The Message Of Christiantiy

Scripture Reading: Romans 10:8-17

What Does the Word “Gospel” Mean?

A Good Message or Good News

Everyone Loves Receiving Good News

If You Love Receiving Good News, then You Should Love the News that I Am Planning on Proclaiming this Morning

It’s the Greatest Good News that has Ever Been Told and that Has Been Told Since the Beginning of Time

I Asked You about the Word “Gospel”, Now, If I Were to Ask You, “What is the Gospel?”, What Would You Say?

If You’ve Been in the Church Very Long, You’ve Been Trained to Say, “The Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ”

We Get that from Paul in 1 Corinthians 15

But Stopping After Verse 4 of that Chapter Grossly Oversimplifies What the Gospel Truly is

We’re Gonna Look at the Message/News of Christianity this Morning

And to Understand Jesus and His Message, We Need to Start at the Beginning

In The Beginning

God Created a Good World and Placed Humans as His Image Bearers to Rule Over It (Have Dominion)

But Humanity Rebelled into Sin which Brought Corruption and Death into the Good World

(Timeline Slide)

But There Will Come a Descendant from Eve Who will Crush the Head of the Serpent Who Deceived Her (Gen. 3:15)

Humanity’s Sin Led to a World Filled with Hatred and Violence

God Brought Judgement on the World and Only 8 People Were Spared

But God is Committed to His Creation, so He Chooses Abraham to be the New Starting Point

(Timeline Slide)

He Makes a Covenant with Abraham that Through His Seed All the Families and Nations of the World Would be Blessed (Genesis 22:18)

Over and Over, God’s Mission for Abraham’s Descendants is Repeated

They are to Faithfully Follow God in Order to Bless All the Nations

God Wants All of Humanity to be Faithful to Him Again

Then Comes Moses Who God Uses to Rescue the Descendants of Abraham Out of Their Slavery and Lead Them to a Home-Land Flowing with Milk and Honey

This is to Picture Their Slavery to Sin and Death and the Garden Paradise Their Ancestors Lived Had

Through this Rescued Nation of Abraham’s Descendants, All the Nations Would Come to Know the True God of Creation

(Timeline Slide)

They Were to be a Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation

But Abraham’s Descendants Dive Deeper and Deeper into Sin, Wickedness, and Violence

Instead of Being a Kingdom of Priests (Mediators Between Man and God) to All the Other Nations...

They are Influenced by the Wicked Nations Around Them

Down the Line, Abraham’s Descendants Eventually Become a Powerful Kingdom with a Righteous King Named David

(Timeline Slide)

God Makes a Covenant with David, Telling Him that He Will Establish the Kingdom of One of His Descendants and that Descendant will Reign on the Throne Forever (2 Samuel 7)

This Descendant will Not Only be a Son to David but Also to God Himself

But After David, His Descendants Rebel into Sin Again

This Led to God Bringing Judgement on Them by Causing Foreign Nations to Take Them Captive into Exile

But God Sent Prophets to Tell the People that He Still Hasn’t Given Up on the Descendants of Abraham

This Time He is Personally Going to Come and Restore Abraham’s Descendants so that They Can be the Blessing to All Nations They Were Intended to Be

How is God Going to Personally Come Do This?

Isaiah 9:6–7 (NASB)

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of YHWH of hosts will accomplish this.

The Descendant of David Who Will Sit on the Throne of David Forevermore is God Himself

Recap:

The Serpent Deceived Humanity into Rebelling Against God

God Chose Special Image-Bearers to Live Faithfully to Him and Influence the World to Return to Faithfulness to Him

But They Never Remained Faithful; Humanity Failed at Every Turn

So to Fulfill His Will for Humanity, God was Going to Become Human Himself

He Would be the Perfect Image Bearer of Himself and Rule with Justice and Righteousness

This is the Good News Message that Isaiah Prophesied to the Descendants of Abraham While They Were Still in Exile

Isaiah 52:7 (NASB)

How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

Isaiah had a Message of Good News (Gospel in Greek)

The Good News Message (Gospel) is “Your God Reigns”

While Abraham’s Descendants Were in Exile, One of Them, a Prophet Named Daniel Saw a Vision

Daniel 7:13–14 (NASB)

“I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.”

A “Son of Man” (Human) Will be Given an Everlasting Kingdom Filled with People of All Nationalities

But When Israel Came Out of Exile, They Weren’t Restored to Sovereignty with God Reigning as Their King

All the Promises of God Still Haven’t Come Yet

Then a Baby is Born in Bethlehem

Micah 5:2 (NASB)

“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”

An Eternal Ruler from Bethlehem

Matthew Tells Us He is a Descendant of Both Abraham and David

Matthew 1:21–23 (NASB)

“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”

A Child Who is Called Both “YHWH is Salvation” and “God with Us”

And He Began Proclaiming a Message Everywhere He Went

Mark 1:14–15 (NASB)

Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

The Good News of the Kingdom of God (Your God Reigns) is Close

The Descendant of David and God in Human Form is Getting Ready to Become King

Along with Proclaiming the Good News of the Coming of the Kingdom, He:

Healed People, Cast Out Demons, Resurrected People

Do You Recognize What He is Doing?

He was Reversing the Curse of Sin

Taught the Ethics of the Kingdom of God

This Kingdom is Unlike Any Other

Everything is Upside Down

Not a Kingdom of War, Violence, and Power

But a Kingdom of Peace, Love, and Humble Submission

The Servants are the Leaders

The Humble are the Glorified

The Poor are Taken Care of

The Hungry are Fed

The Naked are Clothed

Everyone Loves Everyone as Themselves

He Gained Several Followers Who Believed Him to be the Christ, the Anointed Son of David Who was Also the Son of God (Human and God in One)

But They Misunderstood the Nature of the Kingdom to be an Earthly Reign that Would Culminate in Jesus Defeating Their Roman Overlords and Bringing Israel to Sovereignty Again

It Wasn’t Rome Who He Had Come to Defeat

The Seed of Eve Would Crush the Head of the Serpent, Not the Heads of World Governments

We Come to Know the Serpent as a Spiritual Being of Wickedness

The Spirit Who is Behind All the Evil and Injustice in the World

We Know Him as the Devil or the Satan

His Followers Also Expected Him to Exalt Physical Israel

But it Wasn’t the Physical Nation of Israel Who He Came to Bless

Abraham’s Seed Would Bless All Nations

So How Would He Do All of These Things?

How Would Jesus Crush the Serpent, Bless All People, and Become King?

We See Him Riding into Jerusalem

Crowds of People Were Spreading Branches and Clothing on the Road as He Entered and Were Shouting, “Save Us Son of David, the One Who Comes in the Name of YHWH!”

He Entered Jerusalem as Royalty

At the End of that Week They Placed a Scarlet Robe on Him, a Crown on His Head, a Reed Sceptor in His Hand, and Bowed Down to Him

Then They Took Him Out to be Lifted Up and Exalted and Placed a Sign Above His Head that Read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews”

He was Now Lifted Up and Glorified as the King that the Descendants of Abraham Had Been Waiting for

If You are Familiar with the Story, You Probably Don’t See this in the Way I’ve Described it, Do You?

He Rode into Down an a Donkey’s Colt (a Humble Beast of Burden)

The Robe, Crown, Sceptor, and Bowing Down to Him Were to Mock Him

His Being Lifted Up and Exalted on His Throne was His Crucifixion

The God With Us King the Descendants of Abraham Have Been Waiting for has Just Died the Most Humiliating Death

Many of His Followers and Believers are Now Devastated, Thinking that They Must Have Been Wrong About Him All Along

He was Just Another Prophet Who Came Teaching God’s Word, and Like All the Others, They Killed Him for it

The Hope of Finally Having God as Our King on an Everlasting Throne has Come Crashing Down

Then Sunday Came

His Tomb was Discovered to be Empty

The Same Jesus They had Watched Die is Now Alive and Well

All of the Prophecies are Starting to Finally Make Sense

Not Only Would the Descendant of David Crush the Serpent, the Serpent Would Crush His Heel

He Will Strike a Death Blow to the Serpent, but He will be Injured in the Process

Just After Isaiah Told Us the Gospel, “Your God Reigns” (in Isaiah 52), He Immediately Begins Telling Us (In Isaiah 53) that the God-King Would Suffer, be Pierced, Receive Stripes, and Die in Order to Bear and be an Offering for Our Sins

His Death and His Crushing the Head of the Serpent Were the Same Event

Paul Recognized this Truth

Colossians 2:13–15 (NASB)

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, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

To the Eyes of the World Jesus was Stripped Naked, Publicly Shamed, and Utterly Defeated

But in Truth, it was the Opposite

The Evil Powers at Work in the World Were Defeated by Jesus at His Inauguration on the Cross and Resurrection from His Tomb

All Sin Requires Death as Payment

In Order to Save Us from Sin and Death, God Offered Himself as the Perfect Atoning Sacrifice for Our Sins and Entered Death for Us

Then He Broke Out of Death in Resurrection with a Promise of Resurrection to All Those Who Join His Kingdom

And Just Before His Ascension to Sit on the Throne of Heaven and be King Over His Newly Established Kingdom, He Said...

Matthew 28:18–20 (NASB)

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

All Nations are Welcomed into His Kingdom

Those Who Choose to be Under the Lordship and Kingship of Jesus by Placing Their Allegiance and Faith in Him Would be Baptized

(Timeline Slide) - Did We Miss Anything?

Jesus Crushed the Devil on the Cross

He’s the Seed the Blesses All Nations Through Forgiveness of Their Sins and a Renewal of Fellowship to God Through Reconciliation

He’s the Descendant of David and God on the Everlasting Throne

What About the Holy Nation and Kingdom of Priests that God Wanted to be an Influence to the Rest of the World?

1 Peter 2:9 NASB95

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

We are the People of the Kingdom of God

We are His Mediators and Ambassadors to the Rest of the World

Here’s the Message of Christianity:

Jesus is King and All are Welcome in His Upside Down Kingdom

So Priests, Live Like it!

Live By Upside Down Kingdom Principles

Study the Sermon on the Mount and Embody it

And Priests, Tell Others About this Good News

This was Humanities Purpose from the Beginning

We are His Image-Bearers to Bless the Nations with the Saving Good News of King Jesus