What is the Gospel: A Hill To Die On

The mayor was right. There won't be an interview. And it won't even be close. Nobody. Nobody. Nobody. Not the pope. Not the pastor. Not the priest. Not the president. Not the most awesome moral person you've ever met. Nobody. The biggest do gooder you've ever met will not go to heaven without one thing, the atonement of Christ applied on their behalf and his righteousness imputed to them by grace through faith. [00:04:15] (44 seconds)  #AtonementByGrace

Though there are things that we can disagree agreeably about, the essentials of the gospel are non negotiable. He is Lord and savior. That's non negotiable. He is Lord. He is the right king. He is God's appointed Messiah. He is Lord. But he is a king who came to die and suffer and give his life a ransom. He's the one who came and said, I came to seek and save the lost. He's the one who died a bloody, miserable death upon the cross. So he is Lord and savior. [00:07:05] (45 seconds)  #GospelNonNegotiable

That's why I wanna sort this out. What is the gospel? The gospel is that Jesus is Lord and he is savior. He's the one to whom we owe everything. He's the one toward whom we've been created to do good works. Yes. But he is the one who enables this through his own sacrificial death on the cross and his victorious resurrection. [00:09:09] (27 seconds)  #JesusEnablesUs

God is the creator to whom we as the creation are accountable. You're you're not autonomous like you think you are. I know you have free agency. I know you make decisions based on your own will from moment to moment. But ultimately, you do not exist upon the earth as as a free, total, unaccountable being because you are a created being. You say, well, yeah. I feel like I do what I want. Yeah. But whose air are you breathing? Out of whose earth do you eat your vegetables? Who created the animals that you enjoy when you eat? You are God's creation, and you are accountable to this God. [00:14:04] (50 seconds)  #CreatedNotAutonomous

Living in unbelief really is a suppression of the creator God's revelation. When God says, and you say, uh-uh. When God says this, and you say, oh, no, that instead. You're suppressing the right of the creator God. Did you pick your birth date? Did you pick your family of origin? Did you pick the culture into which you were born? Did you have any dealings in any of that? Did you? Brethren, will not pick your death date either. And you will not have a standing before the judgment of God without one to stand as your advocate, the Lord Jesus Christ. [00:15:53] (55 seconds)  #NeedChristOurAdvocate

They knew God. That's what it just said in verses twenty and twenty one. They they knew God, but they became futile in their thinking. What does futile mean? It means useless. It means your mind is not working right. This is why you may be sitting here today in unbelief. Maybe someone invited you to church today, and you've never surrendered to Jesus. You you kinda believe that he lived and died and rose. You you kinda have this in your mind that this is probably true. This doesn't produce the new birth. This doesn't make you right with God. What's holding you back? The futility of your mind. [00:19:21] (46 seconds)  #FutileMindNoNewBirth

You say, well, that's quite an indictment. I don't worship images resembling man, birds, animals, or creeping things. I don't worship idols. Oh, but you do. Any human who does not observe his own creator, the one giving him the air he breathes and the nourishment of life, anyone who does not worship this creator is in fact worshiping something else, someone else Might be your career, might be your family, might be your bank account balance, might be your business hopes and dreams. It might be your romantic interests. Everyone is worshiping someone. I commend to you what Paul commends, that God is glorious and worthy of worship, and he calls all people to worship him. [00:20:55] (62 seconds)  #EveryoneWorshipsSomeone

And we have our own experiences, don't we? Your family of origin perhaps was difficult. Maybe you grew up in a in a Christian environment that was that was cruel and oppressive and legalistic or otherwise confusing to you. We all come from somewhere. Wherever you come from, come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe upon him because he is God's appointed Messiah and he is the one who saves all who will believe upon Him. He is the one who saves to the uttermost all who will come to Him by faith. This is the call to you today. You can let go of whatever it is that might be a higher priority in your life and and and cling to the savior. You can do this today. [00:22:43] (50 seconds)  #ComeToChristToday