Four-Point Gospel: an outline

1.  The Offended One: God (and His Character)
-the Creator and Sustainer (Acts 17:24-25)
-He is Holy
a. Sinless: absolute separation from sin (1 John 1:5)
: no communion with sin (Habakkuk 1:13)
b. Hates all kinds of sin (Proverbs 6: 16-19)
c. Punishes sin: God pours out His wrath against sin (Romans 1:18)
d. Sets His holiness as standard for all (Leviticus 11:44)

2. The Offender: Man (and his sin)
a. Sin: sin is primarily an offense against God (Psalm 51:4)
 : sin is any action contrary to God’s will (James 4:17)
b. Man’s condition: everyone is sinful (Romans 3:23; Romans 3:10-12; Genesis 6:5)
: man and woman are sinful from birth, at the moment of conception (Psalm 51:5)
c. Sin’s source: man inherited the sinful nature of the first man and woman who rebelled against God (Romans 5:19a; Genesis 3)
d. Result of sin: man became spiritually dead because of sin (Romans 5:12)
          : sin separated us from God (Isaiah 59:2) because God is holy (Revelations 15:4)
e. Man will face judgment for sin: God punishes every single sin with eternal death and separation from Him in hell (Romans 6:23a; Matthew 13:40-42)

3. God’s Solution: Jesus Christ
-to escape God’s judgment, man or someone in his place must satisfy
   God’s justice (Isaiah 65:6-7)

How?
-Good works? No.
-even our best effort is unacceptable to God because it is stained by sin (Isaiah 64:6)
-this is so, because we are inclined to do evil all the time (Genesis 6:5)
-also, God will accept only the sacrifice of a holy or sinless man
-because of the demand of sinlessness, it is clear that man can’t save himself from sin because he is sinful and he can’t reach God’s standard

Who, then, is sinless?
-God alone.
-this is where God demonstrates His love. He knows that we cannot save ourselves and so He came here on earth as a man—Jesus Christ—to be our substitute. He came here to take the punishment of sin that was meant for us (1 Corinthians 15:3; Romans 5:8)

Jesus alone can substitute for us because:
1.       He is fully human and so he can represent us before God (John 1:14)
2.       He met God’s requirement of holiness and sinlessness (Hebrews 4:15)
3.       He is God himself (John 20:28; Romans 9:5; 1 John 5:20)

-He had to die because without the shedding of blood, there can be
       no forgiveness (Heb 9:22b)
-by Jesus’ sacrifice, we have a way to be reunited with God (1 Pt 3:18, John 14:6)

   On the third day, He rose back from the dead:
1.       His sacrifice was acceptable to God (Romans 4:25)
2.       He conquered death; death has no power over Him because He is sinless (2 Timothy 1:10;     Acts 2:24)
3.       He can give us eternal life (John 14:19, John 10:28)
4.       He is the Messiah or Savior (Psalm 16:10)

4. God’s Requirement: Repentance and Faith
-Jesus made a way for us to be reunited with God, He is giving us eternal
       life for free (Romans 6:23b)

THE QUESTION: How can we receive all these?
-Jesus’ categorical answer is in Mark 1:15
“Repent and believe the Good News”
-Repentance and faith are God’s requirement for salvation

A.      Repentance (Luke 13:3)
Change of heart, mind and actions

a.       not a good work or an effort from man’s side but a gift as well (Acts 5:31)
b.      It is a deep remorse for having offended God; God-centered remorse/sorrow (Psalm 51:4)
c.       Does not attempt to excuse or justify oneself for sins committed
d.      Confesses to God specific and not general sins
e.      A willingness to make restitution whenever possible (Luke 19:1-9)
f.        A strong resolve to turn away from sin and acts it out (Acts 19:18-19)

A dying to self
-total submission to the Lordship of Christ and renouncing one’s self to
     follow and obey Jesus

a. John 12:25
“…hates one’s life in this world…”
“counts nothing in this world too dear to be given up in obedience to the
     will of God (Lk 14:26)”

b. Mark 8:34-36
“deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”
“no to self; yes to Christ”
“the attitude to self is that of crucifixion… everyday he renounces the sovereignty to his own will… and renews his unconditional surrender to Jesus”
“I cease to live for my sake in order that I might live for His sake”

Note: Dying to self does not mean that a person needs to practice it consistently in his life before he can be saved—this is good work. Instead, it points to the one time but sincere commitment a person makes in giving himself to God at the time of his conversion.

B.      Faith (Ephesians 2:8-9)
-not simply knowing and believing basic facts about Jesus, but makes a moral demand on the lives of the sinners
-it is also a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9)
-it is an attitude where man abandons all reliance in his own efforts to obtain salvation
-casting oneself unreservedly on the mercy of God
-relying entirely on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross
-opposite of human works

Elements of Saving Faith
1.       Knowledge (intellectual conviction)
-hears and understands the complete Gospel (Romans 10:17)
-mental assent
2.       Personal trust and reliance on Jesus Christ as the only Savior (John 14:6)
3.       Wholehearted surrender to Jesus as Lord (Matthew 10:37-39)

-Faith is a commitment to Jesus to love the things He loves (righteousness) and hate the things He hates (sin)
-it also does not mean that a person has to consistently practice faith before he can be saved. Rather, it points to the one moment when one truly entrusts his life to Jesus

Note: all these happen—faith and repentance—only by the grace of God
: pray that we be able to exercise genuine faith and repentance, by appealing to God’s grace and mercy


*My heart-felt thanks goes to the Soli Deo Gloria Church in Davao for their discipleship materials
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