IF I HAD
BUT ONE SERMON
TO PREACH
Well!! To
start with … it all depends on whether the congregation is comprised of saved
or unsaved, or both. And whether they
are young or elderly, or both. And
whether it is the first time they have heard the gospel or the thousandth time.
But I guess there are certain truths one would
insist upon …
1. THE
RELIABILITY OF GOD’S WORD
The more I study the Bible the more am I convinced
of its inerrancy. If the Bible is not
inspired of God then we have no authority for our preaching … no basis for our
Christian Faith.
The fulfilment of prophecy (eg, the destruction of
Tyre and similar Old Testament predictions) reveals this to be no ordinary
volume. Likewise the spade of the
archaeologist continues to confirm the Scripture record.
All the great evangelists of the past believed in
the reliability of the Bible (II Timothy 3:16!!)
Modern theologians are oft-times infected by a
critical view of the Bible which places it under their own authority… Such a low view of scripture results in a
humanistic faith. It never sees souls
won to Christ.
2. THE
AVAILABILITY OF SALVATION
(a) Salvation
was desperately needed … for man was in danger of Hell!
(b) Salvation
was provided by the sacrifice of the cross. Those who place their faith in “Christ crucified” may know the
joy of sins forgiven.
(c) Salvation
is for ‘whosoever’ … John 3:16!
3. THE
NECESSITY OF SPIRITUAL GROWTH
The Bible describes those who place their faith in
the Lord Jesus as ‘babes in Christ’. We
need to grow!! Hebrews 5:11-14…
“There is a great deal that we should like to say
about this high priesthood, but it is not easy to explain to you since you seem
so slow to grasp spiritual truth. At a
time when you should be teaching others, you need teachers yourselves to repeat
to you the ABC of God’s revelation to men!
For anyone who continues to live on “milk” is obviously immature – he
simply has not grown up. “Solid food”
is only for the adult, that is, for the man who has developed by experience his
power to discriminate between what is good and bad for him” (J.B. Philips Translation).
There is no effective, joyful Christian life if one
remains a spiritual Peter Pan.
(a) Babies
need food …
and so do we (I Peter 2:2).
(b) They
need to cry … and so do we … (cry out in prayer!!)
(c) They
need help
… and so do we … in the fellowship of the church.
4. THE
REALITY OF THE LIFE TO COME
(a) Heaven! Not only gratitude for what He has done for us … but what He has
promised is an incentive to perseverance when the going gets tough!
“For I reckon that the sufferings of this
present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be
revealed… (Romans 8:18).
(b) Hell! A forgotten subject in many churches. But the Lord Jesus warned of this awful place … “everlasting fire
prepared for the Devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).
And if any person goes there it is because they have
rejected or ignored the salvation provided for them at Calvary. Don’t blame God
if you go to Hell … He gave His “only begotten Son” to save you from going
there…
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