PRAISE GOD FOR THE WORD OF TRUTH, THE GOSPEL OF OUR SALVATION

Transcription

1 1 Dear Friend, this is a transcript of a sermon preached by Pastor Jeremy Tan from the pulpit of Amazing Grace Baptist Church Singapore. We are committed to expository preaching because we believe it is the most effective way to expose, explain and expound the Holy Scriptures. And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, [Jesus] expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself (Luke 24:27). Through careful systematic and sequential exposition, the preacher is able to declare unto you all the counsel of God (Acts 20:27), and Christians are blessed with a regular, well-balanced diet of God s Word. Expository preaching also helps us to have a high view of Scripture. We wish to extend a warm welcome to you to join us in our church services for a time of uplifting worship and helpful Bible study, which will bring rejoicing and refreshment to your soul. Do visit our church website at or write to us at amazingracebc@gmail.com. PRAISE GOD FOR THE WORD OF TRUTH, THE GOSPEL OF OUR SALVATION Ephesians 1:13 We have completed our study of Paul s great sentence in Ephesians 1:3 14, which is about the sovereign will and work of God in the salvation of sinners. Salvation involves the work of each Person of the Triune God. Before the foundation of the world, God the Father chose His people and predestinated them to be adopted as His children. Then God the Son redeemed them from slavery to sin and Satan, forgiving them of their sins by His shed blood on the cross. Third, God the Holy Spirit sealed His chosen ones as the guarantee of their redemption and inheritance. Now let me also draw your attention to the different pronouns that Paul uses in Ephesians 1: In Ephesians 1:11 12 he uses the first person plural pronoun we who first trusted in Christ. Then he changes the pronoun to the second person plural ye in Ephesians 1:13. Finally Paul switches to our inheritance at the end of Ephesians 1:13. Is there a reason for these changes? Yes, there is. These different pronouns are used to identify Jewish and Gentile believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Historically the first believers in Christ were Jews. The twelve apostles and Paul were Jews, and so were the first members of the church at Jerusalem. By the time Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesians, more Gentiles had become Christians. Notice the following statements. In Ephesians 2:11, Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh. Paul continues in Ephesians 2:12, Ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenant of promise. Finally in Ephesians 3:11 the apostle writes, For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles. So it is clear from the context of the

2 2 epistle that Paul is referring to Jewish and Gentile believers in Christ. However, it is not his purpose to focus on racial differences and division among the believers because in Ephesians 2:13 14 he writes about the Lord Jesus Christ breaking down the middle wall of partition between us. This means that all believers in Christ, both Jews and Gentiles, are brought together as one into His body. Although we have completed this extended sentence, I wish to return to Ephesians 1:13 to study and understand how God brings conversion to His elect people as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, In this verse we learn about the instrument that God uses to convert sinners as believers of the Lord Jesus Christ: it is the Gospel. There are three main points that we notice about the Gospel. I. The Gospel Must Be Pure. There are many warnings in the Bible about false religions and false doctrines. We are warned about the sacrifice to devils (1 Corinthians 10:20), and the doctrines of devils (1 Timothy 4:1). We read about the commandments of men (Matthew 15:9; Mark 7:7; Titus 1:14); and avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called (1 Timothy 6:20). We are also warned of those who pervert the gospel of Christ with another gospel (Galatians 1:7, 6). In the book of Colossians, which is the companion epistle to Ephesians and written to the same audience, the apostle Paul warns about philosophy and vain deceit, the tradition of men (both in Colossians 2:8); voluntary humility and worshipping of angels (Colossians 2:18); and the commandments and doctrines of men (Colossians 2:22). In contrast, Paul describes the Bible as the word of truth in which we are given the gospel of salvation (Ephesians 1:13). In John 17:17, our Lord Jesus said, Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. Why is the Bible the word of truth? We have the answer in: Titus 1:1-3 1 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; 2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; 3 But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour; The Bible is the word of truth because it originated with God, that cannot lie. Other than being described as the word of truth

3 3 (1). The Bible is commonly called the word of God (there are 45 occurrences of this description in the New Testament). (2). The Bible is called the word of the Lord (2 Thessalonians 3:1). (3). The Bible is called the word of Christ (Colossians 3:16). (4). The Bible is called the word of life (Philippians 2:16). (5). The Bible is called Christ s gospel (2 Corinthians 2:12). We believe the Bible to be the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God because it is His word of truth. However, God s truths are not self-evident to man. The barrier to knowing and understanding God s truths is not an intellectual problem, but it is a spiritual problem. Our fallen spiritual condition causes us to reject God s truths and listen to the devil, the father of lies. Let me give you the example of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, who was asked a question about religion during a forum with university students. He replied, If you try to convert me, I ll say, thank you very much. I ve thought about heaven and hell, I m prepared to face either, if either of them exists (The Straits Times, September 6, 2011). We do not dispute that Mr. Lee is a very intelligent man. But Mr. Lee does not believe in God and His revelation in the Bible. Why? We have the reason in 1 Corinthians 2:14, But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. God s truths are not self-evident to man. Let me give you another example. Mr. Devan Nair, one of Singapore s presidents, belonged to the generation in colonial Singapore when the Bible was a textbook used in school. His son told the story that Mr. Nair could remember portions of the Bible, and he would often ask for the Bible despite suffering from Alzheimer s disease in his old age. Mr. Nair could quote Scripture, yet he never became a believer in the Lord Jesus. He died a Hindu. Without the work of the Holy Spirit to illuminate and convict the heart, we will never believe God and His truths. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is God s truth that reveals salvation to man. What is the Gospel? In Greek, the word gospel is euaggelion, which means good message or good news. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news that sinners can be forgiven and freed from their sins. It is from euaggelion that we have the word evangelism. The message of the Gospel is that Jesus Christ died for sinners according to the Scriptures. The apostle Paul gives the essence of the Gospel in 1 Corinthians Corinthians 15:3-4 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: The Lord Jesus was crucified on the cross as the atoning death for sinners who believe in Him. He was buried in the tomb as the proof of His death, and after three days and three nights God raised Him up from the dead as the justification for our faith in Him as our personal Saviour. Mr. Lee Kuan Yew expressed doubts that any person had ever

4 4 come back alive from the dead, obviously rejecting the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There is no salvation and no forgiveness of sins without believing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. II. The Gospel Must Be Preached. The Bible is the prized possession of the Church of Jesus Christ. The psalmist declared in Psalm 119:72, The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver. The Bible is also the Church s most powerful weapon. God s Word is the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). In Hebrews 4:12, this sword is described in very graphic and demonstrative language. Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. What do we do with God s Word? God s precious and powerful Word is to be preached. Paul reminded Titus in Titus 1:3 that God manifested his word through preaching. Paul also gave a similar admonition to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. Why? Continue reading. 2 Timothy 4:3-4 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. Yet there are many churches all over the world where God s word of truth and the Gospel of Jesus Christ are not valued as precious and powerful. In these churches, Bible preaching is viewed as impotent, and that too much Bible preaching will scare people away from attending a church service. The media and communications experts claim that Bible preaching is outdated and not effective to communicate the Word of God. These experts say that preaching is a monologue, one man standing behind a pulpit to speak to a group of people. Instead of a monologue, there should be a dialogue, or two-way conversation, with the audience. Therefore preachers who buy into the opinion of these experts have replaced the pulpit with a barstool, and changed the platform for preaching into a stage for performance. The experts also claim that people cannot retain more than 10% of a preached sermon. So in place of expository preaching, preachers use plenty of interesting stories and make witty statements. As a result, many people know the stories of the Bible but they are not properly taught the doctrines of the Bible. How can we learn more of God s truths such as we find in the book of Ephesians, if we do not study the Bible verse-by-

5 5 verse? Is it any wonder then, that there is a spiritual famine in many churches, and many Christians are starved for truth? To make the Gospel more attractive to people, the method has to be changed. Thus, you can mime the Gospel. Imagine: the words that God spoke can now be unspoken! If a mime artist cannot produce results, how about drama? A church can perform a sketch or have a big production; choose any story from the Bible: the Ten Commandments, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, and there is always Easter and Christmas plays. A church can also screen Gospel movies, perform magic shows with a redemption story as the theme, perform interpretive dances, make the Gospel fun and lighthearted with comedy, or organize a rock concert. Now, these methods have been used successfully to fill a building. But here is the warning: what you win people with is what you will win them to. Let you give you an illustration that serves as a warning. Gypsy Smith was a flamboyant evangelist from England ( ). He was born Rodney Smith in London. It was William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, who invited Smith to be an evangelist. Smith got his nickname because of his gypsy background. He told many fascinating stories about growing up in a wagon, which was home to him, and his life in a gypsy camp. One time, Gypsy Smith visited Chicago and preached a sermon that was full of gypsy stories. At the end of his message, he gave an altar call and hundreds of people surged forward in response. Harry Ironside, who was then the pastor of the Moody Church in Chicago, wondered about the response of so many people to Gypsy Smith s sermon, and he arrived at this conclusion: Perhaps they wanted to become gypsies. Ironside made a good point. When people respond to a testimony or a sermon, are they responding to human philosophies and the ideas of men? Are they responding because a good story had struck a chord in their heart? Are they responding because some sad story, a tearjerker, made them emotional and vulnerable? What we win people with is what we will win them to. If we use entertainment to win them, they will look for more entertainment. If we tell jokes, people will expect more jokes. No wonder that there are people who grade a sermon according to its entertainment value! Friend, we dare not win people to anything but the Gospel of Jesus Christ! I enjoy humour, but I do not want to be known as a funny or entertaining preacher! I would rather be a blessing to people by pointing them to Christ and Heaven than to be a funny preacher who makes everybody laugh, but I am not directing them to God and eternal life. There is one vital factor that the media experts and experts on church growth cannot grasp: the preaching of God s Word is a supernatural event. Empirical data may demonstrate that methods can draw a crowd, but methods can never bring salvation to souls. Human methods cannot replace the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. In John 3, the Lord Jesus told Nicodemus that the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration is like the wind that blows: no one knows where it comes and where it goes.

6 6 Treating God s Word as entertainment shows contempt and a lack of reverence for God Himself. Martin Luther made the statement, The pulpit is the throne of God. The preacher does not hold court in church like a philosopher dispensing worldly wisdom or making motherhood statements; the preacher is responsible for delivering God s eternal truths faithfully, clearly and accurately. Let us not approach God s Word with familiarity. Instead, let our attitude toward preaching from the pulpit be that of humility, as though we are at the footstool of God! We can never be saved without hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If people are to be saved, God s truths must be made known to them. Thus we read in: Romans 10: How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? 17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. In Romans 1:16, we read that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Peter tells us that sinners are born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever (1 Peter 1:23). When churches neglect the preaching of God s Word and the Gospel, the reasons are unbelief and disobedience to God s Word, or the preachers themselves are false teachers. In this case, they will surely not expose people to the pure Gospel. Let me give three reasons why the Gospel must be preached: 1. We preach the Gospel because we have God s command. God has commanded all believers in Christ to preach the Gospel. In Matthew 28:18 20 we have the missionary mandate to go throughout the world and preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). God s command means that every believer is either a Christian missionary or a missionary Christian. 2. We preach the Gospel because we have a Gospel debt to repay. We who are believers in Christ came to know the Lord Jesus as our personal Saviour because someone shared with us the Gospel as a witness for Christ, or we heard the Good News of salvation from a preacher. As saved people, we have the obligation to give the Gospel to others. Like Paul who said he was debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise (Romans 1:14), we have a Gospel debt to repay. Friend, have you tried to repay your Gospel debt? Was there ever a time when you shared the Gospel with someone, or invited a person to church? Let us not be selfish.

7 7 3. We preach the Gospel because of God s love for sinners. In Romans 9 11 Paul declared God s sovereign grace in salvation. There is no doctrine in the Bible more abhorrent to the natural mind than the absolute sovereignty of God. It is a tragedy that even Christians reject a doctrine that is plainly stated in the Bible. Those who object to the doctrine of election make simplistic arguments that God loves the world, and therefore if He chooses people to be saved, He must hate the non-elect. However they have not considered Romans 5:12, or they choose to ignore this verse: Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: All of us are born condemned because of sin. We are on the way to hell not because God hates us, but because we are sinners. Sin brings not only physical death to all, but also spiritual death to all. The proof of our depravity as sinners is demonstrated by the response of Adam and Eve to God. When our first parents disobeyed God, they immediately hid from God who came to seek them (Genesis 3:7 10). Friend, we are no different than Adam and Eve: we are born with the same spiritual condition as lost sinners. Romans 3:11 ( There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God ) includes all of us. Adam and Eve knew God and enjoyed fellowship with Him, yet when they sinned they hid from the Lord! Are we better than Adam and Eve? If not for the love of God to call sinners unto salvation, no person will be saved. It is utter falsehood to claim that the doctrine of election removes the burden for evangelism. Look at Paul. In Romans 9:2 3 the apostle who teaches the hard and uncompromising truth of God s sovereign election expresses his sorrow and burden for his Jewish countrymen. Paul was willing to be accursed for his brethren and kinsmen to be saved. In Romans 10:1 he prays for Israel to be saved. Let us also not forget Romans 10:14 17 about sending preachers to deliver the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost. Many Christians have given their lives because they loved sinners. David Brainerd and Jonathan Edwards became missionaries to the American Indians. The English Baptist William Carey, acknowledged as the Father of Modern Missions, went with his family to India to preach the Gospel. Adoniram Judson and his wife Ann went to Burma as missionaries, where they suffered much persecution. All of these missionaries were Calvinists; they believed the Bible that God is sovereign in election and salvation. They also believed that God uses the preaching of the Gospel to reach and convert His elect to become believers. Even when God called upon them to suffer, they persevered. They believed that evangelism is not a wasted and failed enterprise because it is not man who saves sinners, but God! God loves sinners, and so must we. Missionary activity should be motivated by the love of God for sinners. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:14, For the love of Christ constraineth us.

8 8 III. The Gospel Must Be Personal. Objectors to God s sovereign election have tried to explain that God did not choose people for salvation before the foundation of the world. Instead, God chose a plan of election. This plan is the atoning death of Jesus Christ for all sinners, and any person who exercises free will to believe the Lord becomes one of God s elect. In other words, God elects people who choose Christ. But this explanation is not scriptural at all. If the sinner makes the final choice in salvation, then it is not God s election but human ratification. The Bible teaches that God chooses people (Ephesians 1:4). It is God who adopts His children. It is the Lord Jesus Christ who redeems and forgives sinners. The Lord Jesus did not die for a plan; He died for people. The different pronouns in Ephesians 1 refer to people. Then those who heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and they trusted in Christ (Ephesians 1:13, 12), the Holy Spirit seals them. God chooses people, and His instrument to convert them to Christ is the Gospel. Therefore the Gospel must become a personal message for the sinner to be saved. What does the sinner have to believe personally? There are four simple truths that a person must know and believe for salvation. 1. God wants you to know that you are a sinner. Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 2. God wants you to know that there is a penalty for your sins. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 3. God wants you to know that He has provided a way of escape for you from the penalty of your sins. Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 4. God wants you to know that He has provided salvation for the sinner in Christ. Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Friend, have you believed on these four truths? Have you acknowledged that you are a sinner, condemned to pay the penalty for your sins? Do you know that God has provided a way of escape for you through Jesus Christ? And have you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and called on Him to save you from your sins? If you have not believed these four truths, your sins have not been forgiven and you are still under divine

9 9 condemnation. But now you have heard the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we invite you to come to the Lord Jesus and be saved today. Conclusion The Church of Jesus Christ must always preach His Gospel because it is God s instrument to save sinners. We must proclaim Christ and His way of salvation, be it in an evangelistic sermon or an edification sermon. The Gospel is God s simple message which is foolishness to the wise, but it is truth revealed unto babes. Sinners will believe the Gospel when it is preached to them and the Holy Spirit enlightens their darkened minds. Even so, we who are saved can never grasp its meaning well enough. Martin Luther wrote, The Gospel cannot be preached and heard enough, for it cannot be grasped well enough. We preach nothing new but we are forever and incessantly preaching about the man called Christ Jesus, true God and man who died for our sins and was raised from the dead for our justification. But although we are forever preaching and repeating this message, we shall never be able to grasp it sufficiently. In this respect, we always remain babes and little children who are just learning to read. Let us keep in mind that the church exists because of the Gospel, and not the other way around. Without the Gospel, no sinner can be saved and thus no church will exist. When we stop preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ or we handle it unfaithfully, we have ceased to be Christocentric and we have disobeyed God. May God find us faithful to Him, faithful to preach, hear and obey His Word! Permission: We share our materials with you as a blessing from the ministry of our church. You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be explicitly approved by Amazing Grace Baptist Church. Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: Copyright Amazing Grace Baptist Church Singapore. Website: Used by permission as granted on website.