Returning to the Simplicity of the Gospel
Summary
In today's gathering, we explored the foundational teachings of Christianity, emphasizing the importance of returning to the simplicity of the gospel. We began by acknowledging the various distractions and complexities that life presents, which often lead us away from the core message of Jesus Christ. The essence of our faith is rooted in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, a truth that should be the cornerstone of our lives and teachings.
We delved into the book of Titus, where Paul warns against false teachings and emphasizes the need for sound doctrine. This passage serves as a reminder that our teachings should be grounded in the truth of the gospel, avoiding the pitfalls of meaningless talk and deception. The call to teach sound doctrine is not just for church leaders but for all believers, as we are all tasked with sharing the good news and transforming lives.
The sermon also highlighted the importance of understanding and applying the basic principles of our faith, such as faith, repentance, confession, and baptism. These are not merely steps to salvation but ongoing processes that shape our lives as followers of Christ. We must continually return to these foundational truths, allowing them to guide our actions and decisions.
Furthermore, we discussed the challenges of navigating modern issues while remaining true to the teachings of Scripture. It's crucial to approach these topics with a lens of sound doctrine, ensuring that our interpretations and applications align with the gospel's simplicity and truth.
In conclusion, we are called to be ambassadors of the gospel, sharing its transformative power with the world. Our faith should be evident in our lives, motivating us to live in a way that reflects the love and grace of Jesus Christ. As we continue to build upon the foundation of the gospel, let us strive to deepen our understanding and commitment to these ancient words that guide and sustain us.
Key Takeaways:
- The simplicity of the gospel is foundational to our faith. It is essential to return to the core message of Jesus Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, which should be the cornerstone of our lives and teachings. [36:27]
- Sound doctrine is crucial in navigating the complexities of life and faith. We must be vigilant against false teachings and ensure that our beliefs and practices align with the truth of the gospel. [59:59]
- The basic principles of faith, repentance, confession, and baptism are ongoing processes that shape our lives as followers of Christ. These foundational truths guide our actions and decisions, helping us grow in our relationship with God. [01:04:15]
- Modern issues should be approached with a lens of sound doctrine, ensuring that our interpretations and applications align with the gospel's simplicity and truth. This requires discernment and a commitment to the teachings of Scripture. [01:04:15]
- As ambassadors of the gospel, we are called to share its transformative power with the world. Our faith should be evident in our lives, motivating us to live in a way that reflects the love and grace of Jesus Christ. [01:04:15]
Youtube Chapters:
- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:30] - Greetings and Acknowledgments
- [02:15] - Introduction to Titus
- [05:45] - The Importance of Sound Doctrine
- [10:20] - Teaching and Living the Gospel
- [15:00] - The Simplicity of the Gospel
- [20:30] - Faith, Repentance, Confession, Baptism
- [25:10] - Navigating Modern Issues
- [30:45] - The Role of Sound Doctrine
- [36:27] - Returning to the Basics
- [42:00] - The Power of the Gospel
- [48:15] - Living as Ambassadors of Christ
- [54:00] - Building on the Foundation
- [59:59] - Invitation to Embrace the Gospel
- [01:04:15] - Closing Prayer and Song
Study Guide
Bible Study Discussion Guide
Bible Reading:
- Titus 1:10 - 2:15
- 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
- Matthew 28:19-20
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Observation Questions:
1. In Titus 1:10-16, what are the characteristics of the rebellious people Paul warns against, and why must they be silenced? [36:27]
2. According to Titus 2:1-10, what specific instructions does Paul give to different groups within the church regarding sound doctrine and behavior?
3. How does 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 summarize the core message of the gospel, and why is this simplicity important? [59:59]
4. What does Matthew 28:19-20 command believers to do, and how does this relate to the sermon’s emphasis on sharing the gospel? [59:59]
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Interpretation Questions:
1. Why does Paul emphasize the need for sound doctrine in Titus, and how does this relate to the challenges of false teachings mentioned in the sermon? [36:27]
2. How can the simplicity of the gospel, as described in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, serve as a foundation for addressing modern issues within the church? [59:59]
3. In what ways does the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 challenge believers to live out their faith actively, and how does this align with the sermon’s call to be ambassadors of the gospel? [59:59]
4. How does the sermon suggest that the principles of faith, repentance, confession, and baptism are ongoing processes rather than one-time events? [59:59]
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Application Questions:
1. Reflect on your own life: Are there any distractions or complexities that have led you away from the core message of Jesus Christ? How can you refocus on the simplicity of the gospel this week? [59:59]
2. How can you ensure that your beliefs and practices align with sound doctrine, especially when faced with modern issues that challenge traditional interpretations of Scripture? [59:59]
3. Consider the ongoing processes of faith, repentance, confession, and baptism in your life. How can you actively engage in these practices to deepen your relationship with God? [59:59]
4. The sermon emphasizes the importance of teaching sound doctrine to all believers. How can you contribute to this within your own community or church? [36:27]
5. As an ambassador of the gospel, what specific steps can you take to share its transformative power with those around you? Identify one person you can reach out to this week. [59:59]
6. How can you apply the Great Commission in your daily life, and what challenges might you face in doing so? How can you overcome these challenges? [59:59]
7. Reflect on the role of sound doctrine in your life. Are there areas where you need to seek more understanding or clarity? How can you pursue this knowledge? [36:27]
Devotional
I'm ready to provide the 5-day devotional.
Quotes
"I think about teaching and kind of, I guess, the role that I play, and I've mentioned this a couple of times in my life. The more I do this, the more I realize the importance of what we teach and what we say and what we provide and what we are pulling out of Scripture and sharing as gospel truth." [00:36:01] (27 seconds)
"So do we even understand what the elementary teachings are? In Deuteronomy chapter six, typically we jump to verse four through six, hear O Israel, the Lord, your God is one God. And it talks about, these are the commands I give you. And I want you to read them when you're up and when you're down, put them on your hands, put them on your door facing and press them up on your children. You got to teach those things. But prior to that, these are the words, these are the commands, the decrees and the laws of the Lord, your God directed me to teach you. And I want you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess." [00:44:33] (34 seconds)
"This, I mean, laying it out. This is what I want you to understand so that you, your children and their children after them may fear your God as long as you live by keeping his decrees and commands." [00:45:07] (11 seconds)
"This whole series of things is about generation to generation. We're laying a foundation for what we can build upon. Todd asked me this past week, I mean, he's always pushing me to get to the next thing. Uh, and I appreciate that because it does keep me thinking. Um, but he said, so, so what's the next series after this? And I said, well, if we're building the foundation, the next thing, when you think about building a house, we can, we're going to be a Nehemiah. We're going to talk about building the wall or, or the structure or the things that give it support. What are those things that are necessary that go on the foundation, which will continue to dig deeper and deeper. But again, we've got to understand what are the foundations?" [00:45:18] (46 seconds)
"What are the things that we need to build upon? And so I said, well, if we're building the foundation, the next thing that matter go to that next verse that that's that's next hero is will be great be careful to obey so that may go well with you and you may increase greatly in this land that god is giving you we um i think we all pick and choose what we obey nobody want to amen that one um either you're afraid to amen it because you're thinking i'm i'm you know confessing here guilt that i like to pick and choose but we're to obey all of it not just part of it and look that doesn't mean we're going to be perfect we're going to mess some things up and we're going to do some really stupid things we're going to continue to make dumb decisions we're not going to treat people the way that we know that we should we're going to lie and we may even steal maybe not going into the store and grabbing the candy bar and putting into our pocket but you know we we do things that we know are wrong even though we know they're wrong but our goals should be more and more that we we seek to obey the things that are necessary but here's the problem in my opinion and and i i don't i want to lay this out this is this is my opinion we have complicated following christ so much that we don't even know the simple nature of what it means to be a follower of jesus so john macarthur says this he says the simplicity of the gospel gives what the complexity of human wisdom promises but never delivers we we've been over the years it seems like in in evaluating our teaching and our doctrine and a lot of things we've moved away from some things that were very foundational when the churches of christ began in the late 1800s early 1900s we stepped away from those and we start making these inroads and saying well that's what we believed it said then but that's not what we believe it says now some of that as we grow and as we change and as we read scripture don't you believe we mature so therefore we understand deeper what god is calling us to do and the way we see that but we have to be careful that we don't take something simple like the gospel of jesus and make it complex because we want to make it fit our life we want it to fit our culture we want it to fit our time and and let me just give you one and then i'm i'm not going into detail about this this is for something for you to chew on but let's just take the women's role for for right now and i'm just i'm just going to touch the top of this all right so i'm not going deep today but number one i don't have time and number two well we'll talk about that later but used to be it was very clear and defined right and not just the church's christ but all churches and it was taken out of very specific verses" [00:45:59] (179 seconds)
"it's simply Jesus Christ him crucified and resurrected everything should emanate from that everything has to come from the importance of that because when you start looking at that then you start to get the nature of who God is and how much God is love as first John tells us and so we don't get all mixed up we need to keep coming back to this and coming back to this Martin Luther is quoted as saying that we all need to preach the gospel to ourselves every day because we forget the gospel every day listen to that again because most of you are like what Martin Luther was once quoted as saying we should preach the gospel to ourselves every day because we forget the gospel every day and why do we forget the gospel because we get involved in life we get involved in all of the things that are going on we go to work and we have family issues and we have work issues we have school issues and we have neighbor issues and and we have car issues and we have financial issues and we wonder I mean we get all caught up in those things and we forget that really at the core and center of our life still needs to come back to Jesus and him crucified and let me go one step back into kind of the old school John this kind of this fit I don't know I believe in the providence of God doing things and and and you doing that today in my mind growing up there there was faith repentance confession and baptism now that doesn't that's not the end of it all and actually it was here believe repent confess and be baptized but we shortened it a little bit to go faith but think about the the importance of those concepts this to me is not these are not the steps of salvation these are the concepts involved in this in our salvation of understanding the simple gospel of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. We have faith in who he is and who God is and the fact that we are loved by him and we can't do anything on our own. And he loved us so much he sent Jesus. And we believe that this word that we call the Bible is the true word of God. So our faith drives us there and it keeps us going back to that and always connecting into the gospel. It's the faith that matters. The faith that we have in who God is and what he did for us in Jesus. Repentance." [00:53:00] (154 seconds)
"It seems like we have swung from, you know, always really telling everybody you got to change to God loves you just like you are. Come to him and he'll deal with it. But we never go to the repentance piece anymore. You know, some people have argued with me and said, well, we don't need to be teaching that we need to change. We don't need to be teaching that we need to change. We don't need to be changing our behavior. Yeah, we do." [00:55:35] (20 seconds)
"Jesus says we need to be changing our behavior. Paul writes many times as he's addressing churches, as you once were, you no longer are this. You are now this. And we live by the spirit and we do the things that the spirit calls us to do. No longer going to what the flesh calls us to do. And so repentance is a major core doctrine of what we believe. Are we continually repenting? Are we ongoing? Are we looking at ourselves and realizing that we are still sinners in need of the love of God and the blood of Christ on a daily basis and repenting of those things that we do wrong and asking for forgiveness and in confessing that Jesus is Lord, confessing our sins so that we can repent. But this confession that Jesus is Lord, we believe in who he is. Therefore, we're going to make you not only our savior, but you're going to be our Lord and you're going to be the one in control of everything that I do." [00:55:54] (61 seconds)
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