preaching | LiveForgiven

When Paul wrote his letter to the churches in Galatia, it was in response to one stark reality: the Gospel was in danger. Church leaders need to take a cue from Paul. He was frustrated and furious with anyone who would try to add to or take away from the Gospel of free grace. This Gospel is in danger again in our day. For most people in America, Christianity has become a form of “moralistic therapeutic Deism”. It’s “moralistic”, in that Christianity provides an avenue for moral living. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just not the Gospel. It’s “therapeutic”, in that it feels good to live a moral life, in adherence to biblical principles. Again, this is not a bad thing, it’s just not the Gospel. And it’s clearly a form of “Deism”, in that God is certainly in the mix, though not the central focus much of the time. More often, the focus is on our works for God, not His work for us, and on our preferences as oppose to His. The Gospel that Paul defended is in danger and Christ (His heart, His mission, His Person) has been lost in a religion that bears His name.
We must join Paul and confront any altering of the Gospel in any way. He distinguishes between the Law and the Gospel. The Law tells us what God expects from us, the Gospel tells us what God has done for us. The Law is about what we do, the Gospel is about what Christ has done. The Law provides the diagnosis, the Gospel provides the cure. In order to defend the Gospel, we must be clear about what the Gospel is. Herein lies our problem. So, what is the Gospel?

The Absolute Gospel:

1. Christ lived the perfect life, fulfilling the requirements of the law. Just as central to our salvation is Christ’s death on the cross is the fact that He lived the perfect life. This is significant for two reasons: First, He could not have provided the perfect, “once and for all” sacrifice if He had not lived a sinless life. Secondly, He has done for us what we could not do ourselves. We cannot and now- need not- live the perfect life. The Gospel is one-way, descending love. We bring nothing to the Gospel expect our sin that makes it necessary. James reminds us how desperate we are. “Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it” (James 2:10). Jesus did not come to “abolish” the Law but to fulfill the righteous demands of the Law and in so doing, we are set free from the demands of the Law placed on us.

2. He died for us on the cross, paying the price for our sins. We are justified before our Holy God because Christ, who lived the perfect life for us, took our sin upon the cross. The due penalty of our unrighteousness was placed upon Him and we have been set free from the judgment that comes upon sin. Through the Law God makes the demands for holiness and in Christ He fulfills them. Then miraculously, Christ takes on our sin and completely forgives us, “so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). His perfect life was imputed to us and therefore, God’s wrath was taken away from us. Only God acting on our part brings salvation.

3. He rose again, conquering death and hell. By overcoming death, Christ leads all of creation into a triumphant procession into eternity. And all people who receive His amazing grace through faith, join Him in this victorious life. This life begins in the here and now and continues in eternity.

4. He is coming again, to restore all things. The work of Christ and the purposes of God are bigger than our salvation. God does not make mistakes and nothing surprises Him. His purposes do not fail; He always wins. Though all of creation has been effected by the sin of mankind, all things will be restored to God’s original intent. God’s restorative agenda is in effect and will be completed as He comes again to make all things right. Ultimately, He will “make all things new” and a redeemed people will worship God on a redeemed “New Earth” for eternity.

It’s important to remember that the Gospel of the early church, of Paul, of the evangelists, was this: All of the promises of the Jewish Scriptures has come true in the Resurrection of Jesus. And this is the Gospel that we preach, teach, defend, and live out in our day. This is the Gospel.

Throughout the Bible it is very clear that sin has separated us from God and we are in desperate need of rescue. We are LOST apart from God’s intervention. It was Jesus Himself who explained His core purpose in coming in Luke 19 when He said,

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10

Save from what? What does it mean to be ‘lost”? The Bible describes the state of the lost as “dead in trespasses and sins,” “children of disobedience,” “perishing,” “condemned,” “under the wrath of God,” “blind,” “in the powers of darkness,” “living in darkness,” “under the control of Satan,” “disobedient to God”. THIS is the scandal of the cross- this is what’s so offensive about the Gospel. You are lost and hell-bound apart from Christ and there is nothing you can do about it. The most well-known verse..

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

It says, “perish”, but perish in what way? Jesus said,

“Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and His angels.” Matthew 25:41

In fact, it was JESUS spoke more about hell than anyone else- because He did NOT want anyone to go there. Have we become so sophisticated, so educated, so enlightened, that we no longer believe in hell? Well, unfortunately studies (Pew Research and Barna) reveal that we do NOT. Only 59% of Americans believe in hell. Interestingly, about 80% believe in heaven and of those who do and most- close to 70% believe they’ll go to heaven when they die. But most troubling is the differences in how they anticipate getting there. The Barna Research group says that only 43% of those who think they’re going to heaven said that they would get there because they have “confessed their sins and have accepted Christ as their Savior”. The other 57% believe they’ll get to heaven because they’ve “tried to obey the 10 commandments” or they’ve “basically been a good person” or because “God loves everyone and will not let anyone perish”. And only one-half of 1% of Americans believe they’re going to hell. Here’s where all these numbers come down for us today: Probably the MOST disturbing number from studies like this is that 50% of people in Protestant churches today are NOT Christians- that is, they have never received Christ as their Lord and Savior. Have most of us become “closet universalists”- believing that, in the end, everyone is going to heaven?

The Power of the Gospel (Romans 10:9-17)
1. The Gospel is salvation through faith in Christ. (9-10)
• IF you…
Notice that our salvation is conditional- immediately we see that not everyone is saved.
• confess with your mouth
What Paul is NOT saying is that simply SAYING something out loud will save you. We must understand our context here, he has said that the people of Israel, under Moses and the Law- had the word in their mouths- they knew the Law, they could say the Law, but it also had to be in their hearts. He’s continuing this parallel of thought and expression. In fact he explains:
• believe in your heart
Believe what? “That Jesus raised Him from the dead”- this would involve His life, suffering, death, burial and resurrection- the Gospel is Christ’s death upon the cross and His subsequent burial and resurrection. Notice Paul says, it is with the heart that we believe and are justified.
• you will be saved. What is the Gospel? In the end the Gospel is Jesus.
When we get saved, we get Him. The GOSPEL is not being a good person- it’s Christ’s righteousness covering my sin. I am superior to no one- I’m a Christian because of what Christ has done- NOT what I have done.
Let’s rediscover the doctrine of lostness in our preaching, our teaching, and in all aspects of our mission.

Category Archives: preaching

What is the Gospel?

The Misplaced Doctrine of Lostness