Here’s a sermon entitled The Gospel of Jesus Christ by Ted McAuley. If you would like to see more from Ted, please visit Ted’s G+ page at: +TedMcAuley. If you’d like to include a sermon of your own, and have it posted on it’s own dedicated post such as this one, please visit the Preach It page for details. Please read and enjoy this wonderful anointed message of Christ Jesus!
Just as the endless scope of eternity is impossible for us to fully comprehend, God is perfectly, infinitely holy in a way that defeats our finite minds. “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3). Indeed, the Bible says of God, “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity” (Habakkuk 1:13).
Because of God’s holiness, another of His attributes is made known to us: His perfect justice (Deuteronomy 32:4). You see, God is good, and, shocking though it may be to us, out of that goodness we find He demands for the everlasting condemnation of sinners (Revelation 21:8). “Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment” (Job 34:12). “The soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4).
All are guilty; no one is exempt: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
So how can man ever be saved, since God cannot both excuse sinners and also remain perfectly holy and just at the same time? “He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD” (Proverbs 17:15).
The answer is this: While God is perfectly holy and just, the Bible also says God is love (1 John 4:8). And in that love God sought to rescue us from the curse we incurred by our rebellion against Him—to free us from the power and penalty of sin (Romans 6:17-23).
This is the good news! God actually became a Man, lived a sinless life, was crucified, cursed and forsaken of the Father in order to satisfy His wrath against us, paying our price for sin in full, and was raised from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 3:4). “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10).
Friend, He Who died and Who is alive in heaven today is Jesus Christ, fully God and fully Man (Colossians 2:9). It is only by faith in Him and His atoning work on the cross that you can be saved from the punishment of hell for your sins. There is no alternative path; you cannot earn your way into heaven by good works, and mere mental assent to certain facts about Christ is not enough to save you. In John 3:3 Jesus says, “Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” He goes on to say, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).
If the Holy Spirit has convicted you today of your guilt, do not harden your heart against Him. “…repent ye and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15). For repentance is part of a two-sided coin, the other side being your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to save you, and they cannot be separated. “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned…” (Psalm 51:3-4). And simultaneously is your belief present: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9).
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not parish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Now, it is extremely important to understand that true conversion is marked by a new life wrought by God within the believer—it will look very different from the old! “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
The cross of Christ means more than forgiveness. Jesus came to destroy sin in your life now–to transform you from the death in which you once walked! “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed” (1 Peter 2:24).
This is the sanctification process; it does not mean we will always obey God perfectly, but the pattern of a Christian’s life will be one of decreasing sin and increasing righteousness. Jesus said “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15) and “every good tree bringeth forth good fruit… Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire” (Matthew 7:17, 19).
Though the world hate you for following Christ, though persecutions and trial come as you are daily conformed to His image, be glad in this evidence that your name has been written in the book of life, for our Savior assures us: “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:18-19).
Further assurance of salvation can be had through self-examination based upon the truth of Scripture. “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (2 Corinthians 13:5)
Yet do not be discouraged when you sin, though it grieve your regenerated heart which now hates the sin it used to love (Ezekiel 36:26). In times of failure run immediately to your heavenly Father and He will lift you up. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9).
And remember, upon the cross of Calvary Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). He has done it all for you and He will continue to do it all by giving you His Spirit to resist the devil, to guard you from backsliding, and to become more Christ-like. “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:24).
You need but trust Him. By faith, Jesus will be the power you lack to achieve the impossible feat of the Christian life, for He alone is our righteousness! “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God” (2 Corinthians 3:5).
To this end, one final word: “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deuteronomy 6:5).
Go in peace and may you live for God’s glory! Amen.
To follow up on this wonderful word from Ted, I would like to invite any of you who might not have been born again, and am unsure of where you stand with the Lord… Or maybe you’d like to re-dedicate your life to Christ, after having strayed away from him for whatever the reason, I’d encourage for you to go over to the Salvation page, where there is a simple prayer there that you can read and ask the Lord Jesus to come in.
As Ted spoke about throughout this page, God requires punishment for sin. When the time comes for you to stand before the Lord, sentencing will come down upon the sins you’ve committed. That’s just a Biblical fact. There are wages that must be paid for sin. Either you are going to pay for them or Jesus is going to. Now… Do you want to pay for those sins yourself and land yourself into the Lake of Fire? Or would you rather Jesus who has already taken the punishment for it, stand in the gap for you and cause for your sins to be paid in full on your behalf? Your choice. Please, you must be Born Again, as only through Jesus can you make it into Heaven, and stay out of the fires of Hell. Head over, and receive the free gift of Salvation!
I would like to thank Ted for his addition to this site, and if you haven’t caught it already, I’d suggest that you check out his Testimony, as I’m sure that you’ll find it to be a blessing! Also, you can connect with Ted and receive more from him by heading over to his G+ Page: +TedMcAuley.
As always, thank you for visiting this site and I’m certain that this message has been a blessing to you! Please share this page with your piers, via any of the social outlets in the share button below, or for those of you on PC’s, click the plus button to the right side of the screen. May the Lord bless all of you in the name above all names, the name of Jesus, and thank you again for reading The Gospel of Jesus Christ, by Ted McAuley.