Are you saved? If so, what do
you mean by that? Saved. What are you saved from? And how did it happen? What happened
to you? When did it happen? This is a
good question we need to ask ourselves. The world scoffs at
the mention of being saved. They think it's an old religious
superstition of some sort. Religion uses it often. People
talk about being saved and mostly by that they mean they quit this
or quit that or made some kind of decision or were baptized
or joined the church, but God's Word speaks of being saved from
sin, saved from wrath, yes, the wrath of God, saved from wrath,
saved from perishing or from destruction. Saved from, Scripture
says, this present evil world. Scripture does not call this
world a nice place, but a present evil world. If you'll turn with
me to the book of Galatians chapter 1, perhaps the best definition
or example of salvation is found here in Galatians chapter 1.
But to be saved means that you were lost and you're now found.
You can't be found if you weren't lost. To be saved means you were
dead and brought to life, given life. You don't have eternal
life, true life, unless you were first dead in trespasses and
sin. Scripture talks about salvation
as being brought from darkness to light, from death to life,
being blind but now you see. This is what happened to Saul
of Tarsus, who later was called Paul the Apostle. And it's actually
what happens to every single person that God saves, because
salvation is of the Lord. Saul of Tarsus wasn't seeking
the Lord. He thought he knew the Lord,
but he didn't. Like so many, he was religious,
but he didn't know the Lord. Look at verse 13. It says, you've
heard of my conversation or my life and time past in the Jews'
religion. Paul was very religious. Very
zealous. In verse 14, I profited in the
Jews' religion. He moved up the religious ladder.
He was very zealous, it says, being exceedingly zealous of
the tradition. So he kept the traditions. He was zealous. He was active
in his religion. But he was lost, as so many are
in religion. And he said in verse 15, But
when it pleased God, when it pleased God, God who separated
me from my mother's womb, or that is, gave me birth, created
life the first time. When it pleased God, who called
me by His grace to reveal His Son in me. Now this is the definition
of true salvation. Salvation comes to a dead sinner,
a person, when it pleases God, not when that person is pleased,
because they're dead. A sinner is dead in trespass
and sin, and God must give him or her life. And so it happens,
it begins when it pleases God. When God, by His will and by
His choice, purposed to save a human being, that's when it
began. In verse 4, Paul said that everything is according
to the will of God, as does Ephesians 1 says. He said it's by the will
of God who worketh all things after the counsel of His own
will. Man does not have a free will. Man cannot do as he will. That means he's sovereign, he's
able to do exactly what he will. That is not so. Only God has
free will, doing as he will, with whom he will, what he will,
because he will. You and I cannot say, I will
live 30 minutes from now, I will breathe 30 seconds from now. No, the God in whose hands our
breath is and all our ways, He works all things after His will,
His will. Well, Paul said here in Galatians,
when it pleased God, when it pleased God, when God was pleased,
God who separated me from my mother's womb, that is, gave
me birth the first time, you must be born again. The Lord
Jesus Christ said to that lost religious man, Nicodemus, you
must be born again. You must be born of God. You're not born of blood or the
will of the flesh or the will of man, John 1.13 says, but of
God, born of God, given life by God, given life by His Word,
by His Spirit, by His Gospel. So Paul says, when it pleased
God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and He called
me by His grace, the gospel calls. 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 13,
Paul says to the church there, we're bound 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 the Lord Jesus
Christ. And that's the way it is with every single sinner that
God saves. He chose them. He calls them
by the gospel. Now, this gospel call is not
an invitation. Kings don't invite their subjects
to come. They command them. The gospel
call is not an invite. It's a summons. It's a powerful
summons. Christ said, My sheep hear my
voice. And he said, All that the Father giveth me shall come
to me. He said, No man can come unto
me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him. Draw him. You hear this all the time from
this preacher. Why? Because it's the truth. Because
God gets all the glory. Because you won't come. No one
will come to God, the true God, the true Christ, unless He calls
them. And that happens when it pleases
Him. Not when you're good and ready,
or when you're pleased to do so, but when it pleased God.
That's what Paul said. And then he said, it pleased
God to reveal His Son in me. To reveal Christ. To reveal Christ. in me, not just to me, not to
my head, not a doctrinal understanding or historical or head knowledge,
but Christ in this person, in the heart, by faith, by love. Acts chapter 22 is the story
of Paul's conversion. He recounts this story over and
over again. how the Lord saved him, how the
Lord revealed himself to him. He gave God, he gave Christ all
the glory. He had nothing to do with his
salvation. Paul didn't, and he gave glory
where it was due. He said in Acts chapter 22, he
said, I used to be a Jew, and I was zealous of... I am a Jew,
he said. I was zealous of the law of God. He was talking to some other
Jews, as you are today. He said, I persecuted this way. He hated the truth. He hated
the true and living way of salvation by one person, the Lord Jesus
Christ, and not through keeping the law. He hated that. He went
on to say that, in verse 6, he said, I made my journey one day.
And everybody is on some kind of journey. Most people are making
some kind of religious pilgrimage through life. I tell you, unless
God apprehends you like He did Saul of Tarsus this day on the
road to Damascus, you'll perish because there's a way that seems
right unto you, unto man, but the end is destruction. He said,
I've made my journey when suddenly there shone from heaven a great
light round about me. Paul didn't just see a light,
the light shone on him. That light is Jesus Christ. Christ
is the light. He said that. I'm the light of
the world. And this was Jesus Christ who came to Saul of Tarsus,
this religious man, this lost man, to reveal Himself to Saul. He said, I fell to the ground.
I heard a voice saying, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? Christ said, My sheep hear my
voice. Faith cometh by hearing. Hearing
the Word. Hearing the truth. Hearing the
truth of Christ. Saul heard. saw, heard His voice,
saw the light. What's that? Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4 says this, God,
who caused the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined
in the hearts of His people, hath shined in our hearts to
give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of the Lord Jesus Christ. The glory of God. The salvation
of God, eternal life, is in one person, the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's what Peter said. He said, when the day star arises
in your heart, when that day dawns, that is Christ, then salvation
comes. Well, in Acts 22, Paul goes on. He said, when the Lord spoke
to him, he said, I asked the Lord, what shall I do, Lord? First he asked Him, Who art Thou,
Lord? He said, I'm Jesus. I'm Jesus. He thought he knew this Jesus.
He went about persecuting this Jesus, but he didn't know that
Jesus Christ was Lord. He didn't make Jesus Lord. Oh
no, he just found out that He is Lord and that Saul found out
he was in the Lord's hands to do with as he pleased. He was
afraid and he fell to the ground. He fell to the ground. And he
asked the Lord, What shall I do, Lord? Now he's calling Him by
His true name and title, Lord. No more Jesus, but Lord Jesus. The Lord said unto him, Now this
is what you're going to do, Saul. He didn't ask Him, He told Him.
He gave command, rise, go to Damascus, and there it shall
be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. You see, God appoints everything.
God predestines everything. God commands everything. We're
not asked to do something, He tells us. And Paul went on to
say, I could not see for the glory of that light. Could not
see. And they led me by the hand,
and one Ananias, one Ananias, and if you see the glory of Christ,
you won't see any glory in anything or anyone else. You'll certainly
not see any goodness or glory in yourself. And one Ananias,
a devout man, a preacher, God sent a preacher to Saul of Tarsus.
He came and said unto him, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And
I looked up to him, and he said the first thing out of the preacher's
mouth was this, verse 14, The God of our fathers hath chosen
thee. Salvation is by the sovereign election of God. And He's chosen
you that you should know His will, that is, that all things
are according to His will, and His will is to be found in Jesus
Christ. And that you see that Just One
and hear His voice. That's salvation, to see the
Just One. You're not justified by your
works, but only justified by the works of Jesus Christ. There's
Just One name by which you must be saved. Saul of Tarsus began
this day riding in splendor on his high horse. He finished it
lying in the dust. He began this day calling Jesus
an imposter, talking about God by a first name, Jesus. He ended
this day calling Him Lord. He began this day seeing all
things, knowing all things, He thought. He ended this day seeing
nothing, knowing nothing, needing to be taught. He began this day
a leader of men. He ended this day being led by
the hand. He began this day breathing out
threatenings and slaughter. He ended this day crying out
for mercy. He began this day telling people
and telling the Lord what He was going to do. He ended this
day asking the Lord what He would do with him. He began this day
against God's people. He ended this day with them,
coming and going. He began this day hoping this
way would die. He ended this day willing to
die for this way. Is this how you were saved? Are
you saved? If so, you're saved the same
way the Saul of Tarsus when it pleased God. And then you'll
be like Paul. You'll go around telling everyone
how the Lord saved you, how the Lord chose you. You'll give Him
all the glory for your salvation because salvation is of the Lord. Amen.