Proclaimers of the Gospel of..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. Very good brothers and sisters. It is indeed a great privilege for me to have the opportunity to share the word of God with you.

So I'm going to invite you to please open up your Bibles to the book of Romans, Romans chapter one, the book of Romans. We are going to continue with our series if the Lord allows and gives us grace in the future through first John. But I want to I want to direct your attention to Romans, Romans chapter one. And this time in this opportunity, brother, sister, dear friend, I want to speak to you about the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. You can hear me well, right?

Yeah. As I said, I want to direct your attention to Romans chapter one. And I want us to speak to consider the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. If I was going to make that more clear, my desire with this word that I'm sharing with you, as if it was going to be the last time that I'm speaking to you, my desire is that we will see the urgent need for us to be active proclaimers of the gospel of Christ. That there where you are seated with your life, with the things that are good and the things that perhaps are not so good, with the difficulties that you have, with the fears that you have, with the things that you know and the things that you don't know, that you will understand that if the grace of God has been given to you, The Lord calls us to be proclaimers of this message that we call the gospel of Jesus Christ, that someone's salvation in a human sense depends upon your proclamation of this gospel of Jesus Christ, the same gospel that saved us, the same gospel that made us one with the Lord Jesus Christ.

And I want us to see that. And I hope not through the preaching, but more than that, through the guiding of the Holy Spirit, as these words are spoken, from the first seven verses of Romans chapter 1, from Romans chapter 1 verse 1 through 7, and I'm going to ask you that we will read this passage, my dear brother and sister, these seven verses. And after we read these seven verses, I want to come with you to Acts chapter 9 and read together also the first 22 verses of Acts chapter 20, Acts 9 from verse 1 to 22. The reason why I want us to do that is because the one that is going to be calling us to be proclaimers of the gospel in these first seven verses is the Apostle Paul. And the conversion of the Apostle Paul, brethren, is just powerful.

It is glorious, and it's mighty. And what happened to him will help us understand the burden and the heart of the Apostle as he's communicating these seven verses here in Romans chapter 1. So brethren, that the Lord will give us the grace that is needed for us not to be distracted in our flesh, but just to pay attention to the things that we read and the things that we proclaim here from this pulpit, and that Christ Jesus will be exalted among us. Let us read together Romans chapter 1 verse 1 through 7 and then Acts chapter 9. This is the word of the Lord.

a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which, the gospel, he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures. This gospel is concerning his son, who was descended from David according to the flesh, And Jesus was declared to be the Son of God in power, according to the spirit of holiness, by his resurrection from the dead. Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom, Jesus our Lord, we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, to all those in Rome, who are loved by God and called to be saints. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us now turn to Acts chapter 9 and let us read together, brethren, with much reverence.

Let us see here and behold as we read the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of Paul. You remember Paul, a hater of the church, an enemy of Christ, A son of Satan. This is Acts chapter 9. Let us read with reverence until verse 22. This is the word of the Lord.

But Saul, that is Paul, and I'm going to be referring to him as Saul or Paul. But Saul, still breathing threats and murdered against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the way, men or women, he may bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, Soul, Soul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, Who are you, Lord?

And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do. The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were open, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias! And he said, Here I am, Lord. And the Lord said to him, Rise, and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul.

For behold, he is praying. And he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hand on him, so that he may regain his sight. But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priest to bind all who call on your name. But the Lord said to him, Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.

For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.' So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him, he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which he came, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized, and taking food he was strengthened.

For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. And immediately And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, He is the Son of God. And all who heard him were amazed and said, Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon his name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests? But Saul, to increase all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.

Amen. This is the Word of the Lord. And I want you to pay attention to verse 20, my dear brother and sister. Immediately, immediately, Paul proclaimed in the synagogues that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He did not wait, he did not go and consult with anyone, but his spirit, his heart was moved to immediately proclaim and open his mouth to speak of this Jesus who is Christ.

And how many excuses, how many excuses Paul could have had in his heart not to go and preach? How many things Satan could have brought to his attention not to preach immediately the name of the Lord Jesus Christ? How many doubts without a reason from inside about all the things that he had studied years and years. Paul had given himself to study the Old Testament in such a way that his human conclusion was that this man who is Christ needs to be destroyed and everyone who follows Jesus has to be destroyed. Yet...

When the Spirit of God came upon him, all the many years of learning were transformed and everything was pointed now to the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only doubts from inside, but what about fear? He knew that the result of those who preached Christ was death. He had seen from the high priest the hatred that institutionalized religion had against the way of Jesus Christ. He had seen with his eyes how Stephen had been stoned.

He had been participated in that very moment. He would have been filled with fear, one would tell it in the flesh. No, He had the Spirit of God in Him. And even though He could have been tempted to doubt and He could have been tempted to fear, He was immediately moved to preach the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Not only fear, but what about shame?

I have been preaching all of these things in my life. I have been sitting at the feet of Gamaliel for such a long time. I have been telling everyone that they are to be destroyed. And now am I going to tell them that just simply out of nowhere I have changed my mind? He was tempted, he could have been tempted to be embarrassed, to be ashamed of the gospel of Christ.

But then he will say to the same Romans, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation. His flesh could have tempted him not only with doubts and with fear and with shame, but what about comforts? All his life he had lived as a reputable, elevated, a lifted person that because of his religion and because of the things that he knew, he had this life of prestigious life that everyone looked at him, looked up to him and knew that he was a person that was to be followed. That was the comfort of life. He knew that in the moment that he changed his mind about this Christ, in the moment that he was going to change the message about his Christ, all of his comforts will be gone.

He knew that in the moment that he will cross the doors of that synagogue and he opened his mouth to speak about Christ, all things will be gone and lost. Yet immediately this man was moved by the Holy Spirit to go and preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And someone might be tempted to say the reason why Pope Paul was so convinced that he was supposed to go and preach the gospel is because he knew the Bible so well. He knew the Tanakh, he knew the Old Testament, he had memorized the Bible. And that's why he goes and preaches the gospel with such confidence.

That's why he goes and opens his mouth in such a way. That's why he's willing to count it all loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Someone we may be even tempted to believe that is because of his calling. Paul is an apostle, and this is the calling that the apostles had. This is the way that the Lord was expecting that the apostles would respond with confidence, with boldness.

And that is why Paul went into the synagogue immediately to preach the Lord Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God. Yet that is not according to the testimony of the same Paul who in Galatians 1 from verse 10 onward says that when God who set him apart from the wound of his mother was pleased to reveal the Son of God in him, He did not go to Jerusalem to ask permission. He did not go to question or ask men to see if he was going to preach. He did not go and consult with the flesh if he was supposed to just ask for approval from someone to go and preach. But rather, he went and preached in Damascus, and then he went to Arabia to spend time at the feet of the Lord, and his life was characterized by the clamation of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

What did he learn through the encounter of the Lord Jesus Christ? That he should count it all loss for the excellency of knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. No shame, no fear, no comfort of life was sufficient. to tempt him to take a different path than the preaching of the gospel, immediately going into the synagogue to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And my dear brother, my dear sister, this is the same gospel that we Christians have.

This is the same spirit. that had an encounter with Paul in Acts chapter 9, that we may not be deceived to think that he was just an apostle and that his calling was specific. Yes, he was an apostle, and we're not apostles like him. Yes, his calling was different to ours, but the same Spirit that revealed the Son of God to Paul is the same Spirit that has revealed unto us the glorious Lord Jesus Christ. It is the same spirit that now in Romans 1 moved Paul to call himself a servant of Jesus Christ.

I'm no longer a servant of Judaism. I'm no longer a servant of the intellect of the mind. I'm no longer a servant of Gamaliel. I'm no longer a servant of religion. I'm now a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And he says that not because he's an apostle, but because of the spirit of Christ that is in him. The same Spirit that should make us move to say, I'm no longer a slave to myself. I no longer belong to myself. I no longer belong to the systems of this world, but now I'm a servant, a bondservant, a slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. The same Gospel that saved the Apostle in the Lord Jesus Christ is the same Gospel that now saved us.

And not only saved him, brother and sister, but also commissioned him. The same gospel of Christ is the one that commissioned Him to be an apostle and to take the message of salvation to the end of the world. And it's the same gospel that now commissioned us because we can join the apostle there when he says that he was set apart for the gospel of God. And we can join him and say that we have been set apart. as ambassadors of Christ, 2 Corinthians, that we have been set apart with the apostles and all other Christians throughout the generations to be the light of God through the preaching and the proclamation of the gospel.

That it's not only the apostles, the ones that were going to give their lives to proclaim the light of Christ, but that every single Christian, not by virtue of the things that they know or the things that they do not know, but by virtue of the Holy Spirit in them. can join the apostle in saying that we are willing to count our lives as lost, as ravished, for the excellency of the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and the proclamation of this message to this world that is lost. If there is something in us that prevents us from saying that, it is that is of our flesh. Because when the Spirit of God is in us and moves us in the way that moved Paul, we are We know with certainty that our lives are of no value, brother and sister, and that our time upon this earth has but one purpose, to be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to point others through the gospel to come to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. This is the message that we are to be proclaimers of.

This is the message that we need to have in our mouths and to proclaim to this world because there's not going to be any other way in which people are going to be saved that through the proclamation of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And brothers and sisters, I want to give you, just from the text that we have in front of us, three powerful, I hope, and important reasons why we Christians, together with the apostles, should be active proclaimers of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why we Christians, three reasons from the text, Why we Christians should be active proclaimers of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, coming with the apostles and saying that we are slaves of Christ, that we have been set apart for the gospel of God, and that this presence of the Spirit in us moves us to the proclamation of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Reason number one that I wanted to see it from verse two. The reason why we Christians should be active proclaimers of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is because God has revealed this gospel to us.

Be with me. God has revealed, manifested, He has opened our eyes to see this gospel, this message to us. And when I say us, I'm referring to Christians. In the world, there are two types of people. Those who buy grace through faith are in Christ, and those who are not.

That's no matter how much money we have, or where we come from, our nationality, or anything like that. In this world, there are only two types of people. Those who are in Christ, and those who are not in Christ. And the Lord has been pleased in revealing the message of the gospel only to those who are in Christ. This is very important because if you, my dear brother and sister, belong to a family and in your family, your family members are not in Jesus Christ, but you, by the grace of God, you have been set apart as a child of God.

Then in that household, by the sovereignty of the Lord and by the providence of the Lord, the Lord has placed a person who can reveal the gospel and bring the gospel to the one that is lost. If you, my dear brother, my dear sister, belong to a workplace in which your co-workers are not in Jesus Christ, we understand and acknowledge that by the grace, by the sovereignty and the providence of God, you have been placed there by God so that you are the means by which the gospel of God is revealed and is proclaimed. You may say, but I don't have the ability to preach. I don't have the ability to speak. I'm very fearful.

I'm embarrassed of all these things. These are the things of our flesh. And we're all like that, my dear brother and sister. But we are not the ones who do. It is the Spirit of God in us.

And if the Spirit of God moved, Paul and Peter and all the apostles and the many, many Christians throughout the ages to proclaim the gospel, we should believe that by the presence of the same Spirit, we can also be proclaimers of the same Spirit because God has revealed the gospel only to us. If you live in a neighborhood in which you are the only Christian, then we are to know and to believe that by God's grace and providence and sovereignty, He has placed us there so that we are the instruments of the light of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, where we are. Those people have not received the revelation of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Only Christians have received the revelation of the gospel from God. If we belong to a city in which we are the only Christians, as perhaps it could be the case in which there are not many Christians here on the Golgotha, then that means that God in His sovereignty has placed this group of Christians.

so that they will be the proclaimers of the message of the gospel because only Christians receive the revelation of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I hope that this is the question that now you're asking yourself. But brother, where do you see that in the text that we have in front of us? And of course, after my explanation, I'm going to show you this from the text. Pay attention, please, to verse 2.

In verse 2, the Apostle is now telling us of Romans chapter 1. The Apostle tells us that this gospel, the gospel of God, is a gospel that He, what do you have in your translation there? That He promised. When did He promise? Beforehand, I have in my ESV.

And what was the means of that promise that was given beforehand? Through His prophets. Where? in the Holy Scriptures. My dear soul, pay attention to the Colombian that I'm not very good at explaining things and here's where I want your attention.

This glorious message of the gospel I said to you has been revealed only to who? To the Christians. And if you are in a household where your brothers, sons, mothers, fathers, and whatever other family member you have in English, and you are the only Christian, that means that the Lord has revealed that gospel to you, and the only light they have is you. That if you are in a workplace where no one is a Christian and by God's grace, you are a Christian. So then that means that in God's providence, He could have placed Paul in that workplace.

He could have placed Peter in that workplace. He could have placed whatever Christian comes to your mind, but He placed you. That means that the revelation of the gospel is there for them through you. And now I'm pointing you here to the text so that you see that this gospel that I'm telling you that abides in the Christian or that this message that has been revealed to the Christian was promised. And that promise was given not now, but was given in the Old Testament beforehand.

And the way that that gospel was promised is through the prophets. And the way that these prophets promised this gospel was not only through the words that they prophesied, which is true, but more specifically through the prophecies that made it into scriptures. If I could, I would expand on this, and we can perhaps do it when we have time one to the other, because this is very important for us to understand why revelatory gifts have ceased. Let me just simply say this, that in the Old Testament, there was a promise that was given through the prophets. Not only the prophets, but his or their writings of the gospel that was going to come.

And I said to you before that the gospel of God is revealed only in the Christian. How do we see, brother? That in the text, how do we know that the gospel of Christ, the gospel of God has been revealed in the Christians if it was promised beforehand through the prophetic scriptures in the Old Testament? Well, the way that the Apostle Paul initiates the gospel of the Book of Romans is exactly the same way that the Apostle concludes. the book of Romans.

So if you come with me to Romans chapter 16, the Apostle will expand this idea of the promise of the Scripture that was given beforehand in the prophetic Scriptures. Romans chapter 16. Come with me, brethren. And bear with my explanations of the Scripture, because this will help us, I hope, to go a little bit deeper into why the Gospel is revealed to you as a Christian. I have said so far, and I'm sorry about the repetition, but this is just how things work sadly.

Let me just say that again. Beforehand, the gospel was promised through the prophetic scriptures. This, in the mind of the apostle, implies there's going to be a present revelation of that which was promised. It was promised in the Old Testament. Now it is going to be revealed.

What I'm going to say to you is that that revelation of this gospel happens through the apostles and prophets in the scriptures and arrives into the Christian insight. OK, let me show you that. Now, verse 25 of Romans chapter 16, please bear with me. Verse 25, Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel. Did you know that Paul many times speaks of the gospel of God, the gospel of Christ, of my gospel?

now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to pay attention pay attention to this according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages verse 26 but has now been disclosed And through the prophetic writings has been made known to who? To all the nations. Verse 26, brethren. This has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings, the prophetic writings that promise the gospel, through the same prophetic writings has now been made known to all the nations. The Apostle will give us a little bit more of insight, and please be with me here as I try to explain and open this.

We're going to read a couple of other scriptures to go deeper into that, but be with me, brethren, please. In the mind of the Apostle, this gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ that we now have was promised in the Old Testament by the prophetic scriptures. The Old Testament was pointing to this message. This message in the mind of the apostle is a mystery. It's something that was kept.

If you go and read, when you have the time, Ephesians chapter 3, it will tell you of the mystery that was kept secret from the generations in the past, Old Testament, but has now made known to his holy apostles and to his holy apostles, prophets and apostles, in the New Testament. It has now been revealed. And this is so that it will be made known to all the nations. Now in verse 26, the apostle, when he says nations, he's not referring so much to Colombia, Brazil or Argentina, which did not exist at the time. He's not speaking about the countries there, but it's actually speaking about the people who are not Jews, the nations.

the people of the world, that this will be made known to the world. Romans 3, the oracles of God had been given to Israel, but now when the fulfillment of the promise comes, now this revelation is given to the nations, to the people that are not in Israel. And then the question that one will ask is, what is this mystery that now is being revealed to the nations? And for that, I'm going to call you to the same pole, but now in Colossians chapter 2, or Colossians chapter 1. We are about to read one of the most powerful passages of the Scriptures, brethren.

We're about to read one of the greatest revelations, at least to my soul, of what I'm saying today. Some of you might have seen this before, and praise God for that. But let us pay attention, because now the question that I ask myself is, what is this mystery that was kept from the ages, that was promised by the prophetic scriptures, that is now revealed to the nations? What is this mystery? Colossians chapter 1, verse 24.

Praise God for that, brother. Verse 24. Now I rejoice... You're there in verse 24, brethren? Or chapter 1?

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I'm filling up what is lacking in Christ's affliction for the sake of His body, that is, the church. of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you to make the words of God fully known." Now pay attention, verse 26. The mystery hidden for ages and generations But now revealed to who? To his saints, nations' saints.

Verse 27. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, BSV says, which is Christ. Christ in you, the hope of glory. Let me continue reading before I explode. Verse 28, Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

For this I toil, for this message, brethren, for this message that Christ is the hope and glory in us. For this message, he says, I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. For this glorious message that the gospel is revealed to the saints and that is Christ in them, the hope of glory, Is that he's willing to give his life. Is that he's willing to work and to labor. Because the gospel has been revealed only to the saints.

The gospel has been revealed only to the saints. And that gospel, the Word of God, the Oracles of God that were previously given to Israel in the writings, happens to be the Word of God. And you know who the Word of God is? Jesus Christ, the reason why you are the hope of glory for the people that are around you is not because you are good and not because you're strong and not because you're wise, but because by God's grace, the triune God has decided that Jesus Christ will be in you. That the light of Christ will be in you.

You are not the light and the salt of this world because of your looks. You're not the light and the salt of this world because of your theology or because of the things that you have, but because Christ Jesus is in you. Why should we be proclaimers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, my dear brother and sister? Because this message that was promised through the prophetic writings in the Old Testament has now been fully revealed. And what is the mystery of this God that He was going to save from every nation, from every tongue, from every people?

And the way that He was going to save all of these people was not just by saying, you are forgiven. That is true. But the way that He will make them His people is by, Take my Son, and He will dwell in you. And you will be conformed to my Son. And you will be the light to this world, because my Son is in you.

And you will have the words to preach, because my Son is in you. And the Spirit of God in you will lead you, because my Son is in you. Because I have made you one with me through my Son. And that's the hope of glory. the blessed hope that we are awaiting.

So brother and sister, you are Christ in a sense to the people that are around you. You understand what I said there, right? Don't tell me that I'm a heretic after that. But you understand Christ Jesus in you. Christ Jesus in you is the light and the soul for the people that are around you.

Is your brother, your sister lost? Please proclaim the gospel. Is your mom, your father lost? Please proclaim the gospel. Is your grandfather, your grandmother lost?

Please proclaim the gospel. Is your husband, your wife, Lost, please proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, because that's the power of God and to salvation for everyone who believes. This is the great mystery that He has now revealed that these vessels, earthen vessels now receive the glory of the wisdom of this God and that abides inside of us. Praise God for that. Praise God.

Second reason. I said that I'm going to give you three, and perhaps I might be able to do three. Let me give you the second reason. Brother and sister, pay attention to this. Why should we be active proclaimers of the gospel of Jesus Christ?

Reason number one, because God has revealed this message of the gospel us. Initially I said to us, but now it's in us, in the person of Jesus Christ. Second, because this message of the gospel is about your Lord. The second reason why should we be active proclaimers of the gospel is because this message is about your Lord. The Apostle says, if you return to Romans chapter 1, If you return to Romans chapter 1, verse 3, pay attention to verse 3.

Let us read from verse 2. And if there is anyone kind enough, they can just pass me one of those waters, like I forgot. I really appreciate it. Thank you, brother. Larita.

Thank you. Thank you, brother. Romans chapter 1. I said second reason, my dear brother, my dear sister, because this gospel, this glorious gospel, is about, or is concerning Jesus. Pay attention to verse 3.

Let us just read verse 3 and 4. Let us just read from 2. Which He promised, the gospel, beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh, and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead." The Apostle concludes, Jesus Christ our Lord. We should be active proclaimers of the gospel of God because the gospel is concerning or about uniquely and exclusively the Lord Jesus Christ.

The gospel is not about any other matter or any other object or subject than the Lord Jesus Christ. When the gospel changes its substance and is not the Lord Jesus Christ anymore, the gospel is not the gospel anymore and has lost all its power and all its might. The gospel is only about the Lord Jesus Christ. It is true that through the gospel there will be benefits for the world, but the gospel is not about the world. It is true that through the gospel there will be benefits for humanity, but the gospel is not about humanity.

It is true that the gospel brings blessings upon society, but it is not about society. It is true that the gospel brings benefit and blessings to the church, but the gospel is not about the church. It is true that the gospel brings benefit to you, but it's not about you. The gospel is uniquely and exclusively about the Lord Jesus Christ. It is true, my dear brother and sister, that the world is going to be one day in which heavens and earth are going to pass away, and the cosmos is going to make anew, and righteousness will dwell in these new heavens and new earth.

But in the moment that we make that, the gospel of Jesus Christ, then we have made our gospel powerless. It is true, my dear brother and sister, that through the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, humanity is redeemed and that in the church, humanity has recovered from the condemnation that they deserve. But in the moment that we make the redemption of humanity in the church, the topic and the focus of the gospel, then we have lost the power of the gospel. In the moment, my dear brother and sister, that we make the gospel about the social issues in which we live, which is true that the gospel will bring benefits to society. But when we make the gospel about social matters and social issues, then the gospel has lost its power.

when we make the gospel about the church and we put our eyes in the church and how the church operates and how the church does things when we make the gospel about the church the gospel has lost its power and when you put yourself in as the emphasis of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, you have done what many of the heretics in the first century did, and that is to remove Christ from the place that it belongs to him. The gospel is about concerning uniquely the Lord Jesus Christ. All other effects and all other results of what happens in the Gospel and in the story of redemption or the history of redemption are only subservient and dependent upon the ultimate focus of the Gospel, which is the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. When we speak about anything that is not Jesus, then we have robbed the substance of the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And that is what false religions do.

Religions change Christ. They use the word Christ. They use the word Jesus. But they are not speaking about the biblical Christ as it is described on the scriptures. Who is Christ?

Christ is to be understood within the boundaries of what God has revealed to us in the Scriptures. The Jesus Christ of the Catholics is not Jesus, because that Jesus requires our works for us to be ultimately saved. The Jesus Christ of the Jehovah's Witnesses is not Jesus, because that Jesus is not God. The Jesus Christ of the Mormons is not Jesus because that Jesus is God among many other gods. The Jesus of the Muslims is not Jesus because that Jesus is a prophet and then an idol that they have made in their own image.

The only Jesus is the one that is described here in the Scriptures. And brethren, our flesh, brethren, these circumstances will always tempt us to deviate from the Jesus of the Scriptures, the Spirit of the Scriptures, and the Gospel of the Scriptures. That was the situation that Paul was facing. If you quickly come with me to 2 Corinthians 11, you will see there a very powerful admonition or exhortation that Paul will bring to the church in 2 Corinthians 11. Remember this scripture, brethren.

I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness, the apostle says. Do bear with me, for I feel a divine jealousy for you since I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I'm afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his canning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaim. But if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

Indeed, I consider that I am not in the list inferior for these super apostles. Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so acknowledged. Indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things. From the very early stages of the church, brother, there were people that were trying to bring something that sounds and looks like Jesus. Someone that was so close to Jesus that it was just so difficult to discern.

But when that biblical Jesus Christ is not the center of our gospel, then we are preaching another gospel. Then we have another spirit. Not that there is. Paul makes that clear in Galatians chapter 1. But there will be many people that will come with that gospel or with that Jesus or with the way of salvation.

And that's why... Faithfulness of our church and faithfulness of ourselves as Christians, it is based upon the scriptures and how we proclaim Christ according to what is written in the Word of God. What is this biblical Christian that Paul presents to us in Romans chapter 1? Let us return to our passage. What is this biblical Christ that Paul the Apostle presents to us in verse 3 and verse 4?

Many things he says, but what I'm going to submit to you is that we are to see this Jesus Christ as the incarnate Son of God who was victorious. The Jesus Christ that Paul presents to us in verse 3 and 4 is the incarnate Son of God that is, or who was and is victorious, and is victorious over death. In that simple statement that I have uttered, not only there are lots of ideas in my head, but also there are a lot of truths that are contained in the Scriptures. Jesus Christ is the Son of God who was incarnate. That is that Jesus Christ is God, is the Son of God, is deity, He is divine.

But not only divine, He is incarnate in the sense that He came to earth to be like one of us according to the descendants of David and connecting these men to Israel and to the Old Testament Scriptures. The Son of God incarnate came and He is victorious. The question that we need to ask ourselves is, how or why is the Son of God victorious? Or upon what or over what is the Son of God victorious? For us to understand Paul.

And when we read Romans, my dear brother and sister, you will see that the victory of which Paul speaks in Romans is the victory of the Son of God incarnate over death. The Son of God incarnate is victorious over death. The Son of God incarnate is victorious over death. He says, Apostle, in verse 3, concerning His Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh, the Son of God incarnate, and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. How is the Son of God declared to be the Son of God if the Son of God has already come incarnate?

You see that in those verses? Verse 3. Concerning His Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh, The Son of God incarnate. And then verse 4. And was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead.

Was declared to be the Son of God upon his resurrection through the Spirit. Paul, what are you talking about? He's the Son of God. How is he declared to be the Son of God upon his resurrection? This is the victory of Christ.

If you quickly come with me to 1 Timothy 3, this is the verse that I think explains what the apostle has in mind. If you come to 1 Timothy 3, just bear with me and I will finish very soon. 1 Timothy 3. Brethren, be with me here as I do this recollection of the things that we've said. We are to be active proclaimers of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Brethren, we ought to be active proclaimers of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. For one reason, reason number one, because God has revealed this gospel in us. What is that revelation? Christ, the hope of glory. Second, the second reason why we are to be active proclaimers of this gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is because this gospel is exclusively about Jesus, who is the Son incarnate, who is victorious.

How is he victorious? He's victorious over death. 1 Timothy chapter 3, read this with me. from verse 16. 1 Timothy chapter 3 from verse 16.

Great indeed, we confess, is the... Remember what we're speaking about, right? The mystery that is promised, that is revealed. Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness. He, some of you will have God, was manifested in the flesh, speaking of Jesus Christ.

Now, what word do you have there in your Bible as the next word? vindicated or justified by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, Gentiles, believed on in the world and taken up in glory. When the Lord Jesus Christ, brethren, when the Lord Jesus Christ was powerfully resurrected by the Spirit of God, God raised Him up. He did not give His life. They did not take His life.

Christ Jesus gave His life, if you remember in John. When Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead, this was the first public vindication that this man who proclaimed and said that he was the Son of God was indeed the Son of God. When He is vindicated on a second time or when He's justified on a second time upon His coming, every eye will see that this Christ who came to die upon the cross and now says that He was resurrected and now who says that He's in heaven at the right hand of the Father is true. that He is Jesus, and when He comes, every eye will see Him, and everyone will be left without an excuse, and nobody will be able to say that what Jesus said of Himself was a lie. Jesus Christ was initially vindicated upon His resurrection.

He was justified, declared to be the Son of God, because only the Son of God would be able to conquer over death, and Jesus Christ did. And Jesus Christ will be once again vindicated, justified as the Son of God when he comes once again. The resurrection is central to the message of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ because if Jesus Christ is still dead then we're still dead in our sins. The only reason why we can say that we are Christians is It's because He lives. It's because He's seated at the right hand of the Father.

It's because He's alive and because He has been victorious. He has been victorious over death. He has been victorious over Satan. And He has been victorious over sinners that need redemption. And that's why we call Him our Lord.

When we call Jesus Christ our Lord, it's just not because we want to be called Christians. It's because He indeed is our Lord, and He has conquered over our lives. His sovereign grace has defeated the unrighteousness of our hearts, and He has conquered. He has been victorious over us, and now we call Him our Lord. And that's what connects the proclamation of the gospel with the application of the gospel.

Because this message that we are to proclaim are not only words that are uttered into the air, but these words, when they are applied by the Holy Spirit, they transformed the heart of a person, and then that person is made anew, and then that person becomes a servant of Christ, and Jesus Christ becomes the Lord of of the person. And then when he comes and he's vindicated once again, that person is going to be united with the Lord Jesus Christ. Why are we supposed to be active proclaimers of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ? Because this gospel is about Christ Jesus, our Lord. And he has been already victorious.

He has already conquered. He has already done what he was supposed to do. And because he has already conquered, we have the third reason. The reason is, if you return to Romans chapter 1, and we conclude with this, the third reason why we should be active proclaimers of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is because he has given the promise to all nations. He has given the promise to all nations, verse 5, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of His name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

The promise has been given to all the nations, brethren. The reason why people are saved is not because of the eloquence of our message. The reason why people are saved is not because of the neatness of, if that is the way that you say, how organized our doctrine is. The reason why people are saved is because He has given a promise to all nations that people from all tribes and tongues will be saved. and that in that process he has made us his instruments.

Christians are instruments of the grace of God in his hands for the proclamation of the gospel and for the salvation of the elect. All Christians equally like the apostles and the prophets are instruments in the hands of a sovereign God who has already said that people are going to be saved. And the way that these people are saved is through the proclamation of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. What is the strongest weapon that we have? The Word of God and the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

What is the best message that we have? The message of the Lord Jesus Christ. What is the best thing that Christians can do for the world? To bring the light of Jesus Christ to those who are in darkness. The best thing that people around us need is the proclamation of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ within the boundaries of the prophetic scripture that promises gospel and now become the means by which we proclaim Christ and that's how people are saved and please pay careful attention to what the apostle says in verse 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about for the purpose of, or for the obedience of faith for the sake of His name among all the nations.

God could save people without the need of proclaimers. God could bring salvation upon those people in India, or in Colombia, or in Venezuela, or in Argentina, or whatever, without the proclamation of the Gospel. He could save them in His powers in many different ways, but God has been pleased. to ordain the ways of salvation that those who are going to believe is because they have heard and those who have heard are the ones who have preached and those who have preached are those who have been sent and this is the way that people are saved and now when we look to ourselves and we see our feebleness when we see our fears when we see our limitations many times not even speak the language of the country in which we are and then all of these people come to speak you don't understand what they say what do we have in us We have the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Without any feebleness of our words, any feebleness or limitations of our words, by pure faith, trusting in our Lord, we're proclaimers of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And you know this apostle? This apostle that was so strong in the faith and that was an example to all of us? You know what he requested of the saints every time that he was going to preach? Come with me, please, to Colossians chapter 2, and I conclude with this. Colossians chapter 2.

In chapter 1, after the apostle has said that the mystery that has now been revealed has been revealed to the saints, and that this mystery is Christ Jesus, The hope of glory. After he has said all of that in chapter 1, now in chapter 2 he says this. Pay attention. For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face. That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the reaches of full assurance of understanding and knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ.

in whom we are hidden, and all the treasures of wisdom acknowledged." Pay attention to verse 2. "...that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the reaches of full assurance of understanding, and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom Christ is hidden, and all the treasures of wisdom acknowledged." And then if you carefully go to Ephesians chapter 6, if you then go to Colossians chapter 4, if you go to Philemon in chapter 1, of course, every time that the apostle is going to put himself in the task of bringing this wisdom that is found in Christ Jesus, he will request the church that they will pray for him, that the doors will be opened for the proclamation of the word of God.

The apostle who was filled of the knowledge of the wisdom of Christ, the apostle who had received this revelation of Jesus Christ himself, knew that the apostolic mission of bringing the light to the world was contingent and dependent upon the prayers of the saints. As I said again, Ephesians chapter 6 from verse 10 and onwards, also here in Colossians chapter 4, Philemon chapter 1, Philippians chapter 1, the prayers of the saints were that which the apostle was desiring so that the proclamation of the gospel will accomplish what God had determined that will accomplish. How then can be a church in 2023, brothers and sisters, speaking of us and many other churches, neglect prayer and the preaching of the word? How are we going to be light and salt to my spouse that is unsaved, to my brother who is unsaved, to my friend who is unsaved, to my co-worker? How am I going to overcome the weakness of my flesh?

I have been there many times in which I'm with a person and I'm telling myself I should be preaching the gospel now, but I'm not. How are we going to open our mouth to proclaim the gospel to a person, to our neighbor, to someone that we know? If we are not depending upon our Lord as Christians have depended throughout generations, if we think ourselves to be too strong and too spiritual so that we wake up in the morning and say, we don't pray. Because when you don't pray, that demonstrates how strong you think that you are. Because if we knew how weak we are, we will wake up and open our eyes and go on our knees.

How are we going to reach a world if I think that by going and preaching the gospel on the streets, I just need to have some tracks and then just develop this system in which I just repeat these words and then just preach the gospel? Brethren, that is not the way that the apostles did. They depended upon the Spirit of the Lord in secret communion with the Lord upon prayer. That the Lord will move, that the Lord will have mercy, so that the heart of the proclaimer will be not the heart of the redeemed sinner, but that it will be the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ. How is our friends, our family, our people around us going to be saved?

By the proclamation of the gospel. But many times that proclamation of the gospel that the Lord uses to save a person has had years and years on our knees. Years and years on our knees, brothers and sisters. And that is where we ought to be, depending upon our Lord, knowing that He is the one that establishes His kingdom. that he has made us partaker of this glorious kingdom in which we proclaim the gospel.

But might the Lord in any one of us give us this weight, brethren, or this healthy burden of the scriptures, to come and depend upon him in prayer, and to indeed be proclaimers of the gospel. The Lord has renewed in me a burden for all of these people around here in Pacific Pines and all of these people on the Gold Coast, brethren, that we need to reach them to preach the gospel, that we need to bring Christ to them. Remember, the Lord has a people unto himself, and there are many people in our city, and we are the ones placed here to reach these people, to proclaim the gospel, to bring the good news. How are they going to believe if they don't hear? How are they going to hear if there's no preacher?

Brethren, that the Lord will direct our hearts, not to be bold, just to speak among us about Christ, not to be okay, you know, just to speak about doctrine among us. And then when we are presented before the ones that are lost, then just simply just to run away in the pleasures and comforts of our flesh, but rather that the Spirit of God will come upon us in such a way that immediately immediately, not by us, but by the Holy Spirit, that we will speak of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that we will be proclaimers of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen? Amen. Let us pray.