GOSPEL DEEP
1. JESUS CAME TO SAVE - John 3:16-18
-When we first started Adventure we were low-tech!
-We had this ancient device called a landline.
-Some of you remember those from your childhood with Moses and Abraham.
-So the church had a landline and every flyer, handout, invite card had a landline number printed on it.
-And because we had no church building that landline called my house…and we got some crazy phone calls!
-Most of the crazy calls we got were from Christians.
-And my favorite question from church people who’d call was this: -Are you a Full Gospel church? (That’s code for being charismatic)
-I hated that question. I couldn’t say “Yes” because they’d get the wrong impression. But I didn’t want to say, “No” because that like saying we’re some kind of second rate church.
-One lady was particularly rude with me so when she asked, “Are you a full-Gospel Church I said “No mam, we are a half gospel church.”
-She said, “What?” I said we only believe in gospel Matthew and Mark.”
-We not have a sign that say, “Full Gospel” but I assure you we are a church that wants to be full of the gospel!
-We’re starting a new series today called Gospel Deep.
Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” (NIV)
-As a young Christian I was taught NOT to be ashamed of the gospel. Are you ashamed of the gospel?
-The reason I ask is that many pastors suspect their people are ashamed of the gospel.
-The rationale goes like this: People aren’t being saved, because Christians aren’t sharing the gospel, and it’s probably because Christians are ashamed of the gospel!
-But I don’t think that’s true at all. I think most Christians don’t know the gospel so they have nothing to share!
-I suspect that most Christians would like to be confident in knowing the basic gospel message.
-I suspect that if they knew the message and had the opportunity to share it with someone they probably would.
-Most Christians aren’t ashamed of the gospel, they just don’t know it…and they are afraid to mess it up.
-So we are going to fix that problem for the people at Adventure.
-I’ll make you this promise: If you come these next 9 weeks you will know the gospel and be able to share it with someone else.
-If you’re new this whole church thing, this is a great opportunity for you to learn the basics and make a decision for yourself.
-I also want to challenge to you to get in a small group and put down some roots in the gospel with other Adventure people.
-You can sign up on the app or the website or talk to Jae today.
-So we’re starting at square one today by asking the question:
What does “gospel” mean?
-There is some confusion about the word “gospel”.
-We have the four books in the Bible called gospels and then we talk about THE Gospel.
-The word “gospel” has a weird etymology.
-Early Christians took the Bible from Greek to Latin and when it first started appearing in English they called the message about Jesus the “God-spel” which means “God news” in Old English.
-Over time the word transformed from Godspel into Gospel…
-The Greek word euangelion means “Good News”!
(yoo-ang-ghel'-ee-on)
-We find the word euangelion 76 times in the New Testament.
-If you are trying to share Christ with your friends, I wouldn’t recommend talking about the “yoo-ang-ghel'-ee-on.”
-They will think you are crazy!
-You may not even use the word “gospel”, we’re not ashamed of it, most people just won’t know what you mean.
-The most accurate translation, from the original Bible term, is “Good News”.
-That’s why so many modern translations use the term “Good News” because everyone understands the idea of good news!
-When I found out I was having a son! It was good news!
-When I found out I was having a daughter! It was good news!
-When you find out it’s pizza for dinner! Good news!
-When you get a tax refund…really Good News!
-We all know what good news is.
-What better name for the message about Jesus than Good News!
-Call it euangelion, the gospel, the good news, or the message about Jesus…but it doesn’t matter what you call it if you don’t actually KNOW the message.
-We are going to study the Good News about Jesus for 10 weeks.
-And we’re going to do three things each week:
-First, we’re going to memorize the basic points of the Gospel.
-Second, each week we’re going to dig deeper on one point.
-Lastly, we’re going to challenge you to get in small group which will be looking at a story from the Gospels.
-Each week we’re going to begin with the basic gospel message
-Hold up your right hand. We’re going to call that the gospel hand
-Don’t be shy, hold them up. If your neighbor is resisting I would like you to give them a disapproving look. Here we go:
• Jesus came to save.
• Jesus never sinned.
• Jesus died on the cross.
• Jesus rose from the grave.
• Jesus is coming back.
-These are the most basic points of the gospel message.
-I want you to think about these points as an outline.
-There is much more we could add if we were sharing the gospel, but these 5 points will guide you in sharing the message.
-Now hold up your left hand and let that right-hand rest.
-This left hand we’ll call the response hand.
• Admit my sin.
• Trust in Jesus.
• Turn away from sin.
• Be baptized.
• Follow Jesus.
-The right hand is the basics parts of the gospel.
-And the left hand is our response to the gospel.
-This is so easy…anyone can do this.
-Our youth group is learning this on Wednesday nights.
-I’d encourage you to work on these with your little kids at home.
-Make a game or contest out of it. Have fun with it.
-There is no good reason why Christians can’t know the basic gospel message. It’s easy to remember.
-It’s the message that bring salvation to those people whose souls we worry about.
-And you know what? It’s good news! It’s the best news of our lives! We should be happy to share it.
-In our remaining time we’re going to go deeper on that first point. Jesus came to save. That’s Good News!
John 3:16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.
-There isn’t one other passage in the Bible that explains the reason for Jesus coming more clearly than these 3 verses.
JESUS CAME TO SAVE! (JOHN 3:16-18)
-Sometimes we become so familiar with the story that we forget to ask some of the important questions.
-We all know that Jesus came, but why did he come?
-This is a really important part of knowing the gospel.
-We don’t believe that Jesus was some great teacher.
-We don’t believe that he was a prophet who found some faith.
-He wasn’t an accidental world-changing guru!
-He was sent! He came here on a mission to accomplish something for God! He came to save.
-Have you ever “gone to the trouble” for someone?
-You know what I mean?
-It’s one of those moments when you show up and someone says, “You didn’t have to go to all that trouble.”
-But you did. You showed up to be there. You showed up for support. You showed up to lend a hand
-And they can’t believe you did it. “You didn’t have to go to all that trouble.”
-And when they say that…there’s usually the implication of “You didn’t have to…but I’m glad you did.”
-Several years ago we were on vacation over the Christmas break in central oregon. And my friend is a pastor over there.
-On Saturday I texted him and told him I was in town.
-And I asked what time services were at on Sunday morning.
-And he texted me the times and said, you may not want to come.
-Of course I asked why not?
-He said, “I’m announcing to my church that my wife left me.”
-I went and it was a tough service.
-And afterwards he hugged me and said, “You didn’t have to be here today.”
-And he was right! I didn’t have to be there for my friend on his difficult day. But that’s what you do for people you love.
-When your friend is in trouble…you go. You be present.
-You bring comforting words. You say prayers.
-And if you can’t think of anything to say, you bring a casserole!
-It’s in the Bible. But no Tuna Noodle Casserole!
-We go to the trouble for people we love.
-We all know that Jesus came.
-But sometimes forget why he came.
-He didn’t have to be here. But I’m so glad he went to the trouble.
-Why did he do it?
Jesus came to save…because he loves us! (John 3:16)
-John 3:16 says that God gave his one and only Son to us because he loves us.
John 3:16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
-Several important things to notice here:
-God loves the world…that’s all the people of the world.
-His love wasn’t just sentiment. He didn’t just say he loved us.
-He isn’t in heaven hoping for our best.
-He isn’t sending good thoughts our direction…whatever that is.
-Because of his love for us…he did something!
-He sent his one and only Son as our Savior.
-Jesus came to save…because he loves us.
-This is so important for us to understand. This foundational truth affects are very understanding of God.
-If you have a chance to share the Good News with someone they need to hear this part.
-Jesus came to save us because he loves us.
-That is the part of the gospel that Christians and non-Christians both struggle with.
-In some ways, it’s easier to accept that God is going to punish us.
-We sense that deep down, that we probably deserve it.
-In some ways, it’s easier to believe that God is disappointed in us.
-After all, we’re often disappointed in ourselves.
-In some ways, it’s easier to accept that God should be avoided.
-After all, why would a perfect God want to be with us?
-Many Christians and non-Christians feel that way.
-It’s hard to believe that a Perfect, All-Powerful God would love us
-Why would he bother?
-Several years ago I got a call from Jae at about 5pm on a Thursday night & he asked me, “What are you doing right now?”
-If you didn’t know…that’s the code…for “I need something from you right now.” Jae had been talking with a homeless woman.
-She was an alcoholic and was living on the streets or couch surfing…and it was fall….cold weather was coming.
-So Jae challenged her to get into a program.
Long story short, she agree to it. So Jae:
-Called around and got her a spot in a shelter in Salem.
-They had a program to help with sobriety, employment.
-They would work with her long term to get her set up in her own place and living a clean and sober life.
-And she was ready. So I show up and this lady is a rascal.
-We’re heading to Salem and she goes you know…I really love Chinese food. Jae says, “You want some Chinese food?”
-Oh yea that’d be great. We stop and get Chinese food.
-We get over the shelter…and there is paper work.
-Can you help me fill this out? Yes. We do the paper work.
-We pray with her, hug her and she checks in.
-Jae spent the better part of a full day to help a complete stranger.
-And you know that felt really good.
-We felt like we really did a good deed for someone.
-And you know what? The very next day she was back in McMinnville with a sign asking for money.
-It makes you wonder sometimes, “What’s the point?”
-What’s the point of loving people? What’s the point of helping people get out of their messes when they jump right back in it?
-Why should we even bother to show love to such people?
-And if you know that kind of frustration…AND I BET YOU DO…then you can start to imagine what God must feel.
-And when you realize that he sent his only Son…to save sinners who keep heading right back into sin…only then can you BEGIN to understand the depth of God’s love.
-There is no other reason why he would even try to help such people as us…except for love.
-And yet Christians and non-Christians both struggle to believe that God loves us.
-The fact that Jesus came to save…is proof of God’s great love.
-Don’t believe Satan’s lie that God is out to get us…
-Don’t believe that God is an angry, perpetually disappointed, and vengeful god who is waiting for us to slip up.
-You don’t leave heaven…to hang-out with sinners.
-You don’t leave heaven’s throne…to rescue people you’re planning to destroy.
-You don’t come down to save people you hate…
-The only reason you would die to save enemies…is love.
-The fact that Jesus came to save means he loves us.
-God loves me.
-Let’s say that together. “God loves me.”
-If you’re going to share the gospel with people you need to be able to look them in the eye and say, “God loves you.”
-So let’s practice. Turn to a neighbor and say it: “God loves you.”
-Didn’t that feel good? It’s good news!
-As we explain to people that Jesus came to save, we get to tell them some truly Good News!
-That the God of Heaven loves them!
1 John 3:1 “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (NIV)
-Every Thursday morning in my prayer time I read that passage.
-And it never fails to get me.
-God doesn’t love me as in…“Yeah I guess that guy Erik is ok”
-He has lavished love on me and he has lavished love on you.
-You say, “How?” He has called you a child of God.
-God loves you so much…that he gave the life of his son…to make enemies into family.
-Jesus came to save…because he loves us.
Jesus came to save…not condemn! (John 3:17)
-Listen again to vs 17: God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
-I think non-Christians sometimes know this better than we do.
-Jesus said, “don’t judge!” They love saying that.
-It’s on page one of the non-Christian handbook!
-And in fairness they right…and wrong.
-Jesus said he did not come to condemn the world but to save the world. When Jesus came he it was as the Savior:
-He loved people that no one loved.
-He healed people that no one would touch.
-He ate meals with people that were societal outcasts.
-He gave elevated nobodies to places of importance.
-His teaching was so radical in its love, that the world hasn’t been able to shake it for 2000 years! And they’ve tried.
-The message is salvation through faith in God’s only son.
-Whosoever believes will not perish but have everlasting life.
-Jesus came to save…that’s the Good News!
-And yet some Christians get this wrong. When I served at a previous church I had to pass this sign on every
time I went to church.
-Some Christian took the time to make a high-quality sign.
-They paid good money at a print shop for it.
-They built a sturdy frame with pressure treated lumber.
-They had a great spot on a major thoroughfare to put any message they wanted.
-They were saved and armed with the Good News about Jesus.
-And what do you think that sign said? It simply read, “The wages of sin is death. Rom 6:23”
-1000s of cars drive by this sign every day. And instead of hearing some Good News about salvation…they are condemned.
-And what really fired me up is that they skipped the last part of the verse. Do you what Romans 6:23 says?
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
-We got to get our message straight. Jesus didn’t come to bring a message of condemnation. He came to bring Good News.
-A message of salvation not condemnation.
-This is a matter of practicality. And Jesus addressed that in John 3:18. Let’s read that verse again.
18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.
-If you see someone with a big coffee stain on their shirt…you don’t say…you spilled coffee on your shirt.
-If you see a homeless guy on the street it does no good to say “Hey dude, you’re homeless.”
-If a windstorm falls a tree onto your neighbor’s house…you don’t say, “Hey bro, not sure you knew it…but there’s a tree on your house.” Thank you Captain Obvious!
-Jesus didn’t come to condemn people…because they were already condemned.
-That’d be like walking through the cells in death row and reminding people that had a death sentence.
-Not particularly helpful. Jesus didn’t come all the way from heaven just to remind condemned people of their condemnation!
Jesus came to save…because we are condemned! (John 3:18)
-Does that mean we don’t talk about sin, hell, or judgment?
-We don’t avoid talking about things the Bible talks about.
-But we don’t need to hammer lost people on their lostness!
-We need to tell them how to be found in Christ.
-We don’t need to beat people down about their sins! We need to tell them how to find forgiveness from sin.
-Our job as Christians isn’t to taunt people with the news that they’re headed for hell…we’re supposed to be pointing them to heaven.
-We need to be clear on this. The Bible is very clear on this.
-People who do not know Jesus…will not be saved.
-Christianity is not an open religion. We do not believe that all roads lead to heaven.
-We do not teach people to believe whatever they want.
-We do not recognize the world’s other religions, their gods, their holy books, or their prophets.
-We are an exclusive faith. If that freaks you out, settle down and think this through with me.
-We believe that Jesus is only way to heaven…because Jesus claimed to be the only way to heaven.
-You may have to wrestle with that…we can help you wrestle with that…but it’s what Jesus plainly said.
18b “But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.”
-That’s pretty straightforward.
John 14:6 “Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
-You know what that means?
-We’ve got work to do. We all know lots of people that say, “I believe in God.” But that’s not what Jesus said.
-Believing that there is some higher power, somewhere out there, and surrendering yourself to God’s Only Son…are not the same thing.
-So we invite people to church every chance we get.
-We turn conversations in a spiritual direction when the opportunity arises.
-We live out our Christian faith so that they can see the we have something they want.
-And…we learn the gospel…so that when that moment arise…we can share it. As we get ready to close down today let’s go through it one more time.
• Jesus came to save.
• Jesus never sinned.
• Jesus died on the cross.
• Jesus rose from the grave.
• Jesus is coming back.
• Admit my sin.
• Trust in Jesus.
• Turn away from sin.
• Be baptized.
• Follow Jesus.
