back in 1 Corinthians chapter
9. This is my message. This is the
title of my message from Paul's words in verse 23. For the gospel's
sake, for the gospel's sake, that's what Paul did as he said
in verses, especially verses 19 through 22. All that he did all that he sacrificed, all that
he suffered, all that he let go that he had a right to, like
monetary support. He forwent for the gospel's sake. And as we pointed out in the
reading, he uses in those verses the word gain several times. Did we count five times? And
that's a very appropriate expression to use when Paul speaks of his
reward in verse 18. Because his gain, in each verse
that he speaks of, were the souls of men. That's what he labored
for, that's what he preached for, that's what he suffered
for, for the gospel's sake. A good commentary, somebody very
wisely said, the best commentary on Scripture is not John Gill,
Matthew Henry, or even Don Ford. Thank God for those, and I use
them regularly. But the best commentary on Scripture
is Scripture, is more Scripture. And a good commentary on These
verses, the gain that Paul speaks of and the reward that he speaks
of in verse 18 is this. From 1 Thessalonians chapter
2, verses 19 and 20, he says this. For what is our hope, our
joy, our crown of rejoicing are not even you in the presence
of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming. That's what we labor
for. That's what we preach for. For
you, Paul said, are our glory and our joy. As we said, verses
19 through 22 especially tells us what Paul did. And then we
come to our text in verse 23 and we find there why Paul did
it, why he did it. This I do for the gospel sake
that I might be partaker thereof with you. This I do. I know a lot of people, a lot
of theologians, theologians, self-professed theologians. They
like to sit around and yackety-yackety-yackety-yack, talk about the gospel. Talk about
five points. Paul didn't say that, did he?
This one thing I do. I don't sit on my butts and talk about the gospel
or think about the gospel or debate the gospel with other
intellectuals. This thing I do. I preach the
gospel. I preach the good news. I tell
people everywhere about the dear Savior he had found. For the
gospel's sake, It occurred to me as I was preparing the message
and making notes, putting them into some order, that someone
might ask or think, well, Larry, aren't you going to preach a
Christmas message? That's what I'm doing. That's
what I'm doing right now. The message for the gospel's
sake is a Christmas message, because it talks about who. The message this time of the
year and every day of the year. The gospel is about who? The word means glad tidings,
good news. And Jesus Christ makes it that. Is that right, Lester? Take Jesus
Christ out and you don't have any gospel. Without Jesus Christ,
there's no good news at all. It's all bad news without Him. It's bad news. Without Jesus
Christ, the bad news is God Almighty can't be just to this sinner.
Without Jesus Christ, the bad news is I'm not redeemed. And nothing I can do can pay
my ransom. Nothing I can do can make an
atonement for my soul. Jesus Christ did that. And that's
what makes it good news. You remember that night that
Mary gave birth to that holy thing? That Virgin Mary delivered
that child, that baby in that dirty, stinking stable? And that
infant, that wrested in the arms of his mother was God Almighty? My soul. John, you said it this
morning. Great, great, great is that mystery
of godliness. But referring to that time, let
me read you a portion of it in Luke's Gospel, Chapter 2. And
so it was that while they were there, that is, Joseph and Mary
in Bethlehem, the days were accomplished just like God purposed that it
should be, that she should be delivered at that exact place,
at that exact time. God arranged everything for this
moment. And she brought forth her firstborn
son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger,
because there was no room for them in the inn. He came unto
his own, and his own received him not. He was in the world,
and the world was made by him, but the world didn't even know
who he was. There was no room for him. Verse
8, And they were in the same country, shepherds abiding in
the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo,
the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord
shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel
said unto them, Fear not, fear not, for behold, I bring you
good tidings. the gospel. Of great joy which
shall be to all people for unto you is born this day in the city
of David a Savior, a Savior. That's why he came into the world.
That's what he came into the world as, a Savior, which is
Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign unto
you, you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes,
lying in a manger. I'm just now recalling that every
year, every year, I think, without exception, since my children
were this high before that, I would read this passage to them Christmas
Eve, usually, or Christmas Day, and now I do it with their grandchildren. And it's always my prayer, as
I do so, God, reveal that Savior. your son to their hearts. Show them who he is. Because as John again taught
this morning, it can only come by the divine revelation. Back to our text. Paul said, this I do for the
gospel's sake. Would you, nobody's exempt from
this now. No believer here this morning
is exempt from this. I'm not preaching to somebody
that's not here, but to you and I, to you and I. God preached
to me. God preached this message to
me. But when you hear these words, this expression, for the gospel's
sake, for the gospel's sake, my soul, what a noble enterprise. For the gospel's sake. Can you
give too much for the gospel's sake? Can you ever do too much
for the gospel sake? Can you ever spend and be spent
too much for the gospel sake? When can anybody, when can any
redeemed sinner who has heard the glorious sound, Jesus saves,
Jesus saves, and it echoes in his heart because he knows it
so, he knows it so, because Jesus saved him. When can any such
sinner, called by God's grace, say, that's enough? That's enough. I've done enough. I've been serving
God in there for 20, 30, 40, 50 years, so that's enough. It's
time for me to sit down. No, no, no, no. Not when you
have this glorious gospel that concerns God's Son, It's about
Him. It's the message that concerns
Him. It's the good news, the glad tidings of how God saves
sinners the way He saved you. How can you ever say, or I, that
I've done enough for the gospel's sake? Notice first of all, just
exactly what Paul says. Paul says, THE gospel. Underline that. Underline it. Highlight it. Put a circle around
it. At least mentally. The gospel. Because there's only
one. There's not two gospels. There's
not three gospels. There's only one gospel. It's
the everlasting gospel. The everlasting gospel. It didn't
start, as we read in Luke 10, when Christ was born. God first
preached the gospel, didn't he? When he brought those animal
skins to Adam and Eve, there's only one message, and it's all
about Christ. Anything else, I don't care who
preaches it. Preacher, Pope, Doctor of Divinity,
Dr. Twiddly-dee-dee, it doesn't matter.
If it's not the gospel that Paul preached, it's not the gospel
of Christ. It's not the gospel of Christ.
And again, as I've told you before, and I hope you know I'm sincere
in saying this, I wish this wasn't so, but I'm
not an idiot, I know that it is. I was going to say most,
I dare say all of the places around us. I mean, you step out
the door there, take your umbrella, but look left, look right, look
north, look south, east or west, The vast majority of the people
that are gathering today are doing everything except what
you're being privileged to hear now, the glorious gospel of the
blessed God. There's more nonsense, more stupidity
displayed by the religious world today than at any time of the
year or the next week or so, Christmas season. I told you
about watching the news, I think, years ago. during this time of
the year and somebody had a manger scene outside and some heathen
came by and stole baby Jesus. Just picked him right up out
of the cradle and took him. What a low life. And they were
interviewing the woman. And she was just boo-hooing.
And the reporter was boo-hooing. They went back to the studio.
Them people were boo-hooing. What happened? They stole baby
Jesus. They just picked him up and carried him away. Bring back
baby Jesus. What did God say? You thought
I was like you. I'm not like you. People think
baby Jesus is just about that helpless. He's got to be picked
up and got to be carried. He can't do nothing on his own.
He's an idol. He's a figment of man's imagination. No. The Jesus that Paul preached
The Jesus that the gospel is all about, he's not helpless. And Paul said in Galatians chapter
1, if even an angel from heaven comes to you preaching any other
message, any other gospel, any other Jesus, what did Paul say?
Let him be accursed. Let him be damned. I don't care
if it's an angel from heaven doing the preaching. In 1 Corinthians
15, turn there in your Bibles. I like to hear pages turned.
1 Corinthians 15, Paul defines the gospel. You won't find a
better definition of it than right here. Verse 1, the first
four verses is all we'll read. Moreover, brethren, I declare
unto you the gospel. It's always the gospel with Paul.
which I preached unto you, which ye also have received, and wherein
ye stand, by which ye are also saved, and if ye keep in memory
what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain, unless
ye have only made a profession, and that's all it amounted to.
Verse 3, for I delivered unto you, first of all, that which
also I received, how, there's another word to highlight, how
that Christ died for our sins according to the scripture. and
that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according
to the Scriptures. How Christ died. That is, what
did he accomplish by his death? Did he only make salvation possible? Is that all he did? Or did he
obtain eternal redemption for us? Did he actually do that? Preachers everywhere and have
for generations been talking about a redemption that Christ
only theoretically obtained. Practically, it's of no use to
anybody. Well, Larry, how can you say
that? Well, correct me if I'm wrong. Am I misrepresenting them? When they say Jesus died for
everybody, He died for everybody. But it's only effectual if you
accept it. If you take the first step, then
you make everything Christ did on the cross effectual. Otherwise,
it was nothing. It was all in vain. That's not
the gospel. And that's not good news. No, the good news is that he
entered one time into the holy place. That he was made sin for
you and I, who knew no sin, that is Christ, that we might be made
without question the righteousness of God in him. A man by the name
of years ago, I might get Well, I'll tell you the man's D.L.
Moody. He was alive during Spurgeon's
day. An American evangelist. You've
all heard his name. There's a member in the church
where Brother Gabe Stoniger pastors up there in Tennessee, Kingsport. I met the man years ago the first
time I preached where they were meeting there at that time in
Kingsport. He came up, shook my hand, And
said, I'm glad to have you with us today, Larry. I said, well,
who are you? He said, D.L. Moody. I said,
say what? I'm D.L. Moody. I said, buddy,
you ought to think about changing your name. But that's just an example of
God's reigning grace. He saved him. He saved him. But
this is what that famous evangelist said concerning the Son of God. He said, do you believe God would
send those men out to preach the gospel to every creature
unless he wanted every creature to be saved? Do you believe he
would tell them to preach it to people without giving people
the power to accept it? Do you believe that the God of
heaven is mocking men by offering them his gospel and not giving
them the power to take a hold of it? Do you believe he will
not give men power to accept this salvation as a gift? In
other words, you take the first step and God will take the rest.
His descendants are still preaching that other gospel. Man might
do that, but God never mocks men. No, he doesn't. And when
he says preach the gospel to every creature, every creature
can be saved if he will. a more contemporary man, another
descendant of Mr. Moody, a man named Tim LaHaye. Timothy LaHaye. He's an American evangelical. I've got this off of Wikileaks,
or no, not Wikileaks, whatever website, Wikipedia, is that it?
I don't know. I'd heard of this guy, I got
the lowdown here. He is an American evangelical
Christian minister, a speaker, a writer. He graduated from Bob
Jones University in 1950. Boy, how do you do? He's best
known. Do you remember several years
ago those films that came out, Left Behind? Well, he's the one
that did that. He wrote the books and some sports
writer actually helped him with it. And they admit they're just
fiction, but left behind was his concept of when Jesus Christ
returns and it's going to be in three or four different stages,
they're going to rapture the church then there'll be seven
years tribulation and he's gonna come back again and it just goes
on and on. And if you don't get raptured
the first time, you're left behind. Left behind. And then he made
a film, Left Behind 2. Now wait a minute, how many times
can you get left behind? There might have been a third
installment, I don't know. But he echoed the same sentiments
that we read concerning that other fellow. He said this, to
suggest that the merciful, long-suffering, gracious, and loving God of the
Bible would invent a dreadful doctrine, and he called it Calvinism,
which would have us to believe it is an act of grace to select
only certain people for heaven and by exclusion others for hell. He's never heard any grace preacher
ever say that. You'll never hear me say it.
Don said it. Henry never said it. God didn't elect people to
hell. Didn't have people go to hell
by their own deliberate choice and will. God didn't ordain people
to hell. But anyway, that's what this
fellow said. He says, that sort of preaching
comes perilously close to blasphemy. You remember the article we had
in our bulletin a few weeks ago by Brother Henry Mahan, November
19th? The article was about preaching
to the whole man. And Henry said, deliver me from
having to listen to either the staunch Calvinist who's afraid
to shed a tear or the cheerleading Arminian. No, give me a man that
preaches the whole gospel to the whole man. God don't allow
me to listen to either one, but send me a man like Elijah, a
man of like passions who will minister to my heart and not
just to my head, to the whole man. Paul said in 1 Corinthians
9 and 16, woe unto me if I preach not the gospel. The gospel proclaims
without a doubt, without any doubt at all, Jesus saved. Do you believe what you sang
a moment ago? Do you really believe that Jesus
saved? Do you believe that the gospel
is the power of God to salvation? Do you believe that there's not
a sinner on this earth? I don't care how great a prodigal
son or daughter he is. Do you believe that the gospel
of God's grace can bring that rebel? Do you really believe
that? Do you remember what James said? Show me your faith without
your works and I'll show you my faith by my works. Paul sure
did, didn't he? He even said, woe unto me again
in 1 Corinthians 9 and 16, this very chapter, woe unto me if
I preach not the gospel. Again, Brother Henry wrote this
on that passage. He said, and I don't know how
many years ago he wrote this, but I saved it. Didn't know I'd
use it in this message, but I saved it. Man, it spoke to my heart. He said, I've been doing some
heart searching these past two weeks. And I'm more determined
than ever to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and him
crucified." I'm sure this is when he pastored at 13th Street. There are all sorts of temptations
from the enemy of God to depart from the simplicity of Christ
to deal with current events, intellectual and interesting
sidelines, prophecy, and religious themes. But he that honoreth
not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent him. Let
us be about the Father's business, and that business is to preach
Christ and Him crucified. My heart is fixed, and I challenge
my brethren in the ministry." That got real close to home.
Henry said, let's go back to Bethel, where the ladder led
to the throne, where the voice of God spoke to our hearts in
covenant promises, where the waters were sweet. and where
every message rang with ruin, redemption, and regeneration. God blessed it then, and he will
bless it now. Yes, God give us grace to return
to that. I'll tell you what I'm going
to do. I'm going to skip on down. and speak about just a few glorious
facts about this gospel, this gospel of Christ, that God alone
uses as His own ordained means to call out sinners to His Son. Brothers and sisters in Christ,
I trust you know, men won't be saved apart from the gospel.
Remember, some of us can remember, some of you, well, one or two. may be too young to remember.
But there was a television program, Batman, not the movie, but it
was a TV series, Batman and his sidekick Robin running around
in them leotards. But it might have been in the
60s, 70s, but they were always getting in a scrap. And on the
screen, when they'd punch somebody, it'd have the word zapped. zapped
in a big star, zonk or zapped, you know? Men and women are not
zonked or zapped into salvation. It's not like they're just strolling
down the street, zapped, they're saved. No, no, no. As Paul said
in Romans 10, how shall they believe in him whom they have
not heard? How shall they hear without a
preacher? And how shall that man preach unless God Almighty
sends him? Not the seminary, not mama, except
God Almighty sends him. And that's exactly what Paul
did. God sent him everywhere, preaching
that glorious gospel by which he delights to save sinners. Remember what Paul said to Timothy? In his last epistle, his last
recorded words in 2 Timothy chapter 2, Timothy, I endure all things
for the elect's sake. Now tie those two together. Our
text speaks up for the gospel's sake. And Paul, writing to Timothy,
said he preached that gospel for the elect's sake, that they
too may obtain. They won't obtain it otherwise.
They've got to hear the message, the gospel, that they too may
obtain the salvation of God that is in Christ Jesus. There's an
inseparable, unbreakable link. between God's purpose to save
and the means he uses to accomplish that purpose. You can see that
in Romans chapter 8, which most of us know by heart. We know
that all things work together for good, that them who love
God, that them who are thee called according to his purpose, for
whom he did foreknow, he did predestinate. But the chain's
not broken there, isn't it? And them he did predestinate,
them he also called. Called. And that's exactly what
he does in the gospel of God's grace. You know, it's not that
whatever will be will be regardless. I hear people say that. And it
just makes me shrink. Well, it is what it is. Whatever
will be, will be. Well, not without means. God
doesn't do his work, his purpose, or accomplish his designs without
means. It reminds me of a story I heard. This man was a strict predestinarian. And one day he was coming from
his bedroom, going down the stairs. And he tripped, rolled down the
steps, and bop, bopped his head on the wall. And he looked back
and said, man, I'm glad that's over. No, no. God predestinated
me to bump my head against... Well, it wouldn't have happened
otherwise, but what he should have done is just been a little
more careful where he was walking, and not blame it upon God's sovereignty. Remember what Paul wrote in Romans
chapter 11? Even at this present time also,
even now, there is a remnant according to God's election of
grace. In Romans chapter 1, Paul said,
I'm ready to come to Rome also. I'm ready to go right into the
lion's den. Let's just go right to the very
center of power, the very pagan rule there is. I'm coming right
there. How, Paul? Why? He says, I believe
I'm coming with the gospel of God. I'm coming with the greater
weapon than Nero ever dreamed of. I'm coming with the gospel
which is the power, the dynamite of God unto salvation. That's what Paul believed. Show
me your works, James said, without faith and I'll show you my faith
by my works. You remember when Ananias in
Acts chapter 9 It's fearful to even go to the mansaul of Tarsus
that God had saved. And the Lord told Ananias, you
go, you go, don't be afraid. Ananias said, now wait, wait.
Are you sure you got this right? Are you sure about this? He said,
I've heard this man. I know why he was coming here
to Damascus. He came here to arrest God's
people. to drag him back to Jerusalem, to force him to blaspheme him,
to have him put to death. And God said, you go to him,
Ananias, because he's a chosen, he's elected. There's that word
again. He's a chosen vessel of mine
and I will show him how much he must suffer for my namesake. The gospel Paul preached didn't
make him popular with the authorities. He didn't get invited to the
White House. It didn't make him wealthy, no, but it made him
known by demons. It made him pleasing to his God
because Paul would not compromise that glorious gospel that was
committed to his trust. I will show him what great things
he must suffer for my name's sake. Paul never, ever, ever
forgot. until his dying day when he sat
in that dungeon in Rome awaiting his execution. Timothy, the time
of my departure is at hand. I can almost hear the executioner's
footsteps at the door. Well, Paul, was it worth it? All you've known is suffering. That's all you know. Was it worth
it? And Paul said, oh, shh, don't
even suggest such a thing. It was worth it. Because what
I suffered was for the gospel's sake. That gospel that saves
a rebel like me. And Paul never forgot that day
on the Damascus road. when he rode upon his high horse
literally and religiously as a lost, deceived, proud Pharisee. And he knew, he knew in his heart
of hearts that's where he would have remained if God Almighty
hadn't said from his throne of majesty, arrest that man. He's a chosen vessel of mine. Last of all, last of all. For
the gospel's sake, we've considered what Paul did. And I've asked
myself over and over while I was preparing this message, what
will I do for the gospel's sake? What have I done for the gospel's
sake? And I would like each of us to
ask, from the youngest to the oldest, every believer, what
can I do for the gospel's sake? The article in the bulletin concerning
Mary that washed the Lord's feet. He said of her, among other things,
she hath done what she could. She hath done what she could. I concluded that article by saying,
God, make me like Mary. Make me like Mary. Well, Larry,
she's a woman. I tell you what, women keep things
going. Well, here, here. The women,
I think, do more to keep things going. God, make me like her. Make me to do what I can. To do what I can for the gospel's
sake. Remember the Lord, the great
shepherd of the sheep? He went seeking the lost, and
He did it one on one. Oh yes, he preached to the multitudes,
but when he called them by his grace, he called them individually.
When he said, the Son of Man has come to seek and to save
that which was lost, he was speaking of one despised tax collector
that he had just saved. Zacchaeus, come down, because
today I must abide at thy house. That's why we read in John 4
that he must knees pass through Samaria. Because there was one, one poor, outcast, despised,
shameful woman there and it was one of his sheep. One on one. It seemed to be our Lord's favorite
way to call sinners to himself. I was watching the news the other
evening, I think it was this past Tuesday. And they were interviewing
this fellow that had been a former executive. He may have been at
one time the vice president of Facebook. Facebook. And this is what he said. Perhaps
some of you heard it. I thought it was very interesting.
He said, among other things, he said, we are destroying And
he was ashamed that he had a part in it. He said, we are destroying
the social fabric of society. There's no longer a real communication
between people, only texting and emailing. Sit down in a restaurant. I see all the time a man here,
a woman here. They're both looking at their
phone. Why did they even bother to go
out? Why didn't they just stay home?
They could have stayed home and done it, never communicating
with one another. That's what this man said. And
he said, it's a shame. God, allow us to get back to
being old-fashioned. Old-fashioned. My children, when
they were here at Thanksgiving, they've been telling me for years,
Dad, because they were all, how do I get on Wi-Fi? Dad, what's
your password? They were all grandchildren.
My son, my daughter, they all had their smart phones. Dad,
when are you going to put me in so old-fashioned, get you
a smart phone? Well, I did. I did. I tell you what, John. I've had a, that thing's been
a pain so far. It's smarter than I am. And they
didn't have what I went for. So he said, but we've got this
one. We've got this one. And it's not but a few dollars
more. So I said, well, I drove up here
for something. Don't want to leave empty-handed.
That thing feels like a pistol on my hip. It's so big. And the
little thing, you put it in, I mean, that's another story. But God
helped me. not to get so modern, so up-to-date
that I forget how to witness to a sinner, not with a text,
not with an email, but setting down one on one, looking them
right in the eye. And with a burdened heart tell
them about the Redeemer that came into the world to save sinners. God make us old-fashioned. I
read a story just the other evening about Mr. Spurgeon. Spurgeon,
he was called the Prince of Preachers. I think his sermons and his writings
outsell even today. A hundred years, over a hundred
years since he died, still are more in demand than any preacher's
past or present. The prince of preachers, a friend
of his said this, a man by the name of J.P. Groth, I think is
how you pronounce the word. He said, I've seen Mr. Spurgeon
hold thousands, 6,000 people crammed into that tabernacle
every service. This man said, I've seen Mr.
Spurgeon hold thousands in breathless interest. I knew him as a great
man, esteemed and beloved. But as he sat by the bedside
of a dying orphan, Spurgeon had an orphanage for boys and for
girls. And this man said, but as I saw him set by the bedside
of a dying orphan boy, he was grander and greater than when
he swayed the multitude. I would like to be used of God
for that. The brain a sinner to Christ. Mr. Spurgeon in your bulletin
also wrote this, if you will select me the grossest specimen
of humanity, if he be born a woman, I will have hope of him yet.
Because Jesus Christ has come to seek and to save sinners,
electing love has selected some of the worst to be the best by
God's grace. Last Sunday afternoon during
that winter storm that caught us all off guard, even the weather
man. You know, every now and then they get it wrong. But every
now and then they get it right. But I think we were having a
meal, and it was still cold outside. And as Robin glanced out the
window, she said, well, there goes Eddie. Is that his name?
She said, I wonder where he slept last night. And I've seen that
man a lot even in warm weather as we sat on the porch. I see
him walk by. And Robin said, oh, he goes up here a couple
times a day up to that little place and gets him beer. And
I said, well, what do you mean? Where did he sleep last night?
She said, well, I've seen him coming out of that house that's
empty there. She said, he's homeless. I said, homeless? My soul, as
cold as it is and was, the man's homeless? And I've been down
to Robbins a few times since last weekend, and I've looked
for that fella. John, I wanted to invite him
here today. I wanted to invite him here. And when I see him,
I'm still going to invite him. But I wanted to invite him here
to hear the glorious gospel of the blessed God and to enjoy
some good groceries. Oh, God. Make us old-fashioned
for the gospel's sake. Lord bless you. Amen.