2021 Baccalaureate: Unashamed of the Gospel

C.T. Studd-

Two little lines I heard one day,

Traveling along life’s busy way;

Bringing conviction to my heart,

And from my mind would not depart;

Only one life, twill soon be past,

Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,

Soon will its fleeting hours be done;

Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet,

And stand before His Judgement seat;

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,

Only what’s done for Christ will last.

A new chapter is about to begin for each of you. Some of you will go to college. Some of you will go straight to a career. Some of you aren’t even sure yet which category you fall into. But one burning question must be answered by every one of you: what is the purpose of my life and will I make my life count for that purpose? What you build your life on and live your life for will inevitably be the source of the answer to that question. My goal tonight is to point each of you to the one thing that you were made to live for and live in: the gospel of Jesus. My desire and prayer for you is that you will live for Christ with passion, boldness, love, and without any shame.

Romans 1:16- For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

We live in a day of ever-increasing confusion about what the gospel is.

What is the gospel?

If we are going to live in it and for it, then we must know it rightly and deeply

Millions get the answer to this question wrong

It is not good news of self-help or self-improvement

It is not good news of health, wealth, and prosperity

It is not good news of societal improvement

It is not good news of mere escape from hell

It is not subjective- being good news for some people who make it their “thing” and is irrelevant for everyone else

We MUST get the gospel of Jesus RIGHT

We need saving- we are sinners under God’s wrath

Ephesians 2:1-3- Bible

In love, Christ died for sin

Romans 5:8-11- Bible

We must repent and believe

Mark 1:15- “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone

Ephesians 2:8-9- For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

He becomes everything to us

There is no other gospel, no other hope, and no other salvation

John 14:6- Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Come to Him

Matthew 11:28-30- “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Why does it matter for you as you graduate?

You are going to go places where the gospel is denied and hated

You will go to universities that will teach you 1,000 things antithetical to this truth

You will work in places where almost everyone will live in open rejection of the gospel and think that you are a fool for believing it

If you don’t deeply know the truths of the gospel, you will go from this place and become paralyzed with fear and doubt, or have your faith in Christ brought to ruins

Meanwhile, all who do not believe will go to hell

Around 30% of people around the world identify as Christian

Assuming that all of them are true believers, which I can assure you is not the case, that leaves over 5.5 billion people who, if they die right now, will go to hell forever

They will only be saved if someone takes the gospel to them

Romans 10:13-15- “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

The gospel is the power of God for salvation

Romans 1:16- For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

A life lived for Christ is the only kind of life that will count for eternity

1 Corinthians 10:31- So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Philippians 1:22-23a- For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me.

What will it cost you?

You must each count the cost

Luke 14:27-28- whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?

You will suffer and be hated by many

Acts 14:21-22- When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

Matthew 10:16-22a - Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake.

But do not fear. He will care for you

Matthew 10:28-31- Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

If God is for you, who can be against you?

Romans 8:31-32- What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

This is the purpose for which you were made

This was the all-encompassing purpose of the Apostle Paul’s life

Acts 20:22-24- Bible

May it be the all-encompassing purpose of your life

Do not waste your life on the trivial pursuits of this life, but give yourselves to something greater. Something eternal. Give yourselves to a life of making the gospel of the beauty, grace, power, and glory of Jesus Christ known to a world in desperate need of knowing Him

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,

Only what’s done for Christ will last.