It's all about the gospel!
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So, do you still believe the gospel?
So, do you still believe the gospel?
In a time where we hear “the gospel” stated a lot. Do we understand the gospel, have we properly responded to the gospel? Can we help others to understand and respond to the gospel? That is what this series is going to focus on.
In this series we will look at several important things when it comes to the gospel.
Do you believe the gospel?
Have you heard the Good News?
Preparing to proclaim the gospel
The gospel we proclaim
The gospel and baptism
Obeying the gospel
(Transition) So, hope you enjoy, are challenged, are convicted, if needed converted and prepared to go into all the world to share the gospel.
Good News!
Good News!
No doubt you have heard that the gospel is good news. For it is good news that must be heard, good news that must be believed, good news that must be obeyed.
The Good News prophesied (Isa61:1-3)
1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; 2 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,
3 To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
The Good News is God’s power to save (Rom1:16-17)
the power of God unto salvation!
The Good News is why Jesus came (Lk19:10)
Jesus came to seek and “save” the lost!
The Good News leads people to be born again (Jn3:3-5; 1Pt1:23-25)
To be born again of water and Spirit as Jesus said is a must to enter the kingdom of heaven.
This is the gospel, the Good news, it is like Peter says the Word which was preached.
23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For, “All flesh is like grass, And all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, And the flower falls off,
25 But the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word which was preached to you.
(Transition): Now the good news must be heard and the Good news must be believed.
The Good News has facts to believe (1Cor15:1-3)
1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
(Transition): So this morning as we start this series I want to look at some “facts to believe”
Jesus died for our sins
Jesus died for our sins
We must believe the fact that Jesus died for our sins. Having said that there are things we have to know, accept, believe before that fact has relevance.
We must believe there is a sin problem (1Jn3:4; Rom3:23; Isa59:1-2; Jm2:10; Rom6:23)
Sin is lawlessness
4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.
Sin is falling short of God’s glory
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Even one sin makes us guilty of all
10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.
Sin separates us from God
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. 2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.
And the wages of sin is death
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Do we believe, do we understand sin and the ramifications of sin?
(Transition) While there is a sin problem there is a sin solution too and we need to know, believe that too.
We must believe there is a solution to the sin problem (1Cor15:1-3; Rom5:6-8; 1Jn4:9-10; Rom3:23-26)
Jesus died for our sins as mentioned (1Cor15:1-3)
Sinner’s Christ died our sins
6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
God manifested His love for us through Christ so we might live through Him.
9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
God demonstrates His justice, and His righteousness through Christ.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
I think it is important not to just talk about scriptures but to give you the scriptures. The Word of God is the power to save, not talking about God’s Word, but God’s Word itself that is why you get scripture filled messages.
(Transition) - - - - So now the next fact to believe is
Do you believe that God loves you and that Christ died for you, for your sins that is?
(Transition) OK, a back up question to that is can you share that? Are you willing to share that with others? - - - hopefully as we do this today and continue with facts to believe, that you can gain confidence in sharing the gospel with others too. So keep coming back, listening, tuning in to the series.
Jesus died, was buried, rose again!
Jesus died, was buried, rose again!
So, thus far we have looked at the definition of Good news, and the fact that must be believed that Jesus died for our sins, and yes there is a sin problem and a sin solution. Now we are at a new thing that must be believed. Jesus, died, was buried, and rose again!
Facts to believe about the resurrection ( Act2:32, 3:15; 1Cor15:4-8; Ps16:10-11)
32 “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.
Believe raised up and that there were witnesses to it as proven through the scripture.
15 but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.
Had to give you that one, just for fun.
Believe it is historically recorded or it could have been refuted (1Cor15:4-8)
4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; 7 then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles;
8 and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.
Believe that it is the fulfillment of O.T. prophecy
10 For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. 11 You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
(Transition) If it were not true, the resurrection that is, it could have easily been proven a lie. 500 people or more according to the scripture saw the resurrected Christ. So, now that brings to mind a question.
Do you believe that Christ was raised from the dead?
And, now a follow up, can you back up your belief with scripture, and are you willing to share the evidence, the proof to others? For there is more about the resurrection.
Must believe in the significance of the resurrection (1Cor15:14-19; Rom4:24-25; 1Pt1:3; 1 The4:13-14)
Our faith depends on the resurrection
14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 15 Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.
16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.
18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.
We must believe in the resurrection for our salvation counts on it or we would be “most pitied” and our faith would be worthless. For the resurrection verifies our justification
24 but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.
The resurrection gives us our hope
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Not just hope, a living hope, and according to 1Tim1:1 Jesus Christ is our living hope, all because of the resurrection!
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
we are not like those with no hope for we have hope in the person Jesus Christ because of the resurrection!
(Transition) So, now comes the question:
Do you believe in the significance of the resurrection? Can you share why you believe what you believe in using scripture? Are you willing to?
(Transition) we believe in sin problem, sin solution, that the resurrection makes the solution possible, now there is still more for us to believe.
Must believe Jesus is both Lord and King
Must believe Jesus is both Lord and King
Lord is the word master, and king is one with authority. We need to know and believe Jesus is both for us.
Believe in Jesus exaltation to Lord and Christ (Act2:33-36; 1Tim3:13-16; Rev17:14; Rev1:5)
33 “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. 34 “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand,
35 Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” ’ 36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”
This Jesus, the one who died for or sins, the one who was resurrected for our justification has been made Lord and Christ!
Believe He has all authority (Mt28:18; Eph1:20-22; Rom14:6-8; Col3:17; Lk6:46)
All authority has been given to Him (re: Mt28:18)
All authority and made in subjection to Him.
20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,
Believe God exercises His authority through His Word (Ps119:16; Mt28:20; Act2:42)
The Sum of Gods worth is truth (re: Ps119:16)
Jesus gave word, gave authority to apostles (re: Mt28:20)
To receive the word of the apostles is to receive the Word of God
13 For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.
To believe the word is the word of God is to apply it
42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
So, one more time a question.
Do you believe in the authority of the scripture? - Can you help someone understand using the scripture the authority of the scripture? Are you willing to?
(Transition): So still more to believe, it is our hope, our hope yet to be fulfilled.
Must believe He is coming again!
Must believe He is coming again!
Jesus the promise maker and the promise keeper, you can count your eternal life on it, by faith!
Believe God keeps His promises (Act1:9-11; 1The4:16)
He promised through the angels that He would return the same way in which He was taken up.
Promised how it would happen, and I have to give you that one, just for impact purposes.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Believe Jesus is coming in judgment (Act10:42, 17:30-31; Rom2:5, 2:16; 2Cor5:10)
42 “And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.
He is coming in judgment as the judge of the living and the dead
Time of ignorance is over according to (Act17:30-31)
We are going to give account of all, be it good or bad (2Cor5:10)
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
This judgment is not going to be good for many (Rom2:5) and a day of indignation (Rom2:16)
5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
add to that
16 in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.
Must be ready ask the question (Act2:37)
the question being, what must I do?
Must be ready to answer the question (Act22:16)
The gospel culminated to the answer to the question which is when all things that must be believed work together is
16 ‘Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.’
(Encouragement slide- The Gospel is the Good news) encouragement, (Prayer) end recording (exit slide)