Fear, Hope, and the Gospel

The beating heart of the Christian faith is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The gospel is the good news that Jesus, the Son of God, died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and then rose from the grave conquering sin and death and offering eternal life to all who believe in Jesus as their savior.  Without this truth, Christianity becomes a self-help movement and the church becomes a civic organization.  But with the gospel we become an outpost of hope in this world.  In the gospel we see the perfect union of the fear of the Lord and the hope in the Lord.  God's fearful and just punishment of sin is poured out on his Son so that we are given the secure hope of salvation.  This sermon is called "Fear, Hope, and the Gospel" as we continue our sermon series called "Fear and Hope."