Now, let's turn back to Hebrews
chapter two. Brother Aaron read, and I'm mainly
going to focus on the first few verses in this message entitled
So Great Salvation. So great salvation, verse three
says, How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? Now, in the past few weeks, I've
been talking about this term salvation, biblical salvation,
what it is and the nature of it. I've talked about how salvation
is number one of the Lord. It's God's salvation. And how salvation is totally
in and by, conditioned on the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man
mediator, the redeemer of his people. And how all of salvation,
thirdly, is all of grace. Every bit of it. Pure, sovereign
grace. Not by our power, not by our
goodness, but by God's power and goodness in Christ. I've
talked about how salvation is a work that God does for us. It's a sovereign work from before
the foundation of the world as God is the source and originator
of all of salvation. This was given us, Paul wrote
in 2 Timothy chapter 1, in Christ Jesus before the world began.
Mind-boggling, isn't it? What a great salvation. And then
how salvation is a work that God has done for us on the cross
of Calvary in our redemption, sending His Son into the world.
God sent forth His Son to be made of a woman, to be made under
the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that Christ
on the cross, paid our debt to God's justice. We sang that song. Why did He do all that? Well,
all our iniquities on Him were laid. That's the sin imputed
to Christ, charged to Him, accounted to Him. And we received His righteousness
in return. We're saved based upon the merits
of Christ's obedience unto death, His blood and righteousness alone.
And that's how we stand before God justified. declared righteous
and not guilty. That's why nothing can be laid
to the charge of God's elect, because God justifies, and that's
why we cannot be condemned, because Christ died and is seated at
the right hand of the Father, ever living to make intercession
for us, wherein He is able to save to the uttermost them that
come to the Father by Him. And that's the ground of salvation. And then I spoke about how salvation
is also a work that God does in us. That's the work of the
Holy Spirit in us. It's a necessary work. No one's
going to be saved without being born again, regenerated by the
Holy Spirit. We were ruined in Adam. We must
be redeemed by the blood and we must be regenerated by the
Spirit. And that's the fruit of salvation. We must come under
the preaching of the gospel. And that's what we're going to
talk about a little bit this morning. This thing about the things which
we have heard. You're hearing the gospel. You're
hearing the scriptures. And so Paul says here, don't
neglect the things. Give the more earnest heed to
these things. And the Holy Spirit, under the
preaching of the gospel, brings Christ's sheep to hear the truth,
to convict us of sin, gives us life within, knowledge, convicts
us of sin and of righteousness and of judgment, and then gives
us that broken contrite heart and leads us to Christ by God-given
faith. brings us to repentance. That's
the work that God does in us. And He continues that work in
our preservation and our perseverance. We continue in the faith. If
you ever were saved, you always will be saved because it's all
of grace. Don't ever forget that. And then
salvation is a work that God does with us. He will bring us
to glory in Christ. Now that's a great salvation.
And this is what The Apostle is saying here, look at verse
1 of chapter 2, he says, therefore, that therefore reaches back to
the greatness and the glory and the value of the person and finished
work of Christ. The whole theme of the book of
Hebrews is Christ is better. Better than angels. Angels were
ministering spirits under the old covenant. They were vitally
involved in the ministry of that The Law of Moses. They're still
vitally involved, I believe, in the lives of believers. Don't
get me wrong, but they had a special, a special duty to the children
of Israel through Moses and the Law in the Old Covenant, the
miracles that were performed. And he says, therefore, because
Christ is better, Christ is better than angels. Christ is better
than Moses. Better than the Law. He's better
than the types in the pictures. in His person. He is the God-man
mediator. He is the one who finished the
work. Made a short work of it. Finished
it. Put away our sins at the cross.
Finished the transgression. And brought in everlasting righteousness. Because He's better than Aaron
and that earthly priesthood. We have a great high priest.
That's why this salvation is so great. Because we have such
a great high priest. A great Redeemer. We read about
it in Revelation 7. He talked about glory to God
and to the Lamb. The Lamb is Christ, the Lamb
slain from the foundation of the world to put away the sins
of His people. And so therefore we, we who are
sitting under the preaching of the Gospel today, we ought to
give the more earnest heed. That's a sincere, dedicated,
serious contemplation, thinking, hearing of these things. He says,
to the things which we have heard, the things which we have heard,
the things which we're hearing, lest at any time we should let
them slip. Now, in your concordance in your
Bible, you might have this translation. It says, run out as a leaking
vessel. But I believe the better way
of thinking of this is this. It's kind of like one who is
on a ship in a storm. and lost at sea, so to speak. And all of a sudden you see the
harbor lights in the darkness. And you want to go towards those
harbor lights and you want to anchor in and tie up at the dock,
at that harbor, so that you can be safe from the storm, safe
from the winds and the gales. And what he's saying here is
is anchor your boat, tie your boat up at this dock for safety,
and don't slip on by. Don't just sail on by and be
lost forever and ever and destroyed, aimlessly drifting past the harbor. Anchor your boat at the right
place. Over in the book of Hebrews chapter
6, he spoke of this when he talked about our hope in Christ in verse
19. Those who have hope in Christ, those who have a sure expectation
of salvation, of righteousness, of eternal life and glory in
Christ. He says in verse 19, which hope
we have as an anchor for the soul, both sure and steadfast. You see, if your anchor is sure
and steadfast, you're safe, and which entereth into that within
the veil. talking about Christ being the
forerunner who went into the very holiest of all, the very
place of the holiness of God for His people. And so he's saying
here, don't slip on by, don't just drift by here today. As
you're hearing the gospel, this gospel of God's grace, this great
salvation. I remember in the parable of
the sower and the seed when Christ was teaching about him and his
preachers going out and preaching the gospel. And it fell on different
types of ground, representing the different types of hearers.
You had the wayside hearer who didn't even give it any consideration
at all, but just walked away from it. Then you had the stony
ground hearer who received it with joy for a while, but when
trouble and persecution and testing came over the Word, they left
it. Then you had the thorny ground hearer who got concerned and
tied up with other things, the riches of this world, the things
of this world, and the weeds sprung up and choked the Word.
And then you have the good ground here, which is the heart that
God breaks over sin and brings that sinner to Christ by the
power of the Holy Spirit. And Christ said at the end of
that parable, as recorded in the book of Luke chapter 8, He
made this statement. He said, take heed how you hear. Now another place it's translated
this way, take heed what you hear. Make sure you're hearing
the truth. Make sure that whoever you're
hearing that they're preaching the Scriptures, they're preaching
Christ and Him crucified and risen again. They're leading
sinners to Christ. But also take heed how you hear. That's important. That's what
he's saying here. We ought to give the more earnest heed to
these things. You know, really, you know, you
think about religion. Religion that comes in the name
of Christianity. And a lot of people, they'll
talk about the immoral perversions of this world and how people
are paving their road to hell, as they say, by their immorality. And that's true in a lot of cases. But you know what you really
have to do to perish eternally? Let me tell you exactly what
you really have to do to perish eternally, to be eternally damned. One word, you have to do nothing. Do nothing. Just sit there like
a lump and stare into space. And let your mind wander off
and just do nothing. Don't give the more earnest heed
to these things which we have heard. Just do nothing. And that's
the case here. He's talking about people here
who are sitting under the preaching of the true gospel. And then
remember this, that in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, when Paul is talking
about the last days and those who perish because they are deceived
by the man of sin and deceived by Satan, they do so, it says,
because they receive what? They receive not the love of
the truth. They wouldn't give the more earnest
heed. They just slipped on by these things. Just drifted on
by. This is a great salvation. Listen
to this in verse 2, he says, for if the word spoken by angels
was steadfast, firm, talking about the old covenant law, of
whom the angels were ministers, and every transgression and disobedience
received a just recompense of reward, God punished sin under
that covenant. Don't ever think that he didn't.
And you see manifestations of that throughout the Old Testament.
That's why a lot of people, in their ignorance, talk about the
judgmental God of the Old Testament, but the loving God of the New
Testament. It's the same God. He's just as judgmental today
as He ever was. Now, that's so. And His judgments
are according to truth. Now, He suffers long. His judgments
are not always immediate, where they are deserved. But his judgment
is sure. And let me tell you something,
he was just as loving in the Old Covenant, in the Old Testament,
as he is in the New Testament. But his love always has been
and always will be in Christ. Herein is love. Not that we love
God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation
for our sins. He told Jeremiah, he said, I've
loved you with an everlasting love. That means God always loved
Jeremiah, never stopped loving him, and Jeremiah didn't earn
or deserve one inch of God's love. It's unconditional love. So God's just as loved, but now
under the old covenant, that rebellious nation, under that
temporal ceremonial covenant, God did visit them with His judgments. Every transgression and disobedience
received a just recompense of reward. Now here's what the Apostle's
saying here. Now if you think that covenant
was firm and that God was just to punish sin back then, listen
to this, verse 3, how shall we escape? If we neglect, so great
salvation. How are we going to escape? You
think God meant business back then? Well, he means it now,
too. And this under the ministration
of grace, the ministration of righteousness in Christ, he said,
which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed
unto us by them that heard him. All this great salvation. It's great, we've talked about
it, because its source and originator is the great God of this universe.
This is the gospel of God, not of man. Do you know the only
religion that teaches salvation by grace is the religion that's
true Christianity? All other religions of man, you
know, they talk about the major religions. All major religions
of man teach in some form, at some stage, to some degree, salvation
by the works of man. There's not but one message that
teaches salvation totally by grace, and that's true Christianity. I say true Christianity because
there's so many perversions of it now. That started back in
the New Testament. Well, it really started back
in the Old Testament, because Israel sought righteousness by
their works, didn't they? By deeds of the law. They perverted
the Old Covenant, which was meant to show their sin and drive them
to Christ for righteousness. So, true Christianity, grace,
this is the gospel of God. No man ever came up, no philosopher,
no theologian came up with this. This is God's gospel. And then
this is a great salvation because it's for great sinners. Turn
to Matthew chapter 9 with me, I want to show you this. You
see, most people think that religion is for good people, and salvation
is for good people. It's not so. In fact, if you
believe the Bible, which I hope you do, and I do, there are no
good people in God's sight. No good people in God's sight.
The rich young man came to our Lord and he said, good master,
what good thing must I do to inherit eternal life? And the
Lord said, well, why callest thou me good? There's none good
but God. I think Brother Ron said a lady
called and I was talking about in the book of Colossians how
Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, is God in human flesh. And she used
that passage, I think it's in Matthew 19, she used that passage
to try to prove to me that Jesus is not God, because he would
have said, no, no, no, no, no, you misunderstand that. He wasn't
denying his own deity, he was exposing that rich young man
who was denying his deity. And what Christ was saying, well,
if you don't believe I'm God, why do you call me good? There's
none good but God. That's what he was saying. He
wasn't denying His deity. There's a multitude of scriptures
that preach and teach the deity of Christ. Don't take one thing
out of context and try to disprove the whole Bible. But He is God
in human flesh. And that's another reason it's
such a great salvation. We have such a great Savior.
But it's for great sinners. Paul said, this is a faithful
saying worthy of all acceptation that Jesus Christ came into the
world to save sinners of whom I am chief. That's what he said. But look at Matthew chapter 9,
and look at verse 9. He says here, And Jesus passed
forth from thence, and he saw a man named Matthew sitting at
the receipt of custom. And he saith unto him, Follow
me. And Matthew arose and followed him. Now, Matthew was collecting
taxes for the Roman government. He was a Jew collecting taxes
for the Roman government. That means he was a publican.
One of the worst hated sinners in the Jewish culture of that
time. And it says in verse 10, And
it came to pass, as Jesus sat at mead in the house, behold,
many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his
disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it,
they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your master with publicans
and sinners? Why would he eat with such people
as that? You better be careful with who
you're seen out with. And he says in verse 12, But
when Jesus heard that, he said unto him, They that behold me
not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn
what that meaneth. I will have mercy and not sacrifice. For I am not come to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance. Now here's what I'm telling you.
Here's what he said. If you're righteous already, or if you
can make yourself righteous, you don't need Christ. You don't
need Him. This place here is a hospital
for sinners. That's right. Mercy is for sinners. Grace is for sinners. Now, you
can go around all your life comparing yourself to other sinners and
come out pretty good. But I'm going to tell you something.
If you're already righteous or you can make yourself righteous
or you're already good or can make yourself good, you don't
need Christ. You don't need this great salvation
that I need. That's right. This is for the
unrighteous. It's for great sinners. It's
for publicans. It's even for self-righteous
sinners like Saul of Tarsus. himself was a Pharisee, who thought
that he had made it, who thought that he was righteous because
he was a child of Abraham, because he was circumcised the eighth
day, and because he kept the law of Moses. And then he came
to that point in his life when the Holy Spirit convicted him
of sin, and he said, I count it all but done that I may win
Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faithfulness
of Christ. In other words, my salvation. is the salvation of
a sinner who deserved nothing but death and hell. That's the
kind of folks God saves. And then it's a great salvation
because it's by a great Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah
12 and verse 6, listen to it, "...cry out and shout, Thou inhabit
of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of
thee." Great is He. The greatness of His person,
His name shall be called Jesus, for He shall save His people
from their sins. His name shall be called Emmanuel,
God with us. The greatness of His redemptive
work, for He drank damnation dry. He was made a curse for
us. He died on that cross to save
us from our sins and put them away and establish righteousness
and everlasting righteousness of infinite value. The greatness
of His power to gather His people, His sheep unto Himself, to keep
them, to nourish them, and bring them unto glory. He said in John
12 and verse 32, And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all unto
Me, every one of them. Wherefore, He is able to save
to the uttermost them that come to God by Him, seeing He ever
liveth to make intercession for us. Let me give you several things
here. This is a great salvation because
it is a sovereign salvation. It's a sovereign salvation. He
said to Moses, and as recorded in Exodus and in Romans chapter
9, he says, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. And
I will have compassion upon whom I will have compassion. So then
it's not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but
of God that showeth mercy. Let me tell you, if you ever
look around, you say, well, I wonder why God chose him or her. What
you better do is go home and look in the mirror and ask this
question, why did God ever choose me? If you ever come to an understanding
of biblical salvation, you'll come to understand that God didn't
have to choose you or have to choose me. Now, I want to make
this distinction. God most certainly obligated
Himself to save His people from their sins when He entered into
covenant with His Son and engaged His promise towards them and
stuck His oath behind it. God's going to save some people.
But for me to think, well, God had to save me, or God should
have chosen me, my friend, that's nothing but self-righteousness
and self-love. Why did He ever choose a sinner
like me? Why did He pass by others? The
Scripture says that. Most people today, they want
to talk about, well, God chose you because you first chose Him. Well, if that's so, then He chose
you because you're better than the rest. But the Bible doesn't
teach that. People today want to talk about,
well, God loved me because I first loved Him. That makes God a reactionary. And He's not that. That makes
God changeable. And He's not changeable. I quoted
it a while ago, 1 John 4 and verse 10. Herein is love. Not
that we loved Him. But that he loved us and gave
his son to be the propitiation, satisfaction for our sins. God
never, listen, if God ever reacted to anyone, he wouldn't be God.
And you can't explain that and I can't either. God chose the
people. And all men are held fully accountable
and responsible to seek the Lord. Yet men by nature will not. It's
not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God
that showeth mercy. This is a sovereign salvation.
And if you're looking to Christ today for your whole salvation,
for all your righteousness and holiness, for all glory, my friend,
you can know that God chose you. That's what the Scripture says.
That's what it says. Secondly, this is a great salvation
because it's a righteous salvation. It's a just salvation. And this
is another place where the world has missed the Christian message.
You see, we want to talk about God's love. We want to talk about
God's mercy and His compassion. And I do every time I preach
the Gospel. I love to talk about the love
of God. For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish but have everlasting life. I'm not afraid of that
at all. That's the Gospel message out of the love of God. Christ
came to save His people. He loved His own, John 13, to
the end, to the finishing of the work. We don't have to be
afraid of that. We talk about here in Hebrews
chapter 2 where it says, He tasted death for every man. That's everyone
whom He came to save who are identified in the next verses.
His children, His sheep, His church, all who come to faith
in Him. So we can talk about the love
of God, talk about the mercy of God. That's our message. But
my friend, any talk of love and mercy and grace and compassion
without justice is sham, false religion. This is a righteous
salvation. That's why it's so great. The
issue of the gospel is not just that God loves sinners. But how
can God be just in the salvation of sinners? How can He punish
sin, which He must do, and love and save sinners in mercy? Isaiah chapter 42 and verse 6,
when it's talking about God's anointing of the Lord, He says,
I the Lord have called thee in righteousness and will hold thine
hand and will keep thee and give thee for a covenant of the people
for a life of the Gentiles. He said, I've called thee in
righteousness. We sang that hymn. Why did he come? Well, he came
to pay a debt to God's law and justice. A debt that was laid
to his charge. That's imputation. You've heard
me talk about imputed sin and imputed righteousness. Most people
today don't even know what that means. And some of them who know
what it means, they don't think it's real. They don't think it's real. They
think it's fiction. Legal fiction, I've heard it called. Oh no,
it's real. It's not fiction. God took the
debt of the sins of his people and laid them to the charge of
Christ. And Christ said, put it on my
account. I'll pay their debt for them in their place. That's
called substitution. That's why he's a lamb. That's
why he was slain. That's why blood was shed. Death. For without the shedding of blood,
there is no payment for sin. And in return, we receive the
merits of His righteousness. He puts the good to our account.
We didn't have any part in producing it, but He gave it to us freely
by imputation. That's the ground of salvation
right there. Scripture says in Romans 9 and
28, He will finish the work, cut it short in righteousness.
What does that mean? It's not going to take very long.
And He did it on the cross in a short time. It's a righteous
salvation. God is just to justify the ungodly
based on the blood and righteousness of Christ. There's my only ground
to salvation. And then thirdly, it's a great
salvation because it's a costly salvation. Now, salvation doesn't
cost me or you a thing. Let me show you that. Turn to
Isaiah chapter 55. The book of Isaiah, chapter 55.
The language of this passage may seem a little strange, but
it's teaching a very, very fundamental lesson concerning the salvation
of sinners. Isaiah 55. And what he's showing here, salvation
is free to us, but now it costs somebody something. He says in
verse 1, "...hold every one that thirsteth." Come ye to the waters,
and he that hath no money." Now, that's us. We don't have any
money as far as salvation. We have no righteousness, no
goodness, no power. You see, if you go into the mall
down here, and you don't have any money, you can forget buying
anything. Is that right? Unless you want
to try to shoplift it, and I saw them take one girl to jail the
other day for doing that. That's stealing. Well, you can't steal from God.
If you go down there without any money, you can forget buying
anything. So He says, Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to
the waters, he that hath no money. Now, that's us by nature. We
don't have any goodness to bring before God. We don't have any
righteousness to bring before God. And we don't have any power
to do anything about it. Is that us? That's dead and trespasses
sin. Now hold your hand there or put
a mark there by Isaiah 55 because I'm going to come back to that
and I want you to go to 1 Peter chapter 1. Now this is a great
salvation because it's a sovereign salvation, it's a righteous salvation,
and it's a costly salvation. There is a cost. Now what is
that cost? There's a cost, listen, there's
a cost for our justification before God. Somebody's got to
pay the cost. There's a cost for the forgiveness
of sins. You see, God doesn't just forgive
sins without the price being paid. There's a redemption price
to get us out of the jail of bondage and sin and safe. There's
a ransom price to be paid. Now, what is that price? If you're
going to understand biblical salvation, you've got to understand
what that cost is and who paid that price. Look at 1 Peter 1,
verse 18. Here it is. For as much as you
know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, now
that leaves us out, silver and gold from your vain conversation
received by tradition from your fathers, that you were redeemed
with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish
and without spot. who barely was foreordained before
the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last
times for you." There's the cost. It costs the Son of God His life. There's the full payment for
all the sins of all His sheep. There's the full payment. Now,
if you're going to understand biblical salvation, you need
to understand that's the full payment. Not a partial payment. You see, most people who call
themselves Christians, they believe that Christ did a partial payment.
Because they believe that most people for whom he shed that
blood even end up in hell. So there's something left to
be done. Now, what is that? Well, it's something you've got
to do. It depends on which denomination you hit. Am I right? Or which culture you hit. Some
say you've got to be baptized as an infant. Some say you've
got to be circumcised. Some say you've got to walk an
aisle. and get baptized. Some say you've got to live,
live, live, live, live. And that fills in the blank that
Christ left. No, sir, that's not biblical
salvation. Biblical salvation says He paid
the price in full. That's right. Jesus paid it all.
All to Him I owe or all the debt I owe. Sin had left a crimson
stain. He washed it. What can wash away
my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. You believe that? Well, if you
don't, don't sing it when we sing it. I mean, the tune's pretty
good. Remember? My hope is built on
nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. And I dare
not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand. Isn't that the way? Oh, there's
a cost on everything. Now, somebody says, well, what
is our cost? Well, there is a cost to discipleship,
but it's not a ransom price that we pay. It's not our redemption.
It's not our salvation. It's the fruit of salvation.
Somebody said, well, we have to give up a lot to follow Christ.
Well, we do. But really, when we follow Christ,
we find that what we give up is nothing. Paul called it dung. Give up your dung and follow
Christ. I count it all but dung. to win
Christ. Because what we have in Him and
by Him and through Him can't even compare to what we give
up. What do we give up? Our dead
works, our self-righteousness, our sin. You see, it's a costly
salvation. But fourthly, it's a great salvation
because it's a free salvation. Now, free to us. It costs Christ
His very life. But it cost us nothing in order
to attain or maintain. Now go back to Isaiah 55. And I didn't do what I told you
all to do. I didn't put my finger there. Bear with me just a moment. Isaiah 55. Look at it. Verse
1. Oh, everyone that thirsteth. Are you thirsty? That's spiritual
thirst. That's what that's called. Hunger
and thirst after righteousness. After salvation. Come ye to the
waters. Where are those waters? It's
where Christ is preached. He's the water of life. He told
that woman at the well. He said, he that cometh to me
out of his belly shall flow rivers, fountains of water that'll never
cease. And he says, come ye, and he
that hath no money, again, no goodness, no righteousness, no
power, come ye, buy and eat. How are you going to buy and
eat when you have no money? Yea, come buy wine and milk. Wine,
that represents the joy of salvation. Milk, that's the fullness of
salvation in Christ. Buy wine and milk without money
and without price. Wherefore do you spend money
for that which is not bread? That's false religion. People
out here trying to buy their way into God's favor, work their
way into God's favor and blessings. He said, that's not bread. And
your labor for that which satisfieth not, hearken diligently unto
me. Give more earnest heed, and eat that which is good, and let
your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, come unto me
here, and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting
covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." What is that? That's Christ. That's salvation. David said, God has made a covenant,
although my house be not so with God, 2 Samuel 23 verse 5, although
my house be not so with God, God, he hath made with me an
everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure, and this
is all my salvation and all my desire. Everything that God requires
of me, I find complete in Christ. It's a great salvation because
it's free. That's what God brings us to
see. It's a great salvation because it's a powerful spiritual salvation. Here's the fruit of it. Here's
the work of the Spirit. You must be born again. You can't see
the kingdom of heaven, the glory of it, the completeness of it
in Christ, and you can't enter into it except through Christ.
He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto
the Father but by me. It's a salvation of the heart.
It's not just cleaning up the outward appearance. It's not
just getting religion. It's not just walking an aisle
and jumping into a pool. It's not just turning over a
new leaf. It's a change of heart by the
power of the Spirit. who brings a sinner to see his
sinfulness and depravity, and that if God were to give me what
I deserved and what I've earned, it'd be eternal damnation. I
have one plea, and that's Christ. I have one hope, and that's Christ
and Him crucified. I have one righteousness, and
that's Christ. He's my holiness. He's my redemption. He's my salvation. God, I'm ready. I'm ready to depart from this
life, because mine eyes have seen Thy salvation. I've seen
Christ. It's a life within, it's a knowledge
within. For with the heart man believeth
under righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made. It's a liberation of the mind,
it's a liberation of the will, and a liberation of the affections. And I'm going to talk a lot more
about that next week. But that's what it is. And then,
sixly, it's a common salvation. It's for anybody who wants it,
and it's the same way for everybody. For all sin and comes short of
the glory of God. It's all through Christ. There's
not one person here today that doesn't need salvation by God's
grace in Christ. And there's not one person here
today who, if you want that salvation, will fail to get it. It's common
to all. It's not ordinary, not that way,
but it's common because we all have the same need, and there's
only one Savior, one mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus. None other name given among men
whereby we must be saved. It's the narrow way, but it's
big enough to accommodate as many who want it. God's way. Salvation by grace. In the seventh
place, it's a great salvation because it's an eternal salvation.
The Bible says in Isaiah 45 and verse 17, Israel, that's talking
about the church, shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting
salvation. You shall not be ashamed nor
confounded, world without end. In Christ, you don't have anything
to be ashamed of. You stand before God in yourself.
In your own works, you have a lot to be ashamed of. But if I stand
before God in Christ, washed in His blood and clothed in His
righteousness, I don't have a thing to be ashamed of. He said, This
is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye Him. Psalm 103 and verse 17 says this,
But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting
upon them that fear Him and His righteousness unto children's
children. Christ said, no one shall pluck them out of my Father's
hand. And then turn to Colossians 3, and I'll conclude with this.
Here's the eighth one. It's a great salvation because
it's a glorious salvation. Now listen to this. Look at verse
1 of Colossians chapter 3. He says, if you then be risen
with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ
sitteth on the right hand of God." Now, there's our ground
and assurance of salvation. Christ seated at the right hand
of God, ever living to make intercession for His people. He saved me by
grace. He keeps me by grace. And then he says in verse 2,
"...set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth,
your love, your time, your mind on the things of His glory."
Verse 3, "...for you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ
in God." I died when He died because He died for me. I was
buried when he was buried, because he was buried for me. I rose
again when he arose again, because he arose again for me. And therefore,
my life is hid. Now, hid there doesn't mean hidden
from view. It means hidden in safety. Your
life is safe with Christ in God. Verse 4, now listen. When Christ,
who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with
him in glory. This salvation is so great because
it will bring a sinner into glory. To stand before God in Christ,
safe and secure forever and ever and ever. Amen.