Bibles, if you would, to Galatians
chapter 1. While you're turning there, I'd
like you to think about this. What is the Gospel? Is it a feeling? Is it something that fits one
person this way and another a different way? Is there more than one gospel? Well, the answer to all three
of those with men is yes. Just look at all the churches
around us and you'll see all the different so-called gospels. Men interpret scriptures to their
own destruction and come up with all kinds of things. Bill and
I were talking about that earlier. The word of the Lord is a two-edged
sword. Our God purposely puts things
in His Word where it relates to human experience. And by doing so, it either brings
us to know who the Lord Jesus Christ is, or it hardens our
hearts to say, we will not have this one to rule over us. But
the Lord of glory inspired Paul to write these words here in
Galatians. If you would, read with me verses
6-9 of chapter 1. Paul says, I marvel that ye are
so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of
Christ and unto another gospel. A different gospel. See what
I'm talking about? As for men, there are many gospels.
Our Lord is warning us here through these words of Paul, continuing
in verse 7, which is not another. In other words, that one that
misled you, that had drawn you away from the one who drew you
to Him. That gospel of works, because
that's really what it all is. There's only two religions in
this world. You either have to do something to be saved, or
you rely on Christ to have done it all. You rely on the grace of our
Lord and Savior. Or you have to do something.
Which is another. And it's not another at all.
It's a thing of our imagination. But there be some that trouble
you and would pervert, who would change the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from
heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have
preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before you in verse
9, so may I know again, if any man preach any other gospel unto
you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." Men can give their opinions on
this subject all day long, and to be quite honest with you,
I could give a hoot about it. What matters to me is this. Not
what men say about what the gospel is, but how does the word of
God define what the gospel is? What does God say in his word? How does God, the Holy Ghost,
describe the Gospel? How are we to identify what the
true Gospel is? Look with me, if you would, at
1 Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, just
a few pages to the left of where we were. Look along with me at verse 1.
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 ye are saved. Consider these words carefully,
folks. The very gospel by which you are saved. If you keep in
memory what I preached unto you, unless ye 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 here, along with that, verse 4, and that He was buried, and
that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. Now I want you to consider this
first, if you would, as Paul says here in verse 1. Notice
that he says, the gospel. Not the gospels, not this gospel,
but the gospel. And that points to one thing.
It means there's one gospel. Everything else is a figment
of man's imagination. There is only one gospel, and
it's according to scriptures as we just read. There's only one gospel, one
true gospel, and it's spelled out clearly in these verses.
Christ died and was buried, and on the third day He arose, victor
over sin and death. We preach Christ and Him crucified. That's what the gospel is. The
gospel is what feeds God's children. The gospel is what saves God's
children. The gospel of Christ and Him
crucified is everything. What gives us the strength to
go out into the day's world, especially with this scare that's
going on around us right now? And that's all it is, it's a
scare. What gives us the ability to walk around? It's the peace
that we have knowing that our Lord, God Almighty, Creator of
everything that is, is in control of it still, even today. 9-11 happened. The Lord didn't lose
control that day. Those men who climbed in those
airplanes and attacked this country with our very own airplanes,
they were put there by God. Because He's God over everything.
Or He's not God at all. What we just read was a very
important point to remember, and that is that the gospel message
is according to scriptures. There is only one gospel by which
we are saved. In 1 Corinthians 1.23 we read
this, but we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block
and unto the Greeks foolishness. Don Forder wrote this, he says,
if indeed there is only one way, one savior, and one gospel Would
it not be wise for us to get in that way, to find that Savior,
and to learn that gospel? There is only one way. Christ
is the way. The preaching of the new birth
is not the preaching of the gospel. And though we should and do declare
to all men, ye must be born again. But the focus of the gospel is
not the experience of grace, but God's mighty saving and operations
of grace. The preaching of love, the love
of God is not the preaching of the gospel, though we rejoice
to declare that God is love. The Gospel is the declaration
of the righteousness of God, as we read in Romans 3, verses
24 through 26. Hold your place here for just
a moment and turn to that if you would. Again, once to the
left, just a few pages, Romans chapter 3. We'll come back to
1 Corinthians in a moment. But I want you to see how the
Gospel is the declaration of the righteousness of God. Chapter
3, verses 24, we read this, being justified freely by His grace,
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has
set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to
declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are
passed through the forbearance of God. To declare, I say at
this time, his righteousness that he might be just and the
justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. The love of God is
the cause of the gospel. But it is not the gospel. The
gospel is found in John 3.16, but the gospel is not found in
John 3.16, it's actually found in John 3.14. Turn over to that
if you would. Again, to the left, just a few
pages. And let's look at 3.14, shall
we? Yep, went too far. This is the gospel. And as Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the
Son of Man be lifted up. That's the gospel. The preaching
of Christ's second coming is not the preaching of the gospel.
Though we may daily look forward to the promises that God has
given us of his coming with anxious hearts, the gospel declares what
Christ has done, not what he is going to do. The preaching
of revivalism is not the preaching of the gospel. Revivalism preaching
focuses on man's experience. Gospel preaching focuses on God
and His grace in Christ Jesus. The gospel is an exclusive message
about a past historic event. It's not what the Lord is going
to do, it's what He has done. The good news is that Jesus Christ
went to the cross for His people. That's the good news. The fact
that Christ is going to return is a great thing to know. That's
absolutely a great thing to know, but that's not the gospel. The
gospel is Christ saved His people. When He hung on that cross, He
said, It is finished. That applies to us right now.
We have nothing left to do but to rest in Him. Is that correct?
The Lady, the very Lady who put in Her two pennies worth, We're
reading in today's Bible study of the woman who put in her two
pennies worth along with all of those rich people who put
in all theirs. The Lord said she put in everything
that she had. Her trust was in the Lord. Her
rest was in the Lord that He would provide all for her. Why? Because He went to the cross and paid for her sins as He said
He would. He says, I shall never leave
you nor forsake you. When the gospel is preached by
the apostles, it always refers to something in the past. It
refers to a finished work, an accomplished deed, a completed
task. And here's why this is so important. If I could use this word, the
pastness of the gospel, as an essential aspect of it, the preaching
of the gospel is a declaration of something done in the past.
It is presently preached, yes. It is presently experienced and
received, yes. And it is presently saved, but
it is a past, finished work which we declare, and that is the gospel. In preaching the gospel, we declare
a specific, undeniable fact. We preach how that Christ died
for our sins according to the scriptures. That's what we read. But it's not just the fact that
He died. It's how He died. Our Lord died
in His own sovereign will. Our Lord said, I lay down my
life. Yeah, wicked hands were the ones
who hung Him on the cross and crucified Him, but it was by
the determinate counsel of our God. That's an important part
of how the gospel is to be preached. Christ Almighty, God Almighty
in the flesh laid down His own life for you and I. Do you see how that's good news
to a sinner? Are you a sinner who can see
the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ laying down His life for
you? The Creator of everything that
is? Here's one of the things that
makes this absolutely wonderful and good news is that because
He's the Creator of everything that is, it's washed clean. It's
a finished product. It's done. It can't be taken
away. He says all of our sins have
been laid upon Him. Not just the ones that we've
already committed, not just the ones that we're committing this
very day as we sit here in these pews, but the ones that we're
going to commit until He takes us home. All of our sins have
been laid upon Him. I need to be reminded of that
all the time for that very reason. Because our sin is ever before
us in this flesh. Our Lord sacrificed himself as
our substitute. Do you know on Aaron's breastplate, all the names of the tribe of
Israel were engraved on that breastplate. You know why? Sovereign
election. The Amorites, the Egyptians,
All the other Hittites, they weren't on Aaron's plate, were
they? Our Lord laid down His life for a particular people.
If He laid down His life for everybody, then everybody would
be saved because He's God. To say that He laid down His
life for everybody and then to have some go to hell would mean
that He's not God. His blood was worthless, powerless. But we're talking about the Lord
God Almighty, whose blood is perfect in every way, has all
power been given to Him. That's an assurance that you
and I have. That's good news to a sinner.
See how important that is to being a part of the Gospel? Of
who it was that laid down His life for us on that cross? That's our assurance as we go
through this world and we see, once again, the sin that is ever
before us in this flesh. The Good Shepherd giveth His
life for the sheep, the Word says. Atonement is made. Because of His blood being God
in the flesh, He shall not fail. We preach that He was buried
according to the Scriptures. The Son of God really did die. It wasn't just something of our
imagination. Maybe He just went to sleep and
we put Him in a grave. No, God Almighty died. Can you understand that? If you
can, I need help, because I can't. I know this, that our Lord and
Savior had to become flesh so that He could die. so that He
could take those sins into the grave and leave them there. So that He could be made sin
for our sakes. He really did die. He did not
pass out or faint or go into some kind of a trance. They buried
His body in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. And it was according
to the Scriptures. He made His grave with the wicked,
as it says in Isaiah 53, and also in Psalm 16. But death could
not hold this One. When you and I go into the grave,
we're not coming back to this flesh. Christ, the grave could not hold
Him. In preaching the Gospel, we declare
that Christ rose again the third day, according to what? according to Scriptures. In Isaiah
26.19 we read this, the dead men shall live together with
my dead body shall they arise. In Psalms 16.9-11 we read this,
therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices, my flesh also
shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul
in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of
life, and thy presence is fullness of joy. At the right hand there
are pleasures forevermore. When we preach the gospel, we
declare a fact which cannot be denied upon any reasonable grounds. You say, well, how can you say
that, John? And I tell you this, the risen Christ was seen of
many and on numerous occasions. Are you still with me in 1 Corinthians
chapter 15? Look at verses 5 through 17. And that he was seen of Cephas,
then of the twelve. After that he was seen of above
five hundred 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 at last of all he was seen of
me. Paul saw him with his very own eyes, also as one born out
of due time. For I am the least of the apostles,
and I 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 which was bestowed upon me was not
in vain. But I labored more abundantly
than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was within
me. Therefore, whether it was I or they which preach, so ye
believe. Now if Christ be preached, that
he arose from the dead, how say some among you that there is
no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection
of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ be not risen,
then is our preaching vain, and your faith also vain. Yea, and
we have found false witnesses of God, because we have testified
of God, that he raised up Christ, whom he raised not up, if so
be that the dead rise not, for if the dead rise not, then is
not Christ raised." I'm reading too fast, sorry. Thank you, Kathy,
for reminding me. Reading the gospel excites me.
Sometimes I get carried away with it a little bit. Verse 17, and if Christ be not
raised, your faith is vain, ye are yet in your sins. The Gospel,
folks, is an exclusive message. It's about a singular person,
a person who accomplished a perfect, complete, finished work for a
specific people. To preach the gospel is to preach
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to declare that He, by
His perfect, complete, finished obedience to God as a man, brought
in everlasting righteousness, made an end of sin, and obtained
eternal redemption for God's elect. Is that not the specific
teachings of the Holy Scriptures? Let me read for you some verses
to see if that be so. Matthew 121, and she shall bring
forth a son. Listen to the words carefully.
Is not the gospel a specific message for a specific people
by a specific person? And she shall bring forth a son
and thou shalt call his name Jesus. for he shall save his
people from their sins." That's a specific, sovereign, eternal
election message, is it not? What about this one, Isaiah 53,
verses 10 through 11, where we read, Yet it pleased the Lord
to bruise him. He hath put him, speaking of
our Lord and Savior, to grief. when thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin." Do you see how it's a specific message
for a specific people? We're talking about one man,
we're talking about what he did, and we're talking about who he
did it for. He did it for us. Those that
he created everything for. That goes deep. We brought this
out in the Bible study. Everything we see around us is
so that you and I would be here at this very moment in time to
hear His gospel message preached. So that He would save us at that
specific time of love and bring us to know Him. That's the God
of creation. yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong
his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his
hand. He shall see the travail of his
soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. It's a specific message for a
particular people. It's effectual redemption. We read in Daniel 9 24, 70 weeks
are determined upon the people and upon thy holy city. Our Lord brought 70 weeks upon
the people. to finish the transgression,
and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity,
and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and
the prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. It's a specific message,
complete, it's finished. There's justification for those.
In Romans 1, verses 1-6, we read this, Paul, a servant of Jesus
Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the Gospel of
God, which he had promised to for by his prophets into the
Holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord,
which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh,
and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to
the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. You
see the points? These are all pointing to our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and Him crucified. That's the
Gospel. and declared the Son of God to
be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness
by the resurrection from the dead, by whom we have received
grace and apostleship for the obedience to the faith among
all nations for His name, among whom are ye also called of Jesus
Christ." One more if you would. Hebrews 10 verses 11-14, we read
this, And every priest standeth daily ministering and oftentimes
the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this
man, do you see how it's specific? But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice,
this man, what he had done, the one sacrifice of himself, Sorry, going back one verse too
many. But this man, after he'd offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of
God. Do you see the three points?
All three points right there. Who is he? He's God Almighty
in the flesh. It's Jesus Christ. What has he
done? He went to the cross for his
people. He paid for their sins in full. What is he doing right
now? He's sitting on his throne ruling
over everything. The gospel of God's free and
sovereign grace in Christ, the message of redemption and grace
through the Sanatonic blood of Christ is a singular, exclusive
message of all of holy scriptures. Men, stand before people today,
all over the world, preaching about the facts of scripture. Charles Stanley is a very good
preacher when it comes to knowing what the Word of God says. He's
a very knowledgeable man. But I've also heard him say that
it's your free will to come to God. That's not what Scripture
says. Scripture says this, it is not
of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that
showeth mercy. Many men claim what they think is the
gospel, what their interpretation of it is. We want to know what
God's interpretation of the gospel is, and we've seen it very clearly.
It is Christ and Him crucified. A young man who came to the door
earlier while some of you were here, Matthew. He wanted to know
what we preach. He says, I'm a little upset with
my church because my church is going to go to this, they're
shutting down the doors and the only way to listen to them is
by the computer stuff. I said, well, we preach Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. Oh, that's good. And we preach
that message every Sunday. Good, that's what I need to hear
every Sunday. He didn't come back for some reason, I'm not
sure, maybe I scared him off, but he said he'd be back, so
we'll wait for a couple weeks and see. But it's Christ and
Him crucified, that's the gospel. That's the good news that John
Reeves needs to hear. I need to hear about how my Lord
rules everything, especially when I have to go to work, or
go to the store, or go shopping in the world today. and see the pandemonium that's
going on, the panicking. Many men come before their people
this morning and they preach a message of their own interpretation
of what they think the gospel is. The gospel according to God's
Word is Christ Jesus crucified on the cross for His people,
sitting on His throne this very day, ruling according as He would. Though a man preach the facts
of Scripture and may even be true to the letter of Scripture,
no man preaches the Word of God who does not preach the Gospel.
In 1 Peter 1.23 we read this, Being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth
and abideth forever. For all flesh is as grass, and
all glory of man is a flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the
flower thereof falleth away. But the word of the Lord endureth
forever. And this is the word which by
the gospel is preached unto you." Roland Hill. I don't know who he is, but he
said this, any message which does not contain the three R's,
ruined by the fall, redemption by the blood, and regeneration
by the Holy Spirit, ought never to have been preached. The Apostle
Paul wrote this, he said in 1 Corinthians 1 verse 17, for Christ sent me
not to baptize, but to preach the gospel. not with wisdom of
words, lest the cross of Christ should
be made of none effect. And then he says in chapter 9
verse 16, for though I preach the gospel I have nothing to
glory of, for the necessity is laid upon me, yea, woe is unto
me if I preach not the gospel. And then he wrote this in Ephesians
3 verses 8, he says, unto me, who am less than the least of
all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the
Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Lastly, folks, the gospel of
God's free and sovereign grace in Christ is our only hope before
God. says in Colossians 1 verse 23,
If ye continue in the faith, grounded and settled, and be
not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have
heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under
heaven, whereof I, Paul, have made a minister. Folks, my hope
is not in my goodness. It's not in my righteousness,
because I have no righteousness. but it's in Christ's redemption
for me. We have a good hope, a wonderful
hope in the Lord Jesus Christ who, through His faithfulness,
not our faithfulness, but His faithfulness, has put away sin for His people.
A man by the name of William Romaine wrote this. He says,
it is true that I have sin in me, but it's pardoned. God has forgiven me all trespasses. I stand before Him in my Redeemer,
who undertook for me, and I am perfect in Him. The Father chose me in His Son. He looks upon the face of His
Beloved, and He sees me in Him. In Christ He is well pleased,
so that He is well pleased with me. As He loves His Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ, He loves me. This is the glorious privilege
which by faith I now enjoy. I deny sight and sense, and I
believe the Word of God. We have no confidence in the
flesh, but we believe God. My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name." Now I'd like to ask you
to allow me one last thing, if you would, to those who may have
never heard the gospel with the heart. Many have heard the gospel
or read the gospel through scriptures with the ears of the body, but
have not heard it with the ears of the heart. I appeal to you. I speak to you
in the words of our Master. In Mark 1.15 it says this, the
time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent ye and believe the Gospel. It is my heart's desire and prayer
to God for all those who hear this, that it would please Him
to grant you life and faith in Christ by the irresistible power
and grace of His Spirit and for the glory of His own name. In
John 6, verse 44, we read this, No man can come to me except
the Father which has sent me draw him. and I will raise him
up to last day. In verses 37 through 40 of that
very same chapter, John writes this under the inspiration of
God Almighty. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. And him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven not
to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And
this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that all that which
he hath given me I should lose nothing. but should raise it
up again at the last day. And this is the will of Him that
sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth
on Him, may have everlasting life. And I will raise Him up
at the last day." That's the Gospel. That's the very river that flows
from our Heavenly Father and feeds the sheep of God. knowing
who it is that rules over everything. Amen.