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MP3 Podcast Episode

Summary

In this enlightening discussion, Aaron Cozort delves into the mechanisms embedded within the gospel that prompt individuals to seek salvation. He emphasizes the brevity of life as a crucial factor that leads people to question their existence and seek answers. Cozort highlights that hopelessness often drives individuals to the gospel, where true hope is found in Christ. He references biblical examples, such as the story of Abraham and the resurrection of Lazarus, to illustrate how the promise of eternal life through Jesus serves as a beacon of hope for those grappling with despair. Throughout the conversation, Cozort encourages listeners to recognize the various life changes that can lead to spiritual inquiries, urging them to be attentive to these moments in others’ lives.

Cozort also addresses the misconception that being a good person is sufficient for salvation, using the story of Cornelius to illustrate that good deeds alone do not guarantee eternal life. He stresses the importance of understanding the gospel’s message and the necessity of faith and baptism for salvation. By the end of the discussion, Cozort reinforces the idea that the gospel contains universal mechanisms that resonate across cultures and circumstances, providing a pathway to salvation for all who are willing to listen and respond.

Takeaways

The brevity of life prompts questions about salvation.
True hope is found only in Christ.
Good deeds alone do not guarantee salvation.
Life changes often lead to spiritual inquiries.
The gospel contains universal mechanisms for salvation.

Chapters

00:00 The House of Mourning and the Brevity of Life
08:09 The Search for Hope in Christ
12:55 Separation from God and the Need for a Mediator
17:59 The Goodness Problem and Misconceptions of Salvation
24:16 Recognizing Opportunities for Evangelism
30:46 Confronting Guilt and the Path to Salvation
36:18 The Built-In Mechanisms of the Gospel

Transcript

Aaron Cozort (00:00)
So take your Bibles, if you will.

Aaron Cozort (00:03)
and let’s see if the clickers work.

Aaron Cozort (00:06)
And we’re going to be going through a number of issues that bring people to the gospel. When you think about the gospel, when you think about the message of the gospel, yes, it presents to us how to be saved. Absolutely, it presents to us what we should do in order to be saved. But…

The question is often visible within the Bible concerning why someone is asking that question. The scenario is presented to us over and over and over again that people come to the gospel for a variety of reasons, with a variety of things in mind in their lives that are going on that are causing them to search for the answer.

What must I do to be saved? So Brian said when he presented the opportunity for me to speak, said, what I want you to talk about is I want you to talk about the mechanisms that are built into the gospel that cause a person to desire the knowledge about how to be saved.

So that’s what we’re going to do this morning. The very first one that we’re going to focus on, and I will mention in the book as you get a copy of the book, and I encourage you to do that as it is available, there are 10 of these mechanisms in the book. We don’t have time for that this morning. So we’re going to go through about six of them this morning. But the first one is the brevity of life. Hebrews chapter nine, verse 27 tells us that it is appointed unto men once to die, and after that, the judgment.

If you understand that you are going to die, then you have a reason to ask, what then?

After you have asked what then, and you might explore all of the answers that may come from humanity about what then, the reality that you will be faced is all of humanity’s answers fail, fall short, because all of them are based upon the knowledge that humans have.

And in spite of all of the best sellers that have made it through all of the bookstores from all of the people who claim to have gone to the other side and come back and written something and a publisher said, hey, we can sell that for you. There is one individual who having died came to life never to die again. And his name was Christ.

Aaron Cozort (03:01)
you

Aaron Cozort (03:02)
and he is the firstborn from the dead. In John chapter 11, you find the record of the death of Lazarus. Now Jesus was not the firstborn from the dead in order, he was the firstborn from the dead in preeminence. And when you consider that Jesus will raise Lazarus from the dead, we don’t have time to go through the entire text, I encourage you to look at that in your own study.

But as Jesus comes to Bethany, as Jesus comes to where Mary and Martha are, where Jesus comes to where Lazarus has already died, he knows that he’s already dead. And Martha comes running out to Jesus as he arrives and she says, if you had but been here.

Our brother, whom you love, would still be alive.

And Jesus will make it clear to her if you look at verse 25 of John chapter 11, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?

Aaron Cozort (04:03)
Thank

Aaron Cozort (04:17)
She said to him, yes Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the son of God who is to come into the world. And when she had said these things, she went her way and she secretly called Mary her sister saying the teacher has come and is calling for you. And Mary and Jesus will have a similar discussion, but their focus is our brother has died.

And we realize that that’s true for all of us. I spend every day to some degree living in a world of technology. And some of you may listen to some of those podcasts and some of the people in the technology world talking about all the grand new things that AI and robotics and all of the new technology is going to bring to humanity. And they’re expecting we’re going to live longer and longer and longer.

But there was a day in the year of the flood when a man who was 969 years old died.

So I don’t care how long they extend our lives, the end is still the same. And because of the brevity of life, some people start asking the question, what then? And what must I do? Solomon wrote right in Ecclesiastes chapter seven that it is better for us to go to the house of mourning, to the funeral home,

than to go to the house of laughter. It’s better to go there because the one who is serious about that, the one who’s cognizant of what they’re witnessing as they go to the house of mourning, will lay it on their hearts. They will internalize that one day it will be them in the casket. So what should we do?

Ecclesiastes chapter 12 verse 13, Solomon tells us what man’s purpose is. And we need to understand that there is coming a day for all of us where we will leave this life. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. When you consider

the problem when you consider the need for someone who realizes they have a problem. They are going to die. The solution is described by Paul in verse 54. He says, so when this corruptible has put on incorruption, when this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory.

What they’re looking for is a solution to the problem of death. What salvation found in Christ because he did not stay in the grave, because he was resurrected, because we are not of all men most miserable. The solution that is found in Christ is death is swallowed up in victory.

The brevity of life is one of the mechanisms that God has placed into the gospel whereby we can know that we have a solution to our problem and whereby we can be assured that the gospel is that solution. But then consider, we can go to right.

Is hopelessness. We’ve all met people sometime in our lives, if we’re old enough, that have given up on life. Their circumstance, their health, their jobs, their family, something in life has caused them to give up hope or be on the last

strand of hope. And when they look at this life they wonder what’s this all about? One of the worst things you can do to any human being is cause them to lose hope.

But true hope is found in only one place. True hope is found in only one solution. You turn to Hebrews chapter six and the Hebrew writer is going to deal with a scenario. In Hebrews chapter six, we find beginning in verse 13, for when God made a promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself.

saying, surely blessing, will bless you. Multiplying, I will multiply you. So after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. Now God made a promise to Abraham. He told him that you’re going to have a seed that is going to come from you. You’re going to have descendants. You’re going to be a father of the of a nation that’s going to be as the stars of heaven. You’re going to be the father of many nations. All these promises Abraham had seen, had heard for 25 years.

If someone tells you that they’re going to give you something in the future, and then they go on their way, and then you see them a month later, your brain’s going to be thinking, am I getting it?

and they don’t say a thing about it. And you’re like, well, I don’t want to be rude.

So a year later, am I getting it? I haven’t seen any evidence of it. Are you sure you have the thing? Whatever it is, are you sure you have? Two years, three years, four, 10 years later, you see them at the Florida School of Preaching Lectureship. You got the thing yet?

But Abraham patiently endured, he obtained the promise, for men indeed swear by the greater. And an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of his promise, the immutability of his counsel confirmed it by an oath.

that by two immutable things in which it is possible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and

which enters the presence behind the veil where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” Now, notice something important about the statement there. Because if someone tells you, I’m going to give you something, you just have to wait for it, and you’re waiting in anticipation and you’re hoping for that thing, what’s the one really important question that you want an answer to?

Do they actually have the thing they’re promising to give you?

And for every individual throughout all human history who has promised someone hope in eternity, but has never been in eternity, they don’t have what they’re promising. There is no hope there. But the Hebrew writer pictures this for us as he pictures Christ who has entered beyond the veil, who has entered beyond death, and he took with him the anchor.

and he planted it firmly and it will not be moved.

For the person who is without hope in this life, the gospel has presented Christ, our savior, as the solution. Because he’s been beyond the veil. And he is alive forevermore, the book of Revelation says. But then consider as well, separation from God.

Isaiah chapter 59 verses one and two tells us that man’s sins separate us from God so that he will not hear our voice. As Isaiah writes to a nation where he began his prophecy telling them in Isaiah chapter one, come now, let us reason together says the Lord.

Though your sins be as scarlet, I shall make them white as snow. Though your sins be red like crimson, they shall be made as wool. And Israel says, we will not.

For all of the we will nots that you will meet in the world, there will be people who you will meet who to their very core understand their separation from God.

and they’re looking for a solution.

So the scriptures present a solution. Hebrews chapter seven, you notice at the beginning of that chapter, the Hebrew writer says, for this Melchizedek king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, meaning king of peace.

without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually. Now consider how great this man to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi who received the priesthood have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that this from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham,

But he whose genealogy is not derived from them received ties from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. What the Hebrew writer is doing is he’s helping you to understand that Abraham was great, but there was one who was greater than Abraham in Abraham’s day. And it’s witnessable by that because Abraham paid ties not to a lesser man, but to a greater man.

And Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek. We go forward to verse 16 and notice, actually verse 15, and it is yet far more evident if in the likeness of Melchizedek there arises another priest who has come not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. For he testifies, you are a priest forever.

according to the order of Melchizedek. For on the one hand there is annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and its unprofitableness for the law made nothing perfect. On the other hand there is bringing in of a better hope through which we draw near to God. You go down to verse 23 and you read also there were many priests because they were prevented by death from continuing. He says here’s your problem. You’ve got a man who’s standing between you and God.

You have a mediator who’s going to God on your behalf, but what is the issue when the priest dies? Your mediator’s gone. What happens if the son of the priest comes forth and he’s now the high priest and he’s not a good and righteous man? Did that happen in the Old Testament? Certainly it did. So now you have a mediator standing between you and God who doesn’t even respect God.

Christ is a different kind of mediator. Verse 26, for such a high priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens, who does not need daily as those high priests to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins, then for the people’s. For this he did once for all when he offered up himself.

For the law appoints as high priest men who have weaknesses, but the ⁓ word of the oath which came after the law appoints the Son who has been perfected forever. Now this is the main point of the thing we are saying. We have such a high priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne and majesty in the heavens. You see, for the one who’s separated from God,

who needs a mediator on his behalf to go to the Father, they have one in the gospel. But then consider as well that some will come to the gospel because they’ve tried all of the human solutions.

They’ve tried everything that humanity has to offer. They’ve done everything that humanity says, this is what you can do and you can then find peace and you can find hope and you can find solace. They’ve tried every form of exercise. They’ve tried every chasing of every thing that men desire. They’ve found riches. They search for everything. By the way, if you want to see this exhibited in the life of individual, read the book of Ecclesiastes.

As Solomon searches again and again and again for that which makes life worth living, he says, this is vanity, this is vanity, this is vanity, this is vanity. He’s tried all the human solutions and there’s not one. Paul in First Corinthians chapter one will write to the church in Corinth and he will write to them about how he was in their presence, but as he does,

He sets forward that God’s solution is not man’s solution. That when man looks at God’s solution, man looks at that solution and says, that’s ludicrous. That’s not the solution. Notice what he says, chapter one, verse 18 of first Corinthians, for the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.

For it is written, will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God.

Paul lays an accusation before all of the wise men of all of human history and says, you can’t get people to God, no matter how wise you are, unless you use God’s solution.

He says, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign and Greeks seek after wisdom, but Christ crucified to the Jew a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Paul will tell the Corinthians when he came preaching, he determined not to know anything but Jesus Christ and him crucified. Now, brethren, let’s be really, really clear on what Paul means when he says that. Paul does not mean as long as…

We all agree in doctrine that Jesus Christ was crucified and was resurrected. We can ignore all the other disagreements and we’ll all go to heaven. That is not what Paul preached. As a matter of fact, you could only come to that conclusion if you come to the end of chapter one, ignore the first half of chapter one, and don’t read any of the rest of the book.

No, Paul says, I determined not to come to you with human wisdom. I determined to come to you with one singular message. Jesus Christ and him crucified because all the human wisdom that I could bring to the table, all the teachings of Gamaliel that I could put before you.

All the Jewish Talmud that I had memorized from my youth, all of the insights from the speakers and the individuals and the poets of Greek mythology that I could present to you wouldn’t have done a thing for your soul because you were still separated from God.

Now here’s the thing. God’s placed all these mechanisms in the gospel for us.

but are we paying attention to them?

In business, I have some individuals that I’m in a business group with. They’re insurance agents. And you want to know what they tell us regularly. If you want to give me a good referral, they said, here’s what you need to do. Find someone who’s going through some sort of life change. They graduated from high school or college. They had a child. They got married.

They got old, they retired. Somebody died, somebody got sick. And guess what? The reason why that’s a great time to introduce them to an insurance agent is because they’re thinking about their life.

When the child’s born, they’re thinking, what am I gonna do for this child? I can’t hardly feed ourselves.

When they retire, they think, well, I’m going to be poor now. What do I do now? How am going to make it? Hope I die soon so I don’t run out money before I die. So guess who else wants to talk to them when they have life change? The investment guy, right? The insurance guy, the investment guy, the banker wants, everybody wants to talk to them when they have a life change. Why? Because they’re thinking about their situation.

Well, all of these built-in mechanisms are things people start thinking about when something changes in their life.

So I encourage you as you’re thinking of the things that you learned this week about evangelism, as you’re thinking about the methods that you know, as you’re thinking about the opportunities that you know, be looking for when things in someone’s life change.

because now they’re gonna start asking questions. But then consider as well the goodness problem. This is one that often challenges people because they are of the opinion, not based on scripture, that if you are a good person, surely you’re going to heaven.

You can go to funeral after funeral after funeral and listen to preacher after preacher after preacher preach someone into heaven because you can hear them list off all the good things they did. In Acts chapter 10 and in verse one, we read in the text, there was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what is called the Italian regimen, a devout man and one who feared God.

with all his household who gave alms generously to the people and prayed to God always.

Now you hand that to a denominational preacher as they’re preaching a funeral and they can get that guy through the pearly gates in no time.

But what does the text say? About the ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, Cornelius. And when he observed him, he was afraid and said, what is it, Lord? He said, your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa and send for Simon, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging with Simon the Tanner whose house is by the sea. He will tell you what you must do.

all the good deeds Cornelius had done and he was still lost. And he could have sat on those good deeds and continued to do them until his last breath was taken and he would still be lost.

The text tells us verse 34, after Peter and the Jews come to him, then Peter opened his mouth and said, in truth, I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation, whoever fears him and works righteousness is accepted by him. Now, you’re going to find somebody come to that passage. They’re going to read that and they see, see, everybody who fears God and works righteousness is saved. That’s not what that passage teaches.

Peter says that God has been through the things that he has done that everyone who fears God and works righteousness is someone who can approach God for salvation if they do it his way. And the person who does not fear God won’t do it God’s way. And who does not work righteousness won’t do it God’s way.

But then notice what Peter says. says, but in every nation, whoever fears him and works righteousness is accepted by him. The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preached peace through Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all. That word, you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea and began from Galilee after the baptism, which John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil for God was with him. And we are witness

of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. Him, Christ, God raised up on the third day and showed him openly.

not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with him after he arose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that it is he who was ordained by God to be judge of the living and the dead to him all the prophets bear witness or witness that through his name, whoever believes in him will receive the remission of sins.” And someone will come to the passage and they’ll say, see, it’s not enough to just do good works. You got to believe.

and then you’re saved.

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word and someone else will come see. It’s not enough just to do good works. You’ve got to believe and the Holy Spirit’s got to fall on you and then you’re saved. But we’ll read the rest of the text.

And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also, for they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, now, wait a minute. The person who says you’ve got to have the Holy Spirit fall upon you will say it’s proof that you’re saved because you can speak in tongues.

So you know you’re saved, right?

Having heard them speak with tongues and magnify God, Peter answered, Can anyone forbid water that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord when they asked him to stay, then they asked him to stay a few days. The only commandment

that Peter gave them about salvation.

was believe and be baptized. And he didn’t command them to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, did he? Because if he had commanded them to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, what in the world is he doing asking the Jews about water? You see, the gospel presents a built-in mechanism for those who have the goodness problem. They hope they’re good enough to go

to heaven. How much time do I have left, right? Minus two minutes?

all right

Raise your hand if you’re here this morning and you’ve never sinned.

Raise your hand if you’ve never said the wrong thing. You’ve never mistreated someone who certainly never deserved it. You’ve never lied. You’ve never cheated. You’ve never looked at that which was inappropriate. You’ve never done something that was ungodly. Raise your hand.

and even for the Christian who knows the price that was paid for their redemption and the purchasing blood of Jesus Christ that continues to cleanse them from all sin as they walk in the light, as he is in the light, we are confronted with this. We remember what we did.

and guilt for those who are outside the body of Christ who did not have access to that blood, who do not have the assurance that is in Christ Jesus because they are not in the body of Christ and they are not walking in the light and they are separated from God. Guilt causes them to search for an answer.

Some sadly come to the conclusion they have simply committed too many sins to be forgiven. Some conclude they have committed too large of sins to be forgiven. In Acts chapter two and verse 35, as Peter preaches to the people on the day of Pentecost, as Peter

pronounces that first gospel sermon at the beginning of the church and the kingdom of God. Peter says to them as he speaks concerning the Lord and the prophetic statements concerning the Lord that the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool.

Do you know who he described as the enemies that God would place under the feet of Christ?

If you go back into the book of Mark, you will find that attributed to the Jews.

to a nation that believes today and to which denominationalists all over the world will proclaim today, they are the people of God. God says, they are my enemies and I will put them under the feet of my son.

Because notice what he says, he says, therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.

and some of them.

with a heart that could be touched by guilt.

We read, they reacted, now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart.

and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? When confronted with guilt, they asked the question, men and brethren, what shall we do?

There’s a lesson here for us.

Because the natural human tendency is this. When we observe and come to knowledge of the fact that someone has committed some great sin.

Inside the body of Christ, outside the body of Christ, doesn’t matter. When we realize that they are guilty of some great sin, we go the other direction from them.

when it just might be that that is the moment having come to a realization of the sin they have committed, that there is hope for their salvation.

when God sent the prophet to David.

It wasn’t during the interaction at the beginning that David realized the problem. It wasn’t in the midst of the story when David realized the problem. It was when the prophet said, you are the man.

David realized the problem.

these individuals on the day of Pentecost had just been told, you are the man.

And they said, men and brethren, what shall we do?

Peter said there’s nothing you can do it’s up to the Holy Spirit who’s going to be lost and who’s going to be saved whichever ones he decides and picks. No, Peter didn’t preach Calvinism to.

Peter said, Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit for the promises to you and to your children and to all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call. And with many other words, he testified and exhorted them, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation.

Did you notice that they already believed and they weren’t saved because he’s still calling upon them to be saved?

What do we read next? Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. And that same day about 3,000 souls were added to what?

to them, to the disciples.

to the church.

when someone is confronted with guilt.

That may just be your door to get in to save their soul.

the Gospel’s built in evangelistic mechanisms. We need to understand something about this and do not miss this point.

These are not American mechanisms.

These are universal mechanisms. They work in every missionary and evangelistic field on the globe. And someday, if Elon gets his starship built and we get a whole population on Mars, they’ll work there too.

God knew how to save men.

because God made man. And when God presented us with the gospel, He presented us with all the scenarios.

to where there would be times in a person’s life if their heart was willing to hear the Word.

they would have the opportunity to be saved. Thank you for your attention.