Montage: What is the Gospel?

The Gospel of Forgiveness and Salvation

We're here because we're forgiven, because we're saved, God loves us, He died for our sins and rose from the dead. And the message is that all who turn from their sin to come to Him will be forgiven. And that's what we want for you.

That's the message.

I appreciate that.

I appreciate you, James.

You have two choices here. You can continue on this path of sin and darkness and let your own child be led to the slaughter by your own hands. Or you can turn from the dismemberment and murder of your own children.

Turn to God, turn to Christ who lived perfectly, who died for sinners and rose from the dead, for forgiveness and salvation. So, for example, Romans 3 .28 says,. We conclude that a man is justified, as declared righteous before God,.

By faith apart from works of law.

So, faith apart from works of law.

It says in Galatians chapter 5, That Christ has become of no effect to you. Whosoever of you attempts to be justified by law, you've fallen from grace. Now, by the way, he said that in Galatians to people who were saying it's faith in Jesus and also just keep obedience to this work of the law, circumcision.

So, Paul says if anybody tries to mix faith in Jesus and any work of the law to get right before God, he says that that's not grace. You're under the curse of the law to fulfill all of it. So, what I would say to my Latter-day Saint friends is if you're choosing works in tandem with grace and faith, Paul says that that's a false gospel.

Anyone preaching it is eternally condemned. Paul says very clearly in Romans chapter 3, That by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified at his sight, for through the law is the knowledge of sin.

And he says that the but now part, which is beautiful, but now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. In other words, this righteousness from God is through faith in Jesus.

It's a gift by His grace through the redemption that's in Christ. Now, I know that you've heard that. It's a different thing, so it's hard for our conversations.

All three of us say grace. We say faith.

We say cross, resurrection. But we don't mean the same things, though. When I say salvation by grace, I mean purely by grace apart from any work of law at all through Christ and His work alone. I mean, I would say what Paul says.

Philippians 3. You probably know this. He says that he wants to be found in Christ, not having a righteousness of his own derived from the law, but that which comes from God through faith in Christ. He wants a foreign righteousness, one that's not his own before God.

And that would bring me to a point of, like, I think we're preaching different Gospels, and it's not a minor issue. It's an issue of eternal death or eternal life. That's why I'm concerned. That's why I don't think the arguments between us are not just pithy.

They're pretty serious.

Christ Our Righteousness by Faith Alone

To hear this message of life and peace, the free gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus, who loves sinners. He was counted among rebels like us. You can come to the one who was pierced through for the transgressions of God's people.

He was crushed for their iniquities. How loving is God? He's the kind of loving God who crushes his own son for rebels. He gives his son, his eternal son, the son of his love for wicked people like us.

How can we know this God? It's not about minor differences, musical style, color of carpet in church, whether or not you drink coffee or don't. It's really a question of how we're reconciled to God and have peace with Him.

Because the Bible says in Romans chapter 3 that there is none righteous, no not one, none who seeks for God. That there is no fear of God before our eyes. And Paul says in Romans chapter 3 verse 28, we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law.

Because the law, Paul says in Romans chapter 3, can only really reveal our sin. It really only shuts our mouth before God. It really only shows us who we are before God. And it really actually increases our knowledge of sin, Paul says.

And so what's our hope? If we're sinners before a holy God, if we're worthy of death, if as Jesus says the wrath of God abides on us, then what's our hope? And the hope is in the gospel because of what Christ did.

Jesus is God in the flesh who went to the cross to take the punishment, the full punishment for His people. What they deserved, He took. He was perfectly obedient to the law of God and yet He died a death that His people deserve.

He was buried and He rose again. Not so you could have His work plus your good works, which the Bible says are nothing but filthy rags before God, in an effort to get reconciled to God. The Bible actually teaches that that's impossible.

It says in Galatians 5, Christ has become of no effect to you, whosoever of you attempts to be justified by law, you've fallen from grace. Listen to this text from the Book of Mormon. In 2 Nephi 25 -23 it says this, By grace are you saved, after all you can do.

And you compare that to the Bible and it says in Ephesians 2 verses 8 and 9, By grace are you saved through faith, and not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not according to works, lest any man should boast.

It's all God's grace. It's only through faith in Jesus, apart from any work of law. And the Bible actually teaches us that if you go the route of works in an attempt to establish your own righteousness before God, Galatians 3, you're under the curse of the law to do all of it.

And the beauty of the Gospel for Mormons, and for really the world, is that Christ became a curse for God's people, taking what they deserve, giving to us a righteousness that's not our own, it's His righteousness, that it's a righteousness that can actually avail before a holy God.

It's the only righteousness that will actually avail before the presence of God. It's Christ's righteousness. And Paul says this in Philippians chapter 3, and every Mormon needs to hear this. He lays out his resume.

He talks about all that he did according to the law.

He says,.

As to the law, I was a Pharisee. As to zeal, I persecuted the church of the tribe of Benjamin. And he says this, he says, All those things, he says, I count them as loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord.

And he says this, I want to be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law, but the righteousness that comes from God through faith. The Bible teaches that through faith in Christ, you are given, credited a righteousness that is not your own.

And it's apart from works of law, Romans chapter 4. God does not count your sins against you because of what Christ did. And He actually credits to your righteousness that is a perfect righteousness. It's Christ's.

And the only way anybody will ever stand before a holy God, the only God that exists, is with a righteousness that is perfect. And that's not available to any of us in ourselves. And Mormonism actually teaches you in the articles of faith that through the atonement of Jesus Christ, all mankind may be saved.

And that sounds so beautiful, except it goes on and it says through obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. It really says this, that Mormonism, with all of its beauty, with all of the lights, with all the Christian language, really has a message of death, not a message of life.

And the call of the gospel to the Mormon is not that we want you to lose faith. It's not that we want you to lose God. It's that we want you to know the one and only true and living God. And we want you to have peace with Him through the true and living Christ, the eternal God who had no beginning.

He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first, the last. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. We want you to know that Christ, the Christ that can give you a perfect righteousness through faith apart from works of law.

And the call is this, Jesus is God in the flesh. He's the Messiah who lived righteously. He perfectly kept the law of God. He died and rose again. And He calls you to come and die and rise again. The command is to repent and to believe the gospel.

Come to Christ in faith. Abandon your sin. Abandon your self-righteousness. Abandon all your good deeds. And you come to the true and living God, the only God, not to become a god one day, but to have peace with God.

The truth is,.

God,.

He's the gospel. You get God, peace with God,.

Forgiveness,.

Your sins washed away, eternal life. Jesus says in John 5, 24, Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my voice and believes Him who sent me has eternal life.

If somebody taught that though,.

If they said that.

It's anything apart from faith, alone in Christ, and it's any work like baptism or church attendance or whatever it might be, tithing or whatever, however they add to justification, the apostle Paul says that Christ in Galatians 5, he says, Christ has become of no effect to you,.

Whosoever of you.

Attempts to be justified by law, you add any work to faith, he says. You're denying grace and you're choosing law.

Faith Without Works Is Dead

But what about the scripture says faith without works is dead.

Amen.

Yeah, James. 2.

Where Christ says,.

You know,.

He that doeth the will of my Father will...

Amen.

By the way, we believe that.

See, Christians,.

The Bible teaches that.

When a person repents and believes and trusts in Christ, that's a work of God in their life. That's a gift from God, right?

Absolutely, that's grace.

And we believe, the Bible teaches that when you've come to Christ.

To be declared righteous by faith as a gift.

In Him alone,.

You are raised.

From newness to life, from death to newness of life. So it means your heart's changed, you have a new life and God lives there.

Absolutely, but then...

So good works follow.

And then you have to continue, right?

But it's God that does that.

And that's a gift in itself. So I'll give you a text. Romans 3 .28, Paul is talking specifically to this issue. And here's what I say to you, man.

Listen,.

If you forget everything.

I say tonight, just do this, man. In the privacy of your own home, read Romans chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6 when you get home.

Okay.

Just by yourself. Just read it.

And in the context of our discussion. And what he says is, we declare that a man is justified, which means declared righteous, by faith apart from works of law.

And he says,.

How is Abraham justified?

Was it through works?

He says,.

What does the scripture say?

Abraham believed God and was credited to him as righteousness.

It was before the law was given, before he did circumcision,.

Before he offered Isaac on the altar. And he says that God credited to him righteousness apart from works. And he doesn't count his sins.

How?

Faith and faith alone. And if you and I are going to be sons and daughters of Abraham,.

Which is the whole story,.

Right?

Because of Jesus,.

It has to be of the same faith.

As Abraham.

And it's not just Mormonism.

That teaches it's grace.

And faith and works so that God can see you and accept you based upon your faith and your works. The Bible teaches.

That it's solely through.

The righteousness of Jesus.

Sweetheart, you are.

You're lost.

You're lost. Because you're believing in a Christ that...

I've been lost as a Methodist church. I've been lost as a Muslim.

You're believing in a Christ that has no power.

To save you.

And I've also been lost.

In Messianic Judaism.

You have no...

And I've been lost in the unity and new thought movement. But right now...

Sweetheart, you have no Savior that can save you.

I'm sorry that...

He has no power to save you.

The Savior does have power to save me.

Lucifer's brother is not a real Christ. He cannot save you. His atonement never happened.

Because that's a false Christ.

It's not a false Christ.

Jesus...

The Bible says we are justified apart from works of law solely through what Christ did on his cross.

The Bible actually.

Specifically speaks.

Towards that kind of gospel. And it calls it anathema, a curse, to teach that you can, through faith in Jesus and obedience, as an attempt to be.

Righteous before God,.

If you go that path, Paul says you're under.

The curse of the law.

To fulfill all of it.

It's either we get the righteousness of Jesus Christ through faith.

And his work credited.

To us as a gift,.

Or we have to stand before God with our own sin.

And our own unrighteousness.

It's either you're in Christ or you stand before God.

With all your sin.

And the only way to Christ in that way, according to the Apostle Paul,.

According to the Scriptures, is faith.

And it's faith, Romans 3 .28, apart from the works.

Of the law.

And Mormonism teaches that we are ultimately,.

Through exaltation,.

We make it to God.

Through our obedience.

Right?

Through our own righteousness. Faith without works is dead. That's right. In James 2,.

Faith without works is dead. That has nothing to do.

With how we're justified before God.

It has to do with whether the faith we have is alive or dead.

A living faith has works. So Christians, by the way,.

Believe that. We believe that.

If through faith in Jesus Christ you've been reconciled to God,.

You've been saved,.

You've been given.

The gift of eternal life, you're now alive, you're new. And the works that you do.

Are as a result.

Of a new heart, God living within you. And the works that you do don't save you.

Or justify you. The works that you do.

Are evidence ultimately.

That your faith is alive.

And not dead. But Mormonism teaches that we are actually saved.

By God's grace, through faith,.

And our obedience. And the Bible says to that, Galatians 5, the Apostle Paul speaks directly to that kind of a gospel. He doesn't just call it anathema and condemn by God. He doesn't just say you're under the curse now because now you have to do.

All of the law perfectly because God is a holy God and He's just. He says that Christ.

Has become of no effect to you.

Whosoever of you.

Attempts to be justified.

By law or works,.

You've fallen from grace. So he ultimately says.

To people who are teaching.

It's faith in Jesus, yes,.

But it's also.

Keep this one aspect of the law in order to be justified before God, circumcision.

He says to people.

Who are teaching that,.

You are accursed,.

You're condemned by God, and now you are under obligation to keep the entirety of the law.

If that's how you're attempting to be righteous before God.

Christmas, the Incarnation, and the Hope of the Gospel

Jesus enters into our suffering to take our death, but along the way He steps into a fallen world,.

A world we've chosen for ourselves.

To save people who are undeserving, wholly undeserving. What do we deserve from God?

Not Him,.

Not His grace, not His mercy. We deserve what every criminal would get in any court with a good judge. We deserve justice. We deserve condemnation. But the majesty of Jesus Christ in this Christmas story is that God loves sinners.

Who are the rebels.

God loves the ones who are in themselves enemies. Ephesians chapter 2 says about Christians, it says you are by nature children of wrath. You were dead in your sins and trespasses, but God made you alive together with Him.

By grace you've been saved. Nothing in us.

Most of us today.

Sitting here right now and standing here right now,.

Most of us are descendants.

Of pagan parents, not Jewish by birth. And what has God done? What does Christmas shout.

To the world.

That God kept His promises? He came into the world. He lived among us. He kept all of those promises to save sinners. And if you believe in Christ today,.

If you are joined to Him by faith,.

And you have eternal life.

As a gift by His grace.

Through faith.

Apart from any work.

Because of Him,.

If you know Christ and you are known by God and you know Him today, you are evidence of God's faithfulness to His promises.

You are testimony.

To God's covenant faithfulness. And Christmas is a time every year to remember that God keeps His promises and that God loves sinners. You're a sinner. I'm a sinner. God is righteous.

We're not.

We deserve condemnation. We deserve wrath because God is good and He's a good judge. He can't simply let us go. But God loves sinners so much that in the person of Christ He took on flesh.

To live a perfect life.

In the place of sinners, to die a death.

That you do deserve.

The wages of sin is death. That's why He took that death. It wasn't just to be a good example.

It's because we deserve it.

And He was buried and He rose again. He has ascended and seated. And this is the call of the Gospel. Repent and believe the Gospel.

Jesus says,.

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My voice and believes Him who sent Me.

Has eternal life.

And does not come into judgment but is passed out of death.

Into life. Jesus tells us,.

You're dead.

In your sins and trespasses. The call of the Gospel is to come and join Christ now in His death. Come to die and rise again.

Today.

If you want to know Christ, you can know Him now. Christ calls you to turn from sin to come to Him in faith. You abandon your sin, you abandon your self-righteousness, and you come to receive the gift, the gift of eternal life.

Be reconciled to God. That's the call of the Gospel, and that's the beauty of Christmas. God saves sinners. I would want you to hear this, that you need to hear the call of the Gospel of repentance from all your sin to trust in the true and living Christ.

I want you to hear that tonight.

Okay, well, I reject that.

I know. Without God opening your eyes, I believe that you would.

I just want to share with you the Gospel.

I have read the Gospel.

Christ is God,.

And He lived a life that was sinless,.

And He died for sinners.

And rose from the dead.

That's what you believe.

That's what He said.

That is what He said according to a book that you live by, and I do not live by that book.

I know you don't.

That's obvious.

But the Bible teaches.

That all of us are sinners. We're not better than you.

Well, you sure act like you are.

We're not. The way you scream at people. Would you scream at a man beating his wife?

No, I would pull him away. I would call the cops.

You would try to stop him.

Yes, of course.

That's what we're doing.

All right.

You got it.

God bless you.

Turn from your sin, man. Come to Christ and live your life. We pray that you would know.

Forgiveness.

And peace, reconciliation with God, that you turn from your sins to Christ, that you'd know the One who died for sinners and rose from the dead. You see, God doesn't just rescue your soul. He doesn't just rescue you for Him.

And eternity with Him.

He also rescues your mind. He also rescues your mind from the futile argumentation that you've engaged in to justify the slaughter of children.

We pray that you would.

Turn from your sin and trust in Christ to know the peace and forgiveness that we've experienced. We're sinners just like you. It is out of my love for Him and you that I am standing here right now pleading with you.

Turn from your sin to Christ.

Repentance, New Birth, and the Call to Turn to Christ

Jocelyn, listen. I have no sin.

One more thing.

You have to hear this.

We're not saying to you, Jocelyn, you need to turn from your transgenderism and become a straight person.

And then you'll be saved.

We're saying, listen, it's more than just your sexuality. It's, for me, more than my sexuality. I am, in my past, sexually broken and sinful and rebellious. It's not just my sexuality.

That's distorted.

It's the way that I love God.

And love everyone.

It's my sin,.

My pride,.

My fallenness. It's not, Jocelyn, we're not saying, Jocelyn,. Become a straight person. God will then love you.

And love you.

We're saying, Jocelyn, you've got nothing. You've got nothing to offer him. You are broken and fallen.

And you need Jesus.

I don't want to offer him anything. You need to be forgiven and cleansed.

My point,.

And I think you haven't caught it yet, and I hope you do, Jocelyn, if anything from today, if anything from today,.

I hope you at least catch.

What I'm saying to you. You're going to walk away.

From here today.

And you're going to act like there's something more to these human beings than protoplasm. You won't be able to shake him loose, Jocelyn. And I want you to know, just if anything else you hear is that Jesus is God who came in the flesh.

To rescue rebels.

Like me and you. And he will forgive and he will give grace to all who come to him.

For life.

He died and rose again. Jocelyn, you've got to turn to him for life and forgiveness.

For what?

Because you're a sinner like me. No, I'm not. You need him.

I'm not a sinner. Jocelyn, you're broken.

And you know it.

Jocelyn, you're broken and you know it. I'm praying with love.

Jocelyn, what would lead a person who is truly happy, who truly has peace,.

What would lead them.

To come here on a Saturday morning and to come here and to be drinking, obviously, to be drinking a Saturday morning? How could you be truly at peace and full of joy if this is the life.

That you've chosen?

How could you truly have it.

And you're here.

A Saturday morning.

Mourning against us.

Who are trying to defend the lives of babies while you come here drinking? Jocelyn, you're not full.

Of happiness and peace. You're torn up inside.

I know you are. And it says in fact this, Romans 3, 28, we conclude that a man.

Is justified,.

Declared righteous,.

Through faith,.

Apart from any work of law, that through faith in Jesus,.

We are credited his righteousness,.

Not because we're good, not because we deserve it,.

Because of what he did.

Christ lived the perfect life.

He was perfectly obedient.

He died to take our place and rose from the dead.

So we would get.

A perfect righteousness.

As a gift.

We would be made new, alive, changed. We would have good works,.

But they would flow.

From a person.

Who was already redeemed as a gift, right? And it's through faith alone.

That's what the Bible teaches.

About salvation.

There is good news today. The good news is.

Is that God,.

In the person of Jesus, took on flesh to rescue rebels like you and me. He lived a sinless life. He died for sins.

And he rose from the dead.

So that all who turn from sin to trust in Jesus would receive reconciliation and peace with God. And that's a free gift, but you've got to turn to him. Sitting in there is not turning to him. Sitting in there is not experiencing his life.

If you deny what the Bible says about sin and God, you're denying it in light of this perfect display of it. A mother and a father.

Seeking the blood.

Of their own child. So the Bible says that our condition is ultimately hopeless. We're without hope in ourselves.

It says that.

The wages of sin is death. What we deserve for our sins, what we've earned for it is death. The Bible says that our sins have separated us from God.