The Simplicity of the Gospel
Romans 1:16-17
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith.
Introduction: The great English statesman and man of God William Wilberforce once wrote that "Christianity can be condensed into four words: admit, [Christ as Lord] submit, [To Christ as Lord] commit, [Our lives to doing His will] and transmit [The Love of God to a dying world]."
(Draper's Quotes, Accessed Quick Verse Platinum 2010) Samuel Wilberforce (1805--1873)
With this quote in mind I’d like to share a simple message entitled “The Simplicity of the Gospel.”
I. Admit – Christ Is Lord
Who do you believe that Jesus is? He makes several claims about Himself. For instance He claims that He is the only way of salvation; that He is the Truth and that all wisdom and knowledge resides in Him and that He is the source of Life. It is so important that you and I get this right.
Matthew 16:13-27
13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
But knowing who Jesus claims to be has never been enough. He must be Savior and Lord to you and I personally. We must yield to His Lordship of our lives.
II. Submit – Christ As Lord
John 20:28
25The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. 26And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 27Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 28And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 29Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. 30And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
My Lord and my God - In this passage the name God is expressly given to Christ, in his own presence and by one of his own apostles. This declaration has been considered as a clear proof of the divinity of Christ, for the following reasons:
1. There is no evidence that this was a mere expression, as some have supposed, of surprise or astonishment.
2. The language was addressed to Jesus himself - "Thomas ...said unto him."
3. The Saviour did not reprove him or check him as using any improper language. If he had not been divine, it is impossible to reconcile it with his honesty that he did not rebuke the disciple. No pious man would have allowed such language to be addressed to him. Compare Acts 14:13-15; Revelation 22:8-9.
4. The Saviour proceeds immediately to commend Thomas for believing; but what was the evidence of his believing? It was this declaration, and this only. If this was a mere exclamation of surprise, what proof was it that Thomas believed? Before this he doubted. Now he believed, and gave utterance to his belief, that Jesus was his Lord and his God.
5. If this was not the meaning of Thomas, then his exclamation was a mere act of profaneness, and the Saviour would not have commended him for taking the name of the Lord his God in vain. The passage proves, therefore, that it is proper to apply to Christ the name Lord and God, and thus accords with what John affirmed in John 1:1, and which is established throughout this gospel.
III. Commit – Doing the Will of Christ
By Dr. Ronald Q. Moore
Sound doctrine is, to our Christian faith, the basic foundation for our beliefs and our behavior. Christian disciples build our belief systems upon the life, ministry, and teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ–the son of God, the savior of the world, and our soon coming King of kings!
As a Disciple of Jesus, we are to learn His teachings until they become our BELIEFS. Also, we are to follow/obey His commandments until they become our BEHAVIOR, because what we BELIEVE affects how we BEHAVE!
There is a direct correlation between BELIEFS and BEHAVIOR!
Our Lord Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) me.” He also said, “You shall know the truth and the truth will set you FREE.” (John 8:32)
To KNOW involves a process of integration. We receive the TRUTH by hearing, and we acknowledge it through cognitive awareness into our brain (HEAD Knowledge). Then, we meditate on the truth in our HEART, as the Holy Spirit makes application to our spirit! It is from the Head and the Heart that we BELIEVE!
Now, to BELIEVE means: We TRUST IN, We RELY ON, and We CLING to this TRUTH!
Believing truth transforms us from the inside and changes our outside behavior! Our behavior has changed, because we believe God’s truth!
Therefore, because we are a BELIEVER of truth, we now have become an Obedient Doer of the truth. (Changed Behavior)
There is a direct correlation between what we BELIEVE and how we BEHAVE!
Please, always remember: “What you BELIEVE is what you do,” and “You DO What You do, because you BELIEVE what you BELIEVE!”
It is vital that WE BELIEVE—trust in, cling to, rely on—the TRUTHS of the WORD OF GOD! SOUND DOCTRINE!
ILLUSTRATION:
A story is told of a high-wire walker, who pushed a wheelbarrow across a steel cable stretched over the Niagara Falls. As he returned from the other side, he asked a gentleman who had just witnessed the feat, “Sir, do you BELIEVE I can do that again?” The gentleman promptly replied, “Yes, I BELIEVE you can!” To which the high-wire walker said, “Get in the wheelbarrow and let’s go!”
To BELIEVE means we are ready and willing to “GET IN!”
We are willing to commit our all, in loving OBEDIENCE, to our precious Lord Jesus Christ!
IV. Transmit – The Love of Christ to a lost world
Tim Keller once said, “Here’s the gospel: you’re more sinful than you ever dared believe; you’re more loved than you ever dared hope." (Source: Thy Great Salvation
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…” (Romans 1: 16)
Christians, like the apostle Paul, are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. God has chosen to offer a loving way to save man from the destruction of his own sins.
In the New Testament the word “gospel” never means a book (one of the four gospels); instead it always refers to the good tidings that Christ and the apostles announced. It is called “the gospel of God” (Romans 1:1); “the gospel about Jesus Christ” (Mark 1:1); “the gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:15) and “the gospel of your salvation.” (Ephesians 1: 13)
Salvation is a good word. It denotes the purpose of God by which He justifies His people, first by pardoning their offenses and accepting them as righteous in His sight. Then He progressively transforms Christians, little by little, through the Holy Spirit and the written Word of God, into the image of Christ.
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.” (Titus 2: 11, 12)
We who are saved are called to share the love of Christ with a world that desperately needs to hear the “good news” of hope and love in Jesus. We have been commanded to go and tell.
Matthew 28:19-20
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
We are to make, mark, and mature disciples of Jesus. The Gospel changes lives.
*Did you see the story in the Baptist Message about the two seminary students in New Orleans, who stopped at a local grocery store? It happened years ago, and one of the students was Don Wilton.
*In the store they noticed a scruffy looking couple with a baby dressed only in a diaper. God’s Spirit moved the students in a special way, and they decided to open their wallets and give the family all the money they had.
*Don rolled up more than $200 in bills, then he sneaked up behind the barefoot man, stuck the roll in the man’s back and told him not to turn around.
*With a gentle voice, Don spoke to the frightened man and said, “My friend, you don’t know who I am. But I want you to know that there is another man and I here tonight who love the Lord Jesus Christ. He has done something for us that we cannot do for ourselves. Because of Him, we just want to give to you something from the two of us.”
*The man tearfully received the money and Wilton thought he would never see him again. But years later, Dr. Wilton was teaching at the seminary. One of the new students recognized his distinctive South African voice. It was the man from the store. He told Dr. Wilton that they were desperate that night -- So desperate that they had driven from their home in Alabama to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge in New Orleans.
*They planned to take their baby with them, but they decided to feed her first, so she at least would die with a full stomach. That’s why they stopped at the store. But they were so encouraged by the kind words of the man who would not let them see his face, they changed their minds. That act of kindness had set the man on a path to salvation and call to ministry.
(Baptist Message - June 27, 2002
