A Message About The Lord Jesus Christ

The Problem of Defining the Gospel

0:08 I'm sure that many, if not all of you, have heard phrases of this nature, gospel tracts,

0:18 gospel music, gospel preaching, gospel preaching church, someone is gospel hardened, gospel radio broadcast, and many similar phrases, all of which are prefaced with the word gospel. So, supposedly, all of these things are in some way to be a proclamation and explanation and application of what the scripture calls the gospel.

0:52 And yet, sad to say, much that is supposed to be gospel, whether found in tracts or over the airways or in churches, upon careful examination, proves to be something other than the biblical gospel, the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And so, I have directed your attention for several Lord's Days, last Lord's Day morning and again today, to this very fundamental question, what is the gospel? When is something constituted a true proclamation of the gospel? And last Lord's Day, we had... ...time only to address ourselves to several aspects of the biblical answer to this question.

1:47 We dealt, first of all, with the importance of the question itself. Why be concerned with understanding what the gospel is? My answer was couched in the words of the Apostle Paul in Galatians chapter 1, in which he indicates that anyone who would tamper with the gospel comes under the curse, the anathema of God, simply because...

2:09 ...the gospel is God's only remedy for man's deepest problem, the problem of his sin.

2:17 And therefore, when the gospel is tampered with, you are tampering with the only remedy for man's greatest problem. And then we considered, secondly, the source from which we would derive our answers to the question, what is the gospel? And of course, the only source is the word of God written. And in so doing, we are not to limit ourselves to one passage of Holy Scripture.

2:45 Many people, when defining the gospel, turn to 1 Corinthians 15 and say, here, Paul gives us the beginning, middle, and end of the gospel. He says, the gospel we preached unto you, by which you are saved, is this. Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, was buried, was raised again on the third day, according to the Scriptures. They say that's the beginning, middle, and end of it.

3:07 Well, it isn't. Paul is not...

3:09 He is not giving a comprehensive statement of the gospel in that passage. He is simply underscoring several essential elements of the gospel which were being attacked by heretics at Corinth. And therefore, he underscores those parts, those aspects of the gospel which needed emphasis in that setting. But by comparing other statements from the apostle, we came to the conclusion that the gospel is much more comprehensive.

3:39 It is much more comprehensive than the statement found in 1 Corinthians 15. Therefore, we must go through the gospel records, through the epistles, through the book of the Acts, and seek to catch something of the, what we would call, the irreducible minimum of content to the gospel. And then we began, in the third place, to consider the substance of our answer, having looked at the importance of the question, the source from which we would derive our answer. Then, what is the substance of that answer?

4:12 What is the gospel? And I suggested that the summary given by Dr. Packer in his book on Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God is an excellent outline to follow. And without apology or embarrassment, I am following that outline using his bones, but putting what I trust is my own flesh upon those bones, that is, the fruit of my own independent study of the word of God.

The Gospel as a Message About God and Sin

4:37 And last week, we saw... That the gospel is, one, a message about God, and secondly, a message about sin.

4:46 You see, the distinct blessings of the gospel are pardon of sin, justification, release from the guilt of sin, acceptance with God, adoption, and all of these great blessings which are utterly meaningless unless we start with God. For sin is not sin unless we...

5:09 ...see it in relationship to God, to His rights as Creator and Lawgiver, and His position as judge of the world.

5:18 And therefore, following the pattern of the apostle Paul in Acts 14 and in Acts 17, we must begin our proclamation of the gospel with God. God as Creator, God as Lawgiver, God as Sustainer of this universe, God as judge of the world. And when we're communicating the gospel, for the most part, in our generation, here in our own country, we cannot assume that men have any accurate understanding of the facts concerning God. And therefore, as the apostle Paul did, so we must do.

5:58 We must begin with God. And then secondly, it is a message about sin. Jesus Christ came to save men from their sins. If they have no understanding of their malady, they will only despise or distort the remedy.

6:16 And therefore, the gospel is a proclamation concerning the fact of sin, the nature of sin, the terrible bondage of sin. It sets forth, not in grotesque and exaggerated terms, but in blunt accuracy. And here it turns, how bad man is, that seeing what he is, he may be shut up to a remedy that is outside of himself. And no one ever seeks that remedy until he's stripped of all confidence in his own ability to fix himself up.

6:52 Man, by nature, is a do-it-yourself fixer-upper when it comes to the problem of his sin. And if he's to be disposed to embrace the gospel, he must see himself as the sinner, who is, in the words of but one chapter in the first eleven verses, described in four ways. I refer to Romans chapter 5. He is without strength.

7:18 He is ungodly. He is sinner. He is an enemy of God. So much for our review.

The Gospel as a Message About Jesus Christ: Explicit Assertions

7:27 The gospel is a message about God. It is a message about sin. And now, thirdly, the gospel is a message about the Lord Jesus Christ. And as we think our way through this aspect of our study, I shall first of all establish this fact, that the gospel is a proclamation concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.

7:53 And after establishing the fact, both by explicit assertions from the biblical writers, and by clear examples from their preaching, we shall then give a statement, and a specific analysis of that message. What do we mean a message about the Lord Jesus Christ? So then we shall establish the fact, and then we shall analyze the content of that message. Now it may almost seem redundant to some to assert the fact that the gospel is a message about the Lord Jesus Christ.

8:27 But if you will listen to and read that which is being passed off as gospel, the gospel in our day, you will understand that it is not superfluous to emphasize that the gospel is a message concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. That is, a proclamation of propositional truth concerning this person. In fact, we may say that the gospel has as its dominant note, its focal point, this proclamation concerning this person. Let's look at three or four of the explicit statements of the biblical writers. First of all, in the book of Romans, as the apostle Paul is setting out to give a detailed, systematic exposition of the gospel, for that's what the book of Romans is, he begins by saying in Romans 1 in verse 1, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God. He said, My whole life is to be understood in terms of my peculiar place in the plan of God. I am an apostle, an officially commissioned, sent one,

9:51 with reference to the gospel of God. Then he gives us some of the essential ingredients of that gospel. It is a gospel which he promised afore, through his ministry, through his prophets in the holy scriptures. In other words, Paul says that my gospel is simply an extension of the revelation of God in the Old Testament.

10:14 My gospel is not something that contradicts what the prophets have said. This gospel is not something that just begins in the first century A.D. No, no.

10:26 It is the gospel which was foreshadowed by type and by symbol. The gospel that was proclaimed by the prophets as they spoke of the grace of God and the coming of the Messiah. So then we may say the base of the gospel is the Old Testament scriptures that went before it. But now what is the focal point of the gospel?

10:48 Verse 3, concerning his son. There it is, three words. It is the gospel promised in the Old Testament, but the gospel which concerns his son. And there's a distilled essence of the gospel.

11:09 It is the message, the good news, which concerns his son. And then, of course, he goes on to describe in propositional form who that son was, as we shall see subsequently. But suffice. Suffice it to say, at this point, the apostle understands the gospel to which he was separated as an apostle.

11:32 The gospel prophesied by the Old Testament scriptures as a gospel which primarily concerns Jesus Christ, the son of the living God. Again, listen to this apostle as he speaks in 1 Corinthians chapter 2. As a gospel preacher, he came in the providence of God and under the direction of the Spirit. To the city of Corinth.

11:57 And there he was to proclaim this everlasting gospel. And he tells us what was its focal point. Verse 1 of chapter 2 in 1 Corinthians. And I, brethren, when I came unto you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom.

12:16 That is, I did not come in the role of philosopher or orator. The philosopher concerned with his speech forms. The orator concerned, I'm sorry, with his speech forms. The philosopher with sharing his insights.

12:31 He said, I did not come to share my notions, nor did I come to impress you with my elocution, with my ability to handle words and manipulate people. No, no. I came proclaiming to you the testimony of God. I came as a proclaimer.

12:51 I came with an authoritative voice. To proclaim God's testimony. Now, what is God's testimony? Well, he tells us.

13:01 For I determine not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him as crucified. And for the sake of argument at this point, you will notice that he says God's testimony is essentially a proclamation of a person. Jesus Christ. I proclaimed as a witness to God's revelation that unique person and the perfection of his work I preached Jesus Christ.

13:38 Now, Colossians chapter 1. Again, another explicit assertion that the gospel is a message concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Colossians chapter 1. The apostle says in verse 24, Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church, whereof I was made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which was given me to you word, to fulfill the word of God, even the mystery which hath been hid for ages and generations, but now hath it been manifested to the saints, to whom God was pleased to make known what is the truth. What is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Now, verse 28. Whom we proclaim.

14:37 There's the sum and substance of his proclamation. The great mystery of the gospel that has now been unfolded in its fullness is one that focuses upon the Lord Jesus Christ. And so he says, Whom we proclaim. Proclaim.

14:56 Admonishing every man, teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ. And then, of course, that classic statement in 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 5. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord. We preach Christ Jesus.

15:18 Now, could statements be more clear, brothers and sisters, that the gospel involves, a proclamation, not an anemic, half-hearted, entreaty, that somehow men might consider that perhaps these things may be so. No, no. It is an authoritative pronouncement concerning this person. So much for the explicit assertions.

The Gospel as a Message About Jesus Christ: Examples from Acts

15:46 Now let's look at four or five very clear examples of this in the preaching of the book of the Acts. Turn, please, to Acts chapter 5. And we'll just go quickly through several of these passages. And it's beautiful to see some of the rich theology and the historical narrative as given to us by Luke.

16:07 For the book of Acts is not what we would call bald history. There is no such thing. But it is the history of God's mighty doings through the apostles. And it's history that is reflected through the theological perspectives of, of the writer.

16:28 And so then, when we have such nuggets as these, they speak worlds to us. Acts chapter 5 and verse 42. And every day, concerning the apostles, and every day, in the temple and at home, they cease not to teach and to preach Jesus the Christ. They cease not to teach and to preach Jesus the Christ.

16:57 Now, did they simply stand up and say, hour after hour, Jesus is great, trust on him. Jesus is the Christ, believe him. Did they just sort of go into sloganism? No, no.

17:10 As we shall see, if we look through any of these sermons, there is tremendous argument. There is the connection of one thought to another. There are propositions concerning the facts of his life, the meaning of those facts. There is exposition, elucidation, application, amplification, all of these things.

17:30 But when you boil it all down, what is it? It is a preaching of Jesus the Christ. And then we turn over to Acts chapter 8 and verse 4. And they therefore that were scattered abroad, that is, after the persecution, went about preaching the word.

17:52 Now, what did that involve? What was this preaching of the word? Can we have, as it were, a distilled summary of what it was? And Philip went down to the temple, to the city of Samaria, and proclaimed unto them the Christ.

18:07 This was the heart, this was the soul, this was the lifeblood of their preaching of the word, a declaration of the Christ. Then again in Acts 8 and verse 12. But when they believed Philip, preaching good tidings concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. It was a proclamation of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ.

18:43 The name, of course, speaking of his character, who he is and his functions, what he came to do. But this again is a clear example of how the preaching of Christ was central. And then, as we read down to verse 35, we have the record of the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch. And you remember that wonderful incident how, by divine providence, the eunuch is reading that rich gospel portion from the prophecy of Isaiah, and Philip comes up into the chariot.

19:16 And what does he do? Verse 35 of Acts 8. And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this scripture, preached unto him Jesus. There it is.

19:29 The summary of all that he preached is this. He preached unto him Jesus. And now in chapter 9 and verse 20, speaking of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, God sends Ananias to him, officially commissions him. He is baptized.

19:48 And what's the first thing he does? First, we could take the beginning of the latter part of verse 19. And he was certain days with the disciples that were at Damascus, and straightway in the synagogues he proclaimed Jesus, that he is the Son of God. Now, could words be more plain?

20:12 That the great theme of the apostolic preaching was that of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, immediately this poses a problem or a question. Was this a mere parroting of the name of Jesus? Was it some kind of a semi-magical, superstitious chanting of his name, such as you may get in a Jesus people rally when someone cries out, Give me a J!

20:40 And they all give the J. Give me an E! And they all give an E. Give me an S!

20:44 And everybody gives an S. Give me a U! And it's sort of like a football match when they're spelling out the name of their favorite football player or the name of their team. Is this what the scripture is telling us?

The Necessity of Propositional Truth for Salvation

20:56 That there was some kind of a semi-magical, some kind of a superstitious chanting of his name and singing little songs about sweet Jesus for never telling us who he is, what he came to do? Or was it a setting forth of the Lord Jesus in propositional statements? That is, declaring specific things about his person and specific things about his work. Well, obviously, it was the latter and not the former because, and get hold of this, unless there is some understanding of the basic propositions concerning who Christ is and what he has done, there can be no salvation because there can be no faith. Saving faith is not exercised in a vacuum, nor is it saving faith if it is directed to a lie or if it is directed to a nebulous, undefined something called the gospel. Chapter and verse, alright? Romans 10 and 9 and 10.

22:14 What does the text say? Romans chapter 10, verses 9 and 10. Because if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, do you see what that involves? That means you have heard a message concerning Jesus of Nazareth and that he who was conceived in the virgin's womb is now the Lord of the universe.

22:52 He has been exalted to a throne of absolute sovereignty and unrivaled majesty and power. Furthermore, he says, and shalt believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Here then, you've heard the message in propositional form that this Jesus died and that his death was not for himself but had reference to the problem of human sin. But that having died, he was raised by God the Father, has been exalted to the place of Lord and he says, if this is the content of your faith, you shall be saved.

23:35 And the negative, the reverse is true. If you do not know that he is Lord, and you do not confess him with the mouth as an expression of the heart, acknowledgement and submission to that Lordship, and if you do not know that he died in the place of sinners, that he was raised for our justification, if there is not this irreducible minimum of propositional truth in the faith, exercise, it is not saving faith. It is only when these things are present that we have the promise, thou shalt be saved. When the Apostle Paul said to the Philippian jailer, in answer to his question, sirs, what must we do to be saved?

24:18 He did not say, simply have some kind of a Jesus experience. He said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And each one of those words of his official title are pregnant with theological meaning. They cannot be understood apart from propositional statements about him, both his person and his work.

24:43 Believe on the Lord. That is the one who is the sovereign ruler of the universe. Believe on that Lord who is Jesus of Nazareth that brings in the incarnation his true humanity. Believe on that Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Christ, that is God's anointed prophet, priest, and king, who is God's final word to man, who died in his priestly function and was raised and sits at the right hand of the Father, who is King, King of grace, as well as King of the world.

25:16 You see, there is no true faith apart from the propositional truths concerning this person. Having then established that this is not a matter of advanced Christian teaching, it's a matter of the gospel. We've asked the question, what is the gospel? The answer thus far has asserted it's a message about God, a message about sin, but it is in the third place a message about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Analyzing the Message About Christ: Uniqueness of Person

25:46 Having established the fact, the explicit assertions, the clear examples, now then, how should we analyze this? Break it down into specifics. What is the message about him that comprises the gospel? And let me suggest it is twofold.

26:06 It is a message concerning the uniqueness of his person, and secondly, a message concerning the perfection of his work. The gospel is a joyous proclamation concerning the uniqueness of the person of Jesus Christ, our Lord. That is, a proclamation of who he was and is as true God and as true man. Will you turn back to the Acts 9 passage for a beautiful example of how Paul's first exercises in gospel preaching focused upon this very aspect of our study. Verse 20 of Acts 9, And straightway in the synagogues he proclaimed Jesus, and what was the focal point of his proclamation? That he is the Son of God. Now you see, the focal point here was not so much upon his work, but upon the uniqueness of his person.

27:19 And to Paul's Jewish mind and to the minds of those involved in synagogue worship, this assertion of Jesus as the Son of God is nothing less than an assertion that Jesus is God the Son. Linguistically, it can mean nothing else, for you'll remember all throughout the gospels, particularly in the gospel of John, whenever Jesus made that claim of unique sonship to God who was Father, what was the reaction of the Jews? They took up stones to stone him because they said, he blasphemes, he calls himself the unique Son of God, making himself equal with God. And so the first focal point of Paul's gospel preaching was that of a propositional statement concerning the uniqueness of the person of Jesus. He was God the Son. And we find him emphasizing that again and again in his own writings.

28:25 I merely refer back to Romans 1. He says the gospel concerns Jesus Christ, made of the seed of David, according to the flesh, but declared to be Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead. And so the gospel is not at all reticent to confront men with this message. Almighty God who made you, Almighty God against whom you have sinned, Almighty God who will judge you, has in infinite, indescribable love and compassion sent a Savior to a world of lost rebel sinners, and that Savior is God in human form. It is God the Son who has come to our rescue. Our plight was such, and the demands of God's character such, that nothing less than the enfleshment of God could meet our need, could answer to our dilemma. And the gospel proclaims without tongue in cheek, without hesitation, without equivocation, that the Savior offered is God.

29:40 And any pulling back, any drawing in, any evasion of this, is a prostitution of the gospel of our Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ. One other example will suffice, I trust, and I've had to be arbitrarily selective. There is such a wealth of material.

30:02 What was the purpose of John's gospel? There's a sense in which we might say John's gospel is a lengthy evangelistic tract. And he tells us that. For he says in his own gospel, chapter 20 and verses 30 and 31, many other signs therefore, did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, that are not written in this book, but these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

30:38 And that believing, just believing, you see there's where the error comes in. Have faith. Just believe something, somehow about somebody called Jesus, and all is well. No, no.

30:50 And that believing what? Believing what the record was calculated to demonstrate. And what was it calculated to demonstrate? That Jesus of Nazareth was the anointed Messiah.

31:04 That he bore in himself all the dignity of that person. That he enacted by himself all the responsibilities of that office. And that he did so, not as an exalted man, not as a wonderful, wonderfully endowed prophet, but as nothing less than God the Son. And that believing this, ye may have life through his name.

31:33 And John is so concerned that whatever people understand about the power of Jesus Christ as they read his record, that they understand that it's the power of the incarnate God. For where did John begin his gospel? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that hath been made.

32:04 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. Then he says in verse 14, and the Word became life. My friends, there is no salvation if there is ignorance of the propositional truth that Jesus is God, or if there is rejection of that propositional truth. Oh, but I know some very sincere people who, my friend, listen, there is no salvation if there is ignorance of who Jesus is or rejection of what he's proclaimed to be as God.

32:43 The only faith that is the attendant of life is faith directed to Jesus the Christ, who is the Son of the living God. And so the gospel is a proclamation of the uniqueness of his person, that he is true God, but also that he is true man. So the apostle in speaking of the Lord Jesus, the theme of his gospel, says in Romans 1 and verse 3 that he is not only declared to be Son of God with power, verse 4, but in verse 3 he says, it is this gospel concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh. This gospel that focuses upon the Lord Jesus is the gospel not only of God incarnate, but of true manhood in the person of the Lord Jesus. And you'll find in the apostolic preaching in the book of the Acts, this emphasis that through this man salvation is preached. Acts 13.38,

33:53 Acts 2, Acts 2.22, a man of God approved among you by signs and wonders. And then that categorical assertion in 1 Timothy 2.5, there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.

34:10 And you see the biblical writers are careful to assert this. And they further assert that a denial of his true manhood is inconsistent with the state of grace. There is no salvation apart from faith in Jesus, the true man, who is also true God. So John tells us in 1 John 4 and verse 1, these words directed to one of the initial heresies.

34:39 And it's interesting that the first heresies denied not his Godhood, but his manhood. Those that were close enough to him in history could never deny the reality of his Godhood. There were too many people who had seen that which had no explanation but divinity. And so the first attacks of the devil came on the reality of his manhood.

35:00 And so John says in 1 John 4, 1, Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that confesseth not Jesus is not of God.

35:23 And this is the spirit of antichrist. You say, why is it so essential that we believe Jesus was a true man? Listen. If he was not a true man, there was no real death upon the cross.

35:37 And if there was no real death, there is no real pardon for our sins. For the wages of sin is death. And God must either mete out those wages upon the sinner who sins or upon the appointed and adequate substitute. And as long as his law says sin brings death, that law, unrelaxed, must demand death until it is satisfied.

36:06 And if Jesus Christ was no true man, there was no true death. And if there was no true death, there is no true salvation. And certainly there is no true ministry of the high priest, the great emphasis of Hebrews 2 and Hebrews 4. We have an high priest who is touched with the feeling of our infirmity.

36:27 He is tempted in all points like as we are. And we could spend three messages just expounding the implications of his true humanity. But in the interest of time, suffice it to say, any so-called proclamation of the gospel that presents Jesus Christ as some divine phantom or just some apparition of manhood is not the gospel. He is true man.

36:55 He is true God. And the only savior with whom we have to do is God and man joined in one person forever. And that's what the gospel is all about. It proclaims Jesus the Christ.

Analyzing the Message About Christ: Perfection of Work

37:13 It asserts in biblical language based upon the truth of that very Bible who Christ is. But it's not only a proclamation of the uniqueness of his person, it's a proclamation of the perfection of his work. And this can be approached from several angles. We could approach it from the standpoint of the offices he bears as the Christ.

37:35 You'll notice through the book of the Acts again and again, it is said that the apostles were asserting that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ. You say, well, why get all upset about that? Well, you're not thinking in a Jewish mentality. For you see, those to whom they ministered in the synagogues, the Jews and the proselytes scattered throughout the Roman Empire were very conscious of the whole Old Testament teaching concerning Messiah, the one who would be the deliverer of his people.

38:05 And they knew that as the anointed one he would bear the offices of prophet, priest and king and be the deliverer of his people. So their great concern was to identify that Messiah as Jesus of Nazareth. Once that was done and the Spirit of God opened the eyes and moved the heart to faith, then there was this wonderful realization that all the hopes and aspirations bound up in what we would call the messianic mentality were fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. So we could approach the perfection of his work that way.

38:41 We could approach it many ways. But again, in the interest of time, let me just show several verses of Scripture which clearly teach that the Gospel is a proclamation of the perfection of the work of the Son of God. In Acts chapter 2, in that specimen Gospel sermon, that Gospel sermon preached after the descent of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. What does Peter do?

39:16 He first of all clears away the notion that these people are looped so early in the morning. He tells them, no, they're not drunken. Too early in the morning. Notice he did not say they're not drunken because we've made a rule of absolute teetotaling for anyone who becomes a part of our congregation.

39:35 He says, no, it's too early. And then he goes on to say what has happened is just fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. And he quotes from the book of Joel. Then he goes on to show how Jesus Christ is the lodestone, the focal point, the watershed of all of this prophecy.

39:53 Beginning with verse 22, he speaks of the facts concerning the Lord Jesus. His miracles, his death, his resurrection. Then he says, and this resurrection along with this phenomenon of the outpoured Spirit is something that God had promised. Having stated the facts, he then quotes from David's Psalm showing that David, speaking as a prophet, was looking ahead and seeing the resurrection.

40:20 Having then asserted this, he brings his message to a climax. In verse 32, this Jesus did God raise up whereof we are all witnesses being therefore by the right hand of God exalted and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit he hath poured forth this which ye now see and hear. For David ascended not into the heavens but he saith himself the Lord said unto my Lord sit thou on my right hand till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet. Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God hath made him both Lord and Christ this Jesus whom he crucified.

41:01 What is he doing here? He is explaining various facets of the work of Jesus Christ. He's given the facts about his unusual and unexplainable life, a life that can be explained only in terms of the approval of God. Verse 22.

41:21 Then he speaks in verse 23 of the fact that his death was not primarily to be viewed as something which men concocted and enacted. He says he being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. What is he saying? He's saying his death was part of a plan.

41:44 His death was part of a plan. Oh yes, you're guilty of putting him to death but your act was simply the fulfillment of God's design. That's preaching concerning the work of Christ. That that work was done in fulfillment of his commitment to be the Savior of his people in obedience to his Father.

42:06 Then he preaches the resurrection. Then he preaches the ascension of Christ. Then he shows him as the one who receives the promise of the Spirit and who now actively sends forth that Spirit upon his church to animate and to give power and grace to that church that they may do his will. And he concludes with that wonderful assertion, in that present posture he is Lord and Christ, that is Messiah, even this Jesus whom you crucified.

42:35 Now what is all of this if we do not understand it as a proclamation concerning the nature and perfection of the work of Jesus Christ? You see, gospel preaching is not primarily bombarding the emotions and the wills of men trying to get them to do something for Jesus. It is a clear, scriptural, loving, logical, comprehensive declaration of who Christ is and what he has done in order that sinners may come into the presence of God forgiven and accepted on a just basis. I can remember time and time again when for those five years early in my ministry I was engaged in what would be called now an evangelistic ministry, and pastors and Christian workers after listening for a night or two would take me aside and say, you know, we are not quite getting what we thought we would get. I said, what do you mean? Well, we plan these as evangelistic meetings and you are really not an evangelist.

43:51 I said, oh, what am I? Well, you are more a Bible teacher. I said, tell me more. I know what they are, but I wanted to get it out of their own mouth so I could then turn it on them and use their own ammunition.

44:02 And when you boiled it all down what they were saying is this, when we call an evangelist we think in terms of someone who will come, quote a text, tell a bunch of stories, move the emotions and then exhort and cajole and clobber people to try to get them to make a decision. We don't want their minds instructed. We don't want careful exegesis. We don't want a logically structured argument.

44:29 No, no. We want someone who will put all the heat and pressure upon the affections, the emotions and the will. And it was my wonderful joy to challenge people and say, show me one verse in the Bible that says that is evangelism. Evangelism in the book of the Acts starting with Acts 2 and this is the specimen portion, this is the framework within which all the rest of it fits was a proclamation of the facts concerning the person and work of Jesus Christ the Lord.

45:04 Then we see that in the apostle's words that we quoted in the beginning of our study this morning, 1 Corinthians 15. What was the gospel by which the Corinthians were saved? Well, it involved as one of its dominant notes these facts. 1 Corinthians 15, Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye received, wherein ye stand by which ye are saved, if ye hold fast the word which I preached unto you, except ye believed in vain.

45:36 For I delivered unto you first that which I also received. And what was it? That Christ died for our sins. This is a propositional statement.

45:48 It starts with this person, Christ. What happened? He died. What was the rationale for his death?

45:55 For our sins. We are sinners. We cannot deliver ourselves. Christ died in our room instead.

46:03 Died for our sins. Furthermore, Paul says, this was all according to the scriptures. And when we read Acts 17 and similar portions, the first few verses, we realize that what he's saying is when he made the assertion, he then took them to the scriptures like we're doing this morning and showed them that these facts about Christ's person and work perfectly accorded with the Old Testament scriptures. That's biblical evangelism.

46:28 And he says, I went on to say to you that he was buried, spoke of the reality of his death, and that he had been raised on the third day according to the scriptures. And then that he appeared to this one and to that one, establishing the validity, the historicity of these facts. He said, that's the gospel I preached. It wasn't a gospel that tried to titillate your feelings.

46:53 It wasn't a gospel that came with ramrod pressure upon your will. It was this gospel asserting these blessed facts. So then, in summary, we may say the gospel is a proclamation of the following facts about the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Number one, their historical reality.

47:17 In space and time, this man lived. This God-man. If you had been there when he was a little boy running down the street, the sand that he kicked up would have gotten in your eyes and made them burn. He had real feet that kicked up real sand.

47:35 The historicity of these facts. Secondly, the substitutionary nature of what he did in life and death. All of the biblical words, died for, made sin for, made a curse for us, gave his life a ransom for many. The gospel asserts not only the historic reality of the life and death and resurrection and ascension of Christ.

48:05 It asserts the substitutionary nature of all of those events. He did those things on behalf of others. Thirdly, the gospel asserts the finality and acceptability of what he did. He cried out, it is finished.

48:22 And the gospel proclaims to all who believe in him, nothing more can be added to that work. He fully satisfied the demands of divine justice. There is a finality to all of this. And this, of course, is the proclamation of Peter and salvation in none other, no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.

48:47 And fifthly, they always asserted its suitability. Acts 13, 38 and 39, Paul says, to you is this word of salvation. Salvation sent. In Acts 10, Peter says, we can be justified through him from all things from which we could not be justified by the law of Moses.

49:10 These four concepts, historical reality, substitutionary in nature, finality and suitability, these form the heart of the proclamation of the gospel of our Lord and Jesus Christ, our Savior Jesus Christ. And in preaching in this way, they were simply fulfilling the mandate of their Lord as given in the last part of Luke chapter 24, verses 45 to 48, in which our Lord opens the scriptures to his own and he tells them that it was necessary for Christ to suffer and that he should be raised from the dead the third day and that repentance and remission of sin should be preached in his name among all the nations.

Practical Application: Uniting Person and Work

49:59 The heart of the gospel is that glorious announcement about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Christ the Lamb of God dying for sin, Christ the risen Lord ruling the universe and dispensing the spirit, Christ the high priest interceding. In short, the gospel is a proclamation of Christ, the perfect, freely offered Savior to all sinners. Without distinction. Now, in conclusion, this morning I want to draw out several lines of practical application and exhortation.

50:38 And the first one is this. As you and I have the privilege of proclaiming the gospel as witnesses in our own sphere and according to our own God-given gifts and opportunities, we must be careful that we do not separate the biblical witness concerning the person and the work of Christ. We must never present Christ in his person separated from his work. And we must never present his work separated from his person.

51:09 And Dr. Packer has some very perceptive things to say along these lines. We may speak in glowing, accurate biblical terms about the glory of Christ's person, but listen, it is not Christ in isolation from his work that saves, it is the Christ who accomplished the work. By his incarnation, his life of obedience, his terrible death upon the cross, by his resurrection and ascension to the right hand of the Father, the object of our faith is the person, yes, but never the person divorced from his work.

51:47 In other words, you cannot contemplate Christ upon his throne apart from Christ upon the throne by way of a virgin's womb and a bloody cross in an open tomb. That's the only Christ who is set forth in the Gospel. Hence Paul could say, I determined to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ, his person, and him as crucified, his work. Person and work are fused.

52:14 Therefore, never present the person without the work, but then do not present the work without the person. And that's been the great and tragic error of modern evangelicalism. The atonement of Christ has been made the object of faith. And Gospel tracts and Gospel broadcasts and Gospel everything are asserting if you'll admit you're a sinner and believe that Christ died for you, you will be saved.

52:43 The object of faith in the New Testament is not the atonement. The object of faith is the atoner. The object of faith is not the cross. It's the Christ who hung upon the cross.

52:57 The object of faith is nothing other than the Lord Jesus. And you find again and again men are directed to believe in or into the prepositions eis or en in the original. And the object is always the Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus Christ, and not any one of his works in isolation. And so I plead with you as God's people concerned with the propagation and preservation of the Gospel, be careful that there is no separation of the person from the work or the work from the person.

Practical Application: Defending the Gospel's Essentials

53:36 And then secondly, in our defense of the Gospel, we must be bullish and adamant and inflexible in maintaining all of its essential elements. If we relinquish what the Scripture says about the uniqueness of his person, it's only a matter of time before there's an absolute despising of his work. If we relinquish what the Scripture says about who he is, it's only a matter of time before there'll be little if any concern about what he did. And then we make our own Gospel in its place.

54:11 We must be bullish, we must be adamant, we must be inflexible in maintaining the uniqueness of his person as true God. Therefore, this gives worth to all he did, true man, which gives reality to all he did. And we must be adamant about the sufficiency of his work, that he died upon the cross not to make salvation possible, but to redeem an innumerable company whom no man can number. And in that death he purchased not only their title to life, but purchased every gift and grace necessary to bring them into life, so that we find in the apostolic record he is described as the one whom God has exalted as a Prince and a Savior for to give repentance and remission of sins. Acts 5 and verse 31. Now someone may ask, Pastor Martin, is it really this necessary to be so fastidious about maintaining the gospel? If we're defective in the gospel just so long as we live well as Christians, listen, get this, if you've missed everything else, I hope you haven't, but get this, the gospel in its unadorned simplicity and in its broad comprehensiveness is the basis of all true motivation in the Christian life.

55:30 And the minute you misunderstand the gospel you're crippled in the Christian life. Let me illustrate. When the Apostle Paul would urge the grace of humility upon Christians, how does he do it? He starts from his base or uses as his base the reality of what's involved in the person of Christ.

55:51 That he was true God and that he became true man. Philippians 2. Let's look at this. Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus who being in the form of God thought it not a thing to be grasped after, to be equal with God but made himself of no reputation.

56:15 You see, he could assume that in the minds of those Philippian believers was this conviction Jesus is God. And if as God he humbled himself to become a man, what incentive do I have to humility to humble myself before my fellow creatures? If the creator humbles himself to become what he never was, true man, who am I to go strutting around maintaining my rights before my fellow mortals? You see, the Godhood of Jesus is the starting point of an exhortation to humility. Now the same is true for those who love in their relationship to each other. Where does he start? He says, Husbands, love your wives even as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for it.

57:15 That's vigorous substitutionary language. It can't be understood any other way. So the reality of his vicarious death becomes the pawn to husbands that they might be husbands after the pattern of God. Now, we must understand that the exhortations and the perspectives of the Christian life are rooted in the simplicity and the comprehensiveness of the biblical gospel.

57:50 Now, you know why we're in such a mess in our evangelical churches today? It's because the gospel is not maintained in its vigor and comprehensiveness. There is a weakening in the Christian life. Let me illustrate that.

58:13 If people are not clear on who Christ is, that he is Lord, and all they hear about Jesus Savior, Jesus Savior, Jesus Savior, is it no wonder that there is a practical antinomianism throughout the ranks of the visible church? You can look at some part of the show, but you can't look upon a pierced, risen Lord seated upon the throne of the universe without doing one of two things, saying, I don't want you on that throne, or fall at his feet and say, my Lord and my God. You see, it's a defective preaching in the climate of shallowness in worship. How can people dare, and we don't question their sincerity, how can people dare to spin out their little ditties about the man of Galilee? He holds my hand.

59:24 Maudlin sentimental dribble. I'll tell you why they've got defective views of the person of Jesus Christ. That's right. If they begin to get adequate views of him, wonder in the presence of him who is God.

59:43 And hymnody never rises higher than the present consciousness of who Jesus is. Why is there all this tawdry, sentimental pleading with people to do the Son of God a favor by making a decision for Christ? It's a defective view of his work. They don't see him as God until the almighty sinner puts everything in motion by his decision.

60:18 When we see that he's an exalted Lord who in condescending love and mercy bids sinners to come to him but does not bid them with a sentimental shriveling kind of plea but who bids them with regal and gracious authority. What a difference in our evangelism. But we will not, as it were, present the Son of God looking over the battlements of heaven weeping with disappointed and frustrated desire because he died for so many who will never do him the favor of cashing in on his death. My friend, that's not the gospel. The gospel is he died to purchase an innumerable company out of every one of us and that gracious God and Savior commands you to bow before him and acknowledge his Lordship. Embrace him as your only Savior. Give yourself up to him to be his for time and eternity and all that he purchased for sinners is yours in him.

Conclusion and Exhortation

61:34 I don't have time to develop the thesis but I believe it's sound and I believe it's essential to the maintenance of biblical Christianity. May God give to us a discerning mind. May God give to us a spirit that is determined by his grace at any cost to proclaim that gospel, to defend that gospel. But oh dear people, my great joy this morning is to say that's the gospel we stand here to preach and I care not for what may be.

62:14 I can say to you on the basis of this blessed word, this is a faithful saying worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. The gospel proclaims God is your Creator. The gospel proclaims that you are a sinner and the gospel proclaims that Christ is the Savior accepted by him and find pardon for all of their sins. Oh dear friend, you need not wait till next week.

62:54 Here in this place this morning as God by the Spirit applies the word to your conscience believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Let us pray. Our Savior Jesus Christ. We marvel that such great and lofty facts should ever have been conceived in your mind and then revealed in time and wrought out in the history of him who is our Savior and Lord.

63:36 But we do bless you this morning and thank you that in your sovereign purpose and that many of us can praise you that it came to us not only upon the external ear but by your grace our hearts were opened to embrace that gospel and the Savior that it held forth. And by that same operation of grace we have been drawn to repent and to believe and in believing we have found pardon and peace and accurate understanding of what the gospel is and then give us hearts that are determined by your grace to proclaim and defend that gospel and oh Lord we pray that we may in turn adorn that gospel in our lives that more and more with each passing day we may find every area of life under the motivating influence of the Holy Spirit and that we may be able to do what we have done and that we may by your grace feed upon him who is our light who loved us gave himself for us

65:05 and even now intercedes on our behalf and then oh Lord we would be bold to pray to the Lord for the people who have been told that all is well and that all they need is a little religion and a little good effort and a little good intention Oh God may your word preach this morning fasten itself upon the conscience of your Holy Spirit who enables us to understand it and to walk by its light we plead these things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ Amen