Sermon Central
Billy Bob from Tennessee was engaged to Bobbie Lee from New York City, and she had never learned how to drive a car. So Billy Bob set out to teach her. He took her to the parking lot of a flea market that was open only on weekends, a place where she had plenty of room for error. He explained to Bobby Lee the sequence she needed to understand and implement in order to get the car started and moving.
After his explanation, she looked at him and said, "That's too formulaic. I am more of a free spirit and don't like to be bound by structures. I like to just let things flow according to the mood I'm in." At that moment, Billy Bob began to rethink his future with this woman. But he said, "Okay, let's see what mood you're in today."
Bobbie Lee got in the driver's seat and tried to turn the wheel to the right. Billy Bob asked her what she was doing, and she told him she felt like going right. Bobbie Lee struggled with the wheel because the engine wasn't running and the power steering wasn't working. She continued to struggle, and then in frustration she said, "It won't move to the right!" Billy Bob said, "Of course it won't move to the right. You haven't turned on the engine." She looked at him with a hurt look on her face and said, "Why didn't you tell me about the engine?" He said, "I did, but you wanted to do it your own free-flow way." She said, "You don't have to yell at me. Just tell me how to turn on the engine." Billy Bob said, "I already told you."
Bobbie Lee thought a moment—actually it was several moments—and then located the key and turned it. But nothing happened. She turned the key time and again, and still nothing happened. Then she blurted out, "Your stupid car won't work." By this time, Billy Bob decided that he would probably postpone the wedding. Then he screamed at her, "I told you to put your foot on the brake before turning the key on." And Bobbie Lee began to sob and said, "I don't think this is going to work."
This is a silly story, but it demonstrates how most pastors approach the preaching of the Gospel. Many pastors think they're preaching the Gospel, but they certainly don't want to be "formulaic," and so they wing it. From the sermon survey done by LifeWay Research, most pastors make no attempt to include an intelligible and logical gospel presentation in their messages. The survey revealed that 94% of pastors are not preaching the Bad News (our sin and death problems and why good works don't work) and the Good News (what God has done through Christ to overcome our sin and death problems).
What would an intelligible and logical Gospel presentation look like? It would be "formulaic," meaning it would have components that are explained sequentially. I always begin with the sin and death problems, because the unbeliever needs to understand why he is separated him from God before he will see his need for a Savior from those problems.
I always include the Bad News and the Good News in an appropriate place in the message. In other words, the Gospel is not an "add-on" at the end, nor is it shoved in somewhere where it is out of place. There is always a proper place to include the Bad News and the Good News if you are preaching from the Bible.
I begin with the Bad News, explaining that all of us have committed crimes against God in our thoughts, words and deeds. The unbeliever is sitting there thinking, "What is he talking about? I haven't committed any crimes against God. I'm a good person." So I make it personal by saying, "You have heard of the Ten Commandments. The First Commandment states, 'You shall have no other gods before me.' I broke that commandment every minute of every hour of every day for the first 27 years of my life. The true and living God wasn't number one in my life. He wasn't even in my top-10, -20 or -100 list of what was important to me. I had no interest in God during those years. I also committed a variety of other crimes against God. Jesus explains sin or criminal activities against God this way: He taught that sin is not just in what we do but also in what we say and think. Murder, adultery and stealing are crimes against God, but so are the wrong kinds of anger, lust and greed. All of us are guilty before God, because all of us have committed more crimes against him than we can imagine."
"God is the ultimate Judge and must punish every sin we commit, and the punishment is death—eternal separation from God and all that is good. (At this point, I may explain spiritual death, physical death and eternal death). Most people think they are basically good people who have a few faults. They believe God knows they mean well and will therefore accept them when they die. But that approach won't work, because no matter how good I may be, I cannot make myself perfect as God is perfect, and I cannot bribe God to set aside his justice. The Bad News is that I am a habitual criminal facing the righteous Judge, which means I am in serious trouble.
"The Good News is that God, in his love for me, provided a substitute to take the punishment I deserve. No one on earth could do the job, and so God the Son left the glory with God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit and came to Earth." (At this point, I sometimes explain the concept of the Trinity: God is a spirit being having no physical or material properties. There is but one God as far as his being is concerned. Within the one-spirit being of God, there are three separate and distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit who exist co-equally and co-eternally.)
"Christmas is the celebration of God the Son coming to Earth. Jesus was born without a sin nature, and he lived a sinless life. He taught wonderful truths and performed powerful miracles, but none of these can overcome our sin and death problems. This is why Jesus allowed himself to be arrested, tried, convicted and hung upon a cross."
"Now we come to the part that most people, including many in our churches, don't understand. During my growing up years, I heard the phrase, 'Jesus died for your sins.' But I had no idea what this meant. It made no sense to me. How could someone dying on a cross 2,000 years ago have anything to do with me?
"At age 27, God opened my eyes to the Bad News about myself and the Good News of what he had done for me through Jesus. God revealed to me that, as Jesus was hanging on the cross, God the Father, knowing everything about me, took all of my sins and put them on Jesus and punished him in my place. Jesus took the wrath of God I deserve." (Sometimes I will go into more detail, using the Passover, Yom Kippur or the Jewish sacrificial system to illustrate the concept of substitution that God had established for Israel. I also use verses from Isaiah 53 to make the point.)
"In his love for me, God the Father placed all of my sins— past present and future—on Jesus and punished him in my place. Jesus took the wrath of God I deserve, then he died, and his body was put in a tomb. Jesus died on Friday, and his enemies thought they had seen the last of him. But they had no idea who they were dealing with! On Sunday, the first day of the week, Jesus came back from the dead, never to die again. How could that have happened? It happened only because Jesus paid the complete penalty for all of my sins. If one of my sins remained in Jesus, he would still be dead, because the wages of sin is death. But death cannot operate where there is no sin, and this is why it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Jesus (Acts 2:24).
"Jesus came back from the dead, remained on earth 40 days and then ascended into heaven. Before he ascended, he commanded his followers to take the Good News of what he had done and why he had done it into all the world (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8). God's truth came to me many years ago. When I understood the Bad News about myself and the Good News of what God had done for me through Jesus, I told Jesus that I was a sinner and desperately needed him. I asked him to forgive my sins, and I trusted him to save me from eternal condemnation. I knew he was able to do this because he had been condemned in my place. I trusted him to save me to a new life lived with and for him, and he gave me that new life."
I explain the Bad News and the Good News in every sermon I preach. You're probably thinking, "That explanation takes a lot of time." I probably spend between 5 to 10 minutes out of a 45-minute message on the Bad News and Good News. Is it worth it? Half of my elders came to know Christ through visiting the church, hearing the Bad News and Good News and trusting Jesus to save them. I continually hear stories of people who have come to know Christ simply through a casual visit to our church. Just this week, I received two e-mails telling me of friends and relatives who came to know Christ by listening to CDs of my sermons. God alone can save sinners, but his power to save is in and through the Gospel (Romans 2:16).
You may be wondering if I give an invitation at the end of the service. I don't invite people to come forward, but in my closing prayer I always say something like this: "There is probably someone with us right now who, for the first time, understands the Bad News about himself and the Good News of what God has done for him in Jesus. My friend, if that is you, and God has opened your understanding to your need, I invite you to come to Jesus. In your heart and mind, say, 'Lord Jesus, I acknowledge that I have committed more crimes against you than I could ever imagine. I realize that I deserve eternal punishment. But now I understand that you are God the Son who became a man. You lived a perfect life and then went to the cross. I believe that, as you were hanging on the cross, God the Father, knowing all about me, took all of my sins—past, present and future—and put them all on you. The Father then poured out his wrath on you, and you took the punishment I deserve. You died and your body was put into a tomb. But on the third day, you came back from the dead. I trust you to save me from eternal condemnation. I trust you to save me to a new life, so that I can live with and for you. Thank you for giving me that new life. I love you because you have first loved me.' If you just trusted Jesus to save you from eternal punishment and to a new life lived with and for him, you have made the most important decision of your life. I ask you to tell someone in a position of leadership in our church of your decision, so that we may welcome you into God's family and encourage you as you begin your new life."
The message of the Bad News and Good News remains the same. It doesn't change. But from the survey done by LifeWay Research, the overwhelming majority of pastors present what they consider to be the gospel in the same way that Bobbie Lee wanted to learn how to drive.
