Embracing the Gospel: Our Hope and Obsession

"I delivered to you as a first importance what I also received that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures that he was buried and that he was raised again on the third day Paul says the gospel is most important and so often we wonder why do we spend so much time and energy on the gospel it's because it's most important it's the obsession of Paul Paul said in first Corinthians 9 woe to me if I don't preach the gospel he said earlier in first Corinthians that he came to preach Christ crucified he was singularly focused on the gospel" [00:21:20]

"Paul says, here's the nature of the gospel. First things first. It's a preached gospel. It's a spoken gospel. It's not a gospel that can be understood unless somebody speaks about it. Paul said in Romans chapter 10 that faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the word of Christ. And we've been indoctrinated somewhat in the Christian world that we can just live out our faith and people will understand who Jesus is. It's a gospel that can be understood unless we speak the gospel." [00:23:41]

"It has to be spoken. In fact, what Paul was saying is this gospel had been talked about, not the formal act of preaching like I'm doing today. He was talking about what ordinary Christians do in their day -to -day life. They talk about the things that are important to them. And Paul says this gospel must be spoken. It's a spoken, preached, announced good news. But Paul also says. It's a saving gospel. Now, you and I are used to hearing that. We're used to hearing that by the gospel, by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, our sins are forgiven." [00:24:17]

"This saving, this word means healing and restoration. It means that the gospel is about our guilt and our shame. It's about our inadequacy and the things that really hold us back. The gospel is a saving gospel for the present of our lives. And so this gospel is preached and it's a saving gospel. But probably most importantly, Paul says it's a received gospel. He says it twice, but look at verse 3. He says, You see, the gospel is not just a group of intellectual propositions." [00:24:57]

"It's not just something to be understood in our heads. We must receive the gospel. Now, I know you know this, but I want to remind you of this principle. You cannot give what you do not have. You cannot give what you do not have. If you don't have the gospel, you cannot share the gospel. I've told you this before, but I got it absolutely wrong when I was asked. I was interviewing for a position as a youth pastor in Charleston. I was pretty sure I should get the position. That's another sign of why God took me down a notch." [00:25:51]

"But the reality is I went into that. I went into that interview and I was asked a diagnostic question by an older priest. He said to me, Shay, if you died tonight and you went to the pearly gate, and St. Peter asked you why you should get in, what would you say? Now, I said the wrong answer. I said I had been good. I tried my hardest. And I want you to know today, if you think that that's how you get into heaven, that's the wrong answer. And it's important for you to know that. Don't feel bad. I had it wrong, too." [00:26:14]

"But the gospel must be received. You see, I couldn't get myself into heaven. Look at your colic. For today, it says we can't even stand up in our frailty. The reality is we can't earn our way into heaven. We can't work hard enough to make ourselves right with Jesus Christ. The gospel must be received. We must receive the good news of God in Jesus Christ. Receive the hope that is found in him. Friends, I want to ask you this question. Have you received the gospel? Do you know Jesus Christ? Do you know your Lord and Savior?" [00:27:01]

"Because Paul says this gospel is the most important thing. It was the obsession of his ministry because it is a gospel that rescues us, that saves us. Now, if I were to ask you how to receive the gospel, or if I were to ask you how to share the gospel with a friend, you may not know an easy way to do it. And so I want to share it with you today. You can write down if you're a writer. If you don't, just remember ABC, ABC, admit, believe, and commit. Admit, believe, and commit. You see, what we are called to do if we want to receive the gospel is first, admit that we're sinners." [00:27:44]

"Admit that Jesus Christ died for us because we couldn't earn it, because we weren't good enough. We must admit our sinfulness and brokenness. And then second, we're called to believe. Believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, believe that he was raised again from the dead, and that he conquered death. Believe in him. And then we must commit ourselves to surrender. You can't force God to love you. You can't force him to save you. But the good news is if you surrender to him, he has promised that he will come to you." [00:28:35]

"He will live in you by the power of the Holy Spirit, and you will become a new creation. The nature of the gospel is, is that it is the gospel to be received. And my hope and prayer is that if the Lord moves in your heart today, you would receive it. Second, though, I want you to take a moment and look with me at the centrality of the resurrection. You see, as you look at first Corinthians chapter 15, you see that all of this chapter is about the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." [00:29:44]

"Paul has said the gospel is most important, and then he focuses with, with a laser light on the very aspect that Jesus Christ rose again from the dead. Why does he do this? In fact, I would encourage you read first Corinthians 15 all the way through sometime during the week and over the weeks ahead, and you'll hear over and over again how important the resurrection is. But why? Why is it so important? Well, I want to ask you if you know what this is. Somebody told me at the last service, they said, I couldn't see what you were holding. This is a lynchpin." [00:30:23]

"The lynchpin holds things together and the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the lynchpin of our faith. You see, friends today when we think about Jesus Christ dying on the cross, we think about that as the heartbeat of the gospel. But understand this. The cross and the resurrection are inextricably linked because if Jesus dies on the cross and is buried and doesn't rise again, then as Paul says, we're still in our sin. And we're of most men and women to be pitied. So this is the lynchpin that Jesus rose from the dead, that the tomb was empty on that Easter morning." [00:31:08]