1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:03,920 Here at Portland Gospel, we exist as a church to help you 2 00:00:03,920 --> 00:00:07,680 believe, live and share the good news. 3 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:10,360 And that's the current series that we're in right now. 4 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:13,360 What is the good news? So we have a message that we 5 00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:16,680 want every person in our church to believe and then to figure 6 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:20,160 out how to apply that to their life and live it and then share 7 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:24,320 it with other people. The gospel is as we saw last 8 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:27,920 week, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 9 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:32,000 And we started this new series called the Gospel Course and it 10 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:37,560 is overly simplified on purpose to help us understand exactly 11 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:39,840 what we need to know. What are the most important 12 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:42,720 truths in Christianity, what will save us. 13 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:45,880 And though we prayed for politicians tonight out of First 14 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:48,960 Timothy chapter 2, I believe we're we're told to do that man 15 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:50,480 praise God. I'm thankful for that. 16 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:52,480 We don't want to just be political. 17 00:00:52,480 --> 00:00:54,960 We have a message that goes beyond politics. 18 00:00:55,520 --> 00:01:00,560 We we want to see souls saved. So last week we began with what 19 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:03,400 the gospel is. We gave it a definition. 20 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:07,400 We landed in First Corinthians 15 and we saw that ultimately 21 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:10,080 it's a message about a death and a resurrection. 22 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:14,400 And that that is what saves us. But this week, we're going to 23 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:17,600 ask the question, why do I need the gospel? 24 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:21,240 I feel like maybe I'm doing just fine. 25 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:23,120 Or why does Portland need the gospel? 26 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:28,960 Or we could say what really will fix all of the world's problems? 27 00:01:28,960 --> 00:01:32,880 So we get to ask why. And this is really important 28 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:36,520 because with the gospel, we're told to share it with everyone 29 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:38,880 we saw last week. It's called good news. 30 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:43,360 We have the best news on the planet, but the good news really 31 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:47,280 only matters to those that have first heard some bad news. 32 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:49,920 It's kind of like going to the doctor. 33 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:53,800 If you would go to the doctor and they would sit you down and 34 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:56,120 say good news, we have something for you. 35 00:01:56,720 --> 00:01:59,360 You might feel like I don't know that I need anything. 36 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:00,760 No, we have this. It'll fix it. 37 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:03,120 Fix. Fix what? 38 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:05,160 I don't know that I have a problem. 39 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:07,720 I don't need your medicine. I'm fine. 40 00:02:08,759 --> 00:02:10,880 And that is many of us as we try to share. 41 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:14,680 The good news is we're just sharing the best part, but we 42 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:18,640 don't have the why down. So today we're going to look at 43 00:02:18,640 --> 00:02:21,080 the first. We're going to look at Romans 44 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:23,440 chapter 5. So if you have a Bible, turn 45 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:26,040 your Bible to Romans chapter 5. Many of the verses will come up 46 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:28,280 on the screen. And if you want to get real 47 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:30,520 creative and get 2 places in your Bible, you can go to 48 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:34,720 Genesis chapter 2 in one hand and Romans chapter 5 in the 49 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:39,960 other hand. The book of Romans is the first 50 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:45,000 at least three chapters, is somewhat of a gloomy outlook on 51 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,440 life. We see the sinfulness of man. 52 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:51,760 We see the holiness of God and this great separation between 53 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:53,760 them. And it seems like nothing will 54 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:56,240 save man. It's not the law, it's not moral 55 00:02:56,240 --> 00:02:58,320 conduct. There's something wrong with us 56 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:01,200 and we need to be fixed. And ultimately what the book of 57 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:05,240 Romans tells us is that we have a sin problem. 58 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:09,320 And that's the part that we don't usually like sharing with 59 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:14,000 the good news. The word sin is simply means to 60 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:16,160 miss the mark. It's it's kind of an archery 61 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:19,680 term. I aim at a target and I miss. 62 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:22,080 And we all do that with our life. 63 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:26,760 We have a conscience that tells us do the right thing, and yet 64 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:28,360 we don't always do the right thing. 65 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:31,520 We have a standard of holiness for who God is. 66 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:35,480 And we, we try to achieve it, but we always miss it. 67 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:40,080 So today let's read Romans chapter 5 starting in verse #12 68 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:41,640 to 15. Let's read together. 69 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:47,760 The Bible says, Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the 70 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:53,080 world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for 71 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:57,080 that all have sinned. For until the law sin was in the 72 00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:00,320 world. But sin is not imputed when 73 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:03,920 there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from 74 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:07,200 Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned. 75 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:11,520 After the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure 76 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:16,200 of him that was to come? But not as the offense, so also 77 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:19,240 is the free gift. For if through the offense of 78 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:23,760 one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by 79 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:28,320 grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ hath abounded unto 80 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:33,800 many. Let's pray God, we come before 81 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:37,840 your word tonight. We confess that your ways are 82 00:04:37,840 --> 00:04:42,680 higher than our ways. God, we want to be good stewards 83 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:44,480 of the gospel. We need to understand how to 84 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:48,040 share it with people and how to lay out all the facts. 85 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:51,120 That man's greatest need truly is you. 86 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:55,440 Would you help us tonight? Give each of us understanding. 87 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:57,960 Open our eyes to behold wondrous things out of your word. 88 00:04:57,960 --> 00:05:01,920 I pray in Jesus name, Amen. All right, well, if you're going 89 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:04,800 to follow along with the notes, point number one is we're going 90 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:08,720 to ask the question, where did sin come from? 91 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:14,840 Where did sin come from? We might think, well, who 92 00:05:14,840 --> 00:05:17,600 started this whole thing? Where, where did morality really 93 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:21,040 come from in the 1st place? And a lot of religions have 94 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:23,720 different perspectives on that. Some would say we're good and 95 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:27,080 then we turn bad, or we're a blank slate and we get to choose 96 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:28,720 either. And we're going to see for 97 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:33,640 Christianity that it starts pretty grim all the way from the 98 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:36,280 beginning. But it says in Romans 5 and 99 00:05:36,280 --> 00:05:41,440 verse 12, Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, 100 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:47,080 ultimately there is a man responsible for all of the sin 101 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:55,360 in the world, and that man is the first man, the first man. 102 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:57,720 Does anyone know who the first man is? 103 00:05:59,960 --> 00:06:01,960 Adam. That's right, the first man that 104 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:05,400 God created. And many would like to say that 105 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:08,600 God is the source of evil. He created the problem, it's his 106 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:10,720 fault. But really what we see is that's 107 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:12,600 not true. In Genesis chapter 2. 108 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:15,960 If you have Genesis 2 in the one hand, we'll go over there to 109 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:23,440 verse 216 and we'll see what what, what began, what happened, 110 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:26,520 Where did this come from? Let's get an origin story for 111 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:30,920 the sin of the world. 216 And the Lord God commanded the man, 112 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:35,080 saying, of every tree of the garden, thou mayest freely eat. 113 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:38,480 God gave Adam a really simple Bible. 114 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:40,880 Don't do the thing that I told you not to do. 115 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:47,240 Adam wasn't a sinful person until he had choose, chosen 116 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:49,680 along with his wife to do the thing he wasn't supposed to. 117 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:53,480 So if you're in Genesis, you can go to Genesis 3 and look at 118 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:54,880 verse 6. I think I have these on the 119 00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:59,280 screen as well, It says. And when the woman saw that the 120 00:06:59,280 --> 00:07:03,320 tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and 121 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:07,280 a tree to be desired to make one, as she took of the fruit 122 00:07:07,280 --> 00:07:11,520 thereof, and did eat, and gave also under her husband with her, 123 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:14,120 and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were 124 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:16,080 opened, and they knew that they were naked. 125 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:20,000 And they sewed fig leaves to the together, and made themselves 126 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:24,960 aprons. Ultimately this is the origin 127 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:29,160 story for the sin of the world. It comes through one man, the 128 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:35,160 first man that God gave a a command to and he also missed 129 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:38,600 the mark. He sinned and and ate as it 130 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:45,480 says, but then through sin it says in Romans 512 and death by 131 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:49,560 sin. So sin brought with it death. 132 00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:55,640 Death was not a part of the of God's created plan for man. 133 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:58,440 Man was going to live forever in unity with God. 134 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:02,640 The world also was different prior to sin entering into the 135 00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:04,280 world. If you read Genesis chapter 3, 136 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:07,600 you see that there's a curse placed on the planet and now all 137 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:13,080 kinds of things have changed. If you look at Genesis chapter 2 138 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:19,240 and verse 17, they were told they were warned in the day that 139 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:21,720 thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. 140 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:27,360 And This is why the death rate on the planet is 100%. 141 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:33,440 Every person will die. This is why we die a physical 142 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:35,360 death. And as we talked about last 143 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:37,760 week, there is something even worse than a physical death. 144 00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:40,840 There is a second death and we'll get there also in a 145 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:44,240 moment. This means that because of Adam, 146 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:50,240 all die. In Adam all die. 147 00:08:51,560 --> 00:08:57,160 You see sin. It always produces death, even 148 00:08:57,160 --> 00:09:03,960 if it doesn't seem like it. To miss the mark is tempting 149 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:07,400 because we're all drawn away. We all are enticed. 150 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:12,960 It's pleasant. If we go back to Genesis chapter 151 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:16,600 3 and we see what happened in the fall, it says that it was 152 00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:23,040 good for food, it was pleasant to the eyes, and it would make 153 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:28,560 one wise. So there's a lesson here that 154 00:09:28,560 --> 00:09:36,080 sin always, always, always brings death. 155 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:39,760 We we tend to see the good in it. 156 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:42,440 Well, you know, there's a way that maybe over here, this 157 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:47,320 thing, it looks good, but the end result, just like with Adam, 158 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:51,280 is always way more than we could ever calculate. 159 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:54,520 We think I'll get, I can get away with it this time. 160 00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:56,080 I can delete my browsing history. 161 00:09:56,080 --> 00:10:00,000 I can get more money next month. I can do something else. 162 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:05,280 And it always produces something worse than we could imagine. 163 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:09,720 There's a famous preacher quote that says sin will take you 164 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:13,520 farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to 165 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:17,320 stay, and cost you more than you want to pay. 166 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:24,040 Just look at Adam. He brought death into the whole 167 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:27,520 world through 1 action. This is attributed to Adrian 168 00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:29,200 Rogers. I think other people have said 169 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:32,080 it. There you go. 170 00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:35,400 That's a good one. All right, so that was Adam. 171 00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:39,640 But now we see that sin was also passed down to you. 172 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:45,160 Sin was also passed down to us, it says in verse 12. 173 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:53,040 So death passed upon all men. So now we're all going to die, 174 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:58,960 but also we have this sinful nature now that's a part of our 175 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:03,080 lives. If we go back to Genesis and 176 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:06,480 look at chapter 5, we look at chapter 2 and we see the God 177 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:08,200 made man and gave them a command. 178 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:10,880 Chapter 3, man falls by that command. 179 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:16,280 And then when we look at chapter 5, we now see continuation after 180 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:20,600 sin. And in Genesis 5 and verse 3, 181 00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:25,720 the Bible says and Adam lived in 130 years and begat a son in his 182 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:32,760 own likeness after his image and called his name Seth. 183 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:38,440 You see, unfortunately God did make you in his image, but he 184 00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:44,600 also allows Adam's image to be passed down from generation to 185 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:49,440 generation and generation. So I put it to you this way in 186 00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:54,920 your notes, you have a sin nature and it's partially not 187 00:11:54,920 --> 00:11:58,720 even your fault. Isn't that cute? 188 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:03,440 I mean, it's, it's kind of cute until you realize how real that 189 00:12:03,440 --> 00:12:08,360 that is. But it's almost like whenever a 190 00:12:08,360 --> 00:12:14,480 mother addicted to drugs uses drugs and the baby in the womb 191 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:20,480 also receives the substance and the baby is born with a chemical 192 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:24,720 dependency or the consequences of what the mother did to the 193 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:27,680 baby. Some of us, we have inherited 194 00:12:27,680 --> 00:12:31,240 all kinds of things, perhaps from your physical family, 195 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:35,280 genetic traits, hereditary traits, sinful habits and 196 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:36,960 traits. Maybe you've never seen a good 197 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:38,200 family. You don't know what it's like to 198 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:40,320 worship God, never seen a good marriage. 199 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:45,400 In some ways, we have our parents and those before us that 200 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:50,360 we inherit some of their nature. At very least you inherit Adam's 201 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:55,040 nature because in Adam all die and death passed upon all men. 202 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:59,840 None are excluded. All men receive Adam's image. 203 00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:03,440 And I don't know about you, but as a parent, for me, there's 204 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:07,240 some things in my life that I'm trying to not pass down to my 205 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:10,160 kids. I haven't seen some of the 206 00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:12,760 things modelled that I'm trying to do in my life. 207 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:16,960 I've seen some of the opposite. And I have to be the one to say, 208 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:19,880 my family might have done that. We're not going to do that. 209 00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:23,520 Hopefully my kids don't ever have to even know about that. 210 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:26,440 That's that's what we should aim to be doing. 211 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:31,760 But let's ask this question and point #2 what really is sin? 212 00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:38,120 So you can thank Adam for it. We know that you're going to die 213 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:40,040 because of it. You know that you have it. 214 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:45,720 But what really is it? I mean, compared to Adam, I 215 00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:48,120 don't know that I've really done anything like blow up the whole 216 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:52,320 world, right? Let's look at verse 13 in in 217 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:57,520 Romans chapter 5, the Bible says for until the law, sin was in 218 00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:03,120 the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 219 00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:07,040 So what what the Bible's saying here is that the law, we're 220 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:09,600 going to find out. It is what reveals to us what 221 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:12,680 sin is. But there was a time from Adam 222 00:14:12,680 --> 00:14:17,240 to Moses when there was no law. God's word was not revealed to 223 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:20,200 us yet. So even then, when there was no 224 00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:22,920 law, people died. Generation after generation, 225 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:27,400 from Adam to Moses, people died. And now the law has come and God 226 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:30,560 has given us His word, and it makes things really, really 227 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:34,000 clear. So I put it to you this way in 228 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:40,480 your notes, Our standard of morality is defined by God and 229 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:42,480 not by the world or our feelings. 230 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:52,720 It may be tempting to find a particular sin that we don't 231 00:14:52,720 --> 00:14:56,400 like and judge that one and somehow justify our own. 232 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:00,040 Well, I'm doing it like this and they're doing it like that, and 233 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:03,560 mine's not as bad as theirs. That's politics. 234 00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:05,840 That's our preference. That's just how we are. 235 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:09,560 But we don't get to choose. We don't get to let society be 236 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:11,320 the ones to dictate what's good and evil. 237 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:14,760 We know around here that's pretty jacked up, and we don't 238 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:18,800 get to let our feelings be the ones that determine what's true 239 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:24,080 and what's right. We have an objective moral 240 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:27,840 standard. As the Bible says in the book of 241 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:32,000 Romans, by the law is the knowledge of sin. 242 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:37,520 So, yeah, you haven't done what Adam has done, but let's just 243 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:41,240 back up just a second and figure out what you have done. 244 00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:45,800 If we take the basic fundamentals of the law, Exodus 245 00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:51,560 chapter 20, the 10 commandments, and we just start with #1 no 246 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:56,320 other gods before me, man. We all have a time in our life 247 00:15:56,320 --> 00:16:00,800 when it was true that we did not worship the Lord, something else 248 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:04,520 was our God or distracted us. No idols. 249 00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:08,240 You know, maybe you've got you're OK with that one about no 250 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:12,840 lying, committing murder. Maybe you haven't killed anyone. 251 00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:15,680 Jesus raises the bar to hatred is murder. 252 00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:18,680 Jesus raises the bar that lusting with your eyes and your 253 00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:22,960 heart is adultery. We all, by the standard of only 254 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:25,920 the 10 commandments have missed the mark. 255 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:30,440 We've all fallen short. So what we learned here with 256 00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:37,360 evangelism in sharing the gospel is that we use the law to help 257 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:39,960 people see their need for Christ. 258 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:43,800 Without the law, I don't really need to be saved. 259 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:46,560 I'm fine, I'm good, I'm justifying my actions. 260 00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:51,320 But the law flattens all of us to have the same need. 261 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:57,800 The Bible says in First Timothy chapter one that the law is not 262 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:01,800 made for a righteous man, but for the lawless. 263 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:04,720 So the book of Romans is really clear. 264 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:07,880 We're not subject to the law. I don't have to keep all of the 265 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:10,760 commandments. It's it'll actually only reveal 266 00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:13,319 that I am a Sinner. What saves me is something 267 00:17:13,319 --> 00:17:16,880 greater than the law, someone who has fulfilled the law. 268 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:21,400 But nevertheless, we use this for the lawless man to let him 269 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:27,200 know, hey, you need to be saved. We see this also in Galatians. 270 00:17:28,319 --> 00:17:32,360 The law was our schoolmaster. It was like a tutor that brought 271 00:17:32,360 --> 00:17:36,280 us to the ultimate conclusion to bring us to Christ, that we 272 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:41,360 might be justified by faith. We can't be justified by the 273 00:17:41,360 --> 00:17:43,400 law. The law only lets us know we're 274 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:47,920 sinners. We're justified by faith. 275 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:51,640 But this is probably the part that we struggle with the most, 276 00:17:51,640 --> 00:17:54,920 isn't it? Hey, Jesus died for you, man. 277 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:56,280 He loves you. God loves you. 278 00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:00,800 That's true, but how about you're a Sinner? 279 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:05,440 How about helping someone pin down the fact that you're not 280 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:06,800 going to go to heaven when you die? 281 00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:11,160 You have a nature that you can't fix or change or do enough good 282 00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:15,360 to overcome. And this is so true. 283 00:18:15,360 --> 00:18:17,800 It's just in us, we don't want to have to confront people. 284 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:24,280 No one wants to do that. This is also true in the world 285 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:29,680 of physicians. According to a study in 2017, 286 00:18:30,360 --> 00:18:35,640 fifty, 1% of physicians that were pulled delayed giving bad 287 00:18:35,640 --> 00:18:40,160 news to their patients. That's half of the doctors that 288 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:41,680 were pulled. I don't know who these ones are 289 00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:46,760 of of this poll would say I struggled to tell my patients 290 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:50,120 the bad news. And one of them, if you read 291 00:18:50,120 --> 00:18:53,400 this article in particular, says the patient was going to get a 292 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:57,280 terminal diagnosis and they were going on a vacation like right 293 00:18:57,280 --> 00:18:59,480 after this doctor's appointment. And they said they didn't want 294 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:04,640 to ruin the vacation. But is that not how we are in 295 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:07,760 evangelism sometimes? Oh, God loves you. 296 00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:09,360 Just go along your merry little way. 297 00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:12,720 Nevertheless, you have a terminal condition. 298 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:18,120 Sin always brings death. We can be just like these 299 00:19:18,120 --> 00:19:19,360 physicians. It's in our nature. 300 00:19:19,360 --> 00:19:20,800 We don't want. I don't want to have to offend 301 00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:25,960 you, but I have to for you to have the solution. 302 00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:29,920 I mean, really, would you want to go to the doctor and leave it 303 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:31,800 up to them? How do I feel like telling you 304 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:36,040 that you have bad news? Maybe I'll wait at some point. 305 00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:37,560 You could. This is malpractice. 306 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:41,960 We have the information, we have the science, and we withhold it 307 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:46,800 from you because of feeling. We do the same thing with the 308 00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:51,000 gospel. We withhold the good news or we 309 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:53,120 withhold the bad news and we just want to get to the good 310 00:19:53,120 --> 00:19:55,520 news. Let's not do that. 311 00:19:56,560 --> 00:20:01,800 Let's look at point #3 you might ask, but what have I done 312 00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:04,240 really? I don't feel like I have a 313 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:09,280 terminal diagnosis as many people don't that receive a, a, 314 00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:16,000 a poor diagnosis. And verse 14 in Romans chapter 315 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:19,320 5. The Bible says nevertheless 316 00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:24,240 death reigned from Adam to Moses even over them that had not 317 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:26,480 sinned. After the similitude of Adam's 318 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:31,600 transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come? 319 00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:38,160 So death reigned even over those had that have not done the same 320 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:40,920 thing as Adam. Similitude means in the likeness 321 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:46,240 of so you haven't done what Adam has done, but yet if you look at 322 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:50,800 Romans 5 and you look at verse #12 it says all have sinned and 323 00:20:51,960 --> 00:20:55,840 so you have still sinned, you just didn't blow it as big as 324 00:20:55,840 --> 00:21:02,920 Adam. Isaiah says Romans also says in 325 00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:06,120 chapter 3 all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. 326 00:21:06,120 --> 00:21:09,280 I told you chapters one through three are pretty rough sled and 327 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:10,800 they let us know who we really are. 328 00:21:11,040 --> 00:21:14,560 But Isaiah says that all we, like sheep, have gone astray. 329 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:18,800 It doesn't matter how far you stray off target. 330 00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:20,920 If you missed the mark, you missed the mark. 331 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:25,680 No, nobody's hitting the target. It doesn't matter how far away 332 00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:30,400 you go. This reminds me of this week. 333 00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:36,000 My dad and I ran an errand and walked out of the store and we 334 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:40,440 had a guy ask us for a ride. And normally I don't answer 335 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:42,720 people like this, but he I was like, where? 336 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:45,440 Where are you trying to go, man? It's just me and my dad. 337 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:47,440 We didn't have the kids. And so I was like, you know, we 338 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:49,560 can, we can probably take this guy if we need to. 339 00:21:50,120 --> 00:21:53,240 So we give guy a ride down the road and I'm just going to ask 340 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:55,320 him some questions. Hey, you're in the car now with 341 00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:58,440 a pastor, man. Tell me, what's your faith like? 342 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:02,240 And I never know whether to believe people or not, But I 343 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:06,440 think this passed the, the, the test that he's probably telling 344 00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:08,960 the truth. But he said, I only have two 345 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:12,440 months to live. I'm just going to go back to my 346 00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:15,640 apartment and drink some beer and we're all going to die. 347 00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:23,320 And I was like, Oh my gosh, man. I mean, what kind of a moment 348 00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:27,320 are we in right now? And so I, he, he had some other 349 00:22:27,320 --> 00:22:30,400 thoughts, but I kind of force injected some of the gospel to 350 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:32,240 say, I don't know if I'll ever see you again, but you need to 351 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:34,520 know Jesus died on the cross for you. 352 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:37,320 You can call him Lord up to your last waking breath. 353 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:41,520 You can still be saved. And after we dropped this guy 354 00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:44,800 off, we got in the car. My my dad and I were going home 355 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:49,200 and talking and I said how merciful is God? 356 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:59,000 That we can live a lifetime of sin and in our very last breath 357 00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:02,280 we can be saved just like any other Christian. 358 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:09,680 How merciful? According to our standard, we 359 00:23:09,680 --> 00:23:17,240 would say that's not fair. I would say, man, how much did 360 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:21,600 that guy miss out on? If you live your whole life in 361 00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:24,920 sin, you really can't enjoy it and you can't do anything for 362 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:28,600 the Lord. But how merciful. 363 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:31,720 It doesn't matter how far we stray. 364 00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:38,520 All have sinned. We all come short in the book of 365 00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:42,960 James in chapter 1, it's it tells us about being enticed 366 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:49,520 into sin and the Bible says every man is tempted when he is 367 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:52,520 drawn away of his own lust and enticed. 368 00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:57,680 We all have a responsibility in the permission that we give our 369 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:01,040 will to do things we know we're not supposed to do. 370 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:05,240 So you did not sin, as the Bible says, after the similitude of 371 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:09,160 Adam's transgression, but you still blown it. 372 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:12,320 And so it's in your notes like this. 373 00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:17,760 We all have to face our wrongdoings with no excuses. 374 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:25,680 You can try to blame Adam, it's not my fault I inherited his 375 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:28,240 nature. You can try to blame your 376 00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:32,840 parents maybe, but you're the only one who gets to choose for 377 00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:36,880 you, and we've all chosen the wrong thing. 378 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:41,080 Ultimately, we have to come to this point before we can be 379 00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:45,080 saved. If we're making excuses, maybe 380 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:47,800 we think we hear the diagnosis. Hey, your terminal. 381 00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:52,080 And we walk away from the Doctor Who says I have a cure. 382 00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:55,280 But we say, I think I might be able to find a different way. 383 00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:59,160 I don't want your cure. And the doctor says, no, we've 384 00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:01,960 we have the science. It's the only way for you to be 385 00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:03,680 cured. But you would say, I think I'll 386 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:07,520 find a different way. This is what we do with our 387 00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:11,440 excuses, by not taking responsibility and accepting 388 00:25:11,840 --> 00:25:15,560 that we need the solution. We're desperate for the 389 00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:18,840 solution. Let's look lastly then at what 390 00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:25,880 is the solution? What's the solution to all the 391 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:30,560 world's problems? What's the solution to death? 392 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:39,120 Romans 5 and verse 15 says, but not as the offense, so also is 393 00:25:39,120 --> 00:25:42,640 the free gift. For if through the offense of 394 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:46,440 one many be dead, much more by the grace of God, and the gift 395 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:52,000 by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ hath abounded unto 396 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:56,960 many. The solution here is called a 397 00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:01,400 free gift. It's also called the grace of 398 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:09,800 God and the gift by grace. And So what we learn about God's 399 00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:15,320 solution for sin is not that we can just do more things to outdo 400 00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:23,960 the other things. We must accept the free gift and 401 00:26:23,960 --> 00:26:28,400 being by grace. Grace means it's undeserved, 402 00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:34,080 just like the Sinner on his deathbed that still God 403 00:26:34,080 --> 00:26:37,360 withholds judgment and waits for repentance. 404 00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:40,680 It's grace. Grace is something you do not 405 00:26:41,080 --> 00:26:43,720 deserve. So let's look at a few verses 406 00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:45,200 here. First Corinthians chapter 15 and 407 00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:50,480 verse 22. For as in Adam, all die, Even so 408 00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:54,160 in Christ shall all be made alive. 409 00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:59,480 There is a solution. It's in Christ. 410 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:03,640 Romans chapter 5 and verse 19 says For as by one man's 411 00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:08,800 disobedience, that's Adam, many were made sinners, so by the 412 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:13,040 obedience of one, many shall be made righteous. 413 00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:17,080 You see the solution is in another man. 414 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:23,240 The first man brought death. The second man will make you 415 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:26,720 righteous, as he's called in First Corinthians 15. 416 00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:32,440 The last Adam, the first man he was made a living soul, but the 417 00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:36,400 last Adam, he was made a quickening spirit. 418 00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:39,280 He will give you life. Quickening is to make a life. 419 00:27:40,280 --> 00:27:45,480 Only Jesus Christ can bring life from the dead, and unfortunately 420 00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:49,440 for us, that means that we are spiritually dead. 421 00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:53,840 We're Walking Dead man. Ephesians 2 says that we had a 422 00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:57,840 past, a history, dead in our trespasses and sins. 423 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:02,280 But Jesus brings life from the dead. 424 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:03,600 That's what we celebrate on Easter. 425 00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:06,080 He did that for himself and He can do that for you. 426 00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:12,800 But this solution, just like in the doctor's office receiving 427 00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:16,160 the treatment, has to be accepted. 428 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:21,640 It's a gift by grace are you saved through faith and that not 429 00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:26,680 of yourselves. It is the gift of God, so we 430 00:28:26,680 --> 00:28:30,080 cannot atone for our wrongdoings, no matter how far 431 00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:35,880 we've strayed off of the path. We can't recorrect and align 432 00:28:35,880 --> 00:28:38,520 ourselves. We have to simply accept the 433 00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:43,920 gift. It is as if you receive a 434 00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:49,520 terminal diagnosis. The solution is infinitely more 435 00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:53,320 money than you can pay. You can't sell enough. 436 00:28:53,600 --> 00:29:00,200 You can't do enough to obtain the solution, but somebody gives 437 00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:04,680 you the solution through no merit of your own. 438 00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:11,760 That is salvation, that is the gospel, and that is how God asks 439 00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:14,280 us to accept and receive it for ourselves. 440 00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:17,680 By grace. You didn't deserve it through 441 00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:20,560 faith. I simply believe that Jesus was 442 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:23,080 crucified, buried, and rose again. 443 00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:26,240 I call him Lord, and all of my sin was placed on him and I'm 444 00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:30,440 going to follow him. That's the gift of God, eternal 445 00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:34,200 life. If you're here today and there's 446 00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:37,560 not been a time in your life that you've chosen to receive 447 00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:41,520 the solution for your sin, it can happen today. 448 00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:45,440 The Bible says today is the day of salvation and it's as simple 449 00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:48,560 as Romans says. I must not have put the rest of 450 00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:53,400 these verses in there. Romans goes on to say that 451 00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:57,920 whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 452 00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:01,680 Salvation is not through a baptism or a church membership 453 00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:04,920 or through your family. It's through a decision that you 454 00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:09,280 make to accept the solution, Jesus Christ and call on Him to 455 00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:13,240 save you. I know most of us, though, we've 456 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:18,080 already done this, and in this gospel course, my hope is to 457 00:30:18,080 --> 00:30:22,880 equip us that as we prepare for the summer, moments like this 458 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:26,240 will make us consider, I have to tell people the sin problem. 459 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:33,920 But if you're saved, you still have Adam's nature living inside 460 00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:36,720 of your body. Paul says in Romans 7 that he 461 00:30:36,720 --> 00:30:42,000 saw another law warring inside of him and his members, that sin 462 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:44,960 is still physically in our bodies because of Adam. 463 00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:48,360 We have this dichotomy of two natures. 464 00:30:48,360 --> 00:30:50,880 When we're saved, we accept the gift of God. 465 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:55,360 God gives us His Holy Spirit, He seals and indwells us, and he is 466 00:30:55,360 --> 00:30:59,280 contrary, or rather the flesh, the old nature is contrary to 467 00:30:59,280 --> 00:31:03,160 the Spirit of God. So you can be saved and still 468 00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:07,200 wrestle with what Adam did in your life. 469 00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:11,480 But Romans chapter 6 tells us, shall we continue in sin? 470 00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:17,840 God forbid, how shall we that are dead to sin live any longer 471 00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:22,160 therein? And so we as witnesses with the 472 00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:25,200 solution, we're going to go out on the street, we're going to 473 00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:27,120 tell people, hey, you need to be saved, you're a Sinner. 474 00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:30,160 Here's how to be saved. We of all people ought to be 475 00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:34,640 living the solution. I mean, we don't want to say 476 00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:36,720 don't look at my life, just believe the Bible. 477 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:43,560 We don't want to do that because Romans goes on to say that sin 478 00:31:43,560 --> 00:31:45,400 shall not have dominion over you. 479 00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:49,040 We don't have to be subject to it. 480 00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:53,840 God's Spirit and His word equip us to overcome what the Bible 481 00:31:53,840 --> 00:31:57,440 calls the natural man. The old man. 482 00:31:58,480 --> 00:32:00,720 Romans 6 tells us he's crucified. 483 00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:02,920 That man is dead. You are a new creature. 484 00:32:03,680 --> 00:32:06,040 Old things are passed away. All things are become new. 485 00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:10,040 So perhaps today is a time to reconcile with God and say, man, 486 00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:12,720 I need to, I need to crucify the old man. 487 00:32:13,680 --> 00:32:15,720 I can't be living like this. I know it's not true. 488 00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:17,480 It ain't right. Jesus died for more than this in 489 00:32:17,480 --> 00:32:20,720 my life. So in, in a moment, we'll have a 490 00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:23,440 time to respond and, and pray. And maybe that's a way that you 491 00:32:23,440 --> 00:32:28,400 want to pray today. But thirdly, for us to get you 492 00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:31,480 equipped, I said last week, we want to set everyone up for 493 00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:34,640 success. And I, I told you in our 494 00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:37,280 introduction that we want to help you share the gospel. 495 00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:43,920 We have a Gospel training April 1st at 6:30 in this room where 496 00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:48,080 we will help you. We'll teach you how to use one 497 00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:50,040 of our tracks. It's super simple. 498 00:32:50,040 --> 00:32:54,000 It says what is the gospel? And on the back, the back it has 499 00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:57,960 just a couple of verses. And we want to help you be able 500 00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:01,760 to share this with other people. You probably won't do it 501 00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:06,320 perfectly and neither will I. You probably won't have answers 502 00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:09,920 to every question that somebody has, but you can point to the 503 00:33:09,920 --> 00:33:12,880 solution. And if people will buy faith, 504 00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:16,560 believe they're a Sinner, and confess Christ as their Lord, 505 00:33:16,560 --> 00:33:18,200 they'll be saved. And it's that simple. 506 00:33:18,800 --> 00:33:23,840 It's the gift of God and we'll rejoice to see sinners born 507 00:33:23,840 --> 00:33:26,080 again. Praise God, man, that'll be so 508 00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:27,600 exciting. I'm looking forward to that. 509 00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:32,280 So plan to come April 1st and we'll, we'll have a workshop 510 00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:35,400 super simple and teach you how to share the gospel. 511 00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:38,880 But for today, we had those three things at the end. 512 00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:42,840 If you haven't accepted Christ, we can do that now. 513 00:33:42,840 --> 00:33:44,120 We're going to have a moment to pray. 514 00:33:45,160 --> 00:33:49,840 If sin has been taking hold of you, let's ask for the Lord to 515 00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:51,840 crucify that and get some victory. 516 00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:57,360 And perhaps you struggle with sharing the bad news. 517 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:02,080 Or maybe you can think of people in your life that you just would 518 00:34:02,080 --> 00:34:04,240 beg God for mercy, that they would be saved. 519 00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:06,800 I want to give us a moment to pray. 520 00:34:06,800 --> 00:34:09,960 I'll give us a minute of silence and then I'll come back up and 521 00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:11,800 lead us in a prayer and we'll have a final song. 522 00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:12,719 So let's, let's pray.