by David Odell

Afraid of the Gospel

Acts 24; Romans 8:1-17;

My friends—listen!  This is the Gospel:  There is only one God.  He is holy and good.  God created the world and everything in it.  And when He created the world, it was good.  God also created mankind—our first parents:  Adam and Eve.  And in the beginning, they too were good.  God loved them and walked with them on the earth.  He wanted them to love Him as well.  My friends, it is a fact that love is not real unless it is voluntary.  So, when He created mankind, God did a miracle and gave them an independent spirit; He gave mankind the ability to refuse His love and to reject His will. 

From the beginning God intended mankind to be holy and good, just as He is holy and good.  But the first man and woman rebelled against God; they disobeyed the rules of conduct that He had set for them.  Friends, you must understand that God is the giver of life.  So, by rejecting Him you reject life.  Rebellion against God is called "sin”.  Because of their sin, the first man and woman could no longer walk with the holy and eternal God.  Thus, they were separated from Him and condemned to live a mortal life.  And when our first parents fell away from God’s presence, the earth and all of creation fell as well.  The world became a place of toil and pain and eventual death.  That was God’s judgment for their sin.  And friends, we inherited that judgment and separation from God.

The generations that followed understood that sin against God could only be pardoned by blood and sacrifice.  So, they would take an innocent lamb from their livestock and they would kill it and pour out its blood as an offering to God and pray for His forgiveness and compassion.  But although sacrifice was necessary, even in the ancient days the scripture tells us that the patriarch Abraham believed God and that God counted it as righteousness for him.  We call believing in God "faith”.  Sacrifice isn’t sufficient in itself—it has to be accompanied by faith.  My friends, you should know that God wants to have a genuine relationship with you that flows from your heart.  He won’t accept a cold hearted transaction like a bookkeeper—giving out his forgiveness in exchange for a simple sacrifice.  You must really believe in Him, genuinely regret your sin and desire to restore your relationship with Him.  

Later, God had the prophet Moses deliver the Law to the Hebrew people.  The Law was good because it let the people know exactly what God required from them.  Friends, in theory, if you know all of the rules, you can obey them.  But, just like our first parents, the Hebrews found that the Law was too hard for them to keep and that they couldn’t ever be good enough.  In reality, the Law wasn’t the problem, it was their rebellious hearts.  Thus, they were caught in a continual loop of sin and sacrifice.  God provided priests to guide the people, prophets to inspire them and judges and kings to lead them, but even so they would sin and require more sacrifices.  It seemed that God’s original plan to walk together with mankind in love and fellowship would forever be thwarted because of mankind’s inclination to sin.   Certainly, we were helpless to save ourselves from sin and death. 

Then, God performed another miracle.  This time, out of love for us, He took a part of Himself, constrained His power and will and He became a human being like us.  He entered the world as a baby.  And they called Him "Jesus”.  And for thirty years, Jesus lived and toiled among us, experiencing life as we do—but without sin.  Unlike us, He was completely holy and good.  Then, Jesus conducted a three year ministry to declare the message of the coming of the Kingdom of God.  He healed the lame and the blind.  He forgave sins.  And He preached the Word of God with authority.  The religious leaders became jealous of Jesus’ popularity with the people.  So, they arrested Him and convicted Him in a phony trial under trumped up charges.  Then, in league with the political rulers they executed Jesus.  They nailed Him to a cross where He suffered and died.  And then they buried Him in a tomb.

Three days later, the tomb was opened and Jesus was alive.  God had raised Him from the dead.  Over a period of weeks, Jesus met with His followers and then ascended into heaven promising to send the Holy Spirit to them and to return at the end of time.  My friends, since Jesus was holy, He is the perfect and final sacrifice for our sins.  As a lamb, His blood was poured out for us.  Now, through faith in Him your sins can be completely forgiven.  Moreover, with His Holy Spirit in your heart, you can live a holy life.  And when Jesus comes again, He will receive all believers to Himself and they will once again walk together with God on a new earth. 

My friends, you have heard the Gospel.  Blessed be the Name of the Lord!  And blessed be His Word for the salvation of the world!  Amen!

Perhaps my rendition of the Gospel message was not unlike the message of faith in Christ that the apostle Paul gave to the Governor, Felix, that we read about in Acts chapter 24, today.  Actually, Paul probably explained the Gospel to him in many different ways.  After all, he was available at Felix’s convenience for two years.  And prison being a boring place, Paul probably had time to construct a more interesting sermon than you have just heard.

I wonder about your impression of the Gospel when you heard me deliver it, just now.  How did you react?  You know—we preachers can be awfully sure of ourselves.  We pick our words carefully, so we presume that our listeners understand exactly what we intended.  But every person interprets what they hear according to the preconceptions of their own heart and mind.  I hope that when I shared the Gospel with you that you heard that God loves you and wants to forgive you and to walk with you through eternity.  Did you hear that?

That isn’t what Felix heard.  Felix’s general impression was fear.  He was afraid of the Gospel.  Why?  Why would anyone be afraid of a story with such a happy ending?  Well, Felix was afraid of certain foundational elements of the story.  Felix was afraid of the requirement for righteousness and self control and of the certainty of a final judgment.  If you didn’t hear about those key elements, or if I didn’t explain them well enough, then let me be clear. 

From the beginning, God has required us to be holy, just like Him.  This fact has not changed with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  As Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, He didn’t come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it.  And furthermore, Paul tells us in chapter 8 of Romans that God sent His Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering in order that the righteous requirements of the Law might be met in us.  So, the requirement to be holy and righteous remains.

Moreover, as beings with independent spirits, God expects us to control ourselves.  This fact has not changed either.  And it might be a despairing point, if it weren’t for the presence of the Holy Spirit.  As Paul says in Romans chapter 8, "Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”    In other words, if the Holy Spirit resides in our hearts, He gives us the power to overcome our sinful selves.  Thus, God still expects self control.

Then, there is a final judgment.  And those who continue to rebel against God will be eternally condemned with no escape.  Jesus didn’t change this truth, but actually declared its reality in several parables stirring us to be ready.  In Romans 8 verse 1, Paul gives us the hope that "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”  But on the converse, in verse 13, he explains that "if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die.”  My friends, there is no hope for those who reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Thus, a final judgment is just as certain as ever.