Sermon Notes

“A Simple Gift, the Simple Gospel”

By Jeff Lynch

December 13^th, 2009

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Jesus is the gift that perfectly fits the size of every heart.  Jesus is the reason for the season. 

 Isaiah 9:6 …unto us a child is given…

 2 Corinthians 11:3      But I fear … your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

             The reason for this study today is to help us keep our minds from being corrupted from traditional religious hearsay, and to obey the simple Bible message of Christ and to keep it in our hearts.  There are two kinds of salvation gifts:  The one that God gives and the one that the devil gives.  Which one do you want?  Jesus’ gift of simple non-traditional Bible salvation, or the traditional religious hearsay about the gift of salvation.

 John 1:29        O Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.

             Sin is the most expensive debt, therefore it took the greatest price to redeem it; the blood of Jesus.

            The traditional salvation says something along the lines of:  “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and receive Him into your heart and life today,” or “Accept Jesus today as your personal savior, and give your heart to Him.”  How exactly do you do that?  Pray the sinner’s prayer?  So what does all this mean?

 Biblical salvation:  Five finger salvation and a knuckle sandwich for the devil.

Matthew 28:19-20       …teach all nations, baptizing them…

The Great Commission is not option to be considered, it’s a commandment to be obeyed!  What two things did Jesus tell His disciples to do?  Teach, and baptize.  What is the name (singular) of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost?  How many fathers do we have here?  How many sons?  How many have a spirit in you?

Mark 16:15-16            …He that believeth and is baptized…

            What two things did Jesus tell us to do?  Believe, and get baptized.  How many people believe in Adolf Hitler, or Saddam Hussein?  Do you believe they both existed?  But would you like to obey them, or to be their disciple?  So, what exactly does it mean to believe?

Luke 24:47      …repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name…

What two things did Jesus tell us to preach?  Repentance, and remission of sins.  (Notice, also, that the previous three scriptures all come from different accounts of the Great Commission, all three are in the last chapter of a Gospel, and all three are close to the end of the chapter.)

John 3:1-5       …Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit

What two things did Jesus say you needed to be born of, in order to be born again?  Water, and Spirit.

Acts 2:36-41    …Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ

            What two things did Peter tell the people to do?  Repent, and be baptized.  Repenting and pleasing God is like a marriage; having a change of heart from doing what you used to do and start doing things to please your spouse (or Christ, in the spiritual sense).  Why did they early church obey it when they heard it?

            When Jesus returns, He won’t be the cute little manger story baby.  He’s coming back to bring judgment upon the face of the whole world.  We can’t hide from Him; He’s always watching.

                           Sermon notes by Pete Shepherd