The Gospel: #1 The Gospel Begins With God

When was the last time you shared your faith? When was the last time you shared the gospel with someone who is far from God? Last week? A month ago? Never? Over the summer as we have been walking through the book Revelation, the Holy Spirit keeps bringing to mind this same truth over and over again: People need to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. People need to hear the good news of salvation that’s found in Jesus! But then, I realized that no matter how much the Spirit is impressing on me that people need to trust in Jesus, I also realized I need to do something about it. I need to start sharing the good news with my neighbors and friends. But something keeps holding me back. Do you ever feel like that? Do you ever have this growing conviction that you should share your faith, but there’s something keeping you from doing so? I definitely have. And I’m trying to put my finger on it.

As I’ve thought about this, I’ve found a number of reasons that keep us from sharing the gospel. One reason that keeps us from sharing is fear. You might be afraid that if you share your faith with a friend, you might lose that friend, because they might reject the gospel and perhaps reject you.

A second reason might be awkwardness. The fear of awkwardness is ingrained in many of us. We avoid awkward conversations like the plague. To talk about Jesus with a friend in Christ, well that’s easy. But to talk about Jesus with someone who you’ve never had a “spiritual” conversation with can feel awkward. So, we just don’t do it.

A third reason might be your inexperience. You’ve just never really shared your faith or the last time you tried sharing your faith nothing ever came of it, so you believe you’re just not cut out for this. So, you’ve stopped trying to share your faith.

A fourth reason might be that you’re not sure what to say. You don’t have a firm grip on the core truths of the gospel. Sure, you know Jesus died for your sins. You believe you’re going to heaven, but things get fuzzy after that, and you just don’t know what to say or where to begin.

A fifth reason might be that your love for God needs to be rekindled. You say that you love God, but your love for the things of this world has kind of squeezed out your passion for the things of God, so much so, that you’ve really lost your desire to share the gospel with lost people. So, there’s a number of things that can hinder us from sharing the good news. We need to overcome those things.

That is why beginning today we are starting a series on The Gospel. A series where God’s Word will not just equip you with the core truths of the gospel, but where God’s Spirit will move you to confidently bring the good news of Jesus Christ to anyone who needs to hear. So let me introduce this series by saying this:The Gospel Begins with God

In the book of Romans, Paul writes: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:16-17 The good news of salvation that comes through faith in Jesus Christ has its origin in God. The gospel is God’s idea, God’s plan and God’s purpose for reaching rebellious sinners and returning them to a life with God. But it’s not just His idea. For inherent in the gospel is God’s power to save us from our sin. We have no such power in us. We have no power to change our nature from an unrighteous nature to a righteous one. We have not power to reconcile our relationship with God. We have no ability whatsoever to save ourselves. Nor do we have the ability to save someone else.

That is why Paul is not ashamed of the gospel. He loves the gospel because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes. And the reason that this power is found in God alone, is in this term “power” revealed here. This Greek word, “dunamis” is the very term from which our word dynamite is derived. What it tells us is that inherent in the gospel, is God’s omnipotent power, a power that is able to save anyone who believes in Jesus – a power that can remove your sin and change your heart. For when the gospel of Jesus Christ is communicated, it is not simply words of good news that are being uttered. The very power of God is at work in those words to break through the hardness of the human heart and change it heart forever. Through the gospel God’s power is at work to break the power of sin, to give you faith in Jesus. Through the gospel God’s power is at work to change your destiny. Through the gospel, God has the power to change your relationship with Him. For through the gospel, God can forgive every sin you’ve ever committed. And God can give you a spiritual life you never thought possible. God’s power is at work in the gospel.

That is why Paul wrote to these words to the Corinthians: “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” 1 Corinthians 1:18. And “We preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:23-24

And that’s why the gospel begins with God. It is all of God and none of us. We cannot save ourselves by doing good works, by going to church, by performing religious rituals, or by any other human means. That’s why Paul says, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. Romans 1:16 So then, the starting point of our grasping the gospel must begin by understanding God why God gave us the gospel. And that begins by understanding what God’s Word reveals to us about His relationship with us. And the first truth about God’s relationship with us is this:

He is our Creator: He owns us In Scripture we discover that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And then we are told in Genesis 1:26-27 that God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 1:26-27 In other words, we are not the result of random chance and genetic mutations, gene reassortments, or chromosomal accidents. We are created. Every one of us is the result of an idea, a plan, and an action of God Himself. And this truth brings both meaning and responsibility to human life. To every life.

That is, not one of us is autonomous. Not one of us is completely free to run our lives as we please. Despite our constant talk of rights and liberty, we are not as free as we’d like to think. We are created. We are made. And therefore, we are owned. Or as the Psalmist wrote: Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; We are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Psalm 100:3 Therefore, since God created us, God has the right to tell us how to live. So, in the garden God told Adam which trees they could eat from, and which they could not. God was not on some power trip, like a big brother bossing his little brother around and making arbitrary rules just to see what would happen. No, for the Bible tells us that God is good. When He created Adam and Eve, He wanted what was best for them. So, He placed them in the garden to enjoy the abundance of His gifts to them. And then He gave them one law that was meant to protect them, preserve them and help them flourish: “You shall not eat from the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.” Genesis 3:3

God is no different today. His law is meant to protect us and help us flourish. But when we recognize that He created us, we see that He created us to know Him, to enjoy life with Him, and to trust that He knows what is best for us. But just as we saw in the garden, Satan, played out his strategy to get Adam and Eve to reject God’s goodness. He didn’t want them, nor us to believe that God has our best interests at heart. Instead, he wants us to believe that God is holding out on us. His strategy worked in the garden. Even though God created Adam and Eve in His image and gave them everything they needed to enjoy life with Him and one another – they chose to believe the lie of Satan rather than the truth of God and then chose to do what they wanted instead of what God wanted. They ate from the one tree God had forbidden them to eat. And it was this one act of rebellion against their Creator that is at the root of all sin today. Everyone wants to go their own way, even though they know that God is their Creator.

How do we know this? The Bible says: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So, they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Romans 1:18-21 In other words, since God is our Creator, we are accountable to Him. In spite of this, mankind choses to go their own way rather than trust in the God who created them. And this rebellion ruins our relationship with God. But thankfully, God didn’t let our rebellion end things. For from that moment on, God initiated a way to heal our broken relationship that was severed by our sin.

But before we look at that way, there is more we need to understand about our God. And the next characteristic we need to understand is this He is Holy: He is not like us Who among the gods is like you, Lord?
Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? Exodus 15:11 What does it mean for God to be holy? Our word for holiness comes from the Hebrew word, qadowsh, which means “to cut.” First, to be holy means to cut off, or separate, from everything else. It is to be in a class of your own, distinct from everything else that has ever existed or will ever exist. God is uniquely separate and different. There is no comparison to God. We can’t say God is like x, because there is nothing in all the universe that He is like. So, we really can’t describe God in His holiness, other than to say, He is utterly unique and different than anything or anyone He created. He is the only One of His kind. There is no one like our God. So, He is not like us.

John describes God’s holy nature this way: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5 There are no flaws in God, no deficiencies in His character that would lead Him to make an unloving choice. There are no shadows of sin that cloud His judgments or His wisdom. He is simply majestic in His holiness. And that’s a problem for us as His created beings. For since we are created in His image and likeness, we are to be a reflection His holiness. But we are not.

And the reason we are not, is that we are born with a sin nature. The nature that causes Adam to sin has been passed on to every person who has ever lived. That means there is darkness in us, not light. Our operating system is corrupted. It has a virus called sin that keeps us from glorifying God or obeying His commands. The Bible describes our corrupt nature this way: ”The sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.” Romans 8:7-8

Not only that, but since God is Holy and we are not, the Bible also says: “Your sins have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. Isaiah 59:2 This is why God seems out of touch to most people today. It’s because sin separates us from God’s holy presence. And that too is a problem. Because we are helpless to change our sin nature.

So, then, knowing that God is Holy helps us understand our need for the gospel. God knows that we can’t change our nature, so He did something to change us. He sent His Son to live among us, but to do so without sin. And since Jesus lived a holy life, He was then able to offer His life in place of yours. The Holy One died in your place on the cross to atone for your sins, so you could be made Holy and acceptable to God. That’s the heart of the gospel. The moment you put your trust in Jesus; you are forgiven of every sin. And Jesus makes you holy and acceptable to God. God does for you what you cannot do for yourself. He gives you a new nature, a holy nature, the moment you receive Jesus as your Savior. And that’s good news! That’s why He sent Jesus to die for us. Which leads to our next truth about God we need to understand:

He is Righteous: He condemns the guilty There are many truths about God’s character that are revealed in the gospel. Once again, His righteous character is paramount. But for some reason, our world has a hard time understanding this truth about God. The world wants to believe in a God of love. So, they love a Scripture like this one: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Exodus 34:6-7 But there’s something else in this passage that often gets left out, and it’s not quite so comforting. Do you know what he says right after he says he tells us that He is compassionate and loving? This: Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished” Exodus 34:7b

Take another look at that, because it explodes about 90 percent of what people today think they know about God. The loving and compassionate God does not leave the guilty unpunished… A common view of God is that He’s much like an unscrupulous janitor. Instead of really dealing with the world’s dirt- it’s sin, evil and wickedness – he simply sweeps it under the rug, ignores it, and hopes no one will notice. In fact, many people cannot conceive of a God who would do anything else. “God judge sin?” they say. “Punish me for wickedness? Of course He wouldn’t do that. It wouldn’t be loving.”

But despite all our protests, God’s love does not cancel out His righteousness. Scripture proclaims over and over that our God is completely righteous and just. Psalm 33:5 declares, “He loves righteousness and justice.” And Psalm 89:14 goes so far as to proclaim, “righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne.” Do you see what these verses are saying? God’s rule over the universe is founded upon His remaining forever perfectly righteous and just.

That’s why the idea of God as an unscrupulous janitor is so unsatisfying. It makes God out to be unjust and unrighteous. It makes Him a God who hides sin – or even hides from sin – rather than confronting it and destroying it. It makes him a moral coward.

And who wants a God like that? It’s always interesting to watch what happens when people who insist that God would never judge them come face to face with undeniable evil. Confronted with some truly horrific evil, with murder, rape, child molestation, then they want a God of justice – and they want him now. They want God to overlook their own sin, but not the terrorist’s. “Forgive me,” they say, “but don’t you dare forgive him.” Nobody wants a God who declines to deal with evil. They just want a God who declines to deal with their evil.

But thankfully, our God is not a moral coward. He does not compromise His holiness. He refuses to overlook sin. No, He loves righteousness and justice, so He condemns the guilty. Our God treats all sin with the justice it deserves. That’s why understanding God’s righteous nature helps us understand the gospel.
Then we begin to see our need for a Savior. For on our own, we don’t have what it takes to heal our broken relationship, we don’t have the power to change our sinful nature, and we don’t have the ability to make ourselves righteous. Left to ourselves we will get what we deserve. That’s the bad news. But God has made a way to change everything for us. And that’s what we see in this final characteristic about God today:

He is Gracious: He gives us what we don’t deserve The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. Psalm 103:8 For God to be compassionate means that He is moved by our plight. He loves us too much to leave us the way we are, separated from Him because of our sin. And He loves us too much to leave us condemned. So out of His abundant love He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve.

His grace goes beyond simply removing our punishment. His grace now gives us what we could never earn. First, by His grace God gives us Jesus. God gives us His perfect Son to be the perfect sacrifice for imperfect people. Second, God gives us redemption. He gives forgiveness to anyone who trusts in Jesus. Third, God gives us new life through Jesus. Once we were separated from life with God because of our sin. But the moment you trust in Jesus, God gives you a spiritual birth – creating in new heart and a new spiritual life in you. Fourth, God gives you a new family. When you believe in Jesus, He adopts you as His very own. And finally, God gives you salvation when you trust in Jesus. God does it all. God works His power to save us through the sacrifice of His Son. Just as God’s Word declares: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 This is why Paul wrote: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. Romans 1:16

So yes, God is our Creator: He owns us. God is Holy: He is not like us. God is righteous: He condemns the guilty. God is gracious: He gives us what we do not deserve. God gives us what we cannot give ourselves. God gives us salvation when we trust in Jesus. That’s the power of the gospel. That’s the good news we get to share. That’s the good news our world needs to hear. But before you can share it, you must first experience it yourself. You need to receive God’s grace to you that’s found in the gift of His Son Jesus. And that gift is received with you turn from your sin and trust in Jesus. Have you received Jesus? If you have, then it’s time to share the grace God gave you with everyone you see.