American Gospel #2 (10)
American Gospel • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Introduction
Announcements
Prayer Requests
Jim Freeman, doing better! Hoping to be discharged a week from today
Tanya Kearns’ husband, Jim, surgery tomorrow morning (open heart)
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We’re finally at the point where we’re on our final chapter in this study that’s looked specifically at the cross of Jesus Christ and why Jesus had to die and what exactly the cross does for sinners like you and me. We’ve seen arguments made by many different people against the clear teaching of Scripture that Jesus Christ came to live a perfect life in order to sacrifice Himself on the cross and win for us the victory that we could never win for ourselves. Some argued according to their feelings, others argued based on opposing viewpoints and worldviews, but the repeated thing that we’ve seen in this study is that some people just don’t like the cross. As we prepare to land the plane tonight on this study, I want us to begin by asking ourselves this question: Why do some people hate the Gospel?
The Gospel is good news - yet some hate it!
The reason they hate it is because they don’t think that it applies to them. They don’t see themselves as a sinner in desperate need of a Savior.
They don’t like the idea of someone having to die for their sins - that sounds harsh and mean.
Many people in this study have pointed to their own intellect (that’s not how I would do it if I were God) instead of trusting in Scripture. What we have to understand from the onset tonight is that there are things in this life that we cannot understand and the God of the Bible is infinitely above anything our brains can fully grasp. Isaiah 55:8-9
8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways.” This is the Lord’s declaration.
9 “For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
What we need is not more of us and less of God’s Word, what we need is infinitely more of God and significantly less of us! We need to see things God’s way and this includes the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the good news that Jesus Christ saves sinners.
Tonight’s lesson is on the glory of God. Whenever you think of God’s glory, what do you first think of?
Creation
Crucifixion
Consummation
The glory of God is the “manifestation of the perfection of all His attributes.” This emphasizes His greatness and transcendence above us (Isaiah 6:3 - His glory fills the whole earth).
3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
If Jesus Christ is the radiance of God’s glory, what does that tell us about the cross? The cross is where we see an intersection of the glory of God as His justness and mercy meet in the open for all to see! If you look in the back of our sanctuary, you’ll see our church mission statement: We exist to glorify God by proclaiming the Gospel, making disciples, and loving God and others as He commands of us. These are ways that we glorify God and the Bible tells us that this is why we exist - to do everything for His glory! To reflect His goodness and glory to others as we follow His will and submit to His plan. Let’s see what the cross has to do with the glory of God
Play Video:
What initial problem do you see with Todd White’s view of the cross?
“The cross to me…” How about, according to the Bible, the cross is _________
“See, the cross to me isn’t the revelation of my sin. The cross is actually the revealing of my value. Something underneath of that sin must have been of great value for heaven to go bankrupt to get me back!” Todd White
6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.
8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
12 All have turned away; all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one.
So many speakers and churches are centered on self! They’ll talk about self-worth and things of this nature so often that the focus turns away from a Savior who alone is able to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10) and instead turns towards us as finite sinners and exalts us to the point that people think that they deserve the cross at best or at worst, don’t need Jesus at all. Carl Trueman put it like this in his book, “Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self.” “At the core of this present age of angst is the coincidence of the psychological self and the liquefaction of traditional institutions.”
What we see in our strange world is that more and more people are searching for purpose and identity and fewer and fewer people are building a solid foundation in their home and church. More and more people are looking inward for the answers to their questions about purpose rather than looking outside for answers - and looking inside for answers will not satisfy! How many of you have heard for the early Christian leader named Augustine? We looked at him a little bit this spring during our church history series - he wrote a book called Confessions which we could call the first great psychological autobiography of sorts. Confessions is a masterpiece, and a book that many students are required to read. What you see in Confessions is that Augustine does examine his own heart and his own life… but what he finds as he looks inward isn’t all that good. Yes, he is made in the image of God like Genesis 1:26 says, but as he looks inward, he is reminded of his own sin.
If sin is as pervasive as the Bible claims that it is, what do we truly need?
Not just a little tune up or an oil change
We need a full on resurrection
“If 'self' is the problem, then 'self' can't be the solution. You need Someone outside of 'self' to save and change you.” Shane Pruitt
Such a helpful statement for us to reflect on! If we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God, yes, we are still God’s image bearers and yes human life is sacred and it matters, but if we are the problem… we can’t be the solution. We can’t just try to work harder and save ourselves or make ourselves attractive or “worth” saving - it doesn’t work that way. We need Someone else to save us from this problem - and this is what we see on the cross. Our Savior taking our place. In Christ we find worth - not in self. Our identity is in Christ and He calls us an adopted child of His. He calls us loved, chosen, forgiven, and friend. That’s where we find our worth - in what He says, not in how we feel.
*Thoughts on the song situation: Are we “worth dying for?” Tricky because if we say yes without qualification then we deserved it and our salvation and the cross is due to merit - we deserved it!
One of the biggest questions in this specific episode was in regards to the Therapeutic Gospel vs Biblical Gospel
God loves me because I’m valuable
I’m valuable because God loves me
Think of the things that we love - things that are attractive and useful to us
But God loves people who dropped the ball and are dead in sins… We are called His enemies before the cross! Yet, He loves us.
What are some of the therapeutic gospel messages out there and why are they so popular?
Contrast this with the Biblical Gospel - why do some people think that it won’t “sell” quite as well?
Joel Osteen example - he’s not dumb, he knows what sells and what will pack a stadium! Why does it work?
Original sin discussion
Many believe that original sin isn’t true - we aren’t born as a sinner, we choose to sin later on in life… Yet, this is what we see in Scripture
10 as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one.
11 There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away; all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one.
1 Be gracious to me, God, according to your faithful love; according to your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion.
2 Completely wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you—you alone—I have sinned and done this evil in your sight. So you are right when you pass sentence; you are blameless when you judge.
5 Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned.
We see over and over here that we are not only sinners because we choose to sin, which we all do. But we are sinners because we are human beings and because of Adam in the Garden of Eden, we inherit a fallen sinful nature. David said that he was guilty whenever he was born and sinful when he was conceived. This is heavy language, certainly… but how can a proper view of original sin help us better understand the cross?
Why do many attack original sin?
Makes us feel a whole lot better!
My Worth is Not in What I Own - song lyric that is helpful here as the chorus says over and over
And I rejoice in my redeemer
Greatest treasure
Wellspring of my soul
I will trust in him, no other
My soul is satisfied in him alone
We see all of His attributes on the cross of Christ - love and wrath, goodness and kindness, justice and mercy! God can be both and, not just either or.
How does this reality (God can be just and merciful) help you in your walk with God?
The cross demonstrates the justness of God (sin is serious) and the mercy of God (God makes a way for sinners to be reconciled)
Even though I still fall short and deserve God’s justice, because of Jesus, I am treated with mercy from God. This helps me in my walk with Him every day as I remember my position (adopted son) and my purpose (to glorify Him)!
There are false teachings in our world and even in churches that we must be able to understand and defend from Scripture what is right and what is wrong. My prayer with this study is that we would become more aware of things that are being taught and be able to go to Scripture and defend “Book. Chapter. Verse.” what the Bible teaches about salvation and the cross and our purpose.
Our next study will be over 1 Peter and it’ll start next Wednesday night with the first 12 verses of chapter 1 - hope to see you all then!