Savior
Jesus is our Savior, 28 January 2018
28 01 18 Filed in: Sermons | The Gospel Truth
Jesus is our Savior
Series— The Gospel Truth
Romans 3:21-26
Series Overview: The purpose of this series is to distinguish between the biblical gospel and the various misunderstandings of the word, specifically the difference between Jesus as Savior and Lord. We will use the Fourfold Gospel as our outline.
Big Idea: Jesus is our Savior, saving us from sin and death.
Introduction
In the classic film The Princess Bride, Vizzini the Sicilian repeatedly calls things “inconceivable.” After hearing it said several times, Inigo Montoya utters a line which has become iconic among moviegoers. He says,
“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
Often, we use words we don’t fully understand. Take, for instance, the gospel. What is the gospel?
Today we begin a series entitled, The Gospel Truth. I think we all understand the concept of truth, but what is the gospel? The Greek word is euaggelion and it literally means “good news.”
When I was working on my doctorate, I interviewed several leaders in our neighborhood. I wanted to know what it would look like to bring the gospel to UpTown Toledo. Recognizing how odd it would be to ask strangers, “What would be the gospel for our community?” I asked, “What would be good news here?”
Parenthetically, nearly everyone said development, new businesses and housing to bring new life to Toledo…something we are doing through Claro Coffee Bar. I’m pleased to say there are many in our neighborhood grateful for First Alliance Church and our investment on Adams Street.
What is the gospel?
Here's rapper/pastor/artist Trip Lee's take on the gospel.
What is the gospel?
Perhaps like me you’ve heard the gospel is Jesus died so you can go to heaven when you die. It’s a get out of hell free card. The gospel is about being saved.
Let me give you the slightly longer version of what many have called the gospel:
- God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life.
- People are sinful and separated from God, so we cannot know and experience God’s love and plan for our lives.
- Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for our sin, and through him we can know and experience God’s love and plan for our lives.
- We must individually receive Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord in order to know and experience his love and plan for our lives.
These four statements are from a booklet called The Four Spiritual Laws written by Bill Bright in 1965 and has been shared around the world in hundreds of languages. I’ve actually shared it with people in both English and Spanish over the years. There is good news in those statements and elements of the gospel are found here, but calling this the gospel would’ve seemed odd to the first Christians. It would’ve seemed odd to great church leaders like Finney and Wesley.
What is the gospel?
I think a good place to start might be the Bible. Here’s what Paul said…
Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:1-2)
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. (1 Corinthians 15:3-5)
Paul says this is the gospel:
- Jesus died
- Jesus was buried
- Jesus was raised from the dead
- Jesus appeared to people
What is Paul’s focus when he describes the gospel? Jesus. He says it again to Timothy.
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, (2Timothy 2:8)
The gospel is about remembering Jesus is the Messiah, raised from the dead. The gospel is first and foremost to the story of Jesus, not the story of how to get saved.
Billy Sunday, Billy Graham, and Bill Bright—the three Bills—talked a lot about salvation, our topic for today. But before we focus on soteriology—salvation—I want you to understand the gospel is first and foremost about Christology…it’s all about Jesus.
The gospel is all about Jesus. In a word, the gospel is Jesus. In three words, the gospel is Jesus Is LORD.
In Acts 2:14-36, Peter declares the gospel is all about Jesus.
In Acts 10:34-43, Peter again declares the gospel is all about Jesus.
The Bible declares the gospel is all about Jesus.
There’s a temptation in our USAmerican culture to make the gospel all about us.
God loves us.
We sinned.
Jesus died for us.
We need to believe.
These are all true. Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying salvation is not important or we’re not important, but simply that the gospel begins and ends with Jesus.
Jesus is the King.
Jesus is the LORD.
That’s the central gospel of the New Testament. We need to focus on Jesus, not how we can be happy when we die or what happens when we die. The story is not about us. It’s about Jesus and we are called to tell this story. In fact, the first four books of the New Testament—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—are called gospels because they tell the story of Jesus.
For the next four weeks, we are going to examine Jesus. Actually, every Sunday is an opportunity to learn about, get to know, and become like Jesus. But this new series, The Gospel Truth, borrows from something called the Fourfold Gospel.
Our church was founded by a remarkable man, Albert Benjamin Simpson. He influenced not only the launch of our church but also the Assemblies of God, the Foursquare Church, and our denomination, the Christian & Missionary Alliance.
Perhaps you’ve seen the logo of the Alliance. It depicts Jesus as our Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King.
Jesus is our Savior
What does it mean for Jesus to be our Savior? As we saw earlier, our sin separates us from God. Sin leads to death, including the death of our relationship with a perfect, holy God. Jesus came to this earth to show us what it means to be human and also to die—instead of us—for our sins.
None of us is perfect and righteous like God, but Jesus is fully human and fully God, holy and without sin.
But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26)
That’s quite a passage! Here it is in a slightly more modern translation:
But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. (Romans 3:21-22, NLT)
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus. (Romans 3:23-26, NLT)
This is, indeed, good news.
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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17)
Many have heard of John 3:16, but the next verse is powerful, too. Jesus came to save us…from our sins, from ourselves.
Peter, one of Jesus’ best friends, proclaimed…
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
This is why Jesus is such a big deal. It’s why we don’t believe all religious roads lead to God. If we get to heaven by being good, Jesus was stupid for being crucified. Instead, he alone suffered and died for you and me. Paul wrote,
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
We praise him for his sacrifice on the cross, for salvation, for God’s gift of Jesus.
Conclusion
Many the gospel is about going to heaven when you die. I would like to suggest the gospel is going to heaven before you die. If heaven is where God is, we can experience God in the here and now. Through the Holy Spirit, God is present here with us, living inside of every believer.
Do you love Jesus? I’m afraid we’ve often turned Jesus into a product to sell so people can avoid hell. Believe these propositions, pray a prayer, and you’re done. Jesus never said make decisions. He said to make disciples. He said to follow him, not merely be a fan.
Although the gospel is more than just salvation, Jesus is our Savior and that’s a wonderful truth. No matter your past, Jesus loved you, and he proved that love by dying on the cross to offer forgiveness for all of yours sins and mistakes—past, present, and future.
Jesus is our Savior. Hallelujah!
Credits: Some ideas from Scot McKnight.
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
Series— The Gospel Truth
Romans 3:21-26
Series Overview: The purpose of this series is to distinguish between the biblical gospel and the various misunderstandings of the word, specifically the difference between Jesus as Savior and Lord. We will use the Fourfold Gospel as our outline.
Big Idea: Jesus is our Savior, saving us from sin and death.
Introduction
In the classic film The Princess Bride, Vizzini the Sicilian repeatedly calls things “inconceivable.” After hearing it said several times, Inigo Montoya utters a line which has become iconic among moviegoers. He says,
“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
Often, we use words we don’t fully understand. Take, for instance, the gospel. What is the gospel?
Today we begin a series entitled, The Gospel Truth. I think we all understand the concept of truth, but what is the gospel? The Greek word is euaggelion and it literally means “good news.”
When I was working on my doctorate, I interviewed several leaders in our neighborhood. I wanted to know what it would look like to bring the gospel to UpTown Toledo. Recognizing how odd it would be to ask strangers, “What would be the gospel for our community?” I asked, “What would be good news here?”
Parenthetically, nearly everyone said development, new businesses and housing to bring new life to Toledo…something we are doing through Claro Coffee Bar. I’m pleased to say there are many in our neighborhood grateful for First Alliance Church and our investment on Adams Street.
What is the gospel?
Here's rapper/pastor/artist Trip Lee's take on the gospel.
What is the gospel?
Perhaps like me you’ve heard the gospel is Jesus died so you can go to heaven when you die. It’s a get out of hell free card. The gospel is about being saved.
Let me give you the slightly longer version of what many have called the gospel:
- God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life.
- People are sinful and separated from God, so we cannot know and experience God’s love and plan for our lives.
- Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for our sin, and through him we can know and experience God’s love and plan for our lives.
- We must individually receive Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord in order to know and experience his love and plan for our lives.
These four statements are from a booklet called The Four Spiritual Laws written by Bill Bright in 1965 and has been shared around the world in hundreds of languages. I’ve actually shared it with people in both English and Spanish over the years. There is good news in those statements and elements of the gospel are found here, but calling this the gospel would’ve seemed odd to the first Christians. It would’ve seemed odd to great church leaders like Finney and Wesley.
What is the gospel?
I think a good place to start might be the Bible. Here’s what Paul said…
Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:1-2)
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. (1 Corinthians 15:3-5)
Paul says this is the gospel:
- Jesus died
- Jesus was buried
- Jesus was raised from the dead
- Jesus appeared to people
What is Paul’s focus when he describes the gospel? Jesus. He says it again to Timothy.
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, (2Timothy 2:8)
The gospel is about remembering Jesus is the Messiah, raised from the dead. The gospel is first and foremost to the story of Jesus, not the story of how to get saved.
Billy Sunday, Billy Graham, and Bill Bright—the three Bills—talked a lot about salvation, our topic for today. But before we focus on soteriology—salvation—I want you to understand the gospel is first and foremost about Christology…it’s all about Jesus.
The gospel is all about Jesus. In a word, the gospel is Jesus. In three words, the gospel is Jesus Is LORD.
In Acts 2:14-36, Peter declares the gospel is all about Jesus.
In Acts 10:34-43, Peter again declares the gospel is all about Jesus.
The Bible declares the gospel is all about Jesus.
There’s a temptation in our USAmerican culture to make the gospel all about us.
God loves us.
We sinned.
Jesus died for us.
We need to believe.
These are all true. Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying salvation is not important or we’re not important, but simply that the gospel begins and ends with Jesus.
Jesus is the King.
Jesus is the LORD.
That’s the central gospel of the New Testament. We need to focus on Jesus, not how we can be happy when we die or what happens when we die. The story is not about us. It’s about Jesus and we are called to tell this story. In fact, the first four books of the New Testament—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—are called gospels because they tell the story of Jesus.
For the next four weeks, we are going to examine Jesus. Actually, every Sunday is an opportunity to learn about, get to know, and become like Jesus. But this new series, The Gospel Truth, borrows from something called the Fourfold Gospel.
Our church was founded by a remarkable man, Albert Benjamin Simpson. He influenced not only the launch of our church but also the Assemblies of God, the Foursquare Church, and our denomination, the Christian & Missionary Alliance.
Perhaps you’ve seen the logo of the Alliance. It depicts Jesus as our Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King.
Jesus is our Savior
What does it mean for Jesus to be our Savior? As we saw earlier, our sin separates us from God. Sin leads to death, including the death of our relationship with a perfect, holy God. Jesus came to this earth to show us what it means to be human and also to die—instead of us—for our sins.
None of us is perfect and righteous like God, but Jesus is fully human and fully God, holy and without sin.
But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26)
That’s quite a passage! Here it is in a slightly more modern translation:
But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. (Romans 3:21-22, NLT)
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus. (Romans 3:23-26, NLT)
This is, indeed, good news.
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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17)
Many have heard of John 3:16, but the next verse is powerful, too. Jesus came to save us…from our sins, from ourselves.
Peter, one of Jesus’ best friends, proclaimed…
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
This is why Jesus is such a big deal. It’s why we don’t believe all religious roads lead to God. If we get to heaven by being good, Jesus was stupid for being crucified. Instead, he alone suffered and died for you and me. Paul wrote,
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
We praise him for his sacrifice on the cross, for salvation, for God’s gift of Jesus.
Conclusion
Many the gospel is about going to heaven when you die. I would like to suggest the gospel is going to heaven before you die. If heaven is where God is, we can experience God in the here and now. Through the Holy Spirit, God is present here with us, living inside of every believer.
Do you love Jesus? I’m afraid we’ve often turned Jesus into a product to sell so people can avoid hell. Believe these propositions, pray a prayer, and you’re done. Jesus never said make decisions. He said to make disciples. He said to follow him, not merely be a fan.
Although the gospel is more than just salvation, Jesus is our Savior and that’s a wonderful truth. No matter your past, Jesus loved you, and he proved that love by dying on the cross to offer forgiveness for all of yours sins and mistakes—past, present, and future.
Jesus is our Savior. Hallelujah!
Credits: Some ideas from Scot McKnight.
Jesus Our Savior, The Gospel Truth, 8 March 2015
09 03 15 Filed in: Sermons | The Gospel Truth
Series Overview: The purpose of this series is to distinguish between the biblical gospel and the various misunderstandings of the word, specifically the difference between Jesus as Savior and Lord. We will use the Fourfold Gospel as our outline.
Big Idea: Jesus is our Savior, saving us from sin and death.
What is the gospel? It is good news.
Many have said the gospel is the plan of salvation. It often goes something like this:
I literally spent years telling a version of that story to students in both the United States and Bolivia. Pray to receive Christ and you’re guaranteed a “Get Out Of Hell Free” card.
That is certainly good news, but the gospel is more. Much more. Pastor Bruxy Cavey defines the gospel with these thirty words:
“The gospel is the good news that God has come to us through Christ to show us His love, save us from sin, set us in community, and shut down religion.”
Last week we noted scholar N.T. Wright’s description of the grand story of history as a play with multiple acts:
Act 1: creation
Act 2: the Fall
Act 3: Israel
Act 4: Jesus
Act 5: New Testament and the people of God (the Church)
Some have suggested we are in Act 6, with Act 7 being the new heaven and new earth mentioned in Revelation.
If we skip Act 3, we miss a huge part of human history. Jesus was, Himself, a Jew, after all.
One of my professors wrote
“…the word gospel was used in the world of Jews at the time of the apostles to
announce something, to declare something as good news — the word evangelion
always means good news. “To gospel” is to herald, to proclaim, and to declare
something about something. To put this together: the gospel is to announce good
news about key events in the life of Jesus Christ. To gospel for Paul was to tell,
announce, declare, and shout aloud the Story of Jesus Christ as the saving news of
God.” (Scot McKnight, King Jesus Gospel)
In three words, the gospel is Jesus is Lord. In one word, the gospel is Jesus.
Today we begin a new series, The Gospel Truth, looking at Jesus.
The Fourfold Gospel
Last week I mentioned A.B. Simpson, the founder of The Christian & Missionary Alliance, our denomination. After doing some research on his life a few years ago I was surprised to learn his influence not only in the C&MA but also the founding of the Assemblies of God and Foursquare denominations.
The Fourfold Gospel is the Christological summary on which the core values of The Alliance is based. Simpson saw Jesus as not only Savior—our focus today—but also his Sanctifier and Healer and Coming King. As we saw in the video earlier, it’s all about Jesus.
Who Is Jesus?
Last Sunday CNN began a series called Finding Jesus. I was pleasantly surprised at both its research and results. Part 2 will be shown tonight at 9 PM and you can view episodes at CNN.com.
Our faith is built upon Jesus—not a dream, not an idea…not even a book. It’s built upon a Person. I realize most of you are familiar with Jesus. If you’re like me you might be overly familiar with Him. This is a huge danger in any relationship. We can become so familiar and so comfortable with someone—a parent, spouse, child, friend—that we take them for granted and forget just how unique and special they are to us. That’s why we remember them by celebrating their birthday, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, or some other occasion.
Who is Jesus? So much can be said about Jesus. In fact, John concluded his biography of Jesus by saying
Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. (John 21:25)
There are, in fact, four biographies of Jesus: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. We refer to them as the four gospels because they are good news. They are about Jesus.
Savior
This week I was talking with our daughter about her favorite names for children. People name their kids after movie stars, athletes, biblical characters, and for a host of other reasons. Ancient Hebrews chose names that would speak prophecy about the mission or character of their children.
When my parents named me Kirk, they liked the sound of the name, but also its meaning: “church dweller.” They were quite prophetic!
In a similar way Jesus was not simply a name Mary and Joseph liked, but one carefully chosen to convey His mission. An angel of the LORD came to Joseph and said of Mary:
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)
He is our Savior, saving us from our sins. Luke expressed this, as well, quoting Jesus:
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)
Romans 3:21-26
The third chapter of Romans provides us with one of the clearest portraits of Jesus as Savior.
But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26)
God loves us. We all sin and fall short of His standard of perfection. Jesus shed His blood and died on the cross to save us, to forgive us, to enable us to be reconciled to a perfect and holy God.
Because Jesus is our Savior.
That’s quite a list! Which is the most meaningful to you?
Universal and Exclusive
Jesus is both a universal Savior and an exclusive Savior. John 3:16 says
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)
God loves the whole world and died for the whole world, but salvation is for those who believe in Jesus.
By the way, believe is not something simply done in your head, like you might believe in the Easter Bunny or that the Detroit Lions will win the next Super Bowl. Biblical belief requires action. It’s like believing a parachute will work and therefore you jump out of the airplane. You believe the odd-looking food is nourishing so you eat it. Faith is never passive.
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
Contrary to what contemporary culture tells us, there are not multiple paths to God. There is only one—Jesus Christ. Only One died for us. Only One conquered sin and death. Only One is alive thousands of years later!
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
This is, admittedly, politically incorrect. It can be downright offensive, except for the fact that Jesus died of all. He offers Himself as a gift to all…who receive the gift.
The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. (John 1:9-13)
In his book Radical, David Platt tells of a conversation outside a Buddhist temple in Indonesia with a Buddhist leader and a Muslim leader. One said, “We may have different views about small issues, but when it comes down to essential issues, each of our religions is the same.” Platt said, “It sounds as though you both picture God (or whatever you call god) at the top of a mountain. It seems as if you believe that we are all at the bottom of the mountain, and I may take one route up the mountain, you may take another, and in the end we will all end up in the same place.” They smiled as I spoke. Happily they replied, “Exactly! You understand!” Then I leaned in and said, “Now let me ask you a question. What would you think if I told you that the God at the top of the mountain actually came down to where we are? What would you think if I told you that God doesn’t wait for people to find their way to him, but instead he comes to us?” They thought for a moment and then responded, “That would be great.” I replied, “Let me introduce you to Jesus.”
This is the gospel. The gospel is Jesus. He is our Savior who lived and died and rose for us. He offers each of us Himself as the greatest gift, a gift we can reject or receive.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
We don’t deserve it; that’s grace, unmerited favor. It’s amazing!
You can listen to this message and others at the Scio podcast here. You can also subscribe to our podcast here.
Big Idea: Jesus is our Savior, saving us from sin and death.
What is the gospel? It is good news.
Many have said the gospel is the plan of salvation. It often goes something like this:
- God loves you.
- You sinned and are separated from God.
- Jesus died to reconcile you to God.
- If you pray to ask Jesus into your heart you’ll go to heaven when you die.
I literally spent years telling a version of that story to students in both the United States and Bolivia. Pray to receive Christ and you’re guaranteed a “Get Out Of Hell Free” card.
That is certainly good news, but the gospel is more. Much more. Pastor Bruxy Cavey defines the gospel with these thirty words:
“The gospel is the good news that God has come to us through Christ to show us His love, save us from sin, set us in community, and shut down religion.”
Last week we noted scholar N.T. Wright’s description of the grand story of history as a play with multiple acts:
Act 1: creation
Act 2: the Fall
Act 3: Israel
Act 4: Jesus
Act 5: New Testament and the people of God (the Church)
Some have suggested we are in Act 6, with Act 7 being the new heaven and new earth mentioned in Revelation.
If we skip Act 3, we miss a huge part of human history. Jesus was, Himself, a Jew, after all.
One of my professors wrote
“…the word gospel was used in the world of Jews at the time of the apostles to
announce something, to declare something as good news — the word evangelion
always means good news. “To gospel” is to herald, to proclaim, and to declare
something about something. To put this together: the gospel is to announce good
news about key events in the life of Jesus Christ. To gospel for Paul was to tell,
announce, declare, and shout aloud the Story of Jesus Christ as the saving news of
God.” (Scot McKnight, King Jesus Gospel)
In three words, the gospel is Jesus is Lord. In one word, the gospel is Jesus.
Today we begin a new series, The Gospel Truth, looking at Jesus.
The Fourfold Gospel
Last week I mentioned A.B. Simpson, the founder of The Christian & Missionary Alliance, our denomination. After doing some research on his life a few years ago I was surprised to learn his influence not only in the C&MA but also the founding of the Assemblies of God and Foursquare denominations.
The Fourfold Gospel is the Christological summary on which the core values of The Alliance is based. Simpson saw Jesus as not only Savior—our focus today—but also his Sanctifier and Healer and Coming King. As we saw in the video earlier, it’s all about Jesus.
Who Is Jesus?
Last Sunday CNN began a series called Finding Jesus. I was pleasantly surprised at both its research and results. Part 2 will be shown tonight at 9 PM and you can view episodes at CNN.com.
Our faith is built upon Jesus—not a dream, not an idea…not even a book. It’s built upon a Person. I realize most of you are familiar with Jesus. If you’re like me you might be overly familiar with Him. This is a huge danger in any relationship. We can become so familiar and so comfortable with someone—a parent, spouse, child, friend—that we take them for granted and forget just how unique and special they are to us. That’s why we remember them by celebrating their birthday, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, or some other occasion.
Who is Jesus? So much can be said about Jesus. In fact, John concluded his biography of Jesus by saying
Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. (John 21:25)
There are, in fact, four biographies of Jesus: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. We refer to them as the four gospels because they are good news. They are about Jesus.
Savior
This week I was talking with our daughter about her favorite names for children. People name their kids after movie stars, athletes, biblical characters, and for a host of other reasons. Ancient Hebrews chose names that would speak prophecy about the mission or character of their children.
When my parents named me Kirk, they liked the sound of the name, but also its meaning: “church dweller.” They were quite prophetic!
In a similar way Jesus was not simply a name Mary and Joseph liked, but one carefully chosen to convey His mission. An angel of the LORD came to Joseph and said of Mary:
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)
He is our Savior, saving us from our sins. Luke expressed this, as well, quoting Jesus:
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)
Romans 3:21-26
The third chapter of Romans provides us with one of the clearest portraits of Jesus as Savior.
But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26)
God loves us. We all sin and fall short of His standard of perfection. Jesus shed His blood and died on the cross to save us, to forgive us, to enable us to be reconciled to a perfect and holy God.
Because Jesus is our Savior.
- Our sins have been forgiven. (Colossians 1:14)
- We have peace with God. (Romans 5:1)
- We have been declared righteous. (Romans 5:19)
- We are new creatures. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
- We have eternal life. (John 3:16)
- We have been adopted by God. (Ephesians 1:5)
- His Holy Spirit lives in us. (Galatians 4:6)
- Jesus is our advocate. (1 John 2:1)
- Nothing can separate us from God’s love. (Romans 8:35)
- Death has no more power over us. (1 Corinthians 15:54-57)
- We have an inheritance that can never perish. (1 Peter 1:3-5)
That’s quite a list! Which is the most meaningful to you?
Universal and Exclusive
Jesus is both a universal Savior and an exclusive Savior. John 3:16 says
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)
God loves the whole world and died for the whole world, but salvation is for those who believe in Jesus.
By the way, believe is not something simply done in your head, like you might believe in the Easter Bunny or that the Detroit Lions will win the next Super Bowl. Biblical belief requires action. It’s like believing a parachute will work and therefore you jump out of the airplane. You believe the odd-looking food is nourishing so you eat it. Faith is never passive.
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
Contrary to what contemporary culture tells us, there are not multiple paths to God. There is only one—Jesus Christ. Only One died for us. Only One conquered sin and death. Only One is alive thousands of years later!
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
This is, admittedly, politically incorrect. It can be downright offensive, except for the fact that Jesus died of all. He offers Himself as a gift to all…who receive the gift.
The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. (John 1:9-13)
In his book Radical, David Platt tells of a conversation outside a Buddhist temple in Indonesia with a Buddhist leader and a Muslim leader. One said, “We may have different views about small issues, but when it comes down to essential issues, each of our religions is the same.” Platt said, “It sounds as though you both picture God (or whatever you call god) at the top of a mountain. It seems as if you believe that we are all at the bottom of the mountain, and I may take one route up the mountain, you may take another, and in the end we will all end up in the same place.” They smiled as I spoke. Happily they replied, “Exactly! You understand!” Then I leaned in and said, “Now let me ask you a question. What would you think if I told you that the God at the top of the mountain actually came down to where we are? What would you think if I told you that God doesn’t wait for people to find their way to him, but instead he comes to us?” They thought for a moment and then responded, “That would be great.” I replied, “Let me introduce you to Jesus.”
This is the gospel. The gospel is Jesus. He is our Savior who lived and died and rose for us. He offers each of us Himself as the greatest gift, a gift we can reject or receive.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
We don’t deserve it; that’s grace, unmerited favor. It’s amazing!
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