The Beginning
Notes
Transcript
With our time this morning - and I do not want to take much of it - I want to focus on just this one verse, Mark 1:1.
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
There are three pieces of information that we should come away with this morning.
The Focus of Mark is Jesus Christ.
The Focus of Mark is Jesus Christ.
I realize that we looked at this last Sunday, but allow me a few more moments to consider, not the “subject” of Mark, but the “focus.”
Focus: a central point; point of concentration
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
Christ must be preeminent in everything!
Christ must be preeminent in everything!
And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Jesus Christ should have first place! Does Christ have “a” place in your life or does He have “first” place? Christ should simply be “important” to you; He should have first place!
Jesus Christ should have first place in all things!
Does Christ have first place in your thoughts?
Your finances?
Your relationships?
Your entertainment?
Your marriage?
Your employment?
Your “free” time?
Does Christ have first place in (You fill in the blank)?
Christ must be our focus!
Christ must be our focus!
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
We will often say something like this, “I need to focus on what is really important in life.” If Christ is to have preeminence in all things than He should be what our lives our focused upon. He should be our focus throughout our entire day!
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Tomorrow morning, before we begin our day, we should say, “For to me to live is Christ...” We should then remind ourselves of that throughout the day.
Before you go into that big meeting remember “For to me to live is Christ...”
Before allowing yourself to get stressed out over everything that you have to accomplish remind yourself, “For to me to live is Christ...”
Before you give in to that temptation to remember, “For to me to live is Christ...”
Before you get into that argument with your spouse or children or parents remind yourself, “For to me to live is Christ...”
Mark is the record of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Mark is the record of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
The word gospel, as I’m sure all of you know, literally means good news.
“The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;”
Turn to and read 1 Corinthians 15:1-4.
The Problem of Sin
The Problem of Sin
Before we can truly appreciate the good news, we must accept the bad news.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Since God’s standard is absolute perfection and no one is perfect - we’re sinners - how many of us will be able to make it Heaven on our own merits? Obviously, none of us. That’s the problem of sin.
The Penalty of Sin
The Penalty of Sin
God, the perfect, righteous, holy God, must judge sin. He can’t simply excuse our sin; He can’t overlook our sin. He must judge our sin.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
The penalty of sin is death - eternal death in hell!
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Payment for Sin
The Payment for Sin
God, Who is holy and just, but also perfect in love, did something that, instead of violating his standard of perfection actually satisfied the demands of His perfection.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
In the book of Mark, we find the record of the good news of Jesus Christ - His death, His burial, and His resurrection. Notice again what the key verse of Mark states:
For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Jesus Christ gave His life to be the ransom for many - in fact, for all of the world! He gave his life a ransom for you!
Mark records the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Mark records the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
Notice that it just doesn’t read, “The gospel of Jesus Christ.” It says “the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Why is that so important?
Mark records for us what Jesus Christ started. It’s up to us to continue the work!
Mark records for us what Jesus Christ started. It’s up to us to continue the work!
Turn to and read Mark 16:15-20.
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Christ gave His disciples a command.
And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
Christ’s disciples were obedient to that command.
Christ has given to this local church - to all Christians - a command. It is called the Great Commission.
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Are we being obedient to that command? Allow me to present this question in a slightly different way...
If the focus of Mark is Jesus Christ,
If Jesus Christ is to be preeminent in our lives,
If Jesus Christ is to be our focus in life,
If the Good News - the Gospel - is all about how Christ died for our sins.
If Mark is a record of what Christ began,
If we are to continue the work which he began,
Then...
How much of our week is focused on, spent on, consumed with, proclaiming the Gospel? Notice what Christ said to His disciples in Mark 1:38:
And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.
This week, will we each take responsibility to proclaim the Gospel to those we come in contact with?