Louie Giglio - The Best And Worst News You've Ever Heard
This message is called "The best and worst news you've ever heard," and I'm excited about it. The text opens this way in verse 1, it says, "Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved". More importantly, we're gonna see in a moment that the tense there is you are being saved. It's a progressive work of God, recognizing that, yes, there's a moment where when you put your faith in Jesus you're born again, but that's not the end of salvation.
Salvation is a process where God working out that new birth every single day of our lives. And He's saving us all the way to the end, even in the grave He's saving us, is what Paul's gonna ultimately get at in this chapter. He says, "By this gospel you are being saved". If you have ESV, I think it says, "Being saved". If you have NIV, it just says, "You are saved". But underneath it in the Greek, "You are being saved". "If you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you've believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance".
Now, that's why this text is in this collection and that's why a message around the priority of the gospel is in this collection. When we started story boarding this series of messages, I thought, you know, "What is that text of first importance"? I look for it, found it and I was like, "Yes, the gospel is of first importance". In other words, when you look at that word, "Priority," as we did last week, and you realize at its root it comes from the prior thing or the first thing. But what Paul is saying is, "The first thing, the most important thing, the priority of all the things that I'm passing on to you is the gospel". And then he defines what it is, "That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures".
That's an important line. "That he was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. And that he appeared to Peter and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born".
Now, Paul was not saying He was born abnormal, he's just saying, he was born at the wrong time so that he couldn't get in the sequence of these other people who Jesus appeared to. He was born a little bit out of the time sequence, but that didn't stop God from appearing to him also. And he says in verse 9, "For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect". I cannot wait to talk about that in a moment, so I'll just talk about it now. This powerful grace that God offered to me, it actually worked in me.
This powerful grace that I got invited into, I didn't waste a bit of it, I didn't waste a ounce of it. I took hold of all of it and it has done it's thing in me and through me. I know a lot of people in the house today who love the grace of God, but it is without effect in the way that you have conducted your life. "Oh, I love the grace of God. Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me". And God's like, "Yeah, I know, I wanted to save a wretch like you, but I also wanted to raise you up, empower you, fill you, use you, animate you, motivate you, and send you out in an amazing way, to do great things in the name of Jesus. I wanted to have an effect on you".
And Paul's saying, "Hey, by the grace of God, I am what I am. And I'm telling you this grace to me was not without effect". He says, "No, I worked harder than all of them". I mean, he named a pretty strong list of people, by the way. "I worked harder than all of them-yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me". "Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach," 'cause this is our priority, "And this is what you have believed". The priority of the gospel. This message has a few implications and the first one is this. That the gospel tells us that we could never be good enough for God. I need one amen, I need an amen. I don't need a lot, but an amen.
I wanna make this as clear as I can today, this story of God's grace makes it clear to you and me that you could never be good enough for God. Still got just one right, are we processing that? Are we happy about that? Does it make us nervous? See, this is the best and the worst news you've ever heard, that you, and I just wanna make it personal. Even though I don't know you, I know enough about the gospel and I know enough about me to know enough about you. You could never be good enough for God.
Now, that's the worst news you've even heard. I'll tell you why, simply put, it's the worst news you've ever heard because God is referred to three times only in one way. In fact, in scripture, only one thing is tripled in scripture and it is the word, "Holy". And the scripture doesn't just say, "God is holy," it says that, "God is holy, holy, holy," why? Because God wants us to fully come to terms with the fact that He is perfect, and righteous, and spotless, and radiant. The word literally means other than us. "He dwells," the scripture says, "in unapproachable light". "He is seated on a throne of thrones and lightning and thunder, they peal forth from His throne. At the sound of the Seraphim who cry, 'Holy, holy, holy,' the doorpost of the temple shook and the whole temple was filled with smoke. And when Isaiah had this vision, he fell down on the ground and he said, 'Woe is me.'"
And what God wants us to understand today, is that you can't try your way to a God like that. See, the first thing if priorities are about the first thing, well, here's the first thing. The first thing is, God created Adam and Eve and they disobeyed Him and the penalty of that was death and separation from God and the paradise that He put them in. So, from the very beginning, our major problem has been getting reconnected to God. But the difficulty is that even when He gave us ten simple things, nobody could do 'em. So, that's kind of the short answer to that question, "Well, what do you mean we can't be good enough for God"?
Well, okay, I won't give you a hundred things, won't even give you 50 things, I'm not gonna even give you 20 things. I'm gonna give you 10 things. Oh yeah, can't do the ten things. Right, I didn't give you the ten things, so I could know you can't do the ten things, I gave you the ten things so that you could know you can't do the ten things. So that you could know you can't be good enough for God. And that's the worst news you've ever heard because He's holy, holy, holy. And when you get to a holy, holy God, I mean, if you look a few pages over when Paul's writing to the Corinthians again with his second letter, in chapter 5. It's interesting how all of our stories come to end.
2 Corinthians 5:10, "For we must all," key word, "Appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad". There's a reckoning coming. There's a face-to-face coming, and that's why the fact that you can't be good enough for God is the worst news you've ever heard. Just stay with me for a minute. It's the worst because you and I are on a collision course with God. Every single human being is gonna stand before God. And as much as it's worked in life, for us to sorta rationalize a way, it is not gonna work when you are face-to-face with holy, holy, holy.
You're not gonna be able to say, "Well, you know, I knew you would understand when I got here, that you know, I was really trying super hard, but things were really difficult and I meant well and I know and you know. And I", well, it's just not gonna work, and God wants you to know that, and Paul wanted the Corinthians to know that. And even though it looks like the worst news because you're on a collision course with God, I also want you to know in some ways and Paul helps us see this, it's the best news you've ever heard. You're like, "Louie, how can the fact that I cannot be good enough for God be the best news I've ever heard"? Because it gives you freedom today to know that right here today you can stop trying. You can get off, I can't draw a really good hamster, but you can get off.
That looks like a turtle. It look a little more like a hamster now. The good news is, if you're on the hamster wheel, you can get off 'cause you're not gonna get good enough for God. You're not gonna do enough religion, you're not gonna do enough good deeds. You're not gonna do enough self-improvement. You're not gonna put enough checks on the good column to outweigh the ones on the bad column, that's not gonna happen. So, if you are trapped either on the treadmill of religion or on the hamster wheel of thinking, "Man, if I can just do a little bit more, maybe I can, you know, make it into the presence of a Holy God". You can't, so you can take that as good news today and say, "Wow, I can just quit trying to be good enough for God, 'cause if I'm trying to be good enough to earn my standing before a Holy God, that's not going to work".
But here's the thing, you are still on a collision course with God. So, you can get off the wheel, but you can't get off the collision course with God. And so, somehow, both of these all have to resolve somewhere. And where are they going to resolve? They're gonna resolve in the gospel. Yeah, thank you. I'm multi-talented. They're gonna resolve at the end of this chapter 5 in 2 Corinthians where Paul writes, "God made him," Jesus, "Who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him," in Jesus, "We might become the righteousness of God". You say, "Louie, I thought God was gracious and this holy, holy, holy is scaring me".
Well, God is gracious and you don't have to be scared by the, "Holy, holy, holy," Because He is holy and He is gracious. He's gracious and holy, and they both came together at the place where Jesus died. When He became sin for us so that in Him we could become the righteousness of God. So, how do I get to a Holy God? I gotta become holy. It's the only way, can't be good enough. How do I get holy? I get in the Holy One. So, when Peter writes, "Be holy, as I am holy". That's God, that's the standard, be holy, as I'm holy. Then you guys start asking the question, "How do I get holy"? And the only way to get holy is to come into relationship with the one who became sin so that you could become the righteousness of God in Him. You can never be good enough for God, it's the best and worst news you've ever heard.
The second implication is this, the gospel is our foundation. It's not just something that we believe in, the gospel is something that we stand on. He says this in verse 1 of chapter 15. "I wanna remind you of the gospel, the good news, the story of what Jesus has done. This gospel that I preach to you, which you received and on which you have taken stand". And I just wanna emphasize again today, is we're heading into a new year, in 2023, at Passion City Church, the gospel will be the priority. You will hear about the gospel every time you come to Passion City Church, because it's not just something we received, it's something that we stand on and that's different.
And I just wanna call out that little subtle difference today, 'cause they're a lot of people who say, "Oh, I've heard of Jesus and I've heard of the cross. And I've heard of His death. And I've heard of resurrection, and I have actually received that. I prayed a prayer, or filled out a card, or checked a box, or text it in to a number. I've received that". And He's like, "Great, that's awesome that you received it, but here's what I really need you to be doing. I need you to be standing on it. I need it to be the pedestal of your life, if you will, so that it is the thing that you wanna be known for".
It is the thing that you take your hope in. It is where you find your sure foundation and your anchor point is this, "I was dead, but now I am alive. I don't have any business being called a child of God, but by the grace of God I am what I am and it is not gonna lose it's effect on me. I don't know if it's popular to talk about the gospel, but I'm gonna stand on it. I don't know if everybody wants to hear about the gospel, but I'm gonna stand on it. I don't know what you're gonna stand on, but I am gonna keep standing on the gospel".
I'll tell you, the thing coming against the church is simply this, it is to undermine the word of God, so that then we can water down the person and the work of Jesus. So that we can eliminate the need for the gospel. This is what is happening the world, do not be distracted by other things. I'm not saying the other things are not important, I'm just saying that the end game, that the anti-Christ is after, is Christ. And the thing we will prioritize is Christ, the thing we will amplify is the gospel because we believe Jesus is the only unique Son of God given to take away the sins of the world. And we know this primarily because of the scriptures, and this is where we stand. Who as I humbly stand here, I humbly stand here.
The third implication that I think's important in verse 2, is that you see that the same gospel that saved you is the gospel that sustains you. In other words, there's not a separation from what God did to get you to heaven, and what God wants to do to get you through Thursday, it's the same grace. You're like, "No, that was saving grace". Well, guess what you need on Thursday? You need saving grace on Thursday, and that's what He says in verse 2. And that's why it' important that we get the tense of this verb right. "By this gospel," what gospel? This good news that Jesus became sin so that we could become the righteousness of God in Him. This gospel, "By this gospel you are being saved". You're being saved.
Now, don't get lost in this whole verse about, you know, can I lose my salvation or not? The best answer to that question, by the way, is, "I don't know, are you trusting Jesus right now to be your Savior"? Yes, great, that's what you need to bank on. And I don't wanna get down to the fine notes of this. I believe I was saved at 11 if not before, when I put my faith in Jesus, made a decision in front of my church, and told the pastor and everybody clapped. I believe I was saved that day, but if you ask me, "Louie, how do you know you're saved"? I might a go, "Oh, when I was 11 years old, I went down that aisle at First Baptist Church and I shook the pastor's hand, filled out a card on a clipboard and told the deacon that I wanted to be saved". And that's how I know I'm saved.
Now, I would say, "I know I'm saved 'cause I'm a 64-year-old man standing here before you today putting my entire trust in the finished work of Jesus to bring me into a new relationship with God to make me holy, and to bring me out of the grave and into the presence of God". And if you have any other story than that, I can't really get around and applaud that, I'm sorry. "Well, you know, I don't know where I am right now, but I know when I was eight, you know, I prayed a prayer". I'm like, "Man, I'd be more focused on where you are right now, than where you were when you were eight and you prayed a prayer. You were eight months old and they prayed one over you".
God is putting the gospel before you and He doesn't want you just to hear about it, doesn't really even want you just to believe it and even receive it. He wants you to stand on it and He wants you to know that it is authorational power and the same power... I'm telling you, we are far more confident in God getting us out of a grave and into heaven, than we are getting us through the business meeting we gotta go through tomorrow. You know, we should walk into that meeting and go, "Man, I need to be saved today. Oh, not the kind like out of death and into eternal life. I just need your operational power, that same grace, I need that grace today. And I thank you that it is available to me because I am being saved".
You understand what I'm saying? Not that the moment you put your faith in Jesus you're not born again, I believe you are born again when you legitimately put all of your trust in Jesus. But it is a process whereby that being born again continues to save you every single day of your life, until you stand before God blameless in Christ and you are more saved on that day than you were on that day. Maybe not technically, spiritually, somebody will quote me on that. But you realize your salvation more on that day, than you did on any other day. That's the day that you go, "Whoa, this salvation thing is crazy. Cause it worked, I'm standing before holy, holy, holy and I didn't get incinerated instantly, but I was covered by the grace of God". God wants you to know that if you believe His grace is powerful enough to get you to heaven, please believe it's powerful enough to get you through the season that you're in right now.
The fourth implication is that grace is a waterfall to be lived under everyday of your life. Again, same principle, just cut to the heart of it. I think when we come to that moment of, "I need to be saved", And I would imagine somebody today needs to be saved. You know, if the Holy Spirit really gave us revelation sight about the gospel and our participation in it, I would suspect 100 people, hundreds of people would get saved today. Because you're like, "I've been around it, I like it, I actually received it. I did fill out one of those things at some point. Or I did text something in, but I don't know for sure if I could say 1000% right now I know that I am fully trusting Jesus' finished work for my salvation now and every single step of my life. And I wanna make that clear because I see the gospel".
But I also want you to know that in that first moment we believe, "Wow, God is forgiving me of all my sins". And we might even tell somebody that, "I became a Christian, I was born again. I got saved. God forgave me. I realize what the work of the cross was when it was laid over my life, and I'm like, 'Man, Jesus forgives.'" But then from that moment on, people live out of a sense of religion or under the tyranny of shame and guilt. And I'm telling you, God wants the gospel to have it's full effect on you. It's like going to Victoria Falls. Shelly and I had been there a few times where Zimbabwe and Botswana come together, and this massive river is coming the falls.
And it's so expansive that there's just a mist there. You can be a half mile away and the mist will blow on you, because the amount of water that's coming over this sheer drop into this gorge. And it's just mist rising up, the roar is there, and then the river is formed, the Zambezi river, and it is class four, class five in, above class, off-the-chart class rapids. I don't know why we went down it in a raft that you blew up with a pump and air, but we did. And I'm telling you the whole way down it, it's nothing... There are a few calm places, but those are just to recover and put bandages on things that got injured in the last thing you went through. And it is so powerful and so forceful.
And God is saying, "This is my grace and your life". If you're standing around it, the mist is gonna get on you. If you're standing around it, the sound of it is gonna rattle you from the inside out. When you get in it, it's a current that's gonna take you downstream with the grace of God. You're in the river, you're not rolling upstream going, "God, I hope you love me. God, I hope you love. God, I hope you can accept me and I hope I'm okay". No effect. Turn the boat around, and let the current of the finish work of Jesus get down inside your bones, and move you through life.
The last implication, I'll just close quickly is the obvious one and that is, that whatever our biggest priority is, is what we're gonna pass on to the people around us. If you are planning a trip to Sweden, or Norway, or somewhere else, awesome. I bet your friends have heard about it, "Yes, we're planning on going to Norway". "Yeah, we're going to Sweden. You're not gonna believe where we're gonna go. Here, look at that. Is that not incredible? No, no, no, check that out. Yeah, that's where we're gonna stay right there".
Whatever is your priority. If you're still working out in February, I guarantee you every one in your sphere knows about it. People you know and people you don't know. You checking out at Publix, "Need anything else"? "No, I'm good. Big workout this morning". Checker's like, "Great". Whatever is our priority, other people know about, right? I hope and pray that the gospel will become our priority in 2023.