A Clear Message

Today we are starting a new series entitled, Sharing the Good News. For the next four weeks we want to give the members and regular attenders of this body some important principles and tools for sharing The good news.

Week Two: The Good News has a Countercultural Message

Week Three: The Good News has a Compelling Message

Week Four: The Good News requires a Communicated Message

Today we want to begin where we need to start this series:

The Good News Has A Message

The clear message of the gospel has a .

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ” I Cor. 15:3-5

Christ died for our sins

And was buried.

He rose in three days

And was seen.

The clear message of the gospel has four .

1. God is and we are to him.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ” – Genesis 1:1

“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” – Genesis 1:26

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis” – 1:27

“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” – Genesis 2:16-17

It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes the judgment (Hebrews 9:27).

2. Our problem is we against God and are from him.

“Your iniquities 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)

“For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” – (Romans 3:23)

“What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” – Romans 3:9-12

Sin is both universal and has ultimate control. Because of sin we are:

• Unrighteous (none is righteous)
• Unreasonable (no one understands)
• Unresponsive (no one seeks for God)
• Unrepentant (all have turned aside)
• Unproductive (become worthless)

We are both dominated by our sin and we are doomed because of our sin. It does not get any worse than that.

3. God provides a through the of Jesus Christ.

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it (3:21)

the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: (3:22)

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, (23-24)

Whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. (3:25)

It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (3:26)

1. In Christ we have initiation. But now…
2. In Christ we have justification. Paul writes, and are justified by his grace as a gift.

3. In Christ we have redemption. Paul says this is through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, (3:24b).

4. In Christ we have propitiation. Whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. (3:25a)

5. In Christ we have a demonstration of God’s righteousness. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (3:25b-26)

4. We must through faith and . 

Jesus said, ‘repent and believe in the gospel’. (Mark 1:15)

Peter called the people to ‘repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus. (Acts 2:28)

Paul said, ‘I have declared to both Jew and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.’ (Acts 20:21)

The clear message of the gospel should be daily.

God, Man, Christ, Response.