Do You Really Want to Know the Gospel?

I want you to open your Bibles
to the book of 2 Corinthians, the 5th chapter, verses 20 and
21. 2 Corinthians 5, 20 and 21. Now, I'd like to begin this message
with a question. A question to you, personally. Do you really want to know the
gospel? Do you really want to know the
gospel? Do you really want to know the
secret of eternal life. Do you really want to know the
hidden mysteries of redemption? Would you really like to know
how God can be just and justify the ungodly? Are you willing
to surrender your tradition? Are you willing to lay down your
religious custom at the feet of Christ? Are you willing to
lay your wisdom and your thoughts. You know, the scripture says
there's a way that seemeth right unto man. The end is destruction. And God said your thoughts are
not my thoughts, and my thoughts are not your thoughts. Are you
willing to lay your so-called wisdom and your tradition and
your customs and your thoughts at the feet of Christ and learn
from his word and listen to his word? Do you really want to know
the gospel. Well if you do, look at our text
today. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 20, Paul
begins this way, I'm going to be perfectly frank with you and
perfectly honest because I want to be frank with myself. I want
to be honest with my own soul. Paul begins verse 20 with these
words, we are ambassadors or representatives of Christ. Now
the true minister of Christ claims no special powers, either in
his head or in his hand. Paul said, who is sufficient
for these things? He talks about the gospel. He
talks about redemption. He talks about conviction and
conversion and eternal life. He talks about preaching Christ
and him crucified. And then he said, who is sufficient
for these things? Certainly we're not. Our sufficiency
is Christ. We have no special powers. We are representatives of him
who has all authority and all power. The true minister of Jesus
Christ claims no special privileges. He claims no special place. He
knows this. He knows that he must keep his
body and bring it into subjection, lest while preaching to others
he becomes a castaway. Paul cried, Oh, that I may win
Christ and be found in him. Oh, that I may know him and the
power of his resurrected life. We have no special powers or
special privileges or special position. Actually, Paul said,
I'm not worthy to be called an apostle. I'm less than the least
of all the saints. And we don't preach ourselves.
We preach Christ and him crucified. We're not trying to get you to
follow us. We're trying to get you to follow
Christ. We are ambassadors for Christ. We pray you, in Christ's
stead, be reconciled to God. And we claim no special holiness. All said, Christ came from heaven
to this earth to save sinners, of whom I am the chief. So my friends, the only claim
we make is this. no special powers or position
or places or privileges or holiness. We simply make this claim. We
are representatives of Jesus Christ. We come to you believing
his word, we come to you preaching his word, and we beg of you,
be ye reconciled to God. Cease from following men. Cease
from following unscriptural tradition. Cease from putting your hope
in religious experiences and religious ceremonialism and let
God be true. And every man a liar. Find out
what the Word of God says. Find out from His Word who you
are, who God is, who Jesus Christ is, how Christ saves sinners,
how God can be just and justify the ungodly. Look at the Word
of God. We are ambassadors of Christ,
as though he did beseech you by us. We pray you in Christ's
dead, be ye reconciled to God. Far, now look at verse 21, it
begins with F-O-R, far. Now here is the gospel of salvation. Here is the message of redemption. Without eloquence, without fine
words, without man's tampering traditions, here is the gospel. Now, if you want to know the
gospel, here it is. Paul said, I am a representative of Christ.
I am an ambassador of the Son of God. I am trying to get you
not to follow me. I'm trying to get you to be reconciled
to God. For, here it is, for he hath
made him to be seen for us who knew no sin, that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him. That's the gospel. Now,
we have introduced to us three persons here. There are three
persons mentioned in this message here, in this tape. He, him, and us. I want you to look at it. Will
you look at it with me? Verse 21. He, that is, God the Father,
hath made him, Christ the Son, to be sin for us. That's you,
and that's me. Now let's look at these three
persons that are introduced here, and as we look at them, and look
at their work, and look at the need, then we can learn the gospel,
at least in our heads. God the Holy Ghost must reveal
it to our hearts. We can at least hear it with
these ears, and see it with these eyes, and understand it with
these minds, because here it is if words can mean anything.
Now we have three persons mentioned here. First of all, there is
God the Father. Our Lord Jesus Christ, when he
prayed in Gethsemane's garden, made this statement in verse
3, John 17. And this is eternal life, that
they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
thou hast seen. Here is the true God. Here is
the Father. Here is the Creator of heaven
and earth. And I'm afraid. I'm afraid. that the God of the Bible, the
God of creation, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and David,
the God of scripture, the God of heaven and earth, I am afraid
that the God that's being worshipped today and preached from the average
pulpit is not the God of this Bible. I'm afraid that men have
made them a God from their own imagination. In Psalm 50, David
quotes the Father saying this, I was altogether such a one as
yourself. You thought I was altogether
such a one as yourself. I'm afraid God is a very different
being from what some men suppose. Are you willing to go to the
word of God and see what God says about himself? He, to know
God. He hath made him to be seen,
for who made him to be seen? The God of the Bible. Well, let's
see what God says about himself. First of all, he is a sovereign
God. I know that. Almighty, with all
authority, subject to no will but his own. He doeth all things
according to the counsel of his own will. I know that. The Scripture
tells me that. In Psalms 115 and in Psalms 135,
David says this, Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is your
God? Where is your God? Some people's
gods are down at the church, where they leave him every Sunday.
Some people's gods are on a shrine, where they kneel and worship.
Some men's gods are the sun and the moon and the stars and nature
and other things. Where is your God? David said,
Our God is in the heavens, and he hath done whatsoever he hath
pleased. Whatsoever the Lord pleased.
That did he in heaven, earth, in the seas, and in all deep
places. David said, that's my God. He's
a sovereign God. He doeth according to his will
in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of this earth,
and giveth it to whomsoever he will. He's an almighty God. That's
the first thing we find out about God from the scriptures, is that
he is sovereign, almighty. In Isaiah 46, verse 9, listen
to Isaiah. God said, I am God, there's none
else. I'm God, there's none like me.
I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things
that are not yet done, saying my counsel shall stand. I will do all my pleasure. What am I preaching? Here's what
I'm preaching. That the only place where a man
will really worship is at the footstool at the throne of a
sovereign God, who doeth all things according to the counsel
of his own will." Now, men will bargain with an equal. They'll
argue with an equal. They'll debate with an equal.
They'll use an equal. They'll worship a sovereign.
And that's the only place a man will worship. And I'll give you
something else. The only place where a man can
find sure mercy, true mercy, saving mercy, is at the throne
of a sovereign God, who is able to save to the uttermost them
that come to God by him, who is able to lift the beggar from
the dunghill, who is able to raise the beggar to the throne
and make him a prince and a king. That's the only place you can
find true mercy. And I'll tell you something else.
There's only one place that a man can find real comfort when the
clouds are heavy overhead. And when the floods are rising
from the knee, and when the wind is blowing from without, and
there are disturbances from within, and like Job you can't find the
answers on this earth, you can find them at the throne of a
supplent God who said all things work together for good to them
who love him, who are called according to his purpose. That's
where you'll find comfort. when you're able to put your
baby in the ground and say, God is sovereign. When you're able
to sacrifice even your home and your job or whatever you have
to sacrifice and say, God is sovereign. When you lose your
eyesight or your hearing, when you lose your health and you're
able to say, God is sovereign. When the trials of life become
so heavy and you cannot find the answer except to say, God
doeth according to his will, in the armies of heaven and among
the inhabitants of this earth, even so, Father, it seems good
in thy sight." Do you know God? Is that your God? The God of
the Bible is sovereign. He never makes a mistake. He's
too wise to make a mistake, He's too good to do wrong, and He
works everything out for His ultimate, eternal glory. God
is a righteous God, the God of the Bible is. Now I'm saying
that men today are worshiping a God who is not the God of the
Bible. The God of the Bible is sovereign
and He's just, He's righteous. The God of the Bible will not
wicket sin. The God of the Bible will not
overlook sin. The God of the Bible is not one
whose holiness can be compromised. The God of the Bible will and
must punish all sin. The soul that sinneth, it shall
surely die. That's what the scripture says.
The soul that sinneth, it shall surely die. Sin, when it's finished,
bringeth forth death. That's what the scripture says.
God declares, I will in no wise, by no means, clear the guilty. That's so. God is just. He's not going to wink at sin,
overlook sin, bypass sin. Excuse sin, sin's going to be
paid for, it's going to be punished, all sin. Every transgression
shall receive a just recompense of reward. Now God has, in His
sovereignty, determined to say, He has made Him to be sin for
us. And God, in His righteousness,
made Christ to be sin for us because God, in His righteousness,
must punish sin. He cannot allow sin to go unpunished. The God of the Bible will not,
cannot, blot out sin without a suitable substitute and a suitable
sacrifice and a suitable sin offering. He's just, he's righteous,
he's holy, and he must remain holy. And either you'll pay for
your sins or Christ is going to pay for them, but somebody
is. God is not going to just rub them out, blot them out,
put them away, without them being paid. He's just. Shall not the
judge of the earth do right? Now, the third thing about the
God of the Bible is this. He's not only a sovereign God,
He's not only a righteous God, but, thank God, He's a merciful
God. God is love. I know that God's
Almighty, and so do you. The very name God, capital G-O-D,
means All-Authority. Almighty, sovereign, ruler of
the universe. I know that God is holy. Isaiah
said, When King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord high and lifted
up. His train filled the temple. The cherubims and seraphims cried,
Holy, holy, holy. I know God's holy. He's not holy,
He's not God. But I'm glad of this. I'm glad
He's merciful. The Scripture says He's plenteous
in mercy. The Scripture says he delights
to show mercy. The Scripture says God commended
his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. God so loved the world that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should
not perish, but have everlasting life. Aren't you glad God is
love? Aren't you glad there's mercy
for sinners? Aren't you glad there's grace for the guilty?
As the father, he must punish sin as the judge, but as the
father, he will pardon sin. Of him are you in Christ Jesus,
who has made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. I'm glad there's redemption with
the Lord. There's mercy with the Lord.
Come ye sinners, poor and needy, weak and wounded, sick and sore. Jesus ready, stands to save you,
full of pity. love and power. Let not conscience
make you linger, nor a fitness fondly dream. All the fitness
he requireth is to feel your need of him. He's plenteous in
mercy. Be ye reconciled to God, not
just any God, the God of the Bible, the God of the universe,
the God of holy scriptures, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Find out who he is. Be able to come with the leper
and cry, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. Be able to
come with blind Bartimaeus, who would not be silenced, but continue
to cry, Jesus, thy son of David, thy king of kings, have mercy
on me. Be able to come with that publican
in the temple, who because of his shame and sin would not so
much as lift his eyes to heaven, but smote on his breast and cried,
God, be merciful to me, the sinner. come like the thief on the cross,
who said, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom."
That's God. Eternal life to know God, the
true God. But look at the second person
introduced to us here. Here is Christ the Son. He, sovereign,
just, holy, merciful, hath made him. Who is this Jesus Christ? Who is this Savior of sinners? Who is this Redeemer we preach?
Jesus of Nazareth, born in a manger, walked the streets of Jerusalem,
the shores of the Galilee, the hillsides of Judea. Who is this
man? First, he's the only begotten
of the Father. Notice the Scripture says, begotten,
not made. He is co-eternal. He is co-equal. He is co-existent with the Father. In John 1 verse 1 through verse
12 says this, "...in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God, and all things were made by him.
Without him was not anything made that was made. And the Word
was made flesh." Who was made flesh? The One who created the
world. The One who was with the Father,
equal with the Father. He was made flesh. "...and dwelt
among us, and we beheld his glory." The glory as of the only begotten
of the Father. That's who he is. Philip said,
show us the Father. Show us the Father, and we'll
be satisfied. Christ said, Philip, have I been
with you so long and you don't even know me? He that hath seen
me, get this, hath seen the Father. He that hath seen me, I and my
Father are one. I can't explain the Trinity.
You can't and nobody else can. Just don't argue about it. Just
accept it by faith. I can't explain how God got a
ball of clay and made a man out of it and breathed into it the
breath of life. It became a living soul. I can't explain how God
hurled a sun into space and made all these planets that orbit
the world. I can't explain it and you can't either. I can't
explain how a tiny seed becomes a full-grown man in a certain
length of time. I can't explain it, you can't
either. I believe it. God the Father sent Christ the
Son into this world, and He was a man. Pilate said, Behold the
man. There He is, the man, not a man,
the man. In the fullness of time, God
sent forth His Son, made of a woman. He who was the Ancient of Days
became the Infinite of Days. made of a woman, made under the
law, bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. The first Adam
was of the earth, made out of the sand. The second Adam is
the Lord from heaven. And as we have borne the image
of the earthy, we shall bear the image of the heavenly. In
Adam we died, in Christ we're made alive. Christ came down
here to this earth as a man, God in the flesh, and became
my representative. His nature was free from sin.
Read Genesis 3, 15. The seed of woman shall bruise
the head of the serpent. Who is the serpent? Satan. Who's
the seed of woman? It's not you. You're the seed
of man. It's not any of these fly-by-night messiahs who come
from Korea and Japan and England and Jerusalem, other places.
It's the Lord who came from heaven. He's the messiah. He's the seed
of woman. He's the virgin-born Son of God. His life was without sin. His
lips never spoken out a word. His heart never harbored an evil
thought. His eyes never looked with pride. His hands were never lifted in
anger. His feet never walked in sin. Perfect. This is my beloved
Son, the Father said, in whom I am well pleased. Tested, tried,
tempted in all points of the law, every jot and every tittle,
yet without sin. Which of you, he said, convinces
me of sin? Sin hath no place in him. He
knew no sin. He's a man, but not only is he
the God-man, he's the sin offering. He's the perfect lamb. He's the
perfect sacrifice without spot or blemish. He was slain in our
stead. He was numbered with the transgressors.
He bared the sin of many. He bore our sins in his body
on the tree there at Calvary. He died for you, the sinner,
and he died for me, as I represented As in Adam, we died. By the disobedience
of one, we were made sinners. In Christ, we have life, given
because he paid the price. He redeemed our souls. He satisfied
the law, and he satisfied the justice of Almighty God. He hath
made him, God the Father, hath made Christ the Son, to be sin
for us. who knew no sin, all right, here's
the third person, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. Here is the Father, he. Here's
the Son, hath made him. Here's the sinner, to be sin
for us. He hath made him to be sin for
us. That God might be just and justify
the ungodly. that we in him might have a righteousness
which we by nature don't have. He wore my crown of thorns that
I might wear his crown of glory. He took my nakedness, my ragged
garments of fig leaves, that I might wear his spotless robe
of holiness. He bore my shame, my guilt, my
treachery, my vile nature, that I might share his beauty, his
holiness, and his glory. He endured my hell, that I might
have his heaven. He died my death, the death I
deserved, that I might have his life. He went into the grave,
and there he laid, but on the third day he came forth, triumphant,
victorious, the conqueror that I might live. And he said, because
I live, you shall live. And my friends, when John wrote
that blessed fifth chapter of 1 John, he said, this is the
record that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life
is in his Son. It's not in the church, it's
not in the altar, it's not in the law, it's not in the ordinances,
it's not in your decision, it's not in your good work, it's not
in your feeling, it's not in your experience, it's not in
your ragged robes of self-righteousness. Eternal life is in the Son. Because
God in His sovereignty and God in His justice and God in His
mercy made him to be seen. He was numbered with the transgressors.
He paid the debt, all the debt I owe. Sin had left a crimson
stain. He washed it white as snow. God
made him to be seen for you and me, as our representative, that
we might be made the righteousness, the purity, the holiness of God
in him. Here is the sinner. Do you know
who he is? Can you see him standing before
the bar of God's judgment, standing before the bar of God's law,
covered with his shame and guilt, with no plea, without one plea? Can you see him? The father steps
forth and says, I give my son to take your place. I give my
son to bear your shame. I give my son to bear your sin.
I give my son to suffer in your stead. Will you believe that?
Will you believe that? Just as I am without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me, and that thou bidst me come
to thee, O Lamb of God, I come. Just as I am, and waiting not
to rid my soul of one dark blot, but that thy blood can cleanse
each spot, O Lamb of God, I come. Just as I am poor, wretched,
blind, sight, riches, healing of the mind, all I need, all
I need, all I need in Thee to find, O Lamb of God, I come. That's the gospel. It's a person. It's a person. I hope you'll
join us next week for the broadcast, and let me mention before we
leave, these messages that I preach are available on tape recording,
not in print, but on tape recording, cassette recordings, for a small
charge. If you'd like to have one or
several, write to me. The announcer will give you the
address. May God bless you as my

Do You Really Want to Know the Gospel?

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Do You Really Want to Know the Gospel?

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