The Gospel We Proclaim Part 1

Morris Jesus phone number for CNN and what do you get a lot of bad news.

Even under Roman Russian early church in some really good news the gospel message Jesus came to seek and save centers that brings cable news from church in Chicago.

This is when roots are as clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line after Luther. I'm sure the today will be telling us what the core components of the gospel are yes David.

It is true that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the best news that anyone will ever hear Rebecca and I've been married for 50 years. But you know the gospel that saved us when we were still children in our homes is the same gospel that we continue to proclaim and that becomes very transforming in the lives of our children and our grandchildren.

We've actually told the story of our marriage. It's entitled the story of our marriage. 50 years of God's faithfulness. We don't take for granted that in his grace, God brought us together. He's taught us a lot. We block through life together and made decisions together. If you'd like to know more about this, the story of our marriage is available for a gift of any amount you can go to RTW offer.com RTW offer.com or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337 ask for the story of our marriage.

50 years of God's faithfulness and since my message today is on the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We could add that it is because of that gospel that God redeemed us and gave us a vision in life that we been able to enjoy 50 years of God's faithfulness, but now we go to the pulpit of Moody church where we learn more about what it is that we believe in the gospel that we love and proclaim.

I began today by reminding you that faith can destroy you.

Many of us have been in Chicago for a long while. Remember that in the early 80s there was what was called the Tylenol tampering episode, a man who is bent on destruction took some Tylenol capsules and put cyanide into them and left them on the rug store shelf and in all seven people died. What a great lesson about faith. First of all, it teaches us that faith in itself has no special merit. It has no special power faith cannot take something that is poisonous and turn it into something that is helpful and that will enable you to sleep or enable you to overcome your pains. Faith can't do that.

The only important thing is the object of faith, but faith in itself has no particular value or power, but there's a second lesson that we learned from that experience and that is that it is sometimes the truth that a bull's faith looks like the real thing stars, the people were concerned when they took those capsules. They thought that they were taking Tylenol because the cyanide looked a great deal like the Tylenol powder and in the very same way. There's some people spiritually speaking, who may be taking cyanide and they think it's Tylenol Jesus made an amazing statement in the gospel of Matthew. He said that many shall say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in my name, and in thy name cast out demons, and in thy name we have done many wonderful works. Looks like the real deal does not. That certainly looks like it's Tylenol.

That's the kind of thing that will help. But Jesus continued saying, but I will say to them. I never knew you depart from me, ye workers of iniquity. T wow I don't know about you, but in my minds eye I can already see their contorted faces their disappointment to their horrendous fear of being turned away from the gate of heaven, and the gates of heaven are slammed shut in their face because even though they worked in the name of Jesus and did miracles in the name of Jesus.

They were not the real deal. This is part of a series of messages entitled what we believe in. The difference, it should make hope that you are with us last time. As we talked about the sin that we rationalize in today I speak about the gospel that we proclaim what is the gospel and how do we presented with clarity how do we keep ourselves from being among the deceived at the end of time. Now there's some very wrong answers to the question of how you get to heaven there very wrong answers. Wrong answers that are widely believed in our culture and throughout the world. One wrong answer is that it's a matter of works just be a good person. Now you stop and think about that and you realize that that's basically the truth or I should say it is taught in many of the religions of the world.

Hinduism, you have meditation and you're trying to get yourself into a different state mentally. Whether or not it's Buddhism where you're following this path or that path or whether it is Protestantism.

The person who thinks I'm basically a good person I'm always amused when I meet people who say that I'm basically a good person and then among our Catholic friends. You have the idea that it isn't just merely all of works but it is also a mixture of works and grace. And the idea is that as you participate in the sacraments.

God takes a bad person and begins to make him better and better and that's the way in which the gospel is understood and out. The problem with all of those two views are the problem is very evident. First of all, the Bible teaches that our whole nature is corrupt. What that means is that all of our works are contaminated.

There's nothing absolutely as pure as God within us. Furthermore, some people forget that the sin that we commit can never be taken care of by good works because we will be guilty of that sin forever and ever and ever and you can't get it out just by becoming a better person doing better next time. Even if you think that that happens by God's grace as men. We've all had the experience heaven way of the spilling some catchup on our time. Now the resolution that I'm going to do better next time does not erase the stain does it now there's another wrong view of salvation.

There are those who say that it is all of works.

There are those who say that it is a mixture of works and grace.

I contribute my good works to what God is done and we cooperate together to bring it about.

And then there's another view, and that is a superficial notion of believing on Jesus. Trusting Jesus you say, but somehow it isn't the faith that really saves the problem with all wrong views of salvation is simply this, that all of these views, they overestimate the goodness of mankind where they they make us out to be better than we are.

85% of Americans apparently according to one poll think that they are good enough to get to heaven, and surely with a little help from God will make it. It overestimates how good we are. And it grossly underestimates the holiness of God and because of that we exist with these wrong views of salvation that are interesting that may even be helpful but they don't get you to heaven. People who believe them will find the door slammed shut in their faces and they will be disappointed for all of eternity. What does the Bible teach about salvation.

Well, the text is the second chapter of the book of Ephesians last time in the message we spoke about the first three verses that we talked about how bad off. We really are without Jesus and believe me it isn't a pretty picture. We learned that we were dead in our trespasses and sins not physically dead because look at all the things that dead people can do but spiritually bad. Not physically but spiritually dead, and the unsaved are dead in their trespasses and sins. Friend of mine tells me that he has a picture of Jeremy Bentham that Jeremy Bentham was a philosopher who lived in England you had a great deal of impact on English philosophy and when he died he said that he would will all of his assets which were considerable to the University College Hospital in London on one condition that after he died, his body would be taken and nicely dressed and patted, according to 19 century standards and that he would then be kept in the closet and wheeled out for every board meeting at the hospital and that was the requirement and they they said if you give us all your money and and that it will do it and that's what was done. Now I was in London about a year and 1/2 ago I asked the tour guide when we went past the hospital as to whether or not that was done and she said yes she knows that it was done. She wasn't sure whether or not was continuing to be done. But you're right what the chairman of the board would do is they do we allow Jeremy Bentham's corpse and then the chairman would say Jeremy Bentham is present but is not voting right and when you talk to an unsaved person, he's present, but is not voting he's spiritually dead and then we noticed that we were deceived and depraved, really bad off. I me were talking about a cemetery here will the good news today is that God comes to the cemetery and that is the gospel is God coming to raise the dead, your Bibles are open and thank you so much for bringing them your Bibles are open to the second chapter of the book of Ephesians and were picking it up in verse four but God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. Think of all of the attributes of God that come together when God saves us first of all, you'll notice there being rich in mercy, because of the great love wherewith he loved us.

This was an act of love.

Remember that God didn't have to come to the graveyard. God could've bypassed us and he could have done so legitimately. But the good news is that he came for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. God was motivated by love. Now when we think about the love of God, we have to distinguish it from a human love don't way because human love.

Basically is based upon the person who is love. Human love says I love you because of your personality. I love you because of your appearance. I love you because I love to be with you and the way in which you make me feel. That's human love and then when the object of that love changes. You have a divorce. You've changed your not the person I married. So I'm out of here.

Divine love is very different. Divine love says it is not based upon the one who is loved.

It is based on the lover, and God says I can go on loving you even when you are no longer lovable fact the Scripture says that when we were without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. The Bible says that Jesus Christ died for us while we were yet enemies he died for us so God comes when we were playing on the wrong team when we were his enemies. When we were in the grips of Satan.

When we were doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were being dragged around by the devil. It is then that God comes into the cemetery and it is his love that motivates him. Now, as I've explained in different messages.

The love itself couldn't do it. Love needed some way by which justice could be satisfied so that love would be free to redeem this is one of the great differences between the God of the Bible and a law in Islam and Islam.

Basically, you pay for your own sin, but there are some sin that along might forgive as I understand it, if I have this correct there some sins that allow might forgive if they're not too big, but if you asked the question about who pays for those sins.

There is no payment made for them really allow just let's bygones be bygones. The God of the Bible is so just that his love cannot save unless his justice has been appeased and satisfied. And that's the reason that Jesus died on the cross, God had a certain standard that God himself met in Christ. And so that's why love was now free to actually redeem so that the cross we see the love of God, but we also see the power of God. I just read it it says that when we were dead in our trespasses and sins. God made us alive. God made us alive. What good would be to believe in a God who is love a God who is just even if that justice were satisfied. If you are not a God who could raise the dead. He has to be the creator God. God of very God so that he can create and he can come into a cemetery and speak and say get up three times.

Three times Jesus raised the dead and each time he did it by his word and that's how God raises us up as well. Now notice what God does. He makes us alive. Remember this Christianity does not teach that Jesus came to take bad men and make them better, but praise God that that happens.

Jesus came to take dead man and make them alive.

There is a quickening that happens in our hearts, if any man be in Christ he is a new creation.

There is something within you. That's been created there after you get saved, or at the time when you are saved, that wasn't there previously. God connects us with himself.

So he comes to the cemetery. He makes us alive and we'd be grateful if we were just alive, but for a moment I want the Holy Spirit to show us the incredible generosity of God and doing so much more for us than that. Notice it says here in Ephesians, he made us alive and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in heavenly places in Jesus Christ. God says I am going to take you and I'm going to seat you with Jesus. Now this is spiritually speaking, but that does not mean that it's unreal. It's real not visible to the human eye because we need to understand this in a legal and spiritual sense, but if you're here today as a believer you're already seated with Jesus Christ in heaven now, that's one of the reasons why we need not fear death is because of where they are already with Jesus. And that's why we can be assured that there will not be a big hassle on the border from life to death because we say our advocate is there and were already seated with our advocate. We already have residence in heaven. All that we need to do is to transfer the soul to the right place. So God takes us and he doesn't just save us.

The purpose of salvation is not just to keep you from hell though. Praise God. It does that.

The purpose of salvation is so that God may prove what he is able to do to sinners and for sinners who don't deserve a thing who deserve to remain dead in the cemetery. God raises us up and someday we will reign with Jesus Christ. As I read in the book of Revelation.

Last night as it was read here in this sanctuary were going to rule with Jesus Christ. Jesus says he who overcomes, to him I will grant to sit with me on my throne, even as I overcame and sat with my father on his throne. Never yet met a Christian who doesn't want to be in overcome her, and every Christian wants to be in overcome her, but I've met many Christians who don't want to have anything to overcome sound to be in overcome her, but the minute God gives them something to overcome. They complain and they began to lose hope. Jesus said you overcome you'll sit with me and you will reign with me in heaven. Now we talked about the love of God, the power of God to raise this. I should also here speak about the purpose of God. Why all this is it only for our benefit will praise God.

It is for our benefit. But look at the text. Notice it says in verse seven, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Jesus Christ. And Paul refers to this elsewhere what God wants to do is he wants to put us on display.

He wants us to be an advertisement for his undeserved grace, so that in ages to come when he has taken us from the dirt and he has given us dignity and he's dug us up from the mud so that we might be able to walk on marble that his grace and his power and his love and his mercy might be on display through all of eternity because of what he so graciously did for sinners many years ago when a man by the name of Paul Gibson retired his principle of Cambridge University. There was a portrait painted of him and he was present.

Of course when it was unveiled and he said as he gave tribute to the artist a painter. He said that in years to come. People are not going to say who's that man in the portrait. People are going to say who was that painter to do such and outstanding job throughout all of eternity. Those who are watching whether it's angels and others.

The question is not going to be poor, the redeemed, but rather the question will be, who was their Redeemer to take them from the pit of sin and exalt them in ways that boggle the mind. If you're gonna be with us next week and I hope you are and I speak about angels. I'm going to show you that we are going to be up of the Angels in the eternal state. This is what God has done for sinners to display his glory to show what he can do. We are exhibit a of the undeserved love, mercy and grace and power of God, this is Pastor Luther and that's why Rebecca and I have told the story of our marriage. It is because we have been recipients of the grace and the power of God.

Our story of 50 years of God's faithfulness is all about God and only incidentally about us. Would you like to know how God let us how God enabled us to make important decisions which we didn't understand were important at the time, but only as we look back we saw God's faithfulness in new ways this story, the story of our marriage.

50 years of God's faithfulness can be yours for a gift of any amount. Here's what you do you go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 we give a window into our lives so that our marriage and the lessons that God has taught us, may be of benefit to you.

Let me give you that contact information again RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 this is the last week. We are making this offer, the story of our marriage. 50 years of God's faithfulness. You can write to us run into when 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614 the gospel of Christ simply means good news about Jesus, the risen Christ commissioned his people go into all the world and make slight means so what's the best way to fulfill that great commission. Next time I'm going to win.

We take a further look at how to make the good news known to those whose eternities depend on believing it running to win is all about helping you understand God's roadmap for your race of life. Thanks for listening for Dr. Erwin Luzerne this is Dave McAllister running to win is sponsored by the teacher