you are fully free!

Isaiah 53: 5-6, 8

This is how God saves us!

‘Maker Of The Universe’

The Maker Of The Universe…as Man, for man was made a curse. The claims of Law which He had made, unto the uttermost He paid.
His holy fingers made the bough, which grew the thorns that crowned His brow; The nails that pierced His hand were mined, in secret places He designed.
He made the forest from whence there sprung the tree on which His body hung; He died upon a cross of wood, yet made the hill on which it stood.
The sun that hid from Him its face, by His decree was poised in space. The sky that darkened o’er His head, by Him above the earth was spread.
The spear which spilled His precious blood was tempered in the fires of God. The grave in which His form was laid was hewn in rocks His hands had made.
The throne on which He now appears was His from everlasting years; But a new glory crowns His brow, and every knee to Him shall bow: The Maker Of The Universe. – F.W Pitt

What is the Gospel? # 6

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

When we say that God is Sovereign in His saving work we mean that God alone is the One who does the saving – we cannot save ourselves!

Ephesians 2: 8 ‘You have been saved by grace when you believed. You did not save yourselves (NOG Version: ‘You had nothing to do with it’); it was a gift from God’.

Q. Why is it impossible to save ourselves?

A. Because, as Sinners, we are both unable, and unwilling to save ourselves

Unable to save ourselves: Ephesians 2: 1 ‘dead’ in Sin

Unwilling to save ourselves: Romans 8: 7 ‘The sinful nature is always hostile to God’

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

Because the heart of sinful Man (Mankind) is both unable and unwilling to choose Jesus and be saved God takes the initiative to save us!

God is Sovereign in His saving work!

Here’s something we know: not everyone will be saved

Q. Why doesn’t God save everyone?

A. God could save everyone, but He doesn’t – in His Sovereignty, God chooses to save some people and allows others to bear the consequences of their own Sin, forever separated from the presence of God

God’s choice in saving some is not based upon them being good or being worthy to be saved; God’s choice is based solely upon His Sovereign will and good pleasure

Romans 3: 23 ‘All people have sinned and are not good enough for God’s glory’.

Dear Friends, here is the good news of the Gospel, God is Sovereign in His saving work!

Ephesians 1: 4-5 ‘Even before He made the world…

(Before He created Adam and Eve, before they sinned against God, before Jesus died on the cross for you, and before you were born)

…God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure’.

John 1: 12-13 ‘to all who believed Him and accepted Him (Jesus Christ) …they are reborn…not of the will of man, but of God.’

Jesus said: John 6: 44 ‘…no one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws them to Me…’

Acts 13: 48 ‘Everyone who had been chosen for eternal life then put their faith in the Lord’.

2 Thessalonians 2: 13 ‘From the beginning God chose you to be saved’

Q. How does it make you feel knowing that God, in His sovereign will, chose to save you!?

1 (For me) I am greatly motivated to live very day with praise and deep gratitude to God

Ephesians 1: 6

2 (For me) I am greatly encouraged to share the Gospel with anyone who will listen to me knowing that the ‘hand’ of God could be upon anyone of them for salvation

2 Timothy 2: 10

Soweto Gospel Choir – Happy Day

What is the Gospel? # 5

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

Today we begin to learn what it means when we say that God is sovereign in His saving work in our lives

This means that God is the One who does the saving – we cannot save ourselves

Ephesians 2: 8

Illustrate: Matthew 19: 16-26 (Luke 18: 18-27, Mark 10: 17-27)

16 ‘What good deed must I do to have eternal life’

17 ‘keep the commandments’

18-20 He had kept/practiced the 6 commandments concerning being in right relationship with other people
(Exodus 20: 12-17)

(In the eyes of the ‘World’ he was a good man)

21 Jesus invited him to keep/practice the first 4 commandments, (Exodus 20: 3-11), which concern being in right relationship to God, and which Jesus summarized by inviting him to, ‘follow Me’

22 He turned and walked away

Q. Why did he turn and walk away?

A. He believed he could save himself by being a good person, living a good life and doing good things

25 Look how the disciples reacted

26 Jesus reminded them that sinful Man (Mankind) cannot save himself – God is the One who does the saving

Let us remind ourselves again why we cannot save ourselves

Ephesians 2: 1-3

We cannot save ourselves because we are ‘dead’ in sin and subject to God’s punishment

Here’s the Good News of the Gospel: God alone is the one who does the saving

And He does this by raising us from the ‘dead’ and giving us new life

Ephesians 2: 4-5

5 ‘It is only by grace that you have been saved’

Think about this: How can a sinner save himself?

He can’t!

Only God can save him

1 Timothy 1: 13-15

In the past, Paul was a wicked man, he was the worst of the worst

But God had mercy on him and saved him (Acts 9)

Paul was transformed by God’s love and mercy and the Main Message of his ministry became “Christ came into the World to save sinners”

God can save the worst of sinners, and, God can save the nicest of sinners

Though God saves us, we have the responsibility to respond to the offer of His saving grace

Ephesians 2: 8 ‘God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God’.

Even our belief/our faith in Jesus is given to us as a gift by God

Illustrate: Acts 16: 11-15

13 Several woman heard Paul’s message but God only saved one of them

14a Lydia was not a New Testament Believer, she was a convert to Judaism – she only believed in parts of the Old Testament

14b ‘and the Lord opened up her heart (CEV ’made her willing’) to respond to what Paul was saying’

Sequence: (1) The Lord opened Lydia’s heart/’made her willing’ (2) Lydia responded to the Gospel

Dear Friends, the Gospel is the Good News of God’s sovereign saving work in our lives!