I. WHAT THE GOSPEL IS
A. The elements of the Gospel
1.Defining the Gospel – “The heart of the Gospel is that our holy, loving Creator, confronted with human hostility and rebellion, has chosen in his own freedom and faithfulness to become our holy, loving Redeemer and Restorer.” We who are found to be “in Adam” and thus dead in sin, are separated from and unresponsive to our Maker. We are “constantly twisting his truth, breaking his laws, belittling his goals and standards, and offending his holiness by our unholiness…” Thus we are truly “without hope and without God in the world.” But, God has intervened and He has made a way for reconciliation to Himself. The Gospel is the account of that reconciliation.
2.It is important to remember the previous messages in this series. (Authority is established from God’s Word, as His power and purpose are established. Sin utterly separates all of mankind from God and has an inclusive effect on all of creation. The law is given to demonstrate the utter perfection of God and the utter imperfection of sinful man and the appropriateness for God to judge the world in justice and righteousness. The wrath of God against sinful man is seen as both appropriate by God and deserved by man. The promises of God were given to show that He is faithful to do what He says He will do and He promised to send a Deliverer. Even in the context of man’s rebellion, God’s promises remain. He did send a Deliverer in the person of His own Son. Jesus, the God-man, came and died for sinners. Salvation is of God, on God’s terms, in God’s way. This has always been the case since the creation of the world. That is consistent with God and His revelation).
3.The elements of the Gospel must include a disclosure of the Deliverer, who He is and what He has done to deliver those who are bound in sin, and the delivered, who they are and how it became possible for those bound in sin to be delivered by this Deliverer, the Lord Jesus. In other words, the Gospel includes the bad news of sin and judgment and the good news of substitution (God took our place enduring our just punishment), satisfaction (God was satisfied with the holy sacrifice of His Son, appeasing His wrath against sin) and salvation (God made application to many, His forgiveness and the imputation of His righteousness, declaring them righteous and making them fit for His presence). This Good News is made applicable to the unbeliever whose heart is quickened by the Holy Spirit, resulting in genuine repentance of sin and saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. (How do we know this)?
B. The Biblical definitions of the Gospel
1.Romans 1:1-17 and the Gospel – Consider verses 16-17. The Gospel itself is the power of God unto salvation. The problem we have is that we are unrighteous before a holy, righteous God. The Gospel is the power of God, in that He applies His righteousness to sinners through the vehicle of faith, thus declaring what was not righteous as righteous before Him based wholly on the righteousness of the life and death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ! This righteousness of God is revealed in Christ and received by faith. So, at least we can say in regard to these verses, that the Gospel is about the righteousness of God (which is in Christ both intrinsically and achieved by perfect obedience to the Law), that such righteousness is available to the sinner through faith in Christ. Thus the Gospel is the power of God to change the unrighteous sinner by the righteousness of Christ.
2.1 Corinthians 15:1-8 and the Gospel. This text gives further details about the Gospel. We are reminded that only by the death and resurrection of Christ was the payment paid and the salvation of sinners, by faith, made possible. If there was no death and no resurrection, there could be no salvation and thus no good news.
3.Galatians 1 and the Gospel - The Gospel is the Gospel of God. There is only one Gospel and that Gospel is the work of God, not in any way the work of man. Many may come with a different gospel, but it is no gospel at all, for it results in the person remaining in sin and certain of damnation. It is possible to believe a false gospel. Many do, claiming amazing origins of such a gospel. But Paul makes clear that even if he as the great apostle to the Gentiles or even an angel from heaven should preach any other gospel than the one true Gospel they had believed, that person was to be damned for eternity.
4.The record of conversions in the book of Acts and the Gospel. Consider the conversions of Lydia and the Philippian jailer as examples of God’s Gospel. God opened the heart and the quickened person believed in the Lord Jesus Christ! Confession in the form of baptism and ministry in the form of service marked these new believers.
 

II. WHAT THE GOSPEL DOES
A.The Gospel as the seed – Matthew 13 (It penetrates the heart, breaks up the hardness, begins to grow and eventually bears fruit). The ultimate test here of the genuineness of conversion is the bearing of fruit. Over time the genuine became evident and the false was exposed for what it was.
B.The Gospel as that which saves “to the uttermost” (Hebrews 7:25). 2 Corinthians 5 reminds us that the Gospel brings reconciliation between God and man. We have then been assigned the obligation to share this message of reconciliation to others that they might be reconciled to God.
C.The Gospel and fruitfulness (Consider John 15; 1 John, etc.). There does not seem to be the possibility of a fruitless Christian. Fruit would describe the character and the outworking of the professing believer demonstrating over time that this person is in fact a true believer.
 

III. HOW THEN DO WE COMMUNICATE THE GOSPEL
A.The message – The message must include the basics of the Gospel in terms of who Jesus Christ is and what He has done and why it was necessary and why we must believe. How that information is given may vary widely, but it must be the consistent message as recorded in the Bible or it is not the Gospel. Belief in a false Gospel will not result in a person becoming a true believer in Jesus.
B.The method
1. Concerning contact - Friendship-marketplace/Cold turkey/Mass evangelism/Church/other. We cannot communicate the Gospel without some contact with those who need the Gospel.
2. Concerning approach - Canned approach/natural conversation/one time wonder/consistent witness. Creative approaches – As one example: letters to various individuals with whom we might never meet face to face.
3. Concerning preparation - The Word/personal testimony/prayer (the place of prayer in evangelism – what do we pray? Are there any examples of prayer requests in the Bible concerning the evangelization of the lost? (See Colossians 4).
 

IV. WHAT RESPONSE DO WE EXPECT FROM THE PRESENTATION OF THE GOSPEL
A.The pattern in the Acts …
1. Violent rejection (This is possible and becoming more probable)
2. Passive rejection (This is more likely the response we will receive - polite interest, to be considered at a later time).
3. Repentance and faith resulting in conversion.
B.The cultural corruption
1.“Pray this prayer” (What part does “the sinner’s prayer” play in the reception of the Gospel; in the actual conversion of a sinner)? A sample of such corruption is at the end of the video accompanying the “40 Days of Purpose.” The prayer: Dear God, I want to know your purpose for my life. I don’t want to base the rest of my life on wrong things. I want to take the first step in preparing for eternity by getting to know you. Jesus Christ, I don’t understand how, but I want to open up my life to you. Make yourself real to me. And use this series in my life to help me know what you made me for.” Warren then says, Now, if you have prayed that prayer for the very first time I want to congratulate you. You’ve just become a part of the family of God. It is not a prayer that saves us. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. (Interestingly, there is nothing mentioned about sin, grace, repentance, the person of Christ, the cross, faith, judgment or the resurrection).
2.Do this … (The place of public profession, spiritual disciplines, baptism, etc.). “What must I do to be saved?” The answer is technically, “There is nothing you can do to be saved. He has already done what was necessary. You must trust Him that He has rescued from the kingdom of darkness and delivered you to the Kingdom of Light! The issue is what Christ has done on the cross, what the Holy Spirit is doing, quickening us – bringing us to new life in Christ. We are commanded to confess Him before men and such confession happens at baptism. We are commanded to obey Him and serve Him and that is a life-long process of bearing fruit for His glory. It is a lot of work after we trust Christ, to live for Christ, but our entrance into the family of God is the work of God alone. We become the recipients of His gracious work through the vehicle of faith – even that is a gift from God! (But how do we know if someone is a true believer in Christ? We may never really know, but there are observable proof indicators).
C. Observable proof
1. Fruit – John the Baptizer told those who came to him for baptism, “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” (I have an apple tree in my backyard. All things considered that apple tree bears apples. That is what it does. I don’t go out and beg it to bear fruit or command it to bear fruit. It bears fruit because that is what apple trees do. True believers demonstrate the reality of their new life by producing in their lives behavior and attitudes that say, “I am a Christian.”)
2. Endurance – Throughout the Bible, the sentiment is that “those who endure to the end will be saved.” That does not mean that in order to be saved, it is up to us to keep ourselves in that condition. Rather, it means that those who are truly in Christ will endure to the end. John spoke of that when he said, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out that it might become plain that they were not of us” (1 John 2:19).

CONCLUSION
1.The Father sent the Son to free us from the dominion of sin and Satan, and to make us God’s children and friends. Jesus paid our penalty in our place on his cross, satisfying the retributive demands of divine justice by shedding his blood in sacrifice and so making possible justification for all who trust in him. The Bible describes this mighty substitutionary transaction as the achieving of ransom, reconciliation, redemption, propitiation, and conquest of evil powers. It secures for us a restored relationship with God that brings pardon and peace, acceptance and access, and adoption into God’s family. The faith in God and in Christ to which the Gospel calls us is a trustful outgoing of our hearts to lay hold of these promised and proffered benefits…Salvation in its fullest sense is from the guilt of sin in the past, the power of sin in the present, and the presence of sin in the future. (We) enjoy salvation now,(but) still await its fullness. Salvation is a Trinitarian reality, initiated by the Father, implemented by the Son, and applied by the Holy Spirit. It has a global dimension, for God’s plan is to save believers out of every tribe and tongue, to be his church, a new humanity, the people of God, the body and bride of Christ, and the community of the Holy Spirit. All the heirs of final salvation are called here and now to serve their Lord and each other in love, to share in the fellowship of Jesus’ sufferings, and to work together to make Christ known to the whole world (Sproul, 101-103).
2.My friends that is the good news! But it is only good news for you if it has application to you. Should you not understand and embrace the good news, I am asking God to do for you what He did for Lydia and the Philippian jailor – to open your heart – to quicken your heart to believe the Gospel.
3. Before we go, I have additional request. The Apostle Paul had traveled to Corinth and shared the good news. Some believed. A church was established and Paul spent 18 months with them helping them to understand the Scripture. He followed up with a series of letters. At the end of his last canonical letter, he gave this warning: Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you – unless indeed you fail to meet the test… Do you belong to Christ? Have you trusted Him by faith?

THE GOSPEL AFFIRMATIONS AND DENIALS (Summary of the first ten. There are 18 in all. These were printed on the back of the sermon outline)

1.Affirm - The Gospel entrusted to the church is God’s Gospel. He is the author, revealing it to us in and by His Word. It’s authority and truth rest in Him alone. Deny – The truth or authority of the Gospel rests on the authority of a particular church or human institution. (Mark 1; Gal. 1)
2.Affirm – The Gospel effects salvation to everyone who believes, without distinction. It’s efficacy is by the power of God himself. Deny – The power of the Gospel rests in the eloquence of the preacher, technique of the evangelist or persuasion of rational argument. (Rom. 1:16; 1 Cor. 1:18,21)
3.Affirm- The Gospel diagnoses the universal human condition as one of sinful rebellion against God which, if unchanged , will lead to eternal loss under God’s condemnation. Deny – Any rejection of the fallenness of human nature or assertion of natural goodness, or divinity of the human race.
4.Affirm – Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation, the only mediator between God and man. Deny – Anyone is saved in any way other than by Jesus Christ and His Gospel. (John 14:6; 1 Tim. 2:5)
5.Affirm – The church is commanded by God to preach the Gospel to every living person. The church is made up of people of every tribe and tongue and nation. Deny – Any particular group, ethnic, cultural group may be ignored or passed over in this proclamation. (Lk. 24:47; Matt. 28:18-20)
6.Affirm – Faith in Jesus Christ as the divine Word , the second person of the Trinity, co-eternal and co-essential with the Father and the Holy Spirit is foundational to the Gospel. Deny – Any view of Jesus which reduces or rejects His full deity is Gospel faith availing in salvation. (Jn. 1:1; Heb. 1:3)
7.Affirm – Jesus Christ is God incarnate. The virgin born, descendent of David, has a true human nature subject to the Law of God, like us in all points, yet without sin, Faith in the true humanity of Christ is essential to Gospel faith. Deny – that anyone who rejects the humanity of Christ, His incarnation, and/or His sinlessness will be saved. (Jn. 1:14; Rom. 1:3; Gal. 4:5)
8.Affirm – The atonement of Christ, in which He offered a perfect sacrifice, propitiating the Father by paying for our sins and satisfying divine justice on our behalf according to God’s eternal plan is an essential element of the Gospel. Deny – Any view of the atonement that rejects the substitutionary satisfaction of divine justice.
9.Affirm – Christ’s saving work included both his life and His death on our behalf. Deny – Our salvation was achieved merely or exclusively by the death of Christ without reference to His life of perfect righteousness. (Gal. 3)
10. Affirm – The bodily resurrection of Christ from the dead is essential to the Biblical Gospel. Deny – Any so-called Gospel that rejects the historical reality of His resurrection. (1 Cor. 15:14)