We Do Not "Outgrow" the Gospel

We are gathered here today as a church family, but we are gathered in a public place. And because of that, there may be some listening who know Jesus Christ, and there may be others who have never understood what Christians mean when we talk about “the Gospel.”

So today I want to speak to both.

If you do not know Christ, I want you to understand the greatest news you will ever hear.

And if you do know Christ, I want to remind you that the Gospel is not something you believed years ago and then moved beyond.

We never outgrow the Gospel—we grow deeper in our understanding of it, deeper in our dependence upon it, and deeper in our responsibility to declare it.

The Gospel is not simply how the Christian life begins. It is the truth by which we are saved, the truth that shapes how we live, and the truth we have been entrusted to declare.

We must KNOW the Gospel.

We must LIVE the Gospel.

We must DECLARE the Gospel.

Before we talk about knowing the Gospel, let's make sure we're talking about the Gospel the Bible actually gives us.

The greatest importance 1 Corinthians 15:1–4

Paul explicitly identifies the content of the Gospel: Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised.

The death and resurrection of Christ is at the center and I want us to KNOW the gospel to begin with:

We are to KNOW the Gospel

In order for you and I to know the Gospel best we have to recognize that it BEGINS WITH GOD!!!… Not us!

God — John 3:16

God is holy, righteous, Creator and Judge—but He is also loving.

The Gospel begins with what God has done, not what man must accomplish.

Christianity's message isn't, “Make yourself good enough to get to God.”

The Gospel is that God acted to rescue sinners who could never rescue themselves.

Our Problem — Romans 3:23

Then comes the uncomfortable truth: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Sin isn't merely doing some exceptionally horrible thing.

Sin is rejecting God's rightful authority. It is lying, lusting, pride, selfishness, hatred, idolatry

Literally missing the mark of PEFECTION… "falling short of God’s Glory” (perfect holiness)

And notice Paul's word: “ALL”

There aren't two groups here—the good people and the bad people.

There are sinners who have been saved by grace and sinners who desperately need that grace.

The Consequence — Romans 6:23

This verse gives us wonderful Gospel contrast:

Wages vs. Gift.

Death vs. Life.

Sin vs. Christ.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

A wage is something you've earned.

A gift is something someone else purchased and gives to you.

Sin pays wages… YET… God offers a gift.

God's Solution — Romans 5:8

BUT GOD…

Once again our focus shifts to God!

God did not wait for us to clean ourselves up.

Christ didn't die for a future, improved version of us… “While we were yet sinners.”

Jesus Christ took the sinner's place. He died for our sins, was buried, and rose again.

Our Response — Ephesians 2:8–9

Let me make faith unmistakably clear…

• Not baptism.

• Not church attendance.

• Not being a good neighbor.

• Not giving money.

• Not becoming religious.

• Not turning your life around enough for God to accept you.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith…”

Grace means you cannot earn it.

Faith means you trust in Christ to receive what you could never earn.

Romans 10:9–10 demonstrates this in a powerful way.

If you're listening today & you've never trusted Jesus Christ, don't miss what I'm saying.

Christianity isn't asking you to become religious enough for God to accept you.

God is offering you what you could never earn—complete forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Christ did the work. The question is whether you will trust Him.

But church, that's not where the Gospel stops.

We are to LIVE the Gospel

Ephesians 2:8-9 is a powerful verse speaking to our RESPONSE of the Gospel…

HOWEVER it is Ephesians 2:10 that lays out the PURPOSE of the Gospel… “work He has planned for us!”

2 Corinthians 5:14–15 illustrates that our reciprocal “LOVE FOR CHRIST” is what controls how we live…

The Christ who died to save me now changes what I live for.

Paul describes being crucified with Christ, so that Christ’s life now operates through his faith Galatians 2:20 ““I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

This illustrates how the gospel becomes the force behind personal transformation

If Jesus died for me, what right do I have to continue living as though my life belongs entirely to me?

Philippians 1:27a gives a strong statement challenging our walk/lives: “conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ…”

Grace Bible Church Family… You are sitting in a public park, we are talking about the Gospel while the community can literally see you.

Church, look around us.

We're sitting in the middle of the community God has placed us in.

People around us may never walk through the doors of our building at 755 Spencer Parkway… BUT:

They may work beside us.

They may live next door.

They may see us in the grocery store.

They may watch how we treat our spouse, how we raise our children, how we conduct our business, how we respond when life hurts, and how we treat people who disagree with us.

If we say the Gospel has changed us, there ought to be evidence that the Gospel has changed us.

1 Peter 2:12 sums this up beautifully:

The issue isn't perfection… It's transformation.

We don't live differently so that we can become God's people…

We live differently because by grace we have become God's people.

If we KNOW the Gospel, and if the Gospel is truly shaping how we LIVE, then there is one more responsibility we cannot ignore:

We must DECLARE the Gospel.

We are to DECLARE the Gospel

Matthew 28:18–20 — We have been commanded.

Jesus did not say merely: Come… He said: Go!!!

The church is not supposed to wait for the lost world to find us.

Romans 10:14-15 — I started saying the importance of KNOWING the Gospel… “How will they believe (or KNOW), if they do not hear!? They must hear!

“How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard?”

Church, think about that question.

How will they hear?

God has chosen to place the treasure of the Gospel into the hands and mouths of ordinary believers.

Preach the gospel, use your feet to carry it to work, your neighborhoods, our community

The responsibility of Gospel witness isn't confined to one who stands behind a pulpit.

Somewhere in this community is someone who needs to hear about Jesus Christ—and God may have already put the person who needs to tell them in their life.

It may be you!!!

That's a tremendous connection to your emphasis on Scripture:

We don't have to make the Gospel impressive.

We don't have to make it culturally acceptable.

We don't have to make it clever.

We have to faithfully declare it… and live it out!

The Gospel saves us. The Gospel shapes us. The Gospel sends us. THEREFORE: Know it. Live it. Declare it.

Now I Invite You…

To Know Him

Live for Him

Declare Him

So as we sit here together today, I want to leave you with three invitations.

Know Him.

Maybe today you know about Jesus, but you don't know Him.

You can have a relationship with Him today!

Know Him… But Christian—don't stop there.

Live for Him.

The Gospel isn't merely the doorway you walked through when you were saved.

It is foundational to everything that follows. Christ died and rose again so that we would “no longer live for” ourselves, “but for Him.”

Let the Gospel shape your marriage.

Let it shape your parenting.

Let it shape your priorities.

Let it shape your integrity.

Let it shape how you spend your time.

Let it shape how you respond to suffering.

Let it shape how you treat your neighbor.

Live for Him… And then—

Declare Him until He Returns!