Good afternoon and welcome to our open air outreach held this week in Buchanan Street in the centre of Glasgow in Scotland. And it is a privilege and a pleasure to be out this afternoon to bring the Christian gospel to you as you pass around here. We tend to come out once a week, weather permitting, and this week we are here obviously in Glasgow city centre. Other weeks we might be found in Partick station. We're from Partick Free Church of Scotland continuing and we're a local congregation with a Scottish registered charity and we meet at Two Thornwood Terrace and we would give you a warm welcome to come along to any of our services that are held on the Lord's Day, that's Sunday, the first day of the week. We meet at 11 a.m. and we also meet at 6 p.m. and we also meet on Wednesday at 7.30 and indeed we would extend a warm welcome to you to come along that you might hear something more concerning the work and the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because this is really what the Christian gospel is all about. It's about the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in the Word of God, we find it in the Old Testament, we have the prophet Isaiah, giving a gospel invitation, and that gospel invitation is relevant and pertinent as it was many hundreds of years ago. And you'll find that gospel invitation in Isaiah chapter 45 and verse 22. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is none else. And that is a gospel invitation given indiscriminately, obviously because it says, all the ends of the earth. All the ends of the earth. And therefore that's applicable to every one of us. It doesn't matter our background. It doesn't matter where we've come from. The Christian gospel is relevant to every single one of us. And the prophet is saying indiscriminately to us all, look unto me and be ye saved. And there really we have what the Christian gospel is really all about. The very heart and the very life beat of the Christian gospel is that you might be saved. Now, maybe the first thing that's striking you when I say this is, why do I need to be saved? Why does the Bible talk about being saved? And why did God Almighty sent forth His Son to be a Savior. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. and therefore it is a very fundamental and basic tenet of Christianity that we need to be saved. What do we need to be saved from, you may well ask, and it's a very good and pertinent question to ask. Why do I need to be saved? What do I need to be saved from? Well, the Bible does not flatter us. It is God's Word, it tells us the truth, and it tells us that we are sinners. We are sinners in the sight of God. In God's book, in Romans chapter 3, verse 23, For there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Again, that is of universal application. It applies to all of us. For there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Now, what is sin? If the Bible says that we are sinners and there are no exceptions, then what is sin? Sin is any want of or conformity unto the law of God. That's what the Bible teaches us. In other words, it is to break God's law or not to keep God's law. It is to break it or not to fulfill it. That's how we are, sinners. Because God has given to us a law. And when I say to us, I mean to mankind. God has given to mankind a law. We have been created by Almighty God. The Bible tells us at the very beginning, in the first verse of the first book of the Bible, In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth and he made all things in six days and the pinnacle of his creation was mankind. Let us make man in our image. and God created man, male and female after his own image in knowledge, righteousness and holiness with dominion over the creatures. And there we are reminded that we are made in the image of God and God is holy and therefore God as our creator has given us a law whereby we might live and whereby we might please Him. Now that's only reasonable, is it not? If He is our Creator, as He is, therefore it is only right and fit and proper that He is able, or He gave us, a law, a law whereby we might live. Now law is something that we're all used to. We have laws in society. We could think, for instance, of the highway code and the various laws that are applicable to motorists or cyclists or pedestrians. And without this law, there would be absolute chaos. You can see it even in the street here. We have cars passing by. if there was not rules and regulations, then there would be havoc in all our roads, in our pavements, and indeed whatever cars and pedestrians and cyclists are, there would be chaos if there was not a highway code, if there was not rules and regulations. And of course, that can be said for all of life. We have to be ruled. We have to have laws, commandments. And God has given us commandments whereby we might live in a way that pleases Him. And that law is in our hearts by nature. But because of sin, God has given us this law in His Bible, in the Bible that He has given to us. And we find this in Exodus chapter 20. when God gave the Ten Commandments and other laws to Moses. And there we are told in the Word of God that God wrote the Ten Commandments on tables of stone. And this would tell us that these commandments were permanent because he gave other laws to Moses that Moses wrote on parchment. But God wrote the Ten Commandments, using His finger on tables of stone, reminding us of the uniqueness and the permanency of the Ten Commandments, or as we might call them, the Decalogue, or the moral law. Now, God has given this to us, but you know, friends, the reality is none of us can keep this law. It's impossible for us. Now God does not relax His standards and God does not let us off in any sense. But that is the reality of the issue that we're facing. God has given us His holy and inflexible and pure law. A law that reflects His own character. And indeed, the more that you study the law of God, the more you see the character of God. And this is what God requires of us. This is what God required of our first parents, Adam and Eve. And for a moment, and for a time, and for a period, they did keep this law. But when God put a test upon them, telling them, They were not to eat certain fruit from a certain tree to test them, to see whether they would be obedient unto him or not. They failed. How did they fail? They listened to the tempter. They listened to the evil one. And he told Eve that she could eat the forbidden fruit. And when Eve looked at the fruit and looked at the tree, she saw it was good, she ate it, and then she gave some to her husband, Adam. And from that moment in time when they defied a clear and simple commandment given to them by the Creator God, they died spiritually. They lost that great relationship that they had with Almighty God. And because of that, our first parents became sinners and their nature became sinful. And because we have all descended from Adam and Eve, they are our first parents, therefore we have inherited their sinful nature. And that would tell us then that we cannot keep God's law. God has given us this law to us, but we cannot keep it. And therefore, I go back to what I said almost at the beginning. This is why we need a Savior. We have broken God's law. We are sinners in the sight of God. Now, you might think to yourself, well, it doesn't really matter, does it? All of us are sinners. But it does matter. It matters to Almighty God, because sin is highly offensive to Him. And He must deal with it. And He has. He has dealt with it in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, the Son of God became the Son of Man. What does that mean? Well, it just simply means that He became just like us. He took our form. He took our nature. He lived in this world. He lived a perfect life. He fully obeyed the law of God in thought, in word, and in deed. He's the only person that has ever lived a perfect life, the Lord Jesus Christ. And he did this in order that he would be able then, in due time, that he would be able to offer up a perfect sacrifice. Having lived a perfect life, he offered up a perfect sacrifice. And why did he do that? He did that to make an atonement, to pay the price of mankind's sin. And He is the Saviour that we need, because this Saviour has lived a perfect life, and this Saviour has paid the price for our sins. And here friends, if you like it, you have the Gospel in a nutshell, Here it is, those who believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ. They have one who has died in their room and in their place. They have one who has fulfilled the law of God perfectly in their place. And God is prepared to accept a substitute. Is that not good news for us today here? in Buchanan Street in the heart of Glasgow when the Bible says of us, for there is no difference for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and therefore in of ourselves by our own righteousness we have no hope but there's a wonderful hope before us and that hope is in Jesus Christ and we are to put our faith and our hope and our trust upon Him This is the very essence and the heartbeat of the Christian gospel. And this is why the prophet Isaiah says in the Old Testament, look unto me. Who are we to look unto? It's not to any minister, that's for sure. It's not to any priest. It's not to any other person. It is to the God-man. It is to the Lord Jesus Christ alone that we are to look unto. And this is what the prophet says to us today, take your eyes of yourself, take your eyes of your own good works, take your eyes of your religion, take your eyes of anything else and fix them upon Jesus Christ. And what does that mean? Well it simply means you are to trust upon Him. You are to look to Him to save you. This is what it is to be a Christian. A Christian is one who knows that he's wicked, that he's vile, that he's unrighteous, that he cannot stand before God. On his own righteousness, he needs another. He needs a saviour. This is what a Christian says in essence. He says, I am vile. Behold, I am vile. And I cannot stand before God in my own natural righteousness. No, I need another. And who is that other? That other is the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Look unto me and be ye saved. We need to be saved from our sins because if we remain in our condition and if we pass into eternity in our natural condition as sinners, then we will face a terrible end. Again, the Bible does not flatter us about this matter. It tells us clearly, it warns us, in order that we might bear these things in mind and consider the claims of Christ. Because if we die in our sins, friends, we shall be punished accordingly. And what does the Bible say about the punishment for sin? The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. And that does not simply mean to die physically. It means to die eternally. What does that mean, you might well say to me? And it's a good question. Well, to die eternally is to spend the rest of eternity away from the gracious presence of God in a place so terrible, friends, that it's called hell. That's what it is. That's what the second death is. It is to be eternally separated from the gracious presence of God. Here today, whether you're a Christian or not, you know something of the grace of God. Because God has never treated anyone the way that we so richly deserve. God has given us health and strength. God has given us food and clothing. God gives us the water to drink and the air to breathe. God has given us spouses, children, grandchildren, homes. God has given us employment, families, friends. God has given us the sunshine on everything. Everything comes down from Almighty God. And regardless of our state today, God has been gracious unto us. But in eternity, if we do not have our sins forgiven, If we do not have a Saviour, friends, the gracious presence of God shall be withdrawn from all of us. That's what hell is. It is to be separated from the gracious presence of God. That's a terrible end. I didn't catch what you said, sir. I heard some expletive, but I didn't catch what you said. We're here simply to tell you the truth as it is in Jesus. We're here to tell you, friends, that you need to be saved. You need to be saved from your sins. All of us, without exception, must be saved. Because we're sinners in the sight of God, and because God is a holy God, He must judge and He must punish the sinner. But friends, we are glad that we're able to come out this afternoon and that we have the freedom to be able, in some small way, to articulate the Gospel and to tell you to come to the Lord Jesus Christ as the Apostle, or I should say the Prophet Isaiah said in the Old Testament when he issued this universal Gospel invitation, look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else. And it's only God that can save you, friends, no one else. It's only God in Christ that can save you. And as you consider our plight, and as we consider what we've done, and how we have offended God by our behavior, yet it is God who has taken the initiative He is the one who has worked out a way whereby we might be saved. I beg your pardon dear? I'm sorry I'm not hearing you. I'd love to respond to you but I can't make out what you're saying. I simply want to tell you the truth as it is in Jesus that we need a saviour and there's only one saviour. Jesus himself did say I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by me." There, friends, Jesus was telling his disciples not long before he went to Gethsemane, And not long before he went to Calvary, he was telling them, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by me. What was he saying there? Well, he was saying quite clearly, there's only one way to heaven, for that's where the Father is. He's in heaven. There's only one way to be saved, and that's through the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. There's no other Savior. How shall we escape? If we neglect so great salvation, how will you possibly escape? Is God going to provide another way for you? Is there going to be another gospel? Is there going to be another Savior? No, friends, there's no other Savior. No one else can save. No one else has ever come down from heaven like the Lord Jesus Christ. No one has ever left the realms of glory and come to this world and suffer and die in the room and in the place of sinners to be our substitute. and therefore there is no hope unless we have our hope rooted and grounded upon the Lord Jesus Christ and upon Him alone. Now, you might be admitting to yourself, well, I know I'm not perfect, I know I am a sinner, and I know I'm not right with God, but maybe you're saying to yourself, Or maybe there's something coming into your mind and saying to you, well, you're too bad. There's no hope for you. Maybe that's what you're thinking to yourself. Well, that's not the case. I'm very happy to say to you that is not the case today because the Bible makes it clear to us that Jesus Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost. And he puts it like this in Mark's Gospel. The scribes and the Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners. They said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? And when Jesus heard it, He saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Now that is good news for us today. You know, the religious leaders of the day who were the scribes and the Pharisees, they wondered at Jesus. How can this man be a preacher? Or how can he be a man from God if he associates with publicans and sinners? Now, who were the publicans? Well, the publicans were tax collectors, and they were hated and despised because of their work. They would be ones who had a set amount of tax to collect, and if they happened to be good with their job, they would be able to collect more than the amount required. And the difference they kept to themselves. And therefore they were hated by the Jewish people. And sinners were notorious sinners. They were people like prostitutes, and drunkards, and such like. And Jesus was quite happy to be associated with them and he would preach the gospel to them. But the religious leaders of the day couldn't understand why Jesus, a so-called holy man, would have anything to do with them. Well, Jesus says, they that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick and these publicans and these sinners recognized that they were sinners and therefore they flocked to the Lord Jesus and they delighted to hear the gospel being preached by Him. They that are whole have no need of the physician but they that are sick I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. Friends, what must we do We're all sinners, sir, every one of us. There are no exceptions. I'm speaking here to every single person that can hear. We're all sinners in the sight of God. But there's a great hope before us because Jesus Christ has come to seek and to save those that were lost. And he says again in the Old Testament, as I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will ye die, O house of Israel? And there the Lord is, if you like, He's revealing His heart to us. He's telling us what we need to hear. I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. I have no pleasure in condemning the wicked to hell. He has no pleasure in that whatsoever. What He wants from us, friends, is to turn from our ways. This is what's called repentance. This is what the gospel is, to repent and believe the gospel, to repent and to believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ. To repent means to turn away from our sins. Many people think that repentance is quite simply to be sorry for our sins, and to confess our sins, and to be remorseful. Well, it includes that, but there's one other thing that it also includes, and this is a vital step. We are to turn away from our sins. We are to walk in another direction. In other words, we're to turn our backs upon our sins. That is what repentance is. And that's what's required of us. That's what's required of every single one of us. In order to be saved, we must repent, turn away from our sins. What are our sins? Our sins are the things we do that break the law of God. What is the first commandment? If we look at the first commandment, I'm sure, friends, we'll find that we have broken this commandment. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. That's the first commandment. And I put it to you, as we begin to think about this commandment, I put it to you that every one of us has broken this commandment. What does this commandment teach us? This commandment teaches us that we are to have one God and we are to worship and to serve Him. Who is that God? It is the God of the Bible. It is the God who made heaven and earth. It's the God who has made us. It's the God who has given us His law. This is the God we are to worship. But I put it to you that the likelihood is that you worship a multitude of gods. What is a God? A God is anything that takes a place of the living God. That's what idolatry is. Ask yourself this question. Ask yourself this clear and simple question. Do you love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself? No, we don't, do we? No, then the more you think upon it, the more we recognize that we have broken this commandment. You love God, that's good. That's good. That's good to hear. Because the reality is, friends, by nature we hate God. We don't love God at all. And I put it to you, the likelihood is that you love yourself more than you love God. That's idolatry. or you may well love your spouse, or your partner, or your children, or your grandchildren, or maybe your money, or your possessions, or your job, or your entertainment, or your sport, or maybe it's a combination of all of these things. You love all these things far more than you love the one true and living God. Therefore, you have broken the first commandment which tells us, thou shalt have no other gods before me. The Bible tells us also, in the book of James, chapter 2, if we have broken one of the commandments, we have broken them all. God has given us ten commandments. Let me try and find that verse for you, just so that you know that I'm not making this up. that you'll find it in the Word of God. And this is what we take all our teaching from. It's from the Word of God. And in James 2, verse 10, For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. Therefore, It is true when the Bible says there is none righteous, no not one. We cannot keep the law that God has given to us, yet he has not relaxed his standards. and therefore we have a real problem. But that problem is solved in and through the Lord Jesus Christ, that one who lived a perfect life, who obeyed the law of God on our behalf and paid its penalty on our behalf. And if we will believe upon Him and receive Him as our Lord, if we will trust upon Him, if we will follow Him, if we will cry out to Him, then friends, we will know mercy, we will know forgiveness, and we will be reconciled to God. And therefore, you might consider yourself a great sinner, and therefore you might say, well, God would reject me. There's no point in going to the Lord Jesus. I've sinned my opportunity away, if you like. God says, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. No, what He wants us to do, friends, is to turn. It's to turn to Him. It's to exercise repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We're going to take a short break, but may the Lord be pleased to bless His Word to you this afternoon. Good afternoon. Welcome to our open-air witness in Glasgow City Centre on Buchanan Street. We're here from Partick Free Church of Scotland continuing. We are a local congregation. We meet at 2 Thornwood Terrace. That's just off Dumbarton Road. When you come to the police station, opposite the police station, Go up that hill there and you'll come to Thornwood Primary School and then you'll meet our building on the crossroads next door. We do extend a warm and sincere welcome to you to come along any Lord's Day. That's Sunday and we begin at 11 a.m. and we also have an early evening service at 6 p.m. And we also meet on Wednesday evening for the midweek meeting. We meet at 7.30. And we would extend a warm welcome to you to come along to any of these meetings. And please don't feel apprehensive. It may well be that you've never gone to a Christian place of worship and you might feel somewhat nervous. No need to. Please come along. You won't be asked to do anything other than sit and listen. And we're not out to embarrass anyone. So please feel free to come along. And we simply want to tell you something more concerning the work and the person of the Lord Jesus. Because in the day that we find ourselves in, we are in times when A lot of people really don't know the Christian Gospel. Well, we would like for a few moments this afternoon to tell you something about it and to tell you that the Christian Gospel is about a person. It's about a person, the Son of God, who became the Son of Man, who came to this world in order to do what no one has ever been able to do. What is that? Well, it is to live a perfect life, to fully obey the law of God and then ultimately to go to the cross at Calvary in order that He might pay the price of mankind's sin. Now it's a wonderful, glorious story, friends, but it's not a fairy story. It's rooted and grounded in historical facts. We don't look for any authority in the secular authors, but the secular authors would authenticate that there was a person who lived some 2,000 years ago called Jesus, and he went about doing good. And we know that to be true, because not only did the Gospel records tell us about the life of Jesus, but the Old Testament tells us about this person that was to come. He was the great Messiah. The people The Old Testament people were looking forward to this person when he would come. And he did come, according to the prophecies that we find in the Old Testament. And therefore, there is no doubt that Jesus Christ came into this world. Our time has been divided between B.C. before Christ and A.D. in the year of our Lord. No one else has ever been able to change the course of human history like the Lord Jesus Christ. His teachings have reverberated around the world. And the Western world, although at the moment it may well be said to be turning its back upon its Christian heritage, yet this Western civilization that we're all part of has been rooted and grounded and built upon the teachings that we find in the book of God. And therefore Christianity has had a tremendous effect upon the Western world and upon the world in general. Now this is because it is true. It is truth. Jesus is the one who brings us truth. And we find it in the Word of God here. Today, It's very difficult to find truth. It's very difficult to find it in the print media, or in television media, or social media, in YouTube and Facebook and such like. You've got to be very careful what you read there. You cannot trust your politicians, as you know. But here in the Gospel, in God's Word, we have truth. Jesus said concerning His disciples, sanctify them by the truth. Thy Word is truth. Here we have truth. And friends, before we'll ever appreciate what Jesus Christ has done for us, we must first understand His teachings and what He says about us. The Bible says, there is none righteous, no not one. That means all of us, the whole of mankind is guilty before God. There is none righteous, no, not one. We've all like sheep, we've all gone astray. That's why Paul says in Romans 3, verse 23, For there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. all of us, young, old, male, female, doesn't matter the color of our skin, doesn't matter our nationality, doesn't matter our background, doesn't matter our social standing or our education, all of these things that are relevant because the Bible says we're all sinners and therefore because we're all sinners we all need a savior. We need to be saved from our sins. And that Saviour is only to be found in Jesus Christ. He is the God-appointed Saviour. For salvation is found in none other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave his life for ransom for all, to be testified in due time. And this is what makes, or at least one of the things that makes Christianity unique. It speaks about a saviour, A one who alone can save. There is no other saviour to be found. There's no other gospel. This is the gospel that has come down from heaven. This is heaven's answer to man's greatest plight. And you may well ask then, and it's a good question to ask, what is this great plight that we're talking about? Well, our great plight is that we're sinners and we cannot save ourselves. We cannot get ourselves right with God. We don't have the will, we don't have the desire, We don't have the inclination. We don't have the power. That's why we need to be saved. And this is what is so upsetting to the natural man. He is confronted with this fact that he needs to be saved. And the only way to be saved is to have a Savior. For you cannot save yourself. And that's why Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life, no man cometh to the Father but by me. There's a verse in Proverbs written by King Solomon who in the Old Testament was the wisest man that ever lived and he said, there is a way that seemeth right unto a man but the end thereof are the ways of death. There is a way that seemeth right unto a man. And many people consider their problem, they look at the fact that they're not right with God and they want to address this problem themselves. And they want to get right with God by their own efforts and by their own achievements. And it cannot be done. This way might seem right to them. It might appeal to them. This is something that they can do, but it's not acceptable in the sight of God. There is a way that seemeth right unto man, and this is the way of all false religion. All other religions, friends, and we say this charitably, but all other religions are false. They cannot address man's greatest need and greatest predicament. They cannot address the problem of sin. But only Christianity deals with it. Because Jesus Christ has come and he has suffered and died in order that he might reconcile mankind to a holy God. And therefore all other religions fall into this category. There is a way that seemeth right unto a man but the end thereof are the ways of death. And if you're following anyone else, it doesn't matter whether it be Mohammed, whether it be Confucius, whether it be Buddha, or whether it be a multitude of other gurus, if you're following them, friends, you'll be lost, you'll perish, because there's only one Saviour, God has only sent one Saviour and that Saviour is Jesus Christ and there's going to be no other Gospel and there's going to be no other way to be reconciled to God unless you have the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. And I want to impress upon you for the moment or two that I have with you this afternoon that this is the most important thing that you can address. There are many important issues that come upon us. We have to consider our education, our career, a mortgage, marriage or whatever. Many, many things are important. But this one thing is more important than all of these things together. And it deals with the matter of your eternal soul. Where will you spend eternity? And many people, many people are engrossed in other things and they never think about their never dying eternal soul. But listen to the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. You'll find them in Mark chapter 8 verse 36 and verse 37. For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? There the Lord Jesus Christ, what is He doing? He's surely reminding us or telling us. He's telling us, informing us that we have something that's absolutely priceless and precious. Now you might think today that you don't have much that this world can give you. Maybe you haven't even got a home. Maybe you've got no loved ones. Maybe you've got no money. Maybe you've got very little clothes. I don't know your situation, but you might not have much that this world can give you. But Jesus says to you, and to me, and to all who are here, you have something that's vitally important and precious. What is it? It's your soul. Now, what is your soul? Your soul, friends, is you. At the moment, you are body and soul. That's what you are. Your body and soul are joined together. But at death, there'll be a separation. Your body will go to the grave and your soul will go to the living God. And if you're not in Christ, then you'll be lost and you'll perish eternally. You see, friends, you will live forever. We are being created in the image of God, and He has given us a soul, and that soul shall live forever in eternity. And it will either live in heaven with Christ, with the angels, with the church, with His people, or it will live in hell with the devil and his angels. And therefore Jesus' words are very apt and very appropriate for us this afternoon. For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? What if you were to get everything this world can give you? What if you were to have houses upon houses or flats upon flats? If you were to have cars and holiday homes and wonderful holidays and plenty of money and plenty of possessions and yachts in the Caribbean or whatever? You had all that this world could give you, but you lost your soul. What would it profit you? Because the day will come, friends, that everything you have, you will leave behind. Everything. It doesn't matter what it is. You'll leave everything behind one day. But your soul will go into eternity. And where will it go? That's why Jesus warns us and informs us that we have something that's precious. We have something that we cannot put a value on. For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Hello there? I'm sorry. You'll have to come over here, I can't hear you. Please don't throw away your tract. If you don't want it, we'll take it from you. What we're trying to tell you is the truth as it is in Jesus. And the Lord Jesus Christ is warning us and informing us and telling us that we have something that's precious. and valuable. And it's our souls. And only Jesus can save our souls. We cannot save ourselves, friends. That's why Jesus came. He came to seek and to save that which was lost. And by nature, we are lost. What does it mean to be lost? What it means is we are estranged and we are separated from God. And we're separated from God because of our sin. and therefore we're lost. But friends, there's a way back. What is that way back? That way back is found in Jesus Christ the Lord, and it's found in Him alone. And He warns us and informs us today that no matter how poor we might be, we have something that's valuable, precious. It is our never-dying eternal souls. And friends, I want to ask you, When you pass on into eternity, where will your soul go? Oh, you might not like to think upon it, but surely to bury your heads in the sand about this matter is foolish, because we're all mortal, are we not? We're all on a conveyor belt. We're all going towards eternity, and eternity will take us all. And where will we find ourselves in eternity? Friends, if we don't have a Saviour, we'll be lost. If we don't have a Saviour, our souls will perish forever and forever. But the good news of the Gospel is that Jesus Christ has come to seek and to save that which was lost. And you are to come to Him and you are to find life, you are to find forgiveness, you are to find reconciliation, you are to find that you'll be reconciled to God through believing upon the Lord Jesus Christ. And this, friends, we're happy to tell you, is the day of salvation. This is the time when we are to get right with God. The Bible says, Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. What does salvation mean? Salvation means deliverance, to be made free, What do we need to be free from? We need to be free from the guilt and the power of sin. And that can only happen to us through the Lord Jesus Christ being our Lord and our Saviour. You know, we hear a lot today about being free. We know there is a political party who wants to free Scotland from the United Kingdom. Now I'm not going to get involved in politics because that's not my forty, but the Bible talks about being free. And Jesus, when I find it in John chapter 8, talks about being free. And this is what Christianity is all about. It is about being set free. And Jesus said in John chapter 8, At verse 36, If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. Real freedom is to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. What is the freedom he's talking about? Well, he's not talking about civil liberties. When he uttered these words, The Israelites were under the rule and the dominion of the Romans. Now Jesus was not promising them that they would be free from the grip of the Roman Empire, when He said, If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. He was talking about a much greater and a much higher freedom. You see friends, because of sin, we're under the thralldom of sin. This is what our greatest problem is today. In fact, all our problems, if we would sit down and consider life and consider the problems, we would be able to trace them all back to the fact that we are sinners. And as a result, we are separated from God. We are estranged from our Creator God. This is what sin has done. But, if we will come to the Lord Jesus Christ, we will know freedom. We will know real freedom. What is that freedom he's talking about? Well, he's talking that we will be free from the guilt of sin. I put it to you this afternoon. There will be occasions, maybe not many, but there will be occasions when you're troubled. Your conscience troubles you. Why does it trouble you? Well, I put it to you, it's troubling you because deep down you know that you are not right with God. And when I say this, you know that if you were to pass into eternity, you would face an angry God who would condemn you. And this does trouble you. It troubles your conscience on occasions. You know, deep down, because you're a sinner, that you're separated and estranged from God, and you don't have the relationship that you should have. This is what's called the guilt of sin. Well, Jesus Christ will take away that guilt. You'll be free from that guilt. You'll be restored and reconciled to a rightful, meaningful relationship with your Creator. And more than that, you'll be free from the power of sin. This is something that happens the moment that someone is truly saved. When that person is truly converted, the power of sin is broken. And therefore, the alcoholic that comes to the Lord Jesus Christ, the power of drink is taken away from him. He no longer has that urge. And he's no longer controlled by his lust and his desire and drive to have alcoholic drink. Why? Because the power of sin has been broken. And it's the same for the drug addict. And it's the same for the fornicator. And it's the same for the adulterer. And it's the same for the liar. And it's the same for the cheat. And it's the same for all sinners. The power of sin is broken. when you truly come to a saving union with the Lord Jesus Christ. That's true freedom. To have a peaceful conscience and to be right with God and for the power of sin to be broken in your life, that is freedom. And that freedom cannot be bought and that freedom cannot be given to you by the politicians or anyone else. It's only through the Lord Jesus Christ because He breaks the power of sin. And friends, one day, you'll know complete and utter freedom from the very presence of sin itself in glory. That's what awaits the Christian. That's what awaits all who put their faith and their hope and their trust upon the Lord Jesus Christ. They shall be free, free from the guilt of sin, free from its power, and then ultimately in glory itself, free from its very presence. Today, in this world that we live in, we are surrounded with sin and with its effects. And no religion can take this away, nothing but Jesus Christ. That's why we come out and we bring you this message and we trust that the Lord might bless His Word to you this afternoon as we take a short break. Good afternoon, we're glad you're able to join us in our open-air witness on Buchanan Street. in the city centre of Glasgow. We're here from Partick, Free Church of Scotland continuing, a local congregation. And we meet at Two Thornwood Terrace and we extend a warm welcome to you to come along where you might hear something more about the Christian gospel. And we tend to come out once a week. On one Friday we're here And the next Friday we tend to be at Partick Station, weather permitting. And we're very happy to have this day, this glorious day the Lord has given to us. And we are ones who firmly believe that the weather is under the care and the control of Almighty God. He's the one who has made heaven and earth. And He's the one who has given us weather and controls the weather. And we're told in the Word of God, while the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. And we know that there are many people today who are concerned about environmental issues and to some extent that it's good to be concerned about the creation. But they go a bit too far maybe in our estimation. They're talking about doomsdays. They're talking about the behavior of mankind bringing about a collapse. Well, We don't accept that at all. The Bible tells us quite clearly, while the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest and cold and heat and summer and winter and day and night shall not cease. And that verse begins, while the earth remaineth. This reminds us that the earth had a beginning, And it will have an end. And it will not be brought about by anything that man has done directly. Instead, it will be brought about by Almighty God. And if you want to know more about that, you'll find it in the Bible. And maybe I'm speaking to individuals who don't have a Bible. Well, if you fall into that category and you would like a Bible, please make yourself known and we will do whatever we can in order that you might have a Bible. But we're here this afternoon principally to talk about a person, and that person is none other than the Son of God, who became the Son of Man. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And here we have the very essence of the Christian Gospel. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. And really, what do we have here then? We have what the Gospel is all about. It's all about what God has done in order to reconcile sinners to Himself. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And here is something that we really need to understand and appreciate, that we need to be saved. We need to be saved from our sins, from the consequence of our sins. We need to be cleansed. We need to be made right. We need to make sure that we have Christ as our Lord and Savior. And that's why He's come into this world, in order to save sinners. And in order for Him to save sinners, He had to become just like us. Sin only accepted. He had to become a man. He had to take our form and our nature. As the Son of God in heaven, He couldn't save us. It would be impossible for Him to save us in heaven. He had to come down to the earth and take our form and nature and live a perfect life, which He did for some 33 years or so. He lived a perfect life. He never sinned on any occasion. He didn't sin in thought or word or deed. That's the Savior we need. That's the one who came down from heaven. Who came into this world to save sinners. And friends, we are delighted today that we're able to tell you that coming into this world, He lived a perfect life. And then at the appointed time, the time that was determined from all eternity, He went to the cross and He suffered and died in the room and place of sinners. And He did this in order that we would be able to be saved. And the Apostle Paul here is saying that he is the chief of sinners. And therefore, if the chief of sinners can be saved, there's no reason why any of us here cannot be saved. We need to confess our sins and acknowledge that we're not right before God. This is what's required of us. We are to recognize that we have broken God's law. We deserve His wrath and curse and punishment. We are to acknowledge our sin. We are to repent and to believe the gospel. This is what's required of us in order to be saved and to come and to believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ. This is our greatest need. This is our greatest problem. It's a problem that we cannot address ourselves. It's a problem that The politicians cannot address, and they cannot address it for a number of reasons, but one of them is because they don't recognise it as a problem. But it is the greatest problem that's facing mankind, and indeed all our problems can be traced to this one problem, that we are, by our sin, estranged from God. But there is hope, friends. There's hope because God, in the fullness of time, sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And that's the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, that He has come in order to save. And He says in His Word, All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. There's a glorious invitation and promise there. If we will come to the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be accepted. He will not turn us away. What are we required to do? We're required to go to Him. We're required to call upon Him. We're required to repent and to believe the Gospel. We're required to turn our backs upon our old lives, upon our sins. We are to confess them, acknowledge them, and turn away from them, and to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Not simply to believe that He was a person, but He is the Son of God, and that He is the God-appointed Saviour. That's what we are to believe. And that's what is required of us. And behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. And do you know, friends, the moment that we put our faith and our hope and our trust upon Jesus Christ, that moment we shall be saved. This is the record. that God hath given to us eternal life, and that life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. And therefore, What that verse is telling us, amongst other things, is that the moment we trust upon Him, we shall be saved and we shall have that gift of eternal life. But if we will not believe upon the Lord Jesus, if we will not have this gift that God has given to us, we will not have eternal life. It doesn't matter what we do. It doesn't matter what we say. It doesn't matter what we believe. These things don't matter. If we don't have Christ as Lord and Saviour, if we're not following Him, then we will not have eternal life. He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. You might have religion, but religion will never save you. No religion will save you. Only Jesus Christ will save you. That's what He says, He that hath the Son hath life. Therefore, let me ask you this afternoon, do you have the Son of God? Do you believe upon the Son of God? Are you trusting upon the Lord Jesus Christ? He alone can save. He is the only Saviour. And he says, behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with me. Now these words were spoken by Christ to a church and this church had everything. but they did not have Christ, and Christ was outside of the church. He was outside the door of the church. But these words can be applicable to ourselves. I stand at the door. Is Christ pricking your conscience? Is the Word of God pricking your conscience? Then in some sense, Christ is standing at the door. Are you hearing His voice? Is there something in you that's saying, well, yes, I need to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. I need to have him as my Lord and Savior. I want to have the great hope that belongs to the Christian. Well, if any man hear my voice, maybe you're hearing his voice this afternoon. Maybe you're being convicted of your sin. Maybe the realities of eternity are being pressed upon you. Maybe you're realizing your mortality and your need to be reconciled to God. This is surely Christ knocking at the door. He's knocking at your conscience. He's troubling you. Why is He doing this? In order that you might receive Him. In order that you might call upon Him. In order that you might have Him as your Lord and as your Savior. He says on another occasion in His Word, Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is none else. These are the words that we find from the prophet Isaiah. Now he's not talking about himself. He's not drawing attention to himself. Instead, he's telling us to look unto the Saviour. Look unto me, that's the Saviour. Look unto the Lord Jesus Christ, and be ye saved. All the ends of the earth. Therefore he's speaking this word to all of us, to young and to old, men and women, boys and girls, old and young. It doesn't matter our nationality, it doesn't matter our tongue, he's telling us all, look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is none else. Only God can save, and that's Jesus Christ. He is the God-Man. He alone can save. There is no other Savior. There is no other Gospel. There is no other way to be reconciled to God. There is no other way to be found in heaven. It's only through the Lord Jesus Christ. He himself did say, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by me. No one goes to heaven but by me, he says. That's what he says. He's very dogmatic on this matter. There are not a multitude of saviors. There may be many, many religions, but they're all false. Only Christ can save. And if you're following any other religion, you will be disappointed. May God bless you, brother. Thank you, sir. How are you doing? God bless. Thank you. Nice to be encouraged. It's good to be out with the Word of God. Why we still have opportunity. Why we still have health and strength. Why we still have the freedom. Because many would like to take this freedom away from us. But friends, this freedom has been won for us by our Christian forefathers who fought for freedom and we're happy to be able to ride on their shoulders in some sense and to go out and to preach the everlasting gospel. Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none else. He that believeth in the Son hath everlasting life. Can that be said of you, sir? Can that be said of you, madam? He that believeth in the Son hath everlasting life. If you truly believe upon the Lord Jesus, you have everlasting life. And he that believeth not the Son of God shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. It's very clear. It's very stark. You know, many people, they ridicule the Bible. They say it's a no book and we cannot understand it. But the real problem is, friends, they understand it too well. They don't like what it tells them. Because the Bible tells us the truth. The Bible makes it abundantly clear that we need to have a saviour because we are sinners. For there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. And I put it to you, the Bible is abundantly clear. It tells us we're made in the image of God, and we're fallen creatures. Our first parents were made perfect, but they fell. And because they were our head, we were fallen in them. And therefore we're sinners by nature, and sinners by practice, and we're under the wrath of God. But, friends, the Bible also is very clear there's a way to be saved, and that way is to be found in Jesus Christ the Lord, to have Him as your Lord and as your Saviour. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. That's why we come out, that's why we seek to tell you something about Him, about this person, about Jesus Christ, because whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And how can you possibly call upon the name of the Lord if you don't know who the Lord is? That's why we come out. And the Lord is Jesus Christ. He is the eternally begotten Son of God who came down to this world and who ultimately suffered and died on Calvary's tree in order that He might save a people. And friends, I want to ask you, has He saved you? Has He saved you? That's why we're here, you to put your faith and your trust upon Him. He that believeth in the Son hath everlasting life, and whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Have you called upon Him? Why not? Why have you not called upon Him? Do you not see your need? Do you not agree with the Bible when it says For there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Do you not recognize that you're a sinner in the sight of God? That you're under His condemnation? Do you not recognize these things? Is it not true? Of course it's true. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And because of this, we cannot save ourselves. We need a Savior, and that Savior is none other than the Son of God. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Friends, we're going to draw our time to a close this afternoon, but before we do, we want to remind you that there's a great and terrible day coming, and that day is the day of judgment. We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. If you've been listening at all this afternoon, I have been seeking to portray Christ as a savior. But the day will come when he will not be a savior, but he will be a judge. And that day will be the end of the world. And there will be a day when it will be the end of the world. This world had a beginning, and it will have an end. And on that day, we will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ. Young and old will stand before Him. And the Bible gives an exhortation to the young, Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them. Give your life to Christ now. Turn to the Lord Jesus Christ now in your younger days. The evil days will come. What are these days? These evil days, friends, are the days of old age, when we don't have all our faculties, when our health fails, when we're not as bright as we once were, and when it will become much more difficult to repent and to believe the gospel. Because as you get older, Sin takes a greater hold upon you and it takes much more effort for habits to be broken. And therefore that's why the Bible exhorts us, remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. How will you fare when you're called forth out of your grave and you'll stand before King Jesus. Friend, on that day, you will need a Saviour. You will rejoice in a Saviour, and that Saviour is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. We're going to draw our time to a close, but may the Lord be pleased to bless His Word to you this afternoon.