Now if you would, open your Bibles
back with me to Ephesians chapter one. I'm gonna take a break from looking
at the different questions, asking Scripture to deal with a subject that has
been on my mind for some time. I thought it was now maybe a
good time to bring a message on this. Now this book, all of
it is written to declare one message, that God saves sinners. Almighty God, in his mercy and grace, saves
genuine, dead, hell-deserving sinners. Now that's a miraculous
statement that I am afraid us and the whole human race takes
for granted that God saves sinners. The holy God, who is only holy,
Save sinners who only sin. Now that's a miracle isn't it?
It's a miracle of God's power and His grace and His love. That
statement sums up God's greatest glory. That He will have mercy
on whom He will have mercy. And a big part of that mystery
that all of false religion, every single false religion misses
this. That when God saves sinners, He doesn't violate any of His
attributes. When God saves a sinner, He is
holy and just when He does it. God satisfies His holiness, He
satisfies His justice, He satisfies His mercy and His grace and His
love all at one time in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. When
God loves a sinner, God's hatred of sin is not set aside. No,
that sin is still punished and put away in the person of Christ
our Savior. God's salvation, the way in which
God saves sinners is so vast, and it's so complicated, I don't
care how smart you are, the human mind cannot comprehend it. God's
salvation is like himself, isn't it? It's infinite, it's eternal,
it's beyond human comprehension, yet God's salvation is so simple,
a child can understand it. and believe it with childlike
faith if God's pleased to give it. So I want to talk about that
salvation this morning. I've titled the message God's
Fourfold Salvation. And I think it's OK to say this. When you talk about a fourfold
salvation, you know, you take a piece of paper or whatever,
you fold it four times, it becomes stronger, doesn't it? God's fourfold
salvation is so strong It cannot be broken. It cannot be taken
away from his people. Salvation, if it's going to save
a sinner, must bear all four of these characteristics, or
it's not God's salvation. Any so-called salvation that
you hear preached that does not include one of these four folds,
it won't save a sinner. It simply won't do it. Salvation
is useless unless it bears all four of these truths. And the
first one is this. God's salvation was accomplished
in eternity past. Look here at Ephesians 1 verse
9. Having made known unto us the
mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he
purposed in himself. Now when did God purpose that
in himself? In eternity before anything was created. Verse 11
says in whom also we have obtained an inheritance being predestinated. according to the purpose of Him
who worked with all things after the counsel of His own will. Now, when did God predestinate
a people to be made just like His Son? When did God purpose
this salvation who worked with all things after the counsel
of His own will? In eternity past, before God
created anything. God chose a people to save and
He chose the Savior that would save them. And He chose the time
in which He would reveal Himself to those people. That salvation
was not only purposed in eternity. Many people believe that, right?
That it was purposed in eternity. Do you know it was also accomplished
in eternity? Let me show you that in Isaiah
chapter 45. God's salvation was accomplished
in eternity so that it does not have a beginning and it doesn't
have an ending. Isaiah 45, Verse 16. They shall be ashamed and also
confounded, all of them. They should go to confusion together
that are makers of idols. That's their end. But, verse
17, Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting
salvation. You should not be ashamed nor
confounded, world without end, because God says his salvation
is an everlasting salvation. You know, we're so full of ourselves
and we see the word everlasting in scripture, we think it starts
with me and goes on without end. And that's not so. Something
that's everlasting doesn't have a beginning and doesn't have
an ending. God's salvation was accomplished
in eternity before anything was ever created. Let me show you
that again, Romans chapter eight. Very, very, very familiar passage
of scripture, but it shows us that God's salvation was accomplished
in eternity. It's an eternal salvation. Romans 8 verse 28. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to his purpose. So this was God's purpose in
eternity. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of his son that he might be the firstborn
among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate,
them he also called. And whom he called, them he also
justified. And whom he justified, them he
also glorified. Now you notice here that Paul's
writing in the past tense. Not just before you and me were
born, but he's talking in the past tense before creation. Because
God's salvation was accomplished in eternity. before man was ever
created. Paul says here, writing under
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so, I mean, you know, I don't
have to be the sharpest tool in the toolbox to figure out
that this is something that's already accomplished. If Paul
wrote it under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it's true whether
I understand it or not. The Word says God's people are
already glorified. Now, those of us here who believe
this morning, we weren't even born yet when Paul wrote this.
Just like nobody was born or created yet when God purposed
this, we're already glorified, seated in heavenly places in
Christ Jesus, even though we're sitting right here in these chairs
this morning. Now, I know I can't figure that out. I don't care
how smart you are, nobody can figure that out with the natural
mind. But that's so simple, a child can believe it. if God had given
faith to believe it. God's salvation was accomplished
already in eternity past. That's the very reason God didn't
destroy Adam and destroy the whole human race when Adam sinned
and fell from God. You know why God didn't destroy
Adam? He already saw his people that were coming from Adam's
loins. He already saw them as justified. He already saw them
as redeemed. So God in His justice couldn't
destroy them, because they're already justified. They were
already saved, they already didn't have any sin. All that the Lord
was doing in this creation was just waiting until the time to
apply that salvation. But He determined to do it before
time began. In Ezekiel 18, 20, God said,
the soul that sinneth, it shall die. Now, the Lord wasn't whistling
Dixie there. He didn't mean just the unbeliever. He meant everybody. The soul
that sinneth, it shall die. God meant that. Then why didn't
God kill Adam when Adam sinned? Why didn't he just wipe out the
whole human race? They sinned, didn't they? They sure did. Adam
sinned and we sinned in him. Then why didn't God destroy us?
Because their sin had already been put away. in the blood of
Christ. Christ, the lamb slain from the
foundation of the world, had already died for them. Now someone
will say, well, now I see that, but now that was only God's purpose. I mean, Christ hadn't actually
died yet. I mean, you know, the blood hadn't
actually been shed. This was just the purpose of
God. It wasn't real yet. Justification wasn't real yet.
Well, I'm gonna tell you what, in the mind and purpose of God
it was. That's all that counts. That's the only place it counts.
What is it in the mind of God? The purpose of God is just as
sure as the past act of God. A promise of God is just as sure
as a past act of God. And God promised in the covenant
of grace to save his people by the obedience and by the sacrifice
of his son. Then it's already done. It's
already done, and that's what makes God's salvation something
that you can trust. Look back in our text, Ephesians
1 verse 12. It's something that you and I
can trust because it's something the father trusted. Ephesians 1 verse 12, that we
should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ. The father was the first one
to trust Christ. He trusted his son He trusted,
he believed that the son would fulfill his promise in the covenant
of grace. That the son in the fullness
of time would come into flesh and he would redeem all those
people that the father gave him to save. And the father trusted
the son to do it. And he should, shouldn't he?
Because God cannot lie. He's gonna do what he promised
to do. In the fullness of time, that's just what he did, isn't
it? Now, I don't want you to just think this is some doctrinal
statement, you know, that it's doctrinal, it's highfalutin doctrine,
you know, the only preachers talk about, it doesn't really
affect us in our everyday life. Oh, it sure does. It sure does. I always want to preach the gospel
in such a way that the lost who've never trusted Christ will trust
Him, right now that they'll trust Him. And so that you who believe
and have been trusting Him a long time will trust Him again. Here's
why this is so important to you and me. God's salvation has to
be eternal if it's God's salvation. Justification has to be eternal
if God's gonna accept it. I have to be eternally justified
or God will never accept me. Here's why. God never changes. God never changes. If justification
is not eternal, if our salvation is not eternal, then God's gonna
have to send us to hell because God can't change. And nothing
that happens in time is gonna change God or change his purpose
or change his salvation. Christ did not come and die on
the cross to change the father. He didn't come to die on the
cross to change the father so that the father would now love
his people. You know, before the cross, the
father hated his people and after the cross, the father loved his
people. If that's so, God can change. So that can't be so. Christ didn't come to suffer
and die on the cross so that the father would love his people
and accept his people. Christ died on the cross because
the father already saw them that way. Christ died on the cross
because the father already loved his people. God's salvation is
eternal. And that's something you want
to trust your soul to. It's eternal. And Christ died on the cross
because what God purposed in eternity must be accomplished
in time because the Father promised that that would happen. So this
brings me to the second point. God's salvation was accomplished
on the cross. Now, it was accomplished in eternity,
but it's also accomplished on the cross. Look at verse seven,
Ephesians one. In whom we have redemption through
his blood. the forgiveness of sins according
to the riches of his grace. We have redemption through his
blood, the blood that was shed on Calvary Street. At God's appointed
time, Christ came and he put away all of the sin of his people
by his bloody, horrible sacrifice for them. And the blood of Christ,
the blood shed on the cross redeemed his people from all their sin.
The price was paid in full. Christ died as a sacrifice in
human time because that's what God purposed would happen in
eternity. And when Christ cried, it is
finished, God's purpose of the redemption of his people was
finished. Christ's death on the cross did
not make salvation possible if the creature might decide to
let Jesus into their heart. Christ's death did not, His blood
did not make salvation possible if the creature would just decide
to believe it and ratify that at the end. The death of Christ
on the cross accomplished, it paid for the eternal salvation
of God's elect. His blood sealed the redemption
of God's people. Let me show you a couple of scriptures.
Look at Romans chapter four. I'm gonna show you this, the
importance of the blood of Christ, the blood that he shed as a sacrifice
for the sin of his people. Justification and peace with
God was purchased by the blood of Christ. Romans chapter four,
verse 25, who was delivered for our offenses and raised again
for our justification. Christ was raised again as proof
his sacrifice justified his people. Therefore, being justified by
faith, We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
We have justification and peace with the Almighty because of
the blood of Christ. That blood had to be shed, didn't
it? Look in Romans 5 verse 9. Much more then, being now justified
by his blood, we should be saved from wrath through him. God's
elect are justified and they're saved from God's wrath. They're
saved from God's wrath ever falling on them because of the blood
of Christ. Because his blood satisfied God's
justice. Look at Galatians chapter three. Galatians third chapter, verse 13. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. For it's written,
cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. God's elect are delivered
from the curse of the law by the blood of Christ, because
his blood took away the curse. Now, one more scripture, Hebrews
chapter nine. Hebrews chapter nine, verse 11.
Now remember the first point, God's salvation is eternal. Our
second point is God's salvation is accomplished at the cross
by the blood of Christ. Here, this verse brings them
both together. Hebrews 9 verse 11. 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, not by just the picture,
but by his own blood. He entered once into the holy
place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Eternal redemption
was accomplished in time when Christ shed his blood to put
away the sin of his people. But then, there's no salvation
without this third fold of God's creation, or God's salvation.
God's salvation is accomplished when God's elect are born again.
Look back in our text, Ephesians 1. we must be born again. Verse
13, Hebrews chapter 1, In whom you also trusted, when did you
trust? After that you heard the word
of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also, after
that you believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased
possession, under the praise of His glory. You believed Christ
when God the Holy Spirit caused you to be born again. and gave
you faith and you believed. Now, if you and I would be saved,
we must trust Christ the very same way the father trusted him
to pay the redemption price for us. When our Lord told Nicodemus,
you must be born again, this is what he meant. You must be
born again. That's what he meant. You know,
the new birth, it's not optional equipment for the believer. It's
not an optical illusion where you're born again and you're
righteous, but you're really not. You're saved, but you're
really not. You're righteous, but you're really not. You must
be born again. If you and I would be saved,
we must trust the Lord Jesus Christ. We must believe on him. But that does not mean, please
understand this, that does not mean we can give ourselves faith
in Christ. If we would be saved, we must
trust Christ, but that doesn't mean that we can make ourselves
trusted. Here's what that means. If we would be saved, we must
trust Christ. It means we're totally dependent
on God the Holy Spirit to give us the gift of faith in Christ. We're dependent on the Holy Spirit
to make us be born again. Now again, This is not just some
highfalutin doctrinal statement I'm making here. This is a comforting
truth of God's eternal salvation. Whatever it is that God the Father
purposed in eternity, and whatever it is that the Son purchased
on Calvary's tree, must be applied to His people. God must do it. If God elected you unto salvation,
He must give you faith in Christ. because that's his purpose. If
Christ suffered and died to put your sin away, the Holy Spirit
must cause you to be born again because God's justice demands
it. You can't die, you must be given eternal life. You must
be given faith in Christ. Well, now, how's God gonna do
that? How's God gonna give his people faith in Christ? Now,
he'll see to it. He'll see to it. Faith cometh
by hearing. and hearing by the word of God.
God's gonna give his people faith in Christ by what we're doing
right now. The preaching of Christ, the
preaching of the gospel. Tell him, folks, who Christ is
and what he's accomplished for his people, where he is now,
so that we trust him and believe on him. And the moment that the
Holy Spirit enables you and me to believe on Christ, that's
the moment that we experience God's eternal salvation. That's
the moment that it's applied to His people. And I'm telling
you, that's miraculous, isn't it? That's miraculous. When God the Holy Spirit just
moves, you just can't explain it. How
He moves in our midst and gives life where there wasn't any before.
How He causes the light to go on where it wasn't there before. I mean, there's just no evidence
of anything that the elevator going all the way to the top.
And suddenly there is suddenly the lights on. What happened?
Holy Spirit blessed his word. He took the seed of his word
and planted in your heart and caused it to grow to life and
faith in Christ. Look at Romans chapter three.
Romans chapter three. He's always going to do that
through the preaching of Christ. Verse 24, being justified freely by his
grace through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus, whom
God has set forth. How did God set him forth? Through
preaching. Through preaching, God set him
forth to be a propitiation. Watch this, through faith in
his blood. God sets him forth through the
preaching and gives you faith in him. to declare His righteousness
for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance
of God, to declare, I say at this time, His righteousness,
that He might be just and the justifier of him which believe
it in Jesus. God the Holy Spirit's gonna give
the gift of faith in Christ to all of God's elect. I've been at this conference
recently. Of course, you can understand
that different pastors, we call each other and talk on the phone
pretty regularly. And people have asked me with
some of the changes that's happened here, Frank, what are you going
to do? That answer's simple. I'm going
to keep preaching Christ. I'm going to keep setting Christ
forth as a propitiation Because if God's gonna bless you, if
God's gonna save you, if God's gonna call people out of this
community and save them and reveal his son to them, you know how
he's gonna do it? Through the preaching of Christ. Now I ain't
right bright, but I know to keep doing that. Just keep setting
Christ forth. Because God the Holy Spirit is
gonna give the gift of faith in Christ to all of God's elect. And the moment we believe, that's
the moment that salvation's been applied to us. Now our faith,
that doesn't make Christ death effectual, does it? No, his blood
made his death effectual. But our faith does receive everything
that Christ purchased for us on Calvary Street. Our faith
in Christ receives everything that the Father promised to give
us in eternity past. God's salvation is eternal. So you can just bank on this.
The Holy Spirit is going to apply what was already done in eternity
past. He makes his people be born again. It's through the preaching of
the word. And there's no salvation without
it. Now you'll run into folks who will argue against this thing
of eternal salvation or eternal justification. And they just
make everything absolutely preeminent in the death of Christ. This
is all that matters, the death of Christ. And a man was arguing
that with me one time. I said, well, all right, I'll
tell you what. You try waking up in glory, in
the likeness of Christ, without an eternal salvation, and without
the Holy Spirit causing you to be born again. It won't happen. That's why I say this is not
optional equipment. Whatever it is that the Father purposed
in eternity, and whatever it is that the Son purchased on
the cross, the Holy Spirit's gonna apply to His people. He
causes them to be born again. All right, now here's the fourth
thing. And you can't skip this and think that it's not important.
God's salvation is seen by our works. Now you might think I'm
getting ready to just violate everything that I said before,
but I'm not. God's salvation is seen by our
works. Look back in our text, Ephesians
chapter one. Paul says in verse 15, wherefore
I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your
love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making
mention of you in my prayers. Now, how on earth did Paul know
that the Ephesian believers had faith in Christ? How did he know? He knew this for sure, that God
had given them faith in Christ. How did he know that? Their love
to all the saints. Jonathan had no idea what I was
going to preach this morning, but that's what 1 Corinthians
13 is all about. It's the love showed to all the
saints and that love that is felt in the heart of the believer
will be seen in our actions. Paul said the very same thing
to the believers at Colossae. I know God's given you faith
in Christ because of your love. You're the love that you show
to all the saints. Now, wherever there's genuine
faith in Christ, there's always love. There are two sides of
the same coin and you cannot separate them. Faith, work it
by love. Faith is shown and demonstrated
by our love one to another. Let me show you that in the book
of James, James chapter two. We'll begin reading in verse
14. Now what does it profit, my brethren?
Though men say he hath faith and have not works, can that
kind of faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked
and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them,
oh, I love you, depart in peace and be ye warmed and filled,
notwithstanding you give them not those things which are needful
to the body, What does it profit? What is your love? What is it
profit? Even so, faith, if it hath not
works, is dead, being alone. It's such like one side of a
coin. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works.
Show me thy faith without your works. I'll show you my faith
by my works. Thou believest that there is
one God? Thou toost well, the devils also believe in trembles.
But there is no love, is there? But wilt thou know, O vain man,
that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified
by works, when he offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest
thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was his faith
made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled,
which saith, Abraham believed God, and he was imputed unto
him for righteousness, and he was called the friend of God.
how that by works a man is justified and not by faith only. Likewise
also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works when she had
received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as
the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works
is dead also." Now, when James here says that by works a man
is justified, not by faith only, not by faith alone, You know
good and well the scripture's not contradicting itself, don't
you? We know that for sure. We know for sure he's not saying
the sinners are justified before God by our works. We know that's
not so. Paul wrote a whole letter to
the Roman church to teach us just the opposite of that, that
salvation is by faith without our works. We're justified through
faith in Christ without any of our works. Our works don't contribute
to salvation in any way whatsoever. Now the scriptures aren't contradicting
each other. So what does this mean then?
Well it means this, that our works of faith, our works of
love, indicate a genuine work of faith in the heart. That's
what it means. Our works prove our faith before
men, not before God. God doesn't need us to prove
to him that we have faith in the heart, because he's the one
to put it there. But what we do, and the way we live our lives,
Show men what's in our hearts, what's in our hearts. You can
tell what's in a person's heart by the way they act. You know,
a person, a religious person, a Calvinist, we can become so
hard set on salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, that
we end up thinking, well, whatever child of God doesn't matter.
I mean, you know, after all, I don't care what I do, all my
sin is forgiven, so, It doesn't matter what I do, does it? I
mean, I can't earn my salvation by my works, and I can't lose
my salvation by my works and by my sin, so it doesn't matter
what I do. Friend, that's a deadly error.
A deadly error. That's thinking, well, I'm gonna
sin that grace may abound. That's what that is. Scripture
tells us this, and let me go back just one second. Thinking
what I do doesn't matter, That's saying, well, I'm just gonna
sin, that grace may abound. The Apostle Paul said, God forbid
that we think that way. God forbid. How important is
it that I have works of love and faith? Well, James tells
us, if a person says they have faith and they don't have love,
it's a false faith. That kind of faith cannot save.
And he gives two examples. The first one's Abraham. The
scripture says Abraham believed God. Well, how do we know that? How do we know Abraham believed
God? How do I know, well, just what lip service. Abraham just
wasn't, you know, kind of an upright man, a good man. How
do we know what lip service? Here's how. Abraham was willing
to kill Isaac on that altar because God promised him the Messiah's
coming through that boy. And Abraham believed God so much,
he was willing to kill that son because he believed that God's
still going to keep his promise, even if it meant that God raised
Isaac from the dead. He believed God so much he wanted
to kill his son, even though he couldn't see how is it possible
that this son is going to, you know, the Messiah is going to
come through him. I don't know, but I believe God, so I'm going
to do it. That's how Abraham believed God. He was willing
to sacrifice his own son. He was willing to go through
that pain and suffering and loss and thrust that knife into his
own son, the son who he loved. Did he believe God? How do I
know Rahab really believed God? I mean, how do we know that?
Because she put her life at risk because she believed God. She
hid those spies because she believed God. If they'd have found those
spies in her house, they'd have put her to death. But she hid
them anyway because she believed God. And when Israel was coming,
circling the walls and getting ready to come in and destroy
the city, she hung that scarlet line out the window as soon as
those spies left. Now remember how they told her,
now we come back, you hang this scarlet line out the window,
we won't destroy you. She didn't wait until the walls
were getting ready to tumble down, she put it out right that
moment. She identified with God. right away, identifying with
the people of God, with that picture of the blood of Christ.
She put her life at risk to believe God, to be with God's people.
A genuine faith in the heart is seen by how well you love
and take care of one another. See that you love one another.
That's God's commandment to us. And that's how we know a person
really believes God, is they love others, and that love acts
to help take care of one another. When one of these folks is in
need, don't just say, oh, I love you, be warmed and filled. Give
them what they need. That's an act of love and faith.
Your genuine faith in the heart is when a person shows, I need
Christ. I need to hear his gospel, I
need it. And people are willing to put
money in the offering. So this ministry continues. That
kind of generosity and that kind of dedication to this ministry,
this gospel being preached in our community. That's an evidence
of faith in the heart. You know, denying self for the
good of the body, for the good of somebody else. That comes
from genuine faith in the heart. When a person finds themselves
in trouble and trial. I mean, deep, deep waters. And
they don't quit. They don't quit trusting Christ.
The master of fire turns the heat up in that furnace and oh,
it's hot. I mean, it's hot. It'll burn
a lot of dross off. But that resolve, I trust Christ
more than ever before. That comes from genuine faith
in the heart. See, faith in the heart is gonna
be shown in our actions. Now I say that, and we live in
the real world, so I should also say this. That snapshot's never
gonna be perfect, is it? No, we're never gonna be satisfied
with what we've done, with our acts of love and acts of faith,
but a believer's gonna have them. They will, they must, because
God's put a heart of faith and love in them. And the best illustration
I can think of that is one Brother Henry used about the Mississippi
River. He said Mississippi River flows
south. Sometimes it flows east. Sometimes it flows west. Sometimes
it even flows north a little bit. But stay on that Mississippi
River long enough, you're going south. The Mississippi River
flows south. And a believer is gonna walk
in these good works. Because that's the heart that
God's given us. And I would tell you, I know we're never satisfied. We're never satisfied. My motive
is never pure enough. What I do for someone else is
never enough. I know we're not satisfied, but
don't let that stop you. Just do what God's given you
to do. Keep looking to Him. Keep trusting Him. Because here's
where this thing of God's fourfold salvation is going to ultimately
end up. when you awake in glory and you're
gonna be plum saved. That's where this thing ends
up. But until then, until then, I can't think of a better way
for us to spend our lives than serving God by loving and serving
one another. Can you? Can't think of a better
way. And I hope God will enable us
to do that. All right, let's bow together. Our Father, how we thank you
for your salvation, the salvation that you so freely provided for
your people. You provided it, you purchased
it, you applied it to the hearts of your people, and you cause
us to walk after you, to walk after your following, our Lord
Jesus Christ. Father, enable us to show our
love one to another, to serve one another, and be a help one
to another. Father, I beg of you that you'd use this ministry
to bring glory to the name of Christ our Savior, that we would
glorify him who saved us, who loved us and washed us and redeemed
us by his own precious blood. And Father, that you might use
it to reach out to the community, call out your people, bring them
in, that they may be brought to life and faith in Christ and
worship together with us. Cause us, no matter what it is
that you're pleased to do, to faithfully serve Christ, preach
him, and serve our generation. Father, we ask this for your
glory, for the glory of Christ, for his honor, and calling out,
saving, and keeping, and preserving his people. It's in his name,
for his sake we pray, amen. All right, Sean, come lead us
in closing hymn, if you would.