If you'd like to follow along,
I'm going to be in Hebrews chapter 5. I want to read verses 8 and
9 for a start. Yeah, probably 10 finishes the
sentence. Hebrews chapter 5, verse 8. Though
he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which
he suffered. Being made perfect. He became
the author of eternal salvation Unto all them that obey him called
of God and high priest after the order of Melchizedek now Let me read you something by
John Newton Those only hymns, that's actually a hymn book put
out by John Newton and William Cowper, who were tight. And I
think they egged each other on writing songs, which was good,
because like I said, there's a lot of good songs in that thing. But this is something John Newton
said, and I thought it was really good. If the Lord be with us,
We have no cause for fear. His eye is upon us. His arm is
over us. His ear open to our prayer. His grace sufficient. His promise
unchangeable. I like that. I like that. because
we must never forget the Lord's eternal grace and eternal promises. Also, never forget that everything
eternal belongs to God. He gives it as he sees fit. He
gives it to whom he sees fit according to the pleasure of
his goodwill. And there are some eternal things
which he has given to his people. He's given to us. And that's
what I want to talk about today. My title is Three Eternal Gifts. This is just from the book of
Hebrews, but Three Eternal Gifts. And it starts here. in verse
nine, and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal
salvation. Oh, I like that. Unto all them
that obey him. That's what it says. Guess what?
That's what it means. However, just like that song
we just read, we just sang, what? T'was all of thy grace we were
brought to obey. I like that. I do, I do. That's good stuff. Then give
all the glory to his holy name. Why? To him all the glory belongs. You understand? I'm gonna talk
about three eternal gifts today. I'm gonna talk about eternal
salvation. Very quickly, I'm not gonna get really deep theological
or anything. I'm gonna talk about eternal
salvation, eternal redemption, and eternal inheritance. but
it's to him all the glory belongs. Because these are his eternal
gifts to his people. How do you give God all the glory?
Never try to take credit for your eternal salvation, your
eternal redemption, or your eternal inheritance. It's got nothing
to do with you except he gives it to you. Anyhow, but the salvation
written of in the scripture eternal Let's just be clear the only
begotten well-beloved son of God the one in whom God is well
pleased and still is well pleased is the singular cause of Eternal
salvation that's what it says here in Hebrews. He's the author
of it He's the off it is eternal salvation, but he's the author
he's the cause of He's the source of eternal salvation. Oh, I like this. And make no
mistake about this. Eternal salvation is in Christ
Jesus with eternal glory. Eternal glory. It's all His.
It's all His. Oh, nine different times in the
Old Testament I looked it up. Six of them, I think, are in
Psalms. Nine different times, though, it uses this phrase.
His salvation. Speaking in reference to the
Lord. Capital L, capital O, capital
R, capital D. Jehovah, Yahweh. It's His salvation. Jesus Christ is the author of
it. Jesus Christ is the source of it. Jesus Christ is the creator
of eternal salvation. And, here it is. Jesus Christ
is the giver of eternal salvation. Oh, I like that. Jonah 2 and
9 put it this way. Salvation is of the Lord. It's from the Lord. It's of Him
and given to His people. Eternal salvation. Oh, I like
that. Oh, I love what Gil wrote about
John 2 and 9. I looked that up. said all physical
and temporal salvation Right here all temporal salvations
and deliverances are of the Lord Praise his name. I like that
and all spiritual and eternal salvation is of from Jehovah
Yahweh And it's all of grace None of
works none of works None of works God is the motive and the spring
God is the purpose and the plan God is the purchase and obtaining
and The Lord is the application to the believer That's good stuff. He's the application do the way
Gil put it to particular persons And that pretty good He's doing
all things according to the will of his good pleasure and that
includes the eternal salvation of his people That we are given by him and
Christ Jesus Christ God Manifest in the flesh is the author and
giver of his eternal salvation He gives us his eternal salvation
to his people a chosen people from before the foundation of
the world I want chosen in him before the foundation of the
world oh I like that oh And he calls them to himself, to himself. And he calls them by name, by
name. People, unbelievers, do not have
any idea of the miracle of God's eternal salvation. You understand? We were just as dead as they
are. And God called our name. Jesus
Christ says those that hear the voice of the Son of God and they
that hear, and I'm gonna tell you who's gonna hear, everyone
he's talking to. When he talks to them and they
that hear shall live. And I'm gonna tell you something,
you'll never know you were dead until he makes you alive. And
you want to call that a paradox, you can. But it's the truth.
It's the truth. We're so dead, when we were dead,
we didn't know we were dead. Then, when he gives us life,
we understand what death really is. When the gospel comes to
you in power, and much assurance, and may worry the dickens out
of you at first, that's OK. Most people, it just rolls right
over like water off a duck's back. But when his eternal salvation
comes, you're gonna know it. You're gonna know something's
going on. You may not know what for a while, and you may be incredibly
bothered by it. But that's a good sign. That's
a good sign. Oh, I like that. He gives his
eternal salvation to his people. He calls them to himself by name,
but here's the thing. They come. They come. Oh, I like that too. Because
it says his eternal salvation is unto all, what? That obey
him. How can you obey him if you can't
hear him? You can't. The world is full of it. We're
surrounded. by people who don't know the
voice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh my. Where was I? But oh, yeah, let
me be clear about this. They don't get the eternal life
because of their obedience. The obedience is because of the
eternal life, the eternal salvation. Oh, I like that. His salvation
was purposed from the beginning, purchased by the Son, and is
given to His people in the fullness of His time. All at His good
pleasure. Oh, I like that too. His salvation
is eternal. And by salvation, I mean being
fully forgiven of sins. being fully reconciled to God
by Christ. Not by yourself, not by your
works, although there will be good works. You're ordained unto
them. But you are reconciled to God
by the blood of Jesus Christ. Oh, I like that. Yeah. Let me move on for just a second
here. Hebrews chapter nine, which is where we'll find the other
two eternal gifts that I want to talk about this morning. Hebrews
chapter nine, verse 11. And they shall not teach every
man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, know the
Lord, for all shall know me from the least to the greatest. I'm in the wrong chapter. I'm
sorry, I'm in chapter eight. Oh my, there we go. Don't tell Paul I did that. But Christ being come and high
priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect
tabernacle not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building,
neither by the blood of goats and calves, but By his own blood,
he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption. Now it says for us, that's interpolated,
but you understand, I don't need that for us. He's obtained eternal
redemption, though. Where's eternal redemption? Well,
it's in the one that's obtained it. It's in the one that's obtained
it. God has translated us out of
darkness and into the light of Jesus Christ The blood of Christ
cleanses us from all sin And we have fellowship with him and
with each other where in him Him oh, I like that by his blood
we have eternal redemption And his eternal salvation oh I like that Why are we given
eternal salvation? Because of his eternal redemption
Our great high priest, the priest after the order of Melchizedek,
Jesus Christ, by his own blood, obtained eternal redemption. For us, for his people. For a
particular people, as John Gale said. His redemption, his purchase,
purchase of his people is eternal, is eternal. I like that word,
perpetual, everlasting. And it is by his blood that we
are purchased, redeemed, we were, all of his people were, bought
by him. I know some people don't like
this phrase, he owns you. He owns me. And I'm gonna tell
you something, I'm very, very glad of that. You are not your own. That's
what the scripture says. You're bought with a price. You're
not your own. He owns you. He owns you. He has obtained eternal redemption
for all of his people. You understand? I know my Redeemer
liveth. I know my Redeemer lives. Oh, because my Redeemer, the
Redeemer, is the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, the high God, the Holy One
of Israel, the Savior, the Savior. What? The Lord of hosts is his
name. Oh my. He's the Redeemer that formed
you from the womb. That's what it says. The Redeemer
that formed you from the womb. Why? He loved you. And you were chosen in him from
before the foundation of the world. Why would it be a surprise
he formed you in the womb? Understand, there's nothing new
to God. in this world. There never has
been anything new to God. There's lots of things new to
me. There may be lots of things new to you. But you understand,
there's nothing new to God. His salvation is eternal, and
his redemption is eternal. Oh my. It was in his heart, in
love, before the foundation of the world that he was going to
shed his blood. for his people. The good shepherd gave his life
for the sheep just like he said he would. Just like he said. He said, I am the good shepherd. And the good shepherd layeth
down his life for the sheep. Voluntarily. On purpose. According to plan. God obtained
eternal redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ for his
people. Oh, I like that. By his blood,
he redeemed his people. By his redemption, we have eternal
salvation. Because his blood was, and I
say was because it only was shed once. There's no more shedding
of the blood of Christ. It was shed once. His blood was
the perfect sacrifice for sin. The perfect offering to the Father. For sin, forever. I like that. That's eternal. That's eternal. Oh, what does
it say? What you just read this morning.
Like that verse that some people don't like. Oh for sin's future
too, bless my soul there's pardon too. People don't like that,
but I can tell you this. Read Romans. Blessed is the man
to whom the Lord will not impute sin. That's future. That's now. That's now, 40 years
after I believed. I'm still believing today though. But 40 years after. all my sins
that I'm gonna commit today, he obtained eternal redemption. For us, is the way to put it,
and that's good in that sense. God will not impute sin to one
for whom Christ shed his blood. Eternally. I like that. I do. Oh, oh his redemption is
eternal Just like his salvation So continue on the end of the
right chapter here 9 Hebrews 9 and verse 14 Again, how much
more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit
offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience
from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause,
he is the mediator of the New Testament. that by means of death,
for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament,
they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. Oh, I like that. He said, if
God's translated us out of darkness and into his son's marvelous
light, the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin. And we have
that fellowship with him and with each other. By his blood
we have eternal redemption and his eternal salvation. And here
the writer tells us who that believe by his shed blood, by
his eternal redemption, by his eternal salvation, we have an
eternal inheritance. And it's all in Christ. Oh, it's
all in Christ. Blessed be God, the Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten
us again unto a lively hope, a living hope, by the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead. To, ah, here it is. What? According to his abundant mercy,
he has begotten us again. Unto a lively hope, to an inheritance,
incorruptible, incorruptible, and undefiled. You know what
that means? That means I can't mess it up. That's what it means. This inheritance
is incorruptible, it's undefiled, you can't break it. And thank
God for that. Oh, that fadeth not away. and that
fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, for you, if you
know him, if you know him. Oh, I like that. Believers are
begotten to a lively hope, a living hope in Christ. What's that? It's Christ in you, the hope
of glory. Christ in you, the hope of glory. And we are begotten to this living
hope by Jesus Christ to an eternal inheritance in Jesus Christ. Whoa. And not only that, with
Jesus Christ. Oh, I like that idea. That's
something else. God has promised an incorruptible
inheritance and an undefiled inheritance, an inheritance that
will never, ever fade away. And it's reserved in heaven for
you, for all of his people. What did he tell John? What did
he tell us in John 14.3? He says this, and if I go, Prepare
a place for you. I will come again and receive
you unto myself He's the inheritance He's the
inheritance oh Incorruptible undefiled and never fades away. Oh, I like that I will receive
you unto myself that where I am there ye may be also and He has promised to receive his
people. Oh, I like that. I remember talking to you about
this about 40 years ago, Walter, when we were at another place. Because I didn't know a whole
lot about premillennialism or amillennialism.
I didn't know anything about any of that stuff. All I knew
is what I read. And I remember reading this,
and I remember telling Walter about it, and I told him I liked this
part. I said, here it is. Then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air. This is 1 Thessalonians 4 and
17. And here's the glorious part
for me, this last part of this verse. It says, and so shall
we ever be with the Lord. I'm gonna tell you something,
that's an eternal inheritance. And that's still, 40 years later,
that's what I'm looking for. That's what I want. Oh, oh. Matter of fact, that's who I've
been waiting on for 40 years. And looking for. I think it's
one of the greatest promises ever. And I know he's gonna keep
it, because he keeps all his promises. But here's this. 2 Corinthians 5 and 6 says this.
Therefore, we are always confident, knowing whilst we are at home
in the body, we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith,
not by sight. We are confident, I say, and
willing rather to be absent from the body and to
be present with the Lord. We have an eternal inheritance.
When we die, and we're gonna die unless he comes first. If
he comes first, that'd be great. But if not, we're gonna die,
but to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
And that's an eternal inheritance. That's an eternal inheritance.
Oh, we have an inheritance. and his inheritance is eternal. He's promised it from the beginning. So in conclusion, this is three
eternal things given to us by Christ Jesus and given to us
in Christ Jesus. Eternal salvation, eternal redemption,
and eternal inheritance. And here's the thing, it's his
salvation his redemption and his inheritance. And he gives
it to his people. There's more, there's more. These
are just the three I got here in Hebrews. There's more. Perpetual, everlasting, and eternal. Understand, this was purposed
and planned from the beginning. And here's the thing, from the
beginning, this beginning, he declared this end. Giving you his eternal salvation,
his eternal redemption, and his eternal inheritance to his people,
to his people. Take heart, take heart. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people.
God's salvation is eternal. His redemption is eternal and
his inheritance he gives to his people is also eternal. And give him the glory because
you didn't earn any of it. Neither did I. I didn't earn
any of it. But by God's grace, I have it. and by God's grace, you have
it. Oh, I like that. Because we have all of this and
more through the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. The
foundation of foundation, the foundation of God stands sure. The Lord knoweth them that are
his. That's the seal. It's not that
you know, he does. I like that. Please, don't put
that on me. He does it. He takes care of
all his people. The Lord knoweth them that are
his. Horatius Bonar wrote this about the blood of Christ. It
is the blood that justifies. It is the blood by which we have
peace with God. It is the blood through which
we have redemption and by which we are brought nigh. Oh, I like that. And by his blood,
we are sanctified. It is the blood which is the
seal of the everlasting covenant. It is the blood which cleanses,
which gives us victory. It is the blood which is the
purchase money or ransom of the church of God, it is the blood
of Christ above all. I like this. I like the fact
that from the beginning, God declared this end. Because if he hadn't declared
it, it wouldn't have happened. But since he has declared it,
oh, Christ has people. And they, they, this is the beautiful
one, they will come to him. If you believe him, come to him. Call upon his name of the Lord
and thou shalt be saved. And you'll have, you'll learn
a little bit about eternal salvation, eternal redemption, and eternal
inheritance. You know why? Because he gives
it to each and every one of his people. Oh, I like that. By the
blood of Jesus Christ, we have all eternal blessings. All eternal blessings. And I thank God for his gracious
work for us, his gracious work to us, and his gracious work
in us. Our Heavenly Father, We're thankful
again for this time in this place. Lord, help us. Help us to know your grace more
fully, your works more clearly, your love more dearly. And Lord,
help us to give you all the glory because it is yours. You have
done it all. be with Walter as he comes to
preach, and be with all the other Grace Preachers, Lord, who are
trying to preach the wonderful gospel of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ. In his name we say, amen.