All right. Psalm 68. With very few exceptions, every
adult here, and many of you children, God has caused our lives to be
mingled in a remarkable way. And I thank God that he made
you a part of my life. And I'm thankful for the privilege
of being here Enjoy and profit by and worship God with you in
this, your first Sovereign Grace Conference. I want, as God will
enable me tonight, to talk to you about God's salvation, just
as our brother has before me, in the simplest of terms possible. I want you to know God's salvation
and the sweet experience of His grace. And I want you to understand
God's salvation as he describes it in his word. My subject is
salvation as God describes it. This psalm, Psalm 68, is a prophetic
declaration of the accomplishments of our Lord Jesus Christ, a declaration
of his resurrection and his ascension and his glory as our substitute
as the result of the redemption he accomplished for us at Calvary. When he had finished all his
work which he came here to perform, when he had fulfilled all the
Father's will, when he had obtained eternal redemption for us by
the sacrifice of himself, the Lord Jesus ascended back into
heaven, and this is what the psalm speaks of. Now, I don't
need to take any time to prove that to you. If you care to at
your leisure, just flip over to Ephesians chapter 4, and read
just the opening verses of Ephesians 4, you'll find out that the Spirit
of God tells us plainly that this Psalm is talking about the
resurrection glory of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Let's begin in
verse 18. Thou hast ascended on high, having brought in everlasting
righteousness, Having put away our sin by the sacrifice of himself,
the Lord Jesus took his seat in glory by the merit of his
blood, by the merit of his accomplishments as our mediator. Read on. Thou
hast led captivity captive. What a statement. Thou hast led
captivity captive. Now, we don't have to guess what
that means. If you want to, I encourage you to take notes, jot down some
references here. The Apostle tells us in Colossians
chapter 2, that our all-glorious Christ, blotting out the handwriting
of the ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us,
took it out of the way, nailing it to the cross, and having spoiled
principalities and powers. What principalities and powers?
All of them. having spoiled principalities
and powers. You know what the word spoiled
means. When the Jews left Egypt, according to God's will and God's
purpose, the children of Israel spoiled the Egyptians. They took
everything that was worth anything with them when they left Egypt.
Everything the Egyptians had that was of any value, of any
use, of any benefit to them, they took with them. The Lord
Jesus reached into all principality and power. And he took from all
principality and power everything that was beneficial for his people.
Having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of
them openly, triumphing over them in his death. He took every
enemy of our souls into captivity. That includes Satan. Revelation
chapter 20, he's described as a mighty angel who comes down
with a long chain, and he binds Satan for a thousand years. That is, binds him for thousands
of years, lest he should deceive the nations. For now he will
send his gospel into all the nations of the world, that his
elect should be called from north, south, east, and west. Next we
read, thou hast received gifts for men. And I'm especially glad he didn't
stop there. Yea, for the rebellious also. That. Now that word, that, tells
you the reason why he received gifts for men. Yea, for the rebellious
also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. The ascended
Christ, who entered into heaven as our forerunner for us, received
gifts for us. What gifts? all the gifts of
grace, righteousness, and salvation for men, even for rebels. who are by nature the children
of wrath even as others and he received these gifts in his hand
as our mediator as the reward of his obedience that the Lord
God that God the Holy Spirit might come down here and dwell
among us in his saving mercy and grace in the new creation
of grace that we might be made to receive the adoption of sons
and made to cry Abba Father as the result of this He daily loads
us with the benefits of His grace. Look at verse 19. Blessed be
the Lord who daily loadeth us with the benefits, even the God
of our salvation. Now, I'm sure your pastor's told
you many times, when you read the Psalms and you get to this
little word, selah, it's really a word I have difficulty. Should
I read it or just stop for a while? It means stop for a while. It's
just a long punctuation mark. And in essence, whenever you
read that word Selah, this is what it means. Blessed be the
Lord who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our
salvation. Now just stop for a while and
think about that. Every day, every day, the God
of our salvation Continually with no ceasing heaps upon us
Loads up our little wagon he heaps upon us all the benefits
of his grace and mercy Every day God is heaping on you the
benefits of his goodness Every day heaping on you the benefits
of what Christ obtained for us. Every day loading our wagon with
his benefits. Mercy, and forgiveness, and grace,
and righteousness, promises of mercy, refuge, access to God,
peace in our souls. Read verse 20. He that is our God. He that is
our God. I'm not talking about the fella
across the road. I'm not talking about the church
down the road. I'm not talking about this place or that place,
this man or that. He that is our God and He alone
is the God of salvation. And unto God the Lord belong
the issues from death. He who is our God, God Almighty,
Sovereign, omnipotent, just, and true. He who is our God,
He alone and none but He, this Holy Lord God, Jesus Christ,
our almighty effectual Savior, He alone is the God of salvation.
And to Him alone belong the issues from death. What a strange way
of speaking. Issues from death? What does
death issue? Death issues nothing but corruption.
Death issues nothing but defilement. Death issues nothing but this
body decaying, going back to the earth, being eaten of worms.
But we're not talking about my death now. We're not talking
about your death. We're talking about the death
of him who died as our substitute and triumphed over hell itself
when he died as our substitute. Now to him belong everything
that comes as a result of his death, the issues of death, life
and peace, salvation, eternal life, eternal righteousness.
To him belong all the fruits and benefits and blessings that
issue from his death as our substitute and our mediator. That means
everything that he accomplished Everything that God, the Father,
the Son, and the Spirit put into the hands of the God-man mediator
as our satisfactory sin-atoning substitute when he arose from
the dead, it all belongs to him to give to whom he will. It all
belongs to him to give to whom he will. This beautiful little
girl sitting here, this young lady sitting here. Salvation's
Christ. He can give it to you or leave
you alone to go to hell. It's up to Him. Salvation belongs
to Christ. He can give it to you and work
it in you by His abundant free mercy or leave you to yourself
to go to hell. It is up to Him. To God the Lord
belong the issues from death. Now, we want this salvation. You who are here, I have no question,
have some interest, some a passing interest, some a deep interest
in this salvation. But if you were to ask a dozen
people what this salvation is, where it's to be found, how it
can be obtained, you will get at least a dozen answers. If
you don't believe me, just start walking down the street tomorrow
morning. Before services start, knock on a dozen doors. Ask a
dozen people about God's salvation. I promise you on this street,
you'll get a dozen answers or more. Because nobody has a clue
what God's salvation is, how it's obtained, how sinners get
it. With all the confusion and babble there is in this world,
I think it might be wise for a little while for us to lay
aside all the church creeds, all the confessions of faith,
all the catechisms, all of them. All of them. Surely you don't
mean all of them. All of them. Lay them aside.
Forget them. Pretend they never were written. Lay aside the theology
books, the religious papers, even the opinions of great men
of the past and of the present. Try for at least the next 35,
40 minutes to forget what Calvinism says salvation is and what Arminianism
says salvation is. It doesn't matter. It doesn't
matter. It doesn't matter a flip what
John Calvin says about it, or John Gill says about it, or John
Wesley says about it, or Billy Graham says about it. It doesn't
even matter a flip what Don Fortner says about it. Forget all the
traditions and the instructions you've had for just a little
while for mama and daddy and grandma and grandpa and Open
this book with me and let's see how God describes salvation.
You'll be surprised Let's look at nine passages of Scripture.
Actually, we'll look at more than that, but nine in specific
where God Identifies his salvation you're familiar with Ephesians
2, but I want you to look at it Ephesians chapter 2 verse
8 we'll start right here. I Ephesians 2 verse 8. By grace are ye saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves. Again, notice that word, that.
Little, one-syllable words. Oh, how important they are. My
friend, Brother Dottie Bell, and I were preaching just recently
together, and he said, big doors turn on little hinges. Well,
here's a little hinge and a big door. By grace are you saved
through faith and that. That, what's it referred to?
Faith. or grace or salvation. Yes, that's
what it's referred to. Faith and grace and salvation. It is one thing. By grace are
you saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the
gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. First,
we must be agreed on what we're talking about. When we're talking
about salvation, it's a big, big, big word. We tend to think
of salvation as being our initial experience of God's grace. When
we first began to believe on the Son of God, we tend to think
about redemption as being Christ's death at Calvary, and we limit
it to that. Redemption, salvation, is deliverance. It is the complete deliverance
of our souls. from sin and death and hell. Deliverance from the dominion
of sin. Deliverance from the power of
sin. Deliverance from the consequences
of sin. Deliverance utterly from sin
itself. Everything involved in bringing
us from the gates of hell into the gates of glory is salvation. This is what we're talking about.
This salvation is not just an isolated thing. It is the complete
restoration of our souls and our bodies to the God of glory
in absolute holiness. Complete restoration to God.
It's not an experience, but an emancipation. It's not a decision,
but a deliverance. It's not a reformation, it's
a restoration. And second, I want you to see
that wherever salvation is spoken of in this book, Wherever you
find it spoken of in this book, whether it's spoken of in prophecy,
or in typology, or spoken of in the ceremonies of the law,
or spoken of in the exposition of those things in the epistles,
wherever salvation is spoken of, these things are true of
it. It is emphatically spoken of as that which is by grace
alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, without works. without works of any kind at
any point from you. I mean, your works, good or bad,
don't have anything to do with it. Your good works can't win
it, and your bad deeds can't destroy it. You got that, Eric?
It can't happen. It can't happen. Oh, you can't
tell people that. Well, let's try it again. Your
works don't have anything to do with it, good or bad. good or bad. What you call righteousness
and what you know is sin has got nothing to do with it. This
salvation is God's gift. It is that which God has wrought
for you and works in you if it's yours. Be sure you understand
me and hear me right. I made this statement, wrote
it down, looked at it again today. I made this statement 38 years
ago in a Bible conference. I was 21 years old and I've been
tongue lashed good for it. So I'll make it again. I just
keep on making it. Listen carefully. My relationship
with the eternal God does in great measure determine what
I do. But what I do has nothing to
do with my relationship with God. What I do does not determine
my relationship with God. Not when I behave like I ought
to and not when I don't. Not when I'm praying or when
I'm filled with corruption in every thought of my mind. Good
works or bad have nothing to do with my relationship with
God in determining what that is. Not in the beginning. not
in the process, not in the end. Salvation is by grace alone.
Let's see if I can make good on that. Listen carefully. Therefore,
we conclude, a man is justified by faith. Did you ever notice
that almost every time the Apostle Paul speaks of God's salvation,
talking about being saved by grace, saved by faith, saved
in Christ alone, he almost always as good as says this, now just
in case you don't know what that means, works don't have anything
to do with it. Almost every time. We're justified by faith without
the deeds of the law. So then it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.
A man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the
faith of Jesus Christ. Not by his faith in Christ. By
faith in Christ, we receive what Christ has done. But the work
of justifying us was by the faithful obedience of Jesus Christ himself. Listen to this. Behold, I, Paul,
say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. Galatians chapter 5, verse 2.
Is there anybody here who's got an appointment sometime next
week to be circumcised? Anybody? Oh, well, that passage
is meaningless then. I don't think so. I don't think
so. What's he talking about? If you
do anything, if you do anything, give your money, devote your
life as a missionary in New Guinea, get up and read your Bible for
an hour every morning, Pray three times every day. If you do anything,
go to church three times a week. If you do anything, if you do
anything by which you hope that you have won God's favor or might
win his favor, by which you hope you can improve your relationship
with God. by which you can cause God to
look more favorably upon you, by which you can somehow gain
an upper step toward God. If you do something, Christ shall
profit you nothing. Nothing. Well, brother Don, if
that's the case, everything I've ever heard about God's salvation
is wrong. That's the case. If you be circumcised, Christ
shall profit you nothing. You may as well rub a rosary
bead and say Hail Marys as to think your praying is going to
make you better before God. You may as well go down and worship
a stump in Africa with some witch doctor and drink his concoction
of holy water and think that's going to make you better as to
say your prayers and think that's going to make you better. Salvation
is without your works. It's by grace. If you be circumcised,
Christ shall profit you nothing. Christ has become of no effect
unto you. Now Paul's not saying Christ
is no effect. He's become of no effect unto
you. Whosoever of you are justified by law. by the works of the law,
by the ceremonies of the law, by the deeds of the law, by God's
law, or by your law. You're falling from grace. You've
missed the gospel altogether. This then is clearly the doctrine
of scripture. Salvation is the work of God
alone, a gracious work of God alone, wrought for you and in
you without your aid or your assistance. It is that which
is done through the mediatorial work of the Lord Jesus and the
blessed work of God the Holy Spirit. Now, turn to Genesis
chapter 49. Let's see how salvation is described
in this book. this salvation by grace this
free grace work of God the first time the word salvation is used
here in Genesis chapter 49 and if you don't want to turn to
all these passages you can just jot them down and look at them
later and listen carefully as I look at them with you the very
first time it's used is used here by God's servant Jacob in
the prophetic words he gives concerning his sons and the tribes
of Israel in verse 18 he says I have waited for thy salvation,
O Lord. That's a good description of
God's salvation. It's his. It's his prerogative. It's his
possession. It's his property to give to
whom he will, to do with as he will. Moses said to the people,
fear ye not. Stand still and see the salvation
of the Lord, which he will show to you this day. Stand still and see God's salvation. You will never see it until he
shows it. And when he shows it, you will
stand still. Stand still and see the salvation
of the Lord. Brother Don, we need to tell
sinners to do something. I'll tell you something to do.
Don't do anything. Don't do anything. Stand still
and see the salvation of the Lord. Watch God work. Watch God work. Tell you what
I have discovered. Most of the people that I have
ministered to over the years, whom God's pleased to do something
for, have come to me and have said to me, Brother Don, I really
don't know when this happened. And I can't really put my finger
on when it began, but God saved me. I want to confess you because
I now find myself doing what I never could do before. I find
myself trusting Christ. I find myself believing on the
Son of God. I tried and tried and tried and
tried to believe, didn't you? I tried and tried and tried to
trust Christ. I tried to persuade God to save
me and I made every promise unto the Son and tried and tried and
finally when I could do nothing, when I could do nothing, I found
myself believing on the Son of God. Faith is not a decision
you make until God gives you faith. And having received faith,
worked in you by God's Spirit, you determined to believe Him,
and yet you recognize that the believing is His gift. Stand
still and see the salvation of the Lord. Listen to this. Fear
thou not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy
God. I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee. Yea, I
will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold,
all they that are incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded. They shall be as nothing. They
that strive with thee shall perish. Now listen. This is in Isaiah
41. You can look at it later. For I, the Lord thy God, will
hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, fear not, I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob. and ye men of Israel. And I will
help thee, saith the Lord, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of
Israel." Salvation is God's gift. It is God's work. It is God's
possession. He planned it. He purchased it. He performs it. He preserves
it. He perfects it. And He alone
has the praise of it. Hebrews chapter 5, verse 9. Here's
the second description of God's salvation. We read here in Hebrews
5, 9 that the Lord Jesus Christ is the author of eternal salvation. Being made perfect, he became
the author of eternal salvation unto all them that believe. Though
it was purchased for us at Calvary, and though it is and must be
wrought in us in time by God the Holy Spirit, Salvation is
an eternal work of the eternal God. It is an eternal work of
the eternal God. In Hebrews chapter 4 we're told
the works were finished before the world began. It is the eternal
work of the eternal God. It is that which God Almighty
performed and executed in the covenant of grace before time
began. I don't mean by that that he
planned it. I don't mean by that that he
purposed it, though certainly those things are true. I don't
mean by that that he foresaw that it would be done, though
that is true. I mean when God willed it, it
was done. For God to will it is for God
to do it. He's eternal. He's eternal. Boy, I don't understand that.
You know what? I don't either. But I'm tickled to death to tell
you God's bigger than I am. I don't have to understand Him
to believe Him. He's eternal. He inhabiteth eternity. Listen
to what the book says. Christ Jesus our Redeemer is
the Lamb of God slain from when? before the foundation of the
world. Slain from the foundation of
the world, Revelation 13, 8. We were chosen and predestinated
to salvation in Christ before the world began. Or as Paul puts
it in Ephesians 1, from the foundation of the world. But not only were
we chosen in Christ, we were blessed with all spiritual blessings
of salvation and grace in Christ from eternity. We were already
redeemed before we fell. We were already justified. Before we were unrighteous, we
were already righteous. Before we went astray in Adam,
we were already accepted in the beloved, blessed of God with
all spiritual blessings. Listen to the book. Paul describes
God's gospel like this. And this is his last epistle.
And he knows it's his last epistle. He says, God hath saved us and
called us with an 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. but is now made manifest
by the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who hath abolished
death and hath brought life and immortality to light by the gospel. Well, that sounds like, Brother
Marvin, that when God saved us, we were saved from eternity and
he just let us know about it in the experience of grace. That's
what it sounds like, isn't it? I'll tell you what. If that's
what it sounds like, that's what it is. Well, that's primitive
doctrine. I don't care if it's Buddhist
doctrine, if it's Bible doctrine. God saved us from eternity. He accomplished this from eternity. Look in Romans chapter 8. This
very, very familiar text of scripture. Romans chapter 8. In verse 28. Now, if you can
get a hold of what's said in these three verses, oh, it'll
sail your boat through troubled waters. In verse 28, the Spirit
of God tells us what God is doing in this world. Why on earth are
we having to suffer through the presidency of this fool we got
sitting in the White House? And if you'd like to tell him
I said so, you can send him a copy of the tape. Why? Well, didn't
God put him there? Yes, he did. Yes, he did. Isn't
he God's servant? As much God's servant as the
angels of glory. He doesn't know it, but he is.
What's he doing? Exactly what God intends for
him to do. He can't breathe a thought except
God ordained it. What's God doing? We know that
all things, that includes me and you, that includes all the
big things and all the little things, All the good things and
all the bad things. All things work together for
them or to them that love God, to them who are thee called according
to his purpose. Oh, I wonder what that means.
You know you can find out by reading the next line. Just the
next line. For whom he did foredo. whom
he approved of, and loved, and accepted, and ordained. He also
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. God's working
all things together to accomplish this that he shall do in eternity
when it gets done. Those whom he foreknew, those
whom he loved from eternity, are going to be made exactly
like the God-man mediator. He who was made sin for us, that
we might be made everything he is, is according to God's purpose
that he might be the chief born one among many brethren, the
firstborn. Now look at verse 31, and Paul
tells us what God has already done. I'm sorry, verse 30. Moreover, whom he did predestinate,
them he also called. And the word that's used here
doesn't mean, I expect one of y'all are going to call us to
have some refreshments in a little bit. The dinner is ready, come
and eat. That's not the word. That's not
the word. This word means to name. To name. Scott Keller, he named you among
the sons of God. when he approved of you in Christ
from eternity and accepted you. And whom he named, whom he named,
whom he called, then he also justified. And whom he justified,
then he also glorified. Well, Brother Don, that's Bible
prophecy. You find me any place in this
book where anything is spoken out prophetic in the past tense.
God Almighty It doesn't have to be instructed in grammar.
When he says present tense, he means present tense. When he
says past tense, he means past tense. When he says future tense,
he means future tense. And here he says we were called
and justified and glorified before the world began. That's what
he says. That's what he says. How can
that be? In Christ. In the mediator. In the substitute. In the surety. And in him blessed
with all spiritual blessings. Alright, look in Psalm 37. Psalm
37. Here's the third thing. He calls our salvation the salvation
of the righteous. Psalm 37 verse 37. Mark the perfect man. I can't stop and expand that
a little bit. If he meant to say the mature
man, he would have said the mature man. Mark the perfect man. He meant the perfect man here.
There's one perfect man. And every man in that perfect
man is a perfect man. This is my beloved son in whom
I'm well pleased. You just quoted it, didn't you?
Not with him, in him. And I'm in him. Mark the perfect
man. And behold the upright. The perfect man is an upright
man. For the end of that man is peace. But the transgressors
shall be destroyed together. The end of the wicked shall be
cut off. But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord. Not the salvation of those whom
he intends to make righteous. The salvation of the righteous
is of the Lord. God, we're told in Malachi chapter
2, created us in one man, Adam, that we might be going astray
in that man, Adam. He did this that he might seek
a godly seed. Not a seed to make godly, a godly
seed. A people whom he made godly in
Christ from eternity. The salvation of the righteous
is of the Lord. He is their strength in time
of trouble. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them. He
shall deliver them from the wicked and save them because they trust
in Him. Now here's the gospel of God's
grace. The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord. The righteous
is that perfect man made perfect by grace alone in verse 37. Here's our experience of God's
grace. He is their strength in time of trouble. The only thing
that distinguishes the righteous from the unrighteous is God and
His grace. And here's the promise of God's
grace summarized in verse 40. The Lord shall help them and
deliver them. He shall deliver them from the
wicked and save them because they trust in Him. Now all of
this is because I decided to trust Jesus and he's going to
deliver me now and save me. No, that's not quite the way
it is. This is the assurance we have
because we trust him. You see, faith is the substance
of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. I know that
God chose me from eternity. I know that Christ redeemed me
at Calvary. I know the Spirit of God has
called me by His grace, quickened me, given me a new nature, made
me righteous and holy before God, giving me Christ Himself,
making me a partaker of the divine nature. I know it for one reason. I believe Him. He's given me
faith. He's given me faith. Oh, Brother
Don, I wish I knew whether I had faith or not. You do. I don't have a question. You
know. You know whether or not you believe God. And you don't
need me to tell you. And I won't tell you. I won't
do it. Brother Ralph Barney used to
say, nobody but a lost man tried to tell another lost man he's
saved. I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to do it. I'm going
to preach the gospel to you, hold Christ up before you if
you can believe in your gods. If you don't, you're not. It's
just that simple. look at the fourth thing Jude
verse 1 Jude verse 1 Jude the servant of Jesus Christ
and brother of James to them that are sanctified by God the
Father and preserved in Jesus Christ and called well Jude must
have got that wrong No, you got it just exactly right. Well,
he's confusing sanctification with election. No, you are. Sanctified
by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ and called. Surely he meant to say that we
were called and preserved and sanctified. No, we were sanctified
by God the Father in eternal election Preserved in covenant
grace in Jesus Christ unto the day of our calling and then called
read on Mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied Beloved
when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common
salvation. Oh Common salvage All who are
saved are saved with a common salvage Not common in the sense
of ordinary. There's nothing ordinary about
it. Brother Hyman, your pastor and I, Brother Scott and our
wives were talking just last night about God's works. Psalm
72, 18 speaks of our God and describes him as who only doeth
wondrous things. wondrous, who only doeth wondrous
things. This salvation is one of those
wondrous things he does. Nothing ordinary about it. Not
something that is common to all men, but it is common to all
who possess it, to all who experience it, to all to whom it's given.
We don't all experience grace the same way. We try to buttonhole
fellas and get them all to fit the same mold. And that's wrong.
Don't you listen to me talk about what I've experienced of God's
grace and what God's done for me and you think, well, I must
not be saved because I haven't experienced just exactly what
Brother Don has. I haven't been where he's been and done things
he's done and felt what he's felt. So something must be wrong. And worse than that, don't try
to mimic it when it's not so. Don't do so. Your pastor He was
raised in a fine home. I've known his mother and daddy
as long as I've known him and longer. I knew his granddaddy
and his grandmother. His granddaddy pastored a church
down in Taylor, Arkansas for 40 years. Faithful man. Dear,
dear friend. He was raised in a remarkable,
good, commendable environment. Raised in the fear of God. I
was raised in a hell hole. It's absurd to imagine that we
would feel and experience things the same way. It's absurd to
imagine such. Our Lord gives us a beautiful
example of this in Mark chapter 8. He finds a fellow that brings
him to him, a blind man. His friend brought him to him
and said, Lord, lay your hands on him and heal him. And the
Lord took him out of town. And he spit in his eyes. He spit
in his eyes. And said, what do you see? And
he said, I see men as trees walking. And then he spit in his eyes
again and put his hands on him. And said, now, he made him look
up and said, now what do you see? He said, I see every man
clearly. And then two chapters later,
you get to blind Bartimaeus, as the Lord's going out of Jericho
and blind Bartimaeus is crying, Jesus, now son of David, have
mercy on me. And the Lord walked over to Bartimaeus and said,
what do you want? He said, master, to receive my sight. He said,
you got it, go home. Now just imagine Bartimaeus and
this other blind fellow beating up together 20 years later. Man,
I got to tell you about the Lord Jesus. I was blind, sitting by
the roadside of Jericho, been there for years. Every time a
crowd came by, they'd sit me down there so I could go beg,
get a little bread money. And one day I heard a commotion.
I heard that the Messiah, of whom Abraham spoke, and Enoch
spoke, and Noah spoke, and Adam spoke. I heard that he was walking
down the street. And I cried to him, Jesus, thou
son of David, have mercy on me. And folks said, shut up. I just
kept on crying. And the Lord Jesus came to me and said, what
do you want? I said, I want my sight. And
he said, you got it. Go home. And the fellow said, how was it this happened? He
didn't lead you out of town? No. He didn't spit in your eyes? Spit in my eyes. No, you ain't
saved. No, they both experienced the
same grace, the same mercy from the same master, but experienced
it in a vastly different way according to the circumstances
through which God in his providence had brought them to the mercy
seat himself. But all who experience this grace
experience a common salvation. Salvation by a common Savior
that brings us into a common family, gives us a common hope,
a common blessedness, and a common inheritance. Now, how do you
reckon salvation is described most often in the book? What word, what adjective do
you suppose the Lord uses? Adverb? Pronoun? How is it most often described?
I'm not a wagering fellow much, but I'll tell you what I'll do.
I'll bet you $100 to 10. None of you knows. How is it most often described?
Turn to Psalm 118. I'll show you. Psalm 118. Oh, how I love the way our great
gracious all holy God teaches us. to speak of his salvation. Psalm 118 verse 21, I will praise
thee for thou hast heard me and art become my salvation. My salvation. Brother Marvin,
he teaches us more often than in any other way to speak of
his salvation as my salvation, mine, my personal possession,
my private property, that which I own and hold forever, my salvation. Habakkuk says, I will rejoice
in the Lord. I will join the God of my salvation. My salvation is God my Savior. Not a doctrine, not a decision,
not an experience. God my Savior. My salvation is
mine because God gave it to me and brought it in me. It's mine
because I've received it as my own by faith in Christ. This
is what Moses taught the children of Israel to sing when they reached
the glory side of the Red Sea. The Lord is my strength and my
song. He has become my salvation. David
throughout the Psalms teaches us to sing of God as our salvation. Let the God of my salvation be
exalted. Thou art the God of my salvation. Thou art my rock and my salvation. My rock and my salvation and
God is my salvation. This is our song before God in
the day of his visitation. Isaiah 12 talks about the time
when God visits his people. when he visits his people in
saving mercy. He teaches us to sing, behold,
God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid,
for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my soul. He also has become
my salvation. When I was a young man, 16 years
old. God stopped me in my mad rush
to hell and caused me to want his salvage. And I was convinced everybody
I knew could have it for themselves except me. Except me. And I struggled for a long time.
with a bitter awareness of my sin, a bitter sense of guilt,
a bitter sense of God's wrath on me. And I go to bed at night
terrified and try to strike a bargain with God and wake up in the morning
and run wild again and God terrified me again. And I go to church
and listen to folks sing and talk about God's salvation. And
I listen to preachers preach about God's salvation. And one
day, as the preacher was preaching, pointing sinners to the crucified
Christ, I saw something I had never seen before. and have not ceased to see yet.
I saw that crucified Christ is my salvation. My salvation. He lived and died for me. How
can you know that? Because he gave me faith in himself. Here's the sixth thing. Turn
to Philippians chapter 2. Here's an admonition in verse
12. He says, work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling. I like that. Your own salvation. Faith that God gives you is your
faith. The forgiveness that God gives you is your forgiveness.
The righteousness God gives you is your righteousness. It's called
the righteousness of the saints. The salvation God gives you is
your salvation. He says, work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling. That is work outwardly that salvation
God's brought in you. What's that mean? In the opening
verses of chapter two here, he said, if there be therefore any
consolation in Christ, If any comfort of love, if any fellowship
of the spirit, if any bowels and mercies fulfill you my joy,
that you be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord,
of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife
or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other
better than themselves. Well, we can't do that. Why can't
you? In lowliness of mind. Not in
a sham pretense of humility. In lowliness of mind. Each esteem
other better than himself. Better. I've known Eric Lutter
for my soul how many years? I don't know. I believe he's
a child of God. Have no reason not to. Have no
reason not to. He believes God. You trust the
Redeemer, don't you? That means you're perfect. That
means you have no sin. That means you're completely
righteous, worthy of God's approval. I know that because you're in
Christ. That's what it is to be in Christ. Since I know that
about you and cannot possibly know what's going on inside you,
but I do know what's going on inside me. I don't have any choice
except in honesty to esteem him better than me. In honesty. In honesty. Well, if you do,
looks like you'd treat him pretty good. Yeah, you would. If you
do, looks like you'd cover up his faults. Yeah, you would.
If you do, looks like you'd give him a cup of water when he's
thirsty. Yeah, you would. If you do, looks like you'd try
to pray for him. Yeah, you would. It's called,
let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Paul said, be kind one to another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's
sake, hath forgiven you. That's the admonition. Work outwardly
what God's working in you. Now here's the assurance. For
it is God which worketh in you, both to will to will, to will, to desire,
to desire. It is God who works in you to
desire and to do of his good pleasure. If you're saved, this
salvation is your own salvation. And God Almighty is doing in
you. Not he's going to. He's doing
in you exactly what he desires right now. And he's going to
continue doing in you exactly what he desires tomorrow. And
he's going to do it until he has done everything he desires
to do in you in Christ Jesus. Hebrews chapter 2. You don't
need to turn there. Paul said, how shall we escape
if we neglect so great salvation? This great salvation from the
great God for great sinners. And in chapter 45 of Isaiah,
it tells us that it is everlasting salvation. That is, it's, forgive me when you start talking
about eternity. You sound silly doing it. We talk in redundant terms. God's
salvation is eternal or everlasting both ways. It reaches to eternity,
to eternity. You probably know this. The words
everlasting and eternal, everywhere you find them in the scriptures,
the words are interchangeable as far as the original words
concern. Why did the translators translate it one place everlasting,
next place eternal? One place eternal, next place
everlasting. Because the word has the idea of that which is
final from eternity. But it also carries with it the
idea of that which is performed in time to everlasting. And that's exactly how this book
describes God's salvation. I know that whatsoever God doeth,
it shall be forever. And he doeth it, nothing can
be added to it or anything taken from it. And God doeth it that
men should fear before him. God's love is an everlasting
love. His election, an everlasting
election. His grace, everlasting grace. His redemption, everlasting redemption.
The seal by which He seals us, an everlasting seal that cannot
be broken. Now, let's look at this ninth
one and I'll wrap this up. 1 Peter chapter 3, chapter 1.
Chapter 1. Peter tells us that God our Father
and our Lord Jesus Christ has according to his abundant mercy
begotten us again to a lively hope by the resurrection of Christ
from the dead. Begotten us to an inheritance incorruptible
and undefiled that faileth not away. Reserved in heaven for
you. Now watch this, verse 5. Who
are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation
ready to be revealed. in the last hour. Ready to be revealed. I spend a lot of time thinking
about that which is ready to be revealed. Meditating on what's heaven like,
what's everlasting life like? When God makes all things new,
rids the world of all the slime of Satan and all the consequences
of sin, and all the pain, and all the heartache, and all the
sorrow, and all the suffering, all the sin, all the death, what's
it going to be like? I have a dear friend, Brother
Sid Buggins, in Wolverhampton, England. He's pushing 80 years
old. I think Sid's 78 now. I was over
there in the spring and last time I spoke to him personally,
he had a tear in one cheek, running down his cheeks, and he said,
there'll be no seas in the new creation. I looked at him kind of strange,
as if to say, why'd you say that? He said, the sea's what separates
us. There'll be no more sea, no more sea. Paul puts it this
way, I have not seen nor ear heard, neither has it entered
into the heart of man to even consider the things which God
hath prepared for them that love him. We read of a place that's called
heaven. It's made for the pure and the
free. These truths in God's word he
has given How beautiful heaven must be. In heaven, no drooping,
no pining, no wishing for elsewhere to be. God's light is forever
there shining. How beautiful heaven must be. Pure waters of life are there
flowing, and all who will drink may be free. Rare jewels of splendor
are glowing. How beautiful heaven must be. The angels so sweetly are singing
up there by the beautiful sea. Sweet chords from the gold harps
are ringing. How beautiful heaven must be. How beautiful heaven must be. Sweet home of the happy and free. Fair haven of rest for the weary. Oh, how beautiful heaven must
be. May God make his salvation yours.
and eternal life with Christ yours for the good of your soul
and the glory of his son. Amen.