Gospel of your salvation

Ephesians 1: 13,14 KJV

13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Pray:

I want to key in this morning on the phrase, “the gospel of your salvation.”

Not long ago I was walking in the park. And I saw this guy sitting by the side of the water reading his bible. He looked up at me and invited me to sit down. At first, I thought this guy is wearing sandals, has a beard and blue eyes. And he’s reading a bible. This should be a fun conversation. After a little friendly back and forth the man explained to me that he was a Judahite. Meaning that he believed that the only way a person could be saved was through the keeping of the law. So, I was polite, and I heard him out. And discovered that he was there to celebrate an old lesser-known Hebrew religious ceremony. Being the guy, I am I decided to share my views. Now I didn’t have own sandals and I wasn’t carrying my bible with me. But I decided to try anyway. I began at Genesis and worked my way through to the apostle Paul. I quoted Ephesians 2:8-19 and John 10:27.

His response was somewhat surprising but given religion today not completely unexpected. We have our own bible he said to me. In cases like that the best thing you can do for that person is to pray for them. You all know how I feel about the proliferation of modern bible translations. It invites people to have their own interpretation and that isn’t good.

Therefore Ephesians 1 here says very specifically the word of truth. The word of truth is the Holy Bible. Just as it was written and not as man has changed it.

When out visiting with people and sharing with them the gospel I hear a great number of gospels. But few, if any are the gospel of salvation.

You see the gospel of good works is not the gospel of salvation. The gospel of church membership is not the gospel of salvation. The gospel of baptism is not the gospel of salvation, False gospels abound in this world. Many preach the gospel of the law of Moses; many preach the gospel of water Baptism and the gospel of water baptism. The gospel of emotions and feelings. The gospel of church membership. The gospel of the prosperity preacher. The gospel of signs and miracles. There are far too many for me to list. These are all false gospels. And none of them can save your soul. Today I’m going to be talking about the only gospel that saves.

Folks the old covenant is abolished. Turn over just one page to Ephesians 2: 14-18KJV

14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;

15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.

18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

I want you to make a note that the word enmity in verse 16 means hate. When Jesus went to the cross, he slew or destroyed hate. Now if you go back and you look at Genesis 3:15 you will note that God put enmity or hatred between the seed of Adam and the seed of the devil. I’m not going to get into that in depth now. But I want you to keep that on your mind as we go forward in today’s message.

The Old Testament ordinances are the enmity of which he speaks here. The OT ordinances are the enmity of which he speaks. The Old Covenant has been abolished by the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Look at Colossians 2: 13,14.

13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

You and I who have been born again through faith in Christ. We are not waiting to be resurrected. We have already been resurrected in Christ. And that is no longer taught in our churches. This is a spiritual fact. We have been spiritually resurrected in Christ already. Having forgiven you of all trespasses. And blotting out the handwriting of the ordinances, taking it out of the way and nailing it to his cross.

To be saved you must understand that the old covenant has been nailed to the cross and has been abolished forever. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the new covenant. Christ is the mediator of the new covenant.

1 Timothy 2:5 KJV

5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

The Catholic priest is not your mediator. Mary is not your mediator; the protestant minister is not your mediator. The baptist minister is not your mediator. The Muslim Imam is not your mediator. There is only one mediator between God and man, and it is Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 8:6 KJV

But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

Hebrews 9:15 KJV

And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

The first testament proved our sinfulness. The only thing the first testament did was give us a death sentence. Thou shalt not do this or shalt not do that. And we broke all of them. And as a result. You shall die. The first testament promises death. The new testament promises life. they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

One cannot enjoy the promises of the new covenant as long as they are still looking to the old covenant. One can never know the salvation of the new covenant as long as they continue to feel indebted to the old covenant. If you are then you have not tasted the salvation of the new covenant. The new covenant alone is the gospel that saves.

The gospel that saves can only be applied when we comprehend the utter spiritual bankruptcy of our souls. Christianity needs a reformation to the old ideas and teachings. Many of you may remember the survey I mentioned in another message done by George Barna.

You can go online and read his surveys he has been doing this for a number of years. It is George Barna B A R N A. Of the Barna group for those of you who are interested in reading up on his work.

Maybe you recall these numbers, but they apply to today’s message: To repeat: the Barna survey states that over 176 million people claim to be Christians. Of those only 15 million have a biblical worldview. Two thirds of the country claim to be Christians but only 9% have a biblical worldview. This suggests that less than 10% of church members are truly born-again Christians. In other words, 90% of those who go to church have never been saved. Of the 15 million 50% of them over half of them say that man is basically good. These are the ones who have a biblical world view. Over half think that man is basically good. Folks man is not basically good.

Mark 10:18 KJV

And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.

Paul said in Romans 3:12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

To reject the spiritual depravity of man is to replace the imputed righteous of God through faith in Jesus Christ with human self-righteousness. Which provides no redemption at all. In other words, if you believe yourself to be basically good, what you are saying is that the sacrifice of Christ on the cross wasn’t necessary and that you reject it. You are saying that you do not need Christ to be saved. So more than half of the Christians in America who claim to have a biblical worldview, around 15million. 60 percent of that 15 million are basically denying the need for Christ bc they believe that man is basically good.

Oh, I know I’m not perfect, but I’m not bad. The media asked a former President if he had ever asked God’s forgiveness. This was his response. No, he said. I have not. I haven’t done anything that needs to be forgiven he said. I heard the interview myself. Yet people worship this guy as though he was the answer to all the world’s problems.

People believe that we just deserve good things. Because we are all basically good people. Some Evangelists on television go as far as to suggest that we have the power to command God to do as we want. We deserve the things we want. After all we are basically good, and God wants us to prosper. Over and over, we hear from these guys. We deserve to never suffer. God would never make us suffer. Or so they think. Tell that to the early Christians in the New Testament. Tell that to the missionaries in China. Tell it to the Christians in Burma. Tell it to the Christians in Eastern Europe. Tell it to the Christians who have been persecuted for centuries. As Americans we have lost our perspective on reality. The gospel of Christ has become the gospel of us. It is no longer about what we can do for Christ and has become what Christ can do for us. We must realize the total spiritual depravity of our souls. Listen to Isaiah 64:6 KJV

But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Romans 3: 9-19 KJV

9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; Judeans and Greeks.

10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:

14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:

15 Their feet are swift to shed blood:

16 Destruction and misery are in their ways:

17 And the way of peace have they not known:

18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.

19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

Salvation is not your birthright. Damnation is. The proper translation of this verse is Judean and Greek. God is telling us that all races of men are wicked, and their righteousness is as filthy rags. There are people in this world who believe that to be born white means that you are Gods chosen and that salvation is your birthright. That belief is false. There are people who believe in today’s world that if you are born black that you are the Hebrews of the OT, and that salvation is your birthright. God says no. You are just as sinful as the rest of us. There are people who believe that being born a Jew makes you chosen and gives you a birthright to salvation. Again, in the eyes of God we are all sinners, and we all deserve eternal damnation for our sin. The only way to heaven is through the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. And if you think that you are going to heaven because of your race then you are fooling yourself. And many people twist the bible to teach white supremacism, black supremacism, and Jewish supremacism. But there is no such thing as a master race or a superior race. Zionism is nothing but the teaching of modern day Pharisees’.

1 John 2:22

Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

Modern religion says. Well unless he or she is Jewish. They can reject Christ, but God loves them so much more than the rest of us that it is ok. Folks that is Jewish supremacism and it is anti-Christ and anti-God. God doesn’t care about your race. We are all equally unrighteous, we are all equally sinners, all of our righteousness is as filthy rags. Judean or Greek. It makes no difference. If you believe that you can follow the OT law to salvation you are in for a rude awakening regardless of your race. By the way Judea in bible times had Romans, Idumeans, Greeks, some Israelites from the tribe of Judah and Benjamin and Ethiopians. It was multicultural. But a religious group known as Pharisees believed themselves to be above sin. They were self-righteous. And that is who the bible is calling out here.

Can you imagine if I started teaching that God only loves white people? That we can reject Christ but it’s ok with God. He has a special plan to bring us white people back to Him. You would be outraged. And rightly so. But every single Sunday these television Evangelists and heretics like John Hagee get up and preach that God loves Israel more than anyone else. That they are special, and they are chosen. Wrong. God used the Hebrews, the Israelites. And they were not now nor were they ever Jews. And it wouldn’t matter if they were. God used a donkey. I’m certainly not going to start worshiping donkeys.

James 2:10

For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

Folks every single one of us regardless of race is just as guilty as the thief on the cross.

The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day. And there though I as vile as he, washed all my sins away.

You see God didn’t come to save righteous people. Because there is none righteous no not one. Jesus came to save sinners. And if you don’t realize that you are a sinner and repent of your sins. Then you simply cannot be a child of God.

So, the first step to true salvation is realizing that you are a sinner and that your works are dirty rags in the sight of God. That Jesus Christ nailed both the law and hate to the cross. Have you ever wondered why so many reject Christ? He nailed our sins to the cross. He nailed the law to the cross. He nailed hatred to the cross. The teachings of Christ are not the teaching of hate. It is not the teaching of separation based on race or political differences. It is a teaching that brings us all together. Greeks and Judeans alike. Any Pastor who refuses to teach his people the truth doesn’t love them. And any Pastor who refuses to tell people that they are sinners who cannot get to heaven without Christ doesn’t love his people. He’s just a hireling.

I want you to think about the thief on the cross that day. What did he see that made him turn to Christ? The secret to understanding the true power of God is in the following words:

Father forgive them for they know not what they do. Love. The bible tells us that God is omnipotent. That means all powerful. The bible also tells us that God is love. That means that love is all powerful. Right? Imagine what kind of life you would have if you decided to follow the example of Christ and just love everybody. Think about it. Now you can continue wasting your life loving money and loving things. Obsessing over that new car or that new house or money. Or you could be like Christ and understand that true power is in loving people.

By this shall all men know that you are my disciples. You see it doesn’t say. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples. That you are white, that you are black, that you are a Jew. No. It says they know you are my disciples because you love one another. You demonstrate the true personality of God. LOVE. And love cannot be defeated.

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

What was the power that the disciples received to be witnesses? Was it tongues? Was it water baptism? Was it a divine revelation that all men are basically good? NO. It was the power to love people where they find them. The power they received was the love of God. The word power there means a special force. A miraculous power. I believe that power was the ability to LOVE sinners as vile as we all are, it requires a heart transplant from God to love them enough to share the message of the gospel. The thief on the cross saw the love of God. Having been beaten and tortured and spit upon and crucified. Only a loving God could respond with forgiveness. Can you imagine what God would do with a church that could show that much love to a society that clearly hates it.

What do people see when they look at you? Do they see a person who thinks he is above sin? Do they see a person who thinks they are better than everyone else? Or do they see a person who loves them no matter what? Ladies and gentlemen love is the most powerful thing in the Universe. Love never fails.

God found you and me where we were. Filthy rags. Sinful. Vile. Repulsive. Degenerates. And if you realized in that moment that nothing you could do could merit Gods favor. And you repented of your sinful ways and had faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. And genuinely asked for Gods forgiveness. Then you have within you the very same power that God is telling us about in Acts 1:8. You have the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. What are you doing this morning with that tremendous gift? Are you allowing Satan to use hate, materialism, envy, and sin to hide your gift? OR listen to me. OR are you walking with Christ rejoicing in His gift. Loving, not judging your fellow man. Do people look at you and your behavior and go away thinking. That is the most kindhearted loving person I’ve ever met. Not because you give a lot of money. Not because we do a lot of things for the church. But because the love of God is so strong in you that all they ever see is a smile and love. The true love of God. Folks that is what attracts people. That is why people followed Jesus around. No doubt they enjoyed the miracles. No doubt they enjoyed his sermons. But I believe that more than anything else, they were attracted to the real and genuine love he demonstrated to people, even in our vile and sinful state.

Do you have that kind of salvation this morning?