Basic Gospel : Just A Minute!

Many false prophets are in the world today. And they are delivering messages that sound good and promise all kinds of wonderful things. So how do we know if their message is true? The Apostle John made it very simple for us to know. He wrote, “Every spirit that confesses that Jesus came in the flesh is from God. Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.” So Jesus is the litmus test. What a prophet says about him tells you all you need to know about the validity of their message. If you hear someone denying Jesus, denying that he is God in human flesh, and that he physically died and was raised again, turn and run. He is not delivering the truth, the truth that will set you free.

Will God ever blot your name out of the Book of Life? Many are fearful that he might based on their faulty understanding of Revelation 3:5. Listen to what it says. "The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels." Let’s ask a question: Who is the one who is victorious? John already answered this in his first letter. “For everyone who is born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith." Have you been born again? If so, your name is in the Book of Life and it will never be blotted out. And that’s good news.

We all stumble in life. We make mistakes. We sin. We give in to temptations and the desires of the flesh. And we don’t like it when we stumble. And we will do and try about anything to keep it from happening again. But it does. And when it does, the guilt and shame and fear says to us to try harder and do better. But that is a sharp contrast to the encouragement of the Word. Listen to these words from Jude: "Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory." Trying harder sounds like the wise approach. But the best way is through faith in Jesus, the one who loves you and gave himself for you. He is the one who is able to keep you from stumbling.

Earnestly contend for the faith. How we need these words today. In this age of tolerance, the message of Jesus is being covered over or altered to fit the times. Jude put it this way: "People are perverting the grace of our God, and are denying our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ." With all the phony, feel good messages, people are missing the truth that there is no salvation apart from Christ. And there is no other way to be saved than by grace. So let’s make it known passionately and clearly that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. Let’s contend hard for this faith that was once and for all delivered to the saints Let’s fight fiercely for the Gospel People need the truth.

Here is a statement from Major Ian Thomas that has stuck with me for many years. "A life of faith is our love for God, resulting in dependency upon God, resulting in obedience to God." Well I had never heard faith sequenced like this. I had it backwards. Obedience first hoping that a love for God would follow. But it never did. Love for God has to come first. And as John wrote, "we love because he first loved us." Start anywhere other than the love of God and all you get is legalistic obedience. If you want a heartfelt expression of faith, let Major Thomas’ statement stick with you. "A life of faith is our love for God, resulting in dependency upon God, resulting in obedience to God."

You are a gifted person. Your salvation is a gift. The Holy Spirit living in you is a gift. And you have received a gift from the Holy Spirit. As Peter said, a gift to be used to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace. It doesn’t matter what that gift is. If it is in speaking, you simply speak the words of God If it is in serving, you serve in the power God supplies. So today, recognize that in Christ, you are a gifted person. That you have been equipped uniquely by God’s Spirit to serve those around you as a steward of His grace. Trust God’s Spirit to use your gift as a blessing to others. It’s the way to glorify God through Jesus Christ.

Did you know that as a believer in Jesus, you have a new citizenship. It is in heaven. And it is based on your new birth in Christ. You belong to him, and are now part of the kingdom of God. Why does the Bible tell us this great news? It does so to anchor us to the great hope that we have in Christ. A hope that gives us confidence and security to live as children of God in this crazy world. A hope that makes us stand out against the patterns of this world. A hope that gives us a purpose in representing the kingdom of God Now your passport identifies you as a citizen of an earthly country. But your real citizenship is in heaven. Rejoice, you have an eternal home.

You have a ministry. It’s called the ministry of reconciliation. Now most of us think about ministry as something we do out there in the world. On the mission field, or in a church setting. But that’s not the biblical pattern. For the disciples Jesus set their sites on Jerusalem first, right where they lived. Not somewhere out there in the world. What would happen if we began first in our homes and neighborhoods? What would happen if we simply said, “Lord use me right here.” How powerful to say and live out the truth that God is no longer counting your sins against you… to your spouse, to your children, to your neighbors? He has entrusted you with that ministry. Today trust him to carry out this ministry of reconciliation through you, right where you are.

As a believer you are Christ’s ambassador. One of Christ’s official representatives in this world today. Here is how Paul put it in second Corinthians. "All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us." Did you catch that? God gave you a ministry — the ministry of reconciliation. And if you are looking for meaning and purpose to life, there it is. Connecting people to the love of Christ eternally.

As a believer, you are free. Do you know what that means? Paul put it this way. For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Did you catch that? You can use your freedom to indulge the flesh. This is what it means to be free. And when you make that choice to indulge the flesh you are freely submitting to sin’s control. Now that doesn’t make much sense. And that doesn’t ring the bell of freedom very loudly. The Bible offers a different way to express your freedom. It’s through serving one another through love. That’s when freedom rings the loudest. So let freedom ring. Your freedom in Christ.

Did you know that through the great and precious promises of God you become partakers of God’s divine nature? This boggles the mind. God chose to share his life with you. And he promised to make it so in Christ. Think about it. Now you have the privilege of participating in the life of Christ, having his divine nature flow through you to reflect his life to the world around you. And it’s a life that is radically different. one that stands out from the worldly corruption that comes from sinful desires. It’s a life of faith and virtue and self-control and steadfastness and kindness and love. Things that don’t come through human effort or fancy rules and regulations. So partake today by faith and thank God for his great and precious promises.

Here are some encouraging words from the Apostle Peter. He wrote: “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.” Now did you catch what he is saying about you? You’ve been given everything you need for life and godliness. You are fully equipped to walk in the newness of life – to live in this world as a child of God. There is nothing more that you need. And all of this is yours through your knowledge of Christ. Maybe you are feeling inadequate today, or overwhelmed by life. If so, take heart. You have Jesus living in you, and he is everything you need.

I’ve been thinking about blenders lately. Now not the ones in our kitchens that make those delicious smoothies. It’s the theological blenders. Think about it. Most of what we hear in church today is one blended message after another. We hear law mixed with grace. The Old Covenant with the New. The philosophies of the world blended into the Gospel. Now the same was happening back in Paul’s day. And much of what he wrote was to encourage leaders to deliver pure, undiluted message of Christ. And then to convince believers that in Christ they have everything they need. In other words, get rid of the theological blender. Throw it away. Plain and Simple—The message is Jesus. In him, and him alone, you are complete.

Knock offs and imitations. Now the world is full of these items. And many try to pass these items off as the real thing. But you know they’re not. They don’t have the seal of authenticity. The same is true for many religious people. They profess with their lips they are the real deal, but they don’t carry the seal of authenticity., the promised Holy Spirit. Now Paul put it this way. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him… you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. And it is his presence in that you marks you out as someone who belongs to Christ. His presence in you means you are a genuine, authentic child of God. It is Christ in you that makes you the real deal.

What does it mean to be a Christian? Well Paul answered this way: You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. So a Christian is a person in whom the Spirit of God dwells. And as Paul wrote, anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. So what does it mean to be a Christian? It means that the Spirit of God lives in you. And it is his presence in you that makes you new and different. So let me ask, do you have the Spirit of God living in you? If so, you are a Christian. You belong to Jesus. And that’s good news

Imagine being in Paul’s shoes on that road to Damascus. What would you expect from the Lord if you had done what Paul did. Certainly not what Paul received. At that moment, God’s unlimited patience toward Paul meant his salvation. Paul wanted to be God's guy. But he missed the boat. Yet, God never deserted him or gave up on him.. At that critical moment, Jesus extended mercy. He turned this persecutor into a proclaimer of the good news. It’s no wonder Paul began the definition of love with these immortal words: “Love is patient.” So what were you like as a person before you trusted Jesus Christ? Here is the good news. God never gave up on you. His patience toward you meant your salvation (1 Peter 3:15).  

When you say that God loves you, what do you mean? Paul knew exactly, and he wrote it down for us in 1 Corinthians 13. He used seven action statements to tell the story of God’s love for him. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love rejoices with the truth. Love always protects. Love always trusts. Love always hopes. Love always perseveres. Paul experienced every single aspect of God’s love. His letters are filled with personal examples. Well so have you. Your story is flooded with God’s acts of patience and kindness. His perseverance and protection. His rejoicing with truth. His belief and hope. This is the love he lavishes on you everyday. So right now, take a minute and thank God for his love.

Do you go through life expecting the worst? I did for a long time. And when the bad things happened, I thought it was punishment for one of my past sins. But it’s different now. I don’t live on edge wondering when punishment will fall. That was all taken care of at the cross. Jesus’s finished work took away my sin once and for all. And through his resurrection he gave me a brand new life, His life. This is the truth that put my mind at rest. This is the truth that replaced my fears and anxieties with hope. Let me encourage you today. You don’t have to live expecting the worst. Take a look at the cross and the resurrection. It will put your mind at rest and fill your heart with hope.

Do you know that your emotions can’t tell the difference between fact and fantasy? It’s true. Think about the last scary movie you saw. It frightened you didn’t it. But why. The events you saw on the screen really didn’t happen. But your emotions didn’t know that. They simply responded to all those scary images you took into your mind through your eyes and ears. Here is the problem. We can work ourselves up into an emotional frenzy today simply by thinking of all the bad stuff that may happen to us tomorrow. But as Jesus said, why worry about tomorrow? He has promised to take care of you today. And you can count on him to take care of you tomorrow That’s truth that will give you joy today.

Here are four facts to know about your emotions. They always follow thought. They have no intellect They cannot discern between fact and fantasy They cannot tell the past from the present from the future. If you think about a past event, your emotions respond as if that event is happening right now. The same is true when you imagine what might happen in the future. You think something right now, you feel something right now. SO what is the the solution to emotional problems? A change in your thinking. As the Bible says, don’t be conformed to the pattern of this world, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Let God’s word change your thinking and your feelings will follow suit.