And verse 20 says, But while he thought
on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto
him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to
take unto thee Mary to thy wife, for that which is conceived in
her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus. For he shall save his
people from their sins." He shall save his people from their sins. He shall call his name Jesus. That which is begotten of her,
that which is born of her, that which is conceived in her is
of the Holy Ghost. The Lord Jesus Christ is Jehovah,
manifest in the flesh. His name is Jesus, which means
Jehovah, Joshua. Jehovah saves. The Lord taught
that to Jonah in the fish's belly. When Jonah was shut up in the
fish's belly for three days, Jonah had nowhere to turn. And
he said, Salvation is of the Lord. Jehovah, from beginning to end,
all between, every part. Salvation of the Lord. He shall save his people, the
scripture says. The Lord Jesus Christ shall save
his people from their sins. He saves his people from the
condemnation of sin. All men by nature are sinners. All men by nature, in Adam, we
sinned. We died spiritually dead. Dead in trespasses and sins.
If it's not for God, then there is no salvation but God. But
God. He shall save from the condemnation
of their sins. He shall save from the penalty
of their sins. And He shall save from the power
of their sins and one day from the very presence of their sins. This evening, I want to deal
with this question. When does the Lord Jesus Christ
save his people from their sins? When? And I know the language
is perhaps limited because we're going to talk about eternity
and when this doesn't fit in eternity. When is before time? But the first thing I want us
to see in this question, when did the Lord Jesus Christ save
his people? Usually when someone asks, when
were you saved? They want to refer to some experience. They want to refer to some experience
in time, usually asked by people who have no knowledge or who
are religious people. When were you saved? Nevertheless,
I want to answer this question, when does the Lord Jesus Christ
save his people from their sins? First, Christ Jesus saved his
people from their sins from eternity. The Lord Jesus Christ, he is
God, and God doesn't do anything outside of his purpose. His purpose,
he purposed to save a people. before the foundation of the
world in eternity. Like I said, language is limited
here because we talk about eternity past. The very word past describes
time. In eternity, he saves his people
when God the Father gave him to his people and when his people
were given to him. Look with me, if you will, and
we're going to go to several texts, but this is the first
point. The Lord Jesus Christ didn't come into the world as
an afterthought. He was not sent into the world
as an afterthought, but He came on purpose. That purpose was
determined in eternity past in the covenant. See there in 2
Timothy chapter 1 and verse 9, it says, speaking of His salvation,
who hath saved us? When did the Lord Jesus Christ
say? I guess what I'm saying is when
a person asks you when you're saved, you could go back. It's a long answer. It's a long
answer. Before the world began, the Lord
Jesus Christ saved me. When he agreed to be my surety. When he stood before the Father
and received me in his hands. When God the Father gave me to
him. who had saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which
was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." From
the foundation of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ is the
Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. That is, before
there was ever a sinner, before His people fell into sin. The
Lord Jesus Christ was their their sin offering. The Lord Jesus
Christ was their lamb. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
only one whom God the Father has looked to for the salvation
of his people. He is the lamb slain from the
foundation of the world. We're going to go to text that
we're very familiar with. One of the things that I was
talking earlier is I'm so thankful that when When your pastor asks
me to come preach, I know that he's not asking me to preach
something new. Because I don't have anything new. And you don't
want to hear anything new. I'm so thankful that this gospel
is eternal gospel. In Ephesians 1, verse 3, Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ,
according as He has chosen us in Christ. before the foundation
of the world that we should be holy and without blame before
Him in love. He chose His people that we should
be holy. That is salvation. To be before
Him holy. That's salvation. To be before
Him in your own righteousness, that's damnation. To be before
Him holy, that's salvation. How are we made holy? The Lord
Jesus Christ He saved His people from eternity when He received
His people from the hand of His Father in election. Having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ Himself according
to the good pleasure of His will. Why did He do it? Why did He
do it? It says right here, according
to the good pleasure of His will. There's no difference between
you and I. and those who the Lord sends
to damnation. The only difference is God chose. God of His own will, of His own
will, is found only in the heart of God. It's only found in Him,
not in us. There is no difference. To the
praise of the glory of His grace. To the praise of the glory of
His, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. And
Romans 8, 28. And Romans 8, 28. What time did
I stand up here? I didn't know what time. Romans
8, 28. You know the text very well. Somebody could start quoting
it for me. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are called
according to His purpose. That's what I'm talking about.
We're saved according to the purpose of God. Find out when
God made that purpose. Religion. Religion speaks of
salvation as if it's an afterthought of God. But this salvation is
from eternity according to His purpose, that eternal counsel
according to His purpose. Verse 29 says, For whom He did
foreknow those He loved from before the foundation of the
world with an everlasting love. His love is forever, from ever
to everlasting. I have loved you with an everlasting
love, therefore have I drawn you. He also did predestinate
to be conformed to the image of His Son. Those whom He loved,
He predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son. He's
going to make you just like His Son. That's salvation. To be like the Lord Jesus. Where's
the Lord Jesus Christ right now? He's in glory. He's sitting at
the right hand of the majesty on high. He's going to make you
just like the Lord Jesus Christ. To be conformed to His image. That's His purpose. Moreover,
whom he did predestinate, then he also called. And whom he called,
then he also justified. And whom he justified, then he
also glorified. What shall we say to these things?
If God be for us, who can be against us? One more text here
in this point, and then we'll go to the next point. 2 Thessalonians. We are bound to give thanks to
God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord. Verse 13, Now to
give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the
Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation
through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth,
whereunto He called you by our gospel to the obtaining of the
glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. When does a person say, when
did the Lord Jesus Christ save His people? when He, from eternity,
took His people from the fire. They're His sheep. Do you know
why? Because He's God. He's God. He said, I thought it. I'll bring
it to pass. I thought it. He says that in
Isaiah 46, verse 9 through 11. He said, I am God. There is no
other God. I thought it. I'll bring it to
pass. He's Almighty God. If he thought it, it's already
done. Now, God's purpose in eternity must come to pass in time. Election
is not salvation, but unto salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ, in God's
purpose, He saved the people. From eternity, He's the Lamb
slain before the foundation of the world. But in the fullness
of time, God sent His Son made of a woman, made under the law.
When did the Lord Jesus Christ save His people? Number two,
the Lord Jesus Christ saved His people when He, the eternal Son
of God, came into this world to do that which the Father sent
Him to do. He came to actually accomplish
salvation. He came to redeem His people
from their sins. You see, We, by nature, are God-haters. We, by nature, have disobeyed
God and are guilty, deserving of God's wrath, infinite, everlasting
wrath. The Lord Jesus Christ, to save
His people, is not just a mere desire. It's not just a possibility. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
save his people from this. When we can't save ourselves,
he saves his people from their sins. The Lord Jesus Christ came
to do that which the Father sent him to do. What is that that
the Father sent him to do? It says in John chapter 9, I
must do the works of him that sent me while it is day. The
night cometh when no man can work. I must do the works of
Him that sent Me. I must put away the sins of My
people. How? By His blood. By His precious
blood. I must establish righteousness
on the earth as a man. The Lord Jesus Christ, He is
God, but He is also man. The Word was manifest in the
flesh. He is bone of our bone and flesh
of our flesh. And as a man, He humbled Himself. The giver of the law, the giver
of the law humbled himself and became obedient unto that law.
That law that you and I have never obeyed. That law that demands
perfection of you and I. The law says do and live. The law says cursed is everyone
that continueth not and all the things that are written in the
law to do them. And you and I have never obeyed
one of those laws. And we cannot obey those laws. The natural man is not subject
to the law of God, neither indeed can be, it says. We cannot produce
righteousness. Can a beautiful smell come from
a tomb? We cannot. We cannot produce
Righteousness, where the Lord Jesus Christ, in the fullness
of time, God sent his Son made of a woman, made under the law,
that he might redeem them under the law. Now it says here in
Ephesians chapter 1, in whom we have redemption through his
blood, the forgiveness of sin according to the riches of his
grace. The Lord Jesus Christ saved his
people when he came into this world and established righteousness. He said, think not that I've
come into the world to destroy the law and the prophets. Don't
think that I came to put it aside. I didn't come to sweep it under
the rug. That's how a lot of times men
do things. That's how we do things. Let's
just pretend it's not there. I didn't see that. That's because
we're unjust. But God can't deal with sin that
way. God is holy. God is holy. God must, where
there is sin, God must punish sin. And He came and He established
righteousness. The Father said this of the Son.
This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. He obeyed
God's holy law as a man. As a man, he honored God's law. Not just the Ten Commandments.
Everything that is written in the Scriptures. Everything that
is written in the law. He honored God's holy law. And
then the hour came. The hour came. The Lord Jesus Christ, that holy,
separate one from sinners, was made sin for his people. He was made sin for us who knew
no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
That is the cup that the Father gave him to drink. The sins of
His people He bore in His own body on the tree. And when He
became sin for His people, God's justice, that justice that demands
the soul that sinneth, it shall surely die, it fell on Him. God's justice fell on Him. That's
how God is just. That's how God is just. He said
the soul that sinneth shall surely die. And the Lord Jesus Christ,
He had no sin. But He was made sin for His people.
He was made sin. He bore their sin in His own
body. And the Lord Jesus Christ, when He bore our sin on His body,
He cried out, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me? But
thou art holy. That's why. God the Father turned
His back on His darling son. That was hell. That was hell. He saved his people when he cried
out from the cross, It is finished. It is finished. There's nothing
lacking. I must finish the works of him
that sent me while it is day. The hour cometh when none of
us can work. None of us can work for that
salvation. Salvation is by grace. If you
try to add one thing, your baptism, your membership, one thing, Christ
shall profit you nothing. You've fallen from grace. Salvation
is by grace alone, not by works, lest any man should boast. We're
saved when the Lord Jesus Christ. Look here in Hebrews chapter
10. Hebrews chapter 10. Verse 5 says, Wherefore, when
he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering
thou wouldst not, but a body hast thou prepared me. Oh, a
body has thou prepared me. How thankful we are that he came
and identified with fallen men. A body has thou prepared me.
He took not on himself the nature of angels. When the angels fell,
They were left in chains of darkness into the day. There's no hope,
no mercy, no grace, no gospel for those angels. But the Lord
Jesus Christ, He, a body was prepared for Him. Bone of our
bone and flesh of our flesh. The Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us. A body hast Thou prepared me.
In burnt offering and sacrifices for sin Thou hast had no pleasure.
All these things that are done in religion, even those things
that were ordained by God, they were only pictures and types
of the fulfillment of Jesus Christ. But there was never salvation
in any of those rites and rituals. Salvation is always in the Lord
Jesus Christ and Him only. And only those who believed God,
the God that would be sent, only as they looked to the Lamb of
God that would be sent, where they say, just like you and I,
only as we look by faith to the Lamb of God who has come. No
one is ever saved by rites or rituals. We cannot put somebody
in the kingdom of heaven. It's the work of God. Thou hast
had no pleasure. No sin was ever put away in the
Old Testament. by those sacrifice. Then said
I, Lo, I come in the volume of the book it is written of me
to do thy will, O God. It's written in the volume of
the book. Where's that volume of the book at? That volume of
the book is that purpose. It's that purpose that's written.
In the volume of the book it's written of me. You want to find
out what this What this word is about, it's written of Him,
of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's written of Me. What? To
do Thy will. To do Thy will. It's written
of Me. To do Thy will, O God. Above,
when He said, sacrifices and offering and bar offering for
sin, has had what is not, neither has any pleasure therein which
are offered by the law. Notice it says, Then he said,
Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that
he may establish the second. By the which will, by the will
of God, by the purpose of God, we are sanctified through the
offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. That's when
God's people were saved. When he sanctified them by his
sacrifice. And every priest standeth daily
ministering and offering, offering times the same sacrifices which
can never take away sins. But this man, but this man, the
Lord Jesus Christ, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins,
forever sat down at the right hand of God, from henceforth
expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one
offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified." He
saved his people when he came into this world, established
righteousness, and went to the cross and paid for the sins of
his people. He said it is finished. Okay,
number three. When are God's people saved?
When does the Lord Jesus Christ save His people? The Lord Jesus
Christ saves His people by His Spirit when He gives life to
His people by the hearing of His word. God's people are saved. That is, I heard it just today. I don't know if I'm going to
quote it right. It goes something like this,
God saves His people, then He tells them about it. Is that
what you say? Then He tells them about it. He causes them to believe. Notice
it says here in Ephesians 1, verse 13, this is when a man
is saved by the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe this is very, very
important. Verse 13, In whom ye also trusted. No one is ever saved apart from
trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. No one is ever saved apart from
believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. He saves his people from their
sins and he reveals himself to his people. In whom ye trusted
after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. It is necessary to hear the word
of truth. It is necessary to hear the word
of truth because life comes by hearing. The Lord Jesus Christ
said this, the hour has come, now is, when those that are dead
shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they that hear will
live. When do we hear the voice of
the Lord Jesus Christ? We hear it in the preaching of
his gospel. A man is sitting, a woman is
sitting, hearing the preaching of the gospel, and they're hearing
a man. He's just a man. I'm just a man.
There's nothing in me. I'm a sinner. I'm a sinner, a
dying sinner, speaking to a dying sinner. Eternity bound soul,
speaking to eternity bound soul. There's no power in me. But if
the Lord Jesus Christ speaks, If the Lord Jesus Christ speaks
by His Spirit to you, then you'll live. You'll live to God. You'll live. It is necessary
to hear the Word of Truth because life comes by hearing the Word. It is necessary to hear the Word
of Truth because faith comes by hearing. Romans 10, 17 says, Well, I'm going to read that.
Romans 10, verse 13. Whosoever shall call on the name
of the Lord shall be saved. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him
of whom they've not believed? You're never going to call on
someone you've never believed on. Well, how are you going to
believe unless you've heard? It says here. And how shall they
believe on him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they
hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful
the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring
glad tidings of good things. But they have not all obeyed
the gospel, for Elias says, Lord, who hath believed, I report,
so then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. When a man calls out, Lord, save
me, it's because he's heard that the Lord can save him. It's because
already God has given him faith to believe, to call out. And
that is the evidence of life. Faith is the evidence of life.
A man doesn't believe and then God gives him life. God gives
him life, and as a result of that life, he calls and cries
out, God, save me. Finally, he calls for mercy because
the Lord already sought him in mercy. He has already given him
mercy. The cause of salvation is God,
not man. God. He it is that works in you
to do of His good pleasure. A man is saved when he hears
the gospel. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. The truth of the gospel. Notice
again there in Ephesians chapter 1 and 13. After you heard the
word of truth, That is, you hear the Lord Jesus Christ. A man
must hear the Lord Jesus Christ. Apostle Paul, when he went preaching,
he wrote to the Corinthians. He said, when I came to you,
I determined to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and
him crucified. Who Jesus is? He's the Christ,
the anointed, the sent one, the eternal son of God sent into
this world. He's the prophet, priest and
king. He is the Christ. I determined to know nothing
among you save Jesus, the man, Christ, Lord, and Him crucified,
His Word. I preach to you Jesus Christ,
His Word. We must hear of Him. Christ is not revealed in a lie. Christ is not revealed in false
doctrine, false religion. A false Christ would be revealed
in a false gospel. The Apostle said there are many
Christ's, many false Christ's. The Lord Jesus Christ said there'll
be many that will be deceived. Why? Because they're hearing
a false message. They're believing in some Jesus
that they had to let Him save them. They're not hearing the
truth of the sovereign Lord Jesus Christ, who does whatsoever He
pleases. Hearing a lie will not save a
man. He must hear the truth. That's
no problem for God. He'll send the truth where His
people are. Others, He'll give them a lie
because they have not received the love of the truth. He'll
send them a lie. But His people are not going to be deceived.
His people He's going to save, and He's going to save by hearing
the truth, the truth of who He is, the truth of what He came
to do, the truth of His person. He is God Almighty, the Eternal
I Am, the Word manifest in the flesh. He said to these religious
rulers, except you believe that I am, you shall die in your sins. Except you believe that I am
Jehovah manifest in the flesh, you will die in your sins. There
was a young lady. She came to me after service
there in Medi then. And she said to me, Pastor, I
want to be baptized. Took me back. She's only 13 years
old. And I just don't hear that. She came to me outside. She said,
Pastor, I want to be baptized. And I said, Bill, why do you
want to be baptized? She said, I heard that Jesus Christ is
God. Whoa, that's as clear a testimony
as I ever heard. Flesh and blood didn't reveal
that to you. Flesh and blood didn't reveal. You must hear
the truth of who He is and what He came to do. The truth of His
finished work. He came to fulfill all that God
required. to establish righteousness and
to put away the sin of His people. The truth of His exaltation.
God is satisfied. God is satisfied with the sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has exalted Him on high. Set
Him at the right hand of the majesty on high. Expect until
His enemies be made His footstool. His enemies are going to be made
His footstool. He is the Lord Jesus Christ,
King Jesus. Now, when you hear the gospel
of truth, how do we... All men by nature are sinners.
And we preach the truth that God reveals in His Word about
men. But we preach the truth about
men, preaching the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ. Men will
see their condition as sinners when they see the glory of the
Lord Jesus Christ. You could tell somebody they're
bad all the time, and they'll go in one ear and come out the
other. But when God convinces of sin, he convinces of sin because
they have not believed. They have not believed on the
Lord Jesus Christ. Sin is more than what you do. It's who we are. It's who we
are. The truth about man. The truth
about ourselves. The truth about our condition.
Dead to God. Our inability to come to God. Inability to believe God. The inability. Aren't you broken
hearted? You who know the Lord about your
unbelief. Oh, wretched man that I am. Who's
going to deliver me from this body of death? The sin that so
easily beset us. We believe, but we must cry,
Lord, help my unbelief. Help my unbelief. Help my anxiety. My thought. Your anxious thoughts.
That's nothing more than unbelief. It's another name. It's a fancy
name for unbelief. The truth about man. When you
hear the gospel of truth, the Lord Jesus Christ, Then we realize who he is and
then we'll cry, Lord, if you will, you can make me whole. Lord, if you will, you can save
me. But until they hear the truth
about the Lord Jesus Christ and who he is and how he saves sinners,
man's going to come and try to make a deal. Try to make a deal. The Lord Jesus Christ comes in
the preaching of his word, the truth, by His Holy Spirit to
His people and gives life. Now, I want to go ahead and jump
to the next point. So, when does a person save? A person is saved by the Lord
Jesus Christ in eternity when He became the surety of His people. The Lord Jesus Christ saved His
people when He came into the world and lived that perfect
life and went to the cross and died. in the room instead of
his people. And the Lord Jesus Christ saves
his people from their sin when he comes in the preaching of
the gospel and gives them life. OK, here's the fourth thing.
When is a person saved? And this is very, very important.
When is a person, when does the Lord Jesus Christ save his people
from their sins? Today. Today. The only way you can know that
the Lord Jesus Christ has saved you is if you're looking today.
Looking today. Looking right now. If a man has
to look back into an experience, he doesn't know the Lord. Today
is the day of salvation. We are being saved. We're being
saved right now from the power of sin. The power. We come to
Him. We keep coming to the Lord Jesus
Christ. It's a life It's not an experience
of the past. The Lord says in 1 Peter 2, to
whom coming. We continue to come, we continue
to trust in him. If a person looks to the past
for some experience, then he has not come to the Lord. He
does not know the salvation of the Lord. And finally, I must
quit. The Lord Jesus Christ saves his
people from their sins and he saves them to the uttermost one
day. His people will be delivered
from the very presence of sin. From the very presence of sin.
There is right now no judgment to them that are in Christ Jesus.
But one day, He's going to deliver us from the very presence. We're
going to be in His presence without this sin nature and be able to
worship Him as He deserves to be worshipped. To love Him as
He loved us. Has this gospel come to you?
Has it come to you as good news, the gospel of your salvation? It doesn't come as a gospel or
a good news. It's my goodness. My goodness,
I jumped over that. But now I'm saying, you must
hear it as the gospel of your salvation. May the Lord bless
this word.