Love Worth Finding

Adrian Rogers: What is the good news of the gospel? Listen to Adrian Rogers. Now what makes good news good news? The thing that makes good news good news is the possibility of bad news. Good news is not good news unless there's bad news that makes good news good news. Got it? Got it. Okay, for example, the bad news is the black velvet upon which the diamond of God's grace, the good news of the gospel, dazzles so brilliantly.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Love Worth Finding, featuring the powerful truth of the gospel, presented practically and simply by Adrian Rogers. The human condition is marked by a single inherent problem, and that is sin. Often times, we try to explain away or excuse sin, redefine it, but until we learn to deal with it, we'll never know forgiveness.

The gospel truth only becomes good news when we recognize the bad news, which is our own sin. If you have your Bible, turn now to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, as Adrian Rogers reveals three things to know about the gospel truth.

Adrian Rogers: Good news. Good news. It's used over 90 times in the New Testament. And what do you do with good news? Friend, you tell it! If it's good news, you need to tell it.

Now what makes good news good news? The thing that makes good news good news is the possibility of bad news. Good news is not good news unless there's bad news that makes good news good news. What is the bad news? Look in verse three: "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for..." the next two words are the bad news, "our sins." Our sins!

Public enemy number one is sin. Sin is a clenched fist in the face of God. Sin is hellish, damnable. The Bible says for the wages of sin is death, the soul that sinneth, it shall surely die. And the apostle Paul said in Romans chapter 5 and verse 12, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." And there is something in human nature that is called sin.

And until you deal with the problem, until you admit there is bad news, the gospel will never be good news to you. It is the bad news that makes the good news good. Now, having said that, let's look at the good news. There are three things I want you to see about the gospel today, and I tell you they are wonderful.

What I want you to see today as we look in these first three verses, 1 Corinthians 15 verses 1 through 3, I want you to see the source of the gospel. Where it comes from. Then I want you to see the force of the gospel. I want you to see its mighty power. Then I want you to see the course of the gospel. I want you to see where it goes and what it does.

Now, what is the source of the gospel? The source of the gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Look in verse three: "For I delivered unto you first of all..." Now, that doesn't mean that's the first thing I said. It may have been the first thing he said, but that isn't what it means here. It means of first importance. This is number one. This is the highest priority. This is the main thing.

I have delivered unto you first of all, of prime importance. There's nothing more important than what I have to say today. I have delivered unto you first of all, that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. That is the source of the gospel. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Now, what is the bad news again? Our sins. He died for our sins. Well, sin brings with it penalty, sin brings with it pollution, and sin brings with it power. It doesn't give you power; it has power over you. Now, how does the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus deal with our problem?

Well, first of all, the death, burial, and resurrection deals with the penalty of our sin. You see, when Jesus Christ died on the cross, that was full payment for our sins. The Bible says he died for our sins. That is on behalf of our sins. He died to pay our sin debt. As he died, he said, "It is finished." It is paid in full.

You see, a holy God, a righteous God demands that sin must be paid for. God cannot merely overlook sin. God cannot merely forgive sin without payment being made. You say, "Why not?" If God were to do that, he would no longer be holy. He would no longer be just. He would no longer be righteous if he just simply said, "Well, I forgive you." If God willingly, knowingly, deliberately overlooked sin, then God would become a sinner.

God would topple from his throne of holiness. Sin must be paid for, but Christ died for our sins. And that deals with the penalty of sin because the cross of Jesus Christ, according to verse three, was full payment for our sin. Not only do we have the problem of the penalty of sin, and when he paid our sin debt, he removed the penalty, but there's also the pollution of our sin.

Look in verse 4 now: "And he was buried." He was buried. Not only did he die, but he was buried. Not only is there the full payment, there's the free pardon. What do you mean he was buried, Pastor? Well, they put him in that grave. They sealed him in there. Three days and three nights, he was in the grave. Well, why is the burial of Jesus Christ a part of the gospel?

What did it mean when Jesus Christ was buried? That he had become sin and he died for us, and that sin is put out of sight. He is buried. When you get saved, not only does he forgive you so far as judicial forgiveness, but he cleanses you on the inside. And though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Your sins are pardoned, and then they are buried in the grave of God's forgetfulness. You never have to be haunted by the ghost of guilt. You see, the old person you used to be is dead, gone, and buried. That's what baptism is all about. We are buried with him by baptism. It's gone. Living he loved me, dying he saved me, buried he carried my sins far away. That's what it's all about.

He deals not only with the penalty of sin, that's his death. He deals with the pollution of sin, that's his burial. He takes that sin and puts it in the grave of his forgetfulness. But then, look again at this passage of scripture in verse 4, and the Bible says, "And he rose again the third day." Now, what'd we say the three problems were? The penalty of sin, the pollution of sin, and the power of sin.

He rose again the third day, triumphant over sin. He has broken the back of Satan. He has demolished the power of sin. It was sin that crucified Jesus. It was sin that nailed him to the cross. But now he is raised. Now, look at it very carefully in verse 4. The Bible says, "And that he rose again." Literally, the Greek construction is this: he was raised again. He was raised again. Who raised him? Well, God the Father raised him from the dead.

Listen to Acts chapter 2 verses 23 and 24: "Him, Jesus, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it." You see, the resurrection of Jesus Christ was God's stamp of approval upon his life.

Listen. Only ignorance scoffs at the fact that Jesus Christ was here as an individual, as a human person on earth. I mean, everybody knows that he was here. In all history, he split the centuries: AD and BC. We all know he was here. Don't ever say he didn't exist. You know he existed. Now, your only question is: who was the man that existed? You only have three choices. Only three.

Either he was a liar who said he was God and knew that he wasn't, or else he was a lunatic who thought he was God and wasn't, or he was the Lord. Now, he was a fact. But now which was he: Lord, liar, or lunatic? Was he deceiver, deceived, or deity? Well, how do we know which one he was? The Bible says in Romans 1:4 he's shown to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead.

Beyond the shadow of any doubt, he walked out of that grave and shown alive with many infallible proofs. There's more proof that Jesus Christ came out of that grave than that Julius Caesar ever lived. Now, what I'm trying to say is that means that Satan's back is broken by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is God's final stamp of approval upon Jesus. He's declared to be the Son of God with power. He is raised from the dead. He is risen!

That, friend, is the gospel truth. That's what the gospel is all about. You see, the bad news is our sins, the penalty of our sins, the pollution of our sins, the power of our sins. But the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that is God's answer: the good news concerning the bad news. Now, that's the source of the gospel. I want you to notice now the force of the gospel. I want you to see what the gospel does.

Well, number one, there's the saving force. Look, if you will, in verse 2. He speaks of the gospel and he says in verse 2, "By which also ye are saved." There's no other way to be saved apart from the gospel. That's the reason that the apostle Paul said in Romans 1 verse 16, "I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation." God has no other way for you to be saved apart from the gospel.

Listen to the whole verse: "For I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." To the Jew first, to God's chosen. It is the power of God to everyone that believes to be saved from the penalty of sin, to be saved from the pollution of sin, to be set free from the power of sin. There is the saving force of the gospel. No other way to be saved.

Now, notice what he says here: "By which ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you." Now, what does it mean to keep in memory? That literally means to hold fast. Hold fast what I've preached to you. Don't change it. Don't amend it. Don't embellish it. I mean, if it's new, it's not true. There is only one gospel. No other gospel. It is gloriously simple. It is simply glorious. There's the saving force.

There's the sanctifying force. Notice again in verse 2: "By which ye are saved." Saved is in the present tense, and it literally means by which you are being saved. Well, you say, "Now wait a minute, Adrian. Have I been saved, or am I being saved, or will I be saved?" Yes. Yes. You see, the gospel, the salvation, it's in the present tense. I have been saved from the penalty of sin.

I am being saved from the power of sin. One day I will be saved from the very presence of sin. So the gospel continues to work. You see, God's not finished with me yet. You say, "Well, if you're so saved, why don't you look and act a little more saved?" Well, he's not finished with me. Philippians 1:6 says, "He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."

And so salvation is a crisis where you come to God and you say, "God, I'm a sinner, forgive my sin, come into my heart and save me," and he does. But it's a crisis that's followed by a process. He continues to work in you and day by day he's making you more like the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, therefore, what is the force of the gospel? There's the saving force and the sanctifying force.

Now, that's a word we don't use very much, but sanctifying means that he is making you more and more, day by day, more and more like the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what he's doing for me. I haven't stopped growing. I'm light years from what I could be, but oh, if you only knew what I used to be! I'm growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And not only is there the saving force and the sanctifying force, I love this, there's the stabilizing force of the gospel.

Look, if you will, in verse 1: "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which ye also have received, and wherein ye stand." Oh, I love that. You know, it's good news that we can be saved. It's better news that we can be saved and know it. It is glorious news that we can be saved, that we can know that we're saved, and know that once we're saved, we can never lose it.

I mean, wherein ye stand! You see, when you get saved, you don't keep him; he keeps you. Let me give you a verse. Now, just put your marker there in 1 Corinthians 15 and just turn left to Romans chapter 14. You want a blessing? It's worth it. I want you to turn to it. Just remember, we're talking about standing. Look in Romans chapter 14 and verse 4. Those of you who want to go around criticizing and judging other people, Paul asks this question: "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant?"

"To his own master he standeth or falleth." Now watch this: "Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand." You look at some poor stumbling Christian and you say, "You're unworthy." God says, "Would you butt out of it? He's my servant, not your servant." And God says, "I'm going to tell you something about my servant: I am able to make him stand, and he will be holden up."

He will be holden up. He will! He didn't say might. He didn't say some of them will. "I am able and what I'm able to do I will do, and you stand in the gospel of Jesus Christ." And once God saves you, my dear friend, by his grace, he keeps you by his grace. Don't ever get the idea that salvation is probation. That he gives you a fresh start and then sees if you can make it.

I've told you before, I wouldn't trust the best 15 minutes I ever lived to get me to heaven. Friend, you're saved by the grace of God, you're kept by the grace of God. It is good news that we stand in the gospel. Friend, I want to tell you, I stand assured and I stand amazed. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. Look, if you will, go back to 1 Corinthians 15 and look in verse 10. He says, "But by the grace of God, I am what I am." We're saved by grace and we're kept by grace.

Now finally, and quickly. Where is the source of the gospel? It is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Not in the merit of man, but the mercy of God. Not the goodness of man, but the grace of God. I've talked to you about the force of the gospel. There's the saving force, there's the sanctifying force, there's the stabilizing force of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's wonderful.

Now let me talk to you, dear friend, about what this gospel does in our world: the course of the gospel. Here's the reason I enjoy being a gospel preacher. The gospel of Jesus Christ extends to every person. I love it! I can look to anybody, anyplace, anywhere on the face of God's green earth and tell them, no matter what you have done, no matter what you have done, if you'll trust Jesus, he'll save you.

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." You say, "A murderer?" Yes. "A rapist?" Yes. "An adulterer?" Yes. "A thief?" Yes. "A blasphemer?" Yes. Look at what the apostle Paul said again in verse 10: "But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain." Paul called himself the chiefest of sinners, but he said God's grace reached even me.

It extends to every person. It extends therefore to every place. If it's every person, it has to be every person in every place because everybody's got to be somewhere. Every place. I mean, it's to the ends of the earth. Anybody can be saved. You show me any time, anywhere, where anybody ever called on Jesus Christ to save them in repentance and faith and he didn't save them, then I'll close my Bible and never preach again.

Every person, every place. Now watch it. And it extends to every problem. Every problem. You say, "Pastor, you don't know my problems." Well, I can reduce them all very simply. Do you know what your problems are? Every problem that you have is a subcategory of three things: sin, sorrow, and death. That's it.

And the gospel is the only answer to sin. The gospel is the only answer to sorrow, and the gospel is the only answer to death. There's no other book, there's no other plan, there's no other teacher, there's no other method, there's no other way apart from the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ to deal with sin and sorrow and death.

The course of the gospel, it extends to every person. The course of the gospel, it flows to every place. The course of the gospel, it covers every problem. And of course, you know the greatest problem is death. We're going to die. But the gospel is that Christ was raised from the dead and has conquered the grave. Do you have a loved one in heaven? Oh friend, if he is there, if she is there, they're there because of the gospel of Jesus Christ that's conquered sin, death, hell, and the grave. And every problem that you've ever had is answered in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Guest (Male): Well, have you acknowledged the bad news of sin so that you could know the good news of the gospel? Maybe you have never trusted Jesus and you'd like to do that right now. I'd like to lead you in a prayer. Pray something like this from your heart, in your own words: "O God in heaven, I know that I'm a sinner, and that you're holy, and my sin separates me from you. But you sent Jesus on a rescue mission. He lived a sinless life and went to the cross to pay my sin debt, and then he rose again to new life. And right now, I receive the forgiveness that you're offering me. Come into my life, change me from the inside out. Take me from death to life. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen."

If you prayed a prayer like that from your heart, if you've surrendered your life to Christ, please let us know about it. We'd love to celebrate with you and pray for you. Go to our "Discover Jesus" page at LWF.org/Radio. You'll find answers you might need to find out what it means to really follow Jesus fully with your whole heart. Let us know how this message has impacted you, and welcome to the family of God. We can't wait to hear from you.

Again, go to LWF.org/Radio and click "Discover Jesus." Hi, this is Kerry Vaughn, and this program has been brought to you by Love Worth Finding, a non-profit ministry showcasing the powerful preaching and teaching of Pastor Adrian Rogers. We operate solely through the generous gifts of individual supporters just like you. So, to give a gift today, call 1-877-LOVE-GOD. You can also connect with us online by going to LWF.org/Radio.

There, we offer helpful resources inspired by the timeless teachings of Pastor Rogers. Or even write to us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38-600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. Thank you for listening today, and be sure to join us next time for more profound truth, simply stated, right here on Love Worth Finding.

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