It is crucial that the gospel take the place of centre in our thoughts, actions, and lives.

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1 What Is The Gospel # 2 Glory of the Cross Gospel 1 Cor. 15:1-11 Introduction Testimonies I. The Functional Centrality Of The Gospel For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, (1 Cor 15:3-4) (Credit to Mike Bullmore - Pastor and former Professor of Pastoral Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School His model has greatly helped me The Cross of Christ in salvation and the cross of Christ in daily living). Centrality Of The Gospel Message - if the gospel message is not clear in our lives it will not impact our behaviour Know the Centrality of Gospel Message Three Circles 1. Gospel 2. Gospel Truths 3.Gospel Conduct. 1. The Gospel Message The gospel is central to everything. It is central to Scripture, history, and the very core of our Christian lives. - If the gospel is not the centre - we drift away and replace it with something else - false gospel - self - good works etc. which lead us to idolatry, mysticism and legalism. It is crucial that the gospel take the place of centre in our thoughts, actions, and lives. 2. Gospel Truths From the gospel message flow gospel truths. These are the doctrinal implications of the gospel. IE. (Rom 8:1) There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. - Do you see the doctrinal implication here - this implication that flows out of the Gospel Message? ** Because of Gospel (that s why the therefore is there) We do not stand condemned before God. Rom 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord

2 Jesus Christ. ** Because of the Gospel - we have peace with God we are no longer His enemy Heb 4:15-16 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. ** Because of the Gospel - Because of the Cross we can come boldly to God - that is a Gospel truth that comes out of the Gospel Message. * Understanding the Gospel leads us to right thinking and understanding. GOSPEL TRUTH. 3. Gospel Conduct Once the gospel has created Gospel Truth, it then proceeds to flow into and create Gospel Conduct. Gospel conduct is the behavioural implication of the gospel. * When you embrace the Gospel message and it becomes central to your being and you begin to see the implications of Gospel Truth it begins to impact your conduct. GOSPEL CONDUCT. Eph 4:32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Here is a restatement of the gospel. God, in sending in His Son to the cross as our substitute, now pronounces forgiveness over us for our sins committed against Him. Therefore, we are to forgive others in the same manner. So forgiveness flows from the gospel. * Ultimately, all Christian behaviour should flow out of the Gospel because that s how the Gospel acts as the functional centre of our lives and ministries. - in order for it to have a functional centrality it must be clearly and carefully and consistently seen as vital to our daily living. * If we don t get the Core - The Gospel Message right, it will severly impact our understanding of Gospel Truth and our behaviour in everyday life. ** If the centre core is wrong, or distorted, or denied, or rejected we become dysfunctional in our Christian experience or worse we aren t Christians at all and remain under the wrath of God. * The Problem Is, (and it greatly concerns me about the North American Evangelical church in the 21 st century); There Is A Lot Of Confusion In Evangelical Circles as To What The Gospel Message Is. So, I want to talk to you about The Folly of Gospel Confusion. - I don t want you to be led astray by a counterfeit or inadequate gospel. II. The Folly Of Gospel Confusion * If you were to ask 100 Evangelicals What Is The Gospel you d get a host of answers.

3 - Many of those answers would contain some truth but miss the Core Gospel Message. 1. The Concern For Gospel Confusion There Is A Lot Of Confusion As To What Is The Gospel Message. The current evangelical understanding of the gospel is lost in a fog of confusion. (James MacDonald - Sr. Pastor - Harvest Bible Chapel - Chicago) There is no greater need than to know the true gospel, to recognize the counterfeits, and to set loose a generation of gospel-centred Christians. (Albert Mohler Jr. President- The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) There is no greater challenge in an age of doubt and pragmatism than to make the glorious gospel clear. This is the greatest need for the seasoned Christian and skeptic alike. (Darrin Patrick, Vice Pres. The Acts29 Church Planing Network). Perhaps the greatest danger in Christianity is making assumptions about what the gospel is without hearing the Bible s clear and definitive voice. (Rick Holland, Executive Pastor, Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California) * Today - believe it or not one of the most controversial subjects in theological circles is What Is The Gospel. - evangelical movement is in trouble. Many have left the evangel the gospel behind. Getting professing Christians to agree on What is the Gospel? is not as easy as you might think - certainly not as easy as it should be. * Big emphasis in much of the literature is on the Kingdom of God. (We re going to talk about the Gospel and the Kingdom of God next week). Argument = Since Jesus preached the arrival of the Kingdom isn t that enough. Isn t that the gospel message That the Kingdom has come. - But the question must be asked: Shouldn t the gospel include an explanation of Jesus death and resurrection. Shouldn t we say something about sin and the need of salvation from God s wrath against it. ** You would think it should be easy to get evangelical Christians to agree on a bedrock issue like What Is The Gospel. But If you ask 100 professing evangelicals What is the Gospel you d get wide variety of answers. 2. The Vastness Of Gospel Confusion Some Definitions of The Gospel (- from various modern and sometimes popular authors.) Jesus wants to fill your life with new wine... Enlarge your vision and get rid of those old negative mind-sets that hold you back. 2. Because Christ died for us, those who trust in Him may know that their guilt has been pardoned... Christ died in my place, that s the gospel The radical revolutionary empire of God is here, advancing by reconciliation... Everything is about to change. Believe in me... Believe the Good News so you can learn to live by it and be part of the revolution.

4 4. The good news is that God s face will always be turned towards you regardless of what you have done The proclamation that Jesus, the crucified and risen Messiah, is the one, true, and only Lord of the world. 6. Good News! God is becoming King and He s doing it through Jesus!... God s justice, peace etc is going to be renewed.... Salvation is the result of the gospel, not the centre of the gospel itself. 7. The gospel is the proclamation of Jesus... arrival of God s realm of possibility (his kingdom )... But also proclamation about Jesus. The good news that in dying and rising, Jesus made the kingdom he proclaimed available to us as a Christian.. trying to orient myself around living a particular kind of way, the way that Jesus taught is possible.... try to live the way of Jesus... The first Christians announced this way of Jesus as the good news to live in the reality of God now... Change your life. Live this way. * Is the good news simply that Jesus loves me and I need to start thinking more positively and live by His example. * There is some truth in some of these explanations of the gospel my fear is that in many of the explanations and definitions of the gospel the cross and therefore, the central theme of the Gospel and indeed the entire Bible has been removed from the core and either completely removed or decentralized from the Gospel Message. So, according to the Bible - What is the Gospel Message? - what is it that is at the Functional Centrality Of The Gospel - that. What is the message that we are to proclaim - What is the Gospel That We Are To Preach And Take To The World? Our Text: 1 Cor. 15:1-11 III. What Is The Gospel Message Gospel - good news grk euaggelion ( yoo ang ghel ee on) - lit. good message Preach - proclaimed with authority - What was preached? What was the message? Death - Burial - Resurrection of Jesus Christ for the justification of sinners. Received - accepted into their hearts Saved - saved from something * My first tendency is to t but as we ve seen there are so many of them and so many variations that it would try to point out all the false gospels that are out there even among well intentioned evangelicals ake us forever. * When police forces and banks want their people to be able spot counterfeit money, they don t show them all kinds of counterfeit money rather they get them to be so familiar with the real

5 thing that they can spot the counterfeit no matter the variation. That s what I want us to do. That s what I want you to know. I want you to know the core of the gospel message so well that you will be able to spot a counterfeit no matter what it looks like. Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. - Paul spends rest of the book - especially Ch. 1-4 explaining the Good news about Jesus FOUR VITAL TRUTHS - Answer 4 Vital Questions Who made us and to whom are we accountable? 1. GOD: The Righteous Creator * - Many people like the idea of God - but don t really understand who He is and why it matters. - Often think of Him as good natured - low maintenance friend you call on in a jam. * There are a few things we need to know about God in order to grasp the good news. 1. God Is The Creator For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Rom 1:19-20) * We are not alone in the universe - we are not autonomous and self-accountable. There is a Creator who has a right to Reign in our lives. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Gen 1:1) - If we get this wrong - everything that follows will be wrong. - that s why the Philosophy of Evolution is so dangerous. * God Created By His Word - There Was Nothing - God Spoke * God Created You - You Have a Purpose. - we are accountable to our creator. * He Is The Creator And We Are Accountable To Him Because He created us, He Has The Right To Reign Over Us ** Sin Is A Person s Rejection Of God s Creator Rights To Reign. 2. God Is Holy & Righteous - God is loving and good - Compassionate and Forgiving BUT: - We have to understand that God is also Holy Illustrate: When Moses asked God to show Him His glory - here s what God said; "The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, (Ex

6 34:6-7) - that we get but he also said; Yet, He does not leave the guilty unpunished (Ex. 34:7b) - Some say a loving good God couldn t punish the wicked. Illustrate: God is not the unscrupulous Janitor who sweeps the dirt under the carpet. - Doing that with our sin would violate His Holiness and Righteousness. God s Love Does Not Eradicate His Justice And Holiness. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. (Rom 1:18) * Many modern attempts to redefine the Gospel leave out sin and rebellion and the wrath of God from which we must be saved. - They ignore the fact that we have offended God s holiness and come under His wrath. ** Anytime you see that you know that is not the Gospel. God is Holy and Righteous and He Will Not - He Cannot Overlook, Ignore, or Tolerate Sin. What s our problem? Are we in trouble and why? 2. MAN: The Sinner For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, (Rom 1:21-22) Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. (Rom 3:19) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Rom 3:23) Sobering conclusion - when we stand before God the Judge, every mouth will be silenced. No one will mount a defence. Not one excuse will be offered. The whole world, every last one of us will be held fully accountable to God and will be found wanting. 1. Every Human Being Has Sinned Adam and Eve - Genesis 3 Disobedience Original Sin passed on to the human race. Sin Sin is rebellion against God. According to the Bible, sin is more than just breaking some impersonal heavenly regulation. Sin is the breaking of our relationship with God and a rebellion against God s reign and authority in our lives. It is the rebellion of the creature against the Creator. for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Rom 3:23) as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; (Rom 3:10) For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it

7 cannot. (Rom 8:7) The Gospel of Jesus Christ is full of stumbling stones, and this one is the largest. To human hearts that stubbornly think of themselves as basically good and self-sufficient, this idea that human beings are fundamentally sinful and rebellious is not merely scandalous. It is revolting (Greg Gilbert - What Is The Gospel pg 51) - This is the offense of the Gospel and it is precisely what many of the modern definitions of the Gospel seek to either play down or even totally eradicate and when you do that, it is no longer the gospel of Jesus Christ. 2. God Actively Judges Sin Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. (Rom 3:19) For the wages of sin is death, (Rom 6:23) From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. (Rev 19:15) * The Bible teaches that the final destiny of unrepentant sinners is a place of eternal, conscious torment. Revelation calls it the lake of fire. Jesus who spoke more than anyone about judgment called it a place of unquenchable fire. - It s awful - let s not make it sound more tolerable - less horrific. * With Tears we cry out to God for our loved ones, or friends and neighbours that they may be saved and escape the Active Judgment of God. ** Wow! That doesn t sound like Good News But wait - Don t Go Away This is where it gets really exciting. When you know how bad the bad news is, you can appreciate how great the Good New is. And this is where the glorious hope of the good news comes into full view. What Is God s Solution To Our Problem? How Has He Acted To Save Us? 3. JESUS CHRIST: The Saviour * You and I were sinners destined to be condemned. But God Himself has acted to save sinners like us! * This is where Christianity gets really good. King Jesus came not only to inaugurate the Kingdom of God, but also to bring sinners into it by dying in their place and for their sin, taking their punishment on Himself and securing forgiveness for them,,making them righteous in God s eyes, and qualifying them to share in the inheritance of the Kingdom. 1. The Word Became Flesh In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1) And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14) 2. The Lamb Of God

8 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29) 3. The Heart Of The Gospel Penal substitution * Mission of Jesus was not just to inaugurate the Kingdom of God, but to do so by dying as a substitutionary sacrifice for His people. Jesus was not just King, He was suffering King. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor 5:21) Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isa 53:4-6) * This is what is at the very heart of the Gospel - and this is what is so often being left out. ** HE IS RISEN How Can I Be Included In God s Salvation? What Makes This Good News? 4. RESPONSE: Faith & Repentance * Acts 26;18 - Paul recounts why Christ called him and sent him. to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me FAITH 1. Reliance - a rock solid - truth grounded TRUST in the risen Christ to save you from Sin 2. Righteous Verdict - relying on Him to secure for you a righteous verdict from God the Judge - by virtue in you Faith in what Christ has done (1 Cor 15) - you are declared not guilty 3. Faith Alone - When realize God has made no other provision for our Salvation - realize it is based in faith alone. - Salvation comes through faith in Him. - no other way - no other Saviour, there is nothing else in the world you can rely on REPENTANCE Repent and believe in the Gospel (Mark 1;15) - To repent yes sorry for sin sorry for rebellion Surrender to live under Reign of the King.

9 * God I m sorry God I need you God I turn from My Rebellion and Put Myself Under Your Reign and Lordship. Conclusion So - What are the implications of this Gospel for you and I? 1. We Need To Accept Christ 2. God Has Not Abandoned Us - He has come down from Heaven and reconciled us to Himself. He demonstrated His Love to you while you were a sinner He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Rom 8:32 - The same God who saved you who was merciful and gracious and forgiving and who died for you when you were a rebellious sinner, bringing you Salvation, is the same God who brings daily into our lives His Sustaining grace. We do not live under condemnation anymore Rom 8:1 3. W\e Must Contend For The Gospel 4. We Must Cultivate Compassion For Sinners. - Weep - Pray - Testify