According to the Scriptures

Q: What does the Bible say about the gospel of Jesus Christ?

The gospel of Jesus Christ states that He died for our sins according to the Scriptures. The Bible declares that the gospel centers on the proclamation that Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). This implies that the core message of the gospel is deeply rooted in the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies and teachings. Paul emphasizes that the gospel is not just that Christ died, but that His death is in accordance with the prophetic writings, which brings a profound significance to the message. It serves to differentiate the true gospel from false messages prevalent in the world, underscoring the necessity of understanding the Scriptures that testify about Jesus as the Messiah.

Q: How do we know Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures?

We know this because the New Testament confirms that Jesus' death fulfilled the prophecies written in the Old Testament. The assertion that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures is substantiated by numerous references throughout both the Old and New Testaments. Jesus and His apostles frequently pointed to specific Scriptures to highlight how Christ's life, death, and resurrection fulfilled the prophetic Word. For instance, Christ's death as the sacrificial Lamb was prefigured in the Passover (Exodus 12) and woven throughout the sacrificial system outlined in the law. The connection between Jesus’ atoning sacrifice and the Scriptures underpins the theology of salvation in the Reformed tradition, affirming that redemption was not an afterthought but a divine plan established from eternity.

Q: Why is understanding the doctrine of grace important for Christians?

Understanding grace is vital as it highlights God’s unmerited favor and the basis of our salvation. The doctrine of grace is central to the Christian faith as it teaches that salvation is a gift from God, not a result of human effort or merit. Ephesians 2:8-9 emphasizes that we are saved by grace through faith, and this not of ourselves; it is the gift of God. Recognizing grace as sovereign and unconditional allows believers to understand their total dependence on God's mercy. This fundamental truth not only instills gratitude but empowers Christians to extend that grace to others, fostering a community built on forgiveness and love. Moreover, it helps Christians resist legalism and works-based righteousness, solidly resting in the finished work of Christ.

If you want to, you can open
your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15. My brother Ken Wymer and his family
flew in from Africa by way of England on Monday. He preached Saturday and Sunday. in a couple of churches in England.
They arrived here Monday night. We met them at the airport about
10.45, and they spent the night with us and left Tuesday morning
for her parents' home in Cedarville, Ohio. Mary's mother has cancer
of the lymph glands, has been in the hospital, was only released
yesterday. So Mary will spend most of the
time there with her mother and her father, while Ken travels
around preaching in various churches. But we had a good visit, Brother
Weimer and I did, Monday night and Tuesday morning, and he greatly
encouraged me about the missionary work in Africa. And you'll be
hearing more about it because he's going to preach here on
Sunday evening, December the 30th. But I will tell you, there
are over 350 men enrolled in the preacher's correspondence
course. 56 of them have already completed
the first portion of that study, the entire book of Romans. They
have completed their study, written all their papers. et cetera,
et cetera, whatever is required of them. This is not an easy
course. This is not a quick course. I've
seen the papers that they have to turn in, the questions, the
reading material, the cassettes they listen to and other things.
And now that Bill is going on the radio station, Africa No. 1, now here's some, I got a letter
from Bill Clark this morning and here it is. I made some copies. And they're down here on the
table explaining this new radio ministry. For a long time, he's
been on a station in Liberia, which beamed across that section
of Western Central Africa. And the revolution there, they
burned the station, shut it down. He's been off the air for a while.
But in God's good providence and purpose, I asked somebody, do you believe
God would start a revolution and burn down a radio station
to get Bill on another station? Well, that's what he did. So
Bill's on a bigger, better station now, Africa No. 1. That's what
they call the station. Africa No. 1. Covers an area
of 80 million people. You can even pick it up in England.
You'll read that in the letter. And he signed a year's contract
to preach every week on this particular station. And everybody
in West Africa and Central Africa listens to the radio. They don't
have television. They listen to the radio. This
is how all these men have become enrolled in these preacher's
training classes, because of the radio broadcast. That's how
they hear about it and have heard about it. And now he's going
to be on Africa number one. It's an expensive undertaking.
But he felt led to do it, and I did too. And while he was here,
we talked it over, and I said, well, I believe we can take care of
maybe half of it. Scott said he'd help. Together
we can take care of about half of it. And so Bill said, let's
try it, see if I can come up with the other half. It costs
$600 a week to be on that station, one broadcast. And so a church
in North Carolina disbanded this past month. They had 16,000 some
odd dollars in the treasure and they sent it to Bill. That pays
half the radio program. So for the next year it's already
paid for, half of it. And he felt like that was the
providence of God. And we'll take care of the other
half along with Brother Scott Richardson. Just good news. Ken will tell you more about
it. I'll go on and try to preach
my message, but I'm full of this right now because we've been
talking about it a lot. But anyway, while Ken was in
England, Saturday and Sunday, preached Sunday for the church
where Brother Bill Clark preaches, Welland Garden City Campus Church. But Saturday, He was invited
up to Ripon, England, where we had the Bible conference two
years ago when I was there. We had the Bible conference in
a university hall. But a family living there in
Ripon, and the pastor of this church, I know the pastor. But
anyway, they invited Brother Ken Weinberg to speak last Saturday.
I know the pastor, I know his attitude and so forth, but Brother
Wymer was not well received by the pastor because of what he
preached. I talked to him about it Monday
night, Tuesday morning, also again this afternoon. The pastor
took great exception to Brother Wymer's message and declared
that Brother Wymer was too narrow, too narrow in his message. He said, well, brother man, what
did he preach? Well, I'm going to tell you. The title of his
message that he preached last Saturday night in this church,
and the welcome was not very warm. In fact, the pastor didn't
even turn the heat on. Ken said, I was so cold I couldn't
even project my voice. He said, Bill was sitting on
his hands trying to keep them warm. He was cold. He said, cold in the building,
cold in the heart. No welcome man. You can't imagine
that, can you? But it's so. People who despise
the doctrine of God's sovereign grace don't act real Christian
sometimes in their attitude. But here's his message. He preached
a message entitled, The Distinctive Gospel. The distinctive gospel. He had three points. He said,
first of all, the distinctive gospel defines what a sinner
is. And our gospel does, in fact,
define what a sinner is. He's dead, he's depraved, he's
without help, without hope, without God in this world. Christ died
for the ungodly. When we were yet without strength
in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. When we were enemies,
Christ died for us. The gospel defines what a sinner
really is. It tells you what a sinner is.
From the sole of his feet to the top of his head, there's
no soundness in him. Second point, the distinctive
gospel declares who Jesus Christ is. their God of their God, covenant
Redeemer, incarnate Savior, our righteousness, wisdom, sanctification,
redemption. It declares He's the God-man,
He's the only substitute for sinners, our only righteousness,
our only sin offering. The interceding Savior who sits
at the right hand of God makes intercession for God's people,
the distinctive gospel, leaves no guesswork about who Jesus
Christ is, and what he did, and why he did it, and where he is
now. Is that right? Good outline so
far, isn't it? All right, thirdly, the distinctive
gospel declares what grace is. Grace is sovereign, is it not? I'll be gracious to whom I will
be gracious. Grace is sufficient, is it not? My grace is sufficient. By grace
are you saved, not of yourselves. It's a gift of God. Grace is
free, is it not? Well, when the service was over,
after he preached that message, I liked that message. I could
say amen, amen, and amen, like the preachers on television say
amen and amen. But the prostitute took great
exception to that message, and he declared that Brother Ken
was too narrow. So Ken asked him this question.
He said, what part of my message did you disagree with? He said,
my message just declared that the gospel defines what a sinner
is, a distinctive gospel declares who Christ is, and declares what
grace is. What part did you disagree with?
He said, it's all too narrow. Well, Keehan then replied, what
is the gospel? What is the gospel? You tell
me. And the pastor replied, the gospel
is Jesus Christ died for sinners. That's the gospel. And Keehan
answered, but is this not what all religious people say, Jesus
Christ died for sinners? Isn't that what the Arminian
says? Isn't that what even the Catholics say? Jesus Christ died
for sinners. Of course, there's other things
to be done, but he did die for sinners. Isn't that what the
Galatians said, who were advocating circumcision? Isn't that what
the free willers say? Isn't that what everybody says?
Well, if that's what everybody says, Jesus Christ died for sinners,
you can then ask him, How do you separate the true gospel
from the false? How does one define what one
means by saying, Jesus Christ died for sinners? What do you
mean by that? And then Ken added this, 1 Corinthians
15 verse 1. Now listen, O brethren, I declare
unto you the gospel. Here is the gospel, which also
you have received 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, having Jesus Christ died for
sinners. But that's not the end. Jesus
Christ died for sinners. He died for our sins. Watch it
now. According to the Scriptures. According to the Scriptures.
Now stay with me. He hadn't had something yet.
He said, you say the gospel is Jesus Christ died for sinners.
Paul said Jesus Christ died for sinners according to the Scriptures. according to the Scriptures. And he was buried and he rose
again the third day according to the Scriptures. Brother Mann, you mean to tell
me that those one, two, three, four words are so important?
You just can't believe how important those four words are, according
to the Scriptures. It defines your whole gospel
message. It can be the difference between
a false gospel and a true gospel, a false hope and a true hope,
according to the scriptures. Now then, the word scripture,
and you can find this out for yourself, verify what I'm saying.
Please do. Search the scriptures. Look in
your concordance. The word scripture and scriptures
used here according to the scriptures is a New Testament term. It's
only used in the Old Testament one time. The entire Old Testament
of 39 books. Scripture is used one time. Daniel 10, 21. But it's used 51 times in the
New Testament, scripture or scriptures. And it's a New Testament term
referring to the Old Testament writings of the prophets concerning
the Messiah. concerning his work, his person,
his redemption. The word scripture or scriptures
is a term used in the New Testament to refer to the Old Testament
writings of the prophets. That's what the word scripture
and scriptures refers to. And if you're going to properly
define this gospel that we preach, This gospel of Jesus Christ,
the gospel of the Christ, the gospel Christ died for sinners,
if you're going to properly define it, if you're going to preach
it, the person and work of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, our Messiah,
our Christ, then you're going to have to go back to the Scriptures,
because He lived and He died and He rose again according to
the Scriptures. And our Lord said twice, He said,
you do err. talking to those people, those
religious folks around him. He said, you do err. You go off. You're wrong. And where you're
wrong is because you're ignorant of the Scriptures, the Old Testament
Scriptures. Now listen. Turn with me. I want
you to run through some of the passages here. Matthew 26. Matthew
26, 29. Matthew 26. And behold, one of them, which
was with Jesus, stretched out his hand, and drew his sword,
and struck a servant of the high priest, and smote off his ear.
Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again your sword into its
place, for all they that take the sword shall perish with the
sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now
pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve
legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures
be fulfilled, that thus it must be? In that same hour said Jesus
to the multitudes, Are you come out as against a thief with swords
and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching
in the temple, and you laid no hold on me. But all this was
done that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook
him and fled. Now he stands. And Peter drew
his sword, and our Lord said, put it up. And he healed that
man's ear. And then he said, don't you know
I could call on my Father? And he sent twelve legions of
angels, but that the Scriptures might be fulfilled. Now what
was that? Old Testament Scriptures. Then it's done this way. And
then his disciples forsook him and fled. He's still alone. He
says, this is the way it's done that the scriptures might be
fulfilled. Now Mark 15. Let's just go through
a few passages. Mark 15. And I want you to notice
this one statement all the way through, that the scriptures
might be fulfilled. Mark 15, 27. And with him they crucified two
thieves. One on the right hand, the other
on the left. And the scripture was fulfilled which said he was
numbered with transgressors. Now Luke 4. Luke 4.20. Scriptures were fulfilled. Luke 4.20. And he closed the
book, he gave it again to the minister and sat down and the
eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were facing on
him. He began to say, this day is this scripture. fulfilled
in your ears. Now Luke 24, everything, you
see, he died for our sins according to the scriptures. He suffered
according to the scriptures. He fulfilled all righteousness
according to the scriptures. Luke 24, 25. Luke 24, 25. Now watch this. And then he said
to them, O fools, and slow of hearts to believe all that the
prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ to have suffered
these things, and to enter into His glory? Beginning at Moses
and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures
the things concerning Himself. Verse 32. And they said one to
another, did not our heart burn within us while he talked with
us by the way, while he opened to us the scriptures? The Old Testament Scriptures.
It's not just Jesus died for sinners. He died for sinners
according to the Scriptures. Let's read on now. Turn to John
5, verse 39. John 5, 39. Listen to this. Our
Lord says in John 5, 39, speaking to the Pharisees, you search
the Scriptures. He's not commanding them to search
the Scriptures. They did search the Scriptures.
You are searching the Scriptures, for in them you think you have
eternal life. There they must testify of Me.
They talk about Me, Christ said, and you will not come to Me that
you might have life. Look at John 13. I want you to
turn to these. John 13, 38. Now listen to this. John 13. John 13. That's not the one. Try Acts 17. Turn to Acts 17. Acts chapter 17, verse 2 and
3. Now listen to this. Acts 17, 2 and 3. And Paul, as
his manner was, went in unto them in three Sabbath days, he
reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, opening and alleging
that Christ must needs have suffered and risen again from the dead,
and that this Jesus whom I preached unto you is Christ. Which Jesus?
The one talked about in the Scriptures. Now Acts 18, just across one
other page. Acts 18.28. Acts 18.28. For he miserly convinced
the Jews, and that publicly, showing by the Scriptures that
Jesus was the Christ. Now Romans 1. Romans chapter
1 beginning with verse 1. Romans 1.1. It says here Paul a servant of
Jesus Christ, called him an apostle, separated to the gospel of God,
which he promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures
concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord." Now Romans 15 forward.
Romans 15 forward. Romans 15 forward. for whatsoever things were written
aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience
and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." Christ died
for our sins according to the scriptures. Now turn with me
to Matthew 1, and I want to show you, let me read a few verses
from Matthew 1 concerning his birth and the scriptures. In other words, everything that
we preach about Christ is verified in the Scriptures. And if it's
not verified in the Scriptures, and if it's not according to
the Scriptures, it's not worth preaching. You see that? The Old Testament Scriptures.
Now Matthew 1, Matthew 1 verse 18. Now go with me here. This
is, you're hearing a lot of talk now about this. Now the birth
of Jesus Christ was on this But as his mother Mary was engaged
to Joseph before they came together as husband and wife, she was
found with child of the Holy Ghost. And Joseph, her husband,
being a just man and not willing to make her a public example,
was minded or intended to put her away privately. And while
he followed these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared
unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thy son of David, fear
not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived
in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his
people from their sin. Now all this was done that it
might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet.
That's why it was this way, the scriptures. Behold, a virgin
shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt
call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with
us. Now look at chapter 2 verse 1. Now when Jesus was born in
Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there
came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he
that is born king of the Jews? We have seen his star in the
east, and come to worship him. When Herod the king heard these
things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And while
he gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together,
he demanded them where Christ should be born. And they said
unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the
prophets." That's what it says in the scriptures. Now look down
at verse 14. And Joseph, verse 14, Matthew
2, arose, and took the young child, his mother, by night,
and departed into Egypt. And he was there until the death
of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord
by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son."
Everything. We don't just say Jesus died
for sinners, we say he died according to the scriptures. Everything
about him was prophesied, promised. Patterned, pictured, typified,
foretold in the scriptures, and he's going to have to do everything
according to the scriptures. Well, it's no good. Read on,
verse 16. Matthew 2, Then Herod, when he
saw that he was mocked to the wise men, was exceedingly angry. He sent forth and slew all the
children that were in Bethlehem. Why did he do that? And in all
the coasts thereof, from two years on and under, according
to the time which he had diligently acquired of the wise men. Then
was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah, the prophet
saying, in Ramah was there a voice heard lamentation, weeping, and
great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not
be comforted because they are not. That's what the scripture
said would take place. All right, verse 22. But when
he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea, in the room of his
father, in the place of his father Herod, Joseph was afraid to go
thither. Notwithstanding, being warned
of God in a dream, he turned aside into parts of Galilee.
Here's Joseph now, he's had the child Jesus down to Egypt. Out
of Egypt my son will come. That's what scripture says. And
he's taking him back towards Judea, and he's afraid now because
Herod's boy is in control there. So he turned aside into Galilee,
verse 23, and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth. That
it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, he'll
be called a Nazarene. Every minute detail, every step,
according to the Scriptures, it has to be. I can't preach
the gospel without the scriptures. Now let me show you from John
19. That was just his birth. I'm
not going to take you through the whole life of my Lord. It
would take us this coming 1991 to preach. I'll try to go through
much of it while I'm preaching from Psalms and Isaiah and these
other fellows preach from these passages. We're preaching Christ. He died according to the scripture.
Now John 19, verse 23. John 19, 23. Then the soldiers,
when they crucified Jesus, took his garments, made four parts
to every soldier a part, and also his coat. Now the coat was
without seam, woven and topped throughout. And they said therefore
among themselves, let's not rend it, let's not tear it, let's
cast lots for it. Whose it shall be? And why'd they do that? And why are we reading about
it? Read the next line. That the Scriptures might be
fulfilled. They're going to cast lots, because
God said they were going to cast lots. When the Christ of
God died, they cast lots for his garments, because that's
what God said they'd do. And this Scripture's going to
be fulfilled. Verse 28, John 19. After this, Jesus, knowing
that all things were now accomplished, that the Scriptures might be
fulfilled, said, I thirst. You want to find the Christ?
Read the prophecies and promises concerning the Christ in the
Scriptures. You'll find the Christ, because there's only one that
fulfilled them all. Look at verse 36. But these things were done that
the scriptures might be fulfilled. Let's go back a little bit. Verse
33. When they came to Jesus and saw
that he was dead already, they break not his legs. That's the
way they hasten death for a crucified person. They break not his legs. But one of the soldiers with
a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came out blood and
water. And he that saw it by a record, and his record is true,
and he knoweth that he saith it true, that ye might believe,
for these things were done, that the scriptures should be fulfilled.
A bone of him shall not be broken, and again another scripture is
fulfilled. They shall look upon him whom
they pierced. And we can go on and on and on
and on like that. Have we indeed searched the scriptures? or whomever just said, what is
the gospel of Christ God for sinners? Well, that's true. That's true. But if you have,
by the Holy Spirit, by the grace of God, been made to search the
scriptures and come to see how Christ fulfilled every jot and
tittle of the scriptures, that's how he died for our sins, according
to the scriptures. Now, let me just show you, pick
up a few things here. Turn to Genesis. the book of
Genesis, chapter 22. Now, I could start way back in
Genesis 3.15, how he was the seed of woman. I could come to
Abel's sacrifice, how he's the Lamb of God. But here in Genesis
22, verse 14, Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-Jireh,
the Lord will provide. Why did he call it that? Well,
back in verse 8, you know, when Isaac asked him, where's the
lamb? Abraham said, my son, God will provide himself a lamb for
a burnt offering. Jehovah-Jireh, God will provide
a lamb. That's Christ. We won't turn
to all these, but Exodus, chapter 12. God told him to take a Passover
lamb, put the blood. You know, when I see the blood,
I'll pass over you. Christ, I'll pass over. Let me go through
these. Leviticus 16. I've given you
the blood upon the altar to make an atonement for your soul. It's
the blood that makes atonement. By Christ we have received the
atonement. He died as the atonement. He
died as the Lamb of God. He suffered and died as the Passover
Lamb. He died as the atonement. He
died, Numbers 21, the blazing serpent. As Moses lifted up the
serpent, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, according to the
Scriptures. Deuteronomy 18, God said, I'll
raise up a prophet. I'll put my words in his mouth.
He will not speak of himself. What he shall speak will be my
word. Hear him, Joshua. Rahab put the scarlet line out.
That's the blood. Judges, the angel of the Lord
appeared to Manoah and his wife, and they offered a sacrifice,
and he went up to heaven in the sacrifice. Judges, that's Judges. He's the angel of the Lord. Kinsman,
Redeemer. Take the six books of Chronicles,
Kings, Chronicles, and Samuel. Where is Christ? King of kings.
I set my king on the holy hill. Ezra, he's a defender of the
law. Esther, he's a provider of the
people. Nehemiah, he's the great restorer. In Job, my Redeemer liveth. In
Psalm, the Lord my shepherd. In Proverbs, he's my wisdom. In Psalm of Solomon, he's the
altogether lovely one. There's only one altogether lovely.
In Isaiah, wounded by transgression, substitute Jeremiah, he's our
righteousness. The Scriptures present Christ
and how that he would die for sinners according to the Scriptures. But in all of Scripture, There
is no clearer picture of the Redeemer's personal work than
the tabernacle. Can you imagine how long it took
Moses and the people to build that tabernacle? To set it up
in the wilderness? To bring about all of the different
offerings and sacrifices and slaying of bullocks and animals,
the priests? his uniforms, his work, and all
of these things. One whole tribe out of twelve
tribes was devoted to the service of the tabernacle. The lighting
of the candles, the burning of the incense, the supplying of
the bread, doing all the sacrifices, putting up these walls, veils,
and all of these things, transporting it from place to place, carrying
out the sacrifices. And when Christ our Lord came
to this earth, he pulled every rope Every stave, every candle,
every loaf of bread, every burning incense, mercy seat, Ark of the
Covenant, priesthood, sacrifices, it was all bundled up in one
offering, Christ on the cross. He fulfilled every bit of it. Every jot and tittle. And it
all tells about him. And that's what Hebrews 8 says,
of the things we've written, this is the sound. Christ is
not entered into a holy place made with hands, but into heaven
itself. We have a high priest. So you just, I tell you when
you say it's quite true, Christ died for sinners. No question
about it. Probiety. Now listen, I'll quote. Probiety. We set forth from the
scriptures how he died according to the scriptures. Now you can
say, you can define the gospel here, what is the gospel? Christ
died for sinners. But I'll tell you this, this
Christ you preach, and how he died and so forth, must be according
to the scriptures. And I'll ask you four questions,
four or five. Number one, this Christ who died,
you say the gospel is Christ died for sinners. By whose decree? By whose decree? By whose word? We preach mercy and salvation,
deliverance for sinners. Got to be some authority behind
that. Got to be some power behind that. Where'd you get it? Well, I'll tell you where I got
my authority and power behind this Christ died for sinners.
The Scriptures. The everlasting covenant. of
God's marvelous grace, whereby He said, I will be merciful. All right, second question. Well,
who is this Christ? Somebody says Christ died for
sinners. Well, who is He? The Scripture says there are
many Christs. Many Christs. That's right. Many Christs shall
come and deceive many. Well, who is your Christ? Well,
I'll tell you this. How is He going to be recognized?
He's going to have to be recognized by the Scriptures. That's right,
recognized by the scriptures. The scripture says, Behold, God
himself will give you a sign. A virgin shall be with child,
and bring forth a son, and call his name Immanuel. That's the
scriptures right before them. His name shall be called Wonderful
Counselor of the Mighty God, the God-man. Or a third question,
why is he called Christ? You ask a man, what is the God?
Well, Christ died for sinners. Where did he get that name? Christ. Where did he get that
name? That woman at the well, she said,
are you the Christ? They asked John the Baptist,
are you the Christ? Where did she get that name? Old Testament
scriptures. That's where that name came from.
He's the Christ. He's the Messiah. He's the prophet,
priest, and king. Only the Christ holds all three
of those offices. Prophet like Moses, priest like
Melchizedek, king like David. Why did He die? You say Christ
died for sinners. Well, why this death business?
Why didn't He just live for sinners? Why didn't He just round up sinners? Why did He have to die? The Old
Testament says the soul that sinneth, it shall surely die. That's why he died. Because of
scriptures. Who God is. God's law has to
be honored. God says that through the scriptures.
Do this and live. Undo it and die. Why did he die on a cross? He
said Christ died for sinners. How did he die on a cross? What
did he do that for? Why wasn't he driven through
with a sword? Why didn't they go on and let him push him off
that cliff back there when they started to? That won't redeem
sinners. Paul said, Christ was made a
curse for us as it is written in Deuteronomy 21, cursed is
everyone that hangeth on a tree. He's got to hang on a tree. He's
got to die that ignominious, horrible, shameful, humiliating
death. Our sins deserve it, according
to the Scriptures. Well, how do we know that God
accepted His sacrifice? Job said, I know my Redeemer
liveth, and that He'll stand on this earth in the last days,
and I'll see Him with my eyes. How do we know? But I tell you
this, it's a fulfillment of what happened yonder in the scriptures.
When that Old Testament priest, and you can't preach the gospel
without scriptures, Old Testament scriptures. That priest every
year with the blood of the lamb slain in his linen clothes of
humility, bearing the burning incense to fill that Holy of
Holies with the prayers of Christ and that blood, atoning blood
of the slain Lamb, went there before the Ark of the Covenant,
covered by the mercy seat wherein was the broken law. And he sprinkled
that blood seven times on that mercy seat, covering propitiation. over the broken law. Once a year. And no one was to be anywhere
in that tabernacle. He was to do it all alone. How'd
the people know if the sacrifice was then accepted by God? I'll
tell you how. When He came out, when He came
out of that Holy of Holies, it was done for another year. Where
Jesus Christ, our Lamb, The same way, our high priest, he does
it all by himself. He purged our sins. He trod the
winepress of God's wrath alone. He went to the cross. There the
incense went to heaven. Father, forgive them. They know
not what they do. And he died. And the Scripture
says, with his own blood, he went into the holy place and
obtained eternal redemption for us. How do we know? Because when
he died, that veil in the temple was rent in two from the top
to the bottom. That's right, that Old Testament
veil that separated the people from the holy place, torn in
two from top to bottom. And Christ came out of the grave
like the high priest came out of the Holy of Holies. But he
won't go back into the Holy of Holies with another atonement
because the veil is gone. And God said, have boldness to
enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus. See that? So when a man, I don't know,
I guess it's just a matter of compromise, I guess it's just
a matter of pacification or something, trying to get along with people
and take the heart out of the gospel, the life out of the gospel,
the very soul out of the gospel, the offense out of the gospel,
the edge out of the gospel, the glory away from Christ. But now, I could say to many
of you here tonight, you say, well, I mean, what's the gospel?
I could say Christ. And when I said that word, you'd
know who I was talking about, where he got the name, where
the origin, died. You'd know how he died, why he
died, that God may be just and justified. You'd know what he
accomplished when he died. You'd know where he is now. Christ
died for, F-O-R, that's in the stead of, in the place of, so
that you wouldn't have to as a substitute for real, genuine,
bona fide, self-confessed sinners. What's a sinner? Well, the Scripture
tells you what a sinner is. See what I mean? So, that's why
those four words are so important. I deliver unto you the gospel,
how that Christ doth for sinners according to the scriptures.
Does that help? That's it. And how thankful I
am that God's been pleased to reveal it to us, aren't you?
And how thankful I am that when a man stands in this pulpit that
we don't apologize for God, for the offense, or for the narrowness of the
way, do we? The distinctive gospel, yes it
does, Ken, it tells what a sinner is, who Christ is, and what grace
is. And God's people say, Amen. They
rejoice in it. Rejoice in knowing it's the only
hope. All right, Mike, come lead us
in our closing hymn, please.

According to the Scriptures

What does the Bible say about the gospel of Jesus Christ?

How do we know Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures?

Why is understanding the doctrine of grace important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

According to the Scriptures

What does the Bible say about the gospel of Jesus Christ?

How do we know Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures?

Why is understanding the doctrine of grace important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

More from Henry Mahan

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Henry Mahan

Books by Henry Mahan

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book