Gospel Threads – Part 4 of 6

So far in this series we’ve covered the first two of what we call the gospel threads.  We’ve looked at the character of God and the sinfulness of man.  Now I want to take a look at thread number three, the sufficiency of Christ.  I want us to see that the gospel teaches that Jesus alone is able to remove our sin and reconcile us to God.

Now it’s key for our understanding of the gospel and personal evangelism that we have a proper understanding of who Christ is and what He has done.  But in order to do that we need a proper understanding of who God is and what man has done; that’s why we covered those two threads first.  We can’t jump to Jesus’ saving work before we understand our sinful condition before a holy God.

This point is huge because we don’t see the need for Jesus until we realize that God is the just and gracious Creator of all things, and we have rebelled against Him. We are, therefore, separated from Him (Eph 2:12) and dead without Him (Eph 2:1-3). It’s not until we realize those truths that we will begin to grasp the significance of who Christ is. The truth about God and man points us to Christ, helping us to see that who Christ is and what He has done is exactly what we need for salvation.

Christ has done everything that is necessary for our salvation. There is nothing else that needs to be done. You don’t need to be a good person. You don’t need to be a great mom or dad or get this or that issue right in your life. Jesus Christ has done everything for your salvation and there is nothing else that needs to be done. He is sufficient, completely sufficient.

The Scriptural portrayal of Jesus is a picture of perfect righteousness. Unlike us, He kept the law of God perfectly. We are law-breakers. He is the law-keeper.  He also stood in our place as a sacrifice for sin.  He died the death we deserved to die.  He took the wrath that we deserved upon himself, but it didn’t end there.  Praise be to God, he rose from the grave in victory over sin and death. Jesus’ life displayed the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21), His death satisfied the wrath of God (Rom 3:23-25), and His resurrection demonstrated the power of God (Rom 1:4).

We are stained with guilt and shame, but Jesus takes it all. All of our sin, all of our sexual immorality, every impure thought, and every other offense against God. When you see the cross, see Christ in all of His perfect righteousness taking all of your sin upon Himself, and then see Him rising victoriously over that sin in the resurrection. All praise be to Jesus. He is sufficient. And He alone is able to remove our sin and reconcile us to God.

As you begin to weave this gospel thread of the sufficiency of Christ into your conversations, be sure to explain it in the context of the character of God and the sinfulness of man.  Help others to see the absolutely glorious sufficiency of Christ Jesus our Lord.

Feel free to check out Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this series.  If you would like to listen to the entire “Threads” sermon series you can find it here