This Jesus

"No King but King Jesus" (Audio)

2010-09-01T08:37:00.001-07:00

This is a sermon that I preached at the Go, Stand, Speak Conference in Brooklyn, NY earlier this month. The text is Revelation 1:4-8. May the Lord use it to encourage you to proclaim Jesus on the streets. You can listen to this message here.

To listen to all of the messages from Go, Stand, Speak featuring messages from James White, Eric Holmberg, Jeff Rose, Pat Necerato, Tyler McNabb, Mark Spence, John Reuther and Michael Marcavage, go here. This was a powerful conference and there is much here on exalting Christ.

"Him We Proclaim!" (Audio)

2010-07-19T10:44:00.001-07:00

I spent the weekend in Baltimore. The Lord blessed the time. The primary reason for the trip was to preach at Grace International Church. My sermon for Sunday morning was titled "Him We Proclaim!" The text was Colossians 1:28-29.

If you have difficulty using the above player, you can listen and/or download the audio, here.

Him We Proclaim! (Part 1 of 3)

2010-07-12T07:43:00.000-07:00

Introduction:

Have you ever heard someone say something like this? “Live your life in such a way that people ask you why.” Or, “Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” Or, “God has a wonderful plan for your life. To find out what it is, just ask Jesus into your heart.” Or, “Jesus longs to have a relationship with you. He’s just waiting for you to realize it, too.” Or, have you ever heard someone say, “You are the gospel”?

These pithy clichés and others have become commonplace in Christian circles. The problem: none of them are true. None of them are biblical. None of them convey the truth of the gospel. And none of these common Christian clichés are, by definition, evangelistic. All of them have either duped Christians into thinking they’re sharing the gospel when they’re not; or they have led to countless numbers of people thinking they’re Christians when they’re not.

Evangelism is the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is Him we proclaim as we warn and teach others—warn them of God’s pending wrath against sin, and teach them the only way of eternal life. Evangelism leads to the preparation of those who are being saved to also proclaim Christ. It is Him we proclaim as we prepare others to lift up the name and herald the gospel of Jesus Christ. And evangelism results in the perspiration of those who toil, those who, in a labor of love, work the harvest fields already prepared by Christ, in order to make Him known to a lost and dying world. It is Him we proclaim as we labor to fulfill the two greatest commandments by obeying the Great Commission.

The gospel is not what Jesus Christ did for you and me. The gospel is Jesus Christ. He is the good news. Therefore, it is Him we must proclaim.

Jesus is not merely the one who posted your bail to get you out of hell. Nor is He merely your ticket to heaven. He is not the means for your best life now. He is not merely the facilitator for the desired wonderful plan you want to see fulfilled in your life. He is not some subservient, divine butler whose mission is to do your bidding. He is not some genie in a bottle that lies trapped and dormant until you rub the lamp in anticipation of the fulfillment of your wishes.

No! Jesus Christ is God! He is the sinless Lamb of God and the great and coming King. He is the omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent Creator of all things. He is the gospel; and it is Him we must proclaim.

This morning we will learn from God’s Word what it means to proclaim Him—to proclaim Jesus Christ the Lord. Paul’s words in Colossians 1:28-29, inspired by the Holy Spirit, are instructive regarding proclaiming Christ in our evangelism, proclaiming Christ in our discipleship, and proclaiming Christ in how we labor, in our efforts to preach the gospel to every creature and make disciples of every nation.

Paul writes: “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me” (Col. 1:28-29).

Him We Proclaim in Evangelism:

In order for evangelism to be fully biblical, it must include both a negative and a positive impartation of truth. While the gospel is, by definition, good news; in order to rightly proclaim that truth, in order to make our evangelism truly biblical, we must be willing to speak the truth in love—even when that truth will sound like bad news to the hearer. But before we look at these two aspects of biblical evangelism, there is a word we must define—the word “proclaim.”

The English word “proclaim” is here translated from the Greek word “katangello.” Katangello is a compound word—“kata,” meaning “down;” and “angello,” meaning “announce.” In its most literal sense, the word means to pass announcements down to others. “Katangello,” or “proclaim” “means to publically declare a completed truth or happening. It’s a general term and is not restricted to formal preaching.”

Why is this significant? There are many within the Body of Christ who believe that preaching should be left to the trained professionals—those who are specifically gifted and qualified in the eyes of men to open up and expound upon the Word of God.

I understand why some think this way. The pulpit of a born again pastor and teacher is, as far as I’m concerned, hallowed ground. Any man who steps into the pulpit taking his responsibility to His flock and to His God lightly has no business standing behind the pulpit. It should be a fearful and sobering proposition for anyone to contemplate standing before one of God’s flocks to open and rightly divide God’s holy Word.

But here, in Colossians 1:28, Paul uses a term that extends beyond the formal preaching of the Word of God during a corporate worship service. It refers to preaching in general. And preaching in general is not limited to the pastor in a pulpit.

The presence of the prefix “kata” implies an openness in the passing down of information. In other words, to “proclaim” means to publicly announce completed truth. This means Paul is telling the Colossians, and us, that Jesus Christ is to be proclaimed not only in the midst of gathered Christian brethren, but also publicly, in the streets, in the open-air. Christ is to be proclaimed by all and to all. Him we proclaim!

Every follower of Jesus Christ is called to publicly announce the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Great Commission, given to us in Mark 16:15 and Matthew 28:18-20, is a command given to every believer, not just to the original apostles and not just to a select few of today’s well-trained communicators. Jesus said, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15). And, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20).

Paul wrote: “Him we proclaim, warning everyone…”

The word translated “warning” can also be translated as “admonishing.” The Greek word here is “noutheteo.” It is from this same word we get the title of a form of counseling most often referred to as “biblical counseling” or “nouthetic counseling.” The word “speaks of encouraging counsel in view of sin and coming judgment.”

Granted, Paul is writing to believers in the Church at Colossae. But Paul’s instruction most certainly can be applied to the evangelistic efforts of believers outside the four walls of the church. In proclaiming Jesus Christ, it is the responsibility of every Christian to warn the unsaved about sin and its consequences, as well as the coming judgment of Almighty God.

We must warn the unsaved that they will one-day stand before God and give an account for their lives. We must warn them that God is holy, righteous, and just—that no one will stand before God and rightly claim ignorance or innocence. He will judge every person according to the holy standard of His moral and good Law. No unforgiven, unredeemed liar, thief, blasphemer, or adulterer-at-heart will pass by the Judgment Seat of God without receiving what he or she deserves for his or her sin against God.

We must warn the lost, with love and compassion in our hearts, that what awaits them, as the just punishment for their sins against God, is eternity in hell. To do otherwise, to not speak this kind of truth in love, is to pass down, is to publicly announce an incomplete and unloving message.

But the warning we give to those who are lost and bound for hell should not come across as little more than a “get out of hell free” card. We must warn them that the same One who can set them free is the same One who will condemn them to hell. It is Him we must proclaim!

Jesus Christ is God. He always has been. He always will be. John the Baptist proclaimed Christ with these words—words that both affirmed the deity of Jesus Christ while asserting that Jesus was to be obeyed and that the wrath of God awaits those who fail to do so. “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath o God remains on him” (John 3:35-36).

It is true Jesus said He did not come to judge the word. In John 3:17 we read the very words of Christ regarding this: “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

But just as God the Father is holy, righteous, and just; so too is God the Son, Jesus Christ the Lord, likewise holy, righteous, and just.

Jesus Christ is holy. The angel of the Lord said to Mary in the announcement of the coming incarnation of the God-Man, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).

Listen to part of the prayer to God, of the first church, after Peter and John were counted worthy by the Lord to suffer for His name. “For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus” (Acts 4:27-30).

One more: listen to the words of Christ in the revelation to John, regarding the church in Philadelphia. Jesus said, “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens” (Rev. 3:7).

Jesus Christ was declared holy by the angel before He was born to Mary. Jesus Christ was declared holy by His Church, after He rose from the dead. And Jesus Christ affirmed His holiness to His apostle John in the revelation Christ gave Him. Jesus Christ is holy and it is Him we must proclaim!

Jesus Christ is righteous. In Isaiah’s great prophesy about the coming Messiah, God the Holy Spirit inspired Isaiah to pen the following, which we read in Isaiah 53:11. “Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.”

And we read these powerful words that affirm the righteousness of God the Son, in Hebrews 1:9. “But of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

Jesus is holy and righteous; and it is Him we must proclaim!

And, like God the Father, Jesus Christ—God the Son is just. Jesus said the following to the Jews who sought to kill Him. We find it in John 5:30. “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of Him who sent me” (John 5:30).

The apostle Paul declares the just character of Jesus Christ in one of Scripture’s most beautiful affirmations of the gospel. Romans 3:21-26 says, “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Yes, when Jesus came the first time, He did not come to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He came as the Lamb of God. But when He returns—and, as Christians, we should live with the joyful anticipation that He could return at any moment—He will not return as a meek and lowly Lamb to be slain. No! He will return as the Lion of Judah!

In the revelation the apostle John received, Chapter 5 begins this way. “Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?’ And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, ‘Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

It is the Lion of Judah, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the Holy One if Israel who will judge both the living and the dead—it is Christ Jesus the conquering Savior and Lord we must proclaim when warning those perishing in their sins what awaits them if they do not repent and believe the gospel. It is the Lord Jesus Christ—the holy, righteous, and just God. It is Him we must proclaim.

Turning our attention once again to Colossians 1:28, after Paul instructs the Colossian believers to warn everyone, he instructs them to “[teach] everyone with all wisdom.” Whereas warning people is the impartation of negative truth, teaching is the impartation of positive truth. And again, while this is the responsibility of church leaders (no elder or pastor can rightly or biblically hold such a position of leadership and authority if they are unable to rightly divide the Word of God and teach the Word to others), teaching others the positive truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ is the responsibility of every Christian.

Again, the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 affirms this. Jesus said, in part, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

One of the first commands Jesus gave was this. And we find it in Mark 1:15. “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel.” Jesus’ great command in His Great Commission is to go and make disciples. One cannot be a disciple of Jesus Christ if he or she has not turned away from and forsaken their sins against God and, by faith and by faith alone, believed the gospel of Jesus Christ—receiving Him as Lord and Savior.

Discipleship begins with teaching. Teaching begins with the gospel. For a person cannot be saved by a gospel they do not know. And the gospel is a message that must be proclaimed. Gospel proclamation requires words—spoken or written. , and evangelism requires the proclamation of the gospel. Romans 1:16 makes it abundantly clear the gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

I beat this drum often. I will stop when I believe the Body of Christ is getting it—when the Body of Christ comes to the understanding that so much of what has been called evangelism over the last twenty to thirty years is not evangelism. It might be service, but it is not evangelism. Why do I say this?

Much of what is called outreach and evangelism these days is anything but evangelism because there is no verbal proclamation of the gospel. And when there is a verbal message given in conjunction with outreach efforts, all-too-often the proclamation makes little or no mention of the One we as Christians are to proclaim—Jesus Christ!

The gospel is simple enough. Paul gives us a succinct summary of the gospel in First Corinthians 15:1-4. “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”

Yet sadly, in spite of the simplicity of the gospel, little is made of the centerpiece, the cornerstone of the gospel, Jesus Christ Himself. Yes, we talk about what He did to make our salvation possible; but the focus is too often the solution to our problems and not enough is made of Him—the person, the attributes, and the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is Him we must proclaim!

What I’m about to share with you I will share quickly, so I want you, for now, not to worry about taking notes. Just listen to these descriptions of Christ from the Word of God. They were originally compiled by William Webster.

He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He is the Author and Perfecter of our faith, and the Author of our salvation. He the Bread of Heaven, the Bread of Life, and the Bridegroom. He is the Chief Shepherd, the Christ of God, and the Cornerstone. He is the Deliverer, the Descendant of David, and the Door of the sheep. He is the Eternal Father and Eternal Life. He is the firstborn among many brethren, the firstborn from the dead, and the firstborn of all creation.

He is God with us, the Good Shepherd, and the Guardian of our souls. He is the head over all rule and authority, the head of the Church, and the head of every man. He is the great I AM, the image of the invisible God, and Immanuel. He is Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus the Son of God, and the Judge of the living and the dead. He is the King of Kings, the King of the Jews, and the King of Zion. And He is the Lamb of God, the life-giving Spirit, and the He is the Lion from the Tribe of Judah. He is our Mediator before God the Father, the Messiah, and the Mighty God.

Jesus Christ is glorious! He is majestic! It is Him we must proclaim. We must make much of our Lord and Savior to a lost and dying world. We must never forget that when we proclaim the gospel to lost people we are not merely presenting them with a remedy, but the Redeemer; not merely a cure, but the Christ; not merely a solution, but the Savior; not merely a leader to follow, but the Lord. We are ambassadors of the King. It is Him we must proclaim!

Behold the Lamb of God (Video)

2010-07-10T07:07:00.000-07:00

For the last couple of months I've been studying the life of John the Baptist and his proclamation of Christ. I hold that John preached Christ specifically in John 1:29, but that the way he did his ministry was also a model we can follow as preachers of Christ.

Since mid-May, I have been focusing on John 1:29, preaching it behind pulpits and in the open-air. It preaches a bit differently on the street than it does in a church, but I recommend your own study of it for open-air proclamation. This theme of the Lamb of God is one of the most powerful themes in Scripture and exalts Christ. It has been food for my own soul and I hope it is an encouragement to you as well.

Please note that there were technical issues in the audio recording of this message and that the audio doesn't kick in until the 55 second mark.

The Lamb of God (Jn. 1:29) Video

Jesus, Our Sovereign Savior - Steve Lawson

2010-07-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

In learning to focus our evangelism more squarely on the Person and Work of Jesus Christ, it is imperative that we dive deeply into knowing Him for who He is, what He has done, and what He will do. In addition to the study of Scripture, one way I learn more about Him is from listening or reading the sermons of great men of God. The sermon below is from one such man, Steve Lawson.

I have heard many sermons on the text of Revelation chapter 5, which is to me the most glorious chapter in all of the Bible. But this one by Steve Lawson is simply breathtaking. If you are eager to learn more of our Lord Jesus Christ, take an hour to listen to this.

The sermon is taken in its entirety from the media of the 2010 Resolved Conference.

Download and listen to this magnificent sermon here.

You can also find audio and video from the Resolved Conferences, from 2005 to 2010, by visiting http://www.resolved.org/media/

True and False Repentance – Part 1

2010-05-18T04:07:00.001-07:00

The Apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians 7, gives us an important principle that we must apply in our evangelism. He says in verse 10:

"For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death."

In our presentation of the Gospel, we must be careful that we present the necessary information to produce within the sinner "godly repentance", and not merely "worldy sorrow". If repentance is a necessary component of salvation, and if repentance is a grace, and not a work, then it is important that we use the means by which God grants this grace. And that means is not a presentation that induces within men a fear of Hell merely, but a sorrow over sin because he realizes that sin is that which has crucified the Lord Jesus Christ.

Here is a most important principle that we must never forget in our evangelism: fear of Hell alone cannot be the motivation for a person to come to Christ for salvation. If someone flees to Christ out of the fear of Hell alone, that person will still end up in Hell. If the summation of our message to sinners is that God has ascribed their punishment for sin to be eternity in Hell, and the solution for that problem is to believe that someone died on a cross to take their place, then someone who believes only that will still end up in Hell. We will have been guilty of presenting to them a man-centered message, because that message can only produce the sorrow of the world, and not godly sorrow, which produces repentance leading to salvation.

Why? Because his repentance is still man-centered. Such repentance to avoid Hell is still centered around his own needs and desire for comfort and to avoid suffering. It is merely a realization that by his lawlessness, he has fallen short of a requirement to have eternal bliss, instead of a realization that he has fallen short of the glory of God, which is found in the person and perfections of Jesus Christ (Col. 1:15, Heb. 1:3).

What are we out to convince men of? Are we out to convince them that they deserve Hell? Or are we out to convince them that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Does believing that Hell exists and that men go there produce eternal life, or does believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, produce eternal life?

John 20:31 "…but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name."

Our message must bring to our hearers sorrow that produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted, and that can only be found in a presentation that includes Jesus Christ as the perfect Son of God, in all of His glory and perfections: Him as not only substitute, but as sufficient. And to preach Him as sufficient requires much more than a simple formula. It requires that you know Him to be sufficient for yourself. That your personal knowledge of the perfections of Christ be the defense that you give for the hope that is within you. How do you do that? Follow the biblical principle for doing it…set Him apart (sanctify Him) in your heart, and preach Him as the sufficient Savior that He is:

1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

Jonathon Edwards' "The Excellency of Christ"

2010-05-11T04:33:00.001-07:00

During the last several years, I have spent much time reading and studying old books. Old books are very useful, because they have endured the years of the passing fads of human religion, and remained in print (or online!) because they contain truth that does not change over the centuries. The greatest wealth of wisdom, outside the Bible, is the writings of those men of old whom God has been pleased to use to teach and defend the timeless truths of the Christian faith. So if I have one encouragement to give you, it is simply this: read old books!

In my library, I have a number of volumes of the works of such men. My favorites, and the ones from whom I have learned the most, are the Puritans. Thomas Watson, Thomas Brooks, John Bunyon, John Newton, Richard Baxter, and of course, the last of the Puritans, Charles Spurgeon, are among the sets of large books that I've been privileged to have on my shelf. Most of them I've found for a great bargain. But the greatest bargain, and one of my greatest treasures, is the two-volume set of the works of Jonathan Edwards. I found both volumes of his works for $5, including shipping!

There is no single human author that has shaped my understanding of God and the Person of Jesus Christ more than Jonathan Edwards. Admittedly, he is difficult to read, but the pain of slow, painstaking reading has been worth it. Edwards was simply a man in love with the God of Scripture. He passionately teaches truths that are sadly missing from most evangelical churches today. I encourage you to pick up Edwards, and read his writings.

About a year ago, I was seeking to study more on the Person of Jesus Christ, and opened up the set of Edwards' works. Tucked away in the back of one of the volumes was a collection of his sermons. As I perused the titles, one caught my eye: "The Excellencies of Christ". Perhaps it was because for years, I have signed my emails and letters, "Yours for the excellency of Christ". Whatever the reason, I decided to take up that sermon and read it. As I read it, I began to understand how magnificent is our Lord Jesus Christ, and how much the world needs to hear of Him. Not just what He did, but who He is. Edwards' sermon set me on a quest to know more of my Savior, and reminded me of how little I knew about Him. It was a time of rejoicing, and weeping, both for joy and for sorrow. "The Excellencies of Christ" remains to this day a sermon that I keep close at hand, to read and be reminded of what a magnificent thing it is that the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.

You can find the volumes of Edwards' works at Banner of Truth's website, or at Monergism.com. You can also find them at Amazon, or other online booksellers. If you're an ebook person, they are available for free, or for a small fee, as a Kindle book.

Or, if you like online books, you can both volumes for free at ccel.org. Here is the link to the sermon, found in Volume 1:
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/edwards/works1.xiii.vii.html

Read that sermon. You will not regret the time you spend with Edwards, as he leads you to the throne of the magnificence of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Preaching Christ, and "Nail In Nose Guy"

2010-05-06T04:40:00.000-07:00

Many of you have seen this from my other blog, but I found it to be more appropriate here. As I study and learn more about what it is to "preach Christ" as we see it in the New Testament, I've done my best to try to put into practice what I've been learning. My hope in preaching, is to do as Spurgeon said of the apostles,

"I remarked that the apostles did not take a text when they preached, nor did they confine themselves to one subject, much less to any place of worship, but I find that they stood up in any place and declared from the fullness of their heart what they knew of Jesus Christ." (Sermon #66, Park Street Pulpit, Vol. 2)

Last month, I was at Huntington Beach, CA with Ambassadors' Academy 14. And as most Saturdays would have it, "Nail In Nose Guy" came out to do his show. (Also see this post from last month's interaction with him.) Unfortunately, we were preaching where he wanted to do business.

What follows is the preaching of Christ. My hope in preaching is that I preach not to meet the felt needs of men, nor to provide comfort in these troubling days, but to preach Christ. To exalt Him, His person, His life, His atonement, and His resurrection, in such a way that the sum total of the message spoken is Christ, and Him crucified.

Download and listen to the audio of the preaching here.

A Brief Example

2010-05-05T12:27:00.000-07:00

I'm looking forward to contributing to this blog and exalting Jesus Christ. I'm studying the gospel proclamation of John the Baptist and am excited about what I am learning there. It will be a blessing to share that with you in the days ahead.

In the meantime, several have expressed a desire to see examples of what we're talking about when we speak of preaching Christ. In that spirit, consider this clip from the end of a sermon my pastor, Randall Easter, gave at the Texas Revival Series last year. He preached on "The Glory of God in Evangelism" from Psalm 96.

A few things we can learn from this clip:

Preaching Christ is the result of being in deep personal communion with Him.
Preaching Christ is proclaiming His glory.
Preaching Christ is proclaiming His works.
Preaching Christ is not scripted.
Preaching Christ is preaching the resurrection.
Preaching Christ is preaching His return and coming judgment.

There's much more to say, but let this be seed for some ideas on how to put this in practice.

Why Is This Blog Important?

2010-04-30T03:52:00.001-07:00

"It is very possible to preach a great deal of important religious truth, and so that there shall be no mixture of important error in doctrine present...and yet not to preach Christ. The defect will not be in the presence of what should not be there, but in the absence of what should be...the character of the "truth as in Jesus." Such absence, when nevertheless all is true, may be more destructive to the Gospel character of the preaching, than the introduction of some positive error." (C. P. McIlvaine, "The Work of Preaching Christ")

If you've begun to follow this blog, you may be asking yourself, "Why is this important? Don't we all preach Christ?" I hope this post explains at least in part the necessity of preaching Christ.

First, it is biblical. Here is a quick listing of the passages in the book of Acts where the apostles preached the Gospel. You will note one stunningly consistent feature in the descriptions of their preaching--they preached Christ.

Peter, in Acts 2:14-21, speaks of the great fulfillment of prophecy in the coming of the Holy Spirit…in 22-36 he speaks of the Person of Jesus Christ. The closing line of his sermon was this powerful statement to his hearers: "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:36)

Peter again preached in Acts 3:13-15, to those who witnessed the miracle of the lame man's healing. Here he speaks of the Person of Christ, referring to Him as "the Holy One", "the Just", the "Prince of Life", "God's Servant Jesus". He then immediately preached faith in the name of Jesus, verses 16-18. Then Peter returned to preaching prophecy of the coming of Christ to the Jews in 20-26.

Peter and the other apostles began to teach and preach Christ, healing the sick as a demonstration and testimony of the truth of their preaching in Acts 5. They were arrested and cast into prison, where they were miraculously released by an angel of the Lord who commanded them to "Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life." (Acts 5:19-20). They obeyed, and were subsequently arrested by the council, who said of their activities, "Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man's blood on us!" (Acts 5:28). Peter and the apostles were preaching Christ. They were proclaiming His death at the hands of the very people by whom they now stood accused. Their "doctrine" was not about the problems that faced men of that day. No, their "doctrine" was that Jesus is the Christ, and this is what so greatly offended the religious leaders. Would they cease teaching this doctrine? Absolutely not, for they must preach Christ: "We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him." (Acts 5:29-32)

Stephen, in Acts 7, pointed to the Old Testament prophecies of Jesus. He retold the stories that all of the Jews who heard him were familiar with and agreed with…up until the point where Stephen said that all of those prophecies and stories pointed to one Man: Jesus, the Christ. He enraged them with the truths of fulfilled prophecies, then boldly stated that Jesus was the fulfillment of Daniel's vision (Daniel 7:13-14), saying, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" Their rage was not because he preached about them, but that he preached about Jesus being the fulfillment of the prophecies of the old covenant.

In Acts 8, those who went everywhere "preaching the word" (Acts 8:4). These included Philip, of whom it was said, who "preached Christ" (Acts 8:5). To preach the word is to preach Christ! We cannot say that we have preached the word unless we can also say that we have preached Christ.

In Acts 8:35 Philip "preached Jesus". Can we say with Philip that we have "preached Jesus" to the lost if we spend more time in our conversations/preaching talking about them instead of talking about Christ? Could we be guilty of preaching repentance, and leaving our hearers familiar with the baptism of John, without pointing them to a more excellent way…that of Jesus and His Excellent Greatness?

In Acts 9:20, after Paul's conversion, immediately he "preached the Christ, that He is the Son of God." How does one preach that Jesus is the Son of God if we do not speak of His uniqueness, of His fulfillment of prophecy, and of His life, miracles, death, and resurrection, proving Him to be the Son of God?
It is worthy of note that the accounts of Jesus' miracles in the Gospel of John served this purpose: And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. (John 20:30-31)

In Acts 9:22, Paul confounded the Jews, proving "that this Jesus is the Christ." Is our proclamation of Jesus Christ one that confounds our hearers? Does our proclamation of salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone go beyond the logical conclusions that men can attain in the hearing of the Law, to the incredible, even scandalous, ends of the truths of the Person of Christ, that He is indeed the only way of salvation, because He is uniquely the Christ, the Son of the living God?

In Acts 10: 34-43 Peter's preaching to the household of Cornelious was exclusively about the person of Jesus Christ. To Cornelious, who was a "God fearer" (one who was familiar with the Law and the Prophets, Acts 10:1-2), Peter preached faith in the Christ: "To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins." (Acts 10:43)

In Acts 13:12 the Procounsel believed when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord. Note…the Lord was not doing the teaching, He was the One taught about!

In Acts 13:15-39 after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, Paul preached Christ by pointing the Jews to the prophecies, His uniqueness in fulfilling them, His resurrection, His deity…the whole sermon was about Jesus!

In Acts 17:3…Paul explained that "This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ."

In Acts 17:18…Paul "preached to them Jesus and the resurrection."

In Acts 18:5…Paul testified that Jesus is the Christ

In Acts 18:28 Apollos showed from Scripture "that Jesus is the Christ."

In Acts 28:31 Paul in Rome preached "the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ." How is this the same thing as simply proclaiming His death of the cross for sinners? It is altogether different. The "things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ" are those things that make Him uniquely suitable to be such a substitute for sinners! If we are to follow the example of Scripture, then we must preach not only what Christ accomplished on the cross…BUT ALSO WHAT MAKES HIM UNIQUE AND EXCLUSIVELY ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH SUCH GREAT THINGS!

These Scriptures just touch on the massive truth that the great weight of our preaching must be about the person of Jesus Christ. We see several different approaches to evangelistic preaching here, all of which I hope our blog will address. But the truth cannot be denied: the Gospel preaching of the Apostles was Christ-centered. It was not merely a dash of religious truth and pragmatism, then just enough Jesus to provide an answer to man's problems. The sum total of their preaching was that Jesus Christ, in all of His uniqueness and glory, is the Christ, and to Him all men must flee.

The apostles were people who had encountered Jesus in the flesh; they were witnesses of the things that had happened. This is how they preached Jesus, His Person, His miracles, His fulfillment of prophecy, His atoning death and His victorious resurrection. We who preach and proclaim Jesus today, should endeavor to preach Him in the same way. As Whitefield has so rightly said, "The Gospel must be proclaimed in the same manner in which it was established." If we are to be true to that, then we must acknowledge that the Gospel was established on the preaching of the Person of Jesus Christ.

Next post, I will write of the practical nature of preaching Christ. There are far too many methods of pragmatism out there…methods of evangelism that seem to work in the eyes of men. But are they biblical? It's desirable to have a method that works, but is it true to the means and methods by which God has chosen to redeem sinners?

Introduction to the Blog, “This Jesus”

2010-04-29T05:30:00.001-07:00

"Reflecting the other day upon the sad state of the churches at the present moment, I was led to look back to apostolic times, and to consider wherein the preaching of the present day differed from the preaching of the apostles. I remarked the vast difference in their style from the set and formal oratory of the present age. I remarked that the apostles did not take a text when they preached, nor did they confine themselves to one subject, much less to any place of worship, but I find that they stood up in any place and declared from the fullness of their heart what they knew of Jesus Christ." (C. H. Spurgeon, sermon #66, New Park Street Pulpit)

Several years ago, I found myself in a quandary. As a young pastor of a small Baptist church, I was convinced that there was a way to make what I saw in Scripture actually happen in the streets of my small town. I wanted desperately to be out there, and to lead others out there, to share the Gospel that God had used had so marvelously saved me.

Like many of you, I studied the major evangelism methods available in the Christian bookstores and denominations. In them, I found little comfort, and much difficulty. Evangelism was a chore, not a privilege. A duty, not a desire. As a pastor, guilt was heaped upon me to practice what I preached. And to make a long story short, someone gave me a book by Ray Comfort, called The Way of the Master, which taught me about the necessity and biblical mandate of the use of the Ten Commandments in witnessing. It finally made sense, the light bulb went off. It seemed that I finally had found what was missing.

What happened after that realization was nothing short of miraculous. As a result of seeing something in Scripture that was clearly there the whole time, but hidden from me by the veil of the traditions of men, I began to see the Scripture in a new light. The Word literally came alive with meaning…clear, and unhindered by enslavement to the traditions of men. I began to see not only my methods and love of evangelism change, but underwent a fundamental change in my approach to interpreting the Scripture, one which placed the Scripture over all traditions and teachings of men. My theology began to change. Knowing that this teaching of using the Law to bring the knowledge of sin, to prepare the way for the Gospel, and that this was no new teaching, but was taught by great men of old who trumpet these truths…the Puritans, the Reformers, the evangelists, Whitefield, Wesley, Spurgeon, Luther, Calvin, Edwards…I began to read these men, and developed a love for their writings, for they loved the Word of God, and the God of the Word.

And yet again, I began to see something in their writings that was missing in the writings of modern teachers. Something that I now see clearly in Scripture, but, like the principle of biblical evangelism, has been obscured by the teachings and traditions of men. What I saw in the writings of these old Puritans and Reformers was a deep infatuation with the person of Christ…His character, transcendence…His matchless excellencies. If you read the writings of these great men, you will often find a repetitive, almost mantra-like pattern of exalting the name of Jesus Christ, and His supremacy over all things, because of the uniqueness of His character and divinity and equality to none. What I saw in these writings, and now see clearly in Scripture, and what I wish to share with you on this blog, is as necessary as proclaiming the Law before grace. It is how, in the gospel proclamations of these great men, and of the Apostles, Prophets, and of Jesus Himself, there is a proclamation of the excellencies of the Person of Jesus Christ that is part and parcel of the message of the Cross.

What do I mean by the excellencies of Christ? I mean an explanation, an exaltation, of the character and nature of Jesus Christ. A lifting up of His divine attributes, His uniqueness, a proclamation of Him to be more excellent than all things…to lift Him up in words, in expression, in pleas to sinners, to not only flee from the wrath to come to Someone who can save them, but to flee to the Christ, who is excellent, and worthy, and powerful to save, and who does so, not merely for our salvation, but for His glory, for He alone is worthy! The necessary, yet often missing part of modern Gospel proclamations, is the preaching of Jesus, the Christ. Preaching about Him…the many excellencies of Jesus Christ.

I am excited about the possibilities that exist for the glory of Christ when the Church begins to understand and proclaim the biblical concepts that we seek to teach here. What an honor it is to have as contributing authors, my friends Jon Speed and Tony Miano. These men see these same truths and share the same passions, and prove to me that this is not simply some new teaching, but a revival of the truth of Scripture. We hope to take you through our own journeys, as we write of the Gospel proclamations of John the Baptist, of the Apostles in Acts, and of the Lord Jesus Himself. We hope to teach you how to display Jesus Christ as He is: a most excellent, unique, and all-sufficient Savior. We seek to teach the reader how to preach Christ as He was preached in Scripture; such that the chief feature of the preaching of Christ today would come yet another step closer to that model of the apostles:

"The chief feature in the apostles' [open air] preaching of Christ...they took great pains to set forth the Lord Jesus in all that He was and is...so that there was no part of the whole counsel of God 'concerning His Son Jesus Christ' which they kept back." (C. P. McIlvaine, "The Work of Preaching Christ")