Steven Lawson's Impromptu Gospel Presentation
Dr. Steven Lawson, a Ligonier Teaching Fellow, was recently interviewed and asked to give an impromptu gospel presentation. Watch below.
Transcript
"The Gospel is very simply Jesus Christ. Who among us is tired of hearing of the Lord Jesus Christ? He is the Son of God, the Son of Man. Sent into this world to be born of a virgin that He might be sinless, that He might be born under the law, to keep the very law that you and I break day after day, after day. The perfect, sinless, Son of God has perfectly met all the requirements of God's law, and is ready to give His righteousness to us that we would have a perfect standing before God. That He went to a cross; there He was lifted up to die. There upon that cross, the sins of everyone who would believe in Him were transferred to Him. And Him who knew no sin God made to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. The great exchange of the cross—the worst about me laid upon Him, the best about Him now to be laid upon me as He shed His blood upon that cross.
He reconciled sinful man to holy God. There is no other way for us to have a relationship with an infinitely holy God except through the blood of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it was by his sin-bearing, substitutionary, vicarious death upon that cross, it was as if He took sinful man in one hand, and holy God in the other hand and brought the two together through His death. By that death He satisfied the righteous anger of God and appeased His wrath towards all who would believe in Him.
There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. It was through that death that He redeemed sinners out of the slave market of sin, and redeemed us out of the tyranny of Satan's grip upon our lives. It was by that death that Jesus Christ has provided now salvation free for all who will call upon His name. He was taken down from that cross, He said, "It is finished." Not I am finished—"It is finished."
He had completed the mission of salvation that He had come into this world to accomplish. He was buried in the rich man's tomb and on the third day the power that was inherent in Him—the Son of God—He raised Himself from the dead. He came walking out of that tomb a risen, living, victorious, Savior. He ascended back to heaven, He is now seated at the right hand of God the Father, and whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. He is mighty to save to the uttermost all who call upon Him.
To call upon the Lord Jesus Christ is to look away from yourself, to look away from religion, to look away from your church, to look away from your denomination, to look away from your baptism and your church membership, and all of your good works, and to look exclusively to the Lord Jesus Christ.
He says, "Him who comes unto me I will in no wise cast out." He loves to save sinners. He is the friend of sinners. He came to seek and to save that which is lost. He came not for the righteous, He came for the unrighteous. He is a good physician. He came not for the well but for those who are sick.
Will you tell him this moment what a sinner you are, how sick you are by sin?—that you're unable to save yourself. Would you call upon Him? Say, Lord Jesus save me. I am a wretched hell-bound sinner, but your grace is being offered to sinners like me. And if you will call upon His name this very moment I promise you by the authority of the word of God that He will save you—that He will save you today. He will wash your sins away. You will be clean and pure from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet.
He says, "Come, let us reason together. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Though they be red like crimson they shall be white as wool." If you will call upon Him, He will give you His righteousness. It is a free gift. There is nothing you can do to earn it. There's nothing that you can do to merit it. He will clothe you with the perfect garments of His righteousness. And as God looks upon you there will be a covering for your sin. He will see only the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ covering the entirety of who you are—your sin sick soul. You will find acceptance with God, and one day when you die He will take you into the very presence of the Father and present you faultless before the throne of God.
He says, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me." Peter said there is salvation in no other name. For there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Paul says there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Who gave himself, a ransom for all a testimony born at the proper time.
If you turn away from this free offer of the gospel there is no hope for your soul. You will be trampling underfoot the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to say to you hell cannot be hot enough for you to hear this message, to hear this truth, and to refuse the Lord Jesus Christ who suffered and bled and died upon Calvary's cross to save sinners.
If you refuse the gospel your blood is on your own hands and you will suffer in hell forever under the torment of the wrath of God. You will be among the torment of the damned, and you will never find relief for your soul.
But today the gates of paradise are swung open to you, and you may come in and you may enter. And Jesus says, "Come unto Me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me for you will find rest for your souls. For My burden is easy and My yoke is light." How hard it is for you to continue to live a life of sin. How glorious it would be to come into the yoke of the Lord Jesus Christ and to receive His salvation. This is a decisive moment in your life. You may never have an opportunity like this again where the gospel is so clearly being presented to you, and so I beg you, I urge you, if you are not saved, if you are not committed, to this moment commit your life to Jesus Christ. He will receive you, He will save you, He will wash you, and one day He will take you to heaven where you will spend all eternity with Him.
This is the greatest offer that has ever been made to anyone on this earth. This is the glorious good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. So I would urge you this moment if you have never believed upon Jesus Christ, in your heart of hearts to say, Lord Jesus I am a sinner, and you are a Savior; I am a great sinner, you are a great Savior, and I now this moment as an act of my will, I commit all that I am to you. If you have never done that, I would urge you to do so this very moment.