Baptism / "The Unfailing Gospel" -- 10/11/09

Sunday, October 11, 2009 Baptism: Kristin Guin

Brief Message: THE UNFAILING GOSPEL


* This message was preached a bit differently, not following the notes as closely as usual. Nevertheless, the basic thrust is the same.

Let me ask a simple question this morning: What is Christianity? That question is not as simple as it might seem. Why not? Because people have so many ideas about what Christianity is, and we are bombarded with those ideas all the time. The tendency in our current society is to define Christianity in very person terms. “It’s the only thing that keeps me going.” This morning I want us to focus on the critical truth that Christianity is primarily good news. It is the gospel.

Why is it good news? Because I can be happy, now that my sins are forgiven? Because now I have a reason to live.” While those answers may be somewhat correct, they don’t have the proper starting point. If we aren’t careful, we will reduce what is called Christianity to such a personal level that we will miss the glory of the good news.

On May 8, 1945, the front page headline of newspapers all over this country announced “Victory in Europe.” That meant the war was over. How did people respond to that headline? They jumped up and down for joy. They hugged perfect strangers. They danced in the streets. In other words, they forgot about themselves and rejoiced in the good news. Although that good news would have wonderful implications for them personally, they immediately gloried in the objective good news that the war was over.

Now apply that to the greater good news, to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The objective news of the gospel is that Jesus Christ through His death and resurrection has won the victory forever over sin and Satan. Jesus has won the victory in the war that is greater than World War II and all other earthly wars combined. That is grounds for great celebration for everyone who knows about it. Through His death Jesus has destroyed the power of him who had the power of death, that is, the devil (Heb. 2:14). Jesus has defeated a foe far greater than Hitler and his allies. That is the reality of the objective gospel of Jesus Christ.

Young people, let me put it in simple terms. The good news of Jesus does not begin with what he can do for you. It begins with what He accomplished when He died on the cross and rose from the grave. When Jesus went to that cross, He was dealing with a world gone wrong. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and everything in them, and it was very good. But what happened then? The people he created (Adam and Eve) decided to do their own thing. They trusted their own wisdom more than they trusted God. They rebelled against their Creator, and all their descendants continued that rebellion. What a mess they made out of the world! After a few hundred years during the time of Noah, things got so bad that God destroyed the world with a flood, saving only eight people on that ark. But mankind did not learn his lesson. Things got bad again and they are still bad. Is our world not perfectly described by the words of Is. 53:6, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way…”? Or maybe Judg. 21:25 would be an even better description: “Everyone did that which was right in his own eyes.”

That’s bad news, but here’s the good news: God dealt with the situation completely by sending His Son to die on the cross and raising Him up from the grave. When they put Jesus’ lifeless body in the grave, it appeared that Satan had won his greatest victory, that he had killed the Son of God. But when God raised Jesus out of that grave, He turned the verdict upside down. It was Jesus who won the victory. Satan’s power was broken. That is why Jesus could say before He ascended back to heaven, “All power (authority) is given unto me in heaven and earth.” What if the biggest bully you know of was put in his place? You would rejoice. He deserved to be defeated. When Jesus died and rose, He put the biggest bully of all time in his place. And the day is coming when Satan will be cast into the lake of fire once and for all. That is good news.

But don’t ever forget what it cost for that to happen. Don’t forget that all of us were on the devil’s team. We participated in his rebellion against God. In order for Jesus to break His power over us, He had to deal with sin, because it was our sin that put us under him. So how did Jesus deal with our sin. He began by coming to this earth and living a life free from sin. We couldn’t be helped by another sinner. Jesus was tempted in every way you are tempted, but He never sinned. He never disobeyed his mom or dad. He never thought a bad thought. He always loved the other person and did what was best for him. He never once tried to get revenge. Jesus always did what God His Father asked Him to do. The most amazing thing in history is that this sinless Jesus would take the punishment for sinners like me. I deserved to be separated from God, because I was a God-hating rebel. Instead, Jesus hung on that cross and cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

But praise God that wasn’t the last thing He said. After bearing our sins there on that cross, after taking upon Himself the full punishment, the very wrath of God, He cried out, “It is finished.” What was finished? He had finished the work He came to do. He had accomplished what His Father sent Him to do. He had become the propitiation for sins. That is, He turned away the wrath of God by taking that wrath upon Himself. He did it perfectly and completely, and that is why He could say “It is finished.” Having uttered that cry of victory, Jesus then yielded up His spirit. He died.

Can you imagine the joy among His followers when He rose? Yes, it took them a bit to understand it was really their Lord Jesus, but when they did, there was no bounds to their joy. Jesus was alive. Friends, Jesus is alive. We can’t see Him with these eyes, but He is as alive as He ever was. As King of Kings and Lord of Lords, He now sits at the right hand of the Father, the place of majesty and power.

I am deliberately focusing on the objective truth of the gospel. Yes, my sins have been forgiven through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Yes, the Spirit of God is growing within me love, joy, and peace. But behind the truth of what is happening in me is the great reality that Jesus Christ has reconciled me and every other believer in this world to God. He has made peace by the blood of His cross. Oh that we might lose ourselves in the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This morning we are going to share in Kristin’s baptism. I praise God for what He has done and is doing in her life. In a few minutes she is going to tell you about it. But when we baptize her this morning, we are not just celebrating what God has done for Kristin; we are acting out the truth of the great triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ. When she goes under that water, we are proclaiming that Jesus really died and was really buried. And when we raise her up out of that water, we are proclaiming, “Jesus rose. He’s alive. This is no game. There is one who died and rose to never die again. And because He lives, we shall live also!”

We live in a day when “the new age” religion is flourishing. If you aren’t familiar with “new age,” it is a distortion of Christianity that uses Christian words but changes their meaning. New agers are comfortable talking about Jesus as the Savior, but they don’t mean what the Bible means. They have twisted the great terms of the faith by making them internal and subjective. When a new ager says he is saved, he means that he has found the Savior that was within him all along (or something along those lines). Those in the new age movement have no anchor because what they believe goes no deeper than their own resources. They are not anchored to the truth of the cross and resurrection.

What would happen if the greatest names in Christianity proved to be false teachers, big phonies. What if Norman and I renounced our faith? While that might be difficult, the least of the saints could weather the storm. Why? Because their faith is not in men or psychological ideas; their faith is in the Christ who died and rose. That is why Paul says, “But God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 6:14).

Brothers and sisters, seekers and friends, that’s the gospel! You can stake your life on the Christ of the gospel. He is rock solid.

Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. 2. He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved… My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. 6. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved. 7. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. 8. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah. (Ps. 62:1-2,3-8)
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Below you will find Kristin’s (9 years old) testimony. She wrote it herself and read it to the congregation…

Matthew 10:32 tells me, “Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.” I want to tell everyone that I know that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and He did the same for you. I am not worthy to go to heaven, but because of what Jesus did on the cross, I can. The more I read my Bible the more I learn how awesome my God is.

Romans 6:4-8 says, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even then we also should walk in newness of life.” I have learned that baptism demonstrates a person dying to their self and rising up with Christ. I want to be baptized to demonstrate what God has done in my life. I know this will not make my life perfect, but what I have learned is that God is always there for me and there are answers to every problem in the Bible. Philippians 1:6 tells me, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” I know I am young, but this tells me that God is going to be there to guide me through my life.

When my family was in the mountains, I saw an aspen tree that had the words “Jesus saves” carved into it. Underneath it someone else had carved the words “those who repent.” That meant a lot to me because almost everyone has heard that Jesus saves, but you have to dig deeper than that, because there is more to the story than just “Jesus saves.” I have learned more about Jesus by reading my Bible and talking to other people who believe in God. We need to repent, and pray, and read our Bible daily. The Bible is the way you learn more about God. It is like an instruction book for us to follow.

While reading God’s Word, I have found that there is an answer for everything. Like when I was worried about seeing snakes and prayed the 91st Psalm. There is advice for forgiveness, when someone makes you made and you really don’t like them at the time. When you are nervous about a test in school or a game, you can look at Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” There are answers to everything in the Bible.

I know Jesus has changed me. By His teachings I am more aware of what is right and wrong. When I do something wrong, I feel bad and know I need to repent. I want to live my life for God and am glad to have Him on my side.