The Gospel We Proclaim Part 2

Reason for us.

Jesus phone number for the gospel of Christ simply means good news about Jesus is on the cross makes our forgiveness today for how we can make the good news of the gospel known to those whose eternities depend on believing church in Chicago this is Sir's clear teaching helps us make it last finish line. Estimates are with all the noise in the media, it seems harder than ever to get the gospel across to people. You're absolutely right. As a matter of fact there's so much noise that you wonder whether or not the gospel is even heard whether it's because of the news the politics of the world.

The issues of the world when we need to do is to be silent long enough to hear God and his word. You know it's because of people like you that our ministry running to win can continue in 20 different countries of the world. I hold in my hand a letter from someone who says I care for my mother so it's wonderful that your programs are available. These messages are a wonderful way to praise God and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Now, my friend, it is because of your involvement in prayers and gifts that we can continue this ministry. Here's what you do if you are interested in becoming an endurance partner endurance partners are those who stand with us regularly with their prayers and their gifts. If you'd like to learn more, go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 now we go to the pulpit of Moody church where we learn more about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Now the question is, how is this received.

Paul mentions grace earlier, he says, for by grace you are saved, he has to throw that in.

Then he gets to verse eight and clarifies even more directly or by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not of your own doing, it is the gift of God not a result of work, so that no one may boast or we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. What do we say about the grace that saves first of all grace.

As you know is God's undeserved favor. He's giving us what we don't deserve out of the abundance of his mercy.

That's what grace is and first of all, it's obvious it has to be a free gift. It has to be a free gift. Jesus couldn't come to Lazarus and say no Lazarus I'm willing to raise you, but you know I need something from you first. I made Lazarus at least wiggle a finger give me something and then I'll do it for you know know know know it has to be his sovereign choice and his gift. There is no other way that it could be because in the process of trusting Christ. What happens is we receive the righteousness of God which is not human, righteousness added to a higher power is an entirely different kind of righteousness.

So the only way in which you and I can receive it is simply as a gift.

Paul says the wages of sin is death, but they gift of God that gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Could it be any clearer in the text. What else do we say about this grace, it is apart from works. Notice the text says, by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not of your doing. It is the gift of God not as a result of works, all the works done by human beings, all the good works added together from all of the past ages will never change God's mind regarding a single center because as I emphasized all of our works are tainted. Our natures are basically corrupt even though they can do good things and it cannot be by works. Paul says in Romans chapter 11 six pieces if it's by grace.

He says it is not of works, if it's of works. He says it's not of grace.

You cannot take a saving grace and mix it with works and understand the gospel. So the good news is that it is a free gift. It is apart from works. What happened is this God says in order to save people life to clear the decks I've to clear the decks. I did make it sure that no human goodness is involved in the salvation process if there is been some goodness in us that God could use if there had been something within us that match the holiness of God. God would've had to acknowledge it and to use it, but rather the Bible says all have sinned and have come short of the glory of God. We all are short of it. So God says in order to do my own thing I have to make it very very clear that human works can have no part of the salvation process that I must raise the dead, and it must not be of works, lest any man boast, lest any man boast number of years ago, speaking at a breakfast in Detroit preach the gospel in afterwards. The cleric who closed in prayer said this all God. We pray that we may live in such a way that when we stand before you. We will be proud of all of our accomplishments. God only knows his heart, but I do not believe that man understands the gospel, nor was he born again.

Can you imagine that working to stand before God and be proud of all of our accomplishments stand before God will be on our faces with nothing to present nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling that's the understanding of the gospel. And yes, you may clap and the good news is that because it's grace.

It is unaffected by the degree of your sin. I pointed out last time that when you have two corpses one is more dead than the other does Jesus say what you know, I was able to raise Lazarus because he was dead. Only four days but my if he had been dead for two weeks.

There's no way I could've done that. Now this is God's work and it is not affected by the degree of your sin. God can save big sinners. Some of you if the truth really were know if we knew your past and if we know what all you've done. You may have done some very terrible things, criminal things you say is God able to save me. Yes, of course, God's able to save you because salvation is God's work and it is not hindered by your sin. If God speaks to you and you saving really believe the greatest of sinners, we sometimes sing the vilest of sinners who truly believes that moment from Jesus apart the Sears Tower is taller than the LaSalle national Bank, we could have some young engineers do some research and tell us about how many feet one is in how many yards are whatever and I want to start or the other but if you stop comparing them between themselves and begin to compare them from the distance of the farthest star say hey there's not much difference between we as humans are different. Some are better than others, but once we begin to compare ourselves with God, we all fall short. God comes along and speaks the word and grants his life and he is not limited by your past.

Now notice it says, for by grace you have been saved through faith, through faith, that is the sole requirement is faith.

You say will what does faith involve faith, involves three things.

First of all knowledge.

Did the people whom Jesus Christ rejected and he predicted he would reject the folks who cast out demons in his name, and did all these marvelous works. Do they have knowledge that they had knowledge they have, may have been on television with open Bibles. They may have been brought up in church course they had knowledge. The second part is that you need a sense as Santa is an intellectual conviction that the facts of the gospel are true. It is true that Jesus died for sinners.

It is true that he was raised from the dead, and you have a sense to these and you believe they happened to these folks have a sense I would think they would. I don't believe that they have been casting out demons doing all kinds of miracles and by the way were not sure in whose power they were actually doing it. They may have used the name of Jesus and yet because of their doctrinal error.

Demons might have cooperated and make it look as if they were being cast out were not sure, but they would've had us sent to the facts. What was missing. Why were they turned away from the heavenly gates because faith involve something else and that is trust. It involves a transfer of trust to Christ. And when you get involves that transfer of Christ. It is not my faith in Jesus. Plus, in case Jesus isn't good enough.

I got something in my back pocket to add to it the founder of one of America's great seminaries who understood grace said this, that he wants to trust Jesus Christ so completely and so totally that if he gets to heaven and discovers that faith in Jesus alone is not the way of salvation that you need something else and to have believed something else. He said that he will to be turned away and be damned forever. That's the kind of faith that saves the transfer of trust to Christ. That's grace now graces difficult to accept.

You think that after this exposition that everybody would believe that those listening on the Internet and on the radio. They'd all say let me stop the car wherever I am wherever I'm listening to this right now I'm going to transfer my trust in Jesus, but it's difficult for two categories of people.

First, it's difficult for those who have sinned greatly because they say to themselves. I am so unworthy.

I am so defiled because of my sin. There's no way God would accept what I hope I answered your question by pointing out that the real issue isn't the degree of your sin and then there's another category. They are even more difficult to deal with.

They are the ones who really really struggle against grace and don't receive it, and that is the goody two shoes people. The people who work in social work, and who devote their time and their energy. The people who want to better the world. The people were basically fundamental, honest, decent people, many of them attending churches they they struggle against grace greatly because you mean to say that I am that bad. All what you mean. And then they drag out all of their list of accomplishments and so they they struggle and they find it difficult to accept grace like somebody said the only time I ever sin was to take my golf clubs in anger and wrap them around the tree all my can I get your autograph here.

Here's a man having an 26 years committed one sin while he finds it difficult to accept grace. Grace comes along and undercuts all that this is a the social work that you're doing is great, keep doing it, but advised no saving merit in God's sight and people don't like it. I told you earlier deny that I have to use it again about the woman in the plane who is very self-righteous that I was sitting next to. She was the kind you know who probably would say well maybe I committed two sins, but I need to think long and hard before I'd be able to identify them and I said, would you consider yourself ungodly City Hall.

Are you kidding I'm not ungodly, and I smiled my best smile don't ever say something, don't ever be mean, unless you smile. Don't ever but if you're if you smile then then it takes the edge off. I said, I'm so sorry to hear that because that means that Jesus didn't die for you. What you mean, Jesus didn't ivory. He said Jesus, the Bible says died for the ungodly. So if you're not ungodly. He didn't die for you while see how hard it is for her to accept grace tough to accept grace, but for those who are willing to accept grace and transfer their trust in Jesus, admitting how bad off they are. They are the ones who are saved, and Jesus said that every plant that my heavenly father does not plan will be rooted up because it was a false faith. It was knowledge. It was a sense but there was no transfer of trust to Jesus and to Jesus alone alone when I stand before God. I will quote the words of top lady.

Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross. I cling is all little take to heaven. Now the Bible does say that now that were saved. Notice it says were saved onto good works, which God have before ordained that we should walk in them having been converted. Having been raised from the dead. Lazarus has to get out of the out of the tomb, and if you live long enough, he has to begin to help make dinner so God wants us to serve him of the work still follow salvation. They are not a a part of the salvation process.

The saving process that can't be of works but boy once you're saved, you had better work and if you don't, we have good reason to believe whether or not you really are saved because it naturally follows.

And to think that God for plan, the works that we should do boggles the mind. Jesus told a parable about to two men, both of whom believed in grace. There was a Pharisee who went into the temple to pray along with the tax gatherer and the Pharisee was the goody two shoes person who couldn't think of anything terribly done for a long time, so he stood up there and he prayed. He said I thank the God that I am not like other men, adulterers, extortioners, I fast twice a week.

I give tithes of everything that I possess. You say did he believe in grace. Yes, of course. Notice he said I thank the God that I am not like other men he was saying. I'm a very very good person, but I'm thanking God for the fact that I'm so good, so yeah, after manner of speaking. He believed in grace, but the other man tax gatherer get a better assessment of himself.

He smote his rest, he wouldn't even look to heaven he could look God in the eyes so to speak, and so God be merciful, be propitiated to me in the center. Jesus said that the man who said those words. He went home justified and the other man left unchanged. What the Pharisee was saying is you know I'm a good person and with God's help. With God's help, I think I can save myself the other person was saying I got a real serious sin problem, and unless God intervenes, I'm going to damn myself and one left justified, and the other left quite confident that he do better next time. With God's help, of course, and thankful that God gave him the grace to do good works. Hear me out. Even the works that God gives us the grace to do will not save us cannot save us only what God has done for us in Christ that we received by faith in the faith itself is a gift.

It is not a work so that salvation wholly and totally is of God.

That's why we believe that God alone is the Savior. So I have to ask you today, are you saved very good terminology.

By the way, somebody said to me the other day why do you use this saved language well know, we have this kind of silly idea here at the Moody church that we should preach the Bible is not widely done anymore. Maybe. But we use the word save because you'll notice it says, for by grace you have been saved so have to ask you, are you saved is the transfer of trust been made and from that flows the assurance I miss a word about assurance you believe that when Jesus died on the cross and rose again that he did all that ever will be necessary for you to stand in God's presence and you embrace that for yourself. Not only will be saved, but you'll have the assurance that you are because you know that it has nothing to do with you. It has everything to do with the one your of what Jesus did for centers. That's where assurance is found. So I ask you again are you saved. Let's pray father we ask in Jesus name, but for the many who are listening and you know who they are, who are cut off from you.

Never been redeemed never been saved because them at this moment, Lord, to see their need and give them the ability to trust Christ come to them.

Father reveal your truth to them and then Lord Jesus, may they have that calm assurance that their hope is in Jesus alone, not Jesus, and rituals.

But Jesus alone rent that. Oh God, we pray for those who know you a Savior, but struggle with assurance. Show them the wonder and the beauty of the cross that they might rejoice in what Jesus did for them. We ask in your blessed name, amen, amen. My friend, you can be wrong about the economy you can be wrong about politics. You can be wrong about many different things but one thing you don't want to be wrong about is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Recently a number of us were having lunch with a man who was a newspaper reporter, a religious newspaper reporter and he told us that one of the worst things you could ask him, is whether or not he has personally received Christ as Savior. He said he believes in Jesus, but Jesus is to be received in a communal way. A group at church. While I have to tell you that the Bible contradicts that and says that whoever believes on him. It is individual. He who believes on him is saved and as many as received him, to those he gives the authority to become God's children. Here's my point. Be sure that you are straight on the issue of the gospel. That's why in this message. I asked the question, are you saved. I believe that this series of messages titled what we believe is very critical because were living at a time when people are often confused about Bible doctrine. Would you like to have this series so that you can listen to it again and again. Here's what you do for a gift of any amount you can go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337 ask for this series of messages titled what we believe. It deals with 10 pillars of Christian doctrine that you need your children need and all of us need to be reminded of their truths. RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 and remember the title what we believe and in advance let me thank you for your generosity, because together we are making a difference.

Thanks in advance. Indeed, for becoming a part of the running to win the family and will see you right here next time you can write to us running to win 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614 world of the spirit exists alongside the world.

We can see unseen millions of angels hover all around. The people of God. Serving those who are the heirs of salvation in the Bible. Angels are the messengers of God. Next time, don't miss another chapter in the basic teachings of the Christian faith. Chapter on the Angels. We appreciate running to win is all about helping you understand God's roadmap for your race. Running to win is sponsored by the Moody church