People measure their acceptability to God by how they compare to other people. But Dr. Tony Evans declares that when we do that, we're using the wrong yardstick.
You may be better than your neighbor, better than your family, better than your co-workers, but you still don't meet the standard, and the standard is God Himself. This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless Biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. There's a remarkable number of people who've been coming to church for years but still have no idea how to explain the basics of the Gospel message. Today Dr. Evans presents the incomparable truth about what's so good about the good news.
Let's join him. The purpose of the church is not merely to inform you and not merely to inspire you. It is to equip you to do the work that God has called you to do. Every community has a post office. The job of the post office is to deliver the message. Now, some people go to the post office to get their message. Most people have a post person who delivers it to their home. It's okay for some folk to come to this post office and hear the message from the postmaster and pick up their mail.
But that's only a small group of people. Most folk gonna need it delivered. So they need somebody who can take the message to them. Far too many Christians want everybody to come to the post office so that the postmaster can deliver it one time for everybody.
But that is to miss your calling and your blessing if you're not a deliverer of the message yourself. We start with an opening question. Has anyone ever shown you from the Bible how you can be sure you are on your way to heaven? Would you allow me to show you? That's an opening question. Now you can arrive at that question a number of ways. There could be a hurting person and you know they're hurting about something.
You say, can I pray with you about your problem or whatever it is. And then after you do that, by the way, has anybody ever shown you how you can know for sure from the Bible that you're on your way to heaven? You can get to this question. There is not a road you can drive down that won't get you to this question. The question of being sure, because most people aren't sure and most people would love to be sure, but they don't know how. Even people who've gone to church all of their lives. So what you're asking for is permission to show them from the Bible how they can be certain of their eternal destiny. For there is no greater question to be answered in life than where will I go when I die? That's the question against the backdrop of this thing we call the gospel. The word gospel means good news, but it's only good news if you understand the bad news. The bad news is that the human race has a problem. Every person is a sinner before a holy God and unable to save themselves.
That's bad news. Romans chapter 3 verse 10 says there is none righteous, not even one. Verse 23 says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Now, everybody has sinned, but by their sin have failed to meet God's standard. His standard is his own glory, and everything about God's glory, here it is, is perfection. The reason why everybody falls short is that God's standard is perfection.
Now, why do people need to understand that? Because people, listen, measure their acceptability to God by how they compare to other people. See, they think if I'm better than Joe down the street, I must be okay with God. If I'm better than the other folk in my family, I must be okay with God. What people need to understand is that the fact we're sinners has made us unacceptable to God regardless of how we measure up to others. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. So you may be better than your neighbor, better than your family, better than your co-workers, but you still don't meet the standard. And the standard is God himself.
Sin is the failure to meet the divine standard which is set by God. Two men run to catch a plane, the same plane. One man is 30 minutes late. The other man is 30 seconds late before the plane pulls away from the jet bridge.
Now, which man is worse off? The fact that I'm only 30 seconds late doesn't change my situation. I still miss the flight and I'm not going to make the trip. Because while I can complain, well, I got here before you, that's not the standard.
The standard is the plane's gone. It doesn't matter that I got here earlier. It doesn't matter that somebody's better than me or worse than me because they are not the standard. God is not measuring me against the standard of another. He's measuring me against the standard of himself.
And he's measuring every man and every woman that way. If we said everybody in here is to jump up and touch the ceiling, that's the goal. There will be a lot of folk who jump higher than a lot of other folk, but nobody will reach the standard. If the standard is the ceiling, it's just too high. All have sinned and come short of touching the ceiling. That is, touching the standard of the glory of God. People need to not only know that they're sinners, but they need to know they're sinners against the backdrop of a standard. If I said let's all throw a rock to the North Pole, some would throw it further than others, but nobody would meet the standard if the standard is get to the North Pole. So a lot of people think they're on their way to heaven because they are comparing themselves against the wrong standard. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
Here's the second part of that. Because God is the standard, they can't fix it. See, they can't solve the problem themselves. Nothing a person can do can solve the problem of not meeting a perfect standard. Why? Because perfection doesn't allow exception. If it's perfection, there is no exception, not if perfection is the standard.
So we have a problem we can't fix on our own. I have a dentist appointment, and we can use this because all of us have had dental appointments. I am going to brush my teeth vociferously.
I'm going to do some serious hard scrubbing, flossing, brushing in preparation to meet the standard of good teeth for the dentist. But when he goes digging around in my mouth, he's going to come up with things that I couldn't get to. Because as hard as I try, once he brings his standard, once he brings his medal and starts digging all around in my mouth, he's going to come up with all kind of stuff that no matter how hard I try, I can't get to.
Because when he looks at it, he's looking at it deeper than I can get to it. Men are sinners, the Bible declares, and unable to save themselves. They're unable to fix the problems. Look at verse 21. Now apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophet, even the righteousness of God through faith in Christ for all those who believe. There is no condemnation.
Please notice the first line. Righteousness apart from the law. Righteousness apart from what you can do. Apart from your own human standard. Apart from your own works. Apart from your own abilities. Apart from your own strength. Yes, you can be a better person.
You can live a better life. And that's great. It doesn't give you perfection though. And perfection is the standard. See, unless a person knows that that's the standard, then what they will do is try to seek their own righteousness. They'll try to live better. How many of you have heard, I keep the Ten Commandments?
Well, unless you keep them perfectly, you haven't met the standard. Dr. Evans will talk about the consequence of falling short of that standard when he continues our message in just a moment. But first, don't miss the chance to get your own copy of all six messages in our current series, Having Faith During Fear. If you contact us right away, the full-length versions of these messages are yours on CD or downloadable MP3, along with our thanks when you make a contribution in support of the Ministry of the Alternative. And right now, we'll also include a special bonus, our Hope for the Hurting Leader Kit, including the Hope for the Hurting book, study guide, printed material for six study sessions, teaching videos, and more.
This study unveils God's purpose and power during times of suffering, and helps us realize God is working on our behalf in ways we might not easily see. This is a great package for a small group study, or even for your own personal growth. To request your copy of this bundle, visit us today at toneyevans.org, or call 1-800-800-3222. This is a limited-time offer, so visit us as soon as you can.
Again, that's toneyevans.org, or by phone, 1-800-800-3222, any time of the day or night. We'll return to Dr. Evans with more of our message right after this. In a world shrouded by fear, prophecy seeks to make sense of it all. Dr. Tony Evans' latest book, Thy Kingdom Come, reveals the secrets to deliver us through dark times. Now is the time to gain clarity in the midst of confusion. Be prepared for what's to come by picking up your copy of Thy Kingdom Come at toneyevans.org. It comes with a bonus sermon series, Staying Right with God.
Arm yourself against the impending storm. Well, let's return now to more of today's lesson from Dr. Evans. So, all men are sinners before a holy God and cannot rectify the problem themselves. No exceptions.
Secondly, the penalty. Every person is under the sentence of death and will be forever separated from God because of their sin. Look at Romans 6, verse 23. For the wages of sin is death. He says sin has a pay scale, and it's called death.
Look at chapter 5, verse 12. Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, so death spread to all men because all sinned. The reason why you're going to die, and it's a hundred percent guarantee, is because of sin that's been passed through the human race and that we commit and the sentence is death.
All men are sinners. Sin has a price. The price tag is death. You're gonna die.
There's nowhere around it. The only way you couldn't die is not have a sin problem. He says everybody has a sin problem.
Everybody is going to die. He says sin entered through one man, and then it passed to all men. It's like in a football game when one man jumps offside, but the whole team gets penalized because they're part of a group.
It's not just the individual. You say, well, I don't think that's fair for one man to jump offside, and I get penalized. Okay, let's all stay here until you jump offside because everybody jumps offside because all sin. So it's not simply that one man did it and I get penalized for it.
It's that when my turn comes, I did it too. I have not kept God's law perfectly, and so there is a price tag built in. God told Adam, the day you sin, you shall surely die. So death is the wage that all men pay because of the problem of sin. The word death, by the way, means separation. When a person physically dies, their soul gets separated from their body.
The separation occurs. The life leaves. Then there is spiritual death. That's where the soul gets separated from God. Physical death is where the soul gets separated from the body. Spiritual death, rather, is where the soul gets separated from God. That's called hell. Where the soul is separated from God, that's called hell. The wages of sin is death.
And it's to death. The Bible calls it the second death. The first death is you're going to physically die because of sin. The second death is that you eternally die because your soul gets separated from God. With eternal interest payments. In other words, the penalty is an eternal penalty. It's a physical penalty in time, and then it's an eternal penalty after time. Why? Because God does not change the rules.
He doesn't accommodate us by changing His rules or changing His standards. So when you witness, they need to understand there is a consequence to the reality that we all sin and we all pay the price tag, and that price tag, the Bible says, the wages, the payment, of sin is death. It's like many of us have bills that won't go away.
Won't go away. We paid $300, and 30 years later, we're down to $295. Because the interest just keeps accumulating. Well, there is an eternal interest payment to sin because of who God is, and God can't change His standards because then He wouldn't be God. And that payment is physical, in time, and eternal or spiritual separation from Him.
So, the bad news, and it's really bad. All men are sinners. So, you're witnessing to this person, will you give me the opportunity to show you from the Bible how you can be sure you're on your way to heaven? Let me show you why this is an important issue, because we have a problem. All are sinners, and we can't fix it ourselves, and there's a penalty associated with the problem.
I did this in peace so you can remember it. Okay, that's the bad news. So, let's get to the good news. The word gospel means good news.
What does gospel mean? Good news. It's the good news. Here's the good news, but it's only good if you understand how bad the bad news is. See, if the bad news is not that bad, then you won't need the good news. But if the bad news is, like, really bad, now you're going to pay attention to the good news because you need some. Anybody ever had, like, a real bad week and somebody said, I got some good news for you, and you just, like, jumped up?
Talk to me, because it's been bad. See, the idea is to make the bad news as bad as it is, so the good news sounds real good. The good news involves the provision. Through the substitutionary, sacrificial death of Christ, God has addressed the sin problem for us.
We can't address it ourselves, because we can't get to perfection. But what God has done is address our problem for us through the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ. Romans 5-8, but God demonstrated his own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. It's called substitutionary atonement, the substitutionary sacrifice. In the person of Jesus Christ, God provided a substitute. What God allows, he doesn't change his standards, but he will allow for substitutions. You know, in a football game, they will substitute players. They'll bring a player into the spot where another player was.
If that player gets injured and that player goes to the sideline, and a substitute comes in to take his place. On the cross, Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, was made an eternal provision for the sins of all men for all time. It was the provision of Calvary. On the cross, God's demand for the penalty for sin was addressed in the person of Jesus Christ. So then, as through one transgression, there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness, there results justification of life to all men. For as through one man's disobedience, Adam, the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one, the many will be made righteous. Adam messed us up. Jesus died to fix us up.
And it's all tied to the one. The one who messed us up and passed down condemnation to the whole human race, and then the one who died on the cross as the substitute. That simply means Jesus Christ took my place. The judgment due me was taken by Jesus Christ. Dr. Tony Evans on the good news of the gospel. And that's a message for you, for me, for everyone.
When it comes to life and eternity, there is no plan B. And that's why it's so important for us as believers to not only believe for ourselves, but to make sure people around us hear the good news. In a culture that's largely rejected their need for salvation, though, how do we go about sharing the gospel?
Well, Dr. Evans lays it out simply and concisely in a short video you can find at TonyEvans.org. Just click on the link that says Jesus at the top of the homepage. There's a great deal of helpful resources there that not only explain the gospel message itself, but also how you as a believer can make sure others around you hear the good news of Christ and salvation. If you've ever struggled with sharing your faith, be sure to check out Tony's helpful video and the other resources at the Jesus link found on TonyEvans.org. And while you're there, you can also take advantage of our current resource offer, all six full-length messages from Dr. Evans' Having Faith During Fear series, along with a special added bonus, our Hope for the Hurting Leader Kit that includes the book, Bible study, study resources, teaching videos, and more. These resources are all yours along with our thanks for your donation to help us keep this listener-supported program coming your way. Just visit TonyEvans.org to make the arrangements before time runs out, or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222 any time of the day or night.
Again, that's TonyEvans.org, or by phone 24-7 at 1-800-800-3222. I'll tell you what's in store for us next time right after this. The biblical roles of husbands and wives, the source of our authority as believers, understanding the concept of grace, winning spiritual battles, they're all important subjects but seem as different as night and day.
Would it surprise you to know there's a common thread running through all four? You can discover what it is by taking the course on Ephesians in the Tony Evans Training Center. One by one, you'll dig into the powerful themes of this book and make new discoveries about what Jesus' death accomplished, how to maintain unity at home and at church, what spiritual armor is all about. The course includes custom content from Tony not available anywhere else. Work through it at your own pace.
Collaborate with other students. Get your specific questions answered through our online forum. Connect with the Tony Evans Training Center at TonyEvans.org. It's like having a seminary on your smartphone or other device. Start today. TonyEvans.org. Well, tomorrow Dr. Evans continues his look into the heart of the Gospel message, laying out in clear, practical terms just what it means for you and me and for those around us. Don't miss it. .
