All right, so we're continuing our soul winning series, and we're up to part two in the series.
Part one, I preached on Sunday morning, which was on the importance of soul winning.
And I told you guys part two will be on the power of God unto salvation.
Part three will be on presenting the plan of salvation, Lord willing I'll get through
that on Sunday.
And then part four is we are the ambassadors for Christ.
And so that has to do with our conduct, right?
That's how we ought to behave ourselves, we ought to behave ourselves as ambassadors,
not as troublemakers, but as ambassadors.
And so I think I might have another part as well, we'll see how how things go, how things
develop as I put this series together.
But as I said, part two is on the power of God unto salvation.
So the only verse that I want to look at there is Romans chapter one, verse number 16, Romans
chapter one, verse number 16.
And before we read it, I just want you to think about soul winning.
Think about, you know, what you believe, whether you're experienced as a soul winner, or whether
you've never done it before, just what comes to mind, you know, and just keep this to yourself.
But when you think about someone going and preaching the gospel of seeing someone saved,
what is it that crosses your mind?
What is it that what are the main things that you believe, make up that ministry?
What is the most important part of that ministry?
And well, the Bible tells us what is the most important part, because the reason we preach
the gospel brethren is because we want to see people get saved.
We want people to enter into that salvation.
That is a free gift through Jesus Christ, our Savior.
That's what we want to achieve, right?
And so some people will have different ideas as to how is it that I get someone over the line?
You know, is it my, is it the way, is it my personality, you know, that I get them saved?
Well, that can play a part.
Is that is that how I introduce myself?
Is that, you know, well, you know, that plays a part.
You know, every aspect of our soul winning work, you know, whether it's introducing yourself,
how you introduce yourself, how you speak, all of these things play a part in helping
that person get saved.
But there is a part that is essential to their salvation.
Because here's the thing, you can mess up all these other things, okay?
But there is one part that is essential, that if you don't cover this topic well enough,
they're not going to get saved, or they're going to make a false profession of faith.
Okay?
They're going to pray some prayer, they're going to do the one, two, three, repeat after
me prayer, because they have not understood the most important part.
And that's there in verse number 16.
Look at it again.
Romans chapter one, verse number 16, it says, for I am not ashamed of what?
Of the gospel of Christ.
Then it says this, for it is the power of God unto salvation, to everyone that believeth,
to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
So we often throw this word gospel around, don't we?
Gospel, the gospel, gospel, that's important.
But why is it so important?
Because it says, for it is the power of God unto salvation.
What is the power of God unto salvation?
What is it that causes somebody to be in a lost state on the way to hell, not having
salvation that gives them the power to be saved?
What is it brethren?
Is it how you introduce yourself?
Is it your personality?
Is it your step by step process of how you give the plan of salvation?
No, it's the gospel of Christ that is the power of God unto salvation.
So as I told you, brethren, the title for the sermon this evening is the power of God
unto salvation.
We must have the power.
Jesus Christ says he has all power in heaven and earth.
He told us that when we receive the Holy Ghost, we're going to receive power to be witnesses
unto him.
And so we need to use the power of God in order to get someone saved.
Do you think about that, brethren, when you lead someone in prayer?
When someone has confessed they've believed on the gospel, do you think about, hey, I've
just utilized the power of God to see this person saved?
That's exactly what took place.
You utilize the power of God.
But specifically here, we see that the power of God is the gospel of Christ, okay?
So we must include the gospel in our presentation.
You say, of course, I know that, Pastor Kevin, and I know you know that, okay?
So here's the thing.
If you can please turn to 1 Corinthians 15, please, 1 Corinthians 15.
People ask the question, what is the gospel of Jesus Christ?
I mean, is it really that complicated?
And it's not complicated.
In fact, even those that falsely call themselves Christians, even the unsaved Christians claim
to believe the gospel.
They claim to believe the gospel, okay?
And so because so many so-called Christians, yes, even the Catholics, even the Orthodox,
even all your Protestant churches that you know believe in some type of works-based gospel
will claim to believe the gospel as we know it.
And so quite often, because they claim to believe the gospel, we don't touch on it as
we should.
We think, well, you already understand it.
And so we move on to other things.
But you must understand, this is the power of God.
The reason this person is not saved is not because they don't know what the gospel is,
it's because they don't understand the gospel.
And it's your job to cause people to understand the gospel.
What does it mean?
What was it used for?
Why this process?
What is it?
What's the purpose behind it?
Well, 1 Corinthians 15, verse 1, please, 1 Corinthians 15, verse 1.
Paul says here to the Corinthian church,
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you what?
The gospel, which I preach unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand
by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye
have believed in vain.
So what does the Apostle Paul say?
He says, Look, I preach unto you, I preach something to you.
In verse 1, he says, Look, I declare to you the gospel which I preached unto you.
You can see there that Paul is making sure that they understand what is the power of
God unto salvation.
It's the gospel that Paul preached to the Corinthian church.
Look at verse number 3.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received.
He says, Look, I've delivered to you the gospel which I also received.
I was given the gospel.
That's what saved me when I believed the gospel.
Now I'm giving you the same message gospel.
Okay, I'm not preaching some other gospel.
So many people believe that, or not so many people, but there is a group of people that
believe that Paul preached some brand new gospel that nobody's ever heard before.
No, Paul says, Look, I'm delivering to you the same thing that I received, the same gospel
that I received.
I'm preaching this to you.
What does it say?
He says, it keeps going, how that Christ, now this is the gospel, here it is, how that
Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that
he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.
What's the gospel, brethren?
The death, the burial, the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ that took place three
days later.
That is the gospel.
Now you say, Well, hold on, don't the Catholics believe that?
Don't they believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross, and three days later resurrected
from the dead?
I mean, those of you that are former Catholics, doesn't the Catholic Church teach that?
That's what took place?
So have they got, but are they saved?
Okay, so wait a second, right?
You know, all these other so-called Christians claim to believe this truth.
I mean, you cannot claim Christianity without believing this truth, without knowing this
truth.
But let me tell you, there are so many people that overlook what Jesus Christ has done,
they don't understand what Jesus Christ has done.
And because they do not understand what took place, therefore they cannot believe the gospel
and they cannot be saved until they understand the gospel.
And if the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, this means this must be a very
important part of our gospel presentation.
Now part three of this series is on how to give the gospel, like a plan of salvation,
how to give it, but I just wanted to give this gospel piece alone, the death, burial
and resurrection, its own sermon, because this is the most important part.
Is it important to teach people that they're sinners?
Yes.
But telling people they're sinners, is that going to get them saved?
Is that the power of God unto salvation?
No.
It's telling them that as a sinner, they deserve hell.
Is that important to cover?
Yeah.
But is that the power of God unto salvation, that the eternal destination for the non-believer
is hell?
No.
That's not the gospel.
Okay.
That's not the power of God unto salvation.
All right.
You know, so we need to understand that there are a lot of elements that make up our gospel
presentation, but the most important part, the power of God that will lead that person
to salvation is the gospel message, the death, the burial and resurrection.
You say, Pastor Kevin, we know this.
Yes.
Okay.
You know this.
But here's what you need to be able to do when you preach the gospel.
You have to explain it to a non-believer.
You have to explain not just what took place, which people already know, you know, praise
God that we, you know, as Australians, we celebrate Easter and people, you know, once
a year have been reminded of what Jesus Christ has done besides the Easter bunny and the
chocolates, but they're kind of reminded about what Jesus Christ has done on a yearly
basis so they understand that fact, but they don't understand what that means in terms
of salvation.
So that's why you have to come in and explain that to other people.
That's the power of God unto salvation.
Can you please turn, you're in 1 Corinthians, please turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 1.
1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse number 17.
Say, why are you preaching this, Pastor Kevin?
This seems very basic.
It does seem very basic.
But here's the thing.
Look, and I've made this mistake.
I'm not trying to criticize anybody.
You know, if you're just, if you're getting out and you're preaching the gospel, I'm thankful
for you.
I praise God for you, okay?
But one thing that I've observed, not just here, but also at New Life Baptist Church,
is that from time to time, quite often, people will not completely overlook the gospel, but
just quickly, you know, they might spend, you know, literally less than a minute on
the gospel and move on.
When this is the power of God unto salvation, this ought to be the part that you explain
the most.
And I truly believe that if you explain this properly, people will not have the confusion
or people are not going to come back and make an argument for some other form of salvation
or trying to debunk what you're saying.
If you've done a good job, explain the gospel message.
Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse number 17.
1 Corinthians 1, 17 says here, For Christ sent me not to baptize but to preach the gospel.
So one thing you notice straight away, that if the gospel is the power of God unto salvation,
that does not include baptism, alright?
Baptism is a work, baptism is a good thing, we're a Baptist Church, okay?
It shows us that you have made a public, you're making a public confession that you've believed
on the Lord Jesus Christ, that you've believed the gospel, that's why we do it, but baptism
is not the gospel.
You notice that?
For Christ sent me not to baptize but to preach the gospel.
Now let's keep going, because what did we see what the gospel was?
The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
Look at this.
Not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
So notice, the power of God unto salvation, the gospel is referred to here as the cross
of Christ, okay?
So we preach the cross of Christ, not with wisdom of words.
I don't care how wise you think you are, brethren, if you don't include the cross,
if you don't include the gospel, that person's not going to get saved.
If you don't explain the gospel, if they don't understand the gospel, they're not going to
be saved.
They might pray with you, but I'm telling you, they're going to be a false convert because
they've not understood what Christ did for them on the cross, okay?
Let's keep going.
It says, verse number 18, for the preaching of the cross.
What did it say in verse number 17?
To preach the gospel.
What did it say in verse number 18?
The preaching of the cross.
Preaching the cross is the gospel, okay?
Look at this.
Is to them that perish foolishness, look at this, but unto us which are saved, it is the
what?
The power of God.
Once again, what is the power of God unto salvation?
The preaching of the cross.
The death, the burial, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
That's the gospel.
I'm just showing you how important this is and how consistent the Bible is, talking about
the gospel being the cross.
This is what we must emphasize.
This is what we must teach.
They must understand why is it that an innocent man, the God-man, Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, right?
Why is it that he had to die on a cross?
Because if they understand that, then they can understand salvation, right?
Let's keep going.
Verse number 19.
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and will bring to nothing the
understanding of the prudent.
Where is the wise?
Where is the scribe?
Where is the disputer of this world?
Have not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
For after that, in the wisdom of God, the word by wisdom knew not God.
It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
Now notice what else comes with that, right?
Preaching the cross, preaching the gospel is the method by which God has used for people
to believe on Jesus Christ.
You see that?
We've covered that in part number one, that when God needs a man, God needs a preacher
to go out boldly and preach the gospel.
You see that once again.
That's what we must do in order for people to believe.
Look at verse number 22.
For the Jews require a sign, but the Greeks seek after wisdom.
So the Jews what?
They want signs to believe or whatever they want to believe on.
The Greeks, the Gentiles, they're looking for wisdom.
Hey, what we preach is foolishness to people.
Okay?
But look at this.
What do we do?
Do we give them the signs?
Do we give them the wisdom of this earth?
No.
Verse number 23.
But we preach Christ, what?
Crucified.
Where was he crucified, brethren?
On the cross.
That's where the power of God of salvation is, right?
We preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the Greeks foolishness,
but unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks.
Look at this.
Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God.
So what is the power of God once again?
Christ.
Christ crucified.
I have to just really nail this home for you, okay?
So if we see that Christ crucified, his death on the cross, his burial, his resurrection,
if this is the gospel and the Bible tells us this is the power of God unto salvation,
then how important is it in our gospel presentation?
It's vital.
Okay?
So here's what I'm trying to tell you.
If you're already an experienced soul winner, I want you to assess within yourself, am I
emphasizing the cross enough or am I emphasizing other things?
I truly believe if you emphasize the cross the proper way, you're not going to have arguments
afterwards.
People receiving the gospel, believing in Christ is going to be easy once they understand
why Jesus Christ had to die on the cross.
What took place?
What transaction took place?
Why was that the method by which Christ had to shed his blood?
Okay?
So it's not something we ought to glance over.
It's not something that ought to take 30 seconds of our time.
We ought to be spending quite a lot of time on this one fact.
This is the power of God unto salvation.
Now can you please turn to Romans chapter 10 and verse number 15, please?
Romans chapter 10 and verse number 15, we did read this passage on Sunday morning and
I just want to show you once again what the, you know, when we talk about the word gospel,
what does gospel mean?
You know, and I'll often explain to people at the door what the gospel means, okay?
But there in Romans 10, 15 it says, and how shall they preach except they be sent as it
is written, how beautiful are the feet of them, look at this, that preach the gospel
of peace and bring glad tidings of good things.
What does gospel mean?
Well the definition is there in that verse.
Preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things.
So gospel means glad tidings or good news.
You know that portion of scripture comes from Isaiah 52 verse 7 which says, how beautiful
upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings that publisheth peace.
So in Isaiah 52 it's good tidings.
So gospel means good news.
And so brethren when we start explaining to people that they are sinners and as a sinner
they deserve, you know, to die and not just die but ultimately end up in the lake of fire
for all eternity, to be tormented day and night forever and ever, okay?
That's not what you need to spend a lot of your time on.
People are very quick to admit that they're a sinner.
They're very quick to admit they've done wrong things, all right?
And I know there are some presentations out there, Way of the Master, okay?
What's his name?
Ray Comfort.
And as many of you know he's a false prophet, a false prophet.
He does not emphasize the gospel.
He does not emphasize the cross.
He emphasizes about how wicked people are.
He says, have you, you know, have you total lie, yes.
Have you, you know, have you ever hated someone in your heart, yes.
Have you ever looked upon a woman with adultery in your heart, yes.
Well according to you, you're a wicked, filthy adulterer at heart.
You're a liar.
You're a murderer.
And so he, this is what he emphasizes.
He emphasizes just how wicked and how filthy people are.
But here's the thing.
Most people are willing to admit that they're a sinner.
This is something you don't even have to worry about.
Most people in this world, I've only come across probably three people since I've gone
soul winning.
For all the years I've been doing soul winning.
Probably only three people that have ever said to me, I never sinned.
I've never done anything wrong.
And those people, you know, they probably rap and bait because, you know, those people
just have no chance.
But look, everybody else, the hundreds of people that I've spoken to are all willing
to admit that they're a sinner.
And the problem with emphasizing just how much of a sinner someone is, is because you've
emphasized that, they're going to be left thinking, okay, I'm not right with God because
I'm such a filthy person, therefore I must be doing, I must, I have to stop doing those
bad things.
And I have to start doing good things in order to be saved.
And that's why when it comes to my workspace gospel, be a good person, do good things.
It's so important for a false gospel to emphasize how much of a sinner someone is, because that's
what you're going to leave them with.
They're going to think, man, I've got to clean up my life.
I've got to walk in holiness.
I've got to live perfectly after God's sight in order to be received by Christ.
But that's not the gospel.
The gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
If you emphasize the right thing, they're not going to be left thinking that I've got
to work my way to heaven.
They're going to be left thinking that my way to heaven is through the death and burial
and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
That's what they're gonna be left with, if you emphasize the right things.
Okay, so this is why it's so important.
And I often tell them, hey, you're a sinner, the Bible says that there's a lake of fire,
I've given you the bad news.
Now let me give you the good news.
What am I saying?
Let me give you the gospel.
Let me give you the glad tidings, the good tidings, so you know that God does not want
you to end up in hell for all eternity.
Right?
So that's why we have to, what you emphasize brethren, is what the person behind doors
gonna be left thinking about, especially if they don't get saved, they're gonna be left
thinking if you emphasize the wrong things, they're going to think that I need to fix
that which was emphasized.
Okay?
So if you emphasize the gospel, you emphasize the death and resurrection, they're gonna
be left with thinking that must be the method by which I can be saved.
So it's important what you emphasize.
Alright, can you please turn to 1 John chapter 2 for me.
First John chapter 2 and verse number 1.
So I'll often say in my gospel presentation, so after I've told them that they're destined
to hell fire for sin, being a sinner against the Lord, I'll often say to them, so do you
believe that God wants you to go to hell?
And you know, the vast majority of times people say, well no, God doesn't want me to go to
hell.
I say exactly.
Then I'll ask another question.
So what did God do so you don't have to go to hell?
What did God do for you so you don't have to go to hell?
I would say probably half the time people will give the right answer.
You know, they might say, I don't know, things like that, but half the time they'll say,
well, didn't He send Jesus to die for us?
Something like that.
Okay?
Or didn't He die for us?
Something about death, something about the cross, generally speaking, people subconsciously
know that was something important that God had to do to help us be saved or to cause
us to be saved, right?
And so, yes, they're absolutely correct.
And when they give me that answer, I'm like, yeah, that's it.
You know, I emphasize what is important, you get it, that the Father had to send the Son
to die in your place.
Now look at 1 John chapter 2 verse number 1, 1 John chapter 2 verse number 1, the Bible
reads, my little children, these things write I unto you that you sin not, and if any man
sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
Now look at verse number 2, and He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours
only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
So what is it then?
We know that Jesus Christ died on the cross, but what is it that we have to emphasize?
Why did He have to do, why did He have to die through that process?
Why is it that His blood had to be shed for us?
Well you can see then verse number 2, He is the propitiation for our sins, and not ours
only, not just for the believers, but also for the sins of the whole world.
So this is what you have to teach people, that when Jesus Christ died, He died not just
for your sins and my sins, He died for the sins of the whole world.
That's important.
And what's that big word there, propitiation, does anybody know?
Propitiation?
A substitute, yeah, well kind of, propitiation means this, to propitiate, okay, which means
to appease or to satisfy, to appease or to satisfy.
Listen, how was God the Father satisfied, okay?
When it comes to a sinner, in order for us to go to heaven, what payment was necessary
that appeased God, that satisfied God, where God said yes, this is what is needed, this
satisfies me, this appeased the situation, this is justice, it's Jesus Christ's death
on the cross, okay?
It's His burial and ultimately His resurrection.
This is the process that appeased God.
This is the process that satisfied God.
Now listen, when I'm preaching to somebody at the door, to someone that is lost, I'm
not going to use the word propitiation, because there are even church people that don't even
know what that word means, okay?
And so you've got to be mindful that when you're preaching the gospel, you're not using
churchy words or biblical words that, you know, we don't use in our modern day vernacular,
but what did we learn on the sermon on Sunday morning?
That hey, the Ethiopian eunuch was reading the scriptures, was he not?
But he said, look, how can I understand unless some man shall guide me, okay?
And so listen, we don't use some big words like this, I try to avoid churchy words, I
avoid words like righteousness and blood atonement and just justification, you know, I explain
all those things, okay?
But I avoid those words because I know the guy at the door does not understand those
things.
In fact, it took me many years to understand a lot of the big biblical words, you know,
as I was going to church and learning the Bible, it took me time to learn what those
things were.
So you know, don't use, don't try to be this wise man with these big words that the person
behind your door is not going to understand, just take what the Bible says and explain
it to them.
You guide them, you teach them what the Bible says, but you can see here that the reason
Christ had to die on the cross was that was the method that appeased the Father.
That's what satisfied the Father, okay, meaning there's no other payment necessary besides
the gospel message, okay?
No other payment necessary in order for us to be justified before God the Father than
what Christ did, his death, his burial, his resurrection, okay?
That's what it means to appease, to satisfy, okay, satisfied, there's no more payment,
there's no other situation necessary than for somebody to be saved except for what Christ
has done for us.
So yes, he's our substitute, okay?
That's what it means, that he substituted our place, the payment was made.
No other payment is necessary.
Can you please turn to Ephesians chapter 1 please, Ephesians chapter 1 verse number 7.
So the Catholic knows that Jesus died on the cross, they know he was buried and rose again
from the dead, but do they know that that was all that was necessary to satisfy God
the Father?
Do they know that?
I tell you why they don't know that, because they think that's part of the plan, okay?
So Jesus has opened the way for me to be saved and go to heaven because of his sacrifice,
but that's not enough to appease the Father, that's not enough to satisfy the Father, that's
not enough to propitiate for our sins, we also have to go to the priest and confess
our sins, we also have to get baptized, we also have to have the Holy Communion, we also
have to have the, what's the other process when they look like they get married and they're
little kids?
What's it called, Christina?
Communion.
Is it communion?
I thought it was something, confirmation, that's what I'm thinking, right?
They think no, all these other things are necessary to satisfy the Father, and even
then they don't know if they're going to heaven, okay?
So do they know that Jesus died on the cross and rose again from the dead?
Yeah, they know that, but do they know that was everything necessary to appease the Father,
to satisfy the Father, to pay for all our sins, they don't know that.
That's what you have to explain, okay?
And that Jesus Christ died for the entire world.
John 1.29 says, the next day John seeeth Jesus coming unto him and sayeth, Behold the Lamb
of God, look at this, which taketh away the sin of the world.
So when Christ came as a lamb to be slain, to be sacrificed, the purpose behind that
was to take away the sin of the world.
So what else do you have to explain to people?
That when Christ died on the cross, he took away our sins, all my sins, all your sins
was taken away from us and put onto Jesus Christ.
He became sin for us.
They need to understand that as well, okay?
People don't understand that.
So in other words, the wrong things I've done, the wrong things you've done was put on Christ
as though he had done those wrong things, all right?
And God's anger and God's wrath is upon Jesus for those sins that we've committed.
Someone else has taken the punishment, okay?
Someone has taken those sins from us.
Someone else has paid for those sins.
So we don't have to pay for that.
Do they understand all that?
They don't understand it, okay?
You're in Ephesians 1.7, Ephesians 1.7, look at this, in whom we have redemption, again,
there's another Bible word, there's another churchy word, I don't use the word redemption
with someone at the door.
They don't understand those words.
But we know what the word redemption means, right?
It means to redeem, all right?
What does it mean to redeem?
It means to buy or clear of payments, to buy or clear of payments.
Payment has been cleared, it's been purchased, you've redeemed something.
Let's read it again, verse number seven, in whom we have redemption through what?
Through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.
Brethren, where is it that the blood was shed?
On the cross, okay, now was his blood shed on the way to the cross?
Absolutely.
He was whipped, he was beaten, right, I mean there was blood of Christ all the way on the
streets, all the way to the crucifixion.
But where the Bible emphasizes the blood is of course the cross, okay?
The shedding of his blood on the cross, that is what redeems us.
What is it that purchases us?
What is it that clears off payments?
The blood of Jesus Christ.
So what's that part of?
That's part of the gospel message.
His death on the cross, amen?
Now also can you please, I know we're turning to a lot of passages, but turn to First Peter
chapter one verse 18.
All these passages are important, okay?
First Peter chapter one verse 18.
So what else do we have to explain to someone at the door?
That when Christ died he shed his blood.
It's his blood that was the purchase price for us.
That's what purchased us.
That's what cleared us of this sin that it's the blood, okay?
First Peter chapter one verse 18.
For as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed, there's that word redeemed again, you were
not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold.
Hey, isn't that what the Catholics do all the time?
Don't they always go and give money at the back of their church to release their loved
ones from purgatory a little bit earlier?
Okay?
They think they're redeeming their loved ones' souls and then when they pass away other people's
going to redeem them from purgatory by the giving of gold and silver.
By giving their wealth.
That's not what redeems us, brethren.
That's corruptible things, all right?
From your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers but, hey, what is it that
redeemed us?
But with the precious blood of Christ as a lamb without blemish and without spot.
So there once again you see that the blood is what the Bible emphasizes as the necessary
payment or the redemption for us to be saved, right?
The precious blood of Christ, not only the blood, it says as a lamb without blemish and
without spot.
What else does that teach us?
That Christ, when He died on the cross, He did not die for His own sins.
He was a lamb without blemish, without spot, meaning that Christ had no sin.
So when we teach the gospel, we have to explain to them that when Christ, you know, came to
this earth some 2,000 years ago, that He never sinned.
He was a perfect lamb.
You know, unlike us that have a sin nature, unlike us who have rebelled against God by
our sins, unlike us that are deserving to face the wrath of God, Jesus Christ never
sinned.
He was a lamb without blemish.
He was a perfect sacrifice, okay?
And as the perfect sacrifice, that means He was eligible to take on our sins.
He did not die for Himself, He died for those that would believe in Him.
He died for the entire, in fact, He died for the entire world, okay?
That's something else they need to understand.
Some people, they understand that Jesus died on the cross, but if you don't tell them that
Jesus had no sin, it doesn't process exactly why He has to do that.
Okay, like for example, Muslims, or I think even, I can't remember, it's another religion
right now, they believe that it's impossible for one man to die for the sins of the whole
world, okay?
Because they think Jesus as just another man, yes a great prophet, but He's just another
man.
Yes, you know, in fact they'll teach that we have to pay for our own sins, okay?
But what makes Jesus special is that He is God, and with God there is no sin.
God cannot sin.
God is perfect.
He walked this earth.
Christ never sinned.
That made Him that perfect candidate, the perfect substitute to take the sins of the
whole world upon Himself.
So when we preach the gospel, teach that Christ was perfect without sin, okay?
Then they understand, okay so He died, oh He died for me, understand?
If you explain these, it's going to dawn on them, that's why Christ had to die.
He had to die for me.
He had to die for you.
He had to die for this whole world.
That's why He died on the cross, right?
I'll just read a quick passage to you in 1 Timothy chapter 2.
Can you please turn to Galatians chapter 3?
You go to Galatians chapter 3, and I'm going to read to you from 1 Timothy chapter 2 verse
5.
You go to Galatians chapter 3, I'll read to you from 1 Timothy chapter 2 verse 5.
The Bible reads, for there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus, then it says this in verse number 6, who gave himself a ransom for all to be
testified in due time.
So Christ was the ransom for all.
What's a ransom?
Quite often you think about, maybe sometimes you hear this stuff on the news, where maybe
somebody's been kidnapped, and there might be a letter of ransom that says, hey, we'll
free your loved one that's been kidnapped as long as you fulfill this ransom, right?
As long as you, you know, deposit, I don't know, a million dollars into this bank account,
then we can free this person that we've kidnapped.
Well Christ became the ransom for all.
What does the word ransom mean?
It means the price paid to free a prisoner, slave, or kidnapped person.
Let me read that again.
The price paid to free a prisoner.
Praise God.
What does that mean?
That means by the ransom of Jesus Christ, by his death, by his resurrection, we are
made free.
That's what it means.
That was a ransom paid, we were under the bondage of sin, we're on our way to hell,
but the ransom was paid, which was Christ our Saviour, his blood was shed, that's what
paid me in order to be free.
So that's what people have to understand, that hey, you're in bondage now, you don't
know that you're on your way to heaven, you have doubts because you don't know what you
need to do to be saved, you're on your way to hell because you're a sinner, hey, I can
tell you how you can be free.
And the way you're free is, once again, what Christ has done for you.
There's freedom in Jesus Christ.
He sets us free.
He makes us free.
There is liberty in Jesus Christ.
This is what else you need to explain to them at the door, that they're made free, they're
no longer under bondage by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Do you see how the death, the better resurrection is, in and of itself, most people know that,
they know that fact, most people know that fact, but how many people actually understand
what took place?
Very little, very few.
That's why there's very few that are saved.
And this is your job, to explain, look, praise God, we live in a nation where people at least
understand some concept of Jesus Christ, you know, we don't have to start from scratch,
we can take what they already know, what they've heard, you know, the Easter message, maybe
even the Christmas message, and we can build upon those things and fix up their misunderstandings,
we don't need to start from scratch, praise God, okay?
But you can see how people understand, or at least know that what Christ has done, but
not understand what took place.
And how does that, how does the sacrifice of Christ make me free?
How does the sacrifice of Christ give me the open doors to enter into heaven?
This is what you have to explain.
Look at Galatians 3, 13, Galatians 3, 13.
As I told you, it's so important that you teach people that Christ was perfect without
sin, he was a lamb without blemish, because in verse 13 there it says, Christ hath redeemed
us, there's that word again, redeemed, okay, redemption.
Christ hath redeemed us from what?
From the curse of the law, look at this, being made a curse for us, for it is written, cursed
is everyone that hangeth on a, what, on a tree.
What's the tree reference in there?
The cross, once again, the crucifixion.
That's how Christ became a curse for us.
Again, so what are you teaching people?
That before we're saved, we're under the curse of God, we're not perfect, we've sinned, you
know, we deserve to be cursed by God, but because Christ redeemed us, he was that sacrifice,
the curse was taken from me and put onto Christ.
Christ became the curse for me.
Christ is taking the brunt of God's wrath and God's punishment upon the tree and I get
to go free.
What an amazing gospel message that is, that I'm not having to be cursed by God, I don't
need to be cursed by God, because God has already cursed his son on my behalf.
Christ became the curse for me.
Alright, so that's what you need to understand, teach people.
No longer are you under the curse, the wrath, anger and judgment of God, but it was all
put on Jesus Christ, alright.
Second Corinthians 5.21 please.
Second Corinthians 5.21.
And this passage is very similar to what we read there in Galatians 3.
Second Corinthians 5.21.
This is so important to drive home, brethren.
So important that you emphasise, you know, Galatians 3 and Second Corinthians 5 here,
21.
For he have made him, that's made Jesus, to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him.
Think about that for a moment.
So Galatians 3 said he was made a curse for us, Second Corinthians 5.21 says he was made
sin for us, alright.
So what I just told you is so important, that the curse that we deserve, the sin of ours
was taken from us, was put onto Christ, okay.
As he hung upon that tree, he was put on Jesus Christ.
But not only that, not only does our guilt and our sin and our vile works, not only have
that been put on Christ, not only has Christ taken our sin and a curse, but there's a transaction
that took place.
Remember Christ died perfect.
Christ died righteous.
He had done no sin.
So guess what happens in return?
We give God all our sin, we give Christ all our sin.
Christ gives us what?
Well they look at verse number 21 once again, that we might be made what?
The righteousness of God in him.
So what do we get in return?
We get Christ's righteousness.
What an amazing thing.
Right, I mean it blows me away, because I deserve God's wrath, I deserve the curse,
I deserve the punishment for sin.
Jesus says, you know what, you give me that and I'll give you perfect righteousness.
So when you stand before God, God sees you in the righteousness, not your own righteousness,
right, made the righteousness of God in him, in Jesus.
He sees us in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, positionally before God.
You know, it's like this jacket represents the righteousness of Christ.
I know I'm a sinful man, I know I've done wrong things, I know I've rebelled against
God, but when I stand before God the Father, what does he see?
He sees his Son.
He sees Jesus Christ.
The same perfection, the same righteousness that was in Jesus, he sees that in you and
me.
Do you see how important all this stuff is?
So Christ died, so I can have his righteousness, so when I stand before God I'm clean, I'm
pure.
No matter what I've done, no matter what sins I do tomorrow, they already paid for
on the cross, and I've got the righteousness of Christ before me.
This is the power of God unto salvation, brethren.
We cannot, we cannot skip over this and just think, oh yeah, you believe there's been
a resurrection, let's move on.
Okay, let's say this prayer.
They need to understand what took place, okay.
Now let me give you some tips, and again, I'm not going through the whole plan today,
hopefully on Sunday Lord willing I'll go through the plan, but don't start by talking
about faith for the free gift as of yet.
I know that's another important thing to emphasise, okay.
Faith for the free gift, but guess what, that's not the power of God unto salvation.
Don't forget the power of God unto salvation is, it's the gospel, okay.
If they understand the gospel, if they understand that Christ has done everything necessary,
that God is appeased, that God is satisfied, then it will make perfect sense that in order
to receive this great good news, all you have to do now is believe it, because it's all
been done for.
Like what else would you have to do if everything's been paid for already?
Really receive it by believing, by trusting that Christ has done that for you.
Do you understand that a lot of people, I see this in gospel presentations, when they
start to talk about the faith, it's just believing.
People start interrupting, well just believe?
Yeah, the reason they go and just believe, and surely you have to do more than that,
is because you haven't explained the gospel properly.
And what you'll find is that you're going to have to go back and explain more about
the gospel in order for them to understand that it is just belief.
And if you spend enough time on the power of God unto salvation, then it makes perfect
sense that all I have to do is trust Christ, all I have to do is believe that He's done
that for me.
It'll make your life a lot easier.
If you just spend time, you might say, well I don't know, I've already spent 15 minutes,
20 minutes, look, just spend more time there, and I promise you, after that, you're not
going to have to spend that much time.
You're emphasizing the right things.
One thing that I often do, you know, when I explain the gospel to somebody, you know,
because you don't want people to feel stupid.
Like if someone understands, okay, yeah, Jesus died for me, but they don't really fully understand
it, I'll often say to them, can you finish this sentence for me, okay?
I like to interact, I like to have the dialogue, I like them to think that they have something
of value to say, because listen, if I wanted to rip someone apart and make them feel foolish,
I can do that, but that's not my goal.
You know, if you just make them feel foolish, they're not going to get saved, they're not
going to think you care about them, okay?
If you interact and you find common ground, I'll often say this, I'll say, look, it doesn't
matter who it is, Catholic, it doesn't matter, right, what they are, I'll often say to them,
hey, can you finish this sentence for me?
And I've only just started doing this the last, say, six months, so can you finish this
sentence for me?
Jesus paid for all of my, and I'll leave it there, and they're like, oh, sins?
I'm like, yes, okay, so if Jesus paid for all of your sins, if it's all been paid for,
how much do you have to pay?
This is before the free gift, okay?
Because then I say, oh, if Jesus paid for it all, then I don't have to pay for anything.
Well, now you understand where the free gift is just going to be so easy to understand.
They're basically already telling you that it's a free gift, okay?
So you're helping them take that next step, that salvation is a free gift through faith
alone.
All right?
So this is why it's so important.
Sometimes I'll give the example of, you know, I used to say a million dollars, but I've
got to say, because every Sydney site is a millionaire right now, so a millionaire doesn't
sound that big, right?
But I'll use a billionaire, right?
I'll just say something like, you know, let's say you owed somebody a billion dollars, but
you can't pay it, okay?
You can't afford it, and therefore, you know, your penalty is to spend the rest of your
life in jail or something like that, right?
But someone steps in.
If I have a silent partner, let's say it's brother Tim, I say, well, you know, Tim here,
what if Tim were to pay it off for you?
What if you were to step in and say to you, you know what, this billion dollars that you
owe, don't worry about it.
I'll cover it.
I'll pay for it all.
Hey, the person that you owed it to is going to be happy.
They're going to be appeased.
They're going to be satisfied.
So you're teaching these concepts, right?
Because it's been paid.
And guess what?
You're going to be happy because now you're free to go.
The debt has been paid.
And they, oh, okay, well, that's what Christ has done for you.
He paid for all of your sins.
Now you're free to go, okay?
You're free to go so long as, of course, you receive the gospel, as long as you believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so if you can just find how valuable the gospel is, brethren, it's going to make your
life a lot easier.
Can you please turn to 1 Timothy 4?
Because I want to talk about faith quickly now, faith.
We're moving on a little bit from the gospel message here.
We're moving on to faith because we know what Christ has done for us.
But hey, how is it that we receive that gospel?
Well, we know that it's by faith.
We receive it by faith, right?
The Bible says, you know, in John 15, for God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, as you guys know, but whosoever what believeth in Him should not perish, but
have everlasting life.
What is it that we have to do, brethren, we have to believe on Jesus Christ, we have to
believe in Him.
And once again, it's not just because sometimes we'll say, yeah, I believe in God, yeah, I
believe in Jesus.
Yeah, but do you believe that everything that He did, His work, His death, burial, and resurrection
was everything needed in order for you to be saved in order for your payment of sin
to be paid for?
And that's what they don't really believe, okay, because they used to believe something
else, right?
And again, we'll cover this in the next part, how to talk to people about this.
So what passage did I get you to turn to?
First Timothy chapter four, verse number 10.
Okay, first Timothy chapter four, verse number 10.
And look, all these passages I'm giving you, I'm not saying this is what you have to give
people at the door.
In fact, very little of these passages you give to someone at the door.
These passages are for us to understand what we must emphasise when we give the gospel,
okay?
But first Timothy chapter four, verse number 10.
It says, for therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, look at this, because we
trust in the living God who is the saviour of all men, especially to those that believe.
So what you notice in this verse here, those that believe are the same people that trust
in the living God.
And so the Catholic, once again, the Orthodox, the whatever, brethren, they'll say to you,
I believe that Jesus died for me.
Because they'll say that, right?
I'm sure you've had that experience.
I believe it already.
You're telling me to believe it?
I already believe it.
But here's the thing.
But no, but here's what believe means.
It means to trust.
Are you trusting wholly on the sacrifice of Christ?
That's all that's necessary to pay for your sins, to get you to heaven?
Or like you told me at the door, you thought being a good person was important, going to
church was important, getting baptised was important, so on and so forth.
And I'll use what they've said at the beginning to show them that their trust was on other
things or on themselves or on their church, their false religion, rather than wholly on
the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so that's how you define belief.
Christ has done it all.
Now you have to trust that Christ has done it all.
That's what it means to believe on Jesus Christ.
You trust that Jesus has done everything necessary in order for you to be saved.
Can you, we're going to do a quick Bible study and I think it's important.
Can you please go to Romans chapter 4, Romans chapter 4?
You know, I'm recently encountering this idea by others that people before Paul got saved
believe in another gospel or by works, okay?
Now what I love about Romans 4, it speaks about Abraham and how Abraham was saved, okay?
But I just want to show you what was it that Abraham believed in order to be saved.
Was he saved by grace through faith?
Yes, he was.
But what is it that his belief was on?
Let's do a quick Bible study.
Romans 4, verse 9, Romans chapter 4, verse 9.
It says cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only or upon the uncircumcision
also, for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.
So how was Abraham, how did he receive righteousness, remember it's the righteousness of Christ,
how did he receive it?
By his faith, right?
Verse number 10.
How was it then reckoned?
And he was in circumcision or in uncircumcision, not in circumcision but in uncircumcision
and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which
he had yet been circumcised, look at this, that he might be the father of all them that
believe, though they be not circumcised, that righteousness may be imputed upon them also.
Let me just summarize.
Righteousness was imputed upon us, we saw that Christ gave his righteousness to us.
And how did we receive that?
By believing, by trusting in Jesus.
If Abraham is the father of all them that believe, he's our spiritual forefather.
How then did he get saved?
Some other method, some other gospel, believe in some other thing?
Surely he had to believe the same thing as us if he's the father of us in the spiritual
sense, right?
Let's keep going.
Verse number 12.
And the father of the circumcision, to them who are not of the circumcision only, but
who also walk in the steps of that faith, of that faith, of our father Abraham, which
he had been yet uncircumcised.
So we receive the righteousness by the same faith that Abraham, the same thing he believed,
the same thing he trusted is what we trust in order to receive the imputed righteousness
of Christ and be saved.
Can you see that very clearly there in Romans 4?
Okay, well let's have a look at, he's the father of us all, the Bible told us there.
Can you please go back to Galatians 3?
Go back to Galatians 3 verse 6.
This is important because, again, I told you just recently, and I believe the Lord intends
this so I can respond to this and give you guys the wisdom, I'm coming across this time
and time again, people believing that the Old Testament saints got saved some other
way.
Okay?
And it was just by faith, it was faith on something totally different, that they did
not know the Gospel, the power of God unto salvation, they did not know what that was.
Okay?
Well, hold on, let's keep going, Galatians 3 verse 6, Galatians 3 verse 6, even as Abraham
believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness, once again, how did he receive
righteousness?
By believing God, let's keep going, know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the
same are the children of Abraham.
Guess what?
Are you of faith?
Then you're the children of Abraham.
I'm the child of Abraham, spiritually speaking.
Look at verse number 8.
And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, look at
this, preached before the Gospel unto Abraham, saying, in thee shall all nations be blessed.
So what did God preach to Abraham?
The Gospel.
Do you see that?
Or maybe some other Gospel.
Let's keep going.
So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
Okay?
Now when it said that the Gospel was preached unto Abraham, notice that it says saying,
so this is what was said to Abraham when the Gospel was preached unto him.
It says there, saying, in thee shall all nations be blessed.
See Pastor Kevin, the Gospel is different.
It wasn't the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
It was that all nations of this earth will be blessed because of Abraham and because
of the Jews.
That's what they conclude later on, right?
Let's have a look at that, right?
So we see that the Gospel was being preached when God did tell Abraham that all nations
will be blessed because of him and his seed.
Now go to Acts chapter 3.
Go to Acts chapter 3.
Because we don't want to just come up with our own crazy ideas of what this Gospel message
is.
Where all nations are going to be blessed because of faithful Abraham.
Okay?
What is that about?
Well Acts chapter 3 please.
Acts chapter 3 and verse number 25.
Acts chapter 3 verse 25.
The Bible reads, ye are the children of the prophets and of the covenant which God made
with our fathers.
Look at this.
And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
Is that what we read in Galatians 3?
Yeah, that's what we read, right?
And that's what we learnt was the Gospel that was preached unto Abraham.
This is C?
Well hold on, let's keep going.
Verse number 26.
What is the Gospel?
Unto you first God, look at this, having raised up his son Jesus, sent him to bless you in
turning away everyone of you from his iniquities.
So when God told Abraham that all the nations of the earth will be blessed because of him
and his seed, well that seed, we haven't got time to cover now, was Jesus Christ.
As it says in verse number 26, it's that God raised up his son, why would he have to raise
up his son Jesus?
Because the Gospel message is the death, the burial, and guess what?
The raising up, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The Gospel that was preached to Abraham was that Christ would have to be resurrected from
the dead.
And the blessing that would come upon all nations, as it says in verse number 26, sent
him to bless you in turning away everyone of you from his iniquities.
Iniquities is another way of saying sins.
And so the blessing of the Gospel through Abraham and his seed is that our sins, our
iniquities will be turned away from us and as we saw, put upon Christ.
He would become the curse for us, he would become sin for us.
So when God preached the Gospel to Abraham, was Abraham aware that Christ would be resurrected
and that our iniquities would be removed through this process?
That's what he believed.
That's the Gospel.
Even in the Old Testament, even as far as Abraham, even before the Old Covenant, he
knew the Gospel.
He knew the power of God unto salvation.
This is why we can say that we are children of faithful Abraham.
This is why the Bible says that we are spiritual children or that he's our spiritual father.
Because we had the same faith, we believe the same thing, we trust in the same thing,
brethren.
Please turn to Hebrews 11, we're almost done now.
Hebrews 11.
Hebrews 11, verse 17.
Just in case that's not enough to convince you.
Hebrews 11.
One of the most unbelievable stories about Abraham, as you know, was when God asked him
to sacrifice his son Isaac.
Now I never really understood that story as a child.
Of course we know that God never asked him to carry through.
This was a time of testing for Abraham.
Would he obey God?
And as a child I would read that story and I just couldn't really understand how is it
that even though God's asking him to do this, even though God's asking a man sacrifice
his son, that Abraham was able to get to a point where he was willing to murder his own son.
I've always struggled with that as a child, I don't know if you've struggled with that.
And even as a parent, like if God asked me, alright Kevin, Pastor Kevin, you know, sacrifice
one of your kids right now, would I do it?
It's a hard thing.
How is it that Abraham seemed so willing to do this though?
I'm sure he was a burden upon him, but how is it that he was so willing to do it?
Well Hebrews 11 explains why.
Verse number 17, Hebrews 11, verse number 17, which says,
Look at verse number 19.
From whence also he received him in a figure.
Now you understand why Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son, because he knew that
if he sacrificed his son, that God would raise up Isaac from the dead.
Isn't that what he just told us?
That God would raise up his son?
Well why would he even think about that?
Why would he even consider that if I kill my son, God's going to raise him from the
dead?
Because it's said that at the end of verse number 19, from whence also he received him
in a figure.
Abraham knew that him offering his only begotten son was a figure, was a picture of the gospel
message which was God the Father offering the only begotten son as a sacrifice and if
he knew that his son Isaac would be resurrected from the dead, doesn't that mean he was preached
the gospel knowing that Christ would be resurrected from the dead if Isaac was meant to be a figure
of that?
So now you understand, Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son because he knew that
God would raise him from the dead because he knew that Christ would be resurrected from
the dead.
That's what his faith was on.
That's the faith of faithful Abraham and that's the same faith that we have in order to be
saved.
This is the power of God unto salvation.
It did not just come into effect in the New Testament.
It was not just a teaching of the New Testament prophets.
This was taught to Abraham all the way back even before the old covenant was put in place.
The power of God of salvation has always been, will always be the death, burial and
resurrection of Jesus Christ and it's a simple faith, trust that that's all that's necessary
Reverend in order for us to be saved, to receive the righteousness of God that is required
for us to be saved.
Listen, that's what we have to teach people when we go and preach the gospel.
Please you know, I've got other things but I'll leave it there because it's going to
be long but please you know, don't overlook this part of the gospel presentation.
Don't be like, oh you already know that Christ died on the cross and rose again from the
dead.
Now let me just get to explain to you, it's just by faith alone.
They will understand that it's by faith alone.
If you've done the hard work of explaining the power of God unto salvation, if you've
done the hard work explaining the death, burial and resurrection, not just that it took place
but what it means, why it is so important, our sin was put on Christ.
We received His righteousness.
That's everything that was needed to appease God.
His blood was the purchase price for our sins.
When someone understands that, then they'll understand that salvation is simply by trusting
what Christ has done for them.
Okay, let's pray.