<< Previous | Index | Next >>"THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST AND THE PROBLEM OF SIN" The Gospel's Answer To The "Love" Of Sin (Faith In Jesus Christ) INTRODUCTION 1. In the previous lesson, we introduced "How The Gospel Addresses The PROBLEM Of Sin" 2. In this lesson we will focus our attention to that part of the problem which is the "LOVE" of sin... a. We saw that sin does have its pleasurable side - He 11:24-25 b. This pleasure makes it easy for men to love sin... 1) Such love often blinds men to the truth - Jn 3:19 2) Such love definitely alienates one from the love of the Father - 1 Jn 2:15 3. The gospel of Jesus Christ answers the problem of the "LOVE" of sin by commanding us to have "FAITH," or to "BELIEVE" a. E.g., notice Mk 16:15-16 b. Faith can be defined as "a strong convinction, assurance" c. When we come to have the RIGHT KIND OF FAITH, we will come to no longer LOVE sin, but even to HATE it! d. As the Psalmist expressed in Ps 119:104 4. In this study, I want to do two things: a. Define exactly what KIND OF FAITH we need to really hate sin b. Consider briefly the EVIDENCE that ought to create that kind of faith I. THE KIND OF FAITH NECESSARY TO HATE SIN A. ONE THAT BELIEVES THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD 1. That the gospel requires such faith is clear from passages like: a. Jn 20:30-31 b. 1 Jn 5:13 2. I.e., a strong conviction that Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary, was indeed: a. The Messiah foretold by the Jewish prophets - Ac 2:36 b. More than just a good man, but the only begotten Son of God - Jn 1:14 B. ONE THAT BELIEVES THAT THIS JESUS DIED FOR OUR SINS BECAUSE GOD LOVED US 1. Believing that Jesus died for our sins is a necessary part of the gospel - 1 Co 15:1-3 2. Understand...Jesus died for OUR sins! a. Just as the Scriptures foretold He would - Is 53:4-6 b. Why, because God loves us! - Jn 3:16; Ro 5:8 C. ONE THAT BELIEVES THAT GOD THEN RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD 1. This fact is also an important part of the gospel 2. Consider 1 Co 15:3-4; Ro 10:9 D. HOW DOES BELIEVING IN THESE THINGS CAUSE US TO HATE SIN? 1. IF WE ARE STRONGLY CONVICTED... a. That Jesus was truly the beloved Son of God b. That He was really the Christ, the promised Messiah c. That God loved us so much (and hated sin so much) that He sent His Son to die for us d. That God raised Him from the dead to prove to us that His death was an acceptable sacrifice for sin 2. ...THEN HOW CAN WE "NOT" HATE SIN? a. Sin is responsible for making the death of Christ necessary in the first place! b. Sin is responsible for the anguish God must have felt when He: 1) Saw the separation between Him and us! 2) Deemed it necessary to have His Son die for us! c. Sin is responsible for the pain and agony suffered by Jesus! 1) In the garden of Gethsemane - Mt 26:39 2) On the cross of Calvary - Mt 27:46 [When we understand and really BELIEVE these things, then we will say with the Psalmist: "Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I HATE every false way." (Ps 119:104) This is the kind of faith called for in obedience to the gospel, and the kind of faith which effectively deals with the LOVE of sin! But how does one gain this kind of faith? Ro 10:17 tells us that faith comes from the Word of God. Upon closer examination, that Word reveals that the apostles of Christ tried to create faith in the hearts of their listeners by providing two primary lines of evidence...] II. EVIDENCE THAT CREATES THE KIND OF FAITH WHICH HATES SIN A. EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY CONCERNING THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS 1. THIS WAS AN IMPORTANT FOUNDATION UPON WHICH FAITH IN NEW TESTAMENT TIMES WAS CREATED! a. Jesus knew this was how people would come to believe on Him - cf. Jn 17:20 b. Therefore, in their preaching and teaching, the apostles appealed to this line evidence... 1) Peter - Ac 2:32; 3:14-15; 4:33; 10:39-41 2) John - Jn 20:30-31; 1 Jn 1:1-3 3) Paul - 1 Co 15:3-8 2. HOW STRONG IS THIS EVIDENCE? a. Consider the number of witnesses 1) This affects the strength or weakness of any testimony 2) E.g., the OT required at least two or three - Deu 17:6 3) In this regard, the strength is very strong - 1 Co 15: 5-8 (over 500 people!) b. Consider the character of these witnesses (they were certainly not gullible) 1) Some had not believed in Christ prior to His resurrection a) Like His brothers in the flesh - Jn 7:3-5; Mk 3:21 b) But after the resurrection, they too became disciples! - Ac 1:14 2) Some were disciples who had been skeptical after His death a) E.g., Thomas - Jn 20:24-25 b) Only after hard, empirical evidence did he believe - Jn 20:26-28 3) Some were former enemies who had violently opposed Christ (e.g., the apostle Paul) c. Consider the nature of their testimony 1) Hard, empirical evidence - Jn 20:25; Ac 10:40-41; 1 Jn 1:1 2) Objective, not subjective evidence that could possibly be attributed to hallucinations, dreams, etc. d. Consider the transformation which took place 1) Prior to the resurrection, they were cowards who had lost hope! a) They fled at His arrest - Mk 14:50 b) Peter denied Him c) They hid for fear of the Jews - Jn 20:19 2) Yet, after the resurrection, they were praising God and proclaiming Christ boldly as having been raised from the dead! a) Praising God in the temple - Lk 24:52-53 b) Proclaiming Christ, despite persecution - Ac 5:28-32; 41-42 3) Even an honest Orthodox Jew admits that the transformation in their lives is strong evidence for their testimony: a) "If the disciples were totally disappointed and on the verge of desperate flight because of the very real reason of the crucifixion, it took another very real reason in order to transform them from a band of disheartened and dejected Jews into the most self- confident missionary society in world history." (PINCHAS LAPIDE, former chairman of the Applied Linguistics Department at Israel's Bar-Iland University) b) LAPIDE concluded that a bodily resurrection could have possibly been that reason! (TIME, May 7, 1979) e. Consider the high moral standard they taught and lived 1) Exhorted the disciples to live holy lives - 1 Th 4:1-7 2) Lived their own lives in an unimpeachable way - 1 Th 2: 10-12 -- Does this sound like people who would propagate a lie if they knew better? f. Consider the sacrifices they paid in life and death 1) They endured much hardship because of their testimony - 1 Co 4:9-13 2) All but one of the apostles died violent deaths because of their testimony of the resurrection 3) Even James, Jesus' brother, was thrown off the temple and clubbed to death for his refusal to recant his eyewitness testimony of the resurrection of Jesus! 3. TO DENY THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS IS TO IMPUGN THE HONESTY AND INTEGRITY OF THESE WITNESSES! a. Every single one of them would have had to been rank liars and frauds, out to deceive the world! b. Yet, these are the very ones... 1) Who tell us what we know of Jesus, whose life and teachings has transformed the history of the world and the lives of millions! 2) Who gave us the NEW TESTAMENT, which contains the highest standard of morality the world has every known! -- DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO CALL SUCH MEN "LIARS AND FRAUDS"? [To accept their testimony and the fact of the resurrection is not only rational, it is the beginning of the kind of faith which will come to hate sin! But there is even more evidence which creates this kind of faith...] B. FULFILLED MESSIANIC PROPHECY 1. THIS ALSO WAS AN IMPORTANT FOUNDATION UPON WHICH FAITH IN NEW TESTAMENT TIMES WAS CREATED a. Jesus used this to strengthen the faith of His disciples 1) The two disciples on the road to Emmaus - Lk 24:25-27 2) The apostles - Lk 24:44-47 b. Therefore, in their own teaching and preaching, the apostles appealed to this line of evidence... 1) Peter - Ac 2:29-31; 3:18,24 2) Philip - Ac 8:35 3) Paul - Ac 17:2,3 2. HOW STRONG IS THIS EVIDENCE? a. It has been calculated that there are at least 330 prophecies in the OT that were fulfilled in Jesus Christ! 1) Twenty-nine (29) were fulfilled in one day! 2) Such prophecies were spoken at various times by many different people during the ten centuries from 1500 B.C. to 500 B.C. b. The SCIENCE OF PROBABILITIES has been used to show that it is nigh to impossible that Jesus fulfilled these prophecies out of coincidence 1) In one study (by Peter Stoner), eight (8) prophecies were considered: a) The likelihood of anyone fulfilling just these eight by CHANCE was calculated to be 1 in 10 to the 17th power b) This would be like finding on the first try, while blindfolded, a marked silver dollar in a pile of silver dollars two-feet high covering the entire state of Texas! 2) In another study (also by Peter Stoner), forty-eight (48) prophecies were considered: a) The likelihood of a coincidence was 1 in 10 to the 157th power! b) How big a number is 10 to the 157th power? 1] Counting at the rate of 250 a minute... 2] It would take you 19 million times 19 million times 19 million YEARS to count such a number! c) Remember, that is just calculating the chance of any one man coincidentally fulfilling 48 prophecies - Jesus fulfilled 330! c. Look at it another way... 1) Your chances of surviving a fall from 10,000 feet without a parachute is 1 in 10 million 2) Would you "willingly" jump and take such a chance? 3) Yet to reject JESUS because because you think His fulfilling 330 prophecies was coincidental is INFINITELY MORE RISKY than jumping out of an airplane at 10,000 feet without a parachute! a) We would say that anyone who jumped out of an airplane with such odds against survival is either stupid, crazy or ignorant of the risks b) What about someone who takes the chance of rejecting Christ in view of the overwhelming odds he is wrong about Christ??? CONCLUSION 1. This is kind of evidence found in the Word of God to create faith in Jesus as the Son of God: a. EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY OF THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS by numerous, reliable witnesses b. FULFILLED MESSIANIC PROPHECY that overwhelmingly convinces any informed, rational and objective person! -- Yes, "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." (Ro 10:17) 2. What kind of FAITH? a. One that HATES sin... 1) For what it did (separated us from God) 2) For what it cost (the death of God's only begotten Son) 3) For what it can do when engaged in by the unrepentant Christian (crucify again the Son afresh - He 6:4-6) b. One that LOVES God... 1) For what He has done 2) For what He is doing 3) For what He will do c. One that will... 1) Do whatever God desires me to do, to rid my life of the guilt of sin (e.g., faith, repentance, and baptism) 2) Utilize whatever blessing God offers to overcome the problem of sin (e.g., remission of sins, gift of the Holy Spirit, the promise of eternal life) 3. Do you have that kind of faith which the gospel both gives and requires...a loving and obedient faith? "If you love Me, keep My commandments." (Jn 14:15)<< Previous | Index | Next >>
The "Executable Outlines" Series, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 1999
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