The Profound, Yet Simple Gospel (manuscript)

Intro:

Key thought: The gospel is incomplete without the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; but the gospel is not ONLY the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Illustration:

On the show Alone, individuals are dropped off in a wilderness area by themselves. They must endure, and one of the primary ways to endure is by finding food that can sustain their lives. Without fail, the ones who endure are not the ones who eat mushrooms, berries, and sea weed every day but the ones who are able to secure fish, deer, beaver…etc

So it is with the Christian life. There is a way in which we can view the gospel of Jesus Christ that leaves us weak and anemic and there is a way in which we can understand the gospel so that it continues to strengthen us to endure.

Why is this sermon needed?

One of the ways that baby food gospel theology is packaged for consumption is by passive/aggressive verbal statements like, “I wish they would just preach the simple gospel” or “It was so good to hear a simple gospel presentation.” Those kinds of statements are misleading, and if you are not careful you will begin to hear that and be swayed to accept a minimalistic gospel.

It would not be compassionate to not attempt to protect you from this kind of weak theology.

This kind of weak theology will not sustain in times of hardship.

What is the goal of the message?

Believe that the gospel is deeply profound and simultaneously simple.

Key thought:

The gospel is incomplete without the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; but the gospel is not ONLY the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

How will you go about this goal?

By showing from Hebrews 4, what is the gospel, when can we be sure we’ve heard the true gospel, what conclusions can we make about the gospel, and how should we respond to the gospel?

Body:

I. What is the gospel?

The gospel is good news.

The gospel is ONE thread [holding together saints of ancient and modern times] (v. 2)

Illustration: One thread that holds the entire seem or hem of the garment together.

Hebrews 4:2 “For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them:...”

The writer is declaring that it was the same good news that was preached to the wilderness generation as unto the 1st Century generation (roughly 1600 year swing). Key difference: Historically, Jesus had not lived, died, and been exalted in the OT. Despite this, the writer uses one term to identify the same message.

Hebrews 4:3 “...as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.”

OT good news: What then was the good news given in the OT? Specifically, that God would fulfill the covenant (Abrahamic) and give that generation the land of Canaan.

Deuteronomy 1:34-35 “34 And the Lord heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying, 35 Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers,”

A. Opposite NEWS of Hebrews Generation

That is clearly NOT the same details of the message given to the 1st Century generation. As a matter of fact, the NT generation were having their land taken away from them, and Canaan was under Roman authority/occupation.

Application:

So how could the author of Hebrews say that the same gospel was preached to OT generation as the NT generation? ONLY if you understand that the good news is not ONLY the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus but that the gospel or good news encompasses all of the purposes of God to reconcile ALL THINGS TO HIMSELF.

This means that the giving of the covenant to Abraham, the giving of the land to Israel, the establishment of the Davidic Kingdom are all good news and the good news proclaimed had to be believed or their was no rest for the people of God.

B. Connection with the Hebrews Generation

What is the connection between the OT good news and the NT good news?

In the OT, the good news was proclaimed by prophets, and the people were to trust the word of God through the prophets. Through this, they would experience the blessings of the good news.

In the NT, the Messiah secures the blessings of the good news and becomes the One in whom all of God’s promises are assured.

II Corinthians 1:20 “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.”

Application:

What this means is that you cannot draw a hard line and force a division between the gospel in the OT and gospel of the NT. They are not different messages, but rather they work together like a primary thread that holds the entire garment together.

So when someone says that the gospel is ONLY the death, burial, and resurrection they may not be missing the big components of the message, but they are dismissing continuity of the message — how it actually works together.

Illustration: Gun: Barrel, stalk, slide, ammunition…etc You can have the components but they all work together to accomplish the goal.

This should lead us to ask questions about our existence and purpose? Why am I here, and how do I fit into a grand narrative? Is there a big narrative?

The gospel is good news. It is the good news that God, our righteous Creator, despite our sinful rebellion, has sent His Son Jesus Christ as the penal substitutionary atonement for our sin and commands us to turn from our sin to Jesus as Lord by faith.

Notice that this has more than just the death, burial, and resurrection but not less than it.

II. When can we be sure we’ve heard the gospel proclaimed?

The gospel is proclaimed when any part of the thread is faithfully pulled (v. 2)

Hebrews 4:2 “For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached...” (interchangeable word here)

A. When there is a clear connection to God’s Big Story

How can this be? First, just by the fact that the NT writer calls what was preached in the OT good news. Galatians 3:8 is another example of this.

Secondly, faithful teaching of the OT necessarily involves showing the Messiah from the OT - Luke 24:44-49.

Thus, the OT is on the same continuum of good news, but the NT has shed light on what that good news is by making Christ visible, known and living upon the earth.

This record of the life of Jesus is divinely called “gospel”(s) - See Mark 1:1 and what we find in this record is more than the death, burial, and resurrection but not less than that.

B. Where God is Big, man is little, and Christ is sufficient.

Hebrews 4:2-3 “...did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.”

The writer of Hebrews is also presupposing the ability of the rest-Giver. (2-3) He gives profit to those who believe his good news. In this case, the profit is true rest. This brings about another important point: namely that the gospel is simple in a macro-element way, but it is unfathomably profound in a micro-element way. What I mean is that the Gospel is defined according to an all-powerful God who is inconceivable to the human mind. To attempt to unpack the gospel is to attempt unpack God. To unpack God is the eternal quest of mankind.

Illustration: Macro-Elements of Car and Micro-Elements of Car.

Application:

The good news can be concisely preached. Clearly, just because the gospel is as big as God does not mean that the message cannot be communicated in concise terms, but in our attempt to preach in concise terms, we should never over-minimalize the gospel by implying that the gospel is ONLY the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. The gospel is incomplete without the death, burial, and resurrection but the gospel is NOT ONLY the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

This also means that when you first learned the gospel, you learned the gospel in simplistic terms -- quantified so you could grasp it; but you should be deepening your understanding of the micro-elements of the gospel endlessly -- so much so that you know, believe, and understand more about God, man, Christ, and response more now than you ever have.

The gospel is good news. It is the good news that God, our righteous Creator, despite our sinful rebellion, has sent His Son Jesus Christ as the penal substitutionary atonement for our sin and commands us to turn from our sin to Jesus as Lord by faith.

So, yes the gospel can be quantified and communicated in simplicity, but it is so deep that we will be learning the gospel for all of eternity; so, we should stay away from passive/aggressive platitudes that say either you’re giving a simple plan or your are complicating the simple gospel. This is a false dichotomy that allures people into choosing sides between two groups that are on the same side, and typically this is said to try to divide people from one group to another.

Illustration: False dichotomy, “Do you want the wheels on your car or the engine? Do you need the steering wheel of your car or the alternator?”

III. What conclusions can we make about the gospel?

A. The gospel thread is profound [inexhaustible] (v. 2-3)

The gospel is as big as God because God is the gospel. You can never exhaust the breadth, depth, and heights of God.

B. The gospel thread is profound yet simple.

The gospel is both profound and simple. The gospel is simple in that we can mentally grasp the macro-elements, and the way to receive — to enter into — this profundity is One Person — Jesus Christ. Listen and think about the very words of Jesus. John 14:6 “6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Show both simplicity and profundity. Jesus is the only way, but who is Jesus and who is God?

The gospel is incomplete without the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; but the gospel is not ONLY the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Application

We should be careful that we are NOT minimizing God, His Person, or His purposes by: (1) presenting an alternative between simplicity and profundity of the gospel (2) acting as if we have fully grasped the gospel as Christians (3) treating the gospel as if it is only the macro-elements of the good news.

Conclusion:

IV. How should we respond to the gospel?

A. Response of Professing Christians

Hebrews 4:1 - “Let us therefore fear...”

Continue exercising faith for rest (speaking to Christians)

It is important to remember that this passage was written to professing Christians. When we consider that the gospel is both profound and simple, how should the Christian respond? By continuing to exercise faith, and this means that we: (1) adopt a position of humility. What is faith if not admitting that we are insufficient of ourselves? (2) Continue to mine the depths of the profundity of the gospel by reading more than devotional material, studying attributes of God, reading extensive works on sinfulness of mankind, reading the life of Christ critically, and daily repenting of sin and exercising faith in the gospel.

It also means that we don’t need to swallow the lie that if the gospel is simple it cannot be profound.

It also means we refuse the idea that the gospel is just a simple plan or strategy.

It means that we see those passive/aggressive criticisms as the result of an immature reading of God’s Word.

B. Response of Faithless

Hebrews 4:2 - “…did not profit them, not being mixed with faith...”

Find rest through faith (Wilderness generation did not)

The simplicity of the gospel means that you can certainly understand the components of the gospel, but the profundity of the gospel means that it is too big for you to treat like a simple thought you agree with.

Conversion is not your work, but it is the work of God in your heart. Would you humbly admit your need for this good news, and would you ask the Lord to truly save you today?

RH Response Questions:

Would you like to respond to the good news of Jesus Christ?

Would you like prayer for growth in continuing to deepen your understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ?

Would you like to follow Jesus Christ in believer’s baptism?

Discussion Questions:

What is the gospel?

If the gospel is simple, does that mean the gospel cannot be profound? Explain your answer?

Read Galatians 3:8. Who had the gospel preached to them in the Old Testament? What particular passage in Genesis is Paul saying was the gospel preached?

As a Christian, what are some specific ways that you can continue to grow in your understanding of the gospel?

What are the MACRO-elements of the gospel?

Should a passive/aggressive criticism like, “They are not long preaching a simple gospel” cause you anxiousness? Explain your answer.