My Gospel

Q: What does the Bible say about the gospel?

The Bible defines the gospel as God's good news centered on Jesus Christ's redemptive work. The gospel is described in Romans 1:1-4 as 'the gospel of God,' originating from Him and concerning His Son, Jesus Christ. It is the fulfillment of promises made by the prophets and emphasizes His power to save. Ultimately, the gospel details how God purposed, purchased, and applies salvation and sustains those He has chosen, making it a divine endeavor.

Q: How do we know the gospel is true?

The truth of the gospel is confirmed as it glorifies God and aligns with Scripture. We can be assured of the gospel's truthfulness as it glorifies God and aligns with the prophetic Scriptures from the Old Testament, as seen in Romans 16:25-26. This gospel enables God to be both just and the justifier by fulfilling the requirements of the law through Christ's obedience and sacrifice. Furthermore, it provides salvation to sinners unable to pay their debt, highlighting the grace of God at work.

Q: Why is God's sovereignty important in the gospel?

God's sovereignty ensures that salvation is entirely His work, not dependent on human efforts. God's sovereignty is central to the gospel, as it emphasizes that salvation begins, proceeds, and concludes with God's will and purpose. As expressed in scriptures like Romans 8:28-30, God has predestined and called individuals to salvation, assuring that it is His work, not contingent upon human decision or merit. This foundational truth provides believers with the confidence that their salvation is secure and wholly a result of divine grace.

Q: What is the significance of 'my gospel' in Paul's teaching?

'My gospel' signifies Paul's personal experience and commitment to the message of Jesus Christ. When Paul refers to 'my gospel,' he highlights his personal connection to the message he preaches, which is transformative and distinct from human traditions. It illustrates that the gospel he received was a divine revelation from God, not from men. The phrase encapsulates a deep personal ownership and devotion to the gospel's message, which fundamentally changed his life and serves as a model for all believers to embrace their faith authentically.

The title of the message today
is just two words, my gospel, my gospel. And the text is found
in Romans 16, verse 25. The apostle writes, and now unto
him that is of the power to establish you, to establish you according
to my gospel. and the preaching of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now here in this text, and again
over in II Timothy 2, verse 8, the apostle Paul calls the preaching
of Jesus Christ, my gospel. The preaching of Jesus Christ
he calls my gospel. Why do you suppose he called
the gospel of Jesus Christ my gospel? You say, preacher, isn't
this God's gospel? Yes. But Paul called it my gospel,
my gospel. Why do you suppose he called
it my gospel? And it was no slip of the lip.
He did it twice. He called it my gospel. Well,
first of all, I believe he called it my gospel because it was the
gospel by which he was saved and the gospel by which he was
brought to knowledge of the living God. You see, though Paul was
very religious, before he met Christ, he did not know God.
Though he was very religious, he had the ceremonies, he had
the heritage, he had the training, he had the theological training,
but he didn't know God. But he met the living God in
the gospel. And he said, I didn't receive
it from men either, this gospel. I didn't learn it in school.
I didn't receive it as a tradition handed down to me by my parents. He said, I was taught of God.
My gospel I received not for men. I was taught of God. And that's true of every man
who's really redeemed, really saved. He's taught of God. Our
Lord said that in John 6, verse 44. He said, No man can come
to me except my Father which sent me. Draw him, And I'll raise
him up at the last day. It's written in the Scriptures,
and they shall all be taught of God, taught of God. And every man that hath heard
and learned of God, of the Father, cometh unto me." And this is
what Paul is saying. He said, it's my gospel. It's
my gospel because it's the gospel by which I was saved. It's the
gospel by which I was redeemed. It's the gospel by which I was
rescued from false religion. It's the gospel through which
I came to know the living God. It's my gospel. It's mine. And then secondly, I believe
he called it my gospel because it was the gospel committed to
his trust. He said that. He said, God hath
committed the gospel to my trust. He said, entrusted me with the
gospel. Oh, he said, I know I have this
treasure in an earthen vessel. I don't claim to be any more
than any other preacher. or any other child of God, but
he said, I've been entrusted with the gospel. God taught me
the gospel, and God commissioned me to preach it. He put me in
the ministry, miraculously put me in the ministry, and gave
me the gospel. He committed it to my trust.
And then I believe he called it his gospel, thirdly, because
he was literally obsessed with it, obsessed with the gospel. It was his life. He said, I'm
crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not
I, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live
in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me
and gave himself for me. Christ is my life. And when Christ,
who is my life, shall appear, I'm going to appear with him
in glory. I'm determined, he said. to the Corinthians, he
said, I'm determined not to know anything, anything among you.
I'm not promoting anything or anybody, any organization or
any movement, any program. I'm not promoting anything but
Jesus Christ. I'm determined to know nothing
among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Oh, would God,
we had some preachers today who were not interested in promoting
anything or anyone. but Jesus Christ the Lord." Preaching
Christ. Preaching Christ. My gospel. My gospel. My gospel. Well, how did Paul define his
gospel? He claimed it. He owned it. He
loved it. How did he define it? Well, if
you want a clear-cut definition of Paul's gospel, you'll find
it in the opening verses Romans chapter 1. He writes this way
in Romans 1 verse 1 he says Paul never called himself reverend
or bishop or superintendent or doctor or right reverend or father. The man, the only man who ever
deserved a title wouldn't take one. He's a very humble man. He's a man who gave God the glory.
He wouldn't take any titles. He always referred to himself
as Paul. That's all, just Paul. He saw more, knew more, heard
more, and taught more than any man who ever lived. But he never
claimed any title. He said, Paul, a bond slave. What's a bond slave? It's a willing,
loving servant. I'm a servant of Jesus Christ,
called to be an apostle, and separated unto the gospel of
God. Here he defines his gospel. He
says, first of all, it's the gospel of God. It's God's gospel.
It originated with God. Salvation is of the Lord. The
gospel originated with God. He purposed it in all eternity,
in eternity past. Christ is the lamb slain before
the foundation of the world. The book of life is the book
of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. God chose his people
in Christ before the world began. Known unto God are all His works
from the beginning. Nothing occurs in time God didn't
purpose in eternity. He purposed redemption. He purchased
redemption. God did it. Man didn't do it.
God did it in the person of His Son on the cross. He applied
it. Paul said, he said, God who separated
me from my mother's womb was pleased to reveal His Son in
me. God not only purposed the gospel,
and purchased the gospel, but he applies the gospel. And he
preserves those who hear the gospel and keeps those whom he
saves. It's God's gospel. It's of the
Lord in its origination, in its execution, in its application,
in its sustaining power, in its ultimate perfection. If any man
winds up in glory, it'll be God's fault, not his. That's right. Salvation's of the Lord. By grace
are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It's
the gift of God. Faith's the gift of God. The
goodness of God leadeth a man to repentance. And Paul says,
this gospel that I preach is the gospel of God. Secondly,
it's the gospel promised. Verse 2 there, Romans 1, promised
by the prophets in the Holy Scriptures. It's the ancient gospel. He said,
my gospel is no new gospel. It's the gospel preached by Abel
when he slew the lamb. It's the gospel preached by Noah
when he built the ark, the shelter from the storm. It's the gospel
preached by Moses when he slew the Passover lamb. It's the gospel
preached by Moses when he lifted up the serpent in the wilderness.
It's the gospel preached by Moses when he smoked the rock. It's
the gospel preached by Abraham when walking up the side of Mount
Moriah And his son asked, where's the lamb? Here's the fire, here's
the knife, where's the lamb? And Abraham said, my son, God
will provide himself a lamb. And he did right on that mountain.
Mount Moriah is Mount Calvary. He provided his son as the lamb
to take away sin. So this is the same gospel. There's
no new gospel. It's the gospel preached by Isaiah.
It's the gospel of God. It's the ancient gospel. Now,
wait a minute. Hold the phone. And he said it's the gospel concerning
his son. Paul, a bond slave of Jesus Christ,
called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, which
he promised to afford by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures,
concerning His Son. This gospel is concerning His
Son who was made—watch it now, listen— who was made of the seed
of David and declared to be the Son of God. Now, words mean something
in the Scripture. You see, the Bible is not a big
book. Sixty-six books, 39, 27, Old
and New Testament. But it's a small book. And words
mean something, each word. And he said this gospel is concerning
his son. It's not concerning what you
do with him, it's concerning what he does for you and in you
and before God in your place. It's concerning his work, not
your work. It's concerning his sacrifice,
not yours. It's concerning his faithfulness,
his dedication, his righteousness, his representation, his death. His burial, His resurrection
is concerning His Son who was made of the seed of David. He was made of a woman. He was
conceived in her womb by the Holy Ghost. His earthly life
started at a definite point. He was made of the seed of David.
See, David was His great-great-great-great-great-grandfather. He was in the house and lineage
of David. He was born a Jew. to fulfill all the promises to
the Jews, and the prophecies, and the high priest, and the
tabernacle, and all these ceremonies and sacrifices in the holy days,
circumcision, all the rest of it. He was made of the seed of
David. He was the rightful heir to David's
throne. He's the king of Israel. He's
the Messiah. But he was declared to be the
Son of God. He wasn't made the Son of God.
He was already the Son of God. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He wasn't made
God. He is God. You see these words? If we quit screaming believe
and stomping up and down the pulpit and carrying on and start
studying God's Word, we may have a little hope and confidence
and assurance of a relationship with God and an interest in His
mercy. But a man's got to know what
he believes and whom he believes, and where he stands, and knows
something about the rock. And Paul said, I'll define my
gospel. Can you define yours? Can you
define your gospel? Be ready to give a reason, an
answer to every man that asks you a reason for your hope. And
Paul said, my gospel is the gospel of God. It starts with God, and
God executes it, and applies it, and sustains it. And my gospel
is the ancient gospel. There's no new gospel. Abraham
wrote of me, Christ said. wrote of me, Abraham saw my day. Christ is that Passover in rock.
And this gospel is concerning His Son. It's concerning Christ
as the surety of the covenant, as the representative of His
people, as the righteousness of His people, as the Redeemer
of His people. It's concerning His Son, Jesus Christ, who was
made of the seed of David, who was made in the likeness of flesh,
who was made in the form of a servant. who was made a human being. But he wasn't made God. He was
declared to be God. It's declared to be God. And I'll tell you this about
Paul and his gospel. He preached the only gospel,
and he knew it, and he wouldn't tolerate any other gospel. Paul
was not very ecumenical. He preached the living God, and
he wouldn't tolerate anybody preaching any other kind of God.
He preached salvation by grace, and he wouldn't tolerate salvation
by works. He said in Galatians chapter 1 twice, he said, though
we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel, let him be
accursed. I don't care who it is, he said,
me or a fellow that claims to be from heaven. If he preaches
any other gospel than the gospel of God, the ancient gospel, and
the gospel concerning his Son, Let him be accursed. And he said,
I'll repeat that. I'll say it again. Let him be
accursed. This is my gospel, Paul said.
This is my gospel. Now, every preacher today has
a gospel. Every church has a gospel. Every
religious person has a gospel. And you have a gospel. A gospel
which we believe. A gospel to which we're committed.
a gospel by which we'll die, and a gospel in which we'll face
a holy God at the judgment. I have two questions, and I'm
going to answer these two questions for myself. I'll let you answer
them for yourself. And these two questions are as
follows. Number one, what is your gospel? And number two is, how do you
know that your gospel is the gospel of God? There's only one. I'm not ashamed of the gospel.
It's the power of God unto salvation. There's only one gospel. Anything
else is a perversion of the gospel. Well, I'll answer for myself.
What is my gospel? What is my hope? Well, number
one, my gospel My gospel exalts and magnifies a sovereign, unchangeable,
infinite, almighty God. I have no impotent God. I have
no small God who wants to do things and can't do them, who
wishes that men would let Him have His way. I know nothing
about that kind of God. Like the Bible itself, my gospel
begins with God. That's where it starts. The Bible
begins with God. In the beginning, God. That's
where my gospel starts. All things begin with God. The
Lord Omnipotent reigneth. The Lord God is sovereign, almighty
in creation, in providence, and in salvation. He'll save whom
He will. Christ said, All that my Father
giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I'll in
no wise cast out. Yes, sir. I believe in an almighty
sovereign God. I worship at His footstool. I
bow before His throne and I preach Him willing and able and ready
to do all that He purposed. That's right. Secondly, my gospel
recognizes a total and complete fall in Adam. I mean a total. Man's not sick, he's dead. Man
in the garden didn't lose a sight in one eye. He's blind spiritually.
Man in the garden didn't become lame on one leg. He's lame and
cannot walk. You see, our troubles began with
one man, Adam. Yes, I believe in original sin.
The Bible says, by one man, sin entered this world and death
by sin. So death, death passed upon all men. And Adam all died. That's what the Word of God says.
By man came death. Spiritual death. You have the
quickened who were dead in trespasses and sin. My friends, there's
several forms of life. Several forms of life. There's
mineral life. There's life in the minerals,
in the rocks. Did you know that? That's why
oil burns. There's life in the rocks. There's
mineral life. And there's plant life. The plants, flowers live. They have life. There's animal
life. There's human life and there's
spiritual life. Mineral life, plant life, animal
life, human life. And as far above human life,
as human life is above plant life or animal life, is spiritual
life. And that's what happened in the
garden. Man died spiritually. He retained his human life, but
he's dead spiritually. He doesn't know God. No man knows
the Father but the Son. No man has seen God at any time.
God dwells in a light to which no man can approach. That's the
reason Christ said, you must be born again. You hath he quickened
who were dead. Spiritual life's gone. And to
be regenerated, to be born again, to be saved by God's power, by
the Spirit's regeneration, is to receive spiritual life. And
that's the reason Christ said, he that liveth and believeth
in me will never die, because spiritual life can't die. Human
life dies. Mineral life, plant life, animal
life, human life all die. All go back to the ground. That's
where it all came from, the dirt. But spiritual life is the life
of God. It came from here. In Adam, we die. In Christ, we're
made alive. The first man is of the earth,
earthly. That's where we got our human
life. Second man is the Lord from heaven. He never was of
the earth. And the life he gives is not
of the earth, and it can't be buried in the earth, and it can't
go back to the earth. The body returns to the grave,
to the dirt from which it was taken, the soul of God who gave
it. That's spiritual life. Now, these people who make fun
of the new birth and talk about the new birth, most religious
folks don't know what the new birth is. The new birth is we're
born of the flesh. That which is born of the flesh
is flesh. It's all down here. It's from here down. human life
down. But that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit. And it ever lives, it can never die. It can
never die. And I believe in the Garden of
Eden that life was taken from man. He retains only this dying,
this dying form, this dying nature. And he dies and goes back to
the dust. But my gospel, thirdly, is based
on a covenant covenant of grace now the word covenant occurs
in the Bible about 250 times and This covenant of grace is
an everlasting covenant between the Father Son the Holy Spirit In which before the foundation
of the world God knowing what would occur God permitting what
occurred But the Lord God had a people chose a people gave
a people to his son When the Lord Jesus prayed in John 17,
he said, Father, you've given me power over all flesh that
I should give eternal life to as many as you've given me. All
that my Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh
to me I'll in no wise cast out. I came down from heaven not to
do my will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the
will of him that sent me, that of all which he hath given me
I'll lose nothing. I pray for them. He said, I pray
not for the world, I pray for them which thou hast given me.
Paul said, I thank God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord.
God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation. And back before
the world began, God made a covenant, an everlasting covenant. And
Christ is a shepherd of the sheep of the everlasting covenant.
He's the surety of the everlasting covenant. And God gave His Son
a mediatorial kingdom, and He gave Him a people. And the Son
assumes suretyship of those people. He assumed the responsibility
of those people. He took upon Himself King of
the Covenant, King of the Kingdom, Messiah of the Messianic Kingdom,
and He came to this earth to fulfill it. And David rejoiced
in that covenant. When David the king lay dying,
he said, Although it be not so with my house, God's made with
me an everlasting covenant, made with me a covenant. Ordered in
all things and sure and this is my salvation. This is my desire
Yes, sir My gospel is a gospel of a covenant this thing of redemption
started with God and started a long time ago There'd be plenty
of room in heaven, but there won't be any vacancies come on
come on and my gospel declares an incarnate God God himself
came to this earth in the form of a servant, in the seed of
woman, in the likeness of flesh. The Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth." The angel said to
Joseph, call His name Jesus. He'll save His people from their
sins. And they called His name Jesus, which is fulfilled, fulfilling
what Isaiah wrote. Virgin shall be with child and
thou shall call his name Emmanuel God with us God with us When
it pleased God in the fullness of time He sent forth his son
made of a woman made under the law to redeem us Jesus Christ
came to this earth in the flesh as our representative by one
man Disobedience we were made sinners by another man's obedience
were made righteous He came as our righteousness. He who knew
no sin was made sin for us that we might be made righteous before
God. He came as our atonement. In Christ we have the atonement.
He came as our mediator. He ever lives to make intercession
for us. That's our gospel, the gospel
of an incarnate God, the God-man, representative, righteousness,
atonement, mediator, coming King. And my gospel is a gospel of
faith and not works. It's not by works of righteousness
which we've done, but according to his mercy he has saved us.
By the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified. I tell
you, my friends, this is good news to the guilty. This is mercy
for the miserable. This is help for the helpless,
hope for the hopeless, covering for the naked, life for the dead. He's the friend of sinners. And
the worst thing they could say about Him when He was on this
earth, friend of sinners, is the best news you ever heard.
The Scripture said in 1 John, this is the record, God hath
given us eternal life, and this life's in His Son, the incarnate
God, the Redeemer. And he that hath the Son of God
hath life. That's my gospel. Now, how do
I know that that gospel is the gospel of God? That's a good
question. And let us answer it by the Word
of God. How do we know that our gospel is the gospel of God and
not another gospel? Could I give you six quick reasons? And if you want this on tape,
you write for it and we'll send it to you. But my gospel gives
God all the glory. That's right. That's what the
scripture says, that in all things God may be glorified. He's going
to be glorified. He said, I'll not share my glory
with another. And when I preach my gospel,
it gives God all the glory. If a man's saved, it'd be by
the power of God. Secondly, this gospel that I
preach is the gospel that's true to the Old Testament pictures
and types. It's true to the Passover, rock
smitten, serpent lifted up in mercy seat. It's true to the
Old Testament. Every type and picture in the
Old Testament My gospel fits it. And my gospel enables, thirdly,
enables God to be just and justifier. It enables a holy, righteous,
just God to save a sinner and be justified because the sinner's
sins are paid for. The sinner's debt is paid. The
soul that sinneth will die. Sin, when it's finished, brings
forth death. Well, our representative died. Justice is satisfied. The
law is honored. God said, keep the law. I kept
it in Christ. And then fourthly, this gospel
is the only gospel for those who are sinners and have nothing
to pay because it's free. Tell me how the thief on the
cross could be saved any way but by grace, any way but by
grace. Now, come on, works, going to
the front, making a profession, tithing, keeping the Sabbath,
just by grace. My gospel is the only gospel
that'll keep a man safe. We're kept by the power of God
through faith, not by our own wishes and wills. And this is
the only gospel that can give a sinner real assurance and real
confidence, because God did it, we didn't. Write for the tape.
Send $2. We'll mail it to you. My gospel. Until next week, God bless you.

My Gospel

What does the Bible say about the gospel?

How do we know the gospel is true?

Why is God's sovereignty important in the gospel?

What is the significance of 'my gospel' in Paul's teaching?

Sermon Transcript

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My Gospel

What does the Bible say about the gospel?

How do we know the gospel is true?

Why is God's sovereignty important in the gospel?

What is the significance of 'my gospel' in Paul's teaching?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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