First, Believe: Introduction

Getting saved begins your walk of discipleship cannot be saved if you don't want to decide you cannot say I'm a Christian, you have the you just heard a portion of the upcoming message titled first pastor of a non-shop of Clearview church I Clearview. Our focus is on creating an atmosphere of genuine worship and community come check us out at 3485 Oxford Rd. in Henderson for visit us online at Clearview B. See.org join us for the rest of this week's message. As you know there is a big craze that is going on and has been for the past two decades on superhero movies anybody else's figure that out, especially if you have kids. Last week we went and watched another one that just came out so it's pretty interesting to watch some of these superhero movies that have the movie and then they have the sequel to the movie, you know, they leave you in the end, nobody gets up, let's go, no, no, wait, wait, there is something coming. That's just a way for you said then look at the credits. Something is coming is a sequel, but many times they make what is known as a prequel, which is here is the movie but let's go back and talk about how this superhero came about what happened to him. Now what does that have to do with our series today were starting a new series of messages on gospel and what it means to be saved. It is a prequel to our last series on discipleship discipleship is how do you live, how do you follow Jesus Christ. Prequel means. How do you become a disciple when you start your walk. What is the gospel. It's a prequel. So this morning we begin the series is an introduction, but I want to give you the team in the weeks ahead. I'm going to unpack this and will make a lot of sense. Let's begin by looking at the team before you can be a disciple you have to get say getting saved begins your walk of discipleship.

You cannot be saved if you don't want to be a disciple. You cannot say I'm a Christian just not going to follow Christ you have the wrong gospel getting saved begins your walk discipleship.

You cannot be saved if you don't want to be a disciple discipleship doesn't save you is simply the evidence that you are truly say discipleship is the evidence that it really happen. It is true gospel will initiate discipleship is a lot coming at you and we got unpack this in the weeks ahead false gospel.

Nothing will happen.

True gospel something will happen. It may take time but it will start and hear something very important. The burden of proof is more on the body, the church then on the individual.

So when you say so and so. I haven't seen any evidence in her. I haven't seen any evidence in him. They must not be saved. Wait, wait, they may be saved, yet none of us have done a good job in discipling them.

You have your Bibles with you this morning. The introduction Galatians chapter 1 verse six Paul is saying these words he said I marvel that you are turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel there is the true gospel than there is a different gospel which is not another. There are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ, the gospel can be perverted.

But even if we are an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if any one reaches any other gospel to you than what you have received. Again, let him be accursed, let him be damn, here's a question for you before we pray. I mentioned true gospel will initiate discipleship. What gospel have you believed in you, see if discipleship is not happening.

The problem is you believe in a false gospel. What is the gospel that you're trusting in for your forgiveness of sins for eternal life. Do you truly know Christ as your Savior and your master. You see, that's what saves you in this morning.

If you've never done that for steps first got your saved not mentioned this many times you've heard me say this in the past series, but I've been pastoring for over 20 years now and I also said many times that this is been my first and only church. It has given me the opportunity to get a panoramic view on the Christian life of people I been able to see the Genesis, the middle and the flourishing.

In some people's Christian lives. But I've also seen the Genesis is the middle and the end of many Christian lives. I've seen people who began their Christian life. Excited, I baptize them and now you can find them.

Something is not right live there going to another church and Bible believing church were not the only one. Praise God for that. But if you are no longer following God, something is seriously wrong with this series of messages is a prequel to discipleship before you can be a disciple to make sure that you have the true gospel because the true gospel will initiate discipleship in the series is coming through a lot of study, prayer, experience, and also tears is that we mean by tears it really breaks my heart when people are led to the Lord, or someone else led to the Lord and the began their journey, but now they're no longer following Christ is you know that for sure.

Just by looking at their lives, they walked away from God.

There there in the second third fourth fifth marriage there that I see them around town suggest the benefit of being in the community for 20 years I've seen where they are today and they have no desire of getting back in the Christian life. Nothing.

Something is wrong with that picture and it brings tears and my heart because as a shepherd. You think that she is following the master. It is in the right pasture and then you see us as lost is gone. Where is it I don't know it's over. Today is introduction to this message the series and I will give you the team of today's message is this false gospel will only produce false disciples with dire consequences not want you to go back again to what Paul said to the Galatians, I want to read that passage again. Verse six. He begins by reprimanding them for forsaking the gospel he said I marvel means I'm shop that you are turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ today different gospel which is not another, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ, which means this Paul is fussing at them for allowing false teachers to come into the church and pervert the gospel pervert means to corrupt the gospel to alter the gospel for their own benefits, which means this it is possible to tweak and corrupt and pervert the gospel of Christ.

Paul says further verse eight. Now he pronounces a curse on them.

Now this is a big deal were living in an age where I can curse you and it's no big deal. But back in those days and if you go by the biblical context, cursing someone is condemning them to hell. This is what Paul says but even if we are an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be damned, let him be sent to help never to come out and he says it again if you didn't hear the first time. Verse nine. As we have said before now. I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel than what you have received, let him be damned, let him be accursed. It's a curse is damnation to change the gospel of Jesus Christ and then he says in verse 10 he gives us the source of the true gospel where you get your gospel from Paul listen to what he says in verse 10 for do I now persuade men, or God, or do I seek to please men for if I still please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ, which means this Christ is my master. So my gospel is what the master has told me to preach. I listen to verse 11 but I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through how the revelation of Jesus Christ. How did Paul receive his gospel. Jesus paid him a special visit in member.

He was not part of the 12. He was an apostle born out of due time means he came later, he was persecuting the church and on the road to Damascus, God struck him. He fell to the ground.

He was blinded and then Jesus himself spoke to him and he gave them the gospel, the source of the gospel. Listen folks is not Paul is not Peter is not the church is Jesus Christ himself. You and I have no authority to ever alter the gospel. If we do we are perverting the gospel perversion by definition means corruption degradation very early on in the church's life.

People were becoming confused about the gospel.

False teachers were coming in trying to corrupt the gospel. Paul had to pronounce a curse and then to remind them that the gospel only comes from Jesus Christ. You and I have no right nor authority to twisted is a serious offense because false gospel leads to false assurance that we are saved, I'm in here you're trusting in the save our walk to you and say here's a pill that can cure you from your sickness. That said yes. That said, here's the pill I take it and cures me. Yes it does, and you take it and you still get sicker you come to me is that what happened I'm sorry I give you a sugar pill. It was not really a real deal. So I'm gonna die. Oh yeah, yeah, absolutely using false gospel gives a false assurance that you are saved when you're not in a some preacher said years and years ago. Eternity is too long to be wrong. We need to know the true gospel and we need to believe in the true gospel because it has dire consequences not, here's a question for you before I go any further.

Can you if I were to give you a piece of paper and a pen.

Can you define the gospel, and even if we do, there's going be a lot of opinions your opinion about the gospel is not only the one by them by him by her as can be all over the map. Do we really know what the gospel isn't it funny that that's the thing that saves us, brings us to charge and we don't even know what it is, unfortunately, what many of us have is the false gospel this morning. I want to go over five false gospels before we talk about the true gospel in the series ahead, unpack a lot of this, but this morning I want to focus on the five false gospels, and I'm getting my information by a scholar by the name of Bill Hall have been following Bilbo for a long time. He wrote, starting in the late 80s and is still riding today in a tremendous expert on discipleship five false gospels. The first one is this the forgiveness only gospel, the forgiveness only gospel is the most popular gospel is simply tells you how to get your sins forgiven and get your ticket into heaven. This is partly true and is partly false, why is it partly true because it talks about sin. It talks about the holiness of God. It talks about the judgment of God, and that if we don't receive Christ as our Savior. We are under the wrath of God's will better come to Christ, so your sins are forgiven, partly true, partly false, why is it false because it has nothing about repentance. If I get my ticket.

I get in. It has nothing about obedience to Christ like. From this day on will follow Jesus Christ.

But that's optional but I got my ticket, it has nothing about obedience to the word of God, and it is easy to identify the forgiveness only gospel people because their Christian life revolves around sin management.

The Monday through Saturday.

You mess around and Sunday morning you come to church and cleanup now. I love it when people talk about the toes ardently less a conviction of the Holy Spirit. Many times what they really want to do is penance and what penances preacher let me have it. So I stand over here while really doing is giving your bath in the walkout Monday morning to start all over again.

The same old same old. Do you have any intention of following Jesus Christ absolutely no good to go to church. No read the Bible old you give you time had no but I got my ticket, here's the second false gospel.

This is the liberal left gospel known as a liberal left gospel.

If you go back to the older left were talking about the early 20th century 1920s, the depression era. This was the time when Christian leaders were asking the question, how can we make Christianity relevant.

How can we make it relevant because when evolution is proving everything wrong. So when we come to Genesis, God made the heavens and the earth in six days. I just don't seem right.

You know, it lets us give that out there we go.

Moses parting the Red Sea and of those kind of things don't happen to skip that a. How about Jonah being swallowed by the big fish people and get swallowed by big fish and get thrown up not, let's give that to Jesus coming and dying on the cross for our sins. That's good enough but he rose again on the third day and able to rise from the grave. Let's skip that. So what we preach social justice. Folks, we should be fighting for the right of the oppressed. Don't get me wrong, we who believe the true gospel we should be doing that to but this gospel says none of this really matters anymore fighting for the oppressed.

So what you see you see them showing up in long robes with their signatures and their tidbits. And you hold hands and you pray and you sing is the gospel you fight for the oppressed is a problem while they were holding hands and singing the pews were getting empty as are many of the old left churches have nothing and no one left but but here's the sad part. They're not gone now.

We have the new left what they do is they have very clever interpretations of the Bible to justify his sinful lifestyle. So that's not really a sin because what Jesus really meant is this what was happening in the Old Testament was just so they creatively remove every sin. This is the left. The liberal left gospel is that where you find them. You find them. A lot of liturgical churches because no one up here believes that so if that suits your soul.

Go ahead honey recited the Lord's prayer. Here's number three this is the prosperity gospel. Unfortunately, this is the fastest growing false gospel. It promises health and wealth to any who have enough faith to believe if you just had enough faith things of God has promised in his word. Why can't you have them. God promised Abraham all the riches, hate, you can have it to describe faith God healed Hezekiah. If only you had enough faith God would heal you to so pray to God to have health and wealth and sin as you check this is the prosperity gospel. Now this is why is dangerous because the person who doesn't go to church doesn't know Christ sitting at home marriage is falling apart, to have all the money in the world but not happiness. Something is wrong. The gold maybe I can watch that gospel channel and guess who comes on the prosperity gospel. They wanted for like five minutes ago yeah I thought didn't have anything click is a very dangerous gospel is an here comes the fourth false gospel.

This is the consumer gospel. Now this is quite popular in evangelical churches. So this is not like a liberal gospel with a don't believe the gospel or something like that.

This is actually in charges where they do believe the truth they do believe in Christ or do believe that but it is all focused on meeting your needs in fast efficient ways professional ways and don't bother me. The consumer gospel are people who come to charge say meet my needs medium fast and don't talk about sin too much. Could you in a mess of my day don't get on to me about how I've been hateful to my wife and how I've been lusting after another man will talk about those kind of things to me just just tell me that I'm good enough, and tomorrow is a better day.

I believe in uplifting people. I believe in encouraging people to folks if you don't deal with sin no matter how much encouragement I can preach to you. You will never move in your Christian life you have to be with sin. The consumer gospel is so focused on meeting the needs and making people feel good.

There is no sin.

There is no repentance even though they have the gospel they don't preach the gospel here comes the fifth false gospel we call it the religious right gospel know we talked about the liberal left gospel. Here's the religious right gospel. It has right beliefs. They stand on all the right side of moral issues abortion oils terrible euro killing babies was wrong, wrong, wrong, sexuality, oh that's wrong was happening in our culture, capital punishment, this and this and this 10 Commandments air when you have them all over the courtrooms everywhere. We need the 10 Commandments are the place. The sad part is that is there gospel many years ago right in our hometown.

Some I wrote a great article when all that Supreme Court, 10 Commandments, things were going on your member that take the plaque down to put it back up to get down, put a backup. Some I wrote an article, it was dynamic. It was so good about values about society about foundations and all that stuff and I was like man is amazing. Who is this person where they go to church so she doesn't go to church. Who knows what she believes the biggest shocker in my life that this person was so conservative and so lost at the same time I believe you have a lot of lost conservative people believe that right on standing out all the right issues, but do you know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior auxiliary will know all that, but there just as mean and hypocritical as the world are trying to accuse Bill Ho said this about these kind of people. He said there are a lot of dead people in the first Church of the right because grace, there is scarce and life comes from grace. If you ever go to this church. Everybody is always right and always angry. Who are we fighting today to find someone today so the pastor's job is to sound the charges like you know the old Vikings will be fighting to and beat up today. Sad part is this always right and always angry gospel is also a false gospel. Here's a question before we come to the conclusion which gospel do you belong to the forgiveness only gospel the carwash and I will do whatever I want to at my life.

I have my ticket to heaven and every Sunday I come home and clean up and then I go back to the same old life. Is it the liberal left gospel. The holding hands and just be a nice person and help your neighbor. It is the prosperity gospel does by another plane is in the consumer gospel.

The express checkout come to church. I feel good doing bother me if I need you. I will call you gospel or is that the religious right gospel where you're always right. The always angry which one is it doesn't matter because it is not the true gospel. None of them are, and if you believe in those kind of Gospels you are lost in God's wrath is still upon you. What is the true gospel we don't have time to go to the whole message because this is gonna come in the series.

In the weeks coming let me tell you very quickly the true gospel has to elements. The first is the revelation and the second is the response true gospel requires revelation you find it in first Corinthians 15 starting in verse one night he had a Bible she can turn their Paul says moreover brethren I declare to you the gospel means he's about to give you the definition of the gospel which I preach to you and which also you received and in which you stand, but which also you were saved. Sometimes people say why does Pastor Shaw talk about getting saved. Is it a Baptist thing to keep talk about say it's a biblical thing. So what is the gospel. Paul, if you hold fast that word which I preached you unless you believed in vain. Fraud delivered to you.

First of all that which I also receive it means this this gospel was not manufactured by Paul. He received it and what did you receive that Christ died for our sins.

Listen right in that passage. In that simple statement is the bad news. The bad news is you and I are in sin. Sin is not just the stuff you do the bad things you do are the bad part you have. Sin is our nature. By nature, you and I are corrupted by sin. Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture which means this.

The Bible has prophesied and promised time and time again that this was going to happen. Someone was going to come and pay the price for our sins post what I'm telling you this morning. Listen up, this is Ken this is very important because this is going to keep you from being condemned forever. Don't miss this. This is the gospel. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and he was buried, and he rose again the per day, according to the Scriptures, and that he was seen by Sievers and by 12 than by the 500 and James and then he says the last of all he was seen by me. Also, as one born out of due time. What is the declaration Jesus Christ came into this world and he brought the kingdom of God. How did he bring the kingdom of God. We can unpack this in the weeks ahead.

He brought it by dying for our sins. As the word had promised. He was buried, he rose again as the word had promised, and people saw him there is proof that this really happened. What is your response because of your sins, he died. You have to repent. You see, repentance is part of the gospel. Now, a four-year-old can only repent so much everyone has a four-year-old not taken a toy from another four-year-old, but a 40-year-old is a whole lot more repentance there so don't put that category repentance and expect the same reaction from different people. Some will cry, but either way, even as a four-year-old I knew the way I was. I wasn't going to heaven I had to change. I have to repent you see that repentance is part of the gospel. Now we saw the revelation was the response the true gospel requires a reaction. It requires a response. What is a response listen to Romans 10 nine but if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Gospel requires a confession you saw the declaration Jesus brought the kingdom of God died for our sins buried rose again. As promised, and was seen. It requires a confession, repentance for your sin. But confession says I believe that you are the Lord you are my master. You are the boss read with me that you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus the Lord. That word means master for some of you who have said, I got my ticket, they get all that Jesus whole you got the wrong gospel and what's next. Believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved and listen to verse 10 for with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. We know what confession is calling him our master calling our boss arcane, but believing unto righteousness means this listen, it means this everything in this book is God's word. Discussion stops whatever this book says I have to do. I'm really angry with my wife, but he was she really, really disappointed me. Just another let go that wanted us to happen, but the word says husbands, live with your wife with understanding or your prayers will not be answered when you do RT exactly with the forgiveness only Christian does God's forgiven me, past, present and future. So I'm going to be mean and hateful and and payback. And if you are in my situation, you would know what to do. You do the same thing. So no, I'm nothing to do with the book essay I will do what I want to do. You got the false gospel lady over here. The grass is always greener in someone else's marriage and someone else's children are providing someone else's husband is so wonderful oh my goodness, look at all the pictures that take a look at what I got.

Well, the Bible tells me every good and perfect gift comes from the Lord, are you receive your husband is a gift from God he can compare him to someone else. But if you got this gospel believes unto righteousness. You will do what this book says I'm just give you two examples I can go on and on. The point is this folks, this gospel is received when you repent.

When we believe will be follow Jesus Christ is addressed to tell how can I repent. How can I believe, how can I follow. That's the job of the Holy Spirit to help you you have to do it alone. When you look to Jesus Christ you say I want him in my life at that instant the Holy Spirit is the one who helps Europe and the Holy Spirit is the one who helps you believe the word is the Holy Spirit that helps you follow Jesus Christ. It's a journey you're going to immediately become the Billy Graham is not take 10 years, 20 years but you're on the journey. But listen, if the journey listen if the journey has never begun. Got the wrong gospel and you have been brought here by the Holy Spirit because of God's mercy so that you could be saved. Gospel is declaration in response we saw the declaration God's kingdom has come.

Jesus brought it he died, he rose for our sins according to Scriptures. Now I have to repent of my sins. Tell God that I'm sorry for who I am and what I've done. I have to believe his word and I have to follow him you had a bad experience going upstairs.

Always dragged you to church and so you made up your mind will not be dragged at home and we want to always be put in the offering plate away this you may call Jesus you master but is really not you are the king of when you die, you go to your kingdom nudges. Thank you so much for joining us today for you can become a disciple must first be seen gospel. Don't put your faith.

One of the counterfeit Gospels in the world offers trust in Christ alone for salvation, repent of your sins and believing and to more information visit us online. I clearly see.org for this sermons notice checkup exercise blog. I would on shop.com