10/16/2022 - Part 4 - The Gospel: God’s Only Path to Salvation

Grace Place Atlanta COGBF 4700 Mitchell Street Forest Park, GA 30297 Website: atlantacogbf.org Email: info@atlantacogbf.org Phone: (404) 241-6781 Wayne D. Mack, Pastor / Pastor Wayne D. Mack Sermon Notes Sunday, October 16, 2022 The Gospel: Understanding Its Power! God’s Only Path to Salvation Part 4 Romans 1: 16 & 17 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” Start Here: This morning, I want to bring home the crux of our series on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In hopes that our learning has been enlightening over the past several weeks, I want to leave you with four practical characteristics that reveal the uniqueness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These are our takeaways. In today’s final installment, the goal is to make the four characteristics we’re about to engage in memorable and easy to understand and retain. As a reminder, especially to those joining us for the first time, The title of today’s message is The Gospel: Understanding Its Power! More precisely . . .[Understanding the Uniqueness of Its Power] So, what makes the Gospel unique? More unique than other religious dogmas, creeds, and beliefs? Let’s find out. The supporting text is found in the Book of Romans Chapter 1, verses 16 and 17 which read: 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” Now, here are FOUR Practical Characteristics that Make the Power of the Gospel Unique: Number ONE 1. The Gospel is the Devine Voice of God. It is the very voice of God. It is His very voice. Powerful, Sanctified, and Distinct. That Voice is at the same magnitude as when God first spoke the world into existence. It is similar to when God said: Let there be light . . . . and it was. The Gospel is more than “spoken word,” it is the Spirit of God talking to the lost, separated man. It is His divine call to an otherwise dead heart and deaf ear that can only be reached by His Voice which is Spirit and Life. [Think of it this way: Anytime the Gospel is preached, it is the very voice of God that is being spoken and hopefully heard. Anytime a person hears the Gospel, they are actually hearing the very voice of God. It is not to ever be confused with any other voice. Though Satan has tried to replicate it and infuse his twisted deceptive spin, the voice of God reigns supreme and untouchable. In essence, to hear the Gospel is to hear the very voice of God! Like John the Baptist said in the wilderness in John 1:22-24 . . . in response to the Pharisees (NKJV) 22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” 23 He [John] said: “I am The Voice [God’s Voice] .. The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the Lord,” as the prophet Isaiah said.” God’s voice is the voice above all voices. It is not just the loudest, it is all powerful, distinct, and clearly His own. In it “is the power of God to [one thing and one thing only] salvation for everyone who believes.” Consider these cases – o John 10:3 To Jesus the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. o John 10:4 & 5 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” o John 10:16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. o John 10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. o John 5:28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice. Anytime the true Gospel is spoken it is in reality God talking. There is no mistaking it; when the true Gospel is preached, taught, read, written, broadcasted, etc. – it is God Himself speaking His plan of salvation and deliverance face to face in man’s ear. When the Gospel is spoken, what is being heard is God’s voice only because The Gospel is the exclusive language of God, spoken only by God. Now, what is in the voice being spoken by God and heard by the sinner? It is the message that God, He Himself, is saying “I see you; I know you I see your sin saturated lives; nevertheless, I will forgive sins, deliver from sin’s power, and give you an eternal hope (Rom. 1:16; 1 Cor. 15: 1-4). The message of God’s voice comes not only as a gracious offer, but also as a command to be obeyed (Rom. 10:16). Paul was consumed with this message (1 Cor. 9: 19-23). The SECOND . . . Characteristics that Makes the Power of the Gospel Unique 2. The Gospel, When Rightly Divided, Points Only to Jesus and the Cross. Jesus and the Cross are the only two main ingredients of the Gospel. Without the two of them, it is not the Gospel, but a false gospel. Consider: What are the two main ingredients of: Pasta – Flour and Egg Mayonnaise – Egg Yolk and Oil Vinaigrette – Vinegar and Oil Without these, the end product is not true to its claim. The Gospel message of Christ and the Cross go hand in hand. You cannot separate the two and promote it as Gospel. Without the Christ and the Cross there is no shed blood, and therefore, no forgiveness of sin. And where the Cross and Christ are absent so is the hope and salvation of man. Listen to what the Bible tells us . . . beginning in. . . . Romans 3: 21-24 21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. 23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. [For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. KJV] 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in His sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. [NLT] Also, 1 Corinthians 1:17-19 [NKJV] . . . This is the Apostle Paul talking: 17 For Christ did not send me, Paul, to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” Nothing else, except the Cross, and no one else except Christ -- can be communicated as Gospel in hopes of putting man back in right relationship with God and rescuing him from himself. These two ingredients alone constitute the Gospel revealing to man his lostness and separation from God, and to providing hope through introducing God’s remedy for this separation. Other so-called gospels point to Buddha, Mohammad, Muhammad, Angels, Kabbalah, Krishna, Transcendentalism, Apostate Teachers, Sects, . . . and on and on. Here’s a sample of what the Scripture says about so-called gospels that are absent of Christ and the Cross . . . . Galatians 1: 6-9 says . . . 6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. Also . . . 2 Corinthians 11:4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it! Philippians 3:18 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Finally . . . Acts 4:11-13 teaches . . . NKJV 11 This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Other so-called gospels point to everything but to the Gospel of the Kingdom which points exclusively Jesus Christ and the Cross. The THIRD Characteristics that Makes the Power of the Gospel Unique 3. The Gospel is Jesus Personified! Jesus is the Gospel incarnate – alive and in the flesh. He is the living Word -- the full manifestation of God With Us and a clear example of the Gospel in the flesh, on display, its power in action. The Gospel truly is the embodiment of Jesus – the evidence, the epitome, demonstration, and manifestation of Christ. He Himself brings the power of the Gospel to life. Everything that the Gospel is and espouses is realized and exhibited in the life and work of Jesus Christ. I love what Luke says about Jesus in Acts 1: 1 & 2 NLT. Luke says of Jesus . . . 1 In my first book I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. Here, we are told by Luke -- of Jesus’ active involvement of being the epitome of the Gospel. Now, how was /is Jesus the living epitome and the full manifestation of the Gospel. Luke 4:17-19 (NKJV) best illustrates how Jesus served as the living Gospel. Here’s what it says . . . 17 And He [Jesus] was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Also in Matthew 4:24 Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. Matthew 12:15 But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. Plus, Colossians 1: tells us . . . 15 [Christ], The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Finally . . . John 21:25 – listen how it frames Jesus as the true essence of The Gospel personified! And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen. The FOURTH Characteristics that Makes the Power of the Gospel Unique is 4. The Gospel is: Preached by Human Vessels Sent by God and Believed by Sinners God has so graciously made man a partner and partaker in the work of communicating the Gospel to a lost world. Those who are called by God, plus any believer saved by grace, is an extension of Christ and the VOICE of God in sharing the GOSPEL. Jesus first reveals this thought in John 15:15; He says to His first disciples, that is, carriers of the Gospel: No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. Then, the Apostle Paul brings the thought into a full NT context: 2 Corinthians 4: 7-12 communicates it best . . . 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death is working in us, but life in you. Now, here are some practical application points: Romans 10:13-15 13 says: For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” 14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who -preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God; And how can they hear without a preacher; 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Here's what believing looks like by those who exercise their faith in Jesus Christ. Hebrews 11:6 expresses this best . . . But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. [Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved.] 1 Corinthians 4:14-16 14 I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you. 15 For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. 16 Therefore I urge you, imitate me. Benediction 25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began 26 but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith— Romans 16:25 & 26 The Gospel: Understanding Its Power! More precisely . . .[Understanding the Uniqueness of Its Power] END