Sermon: The Message of Faith

This week there has been significant conversation on the internet and elsewhere about October 31.  No, not chocolate and Halloween, but Reformation Day.  The discussion about the Reformation has been a good reminder about the gospel and its significance.

As someone has said, “The gospel is the one message that counters everything we want to believe about ourselves and about God.”  The gospel is not incidental.  It is critical.  It, along with the Savior who brought the gospel, is the hinge point of history.  Everyone relates to the gospel in some way and everyone’s present and future is determined by the gospel.  Everyone is either a gospel person or a gospel-less person, and everything hangs in the balance dependent on whether you are or are not full of the gospel.

Because everything (eternity) hangs in the balance based on the gospel, it’s essential to get the gospel right.  People die eternally if they believe wrongly.  We want to get it right — with our children, parents, neighbors, and co-workers.  We want to get it right when we teach in AWANA, preach in worship services, and knock on doors in a nearby neighborhood.  The message of the gospel is the most important message everyone will hear and have to respond to.  So what is this “word of faith” (Rom. 10:8), this gospel?

In Romans 10:9-10, Paul says it this way,

The message of the gospel is the message about Christ that must (and can) be believed for salvation.

In these verses, Paul answers three key questions about the gospel — what it is, how it is received, and what it does.  These questions address the centrality of the gospel and demonstrate its importance and priority.

1. The Content of Faith: What is the Gospel?

• Incarnation — Christ took on manhood
• Lordship — Christ maintained deity
• Resurrection — Christ is victorious

2. The Mechanism of Faith: How is the Gospel Received?

• Faith is exercised by inner conviction
• Faith is demonstrated by public affirmation

3. The Result of Faith: What Does the Gospel Do?

• The gospel produces salvation
• The gospel produces justification

Download the rest of this sermon on Romans 10:9-10.

The audio will be posted on the GBC website by tomorrow.