Purpose: To outline the comprehensive nature of the Gospel.
Aim: I want the listener to be willing to give up all for the Gospel.
INTRODUCTION: Last week I talked about the fact that church growth is not our responsibility. Jesus said, "I will build my church." Today I want us to talk about what is our responsibility as a church. Our job is Gospel growth, not church growth
Let's begin by looking at the classic passage that defines the Gospel.
1 Corinthians 15:1--8 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. (NAU)
Notice that those who are saved have received the Gospel and continue to live by the Gospel. This is why the Gospel is "of first importance" and this is also why the Gospel is all about Jesus Christ.
If someone asked you to explain the Gospel, would you know what to say? If the Gospel is SO important then it is vital that we have a clear understanding of what the Gospel is. Let's look at the first mention of the Gospel in the Bible as a way to understand it.
I. Bethel Should Know the Gospel
Within a very short time after Adam and Eve rebelled, God announced the Gospel in Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel (NAU)
God did not speak these words to Adam and Eve. He spoke them directly to Satan. The great cosmic battle over sin is not between man and Satan it is between God and Satan.
Although this pronouncement is only the beginning seed of the Gospel, yet from it we can get a picture of what the Gospel will become.
A. The Gospel contains the incarnation "her seed"
The sin nature is passed on through the man. Since everyone here has a human father everyone here has a sin nature. Jesus on the other hand had NO human father. Luke 1:35 The angel answered and said to [Mary], "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. (NAU)
This promise was also given to Isaiah. Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. (NAU)
B. The Gospel contains the suffering of Christ "you shall bruise Him on the heel"
Acts 3:18 "But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. (NAU)
C. The Gospel contains the defeat of Satan "He shall bruise you on the head"
That would be a fatal wound! John 12:31 "Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. (NAU)
Revelation 20:10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (NAU)
D. The Gospel is all God's work "I will put"
Ephesians 1:4--8 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.... (NAU)
We must never forget the big picture. The Gospel is God's plan for defeating His arch enemy, Satan. The Gospel is all about glorifying God, not just saving us from hell. Colossians 2:13--15 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him. (NAU)
1 Corinthians 1:30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus ... (NAU)
II. Bethel Should Exalt the Gospel
A. Because the Gospel is from God
Galatians 1:11--12 For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. (NAU)
B. Because the Gospel is glorious
1 Timothy 1:11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted. (NAU)
2 Corinthians 4:4--6 ...the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. (NAU)
C. Because the Gospel is powerful
1 Thessalonians 1:5 for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. (NAU)
D. Because the Gospel displays God's righteousness
Romans 1:16--17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." (NAU)
"Luther's understanding of the gospel shattered the idea that the merits of the saints comprise a treasury in heaven. Medieval theology distorted the gospel, focusing on the merits of saints rather than the merit of Christ. But Christ's work on the cross is good news to sinners, who are saved when they place their faith in Christ. No one is saved by good works (Eph. 2:8--9; Titus 3:5), but every believer should carry out good works as a result of salvation." [1]
E. Because the Gospel saves us
1 Corinthians 15:2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. (NAU)
F. Because we love it more than life itself
1 Corinthians 9:16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. (NAU)
1 Thessalonians 2:2 but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition. (NAU)
III. Bethel Should Proclaim the Gospel
A. To unbelievers
1 Corinthians 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void. (NAU)
1 Corinthians 1:21--23 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, (NAU)
Romans 15:16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. (NAU)
B. To believers
Romans 1:15 So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. (NAU)
1 Corinthians 15:1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, (NAU)
C. To erring believers
Paul even confronted Peter when Peter was not being careful about the Gospel. Peter let the fear of man influence the way he was displaying the Gospel. When some Jewish leaders came to Antioch he stopped fellowshipping with the Gentiles for fear of what they would say. Peter was giving the impression that Jewish traditions were part of the Gospel. Galatians 2:14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, "If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? (NAU)
Paul was probably alluding to this problem in Galatians 6:12 Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. (NAU)
When a fellow Christian stumbles in their walk with Christ they need the Gospel. Paul gives us an example of this in Titus 3:1--8 Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men. (NAU)
IV. Bethel Should Suffer for the Gospel
A. We should surrender our lives for the Gospel
Mark 8:35 "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. (NAU)
B. We should suffer rather than hinder the Gospel
1 Corinthians 9:12 If others share the right over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we did not use this right, but we endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ. (NAU)
Instead of saying, "I don't see anything wrong with what I am doing" we should ask, "Am I doing anything to hinder the Gospel?"
1 Corinthians 8:13 Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble. (NAU)
C. We should volunteer to suffer for the Gospel
We feel very spiritual if we claim to be willing to suffer for the Gospel. We should actually be willing to volunteer to suffer for the Gospel. 2 Timothy 1:8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, (NAU)
Let's not fool ourselves. If we see an opportunity to stand up for the Gospel knowing that it may result in suffering then and only then, are we truly willing to suffer for the Gospel.
If we are not willing to suffer for the Gospel then how can we claim that we believe that God will reward those who suffer for the Gospel? Mark 10:29--30 Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel's sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. (NAU)
V. Bethel Should Make Everything about the Gospel
A. The Gospel should govern how we engage the world
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (NAU)
Ephesians 6:19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, (NAU)
1 Thessalonians 2:4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts. (NAU)
B. The Gospel should govern how we treat each other
Philippians 1:27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; (NAU)
When two believers can't get along with each other the Gospel is being denied by one or both of them.
CONCLUSION: Listen to C.J. Mahaney: "If there is anything in life that we should be passionate about, it's the gospel. And I don't mean passionate only about sharing it with others. I mean passionate about thinking about it, dwelling on it, rejoicing in it, allowing it to color the way we look at the world. Only one thing can be of first importance to each of us. And only the gospel ought to be." [2]
Remember that Paul said the Gospel was "... delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins..."
"The gospel is not only the most important message in all of history; it is the only essential message in all of history...." (Jerry Bridges)
"To preach the gospel to yourself," Bridges explains, means that you continually face up to your own sinfulness and then flee to Jesus through faith in His shed blood and righteous life." It's a matter of sitting yourself down, grabbing your own attention and saying, hey, self, listen up! This is what matters most: You're forgiven! You have hope! Your hope is based on the sacrifice of Jesus. Do not view this day any other way. Let your day...your life be governed by this one defining truth. Jesus died for your sins." [3]
"The following definition of the gospel, provided by Jeff Purswell, the Dean of our Pastors College, seeks to capture the substance of the gospel: "The gospel is the good news of God's saving activity in the person and work of Christ. This includes his incarnation in which he took to himself full (yet sinless) human nature; his sinless life which fulfilled the perfect law of God; his substitutionary death which paid the penalty for man's sin and satisfied the righteous wrath of God; his resurrection demonstrating God's satisfaction with his sacrifice; and his glorification and ascension to the right hand of the Father where he now reigns and intercedes for the church." [4]
[1]Swindoll, C. R., & Zuck, R. B. 2003. Understanding Christian theology (1187). Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville, Tenn.
[2]C.J. Mahaney, The Cross Centered Life, 20,21
[3] CJ Mahaney, The Cross Centered Life
[4]What is the Gospel? By C.J. Mahaney http://www.reformationtheology.com/2006/04/what_is_the_gospel_by_c_j_maha.php
