Thank you for your kind invitation; generous hospitality and grace towards me!
Why come from the Lake District in England all this way to speak to believing Christians about the Gospel? You may be thinking, ‘Tell the Gospel to unbelievers; it’s they who need it. Don’t speak to us about the Gospel, we don’t need it.’
 Isn’t the subject of this Conference Serving Christ in our Generation?  How can we serve Christ except we proclaim the Gospel?  Are we to take it for granted that all Gospel preachers preach the Gospel?  Is it safe to assume that all evangelists preach the Gospel, because they are evangelists?  Is it the case that all who witness to Christ in daily conversation are faithful to the biblical Gospel?
The Apostle Paul was deeply disturbed by what happened at Galatia.  A few years after the church was founded there, under his preaching, teachers arrived and perverted the Gospel and the Galatians fell for it!  They turned from the grace of God to another Gospel!  It seems that the pressure to modify the Gospel came from a desire to please people, to avoid giving offence, so Paul asked, “Do I please men?”  Paul insists, the Gospel is non-negotiable because it is divine revelation: “it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.”  And he gave a double warning which we do well to take to heart: “If we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you that what we have preached to you, let him be accursed!”
Friends, tell me, Who is it that corrupts the Gospel? The world may attack the Gospel but strictly the world is not responsible for corrupting it.  It is the church that preaches the Gospel and the church that corrupts the Gospel, due to pressure from within and from without!  It is Christians who water down the message in hope of broadening its appeal!  It is preachers who modify the message to court popularity!
Even Peter subverted the Gospel at Antioch and Paul rebuked him publicly, (Galatians 2 vs 11-21).  Many a man who started out as a Gospel preacher, reached high office and lost his zeal. David Shepherd, used to be a Gospel man when he played cricket for England but as Bishop of Liverpool is remembered for ecumenical involvement with Roman Catholics, as if they preach the same Gospel, which they don’t.
Did Paul fear that what happened at Galatia might happen in Rome?  If churches founded by Paul were so easily bewitched that they should not obey the truth, something had to be done to safeguard the church at Rome.  So it was that, towards the end of Paul’s 3rd Missionary Journey, as he prepared to visit Jerusalem with gifts from the Gentile churches, Paul wrote to the church in Rome about what he called “my Gospel”, Romans 216. That expression, ‘my gospel’ implies that other versions of the Gospel were in circulation.
We live in a similar situation with different Gospels competing in the churches for dominance. Almost monthly new attacks are made on the Gospel from men of so-called evangelical pedigree. Eg: To name but three. The denial of eternal punishment by leading Anglican evangelicals. (1) The recent denial of penal substitution by Stephen Chalk.(2)  The denial of the imputation of Christ’s righteousness by N.T.Wright in support of the New Perspective in Pauline Studies.(3)
Didn’t Jesus warn His disciples to “watch & pray lest you enter into temptation”, Matthew 26 v 41?  We need to be on our guard against the temptation to corrupt the Gospel, lest the church be filled with unconverted people and we bring down upon us the curses of Galatians 1 vs 8,9..
Preaching through Peter’s sermon to Cornelius, Acts 10 vs 34-43, I was impressed by the gap between Peter’s Gospel and the modern Gospel.  Is the Gospel we preach really the same Gospel as was preached by the Apostles?  In our preaching, have we re-formulated the Gospel in any way?

In Romans 1, Paul introduced himself to the Roman church as a slave of Jesus Christ and an apostle, separated to the Gospel of God.  Which Gospel is God’s Gospel?  Paul identifies it as the Gospel which God promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures.
So before he identifies the content of the Gospel in 1 v 3, “concerning God’s Son, Jesus Christ our Lord”, Paul roots his Gospel in the Holy Scriptures!
 What is meant by ‘Holy Scriptures’? The OldTestament is Holy Scripture! It is holy, separate, set apart by God from all other writings for it is His Word and partakes of His holy character!
 If the Gospel we preach loses touch with the Old Testament Scriptures, we have departed from the Apostolic Gospel. Didn’t Paul call the promise to Abraham, “In you all the nations shall be blessed”, the Gospel? (Galatians 3 v 8, quoting Gen.12 v 3).
According to the prescribed curricula for schools in England, the Old Testament is Jewish Scripture; the New Testament is Christian Scripture. I object strongly!  The Christian Scriptures are both the Old and New Testament.
A dear Arminian friend rebuked me for being an ‘Old Testament Christian’. He ended up just using a New Testament!  If I’m an Old Testament Christian, I’m in good company! So was Jesus; so were Peter, Matthew and John; as were Luke and Paul!
We cannot preach the Gospel aright without rooting it in Scripture, Old Testament and New Testament.  That is what we must do if we desire the salvation of sinners: “The Holy Scriptures are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”  That’s what we must do if we desire the sanctification of sinners: for “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God & is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be complete.” (2 Timothy 3 vs 15-16).
For sure, God commanded that the Gospel be rooted in the prophetic Scriptures: according to Paul the gospel is the “mystery kept secret since the world began but now made manifest” by the preaching of Christ Jesus and by the prophetic Scriptures, according to the commandment of the everlasting God for obedience to the faith,” (Romans 16 vs 25-26).
I must add a rider. The Gospel is rooted in OT Scripture; to what extent we demonstrate that in our preaching depends upon the people to whom we speak. If we compare both Peter and Paul’s preaching to Jews with their preaching to Gentiles – Peter to Cornelius, Paul in the Areopagus at Athens - there are marked presentational differences.  There are certainly fewer Old Testament references in their ministry to Gentiles.(4)  We are not required to speak above people’s heads!
 Yet the New Testament Epistles, written to the churches of the Gentile mission, are full of Old Testament allusions!  Clearly, the churches were instructing their people in the Scriptures that they might see the Big Picture revealed in all Scripture – one God, one Gospel, one way of salvation, one people of God.  That Gospel belongs within the glorious unity of all Scripture.
In summary: the unity of Holy Scripture, the Old Testament as interpreted by the New Testament, is the God-given guarantee of Gospel purity.

Jesus rooted His Gospel in the OLD Testament Scriptures. At the synagogue in Nazareth, he read from Isaiah 61 and declared, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing,” Luke 4 vs 16-21.  On the Emmaeus Road, the risen Jesus did not say, ‘It is I!’  Before He made Himself known, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures, beginning at Moses (the Pentateuch) & in all the prophets, the things concerning Himself, Luke 24 vs 25-27.  
 It was said of His disciples that “they believe the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said,” John 2 v 22.  Indeed, they believed the word that Jesus said because it accorded with Old Testament Scripture.
 After Saul was converted, he preached at Achaia and greatly helped believers “for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ, Acts 18 vs 27-28.
We do not preach ‘I had a vision last night’ which cannot be checked out. Our Gospel is sourced from and authenticated by inspired Scripture. Thus we read that the Bereans “searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so,” Acts 17 vs 10-11.

My conviction is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ & Scripture stand or fall together. A high view of Scripture promotes a high view of Jesus but a low view of Scripture will downgrade Jesus and corrupt the Gospel.
Objection No.1!   Many Jews had a high view of Scripture yet took a low view of Jesus. Friends, that was not how Jesus understood their position.  He charged them with not believing Scripture: “If you believed Moses you would believe me for he wrote about Me! If you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words,” John 546-47.  Again Paul explained why Jews crucified Jesus, “those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him (Christ), nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him,” Acts 13 v 27.
In fact the Pharisees put tradition above Scripture. They distinguished between Written Torah, Scripture, and Oral / Living Torah, the teaching of the rabbis. In practice, Living Torah took priority over Written Torah!
Objection No.2!   Many liberal theologians take a low view of Scripture while claiming to retain a high view of Jesus.  Friends, they may try but it does not work!  If Scripture is not reliable, we know nothing for certain about Jesus.  If the historicity of the Gospels fall, the teaching of the Gospels is fatally undermined.  The Liberal approach to Jesus Christ, starting as it does with His humanity, ends in reductionism.  John Robinson speaks of Jesus as “on the same level as all those who have no authority, on the same level as geniuses, poets and the thinkers. He is one of them, albeit the highest of them.”(5) The liberal approach to Scripture makes them the judge of Scripture and by implication the judge of the God of Scripture!  On 18 April 1998, the Times reported Richard Holloway, Bishop of Edinbugh speaking to the Lesian & Gay Christian Movement in London: “The Bible, though it is one of our greatest treasures, is also our greatest danger. It must be seen as flawed and fallible, tyrannical and ignorant on a whole range of issues.”

Sola Scriptura was a watchword of the Protestant Reformation but its roots are in the Bible itself. When Luther was put on trial at the Diet of Worms in April 1621 before Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, he was challenged to repudiate his books and the errors they contain out of respect for Church Councils.  Luther replied, “Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason - I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other – my conscience is captive to the Word of God.  I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe.  Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise.  God help me. Amen.”
There is no doubt that Jesus Christ had the highest view of Scripture.  The Apostles did not select from Scripture what they approved and reject what they disliked!  Without using the term, they held to the plenary inspiration of Scripture, that is, that all Scripture is of God.  Jesus would not have tolerated the view that the ideas may be true but the words false!  He certainly believed in the verbal inspiration of Scripture for He insisted, “Amen, Amen, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass” and “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.” Jesus took the position that what Scripture says, the Spirit says and what Scripture says, God says. No wonder Paul calls the Scriptures “the oracles of God,” (Romans 3 v 2.)
An important feature of the teaching ministry of Jesus was His use of & interpretation of OT Scripture.  For example, on the issue of divorce, Matthew 19 vs 3-6, Jesus went back to Genesis 2 v 24.  Jesus demonstrated the presence of the Holy Spirit upon Him by His love of Scripture!
Jesus not only held a high view of Scripture, He operated at the most critical moments with Scripture in mind. He resisted Satanic temptation quoting Scripture.(6)  He endured the shame of the cross quoting Scripture.(7) All His thinking, all His teaching, all His praying is permeated with Scripture.
Jesus never said to His disciples, ‘You have Me, so you don’t need Scripture!’ Nor did He say, ‘You will have the Spirit, so you will not need Scripture!’ Friends, there has never been a more Spirit-filled Man than Jesus Christ! The Spirit of God was upon Him without measure! Yet He was more full of Scripture than any man!


CONCLUSION

Friends, we are all called, according to our faith and our gifts, to serve the Lord in the Gospel of His Son.  Jesus Himself linked Christian service with Gospel purity when He said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven & on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,… teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age,” (Matthew 28 vs 18-20).
If you intend to serve God, never give an inch on the holiness of Scripture lest you depart from “the Gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures.”