The Gospel and Obedience

It's all about the gospel   •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  1:13:50
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Gospel Imperatives

The gospel, as we wrap up this series today we have seen what the gospel is, why we need the gospel, why we must believe the gospel, how to obey.
Imperative (adj): Of vital importance; crucial, giving an authoritative command; peremptory; As a (n) as essential or urgent.
Gospel has good tidings about salvation we must believe (Lk2:10-11, 2:25-32)
Luke 2:10 NKJV
10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
Luke 2:11 NASB95
11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
and then Simeon in Lk2:25-32 in seeing the Christ child knew he had seen God’s salvation! Not just to Israel but to the Gentiles too.
The gospel, and we have spent a few weeks looking at it, has imperatives of what we must believe, and today our focus as we finish out this series is the imperatives on what we must do.
Obey, when you think about obey, kids roll their eyes for they know they have to obey their parents, though may not like it at times. Adults give a heavy sigh for they know they have to obey their boss, the laws of the land and such.
Obey (V): Comply with the command, direction or request of (a person or law); submit to authority of; to carry out a command.
Believe: Jesus died for our sins, was buried, was raised again (1Cor15:3-4)
1 Corinthians 15:3–4 NASB95
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
Believe: Jesus has been made both Lord and Christ (Act2:36)
The passage really starts back in (v.22) but it comes to a head in (v.36).
Acts 2:36 NKJV
36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
Believe: Jesus is coming back again and has been ordained to judge, know the times of ignorance have passed (Act17:30-31)
Acts 17:30–31 NASB95
30 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, 31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
Believe: He is the author of eternal salvation to those who obey Him (Heb5:9; Rom1:5, 5:17)
Hebrews 5:9 NKJV
9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,
This obedience is an obedience of faith
Romans 1:5 NASB95
5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake,
Obedience of faith that comes from the heart
Romans 6:17 NASB95
17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed,
Believe the scripture about those who do not obey have eternal destruction pending for them. (2The1:7-9)
2 Thessalonians 1:7–8 NASB95
7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, 8 dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
2 Thessalonians 1:9 NASB95
9 These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,
(Transition) So, imperatives are pretty important and I think you should have the gist of it by now, so may we get on to the body of the message today.

We must believe!

Keep in mind today we are talking about imperatives. Belief is an imperative, what we believe is a matter of eternal life, or eternal separation.
We must believe the Gospel (Mk1:15)
Mark 1:15 NASB95
15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Believe it is what Jesus wanted all creation to hear and to believe (Mk16:15-16)
Mark 16:15–16 NASB95
15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
Believe the gospel is the power of God for salvation (Rom1:16-17)
Romans 1:16–17 NASB95
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”
Believe Jesus is the Lamb of God to take away our sins, and that if you do not believe you will die in your sins. (Jn1:29, 8:24)
John 1:29 NASB95
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
and then look at this, there is a dire, eternal consequence without belief
John 8:24 NASB95
24 “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
WARNING: “ONE PART WITHOUT THE OTHERS DOES NOT EQUATE TO ASSURED SALVATION”
(Transition): Each part of the gospel is important, in other words, imperative, our obedience requires acknowledging our faith.
(Short illustration here, maybe a cake without that little bit of baking powder that is needed, may look OK when you mix it, but wont look OK when you bake it, a little thing matters.

We must confess

Confession does the body good, the eternal body that is. So what is it, why is it an imperative?
Confess: (V) to admit or to state a fact; to declare
Confess Jesus as Lord (Rom10:9-10; Mt10:32-33)
Romans 10:9 NASB95
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
Romans 10:10 NASB95
10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
and then look at what Jesus said, a warning issued after the results of confession.
Matthew 10:32–33 NASB95
32 “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
Make a good confession (1Tim6:12-14)
Paul reminded Timothy and charged Timothy.
1 Timothy 6:12 NASB95
12 Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
Confession before many, but does not need to be before many and you will see that in a minute
Then look at the charge issued.
1 Timothy 6:13–14 NASB95
13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Display your good confession (Act8:37)
There is another good example, this time not before many witness but we know before one for sure
Acts 8:37 NASB95
37 And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
(Transition): A good confession, a public confession that is coupled with obedient faith in Christ Jesus, and now we are ready to move on to the next imperative.

Repent!

Repent, even the sound of the word does not sound inviting does it? But the results are out of this world.
Worldly definition
Repentance (v): To feel or express sincere regret or remorse about one’s wrongdoing or sin.
Bible dictionary definition:
To change mind in consequence of the inconvenience or injury done int he past; a conversion from sin to God.
We are commanded to repent (Act2:38, 3:19, 17:30)
Peter commanded after being commanded by the Lord in the great commission.
Acts 2:38 NASB95
38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
This was not a suggestion, this was a command given by one who was commanded and given a commission to carry out.
Acts 3:19 NASB95
19 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;
It was consistent, and with promise, in Act2:38 it is the Holy Spirit, here in Act3:19 it was a time of refreshing.
and I believe I mentioned this verse before but here it is.
Acts 17:30 NASB95
30 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent,
God is declaring, which means, God is commanding that ALL people repent.
Jesus commanded it be preached and the reason was for forgiveness of sins (LK24:46-47)
Look at Jesus words
Luke 24:46 NASB95
46 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day,
Luke 24:47 NASB95
47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
John preached the urgency, that the Kingdom of heaven was at hand. (Mt3:2)
Matthew 3:2 NASB95
2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Repentance is godly sorrow in action (2Cor7:9-11)
2 Corinthians 7:9 NASB95
9 I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.
2 Corinthians 7:10 NASB95
10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.
Look at the results!
2 Corinthians 7:11 NASB95
11 For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.
(Transition) so you have faith, confession, you have been convicted of Godly sorrow leading to repentance, now the gospel and obedience continues.

Be baptized

Another imperative, command given, when exampled it was not argued, it was obeyed.
Baptize/baptism: to dip, to dye by dipping (Bapto) to immerse or submerge, to plunge, to overflow with water (Baptizo)
So the teens had a form of baptism when they tie-dyed the shirts, it was not for the same purpose but it is a form of baptism.
Purpose: for the remission of sins (Act2:37-38)
Acts 2:37–38 NASB95
37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Not everyone who hears the command obeys the command, but if you hear, believe, then confess, repent and be baptized, don’t argue, follow the command. On Pentecost 3000 people believed and obeyed the gospel. The reason, again, as stated in the scripture is for the remission of sins.
Scriptural baptism is only for convicted believer who is repenting, confessing and being converted from sinner to following God.
The command: baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Mt28:19).
Matthew 28:19 NASB95
19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
It is the place of being born again, of water and Spirit (Jn3:5)
John 3:5 NASB95
5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
and according to the scripture you cannot enter into the kingdom of God without it!
It was assumed, accepted as intrigal part of salvation, look at illustration of method and urgency (Act8:36-37)
Acts 8:36–37 NASB95
36 As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 37 And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
Baptism is not only for gift of Holy Spirit (Act2:38) it involved the Holy Spirit in our regeneration (Tit3:5; 1Cor12:13)
Titus 3:5 NASB95
5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
need to add in another passage
1 Corinthians 12:13 NASB95
13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
It is the place where we have redemption through His blood (Eph1:7)
Ephesians 1:7 NASB95
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
We are buried with Christ and raised up (Rom6:3-5)
Romans 6:3–4 NASB95
3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
Romans 6:5 NASB95
5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,
We are raised up with Him through faith and our sins forgiven (Col2:12-13)
Colossians 2:12 NASB95
12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
Colossians 2:13 NASB95
13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,
Scripture tells us it is the place to wash away our sins (Act22:16)
Acts 22:16 NASB95
16 ‘Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.’
(Transition): So the believer who has heard the gospel, believed the gospel, confessed Jesus changed mind from acknowledged sinner to follow God, obeys the gospel in baptism so can walk in newness of life (Rom6:4) and being born again of water and Spirit (Jn3:5)
Baptism is only the beginning there is more.

But wait, there is more

Baptism is the point of salvation where God does His work on the heart and soul of the repentant believer who confesses the Son. But there is more, so bear with me a few minutes longer.
Jesus wants us to learn, and to follow (keep) his commands (Mt28:19-20; Jn14:15)
Jesus wants us to be faithful so to receive the crown of life (Rev2:10)
So, know, learn to stimulate one another, so none fall away (Heb10:24-25, implied)
For there is a possibility of apostasy a falling away, a hardening of heart
So be on guard (2Pt3:17)
2 Peter 3:17 NASB95
17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness,
(Transition): (invitation slide- obey the gospel) Any gospel that does not come from hearing, believing, confessing, repenting and obeying is not the biblical gospel and is manmade. Don’t bet your eternal life on man, but place it by faith in what God says through His Word. (invitation slide 2 - wash away your sins) expand for a minute or two on this .
(Song - what can wash away my sins)
(prayer) (Exit slides)
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