The Gospel - Wash, Rinse, Repeat
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Introduction
Introduction
Movie Trailers
Movie Trailers
I have always been a bit of a movie geek - I love movies and I love movie trailers.
A long time ago, there were these things called movie theaters where you could go and you could actually watch movies.
there would be a bunch of other people watching the movie with you
and you could buy sodas, candy, popcorn, and hot dogs that were a whopping 22% meat or nachos with yellow school glue on top.
It was glorious!
Well, like many of you, one of my favorite parts of going to the movies are the trailers they show before they show the movie you came to see.
And I used to HATE going to the movies with people who felt like the trailers just gave you more time to get to the movie…
If the movie time is 8:30, that means we need to be there at 8:25 - NOT 8:45…
We have to see the trailers - because that is part of the way that you knew which movies were coming out soon
And, if they were done well, they would stir up all of this excitement in you - and you couldn’t wait to get to summer when that new movie was going to come out and see it!
When I was a kid, there were certain movies that were off limits for me - mostly horror movies about a psychotic dude with a hockey mask or a creepy guy with blades on his hands that pursued you in your dreams.
The problem was that many of my friends were allowed to see these types of movies.
So, to fit in, I would pretend that I had seen the movie and simply recall moments that I saw from the trailer.
In conversation, I could put the pieces together from what the other kids were saying, and presto, I had basically seen Child’s Play 2 and I could tell you all about the murderous doll with a butcher knife.
The funny thing is that my kids do the same thing now - not necessarily with horror movies, but with anything.
Jude saw the preview of The Greatest Showman and then about 15 minutes of it at a friends house, and boom - it was his new favorite movie.
While acting like we have seen a movie is somewhat funny, silly, and pretty harmless, I think that many Christians do this exact thing, but with the Gospel.
We‘ve seen the trailer for the gospel.
We hear other people talking about it
We pick up on buzz words that we use often
We might read a few passages of our Bible
and we go to church often…
And with a few creative fill in the blanks - we have what we would call a strong grasp on the gospel.
Here are my questions...
Here are my questions...
If I were to ask you what the Gospel is, would you be able to tell me?
And, if you were able to tell me, would you have Biblical support to back it up, or just what you have heard others say?
Have you “seen that movie” or have you just seen the trailer?
Would you be able to share the gospel with someone else, or would you just have some Bible bits and pieces but not really the gospel?
Perhaps a bigger question is Are you preaching this gospel to yourself daily, or do you view the gospel as being that 101 class that you already took and got credit for?
My hope for today:
My hope for today:
My hope and prayer is that we would walk away with a crystal clear understanding of what the gospel is
Whether you have been a Christian for decades or whether you are not a Christian and you just happened to show up today.
I want us all to walk out of here knowing what the gospel is.
I am also praying that we would develop a hunger to feast daily on the gospel so that we could live daily by the power of the gospel.
Finally, I hope that we will see that the Gospel as trustworthy - and that some would walk out of here as new believers.
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Pray for yourselves and others
Pray for me
First Point
First Point
We will be in 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 this morning, so if you have not had a chance to turn there, please do that now.
Just to give you a bit of background here, Paul is writing to the church at Corinth and they were a mess!
Leading up to Chapter 15, he has addressed
Divisions in the church
Sexual Immorality
Believers bringing lawsuits against one another
Idolatry
Spiritual gifts
and a bunch of other Issues
Here in chapter 15, Paul comes to the most important aspect of his message.
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
Rebuke
Rebuke
Paul opens this chapter with a bit of a rebuke.
He says: “Now, I would remind you…”
This is the same thing as when your mom said to you something like, “How many times have I told you...”
There are three very important things to know when your mom says this:
1. She has said this before
2. she is not happy about having to tell you again
3. If actions or behavior is not modified, you are going to have what we call in our house - consequences.
Paul has already said this to them before.
This is not new for them, and this is not the first time that they are hearing it
it’s not even the second time they are hearing it
Paul has been living, eating, and breathing the gospel with these folks
He says that this is “the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved”
So, at some point in the church at Corinth, these people aligned themselves with Christ.
And he is saying REMEMBER THAT?!
1. Remember the Gospel (vv. 1-2)
1. Remember the Gospel (vv. 1-2)
Why does he say this?
Because we are spiritually forgetful people
this is our first application point…
Remember the gospel!
What exactly are we to remember?
What exactly are we to remember?
Three things that Paul points out:
you received the gospel
you stand in the gospel
You are being saved by the gospel (ongoing action that has not been completed yet)
There are past, present, and future elements to the gospel, and we cannot ignore any of them.
You Received the Gospel - in the past
You Received the Gospel - in the past
To be a Christian, there had to have been a moment in our life where we received the gospel message
Think a runner in a relay race receives the baton from the runner behind them.
We had to have taken hold of the gospel message and embraced it as absolute truth that supersedes everything else in our life.
You Stand in the Gospel - currently
You Stand in the Gospel - currently
A Christian must reside in the gospel
Why?
Because it is the foundation for everything in our lives and the place where we are established.
The Gospel is not something that we experience and then we move on from - it’s where we live and have our being.
It must be the medium in which our daily lives are sustained.
You are being saved by the gospel - future
You are being saved by the gospel - future
The Gospel will save a Christian in the future
Now you may be thinking, “wait a second, Prine, a Christian is already saved!”
And you would be right - a Christian has been saved from the penalty of sin - meaning that there is no longer any record that will be held against us because of our past, present, or future sins.
But Paul isn’t talking about being saved from the penalty of sin anymore… that happens one time and then it’s done.
He is talking about being saved from the power and ultimately the presence of sin.
Because of The gospel we have the power to resist sin - we can say no to sin and yes to God
And one day we will be rescued from the very presence of sin when we go to be with Jesus in heaven.
We must remember that we have received the gospel, we now stand in the gospel, and we are being saved by the gospel
We must remember that we have received the gospel, we now stand in the gospel, and we are being saved by the gospel
Apparently, the Corinthian believers had failed to do this.
We find out in the later verses of Ch. 15 that they were failing to acknowledge a vital part of the truth of the gospel - which is why Paul begins his dissertation with “Now, I would remind you”
Qualifier
Qualifier
Paul also adds a qualifier here…
you received, stand, and are being saved by the gospel…
“if you hold fast to the word I preached to you - unless you believed in vain.”
The qualifier to having security in the gospel is two fold:
1. that you hold fast to the gospel - that you made it your own.
It wasn’t just some good news - it became THEIR good news.
Simply hearing the gospel is not enough - Jesus demands a response.
2. they you do not believe in vain - do not believe rashly
The gospel demands a response that will have ramifications that last for eternity, this decision cannot be a rash or hasty decision.
Which is where a lot of churches fail, in my opinion.
“pray this prayer and fill out this card - welcome to the club”
that doesn’t work, because to come to faith, one must count the cost of following Jesus.
yet, for many, it is not much different than grabbing one of those impulse buy items of the shelf at the checkout counter.
The implication here is that there can be people in the church - who are by all accounts great people who are contributing and serving, yet they are not regenerated - they aren’t saved.
How could this be? There are two possibilities here
They have never held fast to the true gospel and made it their own
OR they have never really counted the cost of following Jesus, so they have purchased a version of cheap grace - which cannot save anyone.
Christian, it is imperative that we remember the Gospel, and hold fast to it!!
Second point
Second point
Two weeks ago, our oldest son, Jude, went to kids camp at Tejas with RCB, and I got to go with him - which was a blast!
We had been praying for Jude and asking that the Lord help Him internalize the gospel and prayed that camp would reinforce that.
Throughout the week, I got to thinking about my kids and the gospel… and I wondered if they knew the gospel.
We have been doing our best to pour Jesus into Jude as well as our other four children since the day they were born.
So, I decided last week to ask my older two, Jude and Jace - “what is the gospel.”
I think I expected them to rattle it off - because well, they’re pastors kids, right, and we talk about it often?
They sat for a second and had several answers for what the gospel is - and while they said some things that were true biblically, they seemed to be dancing around what the gospel truly is - hitting bits and pieces of it as they went.
Which brings me back to my question that I asked at the beginning of our time...
If I were to ask you what the Gospel is, would you be able to tell me?
Sadly, I fear that many Church going people would not be able to do this clearly and concisely.
Perhaps this was where the Corinthians were…
Our second point is this:
2. Know the Gospel (vv. 3-4)
2. Know the Gospel (vv. 3-4)
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
Without a doubt, the most important aspect of knowing the Lord is knowing the gospel.
This is why Paul said “I delivered to you as of FIRST importance”
Not something that might be helpful or something that would be good to remember…
this would be something that would be good for us to memorize…. Tattoo this on your forehead, it’s that important
This is the focal point of what Paul is saying
Why is he so emphatic about this?
Because if we do not know the gospel, then we won’t know salvation.
Let me be clear here - if you’re placing your hope in the wrong Gospel, or something proclaimed as the gospel that is not actually the gospel, then you do not have salvation - no matter how sincerely you believe it.
What the Gospel is NOT
What the Gospel is NOT
Let’s get something straight and understand what the gospel is NOT...
The Gospel is NOT:
You are a sinner
You will go to hell apart from Jesus
Be like Jesus
Bear fruit
God is Love
Jesus' birth
It’s none of these things -
That doesn’t mean these things aren’t true, they’re just not the gospel.
Let me explain:
Believing that you are a sinner does not save you…
Believing that you will go to hell apart from Christ does not save you...
They are both precursors to getting to the gospel, but they aren’t the gospel.
Trying to be like Jesus does not save you...
Bearing fruit in the Kingdom of God does not save you…
These are both things that are results of believing the gospel.
the idea that God is love is absolutely true, but it is not the gospel
The truth of Jesus’ birth is true, and very important, but it is not the gospel
What the Gospel IS
What the Gospel IS
So what is the gospel?
Paul outlines it here:
1 Corinthians 15:3–4 (ESV)
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
That is the gospel - nothing more, and nothing less
Christ died for our sins (which means he was an acceptable sacrifice)
Christ was buried (Paul said this to emphasize that he was really dead, not just playing dead…)
Christ was raised on the third day (which means he defeated death)
And all of this happened according to the plan and will of the Lord
Which is why it says “in accordance with the scriptures”
This is what you must believe in order to be saved.
Stake everything on this!
if we remove any part of this, or if we add a to-do to this we do not have the gospel
meaning without Jesus’ death, there is no payment for the penalty of sin
and without his resurrection, Satan, sin, and death have not been defeated
if we have added to-dos then we don’t understand the sufficiency of the gospel, and so we feel we need to do something to actually make it work.
if we remove anything from or add anything to the gospel, we no longer have the gospel and we would still be lost, hopeless, and dead in our sins.
Paul is making this exceptionally clear, because the Corinthians have heard it before, but they’re still missing it.
This verse is like the Crayola Crayon version of the gospel - almost impossible to misunderstand.
Christ died for our sins - like the Scriptures said
Christ raised from the dead on the third day - like the scriptures said
Scriptural Support for the Gospel - death and resurrection
Scriptural Support for the Gospel - death and resurrection
This is not an isolated emphasis on the gospel throughout the Bible.
We see that this theme of Jesus’ death and resurrection addressed time and time again...
*****JUST READ THE REFERENCE DEPENDING ON TIME******
Galatians 1:1–4 (ESV)
1 Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
Jesus’ death (v. 4)
Jesus’ resurrection (v. 1)
Romans 10:9 (ESV)
9 if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Jesus’ death is presupposed - you cannot believe that he rose from the dead unless He first died
Jesus’ resurrection
Jesus talked about this multiple times, saying, and I quote:
Matthew 17:22–23 (ESV)
22“The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they (the disciples) were greatly distressed.
Jesus talked about his own death and his own resurrection
Maybe you are thinking - “this is overly simplistic, and there has got to be more to the gospel than this”
What about the conviction of sin and the sanctification of the believer??
What about believing that God is all powerful or all knowing or all good or the epitome of love?
These are absolutely important and it is critical that we address these things with people, but they are not the gospel.
There is one thing that saves us, and that is belief in Jesus’ death and resurrection according to the scriptures.
Yes, Theology is important
Yes, Theology is important
please don’t walk out of here thinking that I am saying something I am not…
theology is important.
having a good grasp on what the Bible says is vital to the believer being sustained in the gospel and their walk with God.
Which is why at RCB, we want to follow Paul’s lead in Acts 20, and not shrink back “from declaring to you the whole counsel of God”
That is part of our responsibility as pastors and elders
We want you to embrace the gospel message, and then we want you to grow in your understanding of all that God has said
We want you to move from being a spiritual infant who just got saved to becoming a spiritual parent helping others to reach maturity in Christ.
we don’t want you to be a spiritual infant 15 years into your walk with Jesus!
This is part of the reason that we want you to read the Bible daily.
It is why we have a Bible-in-a-year reading plan that we make available to our whole church
Because we don’t just want you to encounter the gospel and get saved - we want you to savor the richness of the gospel and the goodness of God in all that He has done.
But it all starts with KNOWING the Gospel!
Third point
Third point
I am sure that there are some people in here who are hearing all of this, and are completely skeptical of the gospel piece, and maybe everything that Christianity believes and teaches.
And that is fair enough - In fact, I was once one of the most vocal and outspoken opponents of the gospel that I knew.
I could not comprehend how anyone who had two brain cells between their ears could actually believe in some sky fairy somewhere that they could not see.
I want to affirm something for both the non-believing skeptic, or even the Christ-follower who has doubts.
It’s ok…
Listen, if someone tells you that you cannot bring any doubts or questions into your walk with Jesus, then they do not understand the love and compassion that the Lord has for us.
He sees us as His children!!
one thing that I have learned from having 5 children is that they are FULL of questions and sometimes they doubt my intentions for them.
And while I often fail and get upset with my kids when they are peppering me with 1001 questions, the Lord never gets frustrated with us for asking genuine questions or expressing genuine doubts.
All that said, what you need to know is that the gospel (and the rest of God’s Word for that matter) is absolutely trustworthy.
this is our third point
3. Trust the Gospel (vv. 5-8)
3. Trust the Gospel (vv. 5-8)
there is a host of evidence supporting the truth of the gospel - all right here in 1 Corinthians 15…
The first thing that can lead us to trust the gospel is that it was prophesied by the rest of the scriptures
“According to the scriptures”
Thousands of years before Jesus ever walked this earth, the Bible talked about His death and His resurrection - as well as the rest of his life.
The second thing here that helps us trust the gospel is simply who is writing these words to us..
Paul - who was one of the biggest opponents to Christianity, now boldly proclaiming the gospel and leading others to faith in Jesus.
The third thing here that helps us trust the gospel are eyewitnesses.
1 Corinthians 15:5–8 (ESV)
5 he [Jesus] appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
Paul lists of a bunch of people who Jesus appeared to after he came back from the dead.
Cephas (Peter)
The Twelve (minus Judas Iscariot)
500 brothers and sisters “at one time” most of whom are still alive.
James (most likely Jesus’ brother)
All the apostles (no one was left out)
Lastly - to Paul.
Why is this significant?
Why is this significant?
This is significant, because there were witnesses who could verify what Paul was saying
This is eyewitness testimony - and for the readers in Paul’s day, he is inviting them to ask around.
He mentions that most of the 500 were still alive
He was basically telling the church at Corinth - listen, if you are having doubts about the truth of the gospel - if you can’t believe that Jesus came back from the dead, then go talk to these people.
there’s Steve who was there that day - go ask him!
“Hey Steve, Paul says that Jesus came back from the dead… that’s a bunch of bologna right?”
“No! I was there, and it was crazy!! I know you might not believe this, in fact I am having a hard time believing it myself… I saw Jesus AFTER His very public execution and burial.”
these were people who were still around who could attest to the fact that Jesus did in fact come back from the dead.
but we need to dig into this…
To some extent Trusting the Gospel involves testing the gospel
To some extent Trusting the Gospel involves testing the gospel
I am not afraid when people set out to prove the gospel wrong, because there is such significant evidence for it’s authenticity.
There are many stories of skeptics who set out to disprove the gospel who ended up coming face to face with the truth of the gospel and end up coming to faith.
So Keep asking questions!
keep digging!
What does it mean to trust the Gospel?
What does it mean to trust the Gospel?
We could relate this to how we trust everyday items, like a chair.
When you trust a chair, you believe that if you sit in that chair, it will bear up under your weight.
When you sit in that chair, your trust is being put on display or into action.
When you trust in the Gospel, you believe in the death of Jesus for your sins and his subsequent resurrection.
As a result you live in light of the gospel to reflect that trust
What does this mean?
It means many things, but just a few examples here:
First, it is a turning from or rejection of Sin
First, it is a turning from or rejection of Sin
We should begin to recoil from sin, because that sin was bad enough that it demanded that the son of God be killed in your place.
This is a process that is perfected in us over the course of our lifetime.
Second, it is a submission to The Lord’s will rather than your own.
Second, it is a submission to The Lord’s will rather than your own.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 - you are not your own… for you were bought with a price.
So for the Christ-follower, the question isn’t “what do I want to do with my life” but rather “what does the Lord want to do with my life, and how can I cooperate with Him?”
Third, it means we don’t have a backup plan
Third, it means we don’t have a backup plan
When we trust in the gospel, we relinquish all hopes of a fallback plan.
We pin everything on the Gospel - and in doing this, we live out the fact that the Gospel is our only hope of salvation.
Trusting the Gospel involves living in such a way that we give others confidence to believe the gospel themselves.
The Last thing I want to say about Trusting the Gospel…
The Last thing I want to say about Trusting the Gospel…
The Gospel is available to Anyone… regardless of who you are and what you have done
And this is the supremely good news - there are no unwelcome people.
How do we know this?
I am not going to dig deeply into this right now, but it is revealed in the language that Paul used to describe himself in the list of people that Jesus appeared to...
He referred to himself as “One untimely born” which is actually a very strong and emotionally stirring word.
This is the Greek word “ektroma” which can mean anything from still born to an abortion.
Paul compares himself to a baby that didn’t make it to full term.
Most people would have looked at him and considered him worthless with no hope of life - definitely not someone who would become a Christ-follower
Remember, he had been completely committed to exterminating Christians
Paul was not pursuing Christ in any way, but Jesus pursued him.
Jesus came to the one who had no “hope” and no life and gave him hope and made him alive.
While graphic, I think that this illustrates a powerful point for us.
No one is too far gone that the Lord cannot redeem them.
maybe there is someone in here that needs to hear that right now - you are not too far gone
you are not damaged goods
you are not unwanted by Jesus
you are an image bearer and the Lord wants you to know Him
Closing: Come to know Jesus
Closing: Come to know Jesus
As we close, I want to ask you this: Have you believed the gospel?
I am not asking you to accept and affirm all 66 books of the Bible right now… we can get there over time.
I am asking is the Lord moving you to believe that Jesus died for our sins, that he was buried, and that he rose from the dead on the third day, just like the Scriptures said He would?
If you are being moved to believe that, then we want to walk with you through that decision.
We want to get you in community with other believers so that you can start down the path of spiritual maturity.
If this is you, I am going to ask that you come see me, or pastor Kevin During the response time.
We want to pray with you and celebrate your new life in Christ.
Additionally, if you are a believer and would like prayer in general, please feel free to come forward
closing prayer
closing prayer
Would you stand with us and respond?
however the Lord is asking you to respond - do it!!