The Sermon I Would Preach to a Room Full of Heathen

For a paperback book in outline form which addresses over 150 difficult verses that Arminians use against Sovereign Grace, check out: Problem Texts for Sovereign Grace: Rooting Arminianism Out of Every Verse. A master copy of the indented outline in both MS Word and PDF formats can be downloaded at the bottom of this page. I. The following facts often cause Christians to wonder how they should go about witnessing to unbelievers: 1. Men enter this world as spiritual stillborns, dead in trespasses and sins (Rom 5:12; Eph 2:1). A. In this state they cannot hear (Joh 8:43-47), understand (1Co 1:18; 1Co 2:14), nor believe the gospel (Joh 10:26). B. The majority of people we meet are in this state (Mat 7:13-14). 2. God doesn't love everyone (Psa 5:5; Rom 9:13). 3. Jesus didn't die for everyone (Joh 10:15 c/w Joh 10:26; Joh 17:2). II. Considering that most people we meet are reprobates with no ability to hear, understand, or believe the gospel, whom God doesn't love and for whom Christ did not die, how would one then preach the gospel to a room full of unbelievers, many of which would fall into this category? III. The remainder of this sermon is exactly how I would do it. IV. This sermon is for Christians and anyone who fears God (Act 13:16). 1. If you fear God, pay attention; if you don't, please leave quietly. 2. If you don't know if you fear God, keep listening. V. What does it mean to fear God? 1. Fear v. - II. To feel fear; to regard with fear. 5. trans. To regard with fear, be afraid of (a person or thing as a source of danger, an anticipated event or state of things as painful or evil). 2. Fear n. - 1. In OE.: A sudden and terrible event; peril. 2. a. The emotion of pain or uneasiness caused by the sense of impending danger, or by the prospect of some possible evil. 3. This emotion viewed with regard to an object; the state of fearing (something). d. A mingled feeling of dread and reverence towards God. 1611 Bible Ps. cxi. 10 The feare of the Lord is the beginning of wise~dome. 3. To fear God is to be afraid of Him, to dread Him, and to have reverence towards Him. VI. How do you know if you fear God? 1. Fearing God and eschewing evil go hand-in-hand (Job 1:1). A. Eschew v. - 1. trans. To avoid, shun. †a. To avoid, keep clear of, escape (a danger or inconvenience). c. To abstain carefully from, avoid, shun (an action, a course of conduct, an indulgence, an article of food or drink, etc.). B. Do you avoid and abstain from evil because it's evil? C. If so, then you fear God. 2. Fearing God and departing from evil go hand-in-hand (Pro 3:7; Pro 16:6; Job 28:28). A. Do you not only avoid evil, but when you find yourself doing it, do you depart from it? B. If so, then you fear God. 3. The fear of the LORD is to hate evil (Pro 8:13). A. Hate v. - 1. trans. To hold in very strong dislike; to detest; to bear malice to. The opposite of to love. B. Do you hate evil? C. Do you hate pride, arrogancy, the evil way, and the froward mouth? (Pro 8:13) i. Pride n. - 1. a. A high or overweening opinion of one's own qualities, attainments, or estate, which gives rise to a feeling and attitude of superiority over and contempt for others; inordinate self-esteem. ii. Arrogancy n - 1. The quality or state of being arrogant. iii. Arrogant adj. - Making or implying unwarrantable claims to dignity, authority, or knowledge; aggressively conceited or haughty, presumptuous, overbearing. (Used of men, their actions, manner, etc.) D. Do you hate yourself when you have a high opinion of yourself, your qualities, or your attainments? E. If so, then you fear God. 4. The fear of the LORD is to walk in uprightness (Pro 14:2). A. Uprightness - 1. The state or condition of being sincere, honest, or just; equity or justness in respect of principle or practice; upright quality or conduct; moral integrity or rectitude. B. Do you endeavor to be honest, just, and have moral integrity? C. If so, then you fear God. VII. If you fear God, you have the ability to acquire knowledge and wisdom. 1. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge (Pro 1:7). 2. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom (Pro 9:10). VIII. If you fear God, you show evidence that you are a child of God who is not dead in sins. 1. There is no fear of God in the wicked who neither understand, nor seek, God (Rom 3:9-12,18). 2. Contrarily, a person who fears God shows the evidence that he is a child of God saved by grace (Luk 23:39-43). IX. By the fact that you fear God, you have shown that you have the ability to understand the things of God and that you are not a natural man dead in sins. Now let me tell you how God brought this about in your life. 1. "Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul." (Psa 66:16) 2. "...whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent." (Act 13:26) X. The origin of sin and death. 1. When God created the first man, Adam, he put him in the garden of Eden and gave him a law to keep, which if broken would result in immediate death (Gen 2:17). 2. Adam broke that law and died spiritually that day (Gen 3:6). 3. Adam passed the death principle through his sinful nature to all of his descendants (Rom 5:12). 4. Every human being with the exception of the virgin-born Son of God, Jesus Christ is born spiritually dead and is by nature a child of wrath (Eph 2:1-3). XI. All have sinned. 1. Death passed upon all men which is evident because all have sinned (Rom 5:12; Rom 3:23). 2. Sin is the transgression of the law (1Jo 3:4). 3. There is not a person on the face of the earth that doesn't commit sin (Ecc 7:20). 4. If you say that you have not sinned, you are a liar (which is a sin) (1Jo 1:8). 5. Have you ever.... A. Lied? Ever lied to your parents when they asked where you were or what you did? (Exo 20:16) B. Stolen anything? Have you ever taken anything that wasn't yours, regardless of the cost? (Exo 20:15) C. Dishonored your parents? Have you ever cursed your parents in your heart? (Exo 20:12) D. Coveted or lusted after anything? (Exo 20:17) E. Committed adultery? (Exo 20:14) In your heart? (Mat 5:28) F. Murdered anyone? (Exo 20:13) In your heart? (Mat 5:21-22 c/w 1Jo 3:15). G. Used the Lord's name in vain (To use or utter (the name of God) lightly, needlessly, or profanely; transf. to mention or speak of casually or idly.)? (Exo 20:7) H. Worshipped and idol? (Exo 20:4-5) In your heart? (Col 3:5) I. Had a god before God? (Exo 20:2-3) In your heart? (Phi 3:19) XII. The wages of sin is death. 1. The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). A. Wage - A payment to a person for service rendered. B. Death is earned; it is worked for. C. God would be unjust to not render payment for work performed. D. It only takes one sin to condemn you (Gen 2:17 c/w Rom 5:12). 2. This death is an eternal death in hell and the lake of fire where all those go who are judged according to their works (Rev 20:11-15; Mat 25:41). 3. We have broken the eternal law of the eternal God, and we therefore must be punished eternally. XIII. Your works or your will cannot save you. 1. You cannot be saved by works (Eph 2:8-9; Rom 9:11). A. Work - 1. Something that is or was done; what a person does or did; an act, deed, proceeding, business; in pl. actions, doings B. Salvation is not by our alleged good works (2Ti 1:9; Tit 3:5). C. All our good works are as filthy rags to God because we have a defiled sinful nature (Isa 64:6). 2. You cannot be saved by keeping the law (Gal 2:16). A. The law is the knowledge of sin (Rom 3:20). B. The law condemns us (Gal 3:10). C. If we don't continue in all things written in the law, we are cursed (Gal 3:10). D. If we keep the whole law and slip up just once, we are guilty of all (Jam 2:10). 3. You cannot even be saved by your own freewill (Rom 9:16). XIV. Only Jesus Christ who is the propitiation for sin can save you. 1. Knowing that men would ruin themselves in sin, before the foundation of the world God decided to save a portion of them by choosing them and giving them to Jesus Christ for Him to make them holy (Eph 1:4-5). 2. Jesus, who is God in human flesh (Joh 1:1,14), came to save his people from their sins (Mat 1:21). 3. He did this by never sinning Himself (1Pe 2:22) and being made sin for them that they might be made righteous (2Co 5:21). 4. He did what all the law keeping in the world could not (Rom 8:3). 5. He took the curse that they deserved (Gal 3:10) by being made a curse for them (Gal 3:13). 6. He made peace between them and God by dying on the cross (Col 1:20). 7. He entered into heaven having obtained eternal redemption for them (Heb 9:12). 8. He did it all by Himself (Heb 1:3). 9. He gave eternal life to all that God gave Him to save (Joh 17:2; Joh 10:28). XV. How do you know that you're one of the elect for whom Christ died? 1. Do you believe what you just heard? 2. If you believe that Jesus is the Christ, it's because you are born of God (1Jo 5:1). 3. If you hear Christ's words and believe on the Father which sent Him, you have eternal life and are already passed from death unto life (Joh 5:24). 4. All that believe are justified (Act 13:39), therefore if you believe this gospel that was just preached to you, you are justified and are one of the elect for whom Christ died. XVI. What do you do now? 1. Repent of your sins and be baptized and added to the church where you can worship Jesus Christ in spirit and in truth for the rest of your life and continue to learn of Him (Act 2:37-38,41-42; Joh 4:23-24). 2. "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." (Ecc 12:13) 3. "Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent." (Act 13:26)