Series – The Questions of Mission
What – The Gospel of Jesus Christ
1 Corinthians 15:1-8
Who am I:
A Sinner separated from God
Who is Jesus:
The Christ, God in the Flesh
What did Jesus do:
He Died for our Sins
He Resurrected from the Dead
Veterans Day weekend –
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Good morning. Isn’t it great to be able to openly gather together to come and worship the Lord? There are many places in the world were Christians cannot do this. And while our country faces many issues and problems, we still enjoy many freedoms that other places don’t enjoy and for that we can thank our veterans.
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This weekend is Veteran’s Day weekend and I want to take a moment and just thank those who have sacrificed for the freedoms we enjoy in this country.
If you are veteran, I would ask you to please stand so we can recognize you and give you thanks.
Transition
Even though we enjoy great freedoms to gather and worship together, it is not always easy to share our faith or invite someone to church is it?
Check out this video to see what I mean.
video
Slide after video
Intro
Talking to people about church or about Jesus and the gospel can really seem overwhelming.
I think it is overwhelming for people because sometimes we just don’t know what to say or how to say it.
Well, we don’t want you to be like those folks in the video who didn’t know what to say or how to say it so we are going to give you some help over these next couple of weeks.
Series recap
We started a series last week where we are asking questions in regards to the mission God has us on.
Why?
Last week we asked why? Why do we tell people about Jesus? Why in this society and culture that seems to not want to hear, do we strive to let them know about Jesus? It is because it is a matter of life and death. We do it because when people die without receiving Christ as Savior, they are going to hell and we don’t want that. The only way to not be in hell is to believe in the way that God has made for all of us, and that is through believing in Jesus Christ for our salvation.
What?
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So we know why it is important, but what do we say to people?
Do we just say “believe in Jesus?” and that is enough?
Just come to church and then we have done our job?
While I do think it is important to be inviting people to church, I think it is imperative that everyone who claims the name of Christ be able to articulate what it means to believe in Jesus for salvation.
Paul tells us in Romans 10 that
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Romans 10:13-15
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
I want all of us to have beautiful feet that are actually bringing the good news to those the Lord leads us to.
So what is it that we need to be able to communicate to someone so they can trust in Jesus and be saved?
Now some of you may have heard this before and already know this, but I believe this is important to regularly go over so that it is in our minds so we can easily communicate the gospel when we have the opportunity.
Peter tells us
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1 Peter 3:15 to “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect”
So, to help us I am going to ask you to turn with me to 1 Corinthians 15:1-8.
Slide
We are going to see how Paul clearly communicates the gospel message and learn how we can easily remember what to communicate so that we are equipped to “give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have.”
Bulletin insert
And I am going to also ask you to use your inserts today. I have included not just the Scripture address that we will talk about in each of the points today, but the entire Scripture so you have it readily available. Keep these inserts in your Bible and regularly go over it so you can easily communicate the gospel.
Transition
So, in 1 Corinthians 15, follow along with what Paul says.
1 Corinthians 15:1-8
15 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
Pray
Ok, so I want to go back to the question I asked originally.
If someone asks us what must we do to be saved, what do we say?
Paul was asked just that question by the Philippian Jailer in Acts 16 when he was on one of his missionary tours.
Acts 16:30-34
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"Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
31 They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved — you and your household." 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God — he and his whole family.
I think sometimes we want to say to people to “just believe in Jesus and you will be saved, without the other part of what Paul did “in speaking the word of the Lord to him.”
I would say that in our day it is not enough to say the words, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved” without some further explanation about what it means to believe and what it is they are actually believing.
Because there are all kinds of religions that believe in “Jesus” but it is not the Jesus of the Bible.
It is a Jesus who is not God, or was just a good person, or was a man who existed and was a prophet.
Even in Paul’s day, there were false teachers who tried to preach about a Jesus who was not the real Jesus.
We see Paul write to the Corinthians about them believing some of these false teachers.
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2 Corinthians 11:4 - For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached…
They were preaching a false Jesus, a Jesus who wasn’t God or did not resurrect.
Using the name of Jesus without believing in who Jesus really is and in what He really did doesn’t do anything.
We need to believe truly in the Jesus of Scripture.
Transition
So if someone asks you “What must I do to be saved?” or “How do I become a Christian?”
What would you say?
Are you prepared with the Gospel?
Slide
To help you remember what to say, I am going to give this to you in 3 questions to be answered that will help you clearly communicate the gospel message so that someone can recognize their need and know what to believe to truly believing in Jesus Christ for salvation.
The first question to be answered is
Who Am I?
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The answer is
A Sinner separated from God
Why is this important? Because if we don’t first understand who we are, then we will never believe that we need a Savior and we will never believe in Jesus as that Savior.
1 Corinthians 15:3 that “Christ died for our sins.”
We have committed sins, therefore we are sinners.
It is typically not too hard for someone to recognize that they have done something wrong.
Most people recognize that they have sinned in some way against God. People know they have lied. People have taken something that is not theirs. 100% of guys and my guess is 100% of women have at some point lusted after someone else, and Jesus tells us in the Bible that is adultery.
So ask a person if they have ever done anything that could be considered a sin.
When they say yes, then you can tell them that they are not alone and that everyone has sinned, and the Bible tells us that too.
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Romans 3:23 – All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
But sometimes a person may recognize that they are a sinner, but think that sin isn’t so bad. We help them to understand the consequences of sin.
The Bible tells us in
Isaiah 59:2 that “your iniquities have separated you from your God.”
Because of our sins, we are separated from God and Romans 6:23 tells us “the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
When a person knows who they are, a sinner, and that their sin has separated them from God, they are now in a place to be able to recognize their need for a Savior.
So first help someone answer the question of “Who Am I? – A sinner in need of salvation.
The next question we want to ask and answer is
Who is Jesus?
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This is important because as we said, there are many who know the name of Jesus, but don’t really know who He is.
So who is Jesus?
The answer is
He is the Christ, God in the flesh
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Again in 1 Corinthians 15:3, Paul tells us that – “Christ died for our sins”
What does it mean to be the Christ?
People today may not know what it means to be the Christ or Messiah.
The Christ means ‘the anointed One of God.’
We find in the Scripture that to be the Christ means to be the Son of God.
John the apostle tells us that the purpose of him writing the gospel of John.
He says in
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John 20:31 “but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God…
I will sometimes have people say to me that they believe Jesus is the Son of God, but that doesn’t make Him God.
Being the Son of God is not like being one of the sons of God. The way Christ called God His Father was exclusive. It excluded other people and it equated Himself with God.
The Jews Jesus spoke to understood this. Listen to what it says in
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John 5:17-18
"My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." 18 For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
Being the Christ, the Son of God was an exclusive claim that meant He was really God in the flesh.
Gospel of John equates Jesus with God throughout
The gospel of John is a great book for someone to be able to recognize the deity of Christ.
The fact that He is God is established in a number of places in John.
In fact, in the very first verses of John he tells us
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John 1:1, 14 – 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
Jesus is the Christ, God in the flesh.
Believing in the deity of Christ is essential to being a Christian and it is essential that we communicate that.
Because there are some religions, like the Mormons, will use the name “Jesus,” but they are not talking about the Jesus who is God. They may talk about Jesus who became a “god,” but according to them, you can become a “god” too.
Those who may say they believe in Jesus like the Mormons or Jehovah Witnesses are not really Christians. That is not meant as a derogatory statement, but only a statement of fact because to be a Christian by definition means to believe in Jesus who is the Christ, God in the flesh.
A belief that Jesus is the Christ, God in the flesh is essential.
A third question to ask and answer is
What did Jesus do?
Slide
The answer to this question is 2 parts.
First,
He died for my sins
Again in 1 Corinthians 15:3 –it tells us that “Christ died for our sins”
Jesus death to pay the price for your sins is essential.
There had to be a sacrifice to atone for your sins.
Romans 3:25 - God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,
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Isaiah 53:5 - he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
If Jesus did not shed his blood and die, we would not be forgiven.
Hebrews 9:22 without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
The death of Jesus in his own body to pay for my sins is an essential part of the gospel.
The second thing that Jesus did that is part of the gospel is that
He Resurrected from the dead
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1 Corinthians 15:4 - He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures
This is the really hard part for many people.
They can see that they are a sinner.
They can believe that Jesus is really God who became flesh
They can accept Jesus’ death for their sins.
But to rise from the dead?
That is not something you see every day.
Is this really essential?
Listen to what Paul says later in 1 Corinthians 15
1 Corinthians 15:14, 17
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if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty….you are still in your sins.
If Jesus did not rise from the dead, you have no hope that your sins have been paid for.
The Resurrection proves He is God
If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then He is a liar and He is not God, because He said He would rise.
The Resurrection is essential because it proves He is God.
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Romans 1:1-4 - “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God- 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
There have been lots of men who died claiming to be a god, but there is only One who has backed up that claim by rising from the dead never to die again.
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ proves He is God and that He has the power to give you eternal life as well.
Conclusion
The gospel of Jesus Christ truly is good news. It is good news that we need to be able to share and communicate.
Do you know what to communicate?
Keep these inserts from today in your Bibles.
Remember the questions that we went over today to help you walk a person through the gospel.
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Who am i? – A sinner separated from God
Who is Jesus? – He is the Christ, God in the flesh – He is truly God who became man
What did Jesus do? – He died for your sins in your place. He took what you deserve on Himself and then – He resurrected from the dead proving He is God and can give you Life!
The gospel is good news and it is good news for everyone who will believe.
I have 3 more questions for you as we close.
Do you believe that?
Do you believe the gospel message?
Do you recognize your own need and do you believe that Jesus is the answer to your need?
Secondly, have you confessed your belief?
The Bible says in
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Romans 10:9 - if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Have you ever turned to the Lord and consciously confessed your need and your belief to the Lord?
Doing that is something that truly helps us to understand what we believe and is an acknowledgement to the Lord that we do know and believe.
If you haven’t done that, maybe that is why you are here today. You needed to truly understand and know what the gospel is and your need to receive Jesus.
Finally, can you communicate it?
Take these inserts home. Look them over regularly. Keep them in your Bibles. Pull them out when you have opportunity to talk with someone. All the Scripture is right there and written out for you to be a help to you.
Remember the questions and the answers to help you walk through this with someone.
And come back next week as we talk about How to engage people in conversations about faith in ways that are not preachy, but sensitive to our culture and expressing love and care for people.
Now I am going to close in a prayer of confession. And I would encourage you to commit to memory Romans 10:9 for when you have the opportunity to share the gospel.
It is not just an intellectual belief in these facts that bring salvation, but it is a real heart belief that is borne out by actions.
Encourage those you share the gospel with to take this step of faith living out what the Bible says and confessing their belief in these things back to the Lord if that is what they truly believe in their heart.
And then just lead them in a prayer of confession like I am going to do right now. And if you are here and need Christ and truly believe that you need him and that He is truly the Lord, God in the flesh and that He died for your sins and Resurrected from the dead, then confess that belief with me to the Lord this morning.
Let’s pray.
If you received Jesus as your Savior this morning, then I want to encourage you to think about taking a next step.
In the Bible the next step of faith after receiving Jesus as Savior is baptism.
Baptism never comes before believing, always after we receive Christ.
If you are here and have never taken this step of faith in believers baptism, then I want to encourage you to think about that.
We are baptizing next Saturday. If you would like to take that step, then please come and see me and we can arrange that.
If you are unsure about that, then I would encourage you to come out next Saturday and be here for those who are getting baptized to see what it is all about.
But right now, we are going to close in worship this morning.
We serve and worship a God is has made a way for us to have salvation and to have life. He is a mighty God and He is mighty to save us.
Let’s worship Him now as we sing Mighty to Save.
