A few years ago, I was asked to present the Gospel in five minutes. As I began to write an outline for it, I realized it had become too exhaustive for a five-minute presentation. However, I continued working on it so that I could use it for a sermon someday.
The Gospel
Outline
1.
God
Created Man with Purpose (Everything has a purpose; failure
leads to a dustbin[1])
a. Creation,
Image (Gen 1:27), Purpose – to glorify Him (Isaiah 43:7, Rom 1:21), for good
(Gen 1:31), to enjoy God’s presence (Gen 1 and 3).
b. Man’s
withness (illust. of lovers, the elderly; also Gen 2:18). Illust. of Markers and
Trashes (Rom 3:12).
2.
Man
Rebels Against God (God meant everything for good, but (bad
news) man chooses to rebel)
a. Not
worshiping, not giving glory, not withness (glory – Rom 1:21, Rom 3:12). Not
reproducing good (though to be fruitful and made in God's image).
b. Cosmic
treason (God’s standard, man’s filthy rags), universal – Rom 3:10; infancy – Ps
51:5; personal – failing to do and not doing (Rom 1:21, Heb 9:27, Rom 14:12).
3.
Verdict:
Hell
a. The
seriousness of sin (God’s standard) (Deut. 29:20; 32:22), Man’s fallenness (Illust.
of 30% pass mark, good can’t outweigh bad, sin for sin) (Isaiah 64:6; Romans
3:23; Exo. 20:5; Ezekiel 18:20; Rom 6:23; Rom 2:16).
b. The
reality of Hell (absence of God’s favor; exile) (Ps 9:17; Isaiah 14:9; Matt
23:33), eternality – justice, fire, and punishment (inexpressible agony, pains,
suffering, and sorrow) (Mark 9:45, 48).
4.
Way
of Escape
a. The
desperate condition of man (Eph 2:1, Rom 5:10, Rom 8:8, Eccl 8:11, John 8:21).
b. Only
Jesus as Savior (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).
5.
Justice
and Love Demonstrated in Jesus
a. Man
must die (sin for sin – justice) (Gen 2:17; Gen 3:15, 3:21; Rom 6:23; Heb 9:22;
Lev 17:11).
b. The
God-Man, Jesus, must die (sin is against God; sin is exhausted in Christ; resurrection).
because only He, being both God and man, can fully satisfy the penalty for sin
(love-relatedness) (John 3:16-18; Gal 3:13; Heb 10:8-10; 1 John 4:10; Mark
2:7).
6.
Trusting
in Jesus
a. For
believers only, and willful damnation for those who reject (John 3:16-18; Eph
2:8-9; John 8:24).
b. Trusting
in and as the only solution (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).
c. Growing
in knowledge of Him (through the Bible, church, of His life and teachings)
(John 15:6; Col 3:16; 1 John 2:19).
d. Repentance
and following, (Luke 13:3; 2 Pet 3:9, Acts 8:22; 26:20; 17:30; Luke 5:32).
Conclusion:
Isaiah 55:6-7; 2 Cor 6:2; Rom 10:9-10
[1] A marker pen is made to write; when it does not function
anymore, we throw it in a dustbin. Similarly, when we are not fulfilling our
purpose to glorify God in God’s way, God has the right to throw us in the trash
bin to be burned up.