EASTER SERVICE THE GOSPEL BY WHICH YOU ARE SAVED2013 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Easter Service The Gospel By Which You Are Saved

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2013.

Well, this morning we're in a different portion than normal. We're not continuing on through the book of Luke this morning, but because we are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus today, the Lord stirred up this passage in my heart here in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, where the Apostle Paul clearly declares and outlines for us the gospel message. And so I've titled the message this morning, The Gospel By Which You Are Saved.

We're looking at the gospel that God has ordained, this message that God has given to us for salvation. Now as we talk about the gospel, of course, we need to consider what is the gospel. And it's more than just a type of music that you might enjoy. The word gospel literally means good news. It's good news that is given. Now,

Originally in the Greek language, this word was used not only regarding Jesus Christ, but any kind of good news that was brought, it was referred to as the gospel. Now, of course, in English, we kind of use it slightly differently, but the point is it's good news for us. It's a particular type of message that is given.

The Apostle Paul in verse 1 tells the Corinthians, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you. And so we see here in verse 1 that Paul is declaring to them the gospel. And he's making sure they understand this is a very specific message. This is a very specific message.

good news that I'm expressing to you. He says it's the gospel as opposed to a gospel. A gospel would be if it was one of many gospels. But Paul says, no, there's the gospel. That's what I am declaring to you right now. And that is what I preached to you when I was there. And so he says, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you. And then in verse 2,

He goes on to say, by which you are also saved. So this gospel message that Paul is proclaiming, that Paul is declaring, is the message by which you are saved, he says. He tells the Corinthians, you've received it, you stand in it, and you are saved by this message. The word saved, it means to rescue from danger or destruction.

This is a message that is good news. It's a message of rescue from certain destruction. And as Paul illustrates here, or articulates in verses 1 and 2, this is a specific message. Because there's only one specific message that has the power to save.

One specific message that can save you, Paul says, that's what I'm declaring to you, that's what I preach to you, and by this message you are saved. And so we're looking at the gospel this morning, the gospel by which you are saved. And there's three aspects of this gospel message that I'd like to highlight for you from this passage here in 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

The first point is that Christ died for our sins. The first part of the gospel message that we need to understand is that Christ died for our sins. Look with me again at verse 3. Paul says, for I delivered to you first of all that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. Now again, Paul is reiterating here. He says, I delivered to you

That message, which I also received. Paul is making the point here. He's making sure it's clear for us that this message, this gospel is the only one that saves. And this specific message, Paul is saying, I didn't make this up.

This isn't something I came up with. I didn't create my own religion in sharing this message with you. This is what I received. And the way I see it here, Paul is kind of establishing here a chain of custody so that we can recognize that it's the genuine article. This is the real deal. This is the one and only message that saves. He says, I didn't make this up. I received it.

He also says in the book of Galatians chapter 1, he's establishing this same truth to the church of Galatia there. And in Galatians 1.11, Paul says, But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ. Paul explains to the Galatians there, the gospel message that I preach to you

No person taught me that. I didn't sit down with the Apostle Peter and, you know, he told me the story and he told me the truth and so then I believed it. No, you know the account of the Apostle Paul. He had an encounter with Jesus Christ as he was on the way to Damascus and the Lord Jesus appeared to him and so he says, I didn't receive this message from man, but I received it from Christ himself.

And then later on, he goes on in Galatians 1 to explain, then later on he connected with the apostles. And he spoke with Peter. He talked with James and John. And as he did, then they were able to verify, they were able to authenticate that he received the message independently, but it was the same gospel, the same message that Jesus had given the apostles, that Jesus had given the apostle Paul. So he received this message independently. It matched perfectly.

And so he's telling the Corinthians here, what I received...

Came directly from the Lord. And then I passed it on to you. You can see the chain of custody so that you can understand this isn't the telephone game. You know, I wasn't number five in the line. And so by the time it got to me, it was a little bit twisted, a little bit different. No direct revelation. Jesus appeared to me. I verified it with the apostles later on. It was the same message. This is the gospel message that I delivered to you. And it's the gospel message by which you are saved.

And that begins here in verse 3. He says that Christ died for our sins. The gospel message begins with this point. That Christ died for our sins. It begins with us understanding that there is a sin problem that needs to be dealt with. There's a sin issue that must be addressed for each one of us. The word sin simply means to miss the mark.

It's a word that's kind of borrowed from archery where you have the bow, you have the arrow, you're shooting at the target. The bullseye in the center of the target, that's the mark. And so even if you hit the target, but you miss the bullseye, that's missing the mark. That's what sin is. It's missing the mark. When it comes to our lives, God has a set plan and purpose for our lives. And when we miss the standard that he has set,

The standard of perfection that he has established, when we fall short of that, when we do not reach that, that's sin. It's missing the mark. And that can happen by us deliberately turning away from God, rebelling against God, being disobedient in those things that we've been commanded. Or it can also happen when we try really hard, we love God, we want to serve God, we want to be obedient to God, we want to glorify God, but we just don't quite make it. We fall short.

we miss the mark. That's sin, and it's an issue, because the standard is perfection. If you want eternity with God, you must be perfect. The Bible is very clear about that. That's the standard. If you break one commandment, you're guilty of breaking all of the commandments. That one sin is enough to keep us from eternity with God.

This is an issue that began back in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. And there as they partook of that forbidden fruit, they disobeyed God. They lost so much. They lost their fellowship with God that was broken, disconnected because of their sin. They lost perfection. Their bodies now were decaying. The world was transformed as a result. And you and I today, we have inherited...

The sinful nature that they partook of as they partook of that forbidden fruit. And so the sin issue is a big issue because all of us have sinned. None of us measure up to the standard which is necessary for salvation, for eternity with God. And even if, you know, you and I, we might be pretty good at convincing ourselves and maybe convincing others around us that we're good people. You know, hey, I'm a good person.

We look on at somebody and say, oh, that's a good person. But even the ones that we would consider are good persons, even if I consider myself a good person, if we were honest, we would have to admit we're not perfect, they're not perfect, and that's the standard. We've all sinned. And that's why this gospel message is so important. That's why this is such good news. Because Paul says here that Christ died for our sins.

He addressed this sin issue. It's been taken care of. It's been resolved through Christ. The name Christ or the word Christ, it means anointed one. It's the Greek equivalent of the word Messiah, which is Hebrew, which also means anointed one. So he's making reference here when he uses the title Christ to the Messiah, which is that promised Savior that we see throughout the whole Old Testament.

Ever since the beginning, ever since man blew it in the garden, God has been promising a Savior, the Messiah, the Christ. And as He's been promising this Savior, there's been all kinds of prophecies about Him which are fulfilled by Jesus as He reveals Himself as that promised Savior, the one that God has been promising all along. But what's amazing about this promised Savior is it's not just...

Some person who is born that God used mightily. It's not just someone like John the Baptist that was used greatly. Or Moses that God used to do a great work. But this Christ, this Messiah, this Savior that God promised is Jesus who is revealed to be the Son of God. That God being triune, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. God Himself, the Son Himself.

added humanity to his nature. He took on humanity, became a man to die upon the cross for our sins. God provided a savior in his own self, in his own son. Christ died for our sins. He was God. He became man and he went through quite a bit, especially here at the end of his life.

In these final hours of Jesus, perhaps you've been thinking about this as we pass Good Friday this past Friday and maybe you've been thinking about that, what Jesus went through. It really began with betrayal. As Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane with his disciples and Judas comes leading an army, he betrays Jesus with a kiss or actually it's many kisses and Jesus is taken into custody at that time.

And from there he goes through a series of trials. A couple different trials by the religious leaders there in Jerusalem. Then he's transferred. He's handed over to Roman authority. And he goes through a few trials there with Pilate and Herod and then back to Pilate. As he's being taken from place to place, he's also being beaten by these various groups. And it comes to the point where Pilate...

commands that Jesus would be scourged. It's not a practice you'll see around a whole lot today. Scourging was a brutal practice of whipping a criminal to bring them to confession, that they would confess whatever else they had done, which they weren't arrested for, but other things that they had done, crimes they had committed.

And they would have this whip, and on the strands of the whip would be different sharp objects, like bone or, you know, rock, that kind of thing. And so it was a brutal thing that he would be scourged, and his back would be torn up. And I'm going to leave it at that. It's very graphic if you start to get into it. But then after being scourged, then they placed the cross upon him, and they caused him to carry the cross on the way up.

to Golgotha or Calvary. Of course he couldn't carry it. He was too weak by that time and so they enlisted Simon of Cyrene from the crowd and made him carry the cross the rest of the way to Calvary. And there at Calvary they laid Jesus upon the cross and they

pierced his hands with nails to fasten him to the wood of the cross. Then they pierced his feet to fasten him to the wood of the cross. Then they would stand it upright and he would hang there upon the cross for about six hours until he finally breathed his last and he was dead. Christ died for our sins.

Now I'm just kind of scratching the surface here. If you start to dig into what Jesus actually experienced, you'll find it's an incredibly gruesome death. But as bad as that was, as bad as all those physical things were that Jesus was enduring there in his final hours, the real issue is not physical, but spiritual.

That it wasn't just an issue where Jesus had to stop breathing and lose his life, but there was something much more going on than just a physical death. Because again, he died for our sins. There's something spiritual happening here that is actually much more severe than the physical, and that the sinless, perfect Son of God who became man now takes upon himself the penalty, the punishment, the

for sin. The prophet Isaiah says it this way in Isaiah 53 6. He says, all we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. Isaiah says, we're sinners. We've all gone astray and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. You see, what was really happening there upon the cross was that God was laying all of our iniquity on

All of our sin, the sin of all humanity, for all history, past, present, future, it's laid upon Jesus Christ. And so when he dies upon the cross, it's not just a physical death where his heart stops beating, he stops breathing. That would not be sufficient. But he died having sin laid upon him. Paul says it this way in 2 Corinthians 5.21,

He says that God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. He became sin for us. He never sinned. He never violated the law of God. He was perfect, sinless, but he bore our sin. This is how the gospel message begins. Christ died for our sins.

The Bible teacher David Guzik points out something really important here. He says, the gospel isn't a matter of religious opinions, platitudes, or fairy tales, but about real historical events.

This gospel message, this good news which saves, it's not based upon, you know, some creation of some individual, some imagination that, you know, I had some weird dream or something that took place. It's not based upon myths or fairy tales. It's based upon real historical events. Jesus Christ really did live and he really was crucified. It's based upon historical facts.

Christ died for our sins. That's the first part of the gospel message. But Paul continues on now to tell us the second element in verse 4. Not only did he die for our sins, but we also see here that Christ was buried. He died for our sins and he was buried. Why is it so important to understand or to know that he was buried? Well, it suggests to us, it means for us that

he was actually dead. That it wasn't a mistake or it wasn't, you know, that he just went unconscious. But it means that he was actually dead. His life had gone from him. That's what it means. Now there are some who suggest, and they've been here since the beginning really, trying to suggest that, well maybe he didn't actually die. Maybe...

He just was unconscious or maybe he was in a coma. You know, maybe they thought he was dead, but he wasn't actually dead. Right?

Let me just kind of refresh your memory on some of the injuries that Jesus had. He was beaten several times in all the various trials. He was scourged, which again is a very brutal process. He would lose a lot of blood. There's many accounts where people didn't even survive the scourging. So it's not like a little bit of a, you know, a hit, but it's a serious life-threatening event when you are scourged.

They also took the crown of thorns and pounded that onto his head. And so his head is pierced. He's losing a lot of blood from his back, from his head. He's been beaten badly. His hands are pierced, fastened to the wood. His feet are pierced, fastened to the wood. So he's losing a substantial amount of blood. Hanging on the cross was excruciatingly painful because

It was difficult to get every breath. And so you had to work. And many times because of the stretching that was involved, the bones would all be out of joint. It was great pain. But then also, of course, he would be rubbing up against the cross back and forth as he's reaching up to gasp for breath. I'm just trying to scratch the surface, you know, not get too gruesome. But to give you a quick understanding of

This wasn't, you know, like he fell down a little bit or he got jumped by a gang and, you know, he was beaten up a little bit, roughed up, but, you know, he was going to be fine in a couple days. These were serious injuries that you couldn't just, you know, lay around for a couple days and recover from. And so if you're kind of thinking, well, I don't know, maybe Jesus didn't actually die, you know, maybe it wasn't that he actually lost his breath, maybe he just lost consciousness for a while, maybe

I would just say, look, this is not a James Bond movie where you can just come back from the dead without much explanation. No, in a real world, it would take a significant amount of time to recover from these kinds of injuries. That you couldn't just lay in a tomb for a couple days and then come out and be fine and walk everywhere with your disciples and do miracles. You'd be recovering for quite a bit of time. Let me also remind you that the Romans were experts in death.

I think maybe we have this kind of vision of them. They're like mindless brutes. I don't know if he's dead. I don't know if he's dead. He's fine. He's probably dead. We don't have to worry about it. They're not. These guys are experts. This is their job. They're executioners. Their job is to know when people are dead. And crucifixion is strategic. It's strategic. It's designed to be...

to inflict the most amount of pain while leaving the victim alive for as long as possible. These guys knew anatomy. They knew death. This wasn't their first crucifixion. Like, well, let's try this and see if it's painful for someone. They'd been doing crucifixions. They knew it. They were experts. This was their job. They knew when somebody was dead. But not only did they know when somebody was dead, but then they also took some extra measures

with Jesus to make sure on top of the fact that he was already dead, then one of the soldiers also thrust a spear into Jesus' side so that blood and water flowed out just to make sure. They were going to break his legs so that he would die quicker, but they came to him. He's already dead. So just to make sure, we'll just jab this into his heart. And so you can add that to his list of injuries to recover from as well. This is not something that

someone could just sustain all of these things and then get up a couple days later after somebody thought he was dead mistakenly. No, Jesus was buried. It means he really was dead. There was a garden nearby where Jesus was crucified. And Joseph of Arimathea owned the garden. And so he went to Pilate. He asked for Jesus's body and they took his body from the cross. They took it to that garden. In that garden was a tomb.

It was an unfinished tomb in that there was only one spot that was completed. Tombs in those days, you know, they would have a cave and they would carve out several places for bodies to be put because, you know, the whole family would be placed there. This one was unfinished. There was room for others, but they only had one location finished. And that's where Jesus was placed. And so they placed him there in that tomb. He was buried there.

Because he was dead. Because as Paul said, he had died for our sins. So Christ died for our sins. Christ was buried. And then the final element of this gospel message, also found in verse 4, is that Christ rose again the third day. Christ rose again the third day. He rose again. He resurrected. This is an essential part of this gospel message. That Jesus...

Being God, became man, he died upon the cross, receiving the penalty, the payment for our sins. That's important. That's essential. That's necessary. But it's also necessary that he rise again. In resurrecting from the dead, Jesus authenticates his claims that

It proves once and for all that he is who he claimed to be. That is the Savior, the Messiah. And he told us in advance what would take place. He told his disciples, listen, I'm going to be handed over to Rome. I'm going to be put to death. I'm going to be buried. And then on the third day, I will rise again. He told us in advance so that we would know that he is who he claims to be.

He's not just a good teacher. He's not just a great prophet. He wasn't just a good man or a miracle worker. He really is the Son of God, the Savior. He really is the only way to the Father, the only way to everlasting life. And so on the third day, that Sunday morning, while it was still dark,

There was a couple ladies who were on their way to go visit the tomb of Jesus because those crucifixion had happened in such a way that they were unable to treat the body that they normally would and give it the aromas and gels and scents and things that they would do with the body because of the Sabbath. And so they're coming now. It's Sunday morning. Sabbath is over. Now's our chance. Now's our opportunity. Let's go deal with the body of Jesus.

And as they're on their way, they're talking amongst themselves saying, well, what are we going to do about the big stone? They placed a large stone in front of the tomb so that no one could get in there. They placed a Roman guard there, but I don't think they're going to help us move the stone. How are we going to get to his body? But then they get to the tomb and they see that the stone has been rolled away. And there the angel tells to them, he is not here. He has risen. He has risen.

Just as he said he would, he rose from the dead. And Jesus appeared to those ladies. He appeared to Peter. He appeared to the disciples. We see Paul goes on in verses 5 through 8 to list some different witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus. Not that they saw him rise from the dead, but they saw him after he had resurrected Jesus.

He says in verse 5 that he was seen by Cephas and then by the twelve. Now Cephas is another name for Peter. So Jesus appeared to Peter, but then also to the twelve. That group of disciples that was with Jesus, that walked with him, Jesus appeared to them. They're witnesses. They saw him alive after his death. They can verify that he resurrected. Some struggle with this a little bit, wondering, well how can I...

take their word for it. Well, here's how you can take their word for it. Because you know, right? It's impossible to lie about things that really matter. Is that true? No, that's not true. People lie about things that really matter all the time. All right, how about this? It's impossible to lie about something after you've promised on a stack of Bibles. Is that true? No, that's not true. People do that all the time too. So how do we know they're not lying? How do we know that they really saw Jesus?

How do we know that they're eyewitnesses of this and that they didn't just make it up? Well, we know because we're not talking about a courtroom where, you know, if you are not faithful to the truth, you might be prosecuted for perjury. We're talking about something much more severe. These guys that Jesus appeared to, these disciples of Jesus, they are persecuted. After Jesus ascends to the Father, they are persecuted because

for their testimony that Jesus resurrected from the dead. Not only are they persecuted, but many of them are tortured for this witness, for this testimony, saying that Jesus has resurrected from the dead. And pretty much all of them, except for the Apostle John, were put to death for that testimony. And so it's not just that they, you know, got together and agreed, well, let's just tell people that Jesus rose from the dead.

No, they really did see him. And their testimony was put to the test of severe persecution, bodily injury, execution, to verify, to show these are credible witnesses. They were telling the truth. Jesus really did rise from the dead. Well, Paul goes on in verse 6 to say, not only did Jesus appear to those guys, but he also appeared to 500 of the brethren at one time.

There was a gathering of people who were followers of Jesus, probably in the region of Galilee, and Jesus appeared to them. There was 500 of them at once, and they all saw Jesus. And Paul even points out here, the greater part of them remained to the present.

But some have fallen asleep. Some of them have died. But he's telling the Corinthians, you can go to Galilee right now and you can verify for yourself because many of those who saw Jesus alive at that gathering are still alive today. You can research it. You can dig in. You can go talk to those people. There was many eyewitnesses that day. He gives another eyewitness in verse 7. He says he also appeared to James. Now James was the brother of Jesus.

And James was not a follower of Jesus before the resurrection. He, like the rest of his brothers, you know, kind of mocked and thought Jesus was a little bit off his rocker. But when Jesus appeared to James, there's a transformation. And at that point, he believes in Jesus. He becomes an important part of the work of God as you go into the book of Acts.

And so James saw Jesus. His life is transformed. His mind is changed. And then he says in verse 8, the last of all that he was seen by me, that is the Apostle Paul, as one born out of due time, that Jesus appeared to Paul there on the road to Damascus. So Paul says, Jesus, the Christ, rose again the third day. But he doesn't just expect us to take his word for it. He says, look, here's some eyewitnesses. Here's some evidence. Here's some proof.

Christ rose the third day, proving once and for all that He is who He claimed to be, that He is the Messiah, the Savior, the only way of salvation. I really like what David Guzik says about this. He says, if the cross is the payment for our sins, the empty tomb is the receipt, showing that the perfect Son of God made perfect payment for our sins. That's great, because when Jesus was on the cross,

He said the words, it is finished. That's our English translation of it. But actually in the Greek it was better translated or better understood as paid in full. It was a counting term. It's paid in full. The debt that you and I owed as a result of sin. The judgment that we were deserved. The payment that we owed for sin was paid in full at the cross.

And Guzik says, hey, if the cross is the payment for sins, the empty tomb, that's the receipt. That's the proof that payment has been made. That nothing more is owed. That all of your sin, all of my sin, past, present, future, it's been paid for. We have the receipt. It's the empty tomb that proves once and for all, He is our Savior. It's God's proof to us.

That he is the Messiah. And so here we have the gospel message. It's not a real complicated message. It's not very difficult. It doesn't require a whole lot from us. The gospel message is not, here's what Jesus did. Now, here's the 75 things you must do. No, there's one thing that we do in response to the gospel message. Paul refers to it in verse 11. It says, Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach...

and so you believed. We preached it, and you believed it. That's the message of the gospel. Paul illustrates here, it doesn't matter who preached it. Whether it was me or someone else, Paul says, that's not important. The person sharing the message, that's not substantial. But the message itself is important.

And Paul's saying, look, it needs to be this specific message. This is the gospel. This is what you must believe. The word believe, it means to be convinced or persuaded something is true. But it's not just an intellectual acknowledgement. Like, you know, okay, you've convinced me. Logically, that makes sense. So, I'll agree, Jesus says.

really did die upon the cross. It's not just a logical conclusion, okay, I agree. But believing is entrusting to such a degree that now your life is based upon this belief, this truth. And the result of that is, it's a transformation that takes place. God transforms those who believe in Him, because now their life is built upon, is based upon this truth.

But it has to be this specific truth, this specific message. Paul said it's the gospel because there are other gospels. There's other messages that attach the name, well, this is the gospel or this is good news. But those other messages are not actually good news. Paul, in writing to the Galatians in Galatians chapter 1, he's writing to a church that, well, they've allowed different people to come in and

Preach different messages. And Paul says in verse 6, I marvel that you are turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel. Paul explains to the Galatians, you're turning to a different gospel. It's not

The gospel by which you are saved. It's a different gospel, which is not a gospel at all. And Paul is so serious about this. He says in Galatians 1.8, he says, even if we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you, then what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. Paul says, even if I come back to you and I have a different message than the gospel that I preach to you, don't receive it.

Let that person be accursed. If it's me or someone else, even if it's me, Paul says, even if I come back to you and say, I have this new revelation from God and it's a different message. That's not the gospel. It's a different gospel. It's not able to save you. Paul says, even if it's an angel from heaven, can you imagine that? You're there hanging out at your house and then boom, an angel's there. And the room is filled with light and there's this deep booming voice proclaiming to you a message.

Paul says if that happens and it's a different message than this gospel message that I preach to you, let him be accursed. That is not the truth. That is not the gospel. That will not save you. It doesn't matter how many miracles a person could work. It doesn't matter. This is the gospel message. This specific message. That is what's important. There's different gospels but there's only one by which you are saved. There are different Jesuses or prophets

People who are held up to you, encouraging you to trust in them by the name of Jesus. But they're not the same Jesus that the Bible presents. In 2 Corinthians 11.4, Paul says, look, Corinthians, I'm concerned for you. Because you're allowing these different people to come in. And if someone comes in and preaches another Jesus, I'm concerned that you'd put up with it. That you would allow that. That you would receive that. That you're not holding fast to the gospel.

But there are people who will come and proclaim the name Jesus, but they're not proclaiming the Jesus that the Bible reveals. It's a different Jesus. There's different Gospels. There's a different Jesus. But there's one by which you must be saved. And so Paul explains here in 1 Corinthians 15, this is the one. This is the message that saves. Christ died for our sins. Christ was buried. And Christ rose again the third day.

That's the gospel. Have you received it? Have you believed it? The worship team is going to come up and close us in a song. As they close us in this song, I would just like to address those of you who have been here, you know the Lord, you're here today because you're celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. You understand that those who receive the gospel message, those who believe it, like Paul says we must,

They're transformed. Paul explains that in verse 9 and 10, how he was transformed. He went from being a persecutor. He went from causing people to deny their faith and reject Jesus Christ. He went from destroying the church. But when he encountered Jesus Christ, he was radically transformed, forever changed, and he became a servant of God. He changed his name from Saul to Paul and

Because his life was transformed. He was completely changed. It demonstrates, it reveals to us the incredible grace of God. And so he says, I labor abundantly because the grace of God is poured out abundantly upon me. So this morning, if you would say, yes, I believe in Jesus. I know he's resurrected from the dead. I've received this gospel message. I would encourage you to check out verse 58 here in 1 Corinthians 15.

Where Paul concludes with, as he's talking about various aspects of resurrection, he says, alright, therefore my beloved brethren, be steadfast, be immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. He says, you're going to be resurrected because you've believed the gospel message. You have the hope of eternity with God and there's great reward for the work that you do for God.

So since you know that's true, be steadfast, be immovable. And I would encourage you who are believers here today, be steadfast, be immovable, and abound. Fill your life with the work of God. Fill your life with serving God. Because there will be great reward for you. Jesus resurrected. It's proof that you will be resurrected if you have believed in Jesus. But this morning, allow me to address those who

have not received this gospel. It's a decision that you must make. Will you believe in Jesus or not? Will you believe that this message is the message that saves? That Jesus really is the Savior and that by believing in Him you can have everlasting life. That's what Jesus declared. But will you believe Him? It's a choice that we must make, a decision. It's not just an intellectual understanding but a

A decision to turn from our sin. To turn from those things which we know we're destroying our lives with. But to turn from that and receive the grace, the mercy that God extends to us through Jesus at the cross. Now I'd ask you this morning to make that decision. Choose to believe in Jesus. Choose to give your life to Him. Jesus described it as being born again. You'll be transformed. There's a new life, a new work that God...

would love to do in you. Even if you've known the Lord, but you've been away, you've spent some time away, you've been doing your own thing, you've been walking in your own ways, but you know the truth. God brought you here this morning to be reminded of the gospel, to be reminded of what Jesus did for you, because He wants you to return to Him. And it doesn't take a huge list of difficult things that you must accomplish,

It's one thing. Receive what He's done for you. Believe in Jesus. Receive it. Turn to Him. Turning to Him involves turning from sin. You do have to reject those things that are sinful. But as you turn to Him...

He promises to give you life and life more abundantly. And you can do that right now. They're going to lead us in a song and as they do, I would ask wherever you are in your heart, wherever you are in your relationship with God, use this opportunity to say, yes, Lord, I believe in you. And God hears your heart. He knows you don't have to do some dramatic thing, but just in your heart say, yes, Lord, I believe that you died on the cross for me. I believe that you rose again the third day.

I believe that you offer me everlasting life and I receive that and I turn to follow you. And you can do that right where you're at as we worship the Lord. So let's take this time and let's worship the Lord together. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.