The Ministry of The Gospel
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Introduction
Introduction
Turn with me in your Bibles to I Cor 15.
I had originally intended to cover the last part of I Timothy this morning, to wrap up our study in I Timothy, but as I was praying, studying, and preparing and considering what God might have me say to you today on my last Sunday with you, the Spirit led me to a different passage.
In I Timothy 6, Paul exhorts Timothy to...
12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
and he concludes his letter to Timothy by commanding him to...
1 Timothy 6:20–21 (ESV)
20 O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” 21 for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.
Now, Paul doesn’t really elaborate a whole lot on what exactly that “deposit” was, but clearly he’s referring to the “deposit” of sound doctrine of the gospel.
So, like Paul, I can think of no better parting words to bring to you this morning than to remind you of the gospel that I have already preached to you. To remind you that “the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”
So, turn with me in your Bibles to I Corinthians 15 as we read Paul’s summary of the Gospel message he preached to the church at Corinth.
Scripture:
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. 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, 5 and that he 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. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
Prayer for Illumination
Transition: We often describe the Gospel as the “Good News,” and rightly so, for that is what ‘gospel’ means. But you can’t understand the Good News without first understanding the Bad News.
The Bad News.
The Bad News.
1 Corinthians 15:3 (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,
God created the universe to bring him glory.
God created the universe to bring him glory.
God is the Creator, and therefore, the owner of all.
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
God created mankind with a purpose—to display his glory, to image or reflect his glory all over his creation.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Colossians 1:16 (ESV)
16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
Everything was perfect
Genesis 1:31 (ESV)
31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.
Mankind has rejected God’s rightful rule.
Mankind has rejected God’s rightful rule.
God gave only one rule
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Our father Adam broke that rule, passing down an inheritance of sin and death
4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
We have continued in Adam’s example of sin, rebelling against God’s rightful rulership
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
Our sin-debt must be paid.
Our sin-debt must be paid.
Sin has separated us from God
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
Sin is rebellion and demands the death sentence
Romans 6:23 (ESV)
23 For the wages of sin is death
22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;
9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,
Hell awaits those who refuse to submit to God.
5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’
The other day, I was watching a show about wildfires. Some of the videos and pictures of these fires were just unimaginable. Flames were shooting well over 100’ into the air as trees went up like matches. I thought of what it must be like to be a firefighter fighting that blaze.
Can you imagine being caught in a wildfire like that? The wildfire produces so much smoke it blacks out the sky. The only light is what comes from the flames, which are all around you. The heat is so intense it burns your skin even through your clothes, and burns your lungs as you breathe. Can you imagine the fear that would overtake you as you look around and see only flames? Can you imagine the hopelessness and despair of knowing you wouldn’t make it out of that fire?
I think God gave us wildfires so that we would have a picture of what hell is like.
43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’
God created the world for his glory, but mankind rebelled. All of us stand guilty before God as rebels and traitors. The penalty for our sins is death and eternal separation from God. Since God is the source of all things good in the universe, the absence of God is the absence of all good. That place is called Hell, and it is a place of eternal suffering. That is the Bad News, and it is the worst news in the world.
But--thank God!—that’s not the end of the story!
The Good News
The Good News
1 Corinthians 15:4 (ESV)
4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
Our sin-debt has been paid by Christ
Our sin-debt has been paid by Christ
Ephesians 2:1–3 (ESV)
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
Christ offers you forgiveness and eternal life
Christ offers you forgiveness and eternal life
God provided salvation through his son, Jesus.
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
Salvation is ONLY found in Jesus
12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
You cannot earn your forgiveness, work off your sins, or balance out your bad deeds with good ones.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
All you have to do is A-B-C.
All you have to do is A-B-C.
Admit you’re a sinner.
Admit you’re a sinner.
Romans 3:19–20 (ESV)
19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
Luke 18:13–14 (ESV)
13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Believe Jesus died for you and rose again.
Believe Jesus died for you and rose again.
Acts 16:30–31 (ESV)
30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved...”
Romans 10:9–10 (ESV)
9 because, 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. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Confess Jesus as Lord of your life.
Confess Jesus as Lord of your life.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
Romans 6:11–14 (ESV)
11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
Today is the day of salvation
Today is the day of salvation
King Jesus will return one day to judge the world. He will remake the world as it was in the Garden of Eden and those who have trusted in Christ will enjoy fellowship with God forever.
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.
But for those who have refused to repent of their sins and trust Christ, there will be only judgment.
7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Hebrews 3:7–12 (ESV)
7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion...12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.
Perhaps you don’t know for sure which group you’re in or where you will go when you die or Christ returns. Come this morning and settle the matter.
Perhaps you are already saved but you haven’t been living a life that reflects that. Come rededicate your life this morning.
Perhaps you know people in your life who are dangling over the pit of Hell. Will you come pray for them this morning and commit yourself to sharing the gospel with them?