Iron Works Foundations The Gospel of Jesus Christ

Iron Works Foundations

The Gospel of Jesus Christ Recap:

I. Two foundational questions: A. Who is Jesus? Jesus is the 2 d person of the Trinity, the eternal Son of God: 100% God/100% Man: Fully God, fully man. B. What did Jesus do? He died on the cross to pay the penalty for sins and rose bodily from the dead so that all who repent (turn from their sins) and trust in Christ alone would be forgiven of their sins and have eternal life.

C. Summary: The Gospel is the good news of how Jesus Christ, who was fully God and fully man, died on the cross to pay the penalty for sins and rose bodily from the dead so that all who turn from their sins and trust in Christ alone would be forgiven of their sins and have eternal life. D. Where do we find in Scripture? 1. Rom 1 -3 2. 1 Cor 15: 1 -4 God Man Christ Response 3. "Roman Road" 1: 19 -21 3; 23; 6: 23 5: 8 10: 9 -11 4. John 3: 16

E. Summary of the Gospel Pattern: God He is the Holy Creator to whom we are accountable. Man We sinned against God and stands condemned. Christ died on the cross for sins and rose from the dead to save sinners. Response We must trust Christ alone/turn from our sins.

The Good News: A Fuller Statement The Triune God created man to glorify and enjoy Him forever. Man, however, sinned against God and stands condemned. But God sent His eternal Son Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully man, to take our place. He obeyed God’s law perfectly, died on the cross to pay the penalty for sins, and rose bodily from the dead, so that all who by God's grace alone turn from their sins and trust in Christ alone would be forgiven of their sins and have eternal life!

F. An important qualification: 1. The Gospel is about far more than just the start of the Christian life. It encompasses everything about the Christian life from start to finish. 2. The foundational of the Gospel is union with Christ. Every benefit of salvation is in Christ and is given to us by Him. He is the possessor and conveyer of every spiritual blessing! No matter the topic, we are immediately driven to Christ is the Gospel; He is Alpha/Omega.

The Triune God created us to glorify and enjoy Him forever. But, we have all sinned against God and stand condemned. But God sent His eternal Son, Jesus Christ, to take our place. He obeyed God's law perfectly, died on the cross to pay the penalty for sins, and rose bodily from the dead. By God's grace, those who repent and trust in Christ alone are forgiven of their sins, declared righteous only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to them, adopted into God's family, and are enabled by God's Spirit to die more and more to sin and live unto righteousness, persevering to the end when they will be raised with glorified bodies at the last day!

What is Scripture? (2 -3 weeks) Lesson 1:

I. General Revelation: what and why? II. Special Revelation: what and why? III. Scripture: A. Inspiration B. Infallibility and Inerrancy C. SCAN: Sufficiency, Clarity, Authority, Necessity D. Canonicity: what and how? E. Structure of Scripture: OT/NT, themes, etc.

I. General Revelation: A. Definition: General knowledge of God made known to everyone, everywhere in creation and the conscience of man. Psa 19: 1 -2; Rom 2: 14 -15; 1: 18 -21 Ps 19: 1 -2 - The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.

Rom 1: 19 -20 - For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Rom 2: 14 -15 - Gentiles…even though they do not have the law… show that the work of the law is written on their hearts…their Conscience also bears witness. B. Importance of gen rev: ? J. I. Packer: "God’s universal revelation of his power, praiseworthiness, and moral claim is the basis of Paul’s indictment of the whole human race as sinful and guilty before God for failing to serve him as we should. "

C. Limitations: is general rev all we need? 1. WCF 1. 1 Although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men unexcusable; yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of his will, which is necessary unto salvation… 2. Why is gen rev not sufficient? - Sin has corrupted our minds, so that we distort gen rev and do not interpret it properly.

Berkhof: “…God’s handwriting in nature was obscured and corrupted, and man was stricken with spiritual blindness, became subject to error and unbelief, and now in his blindness and perverseness fails to read aright even the remaining traces of the original revelation, and is unable to understand any further revelation of God. Therefore it became necessary that God should re-interpret the truths of nature, should provide a new revelation of redemption, and should illumine the mind of man and redeem it from the power of error. ” - Discuss the implications of this to life in general.

What is the solution to this? WCF 1. 1 cont'd: …Therefore it pleased the Lord, at sundry times, and in divers manners, to reveal himself, and to declare that his will unto his church; and afterwards, for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing: which maketh the holy Scripture to be most necessary; those former ways of God's revealing his will unto his people being now ceased.

II. Special Revelation A. Definition: Direct revelation from God now embodied in Scripture that reveals more fully who God is, His plan of redemption in Christ, and what He requires of people for life and salvation. This is what WCF 1. 1. gets at. 1. Heb 1: 1 -2 - 1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

2. 2 Tim 3: 16 - All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness… B. Progressive: “The great truths of redemption appear but dimly at first, but gradually increase in clearness, and finally stand out in the NT in all their fullness and beauty. ” C. Importance of special revelation: ? - Provides proper interpretation of general revelation. - Teach us to see universe as theater of God's glory. - To know about God, ourselves, and what God requires of us for faith and life.

Summing up General and Special Revelation: WSC 1: What is the chief end of man? A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him for ever. WSC 2: What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him? A. The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him. WSC 3: What do the Scriptures principally teach? A. …what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.

How Art How. Great Thou Art O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder, Consider all The worlds Thy Hands have made;

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout The universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee How great Thou art, How great Thou art. (Repeat)

And when I think, That God, His Son not sparing; Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in; That on the Cross, My burden gladly bearing, He bled and died To take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee How great Thou art, How great Thou art. (Repeat)

When Christ shall come, With shout of acclamation, And take me home, What joy shall fill my heart. Then I shall bow, In humble adoration, And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"

Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee How great Thou art, How great Thou art. (Repeat)

III. The Inspiration of Scripture A. Define: All the words of Scripture are God words inspired (breathed out) through human writers in harmony with their minds, personalities, cultural situation, and vocabulary. B. The nature (how) of inspiration: not dictation, but organic C. The extent (what) of inspiration 1. Verbal: every word (jot and tittle!) 2. Plenary: every part, Gen-Rev

"…the Holy Spirit acted on the writers of the Bible in an organic way, in harmony with the laws of their own inner being, using them just as they were, with their character and temperament, their gifts and talents, their education and culture, their vocabulary and style. The Holy Spirit illumined their minds, aided their memory, prompted them to write, repressed the influence of sin on their writings, and guided them in the expression of their thoughts even to the choice of their words. " Berkhof

III. Christ (WSC 21 -28) A. The Person of Jesus: So, who is Jesus? 1. Fully God: Jesus is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. The Bible also teaches that Jesus is: 2. Fully Man: Jesus took to Himself a human nature. So, Jesus is fully God and fully human. WSC 21. Who is the Redeemer of God’s elect? A. The only Redeemer of God’s elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was, and continueth to be, God and man in two distinct natures, and one person, forever.

B. The Work of Jesus: Jesus took our place. He died on the cross for sins, and rose bodily from the grave, so that all who repent of their sin and trust in Jesus Christ alone can be forgiven of sins and have eternal life. WSC 27. Wherein did Christ’s humiliation consist? A. …in his being born, and that in a low condition, made under the law, undergoing the miseries of this life, the wrath of God, and the cursed death of the cross; in being buried, and continuing under the power of death for a time. WSC 28. Wherein consisteth Christ’s exaltation? A. …in his rising again from the dead on the 3 d day, in ascending up into heaven, in sitting at the right hand of God the Father…in coming to judge the world at the last day.

C. The Result of Jesus’ Work: Getting to heaven then is not by our good works, but by God's grace alone and what Jesus Christ alone has done for you! It's a gift: "For by grace are you saved through faith… it is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one can boast. " (Eph. 2: 8, 9). …So, how do you receive this amazing gift?

IV. Response A. Jesus said, "…repent and believe in the gospel. " (Mk 1: 15) 1. Repentance: Turn from our way of thinking and living to God's way of thinking and living. WSC 87. What is repentance unto life? A. …a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, doth, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience.

2. Faith: Place all of your trust in Jesus Christ alone to save you. WSC 86. What is faith in Jesus Christ? A. …is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel. B. The Offer: Jesus came to save sinners, and offers us the free gift of eternal life. Does this make sense? Would you like to receive this amazing gift?