SLIDES

The Letter to the Galatians

Presenting the Gospel

Part 5a

Introduction

What is the most important thing any human being can do during their lifetime.  Trusting in Jesus as Savior to receive forgiveness of sin and eternal life is the most important thing any human being can do during their lifetime. Since that is true, it should behoove all of us who are believers in Jesus to strive know how to give a complete, accurate, and clear Gospel presentation. This is what we are going to discuss for the next couple of weeks. Our goal concerning the Gospel Message is to:

1. Give a complete, accurate, and clear Gospel presentation

During our last meeting, we learned that the Gospel has three essential and important elements associated with it. The three essential elements of the Gospel are the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah. We also learned in Romans 1:16 that the Apostle Paul tells us why the Gospel is important. “For I am not ashamed of the Good News of Christ, because it is the power from God resulting in salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile.”

Since the Gospel message has the power from God that results in salvation to anyone who places their faith or trust in Jesus as Savior, the goal for believes should be to give a complete, accurate, and clear Gospel presentation.

In presenting the gospel, one needs to share with the lost person the bad news that all people are sinners (Romans 3:23), and that sin separates people from God (Romans 6:23a). However, there is good news.  Jesus died for the sins of the world, was buried, and three days later was resurrected from the grave so that those who place their trust in Him will receive forgiveness of sin and eternal life. That is Good News pure and simple but profound. After one has presented the Good News to an individual, one must then explain to that person how one can receive forgiveness of sin and eternal life that was just described to them. The bottom line is that this is what is God asking the sinner to do to receive forgiveness sin and eternal life.

In reality the gospel is characterized by its simplicity. Man is a sinner and sin separated him or her from God. Jesus died, was buried, and was resurrected to give us forgiveness of sin and eternal life. All one has to do to receive forgiveness of sin and eternal life is to place one’s faith or trust in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. The Apostle Peter, speaking about salvation, declared, “… there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12) Jesus said in, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

Many sinners, confronted with their need of salvation, frequently stumble over the very simplicity of the salvation which God offers. Satan either adds parts of the Mosaic Law to the gospel message as in the case of the Judaizers in the churches in Galatia or by not including one of three necessary parts of the Gospel message as some of the Corinthians were doing concerning the resurrection.

Satan loves deceiving men concerning the Gospel Messge. That is why some teach that salvation is:

Þ salvation is by faith and good works

Þ salvation is by faith and baptism

Þ salvation is by faith plus church membership

Þ salvation is by faith plus keeping parts of the Mosaic Law

Þ salvation is by giving Jesus something

These are all attempts to darken the mind of the man who needs to be saved concerning the central issue and the basic plan of redemption. Even though the message of the Good News is simple enough for a child to understand and accept, it has been explained in such a variety of ways that its simplicity has been obscured. Many presentations today, as we shall see, do not convey what Scripture teaches about the message of the Good News or how to receive the Good News. A complete, accurate. and clear presentation and ending of the message of the Good News to lost people is absolutely crucial; the eternal destiny of Jews and Gentiles, men and women, boys and girls hangs in the balance.  So today I would like for us to discuss what to share with people and what not to share with people concerning how to receive forgiveness of sin and eternal life.

Again, we must present to the lost that they are sinners, that sin separates them from God, and that Jesus died, was buried, and was resurrected to forgive their sins.  Placing one’s faith or trust in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is how one receives forgiveness of sin an eternal life.

2. Proper Closings

Closing a presentation is sometimes called landing the plane. The Bible clearly reveals what the message of the Good News is and what man's responsibility is in view of the message of the Good News. After presenting that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and is alive today because He arose from the grave, that there is nothing more man can do but to trust in Christ's finished

work on the cross as being sufficient for his salvation. The responsibility imposed on the sinner is that of believing or trusting in or on Jesus Christ to remove their sins and give them eternal life. Salvation from guilt and penalty of sin Is given to the sinner the minute one believes. It is conditioned on the act of faith or trust.

The words believe, faith, call upon, and trust are synonyms that are used in the New Testament concerning forgiveness of sin and the salvation of a sinner. These words have the idea of "reliance upon" or "dependence on."  They are many times used with the prepositions "in" or "on."  Believing, trusting, calling upon or having faith in are the opposite of doing anything, making anything, or giving anything. Faith always has an object. In this case the object is Jesus. To believe in Jesus or on Jesus is to have faith in or trust in the all-sufficiency of His saving grace because of His’ sacrificial and substitutionary death on the cross. 

Faith is the inner conviction that what God says in the Good News message is true. Faith or trust is the only condition to receive salvation. There is not one verse in the New Testament that says one must give anything to the Lord to be saved. If one has to give something to Jesus to be saved, then that means that the death of Jesus was not sufficient in itself to save someone.  Unsaved people have nothing to offer Him for their salvation. They are depraved.  Salvation is Jesus plus nothing. It is through grace alone, by faith alone, in Christ alone. Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace (unmerited favor) you are saved through (by means of) faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the (free) gift of God: Not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." It is clear in Ephesians 2:8-9 that salvation is a free gift from God because of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross.  If someone has to give something to Jesus or do something for Jesus besides trust in Him, then salvation is not a free gift.   Again, Ephesians 2:8-9 can be boiled down to “salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.”

I must point out that faith does not save nor does prayer. Jesus saves! Faith did not die on the cross for sinners, Christ did. Faith is just the means by which the benefits of Christ's death are applied to the individual.  (Use the illustration of a straw.) 

Let me give a few more illustrations of faith:

§  The 100-year-old bridge in Petal, Mississippi (a suburb of Hattiesburg, Mississippi).

§  Pews and Chairs in this room.

§  One final illustration about faith. In 1860 a tight rope artist named Blondin walked across Niagara Falls with a huge crowd watching. He crossed it numerous times. Also, he also walked it by pushing a wheelbarrow. It was approximately 1000 feet across the falls and 160 feet above the raging waters.  One little boy just stared with amazement. So, after completing one the crossings, Blondin asked the boy, “Do you believe that I can take a person across in the wheelbarrow without falling?” “Yes, sir. I really do.” Mr. Blondin then said to the boy, “Well then, get in son.”

There are several occasions where the phrase "received Him" is used. John 1:12 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,” Here we see that those who received Him as Savior and Messiah were saved by believing, not by doing or giving.  Colossians. 2:6 says, “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.”

Repentance – Before we talk about improper, unclear, and/or unbiblical closings, let’s take a few minutes and discuss the role that repentance plays in salvation. Repentance may be a prerequisite for salvation but not  requirement. Repentance means “To change one's mind” or “To change one’s direction.” It does not mean "to be sorry."

2 Corinthians 7:10 - “For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.”

Again, repentance does not mean I’m sorry. The change of mind is not superficial but with genuine conviction. Repentance is not merely an intellectual assent to something but includes a resultant change in one's thinking. In the context of salvation verses in the New Testament repentance means change your mind about what is keeping you from trusting Christ as your Savior and trust Him to save you as in Acts 2:37-38.

37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”

38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The baptism in Acts 2:38 is Spirit Baptism. There is really only one baptism and that is from the Holy Spirit as Ephesians 4:4-6.

3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling;

5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

The baptism we call water baptism is an ordinance of the church. It is a memorial that represents our Spirit Baptism into the Body of Christ just like the Passover Seders in a home are memorials that represent the real Passover that occurred 3500 years ago in Egypt.

The repentance or change of mind in Acts 2:38 revolves around whether Jesus was the Messiah. What they needed to do was to repent about that Jesus was not the Messiah to the fact that He was indeed the Messiah. Remember that Peter was preaching to a Jewish audience.  Today someone may need to repent who believes an idol of some kind will save them, or money, or growing up in a Christian home, or being baptized as an infant, or being confirmed as a kid, or good works, etc. Sometimes it’s a wrong view of who Jesus really is and what He did on the cross. Let say a person believes that baptism is a requirement for salvation. When an individual has changed his or her mind about baptism being a requirement for salvation and trust in Jesus to save him or her, then repentance and faith have taken place.

If you had a choice, which one of the gospel books would you give to someone who was lost to lead them to salvation in Jesus? John, of course! Why, because it was written especially for evangelism. John 20:30-31.

30 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;

31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

Now, if someone only had the book of John to read, is there enough clear information in that Message of the Good News for one to learn how to be saved from their sins and to receive eternal life?  Yes, there is. It’s interesting that in the message of the Good News of John the word repentance is not used in any form. In the New Testament the salvation of a sinner is declared to depend only on believing 150 times and in John 85 times.  The word faith is used 35 times in relation to salvation. Believe and faith are synonyms.   

The bottom line is that for a lost individual to be saved, he or she must understand that Jesus died, was buried, and was resurrected, accept that as being true, and trust in Jesus alone to save them.

Prayer – Let’s take a minute to discuss the role of prayer in salvation. Prayer is not a condition or a requirement to be saved. It’s ok to let someone pray after they have trusted in Christ as their Saviors just to let God know verbally that they realize that they are a sinner separated from Him and that they have just trusted in Jesus to remove their sin and to give them eternal life. Tell them that prayer does not save. Prayer did not die for their sins, Jesus did. Prayer is just to a way to tell God that they have just trusted in Christ to forgive their sins.