The Basic Message of the Gospel

(Partial Notes from a sermon – August 2021 – Pastor Rick Hardison)

Lakewood Ranch Baptist Church

1/ We are all broken people

The world is broken and so is each person living in it.  When we follow the culture, which changes all the time, we are not necessarily following God.  God’s law never changes but the culture continually presents unbiblical ideas that if not followed, cause pain and penalty.  As a result, people become conditioned to do what the culture asks or demands.

We become dedicated to the culture in order to live in peace and be accepted.

We are also rebels!  The human condition minimizes our sin (“am I really that bad?”), but the reality is that we inherited sin from Adam and Eve, who were created to please God.  And we know in our hearts that we are not perfect as individuals or in groups.  God’s original plan was a perfect world, but Satan and his lie caused Adam and Eve to rebel.  When we rebel, God is not pleased.  We must never lose sight of this.  The Apostle Paul frequently spoke of his brokenness.  Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 1:15 that he is the foremost of sinners.  This says that even though we are Christians, we will still be sinners.  No one is better than another.  As Christians, we need Jesus and the salvation only He offers, and we know it!

2/ God loves broken people

God chooses to love us just as we are, in the middle of our sinfulness.   God even loves criminals, addicts, violent people, workaholics, and the average “tolerant Joe.”

There are no pre-conditions for God’s love.  He doesn’t wait for us to come to Him in order to love us, but His goal is for us to see Him and respond to His message of salvation, love, hope, and forgiveness.

3/ There is only one way to fix our brokenness

Accepting God’s free gift of salvation is a holy gift.  This is the only way to fix our condition.

Even if you consider yourself a good person, and for those who are unaware, God’s standard of goodness and perfection is Jesus Christ and the sinless life that He lived while in human form.  None of us will ever meet that standard.  Ephesians 2:8-9 says “for by grace you have been saved; not by works, so that no man can boast.”  Accepting this holy gift means Jesus brings it all to the table, not us or our performance as good people.  Salvation is a gift to be received.  This is God’s rescue plan.

We struggle to believe this.  Many only believe in the God of their imagination, not the true God of the Bible.

But salvation works in the way of God, not us.  We are ill-equipped to help ourselves so the free gift of salvation is the only way to fix our brokenness and be granted entrance into Heaven when we die.  If it were up to us, and our works, we would worship people, not God.  God’s plan eliminates the worship of a specific few as well as the boasting that would result from those who are worshipped.

4/ God mends our brokenness

The church is a gathering of broken people living in a broken world.  But we don’t have to stay broken as Christians.  We openly admit our sin to God and therefore we don’t stay broken.  We don’t forget our sin, but we remember the scarring (the healing process).

We are God’s workmanship.  He is a craftsman and we are the object of His love and workmanship.  The result of understanding this concept is that we break the pattern of walking in sin, in favor of walking with God.

Why Christianity Matters – 3 Important Points

1/ Christianity matters because when we die, we will face God to account for how we lived our lives.  Scoffers will tell you otherwise.  But you need all the information in order to decide for yourself what you believe. 

2/ The good news and message of the Gospel requires a response.

3/ God asks us to come to Him in response to His rescue plan for humanity.

But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:4-6

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:8-10