The presentation of the gospel message is a story about the problem of man's eternal destiny, producing the only eternal solution from God. So man has a problem and government can't fix it. You got a problem and you can't fix it. The solution is God can fix it. And so that's what we want to look at. There has been much confusion. about the correct content of the gospel message. What do we really need to tell a lost man? We know that we must strip all the hints of man's works out of the gospel of grace. Because grace is the opposite of work. It means that you don't have to do good works to go to heaven. It means that you're not going to heaven because of how you live. And that's difficult for some people to understand or to explain to them. So the gospel is not clear or understood just because we know what we said or what we meant, but when the lost person understands what we said. So we're always fighting for the clarity of the gospel so that the person who doesn't know it can understand it. Because your goal is you're going to die here, where are you going to spend eternity? So you want people to go to heaven. So the goal is to get people from earth to a place that will be eternal in heaven with the Lord. It wasn't long ago that they had a Charlie Kirk memorial. How many of y'all watched it? Most of you did. Did you know that there were different people who were talking about God, the Lord, and talking about maybe revival and all these things? And different preachers got up there and they said different things. Different politicians said different things. And even talked about, you know, believing in Jesus and trusting Christ. And I would venture to say that when the people left, if you had people outside polling and asked them when they came out, do you know for sure you're going to heaven when you die? Majority of them still would not know. Because, you see, there wasn't enough content to give any kind of security. And that's what I want to give you today. Because that's the most important thing. If there's anything you're going to get right, it ought to be how to go to heaven. Because we're all going to die. So this is very important. So I believe the story concerning the truth of the gospel is truly sufficient to remove all questions, doubts, and confusion about eternal security. Now, you'll understand this. You may not agree with it, but you'll understand it. I believe that once you trust Christ as Savior, God gives to you eternal life. And it's eternal security. I believe that once I have eternal life, I have eternal security, and I cannot, impossible, for me to ever be separated from God. Impossible for me to go to hell. So that you understand, the reason that I know that I'm going there is because I know that I cannot go there. It's impossible. And the reason is because, see, I don't have any sins to pay for. You say, how do you know? Because Christ died for my sins. Now, did he do it for you too, though? Now, the only difference is, is I believed it. And many people won't believe that. So they're trying to earn their way to heaven instead of accepting God's way to get to heaven. And God says it's free. You don't have to earn it. You don't have to qualify. Well, the only qualification is you've got to be a sinner. Do you qualify? Well, lo and behold. Now, so we know that only by knowing why we are saved from hell can you fully understand why you would know you're going to heaven. So if you want to go to heaven, then you'll have to know how to escape Electro fire burning hell now is this a true statement now. I want to read this statement to you This was in a magazine not long ago, but there's many people that preach this The Lord makes it clear that we are to believe in him in order to be saved Specifically we are to believe in him for what he promises which is everlasting life The Lord never asked unbelievers to believe in his death, burial, and resurrection. That is a direct quote out of a magazine. So the Lord never asked us to believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Just believe in Jesus. Trust Jesus. But without explanation, is that sufficient to answer your questions about the sin problem? In that statement alone, there is no heaven and there is no hell. There is no consequences. It doesn't even tell you why you're not going to heaven. So there's many things that are absent that would help a person to make a wise decision. What if I had somebody who told me that? Just believe in Jesus and you'll have eternal life. Okay, is that sufficient for me to make a wise decision? What if I don't want to live forever? What if I don't want to go to heaven? So what's the consequences? You say, well, you go to hell. Yeah, but if you don't tell them that, That might be a good motive to trust the Lord, because of where I'm going to go if I don't believe. So you see, they've left out the consequences. At the memorial, did you hear anybody mention the word hell? Because that doesn't sit well with people. But if you're going to trust Christ as your Savior, Savior from what? Don't you have to be saved from something? Then it must be, I'm going somewhere. that I don't want to go. So, it's important. The promise of eternal life is the result of believing the gospel. When it says, verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, believing on him is believing the gospel. Those who believe the gospel have everlasting life. You see, having everlasting life is a result of believing the gospel. and you have to give them the gospel in order for them to believe it. It's not just believe and have eternal life. Somebody says, just believe in Jesus. Okay, who is Jesus? I've known him for 20 years. He runs a bakery down here on the street. He's a good friend of mine. Know him very well. You don't have to know who Jesus is. Anybody named Jesus? Go down to some of the, go down to Mexico and see if you can find anybody named Jesus. Most of them are. Jose, can you see? But anyway, this is a statement that the believer of the gospel hath everlasting life. So you see, there's a difference. It's like asking for the icing on the cake without the cake. They want the results without doing it. Like some people say, asking Jesus to come into your heart. That's a nice thing, might mean well, but Christ indwelling you is a result of you trusting Him. You don't trust Him as your Savior because you understand He's saving you from hell. He doesn't indwell you, and you can beg and plead and cry, and come into my heart, come into my heart, come into my heart. Well, He don't come into you, trust Him as Savior. You won't find the verse that says you to ask Him. that come into your heart. It's a sweet thing for those who know the Lord. Just like, have you been washed in the blood? Well, not really, I don't know. But if you know what that means, it's a great precious thing. But tell a lost man, you want to go to heaven? Yes, I do. You just got to be washed in the blood. Maybe you need to explain it a little bit better. So when he says this in John 20 to 31, these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ. You see, Jesus is somebody. He's the Christ. That means he's the sacrifice for the sins of the world. That's what it stood for in the Old Testament, New Testament. So it's believing that Jesus is the Christ. And then he says, and that believing. you may have life through his name. You see, you get life if you'll believe what Christ did. That means he was a payment for our sins. It's a wonderful thing when it clears up some of the fog and helps you to get out of that mist. Believing Jesus for eternal life is a sufficient message that removes questions and doubt. Does it remove the questions and doubt? No. Doesn't tell you. That's all I have to do, but it's not all I need to know. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth upon him. It's the same information as John 6, 47, but something else is added. Consequences if you don't believe it. For example, on most churches, even in the memorial, I think it's a shame that what happened happened. And he may have known the Lord. I don't know if he did or not. Because many people are religious but never trust Christ as their Savior. And an open invitation. Everybody needs to go to church. What church? Any church? Do all churches teach the truth on how to go to heaven? Well, maybe not. They can talk about it. And they all talk about the Bible. They can mention heaven. They can mention hell. And mention salvation by grace. And they can talk about mercy. Those are generally the on-ramps to finally get on there to do that pavement for good works, so you can make it there. They've been introduced to the gospel, introduced to Christ, but introduction doesn't mean to know Him. I could be introduced to something, y'all, after the service today, but do I know you and would I trust you? An introduction to Christianity doesn't mean that you were told how to have eternal life and go to heaven when you die. That is a totally different story. So, doesn't this verse teach eternal security, but needs explanation? See, that's why we study the Bible. It's not all in one place. You study the Old Testament and you'll find there's a verse here, a verse there, a verse there, a verse there, a verse here, and all about the second coming of Christ, or the first coming of Christ. but they're not all put together in one little package. So you have to work and study the Bible to know when Christ came, oh, that prophecy, beloved, that prophecy, that prophecy. You'll find the same thing in the New Testament. There's various things where truth is revealed. So you study the word of God. Get the story straight before you start running. Know what to tell a lost man before you just tell him anything you want to tell him. Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. But the water that I give him shall be in him a well of water, springing up in everlasting life. That's the same thing as John 6, 47. Said differently. Don't you think, though, that verse might have to be explained? When he says in verse 35, And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger. He that believeth on me shall never thirst. You think you might have to explain, what does he mean? Of course you have to explain what it means. So when God tells us that we can have eternal life, I should explain to them how they can know they have eternal life. See, one of the greatest things that I've ever found in my whole life, and I'm going on 84, I'm still just a young child, but I know I'm going to heaven when I die. Someone telling me how to have eternal life. 65 years ago was the greatest knowledge that I've ever heard. The greatest truth. Knowing I'm going to heaven when I die. That's why at my age, I want to keep telling people how to go to heaven wherever I go. So anyway, here's a good verse. Same thing. Whosoever eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life. Isn't that what it says? He that believeth in me hath everlasting life. Well here it says you gotta drink his blood and eat his flesh. Have you done it yet? You want to go to heaven? Now we just got to find him and so we can start devouring him. That's what he said, but don't you think it might need to be explained? It's a great truth, but the Bible isn't written just to satisfy curiosity seekers. It's for those who want to know truth, find out what does he mean, and you'll find out that Jesus taught eternal security. You drink my blood, you have eternal life. Because he was eternal life. You eat his flesh, you'll have eternal life. You drink that water, you'll never thirst again. You'll never hunger again. Jesus taught eternal security, and any preacher that says he didn't doesn't understand the gospel. because most people cannot believe it's that easy or that free. And yet the Bible says salvation is the gift of God, and nobody wants to believe that because that's too easy. Somebody alive would abuse it. Well, la-dee-da. What if God told you, I'm not going to let you be born into this world unless you promise you're going to behave? How many of us would never have got born? There wouldn't be anybody. And there'd be nobody in heaven if we didn't trust Christ as our Savior the way we are, because we can't change the way we are. I hope you're getting my drift. I believe the gospel story should reveal to a person their problem and God's only solution. So we know we got a problem. There are sinners. They will die. They will be in a place called hell. They cannot pay for their sins by good works. Christ was God's Son in the flesh. He willingly died to pay for our sins, came back from the dead, and will give eternal life freely to all who will believe He did it for them. So Christ died on the cross, paid for your sins, and all He wanted you to do about what He did was believe He did it for you. What's hard about that? That's simple. And that's easy. But most people say, I just can't believe that. That means if that's true, anybody can go to heaven. Yeah. Even you. because you're no better than anybody else. In God's eyes, there's no difference. There is no difference. If God can't save the worst person, he can't save any of us. And if you didn't believe that God loves everybody, then you can't believe he loves you. So, as we're moving right along, in the book of Acts 1338, look what he says here. Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. Did you hear that anybody was told that you can have your sins forgiven? You know why you can have your sins forgiven? Because when Christ died, he died and paid for your sin. So when you believe it, he'll forgive you of your sins. He doesn't forgive you until you believe on him. That's why he says, go into all the world and preach the forgiveness of sins. And that's what they preach in the Old Testament. And then he says in verse 39, and by him, all that believe. are justified just as if they'd never done anything wrong. So that's why whenever Christ died on the cross for you, and you believe he died for you, he forgives you of all your sins like you've never sinned. Why? Because he paid for them. So if God has forgiven you of all your sins, all he wants you to do is accept his forgiveness and forgive yourself. Do you know the biggest part that problem people have in wearing a load of iron on their shoulders is they haven't learned how to forgive themselves. See you the way God sees you, forgiven. Forgiven. And that's why you can go to heaven because God forgave you of all your sins. You have no sins to account for. You say you don't deserve that. That's why he calls it grace. What is grace? Unmerited. So it says there in that verse, all that believe are justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. In other words, without earning it. Under the law, they were never saved by keeping the law, doing their good works. And then verse 43 of Acts chapter 10, look at this verse. It's a reference to the Old Testament. And to him, all the prophets, that's Old Testament, witnessed that through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive what? Remission of sin. That was the same message in the Old Testament you have in the New Testament. No death, burial, and resurrection needed to be in the gospel. Really? Now let me show you this. I want you to look at this. I haven't worked a word. Look up on there. That means look. It means look there in the Leviticus chapter 14. Luke chapter 14. And the old church Bible you got there is on page 143. But make sure you look at it. In the Old Testament, the book of Leviticus concerning sacrifices, a person who had leprosy which was the type of sin, incurable, but God had a way. So he says there in verse two, this shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing. He shall be brought into the priest. The priest shall go forth of the camp. Priest shall look and behold if the plague of leprosy is healed in the leper. This is what he does. Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive. In verse five, and the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed. And then he says down in verse seven, last part of it, and one will be turned loose in the field. So there's two birds. This is how they taught the death, burial and resurrection. You have two birds. You took one bird and you killed it. Innocent birds, they didn't do anything wrong. but they were a substitute for somebody else that did sin. So that bird is killed. Take the blood, sprinkle it upon the other bird that's still alive, and then it would fly away. That's death, resurrection. You say it doesn't teach it. Yes, it does read the whole thing. And you'll find that it means more and more, even over there in verse 49, when he says there in verse 49, and he shall take to cleanse the house, two birds. It talks about that. Look now in chapter 16, chapter 16, Leviticus 16. And he makes a statement in verse 6, and Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, make an atonement for himself and for his house. Then he shall take the two goats. Now, I was always told this, the pastor is the shepherd to feed the flock. He is not a clown to entertain the goats. There goes my water. I knew that was going to happen when I set it up there, but that's okay. So I'm not here to entertain you. I hope I want to feed the flock. So he makes the statement that there's two goats. Verse 8, one is a scapegoat. So you kill the one and you let the other one go free. That's where you hear the word about he's a scapegoat. He gets blamed, but he gets to go free. So you and I, to understand In the Old Testament, there was the death, a burial, a resurrection. That is the same message we preach today. It's a picture of Jesus Christ because God would take an innocent lamb and let that innocent lamb pay for the sins of the people, but he didn't pay for it, only covered it, until the true Lamb of God, which was Jesus Christ, came, and that's what he did. A lot more in there, but you can read that a little bit later on your own. Now take your Bible, and let's just look over here at this scripture. In the book of Matthew chapter three, look in Matthew chapter three, you'll find out a man came on the scene, his name was John the Baptist. What did John the Baptist do? He was a preacher. He was an evangelist. Kind of like somebody I know. But he came and he was preaching. And he told me there in verse four, excuse me, verse seven, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath of God. So the wrath of God was coming. You're to flee from it. That's why you need a savior. So the Bible says that he was baptizing. He says, I baptize you with water, but he that cometh after me, he will baptize you with the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit, which had not come yet. Christ hadn't showed up yet. He says that he is going to baptize you with the Holy Spirit. So baptism of water was a picture of the Holy Spirit baptism, but he made the statement to him. He says, you are going to be looking for the one who's coming after me. He said, I am not the savior. What I'm doing does not save you. It's only a picture of the one that's coming. And he baptized those who believed the message with water. So they were saved by faith, not by their works, not by baptism. Baptism was only a picture, just like in the Old Testament, that was a picture of the death, burial, and resurrection. It was used all the way through the law. Now Jesus is coming. So now instead of killing the two birds or the two goats, now it was the death, burial, and resurrection, being baptized. So understand this, when you're standing in the water, like a picture of Christ on the cross, go under the water, it's a picture of your death. come up out of the water is a picture of your resurrection. It doesn't save you, it's only a picture. It's just like when you get married, you have a picture. And so when somebody could say, you know, you're not married until you take a picture. No, the picture is just a picture of your marriage. It doesn't marry you, just, it's a picture. Baptism was a picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. And do you find that throughout the scripture? Yes, you do. It's not something new. It was consistent. And all the prophets in the New Testament, the apostles, all had the same illustration. Most of us who came from Florida Bible College, we gained a little illustration. We call it the wallet illustration. But it's just a picture. It just illustrates a great truth. So in this verse, we're to understand Jesus was baptized because it was a statement about what his ministry is about. He came to die on the cross, buried, and resurrected again. Now, he did that because that was the point of his coming, was to pay for your sins. And to know that he paid for them, he says, you can believe it because I'm going to come back from the dead. Jesus came back from the dead. So that's how we know he really did what he said he did to pay for our sins so we don't have to pay for them. That's a great truth. Now, John was also said that he preached that people were to believe on him whom he had sent, whom God said, Jesus is coming. And so Paul mentioned that in the book of Acts in chapter 19. Now get this, in John 3, 14, I want you to see this. I want you to take your Bible, look in John 3, 14. Because many people use this and they don't make it simple and clear. But John chapter 3, Look there in verse 14. They say, well, John 3, 16 doesn't say anything about the crucifixion. Yes, it does. And I'm going to show you. See there in verse 14. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be what? What do you think that's a reference to? The cross. That's a reference to Christ down on the cross. Now, why was he going to die on the cross? To pay for our sins? Remember John the Baptist said right before this year, he said, behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. So they taught that. And this is the beginning of Christ's ministry, just like it was in the book of Matthew in chapter three, when he talks about John the Baptist coming on the same thing. Baptism was only a picture of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. So he made the statement there in verse 15, that Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. That believing was because of the payment Christ made on the cross. He was going to be lifted up. That whosoever believeth can have this free gift of everlasting life. Because see, you've got to know the story. What are you believing? Just believe in Jesus. What do I believe about Jesus? That he just, he lived, he was an individual. No, he was God in the flesh. He was more than that. See there in God, John 3, 16, you're right there at it. In verse 16, for God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son, gave his only begotten, gave his, for what? What is that a reference to? How did God give his only begotten son? That's John 3, 16. That's crucifixion. And you can't preach the gospel without the death, burial, and resurrection. And there's people that are preaching very strongly and very hard and making a lot of inroads into a lot of churches. Just believe in Jesus without explanation. It won't work because there's no way of knowing what do you believe? Where are you going to go when you die? Well, I don't know. I hope I go to heaven. Why would they think that? Because they don't understand. You didn't give them anything to believe. That's why it's important. Look what he says there in verse 17. For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be what? What's that word? Saved. Saved from what? You gotta be saved from something. Now look what he says in John, and look in verse 36. And notice John the Baptist said this. John the Baptist said this. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. John the Baptist said this. This is a comment from what he said up there in verse 31 down. And he says this, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth upon him. So did he preach about the wrath of God? Go back to Matthew in chapter three and you'll find that he talked about hell. You got to be saved from something. We should not be afraid to say the word hell. because that's where people are going to spend an eternity unless they trust Christ as their save your from hell. He's not just trying to save you so you can get out of your paying your bills. He's not trying to save you just from having a car accident or get you out of the hospital. Oh, he saved me. He saved me. We're not talking about that kind of saving. Not just trying to save your life. How many want to commit your life to Christ? That doesn't fit. It doesn't belong. Salvation is God offering us, not us offering Him anything. So he says, we're to believe it. But anyway, there's a lot of things that I could bring your attention to, but because of time, I only have three hours. Look at this. Water baptism pictures the death of the old man and the resurrection of the new man. You can have a new birth. You have to have the death of the first one. All of us have been born in this world. There you are. I can see your flesh birth. That means I know at least you've been born one time. Jesus says you have to be born again, but you can't be born again until you die. So baptism is a picture of your death. It's your funeral. Going under the water is a picture of your funeral. I've always wondered if I could be there for my funeral. I was there for my funeral. I watched me die. When Dr. Virgil Edwards put me under the water, that was my funeral, and I thought it was going to be. I've baptized a lot of people over the years. Sometimes there's some of them you want to hold, and I just make sure it takes. Dr. Cameron tells about this one woman he had to baptize. And he's telling this in class, he says this woman, but she was large, she was very healthy. She was very, very, very healthy. And she got in the water, but they didn't put much water in the tank. And so when he got ready to baptize her, he says, that's a long way down. And she's huge. So he started down. And when he did, she slipped out of his hands. And she hit the water and the water flew up. He thought he was going to get a hernia trying to get her up out of the water. Now, I've never drowned anybody yet. I'm close. But it's a good thing that if you've never been baptized to do so. It's a picture of your death. When you accepted Christ, death on the cross is your death. Water baptism is a picture of that. So when you come up out of the water, it's a picture of your new birth, your resurrection. It's in the Old Testament, two birds, one dies, one goes free. And two goats, one dies, one goes free. When you trusted Christ as your Savior, it was your death, your funeral, and you got to go free. God gave you a new birth. You're free from the law of sin. and death, the flesh, the grave, the new birth can never be touched. It's eternal. And that's why once you trust Christ as your savior and believing that he died on the cross, paid for your sin, then you accepted his death as your death. Now you and I are supposed to live as those that have been free from the first birth. We're supposed to live and walk in newness of life. How you doing? Because, see, we keep resurrecting the old man. But baptism is a picture of it. So that's why the Bible says John the Baptist was baptized in John chapter 3. In John chapter 4, Jesus and his disciples were baptized. Why? Because it's a picture of it. Now, there's many things that they were not permitted to understand because they could change history. And that's another sermon I'll preach on one time down the road. But anyway, get this. Water baptism was a picture of the death, birth, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It's the same formula throughout Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the writings of Paul. Water baptism by all the disciples of John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, Apostle Paul, and others means that one true gospel was illustrated by the same method. And that's why it's still the same method today. Now, you may not get baptized. This means you didn't have a picture. I mean, Betty was married, but we never had a picture. So that means we weren't married. No, we were still married. 25 years later, we decided to do it again and got a picture. Now we know. We've been married not going on 66 years. I think it's a keeper. God's been good to us. Now believers, baptism is a picture of the funeral of the old man, resurrection of the new man. Now I want you to look at a couple of verses. We got some time. Look in the book of Acts chapter 8. The book of Acts and chapter 8. Acts chapter 8. There's a little story in Acts chapter 8 about a man who had been to Jerusalem and, well, he was on his way back to Ethiopia and he was reading the book of Isaiah. And the Lord told Philip to go and talk to him. So Philip comes running up to him, he's in the middle of a desert and he's riding his little chariot. And he came up and he says in verse 30, Philip ran thither to him and heard him read the prophet Isaiah. Understandeth what thou readeth? He said, how can I except some man should guide me? So he desired Philip that he would sit down and explain the chapter to him. The place he read, which he read was this. He was led as a sheep to the slaughter like a lamb, done before his ears, so he opened not his mouth. His humiliation, his judgment taken away, and who shall declare his generation? In other words, he's going to die, be buried, resurrected. So Philip took the Old Testament story about the death, burial, and resurrection of the Messiah and preached to him, and he believed it. So when he got down here, he asked this question. in verse 35. Then Philip opened his mouth and began the same scripture and preached unto him, Jesus. That person that we call Jesus is the one that was the Messiah, that was to die on the cross and pay for the sins of the world. And it will be like sheep have gone astray, but he laid upon him the iniquity of us all. And so when it came to some water, he says, what does hinder me to be baptized? So evidently Philip had to explain to him the death, the burial, and the resurrection of the Messiah. And he did. And he says, Thou mayest, in verse 37, he answered and says, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. It's not that he's just Jesus. No, he's Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He's that Messiah. He's the one that died on the cross and paid for the sins of the world. So when you see that, it helps. Look in the book of Acts chapter 16. Acts chapter 16. And notice this. Acts chapter 16, everybody has heard about the Philippian jailer. You say, where did that happen? It's talking about the Philippines. Evidently, he was a Filipino. Okay, maybe he wasn't. They were in prison. Paul and Silas. They were singing Amazing Grace. Middle of the night. Earthquake. The keeper of the prison thought everybody was gone. And if they're gone, he's going to get killed. So he's going to take his life. And they says, don't. We're all here. And so he says, what must I do to be saved? Evidently, they must have said something that lets him know he needs to be saved. So there's more that he heard that's not recorded. So he says, what must I do to be saved? And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved. That's what they said. Now you and I don't know all that they've already told him, but that's all he had to do. But it was not all that he needed to know. You say, how do you know that? I'm glad you asked. When he said in verse 31, they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house, that the house believes. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord. So they had to speak more. There was more to be heard. And to all that were in the house, he explained some more. You say, did he talk about the death, burial and resurrection? You got it. You say, how do you know? In verse 33. And he took them the same hour of the night, washed their stripes, and was, what's the word? Baptized. You can't explain baptism without the death, burial, and resurrection. In every one of these cases, they preach the death, burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because that's the story of the gospel. Christ died for my sins and came back from the dead. And if I believe it, he'll give me as a free gift everlasting life. So get this, to preach the plan of salvation without the cross cannot be done. To leave out the cross is to leave out not only what Christ did, but why he did it, and for whom he did it. To leave out the cross is to forsake the mercy of God, the need for grace, and the foundation for the gift of eternal life. The gift of eternal life is based upon the foundation. And if you don't believe the foundational truth, you don't get the gift. That's because you believed the gospel. The gospel is the story about how a man who is a sinner, who cannot save himself, had a wonderful heavenly God who came down through this earth in the person of Jesus Christ and died on that cross and paid for my sins and I could have eternal life. Now, you ever heard of Romans 1 16? We sit here every week. I am not ashamed of the what? Gospel of Christ. It is the power of God of salvation to everyone that believeth. And it's called the power of God, the dynamite of God. And then he says, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. The gospel must contain something to believe. If we're supposed to believe the gospel, then the gospel should have something to believe. Now, I know I'm just a dumb old Georgia hick, don't know much. but I can figure some of these things out. There's gotta be something I'm supposed to believe about Jesus. The gospel must be for everyone and no exclusions. That means that everybody in this room, anybody in the world can be saved. I'll have people call me all the time and say, yeah, but what about an apostate? What about an apostate? I'll say, oh, they're a person. Yeah, or they're a sinner. Yes, they're qualified. I don't care. Everybody is capable of going to heaven by believing the gospel. That's what he said. Now get this, for Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel. So being baptized doesn't save you. It's only a picture of your salvation. Unless people would believe that the apostle Paul, his baptism would mean more than somebody else. He said, unless somebody should say, I did it in my own name. But Paul did not cancel, alter, or change baptism for the church. He just simply said this. Baptism was the believer's way of not only showing what they heard and believed the gospel, but that they understood the gospel through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. It's a way of saying, I believe that when Christ died, he died for me, and that he came back from the dead. And I believe that. And that's a public demonstration of your faith. Let everybody know, I believe that. Now you may not do that, you may not have a picture, but I believe it is the will of God for all of those who trusted Christ as Savior to be baptized in water. Water will not wash the dirt off your neck if you don't use soap with it. It's not gonna wash away your sins. You do it because they've already been washed away because of the payment Christ made. And get this, for the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. But unto us which are saved is the power of God. Now, wait a minute. The cross is the power of God. Didn't we just read that the gospel is the power of God in Romans 116? So the cross and the gospel are the same. They're equal. And you can't preach the gospel without preaching the cross. Shows that the preaching of the cross is lost is foolishness. Shows that the preaching of the cross is the power of God to those who believe. Then he says this, Paul. I am determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him, what? Crucified. Where do you think that's a reference to? Somebody was being crucified on a cross. The cross cannot be separated from Christ, the crucifixion, or grace. For Paul to preach the crucifixion meant to preach the cross to the lost. Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached unto you. which also you have received and wherein you stand, by which you are saved. So evidently, the gospel has to have something in it that if a person believes it, they can be saved. Saved from hell. Now, if I can still go to hell in the future, I can't say I'm saved today. You can't know you're going there if you can still go into hell. If there's any possibility that from this day forward, you can still go to hell, then you really don't know you're going to heaven. Because you can't know you're going there until you know you can't go there. Say, I can't go there. That's how come I know I'm going there. Say, how come you know you're going there? I don't have any sins paid for. Why? Christ died for my sins. Now look what he says in this verse. He said, by which you're saved. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that, this is the gospel and he's explaining what the gospel was. What did it contain? Christ died for my sins. According to the scriptures, that means Old Testament. So this message that we preach today was a message they preached in the Old Testament by the prophets. And that he was buried, that he rose again. So we preach the same message the prophets preached. There is no two ways of going to heaven. No two ways of being justified or sanctified or pastorized or fortified or petrified. Sounded good anyway. Now get this. If there's no resurrection, why were you baptized? Because see, they were having a problem. They didn't believe in the resurrection. Well, if there's no resurrection, why did you get baptized? Because being baptized is the picture of your resurrection. And you don't believe that. Then what are you going to do about the people who were baptized for the dead? See, when you're baptized, you're being baptized for the dead. That means that old man. I died. I was baptized. That's because my first birth died. Christ died, not for the new man. He died for the old man. Came back from the dead so I could have a new man. That's why he says you must be born again. So I believe he died for me. So that's why he says in verse 29, what shall they do which are baptized for the dead? But because you believe it came back from the dead to walk in newness of life, the new man. So if you don't believe this, why did you do this? Because he was talking to people who no longer believe that you're baptized or in the resurrection. 1 Corinthians is a beautiful chapter on the resurrection. Get this. Believe in Jesus for eternal life. By itself is an insufficient message to remove questions and doubt. You can tell people that because of what they already, they may understand. But I find that majority of people don't have a clue. They still don't know where they're going when they die. They don't know they have eternal life forever and can never lose it. They think they're only saved until they sin again. They don't understand that. What if I sin tomorrow? What if I committed suicide? What happens? See, it doesn't answer any of those questions. It doesn't produce security. Now get this. It doesn't tell you who Jesus is, what he did, why he did it. It doesn't tell the results if we don't believe it or if we do believe it. If we fail to believe, tell us about the wrath to come. Just trust Christ as your Savior. Does that tell you about you're going to hell? Not necessarily. People don't know. Tell the story. You may not get all of the stuff in there, but there ought to be a story where they know, I'm a sinner. I'm going to hell. Christ died for me. And if I believe it, he'll give me eternal life. But I got to believe that he died and paid for my sins. That's what I'm supposed to believe. That's what he did. That's why I can take him at his word that I got eternal life. Why? Because I believe the gospel. He died for me, paid for my sins. So who sinned? Does it tell the punishment for sin? That heaven requires perfection? That we cannot earn salvation? See, it doesn't answer any of those things. Now get this. Our presentation of the gospel answers most questions and most doubts. It gives them a better foundation. The best form of follow-up work for a lost man who gets saved is understanding the clarity of the gospel, knowing why he's saved, knowing why he's going to heaven. Most of the people I lead to the Christ, I never see them again. Sometime 10, 15, 20, 30 years later, I get somebody calling me and says, you led me to the Lord. And I get that all the time. It explains how to escape hell. and to go to heaven. Let me show you an illustration I learned from Jesse. Look up here. I want to show you now the value, the simplicity, the greatness of the way we give the gospel. We don't just tell people, just raise your hand. We don't tell people, come down here in front and somebody will show you how to go to heaven. You're already here. Whatever I tell you down here, I can tell you right where you're sitting. Why would you have to walk another 50 feet? You've already got out of your house, got in your car, and drove for several miles to come here, but I'm not going to tell you how to get saved unless you come down here. Now, there's churches that do that. We don't do that. Because whatever we're going to tell you, we can tell you right where you're sitting. Because we don't want anything from you. We've already passed the hat. No, we don't even pass the hat here. We're afraid we wouldn't get it back. But anyway, notice now. I'll do this several times, but I want you to get it. This hand represent you and me. Wallet represents sin. We all have sin on us. God loves us. Hates our sin. Wages of sin is death. Eternal separation from God in hell. In a literal fire burning hell. But God loves us and wants us to go to heaven. So you have to be perfect to go to heaven. Nobody's perfect. So God says you can't earn eternal life. You can't work your way to heaven. So you can't save yourself. This hand represents Jesus Christ. He's the Lord God in the flesh, has no sin, doesn't have to die. But because he loves us and he hates our sin because our sin separates us, Jesus Christ took all the sin of all the world, paid for it on the cross, came back from the dead. And the only thing he wanted us to do was to believe he did that for us. So when you believe it, he says, you can know you have eternal life. See, knowing you have eternal life is because you believe the gospel. It's not believe on Jesus for eternal life. That's all you have to do, but it's not what you need to know. You gotta know, what do you mean? What did he do for me? So that 10 years from now, you say, I know I have eternal life, because Christ paid for all my sins. You take this out of here, and this has nothing to stand on. Because it doesn't tell you who Jesus is. It doesn't tell you what he did. And it doesn't tell you that it's for everybody. The gospel is the story that we tell. And that story, that message that we have is so important. And that's why we are set for the defense of the gospel. Now, let me show you this. Did you notice how many different things I have just mentioned in that couple minutes? I told you about you. I told you that you were a sinner. Now, I'm including myself in all that. You're a sinner. You have sinned. It means that the wages of sin is death. I told you what the penalty was. It's a literal fire burning hell. I told you about hell. I told you also that God loves you. I told you that God wants you to go to heaven. I told you that heaven is a perfect place. And because it's perfect and we're not, we can't go. I told you that We are all sinners and since the wages of sin is death, we can't save ourselves. It's not by how good you are. It's not going to church and giving money and all those things. You may want to, but you can't. You'll never live good enough to go to heaven. I told you about Jesus Christ, God in the flesh. I told you who he was. He was God in the flesh. It means he was born into this world. Means he lived a perfect life. He had no sin. I told you that. He had no sin. But because he loves us, he loves us. Hates our sin. So I want everybody to know, God loves you, but he hates what you do wrong. But he took all of your sins, not some of them, not most of them, all of them, 2,000 years ago and he paid for your sins. He came back from the dead. So I talked to you about the death of Christ. I told you about the resurrection of Christ and that he said, whosoever believeth, it was for everybody. And if anybody believes that God promises them on the authority of his word based upon the foundation that he laid, you can have the free gift of everlasting life. You see, I answer all those questions and doubts. But if I walked up here and said, you wanna go to heaven? Yeah, I do. Believe in Jesus. I gave the gospel. Did I really? I didn't give them anything to stand on. You gotta tell, who is Jesus? Anybody named Jesus? There's a lot of people I know named Jesus. I'm talking about the Jesus who is the son of God, who came into this world and died on that cross and paid for your sin. Now you see, when we explain the gospel, we're telling a story. You see, we're telling the bad news. We're all sinners. Wages of sin is death. Got to be perfect to go to heaven. We can't save ourselves. We're in a heap of trouble. So that is our problem. The solution is the good news. Christ, God in the flesh, came into the world who was innocent. had no reason to die. But because he loved us, he chose to take all of our sins, paid for them on the cross, came back from the dead. And anybody, whosoever would believe it, God says you can have everlasting life. He'll give everlasting life to whosoever believe it. You're here. You don't have to go to church to go to heaven. You do not have to change your life to go to heaven. You do not have to stop sinning to go to heaven. Try it. If you have to turn from all your sins, try it. That means you've got to be perfect. You haven't turned from all your sins unless you're perfect. How you doing? Though you may be willing to, you just don't have the ability to, because we're all sinners. You don't have to commit your life to Christ. You don't have a life to give. All you have is this moment right now. You're not guaranteed another second. That's why it's so important. The way we present the gospel is the gospel. It's the best way to explain in the gospel because we believe that a person can understand it better when you know what the bad news is and you know what the good news is. So the only thing that you have to do to go to heaven, if you're here this morning and you've never trusted Christ as your savior, we're not talking about trusting the church. Don't trust the preacher. I know him. Don't trust anybody. All you need to do is to believe that when Christ died, he died for you and paid for your sins. And if you will accept that payment he made for you, then he puts that payment to your account. I don't have any sense to pay for it. And because he paid for all my sins and I accepted it, he said he forgives me of all my sins, like I've never sinned in my life. You say, how long is that good for? Till the day I die. He died for all my sins, means the ones that you haven't even done. See, when Christ died 2,000 years ago, means He paid for your sins before you were born. He paid for your sins before you committed the first one. Means He paid for your sins all in advance. So when you accept that payment He made, you have a payment for all of your sins, even the ones He paid for in advance. All of them. That's why there's no sin that can send me to hell. You say yes, but I know then you bought it all over the place. I Serve the Lord and I want to know this. I do not recommend anybody Trying to live like the devil. I Prick sermons on that Can I yeah anytime you live in the flesh you're living like the devil Because the first birth is children of the devil So when you trust Christ as your Savior God wants all of his children to walk in newness of life He wants you to love him He wants you to serve Him. He wants you to do right, not to get to heaven, but because you're going there. I want to do right because I'm going. See, now understand this. I want you to understand it. I am not holier than thou. I'm a sinner saved by grace. But people say, because I teach this eternal security, then I'm just trying to give people a license to sin. You don't need a license to sin. You can do it without a license. Most people do. Most people live like they please anyway, don't you? So I decided I'm going to serve the Lord. So I believe that God has given me the freedom to choose. I can be an obedient child of God or disobedient child of God, but I'm still a child of God, regardless of my choice. But if I serve the Lord, I know he'll bless me, hear me, reward me when I get to heaven. And if I'm disobedient, I know he'll chase and then discipline me, maybe take me home a little early. And I would rather just serve the Lord and get his blessings. It makes more sense to me. So am I recommending anybody to trust Christ as Savior and live like that? No, I don't. I want you to trust Christ as your Savior so you know you're going to heaven. How you live cannot affect that, but that should affect how you live. Got it? Let's pray, shall we? Every head bowed and every eye closed, no one looking around. If you're here this morning and you've never trusted Christ as your Savior, Would you just now, in the quietness of this moment, just talk to the Lord. God, you can't make a mistake this way. Only the true and living God knows who you are, where you are, what you've done, what you're going to do. He knows all about you, and He loves you. If there was nobody else in the whole world, He still came to die for you, to pay for your sins. Will you believe that He did it for you? In just a moment, I'm going to ask for a raise of your hand. Raising your hand cannot save you. Raising your hand is not so I can trick you and get you down to the front. I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to pin you against the wall. I'm not going to embarrass you. But right where you're sitting, I'd like to know if what I said made sense. And if it does make sense to you, you say, preacher, that made sense to me. I did not know that when I came into this church this morning. I wasn't sure where I was going to go when I die. Now I do know. I do want to trust Christ as my Savior, and I believe He died on that cross and paid for my sins. And I will trust Him right now as my Savior. Friend, if you're doing that, just that much. Would you just raise your hand and let me know? Just get up very quickly. I will not have you forward, not embarrass you. But right where you're sitting, he said, that made sense to me. And I want to know that I'm going to heaven when I die. And I believe, I trust in God bless you in the back row. I see your hand, God bless you. You can put your hand down. Anyone else? Just step it up very quickly, put it right back down. Yes, God bless you and you. You can put your hand down. God bless you, sir. So very wise decision. Only a fool would reject a free gift. It's a free gift. There's no tricks to it, no gimmicks. When you get up to leave this morning, you can say, I know I'm going to heaven because today I trust that Christ is my Savior. And you can't know you're going to heaven until you know you can't go to hell. And the only way you can keep from going to hell is believe that when Christ died, he died for you and paid for your sins. Anyone else before we close? If you trust that Christ is your Savior, this is the best news in all the world. Tell people about it. Next Sunday, bring somebody else with you. Father, we thank you so much for this time together. Ask your blessings upon the ones that indicated that they would trust your Savior. And we thank you for the opportunity you've given us and help this church to continue to be a lighthouse for the clarity of the gospel. In Christ's name we pray, amen.