The Revealing of Jesus
/Preacher: Gordon Hay
Verses: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 and John 1:29-42
What is the gospel message? Mark Dever has summarised it like this[1]:
God is our holy Creator and righteous Judge;
we have all sinned against Him, offending His holy character, alienating ourselves from Him, and exposing ourselves to His righteous anger;
He has sent Christ to die the death that we deserved for our sins;
that Christ’s death and resurrection is the only way to be reconciled to the one true God;
we must respond to this Good News by repenting of our sins and believing in the Gospel if we would be forgiven by God, reconciled to Him, and saved from the wrath to come.
Last Sunday Lincon preached a powerful sermon on God’s amazing grace, drawing on Ephesians 3. How the mystery of Christ had been revealed by the Spirit and how, in Christ and through faith in him, we may approach God with freedom and confidence. How God’s grace is revealed in the Scriptures.
[1] “So how do we begin positively? For starters, put yourself in the background, and preach Christ crucified. Clarify what the true Gospel; is, what the required response is, and what it means to be a Christian. Make sure people know that God is our holy Creator and righteous Judge; that we have all sinned against Him, offending His holy character, alienating ourselves from Him, and exposing ourselves to His righteous anger; that He has sent Christ to die the death that we deserved for our sins; that Christ’s death and resurrection is the only way to be reconciled to the one true God; and that we must respond to this Good News by repenting of our sins and believing in the Gospel if we would be forgiven by God, reconciled to Him, and saved from the wrath to come. Make sure people know that they must persevere in a lifestyle of repentance and belief, displaying an increasingly loving and holy lifestyle that proves that we are His disciples. (John 15:8; cf. Matt 7:15-23; 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13; 1 John 3:14; 4:8)” Extract from: The Deliberate Church: Mark Dever and Paul Alexander. P44, middle paragraph.