Getting The Gospel Right

Introduction

Last weekend was quite special.

We got to commemorate the death of Christ on Good Friday.

We celebrated the resurrection of Christ on Resurrection Sunday.

So, this morning, I want to speak once again the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus form the fundamental message and basis in Christianity called The Gospel.

The Gospel is the most important message.

It is the key message for how a sinner can be saved from sin and from the wrath to come...

…and, thus, become a Christian or a follower of Jesus.

Not only that, the gospel is important for the spiritual growth of a believer.

By God’s mercy and grace, our Christian life ought to be different because of the gospel.

Our lives ought to reflect God’s holiness.

Our love for God and His word ought to deepen.

Our love for one another ought to be sacrificial and genuine.

Plus, the gospel is an urgent message for lost sinners.

Followers of Jesus are given the responsibility to proclaim the gospel and make disciples of all nations.

Yet, here is the question: “What Is The Gospel?”

If I were to ask you this question, how would you answer?

I have asked this question to people in the church.

As a pastor, the concerning thing for me is the amount of people who cannot answer that question accurately and correctly.

Even though I have brought up the gospel many times in a teaching setting, some still don’t even know how to answer that question OR get the answer incorrect.

Since the gospel is a fundamental message in Christianity, it is important to know the gospel accurately.

Getting the gospel wrong leads to getting Christianity wrong.

Getting the gospel wrong leads to believing in a false gospel.

Getting the gospel wrong leads to proclaim another gospel.

Ultimately, getting the gospel wrong can lead one straight to eternal condemnation.

Getting the gospel right is foundational to our Christian faith.

Getting the gospel right is a non-negotiable matter.

If you have been going to church for many years, and you have never heard the gospel, you have entirely missed the point of the Bible and Christianity

During the combined services, you may remember that I talk about the importance of priority and not having a misplaced priority.

In January, I exhorted you that God’s Glory Must Be Our First Priority.

In February, I encouraged you that Preparing For Jesus’ Return Must Be Your Priority.

So, I’ll continue with the theme on priority that I started at the beginning of the year.

The simple point for this message is this: “Getting The Gospel Right Must Be Our Priority.”

Illustration

Context

Our text from 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 is short and simple.

1 Corinthians 15 is all about the good news of the resurrection.

The Apostle Paul was addressing an issue that some of the Christians in Corinth had.

Some did not believe in the resurrection of the dead.

However, Paul counteracts them.

He lays down the most comprehensive teaching on the doctrine of the resurrection.

If Christ was not raised from the dead, the Christian faith is rather futile.

But Christ was raised from the dead.

And Paul gives evidence for the resurrection of Christ.

In 1 Corinthians 15:5-11, he talks about the 500 eyewitnesses that witnessed Christ’s resurrected body.

But, I want to draw our attention to only verses 1-4.

Exposition

What is NOT the Gospel?

What is the Gospel?

What Is The Gospel?

The “Gospel” simply means the “good news”. In fact, this is a very important message in the entire Bible. The Apostle Paul would say this message is the “first importance”. (1 Corinthians 15:3) If you have been going to church for many years and you have never heard the gospel, then you have entirely missed the point of the Bible and Christianity. We are going to understand what the “good news” is, which is summarized into four words: God, Sin, Jesus, Response.

God

Who is God? In the beginning, the Bible introduces us to God. The Bible assumes God’s existence. God is the Creator of the universe (Genesis 1-2). When God created the world, it was good. When God created humans - Adam and Eve - it was very good.

God is personal. The purpose that God created humans was for them to be in a relationship with Him and to enjoy Him. God placed them in the Garden of Eden, and Adam and Eve were both naked and were not ashamed as the first married couple and first perfect people.

God is completely and absolutely sovereign. (Acts 2:23; Ephesians 1:3-6; 1 Peter 1:1-2) God has the ultimate control of everything at all times, and there is no one like Him (Isaiah 46: 9b-11). God has a purpose for everything, and He does allow certain events - evil, catastrophe, disasters - to happen for a good reason even though we may not fully comprehend them because our “thoughts are not [God’s] thoughts, neither are [our] ways [God’s] ways.” (Isaiah 55:8-9) As Joseph said to his brothers who sold him into slavery, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to ring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Genesis 50:20) God is absolutely sovereign in such a way that He can still use evil for good.

God’s character can also be described in many ways. God is eternal, unchangeable, infinite, holy, love, merciful, gracious, just, truth, wrathful, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, and more. (Exodus 34:6-7; Leviticus 19:2; Jonah 4:2; 1 John 4:8; Revelation 4:8b) Although God cannot be fully comprehended because He is indescribable, the Bible provides us with sufficient knowledge to have a personal relationship with Him.

Adam and Eve were to enjoy and care for God’s created world under His rule and directions. God, therefore, commanded, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)

Everything was perfect until the serpent, Satan, came into the scene (Genesis 3; Revelation 12:9).

Sin

Satan was crafty and deceitful. Satan manipulated Eve by questioning God’s word, “Did God really say [this]?” (Genesis 3:1) He deceived and told half-truth to Eve. Eve gave into the lies of Satan and ate the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. She also gave a fruit to Adam. However, when they ate, they did not die physically (Gen 2:17), but rather they died spiritually. They became ashamed of their nakedness. They hid from God. Because they sinned, God cursed them (Genesis 3:14-19). God cast them out of the Garden of Eden. Their relationship with God was separated. Sinned, therefore, has entered into the world.

What exactly is sin? Easton’s Bible dictionary provides an extended definition of sin as,

“Any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God” (1 John 3:4; Rom. 4:15), in the inward state and habit of the soul, as well as in the outward conduct of the life, whether by omission or commission (Rom. 6:12–17; 7:5–24). It is “not a mere violation of the law of our constitution, nor of the system of things, but an offence against a personal lawgiver and moral governor who vindicates his law with penalties. The soul that sins is always conscious that his sin is (1) intrinsically vile and polluting, and (2) that it justly deserves punishment, and calls down the righteous wrath of God. Hence sin carries with it two inalienable characters, (1) ill-desert, guilt (reatus); and (2) pollution (macula).”, Hodge’s Outlines.

In order to fully appreciate the good news, we have to begin with the bad news. Because God is good and just, He punishes rebellion and sin. (Proverbs 6:16-19; Romans 1:18-3:20) All people have inherited the sin of Adam (Romans 5:12-14). From birth, all people are alienated from God, hostile to God, and subject to the wrath of God (Eph. 2:1-3) because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) All have failed to meet God’s standard of holiness. All have failed to obey God’s commandments. All have rebelled against God. All are enemies of God from birth. All who reject God are heading towards damnation - hell.

Everyone is born in a sinful state and condition. Sin permeates our innermost being and is at the core of the human soul (Matthew 15:19-20). The root cause of sin is man’s rebellion against God. Sin places man at the center of all activity and removes God from His rightful place as Creator and Lord. It affects our intellect (2 Corinthians 4:4), conscience (1 Timothy 4:2), will (Romans 1:28), and heart (Ephesians 4:18). Sin is not just failure and lack on our behalf, or even a deficiency of some sort, but it is the lack and rejection of true knowledge (Romans 1:18). Sin would also consist of acts that we do and fail to do. The result of sin is that man is totally depraved (Ephesians 2:1-3). Total depravity does not mean we are incapable of loving people and doing nice things. It means that we are incapable of saving ourselves or even choosing to follow God.

The Bible uses the word or phrase, “flesh” or “sinful nature”, to describe what a person who lives and acts sinfully. Such “flesh” or “sinful nature” is manifested in these lifestyles or actions: “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.” (Galatians 5:19-21) People who habitually practice these will not inherit eternal life.

Through redemptive-history in the Old Testament, we are given many examples of God’s people failing to meet the standard of holiness. God’s people were still sinners. Famous characters such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon and etc. have sinned against God and made countless mistakes.

People down through the ages have sought to reach God by their own efforts and deeds - religions, philosophy, good works, going to church, not doing bad things and etc. People think that doing good deeds would grant them an entrance into heaven. People think that doing good deeds would help them outweigh their bad deeds - a teaching in Islam. There is, however, nothing that we can do to earn our merit or favor or salvation from God. Why is that? Those who do not have a personal relationship with God, “all our righteous deeds are like polluted garment” or “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6; Read also Psalm 14). Unless we have been born-again and live in the Spirit, we cannot please God (Romans 8:8).

Apart from God, we are hopeless, depraved, spiritually dead. Sin has broken our relationship with God, and has dire consequences. If we were to die tonight without having a relationship with God, then we will be judged by God for our sins and we will be sent to hell (Romans 6:23a). Hell is the place where we chose not to be with God. Hell is a place where there is nothing good, including friendship. Hell is a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.

At the same time, when God cursed humanity, Satan was also cursed. And this curse was also to show God’s grace and goodness because it points towards a greater hope in the future; that one day, Satan will be destroyed by a woman’s offspring. (Genesis 3:15) Theologians have called this “protoeuangelion” - the first gospel. God has a plan to restore His relationship with humanity.

The Good News - Jesus Christ

God is also loving, patient, gracious, compassionate, and merciful upon our hopelessness. God offers us the GOOD NEWS that is found in Jesus Christ. God sent His perfect sinless Son into the world to die on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. On the cross, Jesus took the punishment of our sins- the punishment that we deserve; the righteous Person died for the unrighteous sinners. In God’s power, He raised Jesus from the dead on the 3rd day, conquering Satan, sin, and death. He alone gives new life, and He will return to judge the world. Through Jesus, sinners can receive total forgiveness of sin and His righteousness. So…

Our Response To The Gospel

How would you respond to gospel? You can confess your sins, repent of your sins and place your faith in Jesus as Lord and Saviour so that you can receive salvation and eternal life. Repentance means walking away from sin and walking towards God, and follow Jesus. It is ONLY Jesus who can save us from sin and judgment.

But, you can choose to reject the message, God, and His gift of eternal life. And you can continue to live in sin, rebellion and disobedience – living life your own way. As a result, if you die tonight or when Jesus returns the 2nd time, you will be condemned by God in hell forever.

Conclusion

We cannot live out the Christian life without the gospel.

Nor we can outlive the gospel in our Christian life.

We need to be reminded of the grace and love of God shown to unworthy sinners through Jesus Christ.