Why I Preach the Gospel

Q: What does the Bible say about preaching the gospel?

The Bible emphasizes the importance of preaching the gospel as a debt of love and obedience to God and others. In Romans 1:14-17, the Apostle Paul explains that he preaches the gospel because he sees himself as a debtor to all people. He recognizes that he owes a great deal to God for His mercy and grace, as well as to the prophets and apostles who sacrificed to relay the gospel message. In this way, the act of preaching becomes an expression of gratitude and duty, as every Christian has a responsibility to share the transformative message of Christ with others.

Q: How do we know the gospel is powerful for salvation?

The gospel is declared the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes, as shown in Romans 1:16. According to Romans 1:16, the gospel is described as 'the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.' This assertion affirms that the gospel possesses inherent power to transform lives and offer salvation. The gospel conveys God's justice through Christ's atoning work, ultimately fulfilling the demands of the law. This divine authority enables believers to be saved from their sins, reconciled to God, and equipped to live according to His will. Paul underscores the universal applicability of this power, extending to both Jews and Gentiles alike.

Q: Why is the concept of being a debtor important for Christians?

Being a debtor highlights our obligation to share the gospel out of gratitude for God's grace and mercy. The concept of being a debtor is crucial for Christians, as it underscores the idea that they owe their salvation to God's grace, not their own merits. Paul, in Romans 1:14, expresses this sentiment by stating he is a debtor to all people. This debt is one of love and obligation; Christians are called to share the gospel message because they have received it freely. Recognizing this debt compels believers to share their faith with others, mirroring the grace they have received from Christ.

Q: Why should Christians not be ashamed of the gospel?

Christians shouldn't be ashamed of the gospel because it is the source of God's power for salvation, despite its offensiveness to some. In Romans 1:16, Paul emphasizes that he is not ashamed of the gospel, recognizing its role as the power of God for salvation. The gospel can be perceived as foolishness or a stumbling block to the world, yet it reveals God's righteousness and grace. Understanding the significance of Christ's sacrifice allows believers to engage with others confidently, knowing the profound implications of this message. The unashamed stance on the gospel serves as an encouragement for Christians to proclaim their faith boldly, regardless of societal pushback.

Q: How does the righteousness of God relate to the gospel?

The righteousness of God is revealed through the gospel, as Jesus Christ fulfills the law and satisfies divine justice. Romans 1:17 states that the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel, showing how Christ's life, death, and resurrection accomplish God's redemptive plan. This righteousness is not attainable through human effort but is given to believers through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul asserts that this divine righteousness is essential for salvation, as it upholds the holiness and justice of God while allowing sinners to be accepted. This clarity on God's righteousness solidifies the need for the gospel as the only means by which one can attain standing before God.

I'm going to bring a message
today from the book of Romans. If you have your Bibles and would
like to follow as I speak to you, turn in your Bibles to Romans
chapter 1. I'll be speaking from verses
14, 15, 16, and 17. Now here's the subject. The subject
for the message today is why I preach the gospel. why I preach
the gospel. Now, why am I in the ministry? This is what I'm going to deal
with. Why is this fellow here in the ministry? Why do I pastor
a church? Why do I preach on this television
station now for many, many years? Why do I leave home and travel
to other places to preach as I'll be going this week to another
city up north preaching the gospel? What motivates me in this business
of preaching the gospel. What motivates any true preacher
of the gospel of Christ to give his life and time and effort
to studying, preparing messages, preaching the gospel? Why do
I preach the gospel? Now, let's see if I can give
you four good reasons why I preach the gospel. And I'm turning to
Romans chapter 1, verse 14 through 17, and I believe here in these
verses, the Apostle Paul answers all of the questions. Why am
I in the ministry? Why do I preach the gospel? Why
do I pastor a church? Why do I come up here and prepare
these television tapes? Why do I travel to other places?
Why was he in the ministry? He said, God put me in the ministry.
Why am I in this ministry? I believe Paul answers these
questions better than I can. And as I looked at this scripture
and thought about this subject, I believe that his reasons for
preaching the gospel are my reasons. I don't, I'm not trying to compare
myself with the Apostle Paul at all. I wouldn't give that
impression, but I'm saying the reasons he gave for being in
the ministry are the reasons that I'm in the ministry. Now,
here's the first one. If you look at verse 14, Paul
said, I am a debtor. I preach the gospel because I
am a debtor. I'm a debtor to the Greeks and
to the barbarians. I'm a debtor to the wise and
the unwise. That's why I preach the gospel.
I'm a debtor. I'm in debt. Now, a debtor is
a person who owes something. He owes someone something. He
may owe money. If you owe a great deal of money,
you're a debtor. He may owe obedience. A child
owes obedience to a parent. A servant owes obedience and
service to his master. And a person may owe gratitude.
You know, Philemon, when Paul wrote to him, he said, I would
remind you that you owe me your life. Paul preached the gospel
to him, and God used the message of Paul to reveal the gospel
to the heart of this man. And Paul said, you owe me your
life. You owe me gratitude for coming your way with the gospel.
A person may owe honor to another. We're supposed to render honor
to whom honors do, tribute to whom tributes do, respect to
whom respect is due. And God tells us to owe no man
anything but to love one another, so we owe a debt of love. A debtor
is a person who owes another person, no matter what he owes
him. But here, Paul is saying this,
I'm a debtor. I'm a debtor. I preach the gospel
because I'm a debtor. I'm a debtor to the Father who
chose me. He didn't have to. He chose me because He would.
He chose me because He loved me, not because I loved Him,
but because He loved me. I'm a debtor to God for His mercy
to me, a sinner. I'm a debtor to Christ who loved
me and gave himself for me. He came from heaven's glory,
took upon himself this robe of sinful flesh and died for my
sins. I'm a debtor to Christ. I'm a
debtor to the Holy Spirit who called me, who came and regenerated
me and quickened me and called me from a spiritual grave. I'm
a debtor to the prophets, Moses and Isaiah David and Jeremiah
and all of those men whom God used, men who suffered, gave
their lives to write the scriptures and to give us the gospel down
through the years. I'm a debtor to the apostles.
Did you know that all of the apostles were finally martyred
except one? That's John. John was exiled
to the Isle of Patmos. But the rest of them were cruelly
murdered, martyred. They gave their lives to give
us the Word of God. I know the word is verbally and
divinely inspired, but nevertheless God did use these men, and these
men gave themselves to give us the gospel. I'm a debtor to a
faithful pastor who preached to me the gospel of grace. He
came and preached to me like Philip went to the eunuch, and
Paul went to Lydia, and the apostle Peter went to Cornelius. This
man came to me with the gospel, and I'm a debtor And I'll tell
you this, since God has given me all that he has given me in
Christ, I'm a debtor to share it with you and with all me and
to tell the good news all around. I owe you that. For example,
if I lived in a dry desert country where no water was, And there
were a lot of people living there in the same place. And we were
in a famine and a drought and had no water. And someone gave
me a beautiful well pumping water on my property. Now, wouldn't
you think that I, out of gratitude and love, feel a responsibility
to share it with my neighbors? And God has literally given me
in my soul and heart a well of living water springing up into
everlasting life. And like David said, I live in
a dry and thirsty land. And so this peace and this joy
and this grace that God has so freely given me, I'm a debtor
to share it with anyone and everyone who will listen to it. And not
just my friends, but everybody. Here's what Paul says. Look at
verse 14. He said, I'm a debtor. both to
the Greeks and barbarians. Those people are far from the
Greeks with all their philosophy and education, the barbarians.
They were poles apart. But Paul said, I'm a debtor to
all men, Greeks, the learned and the unlearned, to the wise
and the unwise. This gospel is the same gospel
for everybody. It's not just for some men, it's
for all men. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of acceptation by all men. that Jesus Christ came into
the world to save sinners of whom I'm cheap. So I'm in the
gospel ministry and I preach the gospel and I plan to till
God calls me away from here and to all men because I'm a debtor.
And he said, I'm ready to preach the gospel. I believe it's verse
15 there. He says, I'm ready to preach
the gospel to you there at Rome also. Rome was a cruel city,
harsh, hard, cruel city, a city of soldiers and Caesars and martyred
believers. And Paul said, I'm ready to come
down there and preach to you, too. Not too awful long ago,
I was in Mexico preaching the gospel through translators, interpreters,
but we traveled over a mountain and we came to a village. I forget
the name of it. It's north of Tuxla in Chiapas. and high up in the mountains,
I guess four or five thousand feet in the mountains, there's
a home where a man lives whose name is Pedro. Pedro and his
wife and two sons, he's a tailor in a little poor village in the
mountains. And we stopped at his house and
preached the gospel to him. I preached a sermon on Psalm
23. while Pedro and his wife and two sons and I think one
other person came, just five of us, six of us, and I preached
the gospel to them. But I'm ready to preach the gospel
like Paul says here because I'm a debtor. I'm a debtor to Pedro. I'm a debtor to this audience
listening to me now. I'm a debtor to those folks in
Ashton where I've been pastor almost 42 years. I'm a debtor
to preach the gospel. I'm ready. God be willing to
preach the gospel wherever he'll open the door, the true gospel
without compromise, bold and plainly so that men can understand.
And that brings me to the second reason that Paul gives for being
in the ministry. He said in verse 16, I preach
the gospel because I'm a debtor. But secondly, I preach the gospel
because I'm not ashamed of the gospel. I'm not ashamed of the
gospel of Christ. It's the power of God unto salvation.
to the Jew first and also to the Greek. I know that the gospel
of the cross of Christ is offensive to natural means. I realize that. I know that. The Bible says that.
To the Greeks, it's foolishness, sheer nonsense. And to the wise,
to the religious people, it's a stumbling block. But to those
who are saved or being saved, it's the power and the wisdom
of God. But I know in this world, What I'm doing is foolishness,
and what I'm saying is nonsense to most people. That's just so. The story of creation by the
hand of God, that's offensive. I could get up here and tell
you some foolish theory that the world and the earth and men
and animals all came into being by some accident when one planet
ran into another, and people would take that. They'd like
that. When I tell you that the hand of God and the heart of
God, according to the purpose of God, created all things as
it pleased Him, that's offensive. That's foolishness. And the story
of the fall of Adam. By one man, sin entered this
world, and death by sin, so death passed upon all men. That's offensive.
That's offensive, how we became sinners. Our natures were changed,
and our hearts were hardened, and how we sinned against God,
and judgment and condemnation came upon all men. According
to the Bible, it's true, but it's offensive. It's offensive. And I'm not ashamed of it, though.
I believe that God created the heavens and the earth, and I
believe that man was created in the image of God, and he fell. He's not evolving, he fell. And
the blood sacrifices ordained by God, the way that man was
to come to God by a blood sacrifice, that's offensive. Cain showed
us that right away. There in the very early years
after the fall, God said, now bring a lamb, bring a sacrifice
without the shedding of blood. There's no remission. It's the
blood that make up the atonement for the soul. And all of these
blood sacrifices are a picture of God's lamb, Jesus Christ,
who died on the cross for our sins. But man immediately, immediately
the first two sons of Adam and Eve were in the garden. Okay,
and Adam and Eve's sin, they cast them out of the garden.
They came to God and Cain showed that it was offensive to him. He wasn't going to come by the
blood, so he brought some beautiful, beautiful things that he'd grown
in his garden. Just saying the blood's offensive.
It's a stumbling block, but I'm not ashamed of it. not ashamed
of the blood of Christ, and the covenant of redemption. Let me
show you this. Now, the Bible clearly says that God chose Abraham
and made of him a great nation. God chose Abraham. And through
Abraham's loins came Israel, the Jewish nation. That was God's
chosen people all the way through the Old Testament. Isn't that
true or correct? Well, you know that it is, and I know that it
is. To the Jew first and also to the Greek. God said to Israel,
The Lord thy God chose you. It pleased God to make you His
people. And the Lord didn't choose you
or set His love upon you because you were the most of all. You
were the fewest of all. You were the smallest nation.
When they went into Egypt, there were only 70 of them. But God
loved that nation. How did the world feel about
that nation? The whole world hated that nation. The whole
world hated that nation. They all were against them. They
were alone. Why? Because they were God's
people. And they were despised by the Hittites, and the Amorites,
and the Philistines, the Egyptians, the Babylonians, and the Malachites.
You just name them. Every nation hated Israel. It's
God's people. And our God has a covenant of
grace now. There's a remnant according to the election of
grace. And I'll tell you, every religion in the world hates grace.
It hates free grace, sovereign grace, particular grace, effectual
grace, preventative grace. It just hates grace. They don't
hate works, but they hate grace. They hate true Israel. They're
all aligned against true Israel. God became a man, born of a virgin,
walked this earth in perfect holiness. That's true, but it's
offensive. Christ died on the cross. The
Son of God went to the cross. He was nailed to the cross as
our substitute, as our sin offering. He was wounded for our transgression
and bruised for our iniquity. and the chastisement of our peace
was laid on him by his stripes, we're healed. He died just for
the unjust to bring me to God. I'm not ashamed of that. I was
separated from God by my sins. I was condemned by the law of
God and condemned by the justice of God and Christ came down here
and honored the law of God and satisfied the justice of God
and brought me to God. I'm accepted in the beloved.
I'm not ashamed of that. It's strange to me. that men
and women will follow the most ridiculous religious practices
without shame. And yet, they're ashamed of the
grace of God. Isn't that strange? They'll follow the most ridiculous
religious practices. Down there in Mexico, they'll
crawl on their knees. They'll burn candles. They'll
try to come to God crawling on their knees, burning candles.
and doing all manner of physical exercises to get God to look
with favor and forgive them. They're not ashamed of that.
The whole world will do that. They'll sacrifice a son or a
daughter. They'll throw them to Moloch
in the fire. They'll do all these things. They're not ashamed of
that. But when God sends a Savior, a Redeemer by God's own choice,
and ordination, appointment. He comes down here and fulfills
the law by meeting it head on in the flesh, identifying Himself
with us, numbered with the transgressors and obeyed God's law and honored
it so that God might be just and justified. Went to the cross
and died. And men are ashamed of that. Men will make all manner of crosses
and things, superstition. They're not ashamed to carry
a rabbit's foot. They're not ashamed to put a horseshoe upside
down on their barn? That's foolishness. That won't
do you any good. A little boy went to a baseball
game with his father, and the batter came up to the plate.
The pitcher was out there ready to pitch, and the batter came
up, and he stood there a minute, and he crossed himself. And the
little boy said, what did he do? And the daddy said, well,
he made a cross. The little boy said, will that
help him hit the ball? The daddy said, well, it'll help him if
he's a good hitter. If he's not a good hitter, it's not going
to help him. And that's about all it amounts to. But men and
women will follow the most foolish, silly, superstitious, emotional
traditions of religion. They'll bow to another man and
kiss his ring. I want you to tell me how in
the name of common sense that Almighty God sitting on the throne
of justice is going to look down on me bowing before another silly
fat man. and kissing His ring and how
that's going to put my sin away or make my heart new or justify
me before a holy God. I'd be ashamed to do that, but I'm not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ. There's a reason for Christ hanging
on a cross. There's no reason for me kissing
a ring. There's a reason for Christ hanging
on a cross. There's no reason for me to wear
wear all manner of symbols. There's a reason for Christ hanging
on the cross, suffering and dying and buried and rising from the
grave as a substitute, but there's no reason for me going to the
Holy Land on a pilgrimage. It's not going to do me any good.
It's not going to take one sin off the book of God against my
soul. That's got to be paid for by
a substitute. Why do I preach the gospel? I'm
not ashamed. I'd be ashamed to act like some
of you folks do. I'd be ashamed of that. My, my,
my. Well, the third reason I preach
the gospel, because I'm not ashamed of it, it's the power of God
unto salvation. It's the power of God unto salvation. As our representative chosen
by God, Jesus Christ came to this earth. And by His obedience,
He gave us a perfect righteousness and atonement before a holy God
that enables that God to be just and justified. And that gospel
is the power of God to honor the law. It's the power of God. God's law is strong. God's law
is condemning. I'll tell you how strong the
law is. The Bible says, Cursed is everyone that continueth not
in all things written in the book of the law to do it. Everybody
that's listening to my voice, looking in my eyes right now
is a sinner. And you've not honored the law
of God perfectly, and you've not obeyed it perfectly, and
you're under curse, and I am too because of our sins. It's
going to take some real power, power to put away my sins and
yours. But I'm thankful the gospel is
the power of God and the salvation. It can honor the law. The gospel
can honor and satisfy God's justice. God said the soul that sinneth
shall die. How are you going to get around
that? You won't get around it. You've got to die. Well, I can
get around it and you can too if Christ died for us. Because
I live, he said, you live. The gospel is a power of God
to satisfy the law and honor the justice of God. The gospel
is a power of God to forgive sin. put away all sin. The gospel gives life to dead
sinners. That's the power of God, to raise
the dead. It takes the power of God to
give life to a dead man. But our Lord said, They that
are in the grave shall hear my voice and come forth unto life
everlasting. The gospel is a power of God
to keep us, to keep us from falling. Listen, Abraham believed that
God was able to do all that He promised The Word of God says
He's able to save to the uttermost them that come to God by Him.
He's able. That takes power. The Word of
God says He's able to keep us from falling and to present us
faultless before His throne and His presence with exceeding joy.
And the Word of God says He's able to raise our vile bodies
and make them like His own. That takes power. You see what
I'm saying? power. And I'm not ashamed of
the gospel because it's the power of God unto salvation to everyone
that believeth. The gospel announces a new heaven
and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. How's that going
to come to pass? The old heaven and old earth
are going to pass away where sin dwells. And there's going
to be a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.
Who's going to fix that up? Who's going to do that? Who's
going to create the new heaven and new earth? Is it going to
evolve? Looks like to me it's going backwards. No, God says,
I'll destroy this old earth and old heavens with a burning heat,
and I'll create a new heaven and new earth. That's the power
of God, and that's because of Christ. And it's the power of
God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first
and also to the Greek. Let me ask you a question. Let
me ask you a question. If someone were to ask you, What
will keep a man out of heaven? What is the one thing that'll
keep a man out of heaven? What would you answer? Tell me. What'll keep a man out of heaven?
What would you say? Would you say blasphemy? Well, Saul of
Tarsus said, I was a blasphemer. God saved him, took him to glory.
Would you say adultery? Well, Rahab the harlot practice
prostitution. God took her to glory, that's
what it says. Would you say murder? Well, David killed Uriah, had
him killed, that's murder. And David's a man after God's
own heart. Would you say divorce? Well, a woman at the well was
married five times. Would you say stealing, thievery? Well, Jacob stole his brother's
birthright. He didn't just steal a His favorite
cup or his horse. He stole his birthright. God
took him to glory. We're called sons of Jacob. Let
me tell you the one thing that keep a man out of the presence
of God and out of heaven. Unbelief. I'm not ashamed of
the gospel. It's the power of God under salvation
to everyone that believeth. To everyone that believeth. to
the Jew first and also to the Greek. The scripture talking
about Israel could not enter the promised land. Why? Because
of unbelief. Unbelief. Believe what? The gospel. The gospel of Christ. All right, here's the fourth
reason in closing. Why do I preach the gospel? I
preach it because I'm a debtor. I'm a debtor. I preach it because
I'm not ashamed of it. I'm not ashamed of the gospel.
It may be offensive to people around me, but not to me. I see
it as the only way that God can be just and justified. The only
way this center can gain eternal life is by the person and work
of Christ. I preach the gospel because it's the power of God.
It, the gospel alone. I can't make you whole, but God
can. I can't forgive your sin, but God can. The church can't
put away your sin, but God can. No human power, hell won't put
away your sins, but God can through the blood of Christ. And I preach
the gospel because therein, look at verse 17, is the righteousness
of God revealed in the gospel. What is the gospel? The gospel
is Christ crucified. The gospel is how that Christ
died for our sins according to the scriptures. He was buried
and rose again according to the scriptures. according to the
Old Testament types and pictures of Scripture. And there on the
cross, hanging the Son of God, as the Son of God hangs on that
cross, He reveals the love of God. In His death, He reveals
the justice of God. He reveals the righteousness
and holiness of God. God spared not His own Son. But
I'll tell you this, the birth and life and death of Jesus Christ
reveals the righteousness and holiness which God requires of
you and me, which God in Christ provided for you and me, and
which God in Christ accepts for you and me. Christ died for our
sins. And therefore God can love us
and accept us and receive us because Christ in our stead honored
God's law and satisfied God's justice. And what God requires
only God can perform. And what God provides in Christ,
God will accept. You believe God will accept what
Christ did on that cross preacher? If God sent Him, God will accept
Him. If God provided Him, God will accept Him. And I'll tell
you, in verse 17, it says, This righteousness is revealed from
one degree of faith to another, because the just live by faith. All right, why do I preach the
gospel? That's the name of this message. It's on a cassette tape.
And on the other side is a message that I'll preach next week, the
Lord willing, on seeking the Lord. If you want these messages,
send $2 and we'll mail them to you. Here's the address on the
screen. Until next week, may God bless you, everyone.

Why I Preach the Gospel

What does the Bible say about preaching the gospel?

How do we know the gospel is powerful for salvation?

Why is the concept of being a debtor important for Christians?

Why should Christians not be ashamed of the gospel?

How does the righteousness of God relate to the gospel?

Sermon Transcript

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Why I Preach the Gospel

What does the Bible say about preaching the gospel?

How do we know the gospel is powerful for salvation?

Why is the concept of being a debtor important for Christians?

Why should Christians not be ashamed of the gospel?

How does the righteousness of God relate to the gospel?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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