The Clear Gospel

Tonight we will talking about the Gospel.

Tonight we will talking about the Gospel.

Here at Word of life, the Gospel is central in everything that we do. It is the central message of the Bible, and the one thing God wants you to understand. What kind of message? it is a message of what Jesus has done. It is an announcement, an invitation, and an offer. The gospel is so amazing, it demands a response. What kind of response?

First...

Lets take a closer look.

The Gospel is an announcement that your debt is paid.

You are saved from the penalty of sin.

It has already been discussed this week how our sin separates us from God. God is just God who must punish sin. He is a holy and perfect God who keeps all everything that is not good out of heaven. All of us were born with a sin nature, we do bad things without even trying.

Imagine something for me. Imagine these two people were in a court room. Imagine the judge decided not to convict these criminals because they paid their taxes and did community service. Would that be justice? Sin is horrible and must be punished.

Everyone has sinned. What kind of God would let our sin go just because we did some good things to? Each of us has earned death by the things we have done.

But God..

Romans 5:8 CSB

But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus, died in your place. The very person who created you traded his perfect, sinless life for your life full of sin. He suffered the death you rightfully deserved. He then conquered death by raising himself from the dead.

Romans 6:23 CSB

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

This is the announcement of the Gospel. Your Debt is paid. Your sins are forgiven. This is a free gift from God.

Romans 4:5 CSB

But to the one who does not work, but believes on him who declares the ungodly to be righteous, his faith is credited for righteousness.

Ephesians 2:8–9 CSB

For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.

Romans 11:6 CSB

Now if by grace, then it is not by works; otherwise grace ceases to be grace.

God credits the righteousness of Jesus to your account. All your sin, past and future, replace with the perfection of Jesus.

But what does this word “believe” mean?

Let me give you an illustration:

Here are 3 circles. 3 different ideas on what it takes to get to haven. on the left is works, you get to haven be doing good things. In the middle is Jesus and works. you have to trust Jesus and do good things to get to heaven. On the right is just Jesus. If you trust Jesus, you get to heaven, period.

Here is a chair. do I trust this chair to hold me up?

If you trust works, it’s like just standing next to the chair.

have someone pull out the chair.

If you trust Jesus and works, it’s like this.

Half halfheartedly sit on the chair, have someone pull it out from under me.

question: was a really sitting on the chair?

Another question: can you really trust Jesus and works at the same time?

no you cannot, the middle circle is a lie.

If you put all your weight on Jesus, it’s like this.

Put all your weight on the chair, ask someone to try and pull it.

If you trust Jesus, and only Jesus for your salvation, you are as sure to be in heaven one day as Jesus himself.

So what exactly does it mean to trust Jesus? to accept this free gift of salvation? It means believing that Jesus is exactly who He said he was, that everything He said is true. Jesus is God, you are sinner deserving of death. It means to agree with God about your sin, and agree that Jesus has taken it away. It means asking forgiveness for you sin, and resting on that forgiveness alone to be enough to make you acceptable to God.

There is nothing you could do to make God love you more, nothing you have done that makes Him love you less.

What an amazing announcement! But wait, it gets better:

The gospel is not only and announcement that your debt is paid...

The Gospel is an invitation to give away control of your life.

You are saved from the problem of sin.

Romans 6:16–18 CSB

Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of that one you obey—either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness? But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching to which you were handed over, and having been set free from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness.

It is a truth about all people that we worship something. As people born in sin, our natural path is to be worshipers of self. What I want, what makes me happy, that is the most important thing in life. That’s what Zacchaeus did. He worshiped himself, he worshiped having all the money. Was he happy? No! He knew that he needed something, and he recognised Jesus as what he was missing when he met Him. We can worship, our friends, pleasure, entertainment, religious figures, philosophy. None of these things will give your fulfillment or purpose in your life. They will give you temporary happiness and then leave you more empty than you were before. Jesus invites us to live a different way.

Romans 12:1–2 CSB

Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

God loved you enough to die for you, He also loves you enough to teach you how to live. What God says is that this life we have here is nothing compared to heaven. All the things we long for we will find in heaven, not here on this earth. Heaven will least for eternity. 80 years is NOTHING compared to eternity. God gives us a purpose:

Matthew 28:19–20 CSB

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Our short lives serve the purpose of telling the gospel to all the world. That is the most important thing. So what is this a decision to do?

It is saying: All i have, all i am, all I ever hope to be, i give to you Lord Jesus. I give my talents, my resources, my life to be used by you for your glory. I will go anywhere you want me to go, and do anything you want me to do.

This is a very serious decision. I want to be clear, you don’t have to give God your life for him to give you his. Salvation is a free gift. But that gift can be abused if you decide to just take it and then live however you want. Giving your life back to him is the only reasonable response to the loved He showed you. I decided to trust Jesu as my savior when i was a young child. I didn’t choose to follow him until later in life, because I loved the world too much. I regret those years of waiting to give my life to God.

This is good, but it still gets better. There is one more part of the Gospel that completes the good news.

Because here is the truth: you don't have the power to live life like God commands. You can’t

The Gospel is an offer for a new identity.

You are saved from power of sin.

Galatians 2:20 CSB

I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

This is the truth that turn the world upside down. When you trust Jesus alone for you salvation, he gives you the Holy Spirit to live inside of you. The same power that rose Jesus from the dead lives inside you. Power to glorify God and have a life that point others to Him. God’s offer is this: to let the Holy Spirit to take control of your life. To have a new Identity defined by the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. To let your motivations be for the glory of Jesus and the mission of his church.

Romans 6:6 CSB

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin,

Now don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying God want’s to get rid of your personality, your individuality. That’s not how love works. But if you choose to find your identity in Jesus, you will love what He loves, and you will hate what He hates. No longer are you defined by what you have done, or what what other people have been done to you. No longer are you defined by addictions, mistakes, by pain, embarrassment. Because life is all about Jesus and pointing people to him.

Romans 6:6 CSB

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin,

Galatians 5:24 CSB

Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Those of us who live for Jesus, this is a decision we have every day. Satan tempts us to live for ourselves. I want to be clear that this is a choice each of us must make, and there is a time when each of us must make this choice for the first time.

It is entirely possible to be saved from your sins, have your life commited to God, but trying to obey and live for God your own power. That is a very frustrating way to live. I know because I did it for years. I was married and had kids before I finally understood that God doesn't want me to change into a good person. God wants me to entirely die to my old self, and everything that I thought made me, me.

Galatians 2:20 CSB

I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Philippians 3:7–8 CSB

But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them as dung, so that I may gain Christ

The first time I realized this, that I really understood it. I have never felt more free and at peace. Largely because I finally see that I don’t have a responsibility to make myself a better person. That’s God’s job! My only concern is my relationship with Jesus Christ, letting Him be my joy and satisfaction. He does all the work of changing me.

This is the Gospel. Now there is one more thing about the gospel I want to communicate before we are done.

The Gospel is your only Hope

There is no other salvation.

Acts 4:12 CSB

There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”

The Bible makes this very clear. People’s opinion has to affect on the truth of the Gospel. Jesus’s sacrifice is the only way to have peace with God.

Isaiah 45:22 CSB

Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is no other.

To reject Jesus is to abandon all hope. Jesus offer’s you the free gift of salvation. If you do not accept his gift, then you will be responsible for paying the debt for your own sin. This means an eternity in a place called Hell. A dark place filled with loneliness and suffering.

Philippians 2:10–11 CSB

so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

One day. Everyone in this room will confess Jesus as Lord. On that day, will you confess in worship and victory, or in hopeless defeat? The choice is completely up to you.

I think there are a lot of people in this room who have yet to make a decision. Some of you for the first time need to accept God’s free gift of salvation, and put all you weight on sacrifice. Some of you need to commit your life to God, to say “all I have, all I am, all I ever hope to be, I give to Jesus.” And some of you might be finding your christian life frustrating because you have been trying to live your life for Jesus while keeping yourself in control. You need to choose to give Jesus His rightful place at the center of your life, and let His death and resurrection define you at your deepest levels. I am praying right now that the Holy Spirit will help you understand exactly what kind of decision you need to make. Do not let this camp end without dealing with this. I promise you will regret it if you do.

Ephesians 1:17–19 CSB

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength.