(God's way of saving sinners)
The message from the Church of Jesus Christ has been the same for two thousand years. "Repent for the kingdom, of Heaven is at hand". "Believe on the lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved"
The message speaks of man's alienation from God because of sin. It speaks of the coming judgment upon all who are not saved, by God, from the eternal punishment due them.
As a result of this message many have asked the question, "What must I do be saved?" Or, "How may I be rescued from eternal punishment for my sins against God?" The answer to this question is found only in the Bible. It is found all through the Bible, Old and New Testaments, worded in many different ways. The most familiar is probably the answer given to the Philippian Jailer. He asked, "What must I do to be saved?" Paul said to him, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved".
If a man, woman, or child is to be saved from the wrath to come they MUST BELIEVE. This statement is repeated over and over in the Scriptures. (John 3:16-18 NASB) "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever BELIEVES IN HIM should not perish, but have eternal life. {17} "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. {18} "He who BELIEVES in Him is not judged; HE WHO DOES NOT BELIEVE has been judged already, because he has not BELIEVED in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 6:47 NASB) "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who BELIEVES has eternal life." (Rom 3:24-26 NASB) "being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; {25} whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through FAITH. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; {26} for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has FAITH IN JESUS."
(Gal 2:16 NASB) "nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS, even we have BELIEVED in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by FAITH IN CHRIST, and NOT by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified."
(1 John 3:23 NASB) "And this is His COMMANDMENT, that we BELIEVE in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us."
The language is plain. To be saved ONE MUST BELIEVE or have FAITH IN CHRIST. The Christ you believe in, however, must be the Christ of the Bible, as opposed to what you may have imagined Him to be. The real Jesus is described in the Bible and in no other, so called, collection of scriptures. There are no inspired scriptures beyond the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.
Their are two kinds of faith people have in Christ, one saves and the other does not. One is a living, life giving, faith while the other is a dead faith, leading to eternal separation from God. One is the faith GIVEN to the Elect for salvation the other is of human and Satanic origin. Both unbelievers and demons possess this faith unto death.
The faith in God and in His Christ that leads to eternal death is described in James 2:19 NASB. "You BELIEVE that God is one. You do well; the DEMONS ALSO BELIEVE, and shudder."
This faith has all the right information as its basis. This person believes a collection of REAL TRUTH. He believes that God is the God the Bible says He is. That Christ is who the Bible says He is. This person knows and believes, with the Devil, that God's word is true, yet, they are not saved from the wrath to come. They are not saved because the faith they have is a DEAD FAITH, it is a faith of the mind and NOT of the heart and soul. This faith springs from a collection of data, it is logical, the offspring of human reason. It has often been called, "intellectual assent". Such faith is made evident when it produces NO CONVERSION in it's owner. True, the Devils are said to tremble before these truths but that is as far as it goes. They fear the judgment promised but are NOT INCLINED TO REPENT. These Devils and people are NOT ASHAMED of their sin, they are JUST FEARFUL OF IT'S CONSEQUENCES. They DO NOT HATE THEMSELVES OR SIN, quite the contrary, THEY LOVE THEMSELVES, AND, THEY LOVE SIN. These are NOT MOVED TO CRY OUT FOR FORGIVENESS AND MERCY. They just want to avoid the promised consequences.
This is often the kind of faith a man comes to on his death bed. This man has refused to believe in God through Christ Jesus. Perhaps he has even denied God's very existence. But as this man faces eternity all the arguments, and objections flee his mind. His conscience is awakened. Suddenly there stands before him the awesome, condemning truth. There is a God, He is Holy and just. There is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun. At this moment he would give anything if these things were not true. But they are and he TREMBLES. He does NOT cry out for forgiveness. He does NOT weep in sorrow for having sinned against the Holy God. He just TREMBLES before the truth, before the judgment he is about to face. He BELIEVES, he has FAITH but it is the FAITH OF DEVILS, it is DEAD and leads to eternal death. There are real death bed conversions, but, I fear, they are few and far between.
Now what of living faith, what is it like? How is it identified? Living faith is that faith which is a result of the Holy Spirit's work of REGENERATION whereby the individual is RECREATED with a NEW heart, eyes, and ears TUNED to spiritual things. Living faith is the RESULT of God revealing His truth to a person. This revelation goes beyond the facts that make up the truth. This revelation causes the sinner to see the EXCELLENCE, BEAUTY, AND APPROPRIATENESS of the Gospel. This is what Peter calls the faith of the Elect. It is an insight gained of such a nature as to make us desire to look at nothing but God's Good News. We see for the first time the beauty of God's love and plan of redemption. We see, and are delighted to see, that this is what WE need. When this Divine revelation is imparted to us we UNDERSTAND our sin and REJOICE in the Gospel. For the first time we can say with confidence, "It is for me that Jesus died, this Good News is for me!" In that moment it all seems right, it is entirely appropriate. It is appropriate that sinners be condemned to hell. It is appropriate that salvation be by faith in the perfect Jesus. In this moment, by grace and mercy, we believe with a living faith and we are saved from the wrath to come.
This faith does not and cannot originate with men, it is the gift of God to those for whom Christ shed His redeeming blood. (Rom 9:16 NASB) "So then it (This, "it", refers to the whole of salvation, from eternal election, to faith, and the exercise of it for salvation. It....), does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy."
Jesus said in Luke 10:21 NASB. ". . . I praise Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou didst HIDE these things, (The saving truths of the Gospel.), from the wise and intelligent and didst REVEAL them to babes. Yes, Father, for thus it was well-pleasing in Thy sight." Saving faith has to do with a Divine revelation and application of Gospel Truth to our hearts and souls. It is from beginning to end, a gift from God.
Here is how it works. The external revelation, the word of God, the Gospel message as recorded in the Bible, is preached to every man in a congregation. However, some are given a spiritual understanding of these truths and some are not. These, and these alone, experience conviction of sin, a trembling at the judgment to come, then with eagerness and joy, they turn, by faith, to Jesus for salvation. Without this internal revelation man cannot see the life available in Christ. His eyes cannot gaze with Joy upon the risen Savior. Without this revelation the Gospel would neither appear beautiful nor appropriate. One more reference on this subject.
(Luke 10:22 NASB) "All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and ANYONE TO WHOM THE SON WILLS TO REVEAL HIM." In Matthew's Gospel, after Peter had made his confession of faith in Christ as Savior Jesus declared, ". . . Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did NOT reveal this to you, BUT MY FATHER who is in heaven." (Mat 16:17 NASB) The understanding of spiritual truth, along with true saving faith, is a result of an internal revelation, a Divine insight given by the Holy Spirit.
The Apostle Paul, the murderer of Christians I spoke to you about last week, experienced this internal work of grace. All his life, Paul, then known as Saul, had believed in God. He believed to the extent he trembled before the law and made every attempt to conform to its requirements. But Saul was a lost man, an unredeemed sinner. He was a Jew of Jews, a Pharisee of Pharisees, RELIGIOUS to the extreme, but he was NOT A CHRISTIAN! Rather, he persecuted and murdered Christians at every opportunity. But God, in grace, chose to reveal Himself and His Son to Saul. Saul did not seek God for no man seeks God, properly, on his own. Rather, Saul was apprehended by Christ on his way to Damascus, to continue persecuting the Church. God, by Christ, stopped Saul in his sinful tracks and saved him to the uttermost. Given new ears, eyes and desires, Saul, or Paul, understood for the first time his sin against God. He saw the judgment to come and his need of forgiveness. He saw Christ through NEW EYES. He saw the excellence, the beauty, and the appropriateness of salvation by FAITH in Him. Paul believed and immediately began to OBEY. In a very short time he began to preach the faith which he had so faithfully opposed and that in the name of God.
This CHANGE of life style, this COMPLETE TURN ABOUT is something that ALWAYS goes with the faith that is to life. When God the Holy Spirit opens our eyes so that we really see the truth WE RESPOND with joy and love. We are CHANGED internally we are NEW PERSONS, from the inside out. This change carries over into our lives in the form of good fruit, which consists of works of righteousness, or simply put, obedience. Living faith, saving faith, ALWAYS bears the fruit of obedience.
So, there is a DEAD FAITH in God and His Christ that produces fear, but not salvation. Then, there is a LIVING FAITH which is the RESULT of an internal illumination whereby one sees not only the truth but its BEAUTY, EXCELLENCE, AND APPROPRIATENESS, therefore, he receives it with joy.
All that said, I still need to answer the question, "What must I do to be saved?" If now I see the beauty and wonder of Christ. If now I love the tone and content of the Gospel. If now I see that its for me, "What must I do to be saved?"
The answer is, "BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved". BELIEVE that Jesus shed His blood FOR YOU. BELIEVE the promise of salvation through faith in Him. Receive it with joy!
When your mind is perplexed and anxious because of the guilt of sin. When your troubled spirit looks around for some way of escape from the just displeasure of God, listen then to the voice of grace and mercy from the lips of the Son of God. He says to everyone in this condition, "Come to Me, Believe in and upon Me!" Till this is done all is lost.
We find in the scriptures yet another answer to our question. The sinner must RECEIVE Christ as Savior and Lord.
(John 1:12-13 NASB) "But as many as RECEIVED Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, {13} who were born NOT of blood, NOR of the will of the flesh, NOR of the will of man, BUT of God."
(Rom 5:17 NASB) "For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who RECEIVE the abundance of grace and of the GIFT of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ."
(Acts 2:41 NASB) "So then, those who had RECEIVED his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls."
To RECEIVE Jesus Christ is to BELIEVE He is the Son of the Living God. That He is the Savior of all who come to Him by FAITH. That He alone can satisfy the demands of God's justice. That he is the ransom for our souls. That He is all the Bible says he is. You must RECEIVE Him as He is, otherwise, you will perish forever.
Another simple illustration of the nature of saving faith is found in John 3:14-15 NASB. "And AS Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; {15} that WHOEVER BELIEVES MAY IN HIM HAVE ETERNAL LIFE."
This is a reference to the event recorded in Numbers chapter twenty-one. The Israelites had disobeyed God. As a result, He sent poison snakes to KILL them. However, He also made PROVISION FOR THEIR SALVATION from the judgment they DESERVED. But, as is the case with our spiritual salvation, it had to be on God's terms, not ours. God told Moses to set a brass serpent on a tall pole and promised that all who LOOKED to this brass serpent would be saved from death. In this case there was NO QUESTION in the Israelites mind as to what he must do to be saved. If he looked to the right for help he would die. If he looked to the left for deliverance he would surely die. If he looked to himself for help he would die. But, if he looked only to the brass serpent, that is, if he believed the promise of God and sought deliverance as directed, he would not die.
Here is the answer to the question, "What must I do to be saved?" Friend, you have been bitten by the serpent of sin. It's poison flows in your veins and you are about to die. However, it need not be so. For Jesus has been lifted up for all to see. He has promised that all who look to HIM will be saved. But I tell you this, if you look to the left, the right, or to yourself, for deliverance, you will perish forever. Look exclusively to Christ and you will be saved from the wrath to come. The serpents bite will not kill you. Can anything be more simple than this, "LOOK AND LIVE".
Further, in reference to the question, "What must I do to be saved?" I answer, "YOU MUST COME TO CHRIST". You must believe, you must receive, you must look to Him in faith and you must COME to Him.
(John 6:37 NASB) "All that the Father gives Me shall COME to Me, and the one who COMES to Me I will certainly not cast out." (Mat 11:28-29 NASB) "COME TO ME, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. {29} "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and YOU SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS."
Coming to Christ is the way men, women, boys, and girls are saved. We are NOT told to come to the altar, to the Baptismal waters, or to the Preacher for salvation. Rather, sinners must COME TO CHRIST. All who come to Him will be saved.
It is so simple and yet men convicted of sin continue to ask, "What does it mean to come to Christ?" I have tried to do all these things but I still have no sense of God. With Job they say, (Job 23:8-9 NASB) "Behold, I go forward but He is not there, And backward, but I cannot perceive Him; {9} When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him; He turns on the right, I cannot see Him." To this person the new Testament answers, (Rom 10:6-9 NASB) "But the righteousness based on faith speaks thus, "DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, 'WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?' (that is, to bring Christ down), {7} or 'WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)." {8} But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART"-- that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, {9} that if you CONFESS WITH YOUR MOUTH JESUS AS LORD, AND BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART THAT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, YOU SHALL BE SAVED;" This is coming to Christ.
Sometimes it is the simplicity of the requirement that throws us off. WE THINK WE MUST DO SOME GREAT THING. Something like ascend into the heavens or descend into the depths to find Christ. Men often refuse to believe it is simply believing in, receiving, looking to, and coming to Christ that will save the sinner. Reject it if you wish, but, this is God's way of saving sinners.
I offer one last answer to the question, "What must I do to be saved". You MUST SUBMIT to God's way of saving you. You MUST GIVE UP all excuses for your sin. You MUST DENOUNCE all dependence on your own righteousness. You MUST SUBMIT to the righteousness which God has provided for your salvation thorough faith in Christ.
My dear unbelieving friend, if you will gain heaven and shun the eternal torment of hell. You must believe in, look to, receive, and come to Christ for salvation. You must abandon all other hopes and trusts and submit yourself to God's way of salvation as I have described it to you today. This is, "What one must do to be saved".
Are you waiting for the right time? Hear dear friend one last word form the Lord. (2 Cor. 6:2 NASB) "for He says, "AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU"; behold, now is "THE ACCEPTABLE TIME," behold, now is "THE DAY OF SALVATION" Look to Him and be saved