seated. It is good to see all of you here this evening. Now as we return tonight to our mini-series on the subject of nine foundations for biblical evangelism, in order to take up the fifth sermon concerning the message of biblical evangelism, I invite you please to turn with me in your copy of the scriptures to Romans chapter 1. Romans chapter 1, and please follow with me as I read verses 16 and 17 in your hearing. Romans chapter 1, here is Paul by the direction and aid of the Holy Spirit writes, he says the following. Romans 1, at verse 16, he says, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it, that is, in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as it is written, the just shall live By faith, let's pray together. Our great and glorious God, we are so thankful that you are our great and glorious God. We're thankful that you are God, and besides you, there is no other. We're thankful, Lord, that you have redeemed us, your people, and that you have put a new song in our hearts so that even this night we could praise your name God, we recall a time when that was not so, when we didn't want to praise your name, when we didn't want to worship you. Yes, God, we didn't even think about you, for you were in none of our thoughts. But we're thankful, Lord, that we were in your thoughts and that we were upon your heart, and that in the fullness of time, through the gospel, you rescued us and you transformed us out of the kingdom of darkness and put us into the kingdom of the son of your love. Oh, Father, we bless your name. Great God, we worship you this night. We come with humble hearts, with full adoration and praise, thanking you again for all that you've done for us, your people. And Father, as we come to your word this night, we are mindful. The man can receive nothing except it be given to him from above, and so we pray, O God, that you would give it to us this night in copious measure. O Lord, that you would speak from Holy Scripture to us, your needy people. We ask and we pray all of these things in that great and wonderful name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Now, perhaps unlike any other generation in days gone by, our present generation is pretty much uneducated concerning the crucial question of what is the gospel? In fact, in times like ours, dear ones here this evening, the irony is stark. And this, so that the most important message in all the world, is almost entirely unknown to many outside of the church, and sadly, even some within it. I mean, dear ones, just ask. Just inquire of your unsaved neighbors with this question, what is the gospel? And most likely, you will hear responses like this. Well, the gospel is the words of Jesus. Or the gospel is the various books of the Bible. Or as one online person says, the gospel is God's law of love and caring for one another, et cetera. Now of course, as you all know here this evening, these are all wrong responses to the question. And they show us how really sad how really tragic the spiritual state of many is in our land today. Additionally, such confusion as this completely underscores the urgency for me to address this matter tonight, since according to Scripture, the gospel is God's declaration from heaven of how it is that individuals could be made right with Him through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Well, in light of, in view of the current distress, you and I need to be sure that as God's people, we in fact know what the biblical gospel is all about. which again, as Paul says in our passage, is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes. Well, having seen in recent months the need, the scope, the motive, and the agents for biblical evangelism, tonight we come to take up the vital subject of its message itself. And so what then is the gospel? which in Greek literally means the good news. What are its essential components which make up its message that we are to tell others? Well, while narrowly speaking, we could say that the gospel is centered in the doing. and in the dying and in the rising of Jesus Christ, our Lord, on behalf of the guilty. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, dear ones, more broadly, And more comprehensively speaking, you should know that the major components of the gospel in its full orb sense boils down to four core components. Four core components. And they are concerning, firstly, God the righteous, second, man the rebel, third, Jesus the Redeemer, and then fourth, our right response to its message. And so, as we come then for this evening to take up our subject at hand for our good and the good of others I trust, notice with me first that the gospel is a message about God the righteous. Now, dear brothers and sisters here this evening, when it comes to this whole matter of evangelism, where you and I start is absolutely crucial. I mean, where should we begin? Should we begin, for example, by telling others about their sin and their lost spiritual state and then immediately tell them about Jesus Christ our Lord, the only Savior of sinners? Surely certain contexts may require such beginnings. To be precise, brethren, such subjects as sin and Christ can only rightly be understood in their right relationship with God Himself. I mean, take for example the matter of sin. What is sin? Well, according to the Bible, 1 John 3 and verse 4, sin is lawlessness. Sin is, as the great Westminster Shorter Catechism rightly says, transgression of the law of God. Well, In view of this, I trust that it's quite clear that sin cannot be rightly understood apart from the God of the Bible and apart from His holy commandments. You see, Church, God and His moral law, the Ten Commandments, are the standard of holiness for all people at all times and in all places. They are the measure of true righteousness according to God Himself. And any falling short of His glory and His law is that which God promises to punish in an eternal hell. Now, why is this the case? Why is this the case? Well, it's because there is an eternal penalty. that is connected to our sins against the eternal God and His law. It's because there is an eternal fine for breaking God's commandments. Thus, this is why, for example, we're told in this very book of Romans, Romans 6, verse 23a, that the wages of sin or that which we've earned because of our sin against God is death, which is an eternal death in hell forever. And so brethren, get the point. Summarily speaking, when we think about the gospel in its full orb sense, as we're seeking to do tonight, remember that it begins with God. It begins with the righteous God of the Bible whom we've offended multitudes of times because of our sin and rebellion against him and his wholly inflexible law. Now that God is the correct starting point when it comes to the gospel, when it comes to our proclamation of it, through our evangelistic efforts is plain by what we see in the very next verse in Romans chapter 1 here. after having just announced the gospel, verses 16 and 17 of this chapter. Notice with me what Paul says straightway in verse 18. Here, he writes saying after announcing the gospel again, verse 16, verse 17, not that God loves us and has a wonderful plan for our lives, no, but rather he says, look at it with me again in your Bibles, he writes saying, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who do what? He says, who suppress. That is to say, who hinder, who hold down the truth. What truth? Well, the context is clear. The truth about God as their creator, God as their maker. And then Paul says that they do this in, or we might say through, unrighteousness, or we could say wicked living. Now, of course, these words here in Romans 1 and verse 18 give us the clear explanation for why it is that every single person in the world needs the gospel, which again, as Paul says in this section of scripture, Is the power of God to salvation or unto deliverance from God's wrath for every single person who believes? Yes, beloved ones here this night, this is why all people need the Good News message of the Bible. And this is because it tells them how it is that they could be delivered from the penalty of their sins. Now, although beginning our Gospel message with God, is not going to be too popular with our modern listeners. Brethren, I say nonetheless, this is the vital starting point that you and I must have with them. I mean, listen, listen carefully. If people do not see God for who He is in truth, then they will never understand the dire, the horrible condition that they are in before Him. Additionally, they won't understand the profound love that He has shown toward them in that while they were yet sinners, He sent Jesus into the world to die for sinners like them. So brethren, instead of us adopting modern evangelistic methods, which again tells people straightway that God loves them and has a wonderful plan for their lives, et cetera, you and I must tell them that God made them and that they are accountable to him because of their sins that they have committed against him. Simply stated, dear ones, you and I must tell the laws about the God of the Bible. We must be faithful to Scripture and to them. Thus, we must begin where the Apostle Paul began his gospel presentation, telling people, for example, that outside of the Lord Jesus Christ, God is angry with them. every single day of their lives, Psalm 11 and verse 7. Well, it is as we do this that the unsaved before us, those to whom we seek to evangelize, it is as we do this that with the blessing of God they will begin to realize their desperate condition before their Maker. They will begin to understand that they are not good people who are on their way to heaven, no, but rather they are lost, extremely bad people who are on their way to hell, who are about to face an angry and just God. whose law they have violated, which demands their sentencing. Well, having said all of this, this leads us very naturally, secondly, to the next crucial aspect when it comes to sharing the gospel with others through biblical evangelism, and it is that the gospel is a message about man, the rebel. Now, Here, of course, is another biblical concept that will be offensive to many of our modern listeners. I mean, church, what are the lost hearing all day long concerning themselves through the various voices which are all around them, but that, for example, they have good hearts, right? They're hearing that they're basically good people. and on their way to heaven, but that perhaps they just need a little spiritual tune-up in their lives in order to be made right with the Almighty. Well, Church, being the good Bible students that you are, you know that none of these things are true. You know that instead of these humanistic worldly notions of man written by men. The Bible presents man in truth by his maker, namely God himself. Yes, Church, the Bible gives us true anthropology, true anthropology, showing us unsafe humanity in all of its native ungodliness and total depravity, showing us that while, of course, people at times, through common grace, could be nice, could be kind, walk old ladies across the street, et cetera, nonetheless, at their core, unsafe humanity is self-absorbed. self-deceit, going astray from the womb, speaking lies, being at enmity with the God of heaven and earth, Romans 8 and verse 7. Now, perhaps someone's here this evening or even listening online and you say, well, pastor, that's not a pretty picture at all. Or maybe even worse, you're listening and you say, well, that may be true for some. Oh, but it certainly can't be true for all well my dear friends listening again either here or online whether you agree with me or not it's certainly true this is absolutely true for all who have not been saved or born again through the power of the gospel thus this is why for example after the apostle paul shows us in romans chapter one that Hagin's are certainly lost, and then in Romans 2 that religious unsay people are also certainly lost. He then goes on to give us his summary statement about all such individuals everywhere, regardless of who they are, regardless of who they think they are or where they're from. He gives his summary statement concerning all people, religious or non-religious or irreligious. And he does that in Romans chapter 3. Romans chapter 3. Turn with me there in your Bibles. Romans 3. Here as Paul plainly speaks about man the rebel, notice with me what he says in verses 9 to 18 of this chapter. Romans 3, verse 9. Again, here Paul is summing up. All that he's been saying about unsaved man, unsaved woman, outside of Christ. Notice what he writes saying, Romans 3 at verse 9. He's concluding, he asks the question, what then? What then, based on all that I've just said? Are we that is to say we Jews, religious Jews, better than they? Not at all, they pagans. Why? For we have previously charged, note the language, both Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin. Unsafe people, all under the sway, the power, and the dominion of sin. And then Paul seeks to prove this. How does he prove it? Well, he's a good scholar. He proves it with his Bible by quoting multiple passages in the Old Testament. As it is written, tell us, Paul, what's God's portrait of unsafe humanity? There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none, N-O-N-E, who understands. There is none who seeks after God. They have all, note the language, all turned aside. They have together become unprofitable. There is N-O-N-E who does good. No, not one. Their throat is an open tomb. With their tongues they have practiced deceit. The poison of asp is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways. and the way of peace, the way of arenae. They have not known. Why is all this? Verse 18, here it is. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now, this is the world we live in, church. This is like the headlines of the newspaper or the online, whatever it might be. This is unsaved humanity. humanity outside of Christ from God's perspective. And to be sure, it's a horrible picture. It's not flattering. It's not what popular people want to think about themselves, but it's true nonetheless. It's a horrible picture. I mean, here Paul says, firstly, in verses 10 to 12, that all people outside of Jesus are depraved in character. Secondly, he says in verses 13 to 14 of this chapter that they are depraved in their conversation. And then thirdly, he says in verses 15 to 18 of this chapter, they are depraved in their conduct, their character, their conversation, and their conduct. Well, here then. The Apostle Paul has reached the height of his argument in Romans as to why all people everywhere, regardless of where they're from, regardless of who they think they are, regardless of what Disney tells them, that they're good people and they've got good hearts, et cetera. No, no, no. Paul here has reached the height of his argument. And he says, here is why all people need to be saved. He says it's because they all stand under the just condemnation of a perfect, holy, and righteous God, the God of the Bible. whose person and law they have offended. Thus his justice demands that he punishes them. This is what Paul is saying. This is how he's seeking to stop every mouth from justifying itself so that all the world might become guilty before God. Well, thankfully then, the biblical gospel doesn't just end on this note, right? Yes, thankfully, Church, it just doesn't stop with us telling non-Christians, unbelievers, that God must punish them forever and ever in an eternal hell. No, but instead, having told us the bad news first, as the Apostle Paul has done up to this point in Romans, he now goes on to tell us the good news. He now goes on to tell us about Jesus, the Redeemer, our third heading for this evening. Now, thank God that Jesus is the Redeemer, amen? Yes, thank God for the good news which is centered in his substitutionary, sin-bearing work on the cross on our behalf. Now, a church, as I said in the beginning of the message, This really is the heart, the core, we could say the soul of the gospel, narrowly speaking. This is its essence. Ah, but here too we must also understand what it is that you and I are to communicate to the lost when it comes to Jesus. When it comes to the good news concerning God's beloved Son, what are we to tell others about? There are two main aspects that we must put forth to unbelievers, and they're concerning Jesus' person and work. His person and work. Now, when I speak firstly about Jesus' person, the point is unbelievers must understand that he is far more than just some religious teacher who came into the world having some good things to say and he's not just one religious leader among other religious leaders who did some nice things in the world. No, but rather they must understand that Jesus Christ is utterly unique. His person. They must understand that he stands in a class all on his own. For according to Romans 1, Paul says there that Jesus was, quote, born of the seed of David, according to the flesh, and that He was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness. Or we might translate it as saying the Holy Spirit, and this by His resurrection from the dead. And so you see church, the Jesus, we're talking about his person, the Jesus that we tell people about is not, for example, the Jesus of the Jehovah Witnesses who say that he was merely a man, no. And he's not the Jesus of the Mormons who say that he was the spirit brother of Lucifer, no. But rather, the Jesus of the Bible is, as our wonderful, most excellent London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 says, He is the second person of the Holy Trinity being very and eternal God. Yes, our confession. After Scripture says that Jesus is, quote, the brightness of the Father's glory, of one substance, and equal with him. Who, when the fullness of time had come, took upon himself our nature, with all of its essential properties and common infirmities, yet without sin, so that two whole, perfect, and distinct natures were inseparably joined together in one person. And this without conversion, without composition, without confusion. Which person is very God and yet very man, yet one Christ. The only mediator between God and man. Oh, what a superb statement this is, right? I mean, it's beautiful, it's glorious. And in summary, it teaches us, again, in connection to the person of Christ, it teaches us that the Jesus of the Bible is the supreme being who became a man. The supreme being who became a man. It teaches us that he's one person with two distinct natures. Glory be to his name. Now, of course, the Word of God teaches this fact in every place so that, for example, if you're taking notes, we're told that at his birth, in Luke 1, in verse 32, that the angel Gabriel said that he will be great. And what a sermon, just to preach on those words. Isn't Jesus great? He will be great, and He is great. He's the greatest. It's said that at His birth, again, the incarnated Christ, at His birth, He will be great, and He is great. And He will be called, quote, the Son of the Highest. Further, John chapter 1, verse 1 and verse 14, John says concerning Jesus, In the beginning was the Word, you know the language. And the Word was with God, quite literally, facing God. And the Word was God. And the Word, the Logos, Agenoto sarx, became. He became flesh. The eternal God became sarx. He became flesh. and dwelt among us. God became a man. Additionally, in describing Jesus in this very book of Romans, Paul says in Romans 9 and verse 5 that, quote, Christ came into the world. Again, his incarnation. Christ came into the world, who is overall, quote, the eternally blessed God. And then, just to give you one more passage in this regard, Paul says to Timothy, 1 Timothy 3.16, a wonderful passage. He says, Paul writes saying that without controversy, without debate, without any discussion, great is the mystery of godliness. Paul says no controversy here, man. Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. What is it, Paul? Answer, God. was manifested in the flesh. God was manifested in the flesh. Now having said all these wonderful things about Jesus' person, of course, church, there's still more to say about Him when it comes to the biblical gospel. Because now we need to speak about His work. We need to speak about why it was that the Son of God willingly incarnated Himself. That is to say, took on flesh. and came into this world. And so what was the grand end, the grand purpose and design behind this? Well again, as Paul continues to explain the gospel to us, after telling us about God the righteous and man the rebel, He speaks now again about Jesus the Redeemer. And as he does this, notice with me in your Bibles what he says in Romans 3, verses 23-25a. Romans 3, verses 23-25a. Here is Paul speaks about what Jesus did for us. Again, we're talking about his work. Romans 3, 25a. Look at the words. He says, for all. That is, each and every person, Jew or Gentile, religious or non-religious, as we saw earlier, for all have sinned, that is, broken the commandments of God. We spoke about it again earlier. Broke the commandments of God and thought word and deed. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory, not just the law of God, no, but the moral excellence of God. Being justified or declared and reckoned not guilty, i.e., forgiven. How? Freely, without any cost or charge to us, without any works or merit or any performance on our part, but simply as a gift. We're declared not guilty freely, and this, look what he says, by his grace, or God's unmerited, unearned and caused favor, and kindness to those who don't deserve such things. How did that happen? Paul says, look at it, through the redemption, That is, through the payment price which was made to God in order to satisfy His divine justice for our sins against Him, through the redemption that is in, look at the language, the preposition in, identifying the unique and specific agent of our redemption, that is in or connected to and paid for exclusively by Christ, that is, the Messiah Jesus. whom God, that is God the Father, set forth, or we could say publicly displayed, as a propitiation, as a wrath absorber, who stopped his divine anger against us, that is the Father, and this by his wrath-absorbing sacrifice in our place, how'd he do it? Paul says, by his blood, which speaks about Jesus' death, which was the exclusive basis of the propitiation. Now, brethren, these words before us here are really perhaps the most comprehensive treatment of Jesus' work found anywhere in Scripture. I mean, these words are tremendous. They're theological. They're astute. They're clear. Thus, I agree with the great Bible commentator named Leon Morris when he says concerning this whole section of scripture that this is, quote, possibly the most important single paragraph ever written. And so, here, dear ones, summarily speaking, the point is God is holy and we are not. Secondly, God's holiness demands that He punishes us for our sins. Bad news. Third, the good news is that in love, the Father sent forth His sinless Son, Jesus Christ, into the world in order to take our sins upon Himself and to bear our penalty for us in our place so that we can go free, so that we could be forgiven. Glory be to His name. Yes, church, this is what Jesus, our wonderful Redeemer, did on the cross on our behalf. So that the hymn writer was correct when he said, Jesus paid it all. All to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, but he washed it white as snow. Ah, but having said this, we need to ask now, how can we know for sure that the Father actually accepted Jesus atoning his propitiatory sacrifice on our behalf? How can we know that in fact Jesus paid it all? Well, according to Scripture, And in our Gospel presentation, we are to tell people that Jesus' resurrection from the dead was the Father's validation of the completion and acceptance of Jesus' atoning work for us. Well, yes, again, We are to tell people that Jesus was delivered up for our offenses, just as Paul says in Romans 4 and verse 25, but then we are to tell them Paul goes on to say in the rest of the verse that Jesus was then, quote, raised for our justification, which is to say His resurrection proclaimed the fact that God is fully and completely satisfied with the work that His Son did on the cross for us, just as Lloyd-Jones rightly says. Well, having seen that, for, This evening, broadly speaking, that the biblical gospel is first, a message about God, the righteous. Second, a message about man, the rebel. Third, a message about Jesus, the redeemer. Come with me now, fourthly, and finally to note that it's also a message about our right response to it. You see, church, just because Jesus accomplished the redemption of guilty sinners on the cross of Calvary 2,000 years ago, This does not mean, underscore it, this does not mean that his work is automatically applied to individuals. And we need to let individuals know that, those to whom we evangelize. You see, when we witness to the lost, we need to tell them that there is a gospel call which is connected to the gospel that we just preached to them. And that gospel call, that gospel summons, is not a summons for them to quote, accept Jesus, or to pray the so-called sinner's prayer, no, but rather it's a call for them to repent of their sins against God, and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Now when it comes to this matter of repentance, or wholeheartedly turning from our sins, and belief, or a complete trust in Christ, person and work alone, for life and salvation as the only ground of our acceptance with God. We need to know that these are two sides of the same coin. Repentance and faith. These are twin graces. Or as Sinclair Ferguson rightly says, they are marriage partners which are never separated. You see, beloved, repentance and faith are so intertwined that when one is mentioned in Scripture, the other is always implied. And why is this? Well, it's because repentance cannot occur without faith in Christ's ability to remove and to forgive sin. And a genuine belief in Christ absolutely necessitates turning from one's sins altogether. Now, if we check our Bibles, you and I will see that this matter of repentance and faith is indeed the summons that is to go to those who hear the Gospel message. In fact, this is why, for example, we're told in Matthew 3 in verse 2, that John the Baptist, the forerunner of our lovely Lord, not only urged and called the people to repent, which he did, but we're also told in Acts chapter 19 and verse 4 that he told the people that they were, quote, to believe on him who was to come. That is to say, Jesus Christ our Lord. Further, Jesus himself said to those to whom he preached in Mark chapter 1 and verse 15. What did he say? You know the verse. Jesus said, the time has been fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. Do what? He said, repent and believe the gospel. And then, of course, in Acts chapter 20 and verse 21, Paul himself says that he went publicly from house to house doing what? Well, he said he went publicly from house to house, quote, testifying to both Jews and also to Greeks, repentance towards God, the offended party, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, the only Savior of sinners. And so, beloved ones here this evening, get the point. These two commands, repent and believe the gospel, are inseparable foundational parts of the message that we are to call those two who hear us to be saved from the human side of things. People must turn from their sins and put their trust in Jesus alone for salvation. This is the case. This is why Paul, back in our passage in Romans chapter 3, after saying that Jesus propitiated the wrath of God on our behalf by shedding His blood, he says in 25b of this chapter, look at it with me there in your Bibles, he says that we receive the benefits of this, look at the language, through faith. Interesting. That was our catechetical reading for the day. Through faith, he says. You see it there in your Bibles. We don't receive the benefits of a sacrifice by works, no. By our baptism, no. Or by joining a particular church, no. But we receive the benefits through faith. Faith. And faith alone. And why? Well, it's because faith is the only, or we might say the singular, instrumental means by which God Almighty applies the benefits, the merit, of Jesus' death to the believing sinner. In fact, just in case we missed it, the Apostle goes on to mention it again in the following words in this section of Scripture. When he says, look at it, that we receive it through faith, the benefits of Christ's death, He says in this in order to, quote, demonstrate or display His, it is the Father's righteousness because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed to demonstrate at the present time, more literally from the Greek text, the now time. To demonstrate what? His righteousness. To what end? That He, God the Father, might be just and the justifier, or we could say the vindicator, of the one who has faith in Jesus. Just in case we missed it, Paul says that God might be the just and the justifier, the vindicator, the one who declares sinners not guilty. How? Through faith alone in the finished work of Christ alone. Well, here then, Church is where we end the exposition of God's word for this evening concerning the message of biblical evangelism. And just to be patently clear, As I said in the outside of the message, obviously at times you and I will not have the opportunity to go through all four parts of the gospel with individuals concerning God, man, Christ, and the divine summons connected to it, namely repentance and faith. And why? Well, it's because at times we will meet people and they just will have a minute or so to talk. Bob, you know this when you go door-to-door, seeking to speak with people, they say, you got 60 seconds, so give it to me. Well, let me begin with God and go through all the four parts. No, this is not a canned approach to evangelism. People, they won't even have a 60 seconds for us. And at other times, again, obviously we won't go through all Four of these parts, God, Man, Christ again, and the call to repent and believe. Because sometimes people might come to us and they already are under a deep conviction for sin. Right? I mean, sometimes we might have the case like the Philippian jailer. who already was in a repentant posture before Paul and Silas. So much so that he fell before them asking, sirs, what must I do to be saved? Well, let me tell you about God. And go down the list, et cetera. No, no, he already had a sense for his sin. That was in Philippi, and if you look at the text earlier, it says that Paul was preaching the way of salvation in Philippi. And so the Philippian jailer probably heard Paul preaching. And then he was thinking on these things. And all the stuff happened with the jail cell and the thunderings as it were. The shaking. And the man fell with great conviction. The God that Paul has been preaching, the way of salvation. I've been living against the Savior. I've been living in rebellion to the God of heaven and earth. And so he sees Paul and Silas again. The place trembled. And he falls at their feet saying, sirs, what must I do to be saved? What's the answer? Simply believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be saved. There's the answer. And so brethren, in view of this, the main point for tonight is know the full biblical gospel as we've seen it from the Bible. And as Paul has presented it to us in this so that you can be straight about it. So that you can be clear about it according to the Bible. But also know that every evangelistic situation that you find yourself in will be different, and each one will require Holy Spirit sensitivity and discernment in order to know exactly what aspects of the gospel to bring forth. So for our instruction tonight, you have a sense of the gospel, comprehensively speaking. But again, don't take it as a canned approach, one, two, three, four. No, that's what it's about, you know it. You saw it from scripture. You saw Paul again, wrath of God. You saw Paul, all of sin, Romans three. You saw Paul, Christ is a propitiation for our sins. You saw Paul, it's received through faith, which implies repentance. That's Paul's presentation of the biblical gospel. Know it, understand it. Preach it far and wide as much as you can. But every situation is not a perfect situation, especially when it comes to preaching the gospel to the lost. And so be sensitive to what's going on at that time. Find out where the person is, and then execute the message of the gospel accordingly. So as I wind down for tonight, I want to just say one thing to you who are Christians here this evening, firstly. Just one thing. And it is, beloved brethren here this night, that since in fact, as we saw in the outset of the message from Romans 1 and verse 16, the gospel is the power of God to deliverance for everyone who believes. I say, brethren, because it's the case, never be ashamed of it. Never be ashamed of it. You and I have the cure, the cure for the never-dying souls of men and women round about us who are perishing in their sins. I say, dear ones, remember all that the Gospel did for you and then go tell someone else about it. Go tell someone the Gospel. I recall many, many, many years ago 27 years ago, when I was a single man, newly converted, preaching the gospel up on 125th Street on the east side, subway platform, Manhattan. And there were just all kind of people around me, and false religion, burning incense, and loud noises, and all the rest. And I'm thinking, oh boy, this isn't going to be easy. And then I would just remember. where God had rescued me from, how the Gospel powerfully transformed my life, taking me off the broad road that leads to destruction and putting me on the narrow path that leads to life. I would think about the souls that were before me, the eternality of heaven and hell, and I'd begin to open my mouth and just plead with people, repent of your sins and believe the Gospel. Tell them about God. Tell them about their plight before Him. Tell them about the substitutionary work of Jesus Christ, our Lord, and call them to repent and believe. Remember, friends, from whence you've been delivered. Remember how the Gospel saved you at whatever point it was in your life, whether you were young or an older person. Don't just keep the goods for yourself. Share the Gospel. It's good news. It's the best news in all the world. And although people might find it a bit offensive to begin with, especially as we tell them about God, as we have opportunity, and about their wickedness before Him, we need to do it. When you go to a doctor, you want him to shoot straight with you. If you're dying of cancer, you don't want Him to say, oh, you're looking pretty good. Not that bad. No, you want Him to tell you straight. You're dying. You're perishing. Your days are numbered. And that's the exact message that we tell people when it comes to the gospel. But then we tell them about the cure. We tell them how God in love sent His Son into the world to save sinners. How in love Jesus willingly took our place on the cross and took our sins upon himself and he made his soul an offering for sin that he atoned for guilty sinners there at Calvary's cross so that when his work was completed he cried out saying it is done it's finished paid in full we tell our Sinner friends, repent of your sins and trust in his accomplishment. Trust in him alone for life and salvation and you will be saved. Oh brethren, never be ashamed of the gospel. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of it. Why should he be? Why should we? And therefore I say, find someone who's unsaved. Tell them about Jesus. Take an opportunity. Do what you can. Give them a gospel tract, a booklet. Invite them to church. Don't be ashamed of the gospel. It's the best news in all the world. It's God's message for how guilty sinners can get right with Him through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And so what about for you here this evening are not right with God. You're not saved. Children here this night. Teens. People listening. Adults. What can I say to you but simply this? You must turn from your sins. And you must believe the good news about Jesus Christ the Lord. That's the summons of the Gospel. You know the gospel. You know God is holy. You know you've sinned before Him. All your lies, your theft, your impure thoughts before God, your unholy deeds. You know that God is holy. John says, God is light and in Him there is no darkness. You know you're full of darkness. You've broken God's commandments. You haven't honored your mother and father. You've lied, you've stolen, you've committed adultery, and that you've lusted after members of the opposite sex, et cetera. You're guilty before God, my dear non-Christian friend. Guilty before God? Oh, that's terrible news. It was terrible news for me when I first started reading the Bible. As I've said many times from this pulpit, before reading the Bible, I thought, that God and I were like this. I read the Bible, found out we were like this, the huge problem. And what was between us was my sin. My sin? Oh, all my lies and all the sin and the just terrible things that I've done. The holy God of the Bible was against me. I was an affront to his person and to his law. When I thought we were like this, what a shock it is to read the Bible and to see yourself in truth as a lost, hell-deserving sinner. It was terrible, terrible, terrible, but I kept reading, I kept reading until I got to the place where I saw that this God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. to be the sacrifice for people like me to the end that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. And I believe to the saving of my soul. You, my dear unsaved friend this night, need to believe on Jesus Christ to the saving of your soul so that you might know God, be forgiven by God, and experience the joys of becoming a true Christian with all the blessings of the gospel, reconciliation with your maker above, becoming part of God's fold, God's family, receiving the forgiveness of sins, receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, having heaven before you, knowing that when you die, you go to be with the Lord. These are all the promises of the gospel. And so whoever you are here this night, Again, children and teens and older folks, people listening online, be saved. Turn from your sins, your sins which are just damning your soul, your sins which are just doing you great harm. Turn from your sins. Say, I'm done with this life of living in rebellion to God. Stack arms. Throw down the weapons of your warfare. I'm done. And I want God's Son to forgive me, to cleanse me, to make me brand new. Oh, my dear non-Christian friend this night, become a Christian. Repent and believe the Gospel. Let's pray together. Our Father, we are thankful for the Gospel. We're thankful for the Christ of the gospel. We're thankful for you, the architect of the gospel. Oh, Lord, who are we that we should know the gospel? Lord, help us, then, we pray, to share it well. Help us to never be ashamed of it, oh God, for it's done so much for us. Oh Lord, you have set our feet upon the rock. You have taken us from the miry clay. And you saved us. You have forgiven us and you have joined us to yourself. We are profoundly thankful. Oh Lord, help us then, we pray. Stir us up with a holy zeal. to tell others about this wonderful message which you have entrusted to our care. We pray and we ask all of these things in that great name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.