Paul said that he was not ashamed of the gospel. He explained that he believed that God uses the gospel to save all who believe through the message of the gospel. He further explains that the gospel reveals the righteousness of God. The righteousness of God is seen in the cross of Jesus Christ (see Romans 3:21-26). On the cross, Jesus bore the punishment due our sin and secured the justification of all who believe. God is now able to be just in forgiving the sins of those who believe because He has already punished them in the death of Christ on the cross. In this message of the gospel, Jesus Christ and Him crucified, we see a righteous God revealed. To listen to this sermon, please click the following link: Romans 1:16-17.
God has called us to repent of our sins, consider ourselves dead to this world and seek His kingdom. This requires that we have faith enough to trust that His way is superior to any other way. Man is called to repent of the sin of failing to submit to God’s lordship and trust in the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ for our righteousness. In Luke 18 Jesus teaches that such faith is necessary to be justified. Failing to delight in God above all other things is exposed as the essence of having some other god before the One true God. Such a failure to trust God as more valuable that worldly pleasures is shown to be a fatal error with eternal repercussions. To listen to this sermon, please click the following link: Luke 18:1-30.
Jesus is clear that without faith in His substitutionary death there is no salvation. Those that come to Jesus just to have their temporary needs met, yet lack the faith to see that to worship Jesus is to worship God, do not possess saving faith. Jesus also teaches that believers ought to live in obedience to Him, pursuing holiness and communion with God, not only for themselves, but for the sake of other believers around them. To listen to this sermon, please click the following link: Luke 17:1-19.
Jesus encourages His disciples to live with their futures in mind. After all, sinners do this. Most sinners are shrewd enough to plan for the future, though they may use unrighteous means in preparation. This does not mean that we will live like the world. This is because Christians believe that the future includes a day of judgment before God. Therefore they will prepare for the future by using their means to advance the kingdom of God. To listen to this sermon, please click the following link: Luke 16.