Sermon
#1456[i] Miscellaneous
Notes
Title: WHAT IS IT TO PREACH THE
GOSPEL?
Text: Romans 1:1-6
Subject: The Place of
Gospel Preaching In Call of the Holy Spirit
Date: Sunday Morning –
Morning Bible Class
Tape # W-33a
Introduction:
Eternal
election is the work of God the Father in salvation. The particular, effectual
redemption of the elect is the work of God the Son in salvation. And effectual
calling, or irresistible grace, is the work of God the Holy Spirit in
salvation. Sinners cannot be saved without the Father’s sovereign election, the
Son’s blood redemption, and the Spirit’s effectual call. Every chosen sinner
was redeemed at
I have shown you repeatedly
that no one is saved apart from the effectual call of God the Holy Spirit. We
rejoice to sing with the inspired psalmist, “Blessed
is the man whom thou choosest and causest to approach unto thee!”
I have also shown you repeatedly that no one is ever
saved in this gospel age apart from the preaching of the gospel. Do not let the
hard shells and hyper-calvinists deceive you in this matter. The issue is not
whether or not God can save his people without the use of means. The issue is
whether or not he will. We know that he will not because he has revealed it
plainly in his Word. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. It
pleased God to save his elect by the foolishness of gospel preaching. All who
are begotten of God are begotten of him by the gospel. All who are born again
are born again by the incorruptible seed of God’s Word, which is preached to
them by the gospel. These things are so plainly revealed in Holy Scripture that
there is no excuse for error regarding them (Rom.
Proposition: The preaching of the gospel is God’s
chosen, ordained means of grace, by which he calls chosen, redeemed sinners to
life and faith in Christ by the irresistible power and grace of his Holy
Spirit.
Divisions: If the preaching of the gospel is, as the New Testament
universally declares that it is, then no questions can possibly be more
important and pressing than the three I want to answer in this message.
1. Who preaches the gospel?
2. What is the gospel?
3. What is it to preach the
gospel?
I
want you to open your Bibles tonight to Romans chapter one, and just hold them
open on your laps as I show you the answers to these three questions from the
Word of God.
I.
Who
preaches the gospel?
We
cannot do better, when we look for an example of a gospel preacher, than the
Apostle Paul. Look at verse one, and see how this inspired man describes
himself and thus describes all who truly preach the gospel.
Romans 1:1 "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,
called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God."
A. “Paul, a servant
of Jesus Christ” - That man who truly preaches
the gospel, that man who always preaches the gospel, that man who preaches the
whole gospel and that exclusively is A SERVANT OF JESUS CHRIST.
Gospel
preachers are the willing, voluntary bond-slaves of the Son of God. Notice how
Paul describes himself. It is not, Rev. Paul, Dr. Paul, Father Paul, or Pope
Paul, but “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ.” This man counted it
his highest honor to be a servant of Christ, not the servant, but a servant. He
was just one servant among man; but he was a servant.
B. “Called to be and apostle (messenger)” - Gospel preachers are called and gifted of God to be his messengers,
MEN SENT WITH HIS MESSAGE.
A
gospel preacher is a man with a message, a message from God, a message burning
in his soul, which he must deliver. He is a man with a messianic call, a
messianic purpose, and a messianic mandate.
Note: If you ever run across a man with a mandate
from God, or a man who even thinks he has a mandate from God, you will not have
to wonder about it. You will know it. He will fit no mold, bow to no pressure,
surrender no ground, make no compromise. Why should
he? He is has a mandate from God! That makes him utterly uncontrollable by
anyone, except God who sent him.
·
Moses had a mandate from God.
·
John the Baptist had a mandate from God.
Look
at verse one again. I will tell you something else about that man who truly
preaches the gospel. He is a servant of Jesus Christ, a divinely called messenger
of Jesus Christ, and he is…
C. “Separated unto the gospel” - God’s
servants, true gospel preachers are men who are separated unto the gospel.
I
could spend a good bit of time here. A good bit of time needs to be spent here.
God’s servants do not take this business of being God’s servants lightly. They
are men separated unto the gospel.
·
By God’s Decree - (Like Jeremiah
and Paul)
·
By God’s Call
·
By God’s Gifts
·
By God’s Placement
·
By Their Own, Ever Increasing Devotion and Determination (
That
man who preaches the gospel of Christ is like Abraham’s servant, who was sent
to get a bride for his son Isaac. He will not be distracted from his work by
either pleasure or pressure.
Romans 1:9-17 "For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his
Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; 10 Making
request, if by any means now at
length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.
11 For I long to see you, that I may
impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; 12 That
is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you
and me. 13 Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you,
(but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as
among other Gentiles. 14 I am debtor
both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.
15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready
to preach the gospel to you that are at
Who preaches the gospel? Those men who are servants of Jesus Christ and called messengers of
God almighty, men who are separated unto the gospel of God.
If you will look at Romans
one again, in verses 1-6, you will see the answer to this second question…
II.
What
is the gospel?
There
are many other texts of Scripture which could be used to show the answer to
this question; but for our purposes tonight, and for the sake of brevity, let’s
stay with Romans one.
Romans 1:1-6 "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called
to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel
of God, 2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy
scriptures,) 3 Concerning his Son
Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made
of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of
holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: 5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to
the faith among all nations, for his name: 6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ."
In
these six verses of Scripture the Holy Spirit has given us five distinct,
identifying characteristics of the gospel. Mark them carefully. Learn what they
mean. Any gospel which fails to measure up to this standard is a false gospel
and those who preach it are false prophets.
A. The Gospel we believe and preach, the gospel of Holy Scripture, the only true Gospel
is here described as “THE GOSPEL OF GOD”.
There
are not many gospels, but one, and that one gospel is “the gospel’ which is “of
God”.
1. It came from God.
2. It reveals God.
3. It is made known by God.
4. It brings sinners to God.
5. It glorifies and exalts God.
B.
That gospel which is of God is that “Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures”.
The gospel revealed in the New Testament is the gospel promised,
portrayed, and typified in the Old Testament.
As I said a moment ago, there is only one gospel, not two. God did not
save sinners by works in the Old Testament. He saved them by grace, just like
he does today.
Noah was saved by grace, not by works.
The Scriptures do not say that God found grace in the eyes of Noah, but that
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Enoch
walked with God just like we do, by faith in Christ. Abraham was saved the same way we are. He believed God, he believed
on the Lord Jesus Christ.
C. That Gospel which is of God
and according to the Scriptures, promised in the prophets of the Old Testament,
is CONCERNING
GOD”S SON, JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.
The gospel is good news about a Person, the
Lord Jesus Christ. It is not a set of doctrines, a proposition, or an offer. It
is the blessed good news of the Person, work, and accomplishments of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Look at this description of Christ, given by God the Holy Spirit.
1. He is the Son of God, God the Son, the second Person of the Holy Trinity
(1 John 5:7).
2. He Jesus, our Savior, Deliverer, and Redeemer (Matt.
3. He is the Christ, Jehovah’s Servant, his Elect,
the Messiah, that One of whom it is written, “He shall not fail!”
4. He who is God our Savior is our Lord, the sovereign Monarch of the
universe (John 17:2;
5. He of whom the Gospel speaks
is God the eternal Son who was “made of the seed of David, according to the
flesh”.
He was “made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under
the law”. Being made a man, he was made a man according to the direct,
royal line of King David, to sit upon his throne forever.
6. Then, after he had satisfied
the law and justice of God for the sins of his people, which were imputed to
him, by his death upon the cursed tree, our great Substitute was manifestly and
indisputably “declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of
holiness, by the resurrection from the dead”.
7. It is this great God and
Savior revealed in the gospel by whom we have received grace, faith, and obedience (v.5).
D. This gospel, everything
about this gospel is “for
his name”, for the glory, honor, praise, exaltation, and
worship of his holy name!
Here is
a litmus test by which we must judge all religion, all doctrine, and all
preaching. If it exalts the Lord Jesus Christ and the free grace of God in him,
it is according to the gospel of God. If it exalts man, his will, his works, or
his religious deeds, it is of the devil, the father of lies, the flatterer and
deceiver of men’s souls.
E. And it is by this gospel,
the glorious gospel of the all glorious Christ, that we who believe are “the called of Jesus Christ”.
2
Thessalonians 2:13-14 "But we are bound
to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God
hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the
Spirit and belief of the truth: 14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to
the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Now,
let me answer one more question, and I am done. This is a question I have been
asked many, many times by preachers and others. It may be that some of you are
yet confused about it. Here is the question…
III. What is it to preach the
gospel?
Let
me give you five answers to that question. I got these from Bro. Henry Mahan a
long, long time ago. I know of no better answer to this very important question
than this.
A. What is it to preach the
gospel? It is to simply declare it.
God
never called a preacher to defend the gospel, apologize for the gospel, explain
the gospel, or adorn the gospel. It is my job simply to declare the gospel.
1
Corinthians 15:1-4 "Moreover,
brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also
ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye
keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For
I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died
for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he
rose again the third day according to the scriptures:"
B. What is it to preach the
gospel? To preach the gospel is to
simply declare it, and to declare it as God’s message.
Our
gospel is the gospel of God, not the gospel of the Reformers, the gospel of the
Puritans, the gospel of the Calvinists, or even the gospel of the Baptists.
That which I have preached to you tonight is God’s message.
If
the message I preach to you is just my message, then you may hear it or not
hear it without consequence. But if the message I have delivered to your soul
is God’s message, then you must hear and heed it, or suffer the consequences of
ignoring and disobeying God.
C. What is it to preach the
gospel? To preach the gospel is to
declare it as God’s message for everyone.
We do not have one message for the lost and
another for the saved. We do not have one message for children and another for
adults. We do not have one message for one group and another for another group.
Our message, the gospel of God is a message for everyone. Our message is always
the same…
·
For Salvation and Sanctification.
·
For Evangelism and Edification.
·
For Conversion and Correction.
·
For Conviction and Comfort.
·
For Dead Sinners and Dying Saints.
Note: The minute we start to specialize we compromise. If you try to make the gospel special for
one group of people, you have to make it palatable to that group; and you
cannot make the gospel palatable to sinners without compromising it.
D. What is it to preach the
gospel? If I would preach the gospel
of the grace of God, I have to preach it as my message.
Romans
Romans
2 Timothy 2:8 "Remember that Jesus Christ of
the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel."
I am
not standing here talking to you about abstract religious, theological
principles which I have learned from a book. I am preaching the message of God
which has been inscribed upon my heart by the finger of God with fire and
burned into my soul as with a branding iron by the Word of God in the hands of
God the Holy Spirit.
E. What is it to preach the
gospel? To preach the gospel is to
declare it with a genuine desire that all who hear may believe.
Those who preach the gospel indifferently do
not preach the gospel. They only go through the motions of preaching. God’s
servants do not preach with indifference, but with passion, as dying men to
dying men.
Every
time I preach, I pray that God the Holy Spirit will enable me to preach the
gospel to you as if I had just learned it today, as if you had never heard it
before, as if you were sure never to hear it again, and as if I were certain
that I would never preach it again. I pray for grace to preach with fire from
heaven in my soul, because my prayer and heart’s desire to God for you is that
you may be saved. And I know that if God is pleased to save you, it will be by
my gospel. If he calls you from death to life, if he calls you to Christ, it
will be by the gospel which I preach to you in his dear name. Come, O Spirit of
God, come. Call sinners to Christ by the gospel, for the glory of God.
AMEN.