The Message of Salvation
There’s a story that’s told about an airplane that lost power to all its engines.
“As it plummeted towards earth, the pilot announced to the terrified passengers, ‘I’m sorry, but there are five of us and only four parachutes. I’m the pilot, it’s my plane, so I’m taking the first one.’ He promptly strapped on one of the parachutes and jumped out.
Remaining on the aircraft were a young father, an elite scientist, a teacher, and a backpacker.
The father stood up and said, ‘Look, I’ve got a young family to care for. I’ve got to take one of the parachutes.’ He threw it on his back and jumped out.
The scientist immediately insisted, ‘I am one of the greatest minds in the country and I would be sorely missed. I have to take one of the parachutes.’ He put it on and jumped out.
The teacher turned to the backpacker and began to say, ‘Listen, my son. I have lived a long and happy life – why don’t you…’
But the young man interrupted, ‘There’s no need. That scientist just jumped out with my backpack on.’” – Told by John Dickson, Simply Christianity, page 9
The writer who tells this story concludes… “It’s easy to assume … you have the ‘real thing’ when, in fact, [all you have is] a poor substitute.”
What’s true in this obviously fictional story is true in our lives as well, it is important that we have the right thing. If we want to be saved from a falling plane, then make sure you have a parachute. If you want to experience the salvation of God then make sure you have the right gospel.
The passage we are looking at today gives us a great direction in making sure we have the right message. God has spoken his word to us that we might know how to be saved and how to help others find salvation.
The gospel is the message of what God has done in Jesus Christ to save by faith.
- The Gospel is a Message
At the heart of the Christian faith is the revelation of God. The Revelation that there is a living God who has acted in history to save his people. A revelation of what he has done and is doing so that people can know him. A revelation of what he calls them to do.
Revelation that proceeds from him. People are separated from him because of a fall, and if our separation is going to be undone it must be initiated by God. If we are separated from him because of some inadequacy of ourselves or an insufficiency, or an outright rebellion, then it’s only from his initiation that we could be brought back.
This passage says that God has done and communicated something that needs to be understood. V8 “the word” (rhema) something that has been definitely stated, command or direction; proclamation or speech. Good news (gospel) a message of glad tidings. v17 hearing (akon related to verb akouw) a report or news, a message, something heard. The hearing comes from the message, the message is the word of Christ. These all communicate there is a clear message and direction. We are not left to grope along in the night in uncertainty.
God did not leave him and his work undefined or undisclosed. If he did then we would have an excuse for not following him. We could say we didn't know. But he has given us his word so that we can know him. We can know everything we need for life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3).
The word of Christ, is not a vague uncertain utterance from God. It is not open spirituality. You hear this a lot today. “I'm not religious but I am spiritual.” This is a vague expression of an indefinite commitment to a vague and indefinite belief. It can sound sophisticated but at the heart it rejects that God has acted or spoken in the past. If God has spoken then we ought to respond to what he says. This is contrary to the Scriptures. We believe God has done and said something definite that is worthy of our attention and allegiance.
- The gospel is the message of what God has done in Jesus Christ to save us.
The content of God’s message is focused on Jesus and what he has done. The testimony comes from many different angles. Moses is quoted here testifying to what Jesus did and accomplished. And what he spoke about was a righteousness that would come to people. Righteousness is a key theme of the book of romans. It is about how people can be right with God.
[5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6 But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 or "'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
What Moses wrote. In the law we know what we are to do. The ten commandments. God revealed how we could be right with God, our works.
[Deut 6:25 And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God.
To be clear we all have fallen short of that. We have no righteousness, and the law reveals that to us.
God gave his law for us to obey, but we have all fallen short, out of alignment with it. We cannot achieve righteousness on our own. You do all of that then great. Honor your mother and father, do not lie, do not commit adultery, do not have idols. Everyone falls short of that, and that means we need another form of righteousness, and that is what is communicated here, and in the book of Romans and in the New Testament, and it is what the Old Testament speaks of. Jesus came from heaven to live the perfect life for us. He earned righteousness. He went to the grave for us.
You cannot seek your own righteousness. This is the way of humans. Of course people do what they think is right. Rarely do we do something wrong. Even when people steal they have a good reason, they thought it was right.
Dale Carnegie in his classic book How to Win Friends and Influence People, points out how people will rarely blame themselves for anything. He points out that Al Capone, “America’s most notorious Public Enemy– the most sinister gang leader who ever shot up Chicago, did not condemn himself. He said, “I have spent the best years of my life giving people the lighter pleasures, helping them have a good time, and all I get is abuse, the existence of a hunted man.” He actually regarded himself as a public benefactor– an unappreciated and misunderstood public benefactor.
[3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.]
They rejected God’s path and sought to establish their own. They make their own way. This is the reason for so many different philosophies and religions. They did not accept God’s so they made up their own. Elements of truth. Elements of meeting people’s need. But it’s all a stepping away from the truth of the one for whom we were created.
The Israelites tried to achieve their own righteousness. That was a rejection of God’s savior. Some were zealous for God. They were not indifferent. They had a zeal, but their zeal was not based on who God is. It was not based on what he wanted of them. We have to remember that we need to conform our thoughts and desires to God, it is not about God conforming himself to our wants and desire.
Christian self righteousness. Assuming that by doing good things you are right with God. righteousness based on performance. Going to church is essential to walking with Christ. Take a Christian out of church and it's like taking a fish out of water, its going to start dying. It may not be immediate, but it will be soon. But going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to McDonalds makes you a hamburger. Some people barter with God thinking well I do just enough here and then I'm good to go on with life. You have a minimum standard, you are doing the minimum. You are seeking to do your own thing. You are not submitting to God’s righteousness. You are in fact rejecting him. ONe of the greatest dangers is people rejecting God with their religion. You give him just enough tokens to hold on to your life. You give tokens instead of giving your life.
Seek to make things right. People try to make selves right with God in own way. We seek to find peace our own way. We do it through religion, but there are many other ways people seek God and his peace in ways that are contrary to his word. In an atheistic society guilt before God is often missing but the search for peace, acceptance, atonement takes many misshapen and dire forms.
GK Chesterton. “. . .the young man who rings the bell at the brothel is unconsciously looking for God.”
Looking for a healing that only he can bring. But have to find it in the place he has said.
People search in vain apart from God’s word. He has communicated this word to us so we would not be in the dark, so we would not be confused, so we would not run down the wrong path.
Contrary to our own righteousness is the righteousness based on faith. We could not attain it, so God brought it to us. We were not able to ascend into heaven and bring it down. Good news is Jesus came to us. We do not need to descend into death to conquer it, Christ has already defeated. That means the word is near us, the message is secured, we simply need to believe it. There is nothing else left to do other than to accept it.
Gospel. Good news.
Jesus died for your sins
Jesus rose from the grave.
He earned our righteousness and now offers it to us so that we can be clothed in his righteousness. Our sins are taken away.
What makes Christianity different from all the other religions of the world? Years ago that very question was discussed at a conference. Some of the participants argued that Christianity is unique in teaching that God became man. But someone objected, saying that other religions teach similar doctrines. What about the resurrection? No, it was argued, other faiths believe that the dead rise again. The discussion grew heated.
C.S. Lewis, a strong defender of Christianity, came in late, sat down, and asked, “What’s the rumpus about?” When he learned that it was a debate about the uniqueness of Christianity, he immediately commented, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.”
How right he was! The very heart of the gospel is the supreme truth that God accepts us with no conditions whatever when we put our trust in the atoning sacrifice of His incarnate Son. Although we are helplessly sinful, God in grace forgives us completely. It’s by His infinite grace that we are saved, not by moral character, works of righteousness, commandment-keeping, or churchgoing. When we do nothing else but accept God’s total pardon, we receive the guarantee of eternal life
It may be hard to have a defined word, but it is the grace of God that helps you know what he requires and what he has done for you. You are not in the dark. Have you ever had a boss that gave you vague directions? You were not sure what he was looking for
- A Message receive by faith
"The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
What must we do to receive the work of Christ? We believe. It is not based on our work; It is based on Jesus' work. This is the amazing thing about Christianity.
We dont work ourselves into a position to receive it. WE simply believe.
The word is near you. This isn’t a message that is too far beyond you. It's not a PhD course that you have to have the years and years of training to understand. Make no mistake, the years of training will show you more. But this message is simple enough a five year old can understand. It's so profound the wisest theologian will never exhaust its riches. You may be hanging on a cross to die and you can find salvation that very moment before your soul departs this life. It is near you so you don't have to find someone to enter into heaven for you, to come down to share a message. Christ has done that. Continuity in Old and New Covenant, even in Moses time the essential requirement was faith.
Ever feel like people keep asking you to do things you cannot do? Amanda had a person she knows message a bunch of people that she would be glad to rent to them their brand new condo in Costa Rico, beautiful views, etc only $20k a night. I would love to qualify for this job, man I have to spend years getting qualifications for it, I would love to get into that program but to do that I would need…. It feels impossible. So how can become worthy enough to receive what Christ has done? You can't. All you have to do is believe. And not believe in yourself, but believe in him and his work. That he is the Savior whom God promises. That he died for your sins. That he rose on teh tird day. IT is as simple as believe.
[10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
These are not intended to be separate and distinct acts of believing and confessing. True belief wells up into a conviction that comes out of a person. It may very well be that the confession he is talking about is baptism. We profess faith in Jesus through baptism. Baptism is one of the most basic commands Christ gives to his followers. Those who trusted in him were baptized. Its the first thing his followers do.
Turning to Christ means turning away from the world.
Now true belief changes how you live. If you believe your cell phone causes cancer, then it's going to change how you use it. If you believe Jesus is the Lord to whom you will have to answer and give an account to to then you will live for him. Heart and mouth. In sync with one another. Also a new life.
[16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?"
To truly hear is to obey. Tell my kids all the time, pick up your toys. They didn’t do it. Did you hear what I said? I know they heard me, but they didn’t really hear me. The greatest distance for the gospel to travel is the 18 inches from your head to your heart.
Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of God. One of the ways you grow in faith, continue in the faith is by reading the word. Faith comes by hearing. If you want to grow in knowing God read his word. It is his authorized disclosure of himself.
DL moody. I used to close my eyes and pray for faith. But faith did not seem to come. One day I read in the tenth chapter of Romans, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” I had up to this time closed my Bible and prayed for faith. I now opened my Bible and began to study, and faith has been growing ever since.”
If you want to grow in your faith read the word. Read it with others. Know what it says. If you are a new believer, skeptic, wondering about the Bible then read it. If you are a mature believer then read the word. Grow cold when turn away from word, from church, from people.
- A Message to Share
If this message it what it says it is then it should change us. It should also change the way we think about other people and what we talk about.
[v1 Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.
A great mistake people make today is they complain about others not believing and receiving the word, but they do not share the gospel. They don't have any desire to inconvenience themselves for the sake of the gospel. Don't complain about people not coming to church. Dont complain about people not joining. Don't complain about people not being in Bible study. God has called you to go to them.
What do you long for God to do? Look over your prayers. If God were to answer your prayers would eternity be any different.
God invites you into the privilege of sharing this message. It is the most unique and profound message to share with someone.
[14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"
Who is on your heart? Is there anyone? Who will share with them? Who is going to share with your friends, neighbors, your grandkids,
This is one of the things we want to grow in. How can we make disciples. A lot of people think a growing church has to tweak things internally. Get the preaching right, get the slides right, get the seating right. All of those have a place to discuss. But one of the greatest things is do we really want to reach others? Am I reaching others? Am I helping others to know Jesus?
Here is the thing. How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. Do you want to do something of significance? Then find out how to help others find peace with God.
Persistently. Held out hands all day to a disobedient people. Complain that people are not responding. “Look at what all I am doing. Being nice, dang it.” Doing Bible study, gave them a tract, invited. Well, remember God knows that frustration too. He showed it to you for a long time before you did anything with it. You are continuing to learn grace. But there will be people who simply will not receive.
The message that Jesus died for our sins means you can be forgiven, you can find salvation immediately, and that it wells up in you changing you. It is a sure and certain message we can trust in and sharing it is what brings the most significant meaning to our lives.
I have just given you a parachute to save you from all you are going through. God ordained you to be here this day. But you will choose if you take that parachute and use it, or leave it in the chair when you walk out.
