I want to bring the message this
morning out of 1 Corinthians 15. Let me read a few verses
here in this chapter, starting with verse one. Moreover, brethren,
I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which
also you have received and wherein you stand, by which also you
are saved, if you keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless
you have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you, first
of all, that which I also received, how that Christ died for our
sins according to the Scriptures. And he's talking about the Old
Testament Scriptures, how that Christ died according to the
types and the pictures that spoke of him in the Old Testament.
And verse four, and that he was buried and that he rose again
the third day according to the Scriptures. and that he was seen
of Cephas and of the 12, and after that he was seen of above
500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain unto
this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that he was seen
of James, then of all the apostles, and last of all he was seen of
me also, as of one born out of due time, for I am the least
of the apostles. For I am the least of the apostles
that am not meet to be called an apostle because I persecuted
the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am
what I am. And his grace was not bestowed
upon me in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all,
yet not I, but the grace of God, which was with me. Therefore,
whether it were I or they, so we preach and so you believe.
Now the gospel that Paul believed the gospel that he preached is
a gospel for sinners. The gospel is for sinners and
no one else. If you are not a sinner, then
I have nothing for you. For Jesus Christ died for sinners. However, if you are a sinner,
I have good news for you. The scriptures teach us that
Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. And since he
has saved the chief of sinners, because Paul said he was the
chief of sinners, he will have no trouble saving someone like
me and someone like you. Now Paul, who used to be called
Saul, was one of the greatest enemies of the gospel of the
church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul hated the Lord Jesus Christ
as much as Satan hates him. Paul persecuted the church and
he wasted it. He tried to stamp out that name,
which is above every name, Jesus Christ. The gospel that takes
salvation out of the hands of the sinner and puts it into the
hands of Jesus Christ was despised by the apostle Paul. But God, who is rich in mercy,
for his great love wherewith he loved us, arrested Paul on
his way to hell. and revealed Himself in him and
to him, as he says over in Galatians chapter 1. Maybe he will do the
same for someone listening to this message. I know that we
are no challenge to the power of God. It's just a matter of
His sovereign will. God can make anyone listening
to this program this morning a trophy of His grace instead
of an object of his wrath. Now, from the day God saved Paul,
he became a flaming witness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul never
got over the Lord saving him. He counted everything as loss
for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Paul's motto
became, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Now the gospel
that Paul preached and the gospel that we preach unto you this
morning is concerning a real living person. We do not declare
a system or a set of doctrines to believe, but a person, the
Son of God. A system did not die for sinners,
a person did. Now Jesus Christ is not without
his teachings, his doctrine, but we learn his doctrines Through
Him, through learning Him, He said, take my yoke upon you and
learn of me. The gospel is about the Son of
God. It's about His deity. He is God
manifested in the flesh. That is who Jesus Christ is.
It is also concerning His humanity. son of man. Oftentimes he referred
to himself as the son of man. Whom do men say that I the son
of man am? He's the son of God. He's God. He's a son of man. He's a very
real man. Now, whether we are preaching him as God over all
blessed forever, or preaching him as the man Christ Jesus going
about saving sinners, we are preaching the same person. We
preach the Son is given. He is the eternal Son of God.
He is God, very God. And we preach the child is born.
He is the child born. Now whether we are talking about
the ancient of days or the infant of days, we are preaching the
same person. The primary subject of preaching
the gospel is not trying to get sinners to accept Jesus Christ
as their personal Savior, but to glorify Him in His person
and in His work and make Him known to sinners in need of mercy. Not everyone needs Him, but some
do. It says in the gospels, as many
as needed healing, He healed. Do you need spiritual healing
this morning? Do you need forgiveness? Do you
need cleansing? Do you need to be justified?
Do you need to be made righteous? Come to Jesus Christ. Look to
the Lord Jesus Christ. He's able to do all that we need
to stand before God. And then the gospel that we declare
unto you is for sinners. Christ said, I did not come to
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Listen to Romans
5, 8. But God commendeth his love toward
us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Christ died for us. Christ died for sinners. It is
written also in Romans 5, 6, for when we were yet without
strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly, ungodly,
those who are by nature sinful and ungodly. In Luke 15, 2, it
says this, and the Pharisees and scribes murmured saying,
this man receiveth sinners and eateth with them. If you are
a sinner, I have good news for you. Jesus Christ died for sinners. This gospel is suited for sinners. It meets all their spiritual
needs. Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. In Jesus Christ, sinners are
made complete. Do you need cleansing? There
is a fountain filled with blood. drawn from Emmanuel's veins,
where sinners plunge beneath that flood, lose all their guilty
stains. The Lord Jesus Christ is able
to cleanse us from every sin, every sin, no matter how vile
it may seem to us. His blood is able to wash away
all our sins. We have examples of this in the
Gospels. There was that woman with the
issue of blood. She had it for 12 years and she had tried all
the physicians and was none the better, but rather grew worse.
But when she came to the Lord Jesus Christ, he healed her immediately. There was blind Bartimaeus sitting
by the wayside begging, and he begged the Lord to save or give
him his sight. And he gave him his sight. There
was a man with a withered hand. whom the Lord gave him his hand
back healthy. And then he raised Lazarus from
the dead. And what these show, what they
show is all the spiritual needs that we have. We are blind, deaf,
dumb, dead by nature. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
able, he is able to enable us to see spiritually, to hear spiritually,
to raise us from the dead spiritually. He's able to do all these things.
Now he's able to heal our bodies, but that's not the important
thing. The important thing is to have
spiritual healing, to have spiritual life. That's the important thing.
Now, Jesus Christ lived for sinners. He was made, the scripture says
in 2 Corinthians 5, 21, he was made to be sin for us. He who
knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God
in him. Jesus Christ died for sinners.
He rose from the dead for sinners. He ascended on high for sinners.
He took possession of heaven for sinners. And he intercedes
right now for sinners. Everything the Lord Jesus Christ
did, he did for sinners. At one time he wore a crown of
thorns for sinners. Now he wears a crown of victory
for sinners. Now the gospel we preach unto
you is the only gospel there is. If anyone thinks there are
other ways to come to God you will be sadly mistaken. Listen
to what the Lord Jesus Christ says in John 14, six. Jesus saith
unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto
the father, but by me. There is no other way to be cleansed
from sin, There is no other way to be accepted of God. There's
no other way to be made righteous than in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Our Lord states right here in John 14 6, I am the way to God. I'm the way. I'm not just a way.
I am the way to God. I am the truth. If you want to
know truth, you're going to have to learn Jesus Christ. He said,
take my yoke upon you and learn of me. Jesus Christ is the embodiment
of truth. He's full of grace and truth. That's what it says in the gospel
of John chapter one. And he is the way, the truth
and the life. The Lord Jesus Christ is life.
He does not just give life, though he does, he is life. If you have
real spiritual life, It's because you have Christ in you, the hope
of glory. He is life. Jesus Christ is the
only way to God. Don't miss that. And then the
gospel that we preach unto you, declare unto you, is the only
gospel that glorifies God. God is glorified in all his attributes
in Jesus Christ and him crucified. It is the only gospel according
to the scriptures. Paul said that I delivered in
verse three. Paul said in verse three, for
I delivered unto you, first of all, that which I also received,
how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.
According to the Old Testament scriptures, all the types, all
the promises. Paul said, this is the gospel
that I have preached unto you. This is the only gospel there
is, and it's the only gospel that glorifies God, and it's
the only gospel that will save a sinner, and it's the only gospel
that is according to the Word of God. The Word of God does
not give us different ways to God, only one, Jesus Christ and
Him crucified, and it's according to the scriptures. When you hear
someone claiming to preach the gospel, Take what they have to
say to the Word of God and see if it matches the Word of God.
Take them to the scriptures. In 1 John, John writes, try the
spirits, whether they be of God. For many, many false prophets
have gone out into the world. Not everyone carried a Bible.
Not everyone standing in a pulpit is called of God to preach. Try
them, try them by the word of God. Try their message by the
word of God, try. But if you are a sinner, now
listen, if you are a sinner, I have good news for you. Jesus
Christ died for sinners. Look to him, look to him. Get
into his word, seek the Lord. He said he would be found of
them that sought him.