Ephesians Chapter 2, we'll read
verses 1 through 10. You hath he quickened, made alive, who were dead in
trespasses and sins. All men by nature, since the
fall of our father Adam, are born spiritually dead. Spiritually dead. You can talk
to a dead man about how cold it is and he feels nothing. You
can talk to him about how hot it is and he feels nothing. You
can tell him the most telling of stories and he's not in the
least affected. You can warn him of great danger
or promise him great reward. and nothing affects him. He's
dead. Dead. He senses nothing. He feels nothing. He can do nothing. He's dead. Not morally, not physically,
not mentally, but spiritually. He discerns nothing. He understands nothing. He's
D-E-A-D, dead. That means if he lives, something
has to be done for him and in him altogether outside himself. You, you who are now alive in
Christ, you who now believe on the Son of God, you has God made
alive who were dead in trespasses and sins. wherein, that is in
these trespasses and sins, in this death, wherein in time past
ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the
prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in
the children of disobedience. In other words, you all lived
just like everybody else lives. That includes the fellow talking
to you and all in this room and all who are gods acknowledge. You live just like everybody
else. You walked according to the course
of this world. You were motivated by hell and
your life was a life of corruption. You don't. Among whom also we
all had our conversation. You remember the word in first
Peter this morning? We've been redeemed from our
vain conversation, our life, our manner of life. Among these
children of disobedience, we had our manner of life in times
past. What was that? In the lust of
our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the minds,
and were by nature children of wrath, even as others. Does that
mean that God's people were at one time under the wrath of God
and then something happened and they're no longer under the wrath
of God? No, no. Christ, the Lamb of God was slain
for us before the world began. God Almighty is our eternal father,
but we who are God's now, live now for the glory of God by faith
in Christ Jesus once lived in this world under the sense and
sentence of God's wrath in our own consciences guilty so that
there's was no apprehension at all of God's love for us, God's
grace to us, God's mercy toward us. But rather being without
faith in Christ, we could only apprehend God's wrath, judgment
and guilt because of the law written on our hearts and consciences
by nature. We don't. But God. Two of the sweetest words in
human language, but God. I was running as fast as I could
to hell, but God. I was perishing without hope
and without Christ, but God. I was dead in trespasses and
sins, living under the consciousness of God's wrath and still living
as a wrathful child with my fist shoved in God's face, defying
God with every breath. But God, who is rich in mercy
for his great love, wherewith he loved us. Oh, what a remarkable
statement. But God, who is rich in mercy
because of his great love, wherewith he loved us even when we were
dead in sins. The apostle writing by inspiration
keeps emphasizing our natural condition dead, dead, dead, dead,
dead, in sin, guilty, corrupt, vile, helpless, useless, worthless. But even when we were dead in
sins, in that state, in that condition, when we had no thought
toward God, no love for God, no desire for God, even when
we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. He made
us alive with Christ. Made us alive by giving us a
living union with Christ, putting Christ in us in the experience
of his grace. Made us alive by the resurrection
of Christ himself when he was raised from the dead. Read what
it says now. Here's the conclusion. By grace,
ye are saved. By grace, ye are saved. How else could it be? You were
dead. By grace, you are saved. How else could it be? You were
lost. By grace, you're now saved. How else could you be saved?
You were dead in trespasses and in sins, children of wrath, even
as others, and hath raised us up together. That's what it is
to be made a life. It is to be given a resurrection
life, raised up from the dead, just like Lazarus was raised
from the dead. The Lord Jesus came to where
we were and called us by his spirit and raised us from the
dead. The resurrection, that first
resurrection is the new birth. John says, Blessed and holy is
he that hath part in the first resurrection. On such the second
death hath no power. We don't. and made us sit together
in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. God raised us up with
his son and sat us down with his son in heaven's glory. Not he's going to do it, Rod,
he's already done it. He's already done it. We are
going to experience it, but the work is already done for we were
raised up with Christ. Read on now, verse seven. And
he did all of this with good reason that in the ages to come
he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus that he might display for all
eternity the riches of his grace in you. He saved you not for your sake,
but for his name's sake. Now here's another conclusion.
For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. How are
sinners saved? By grace, through faith, And
this salvation, this grace, this faith is the gift of God. But Brother Don, what's the sinner's
part? Not of works, lest any man should
boast. Now watch this next line. For
we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works. which God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them. We are God's workmanship created
in Christ Jesus to good works which God has before ordained
we should walk in them. I presume, I hope this is not
presuming too much. I presume that if God before
ordained that you walk in good works, you're going to walk in
good works. If you've been raised from the
dead, God has before ordained it and you will. What are those
works? Never what men call good works. Never. Never those things that
religious folks put on their charts and their church covenants
and say, we agree to do this and not to do that and do this
other thing and not do the other thing. Never, never. Good works are always in this
book described as works of faith and love. Faith and love. I was hungry and you visited
me. I was naked, and you clothed
me. I was in prison, and you came and visited me. I was hungry,
and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to
drink. Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world. Our Savior shall say
to all who are raised from the dead by his grace." And they'll
say, well, Lord, when did I ever do that? When did I ever do that? That's so different from these
fellows on the left side. Depart from me, you cursed. I
never knew you. For I was hungry and you gave
me nothing to eat. And I was thirsty and you gave
me nothing to drink. I was naked and you gave me nothing
to wear. I was sick and in prison and
you never once visited me. And they shall say, Lord, You
must be mistaken. I remember very well when I did
all those things. Because the self-righteous always
presume their goodness and the righteous never do. The self-righteous
always presume they have a goodness about them that other men don't
have. The righteous know full well
they do not. We are his workmanship created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained. We should walk in them. And when
he gets done, Merle, he's going to reward us for the works that
he's done for us and works in us, reward us with the perfection
of heavenly glory. But this word workmanship, his
workmanship. Read it this way, we are his
masterpieces. His masterpieces. You see God's creation, and you
see wonders everywhere. Everywhere. You go to the desert,
and as bleak as the desert is, there are wonders displaying
God's power and greatness. You go to the ocean and you see
the ocean splashing against the shore and you see the wonders
of God's creation. You go to the high mountains
covered with snow and you watch an avalanche fall and you see
the wonder of God's creation. You go down to the creek and
listen to the water running over the rocks and you see the wonders
of God's creation. But here's the masterpiece of
God's hand. The masterpiece of God's workmanship. His masterpieces. Now I want
to talk to you tonight about God's salvation. Or you can put
it another way, God's masterpieces. I presume that you're here because
you're interested in salvation. Because you want God's salvation. But if you were to ask a dozen
people, a dozen people sitting at your next family get-together,
a dozen people, ask a dozen people coming out of any church door
in town about God's salvation, what it is, you'd get at least
a dozen different answers. All of them would have something
to say about grace, but they would all add something to it
about what you do. What is God's salvation? How does God save sinners? By
his grace. What do the scriptures mean when
they talk about salvation by grace? I wish that we could lay
aside all the church creeds, confessions, and catechisms,
lay aside all the theology books, all the religious papers, even
the opinions of great men in the past, and listen to what
God says about his salvation. Try to find out what God says
in this book about salvation. Folks want to divide up and fight
over Calvinism and Arminianism. I want to tell you something
that will shock some folks. I don't think it will any of
you. I wouldn't walk across the street to convert an Arminian
to Calvinism. I don't give a flip what you
go to hell with. I don't want you to go to hell.
Calvinism is no better than Arminianism. I want you to know Christ. I
want you to know and experience God's salvation. You mean you
wouldn't argue with somebody about the five points of Calvinism?
Not for a second. I used to do that when I was
a child. Not anymore. It won't do anybody
any good for you to convince them that Tulip is correct. Won't
do anybody any good. It will do somebody some good
for you to convince them that Jesus Christ is the savior of
sinners. as you testify to them what God's
done for you. What is salvation? Salvation
is that huge, huge, huge word used in this book to describe
the deliverance of our souls from sin and death, from the
dominion of sin from the curse brought upon us by the law of
God because of sin to deliver us into the glorious liberty
of the sons of God and bring us at last in the perfection
of Jesus Christ himself as holy men and women, holy and without
blame before God. Oh, what salvation. He will deliver
us by his salvation, not only from sin and its curse and its
consequences. He will deliver us from its very
being. And he will so triumph over our
ruin and fall in our father, Adam, that it makes even that
to redound to his glory and our better eternal good. Better off. to have fallen in
Adam and been raised in Christ than never to have fallen. Better
off. Oh, how can you say that? Because
that's exactly what God did. That's exactly what God did.
Salvation is not an experience, but an emancipation. It's not
a deliverance, a decision you make, but a deliverance God accomplishes. It's not a reformation of your
life, but rather it is the restoration of life. Salvation is God's work
for you and in you in Christ Jesus. I want you to see that
wherever salvation is spoken of in this book, wherever it's
spoken of in this book. It always has some things emphatically
stated about it. We're told that salvation is
by grace alone. By grace alone. Some years ago,
local Campbellite preacher wrote an article in Advocate Messenger,
and he said salvation is by grace, but the Bible nowhere says salvation
by grace alone. And he was absolutely right.
It nowhere says that. It just everywhere teaches that.
Almost every time the Word of God speaks about God's salvation,
particularly in the writings of Paul, he said, you're saved
by grace. Now, if you don't understand what that means, not by works.
and he backs it up almost every time he says it. You're saved
by grace, not of works. Saved by grace, not by works.
Your works have nothing to do with it. Salvation by grace alone. That grace is received and experienced
through faith alone. Not just any kind of faith. Faith
in Jesus Christ. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God. What does that mean? Whosoever
believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. Well, Brother
Don, if we can just give a fellow a formula to follow and convince
him that everything is all right, then he's born of God. Hold your hands here and turn
back to Acts chapter 19. Acts chapter 19. You remember the incident here
with these sons of Sceva? Acts chapter 19. Verse 13, there were certain
of the vagabond Jews. Acts 19, 13. Vagabond Jews. Jews who just kind of lived like
gypsies going around everywhere. Religious folks. Exorcist. Exorcist. Now, you are familiar
with the movies. I don't recommend you watch them.
I've never watched one, don't intend to, about exorcism. And
the papists always have them across, as if devils are scared
to death of the image of a cross. They're the ones who made it. No, that's got nothing to do
with it. What is an exorcist? An exorcist
was one who was known to cast out devils by a formula. Cast out devils by a formula. And that's exactly what those
representations of papists are supposed to do. They hold a cross
and they have some holy water and they repeat a formula. And
folks shake until the house shakes and the bed shakes and suddenly
the demon comes out and it looks like vomit. Nothing like that ever happened
in scripture. Nothing like that ever happened. That's just fakery. That's just tomfoolery in the
name of religion. Satanism, certain powers that
we don't understand, no question about that, but not casting out
demons. No, sir. No, sir. These sons
of Sceva, like the Papists who succeeded them, were fellows
who cast out demons by formula. Badness do the same thing. Do
the same thing. They give you a formula. You go down the Roman's road.
The wages of sin or death, did you ever sin? Well, I don't know.
Well, did you ever tell a lie? Well, did you ever fib a little
bit? Well, yeah, I did that. See, the wages of sin or death,
you don't want to die, do you? And on and on you go. Believe
on Jesus everything be alright. Oh, well, I'll say that I believe
in Jesus bless God. You're safe. You're alright Vagabond
Jews casting out demons as exorcist. That's all that's all Well, what
does that mean then? He that believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God Anybody who believes that the
man Jesus That man they called the Nazirite actually has accomplished
all that he said he would accomplish in all the Old Testament. Anyone
who believes that Christ alone is his righteousness, that Christ
alone is atonement, that Christ alone is acceptance with God,
trusting his soul to this man, Jesus of Nazareth, who is God
in the flesh. He's born of God. He's born of
God. Salvation is by grace alone,
through faith alone, And it's in Christ alone. It's not in
the Baptist Church or the Papist Church or the Anglican Church
or the Pentecostal Church or Islam or Judaism or Buddhism
or anything else. Salvation's in Christ. It's in
a person. It is a living union with a person. Salvation. Eternal life. This is life eternal that they
might know they the only true God. and Jesus Christ, whom thou
hast sent. Do you know him? Do you know
him? Brother Don, I don't know. Yes,
you do. Yes, you do. Yes, you do. Do you trust Christ, only Christ,
as your acceptance with God? Trust Christ, only Christ, for
the redemption of your soul? Christ, only Christ, for eternal
righteousness? I don't know. Yes, you do. Yes, you do. Yes, you do. Salvation
by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. And this
salvation is accomplished entirely without works on the part of
the one who saved. Now, how can I stress this adequately?
This salvation is the free gift of God and is in no way conditioned
upon, in no way dependent upon, in no way does it hinge upon,
in no way is it determined by anything you do, past, present,
or future. No way. No way. Salvation by
God's free grace. Now, what God does for me in
his grace does in great measure determine what I think, how I
feel, what I do, the way I live. It does in great measure determine
that. Let no one mistake what I'm saying.
But what I do and how I think and how I feel does not in any
way determine God's salvation. Oh, bless God, that's so. Bless God, that's so. Salvation
is God's free gift. Now let's see if this is what
the word of God says. I just want to read some scripture
and you read along with me. Turn to Romans chapter 3. Romans
chapter 3. Paul gets to the end of his arguments
about man's universal depravity in this third chapter of Romans.
And in verse 28, he says, therefore, now this is the only sensible
thing you can say about that. If Jews and Gentiles are both
condemned, if Jews and Gentiles are both guilty, if Jews and
Gentiles are both lost without God, without the knowledge of
God, dead in trespasses and sins, therefore we conclude that a
man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Look again,
Romans chapter 4. Verse three, what sayeth the
scripture? Abraham believed God. Abraham
believed God. This man came out of earth calities.
God revealed himself to him. God revealed himself to him in
the person of his son, his seed, who would be the sacrifice for
sin. by whom alone he would live before
God and he would have a generation to serve him called Abraham C. Abraham said, thank God. He believed God. No, that means he trusted Christ.
He trusted Christ. Well, he didn't know Christ.
Who told you that? Abraham rejoiced to see my day,
the Savior said. He saw it and was glad. Abraham
took his son Isaac up to Mount Moriah and sacrificed him there.
And he said, we'll call the name of this place Jehovah-Jireh. God the Lord will provide. And he wasn't talking about just
providing food and water. He was talking about providing
grace and salvation. Abraham believed God. And God
counted it to him for righteousness. Now, verse 4, to him that worketh
the reward is not reckoned of grace, but of debt. In other words, Abraham's justified by faith
without works, and you who claim to have God's grace by your works,
you who claim to have God's salvation by something you do, That's not
grace. That's the reward of the debt.
God's paying you what he owes you. Read on. But to him that
worketh not. What's that mean? What does it
look like it means? To him that worketh not. Oh,
wow. That's deep. That's, it'd take
a long time to figure that out. No, a fellow who doesn't work
is one who's at rest. He's quit working. That's what
we do. Fred, when we believe on the
son of God, we quit working. We come into a blessed Sabbath
rest. Do nothing to gain God's favor. Do nothing to improve our standing
in God's favor? Do nothing to keep God's favor?
Do nothing to sustain God's favor? What do you do? Believe on the
Son of God. As you therefore have received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. Read on. To him that
worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly,
his faith is counted to him for righteousness. Romans chapter
9, verse 15. God saith to Moses, I will have
mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on
whom I will have compassion. So then, it is not of him that
worketh, Is that what it says? It's not
of him that willeth. And it's saying the same thing.
For salvation depends on the exercise of your will. Just the
exercise of your will. God will save you all if you'll
just let Him. Jesus died for you. God's done
everything He can. The Spirit's called you. If you'll
just let Him, He'll save you. Then what do you need Him for? What do you need it for? Salvation
not by him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but
of God that showeth mercy. Of God that showeth mercy. Now, scriptures are very plain. Not only do the scriptures teach
the exact opposite of free will works religion, The scriptures
state in the plainest language possible that salvation's got
nothing to do with what you do, be it works of religion, works
of morality, works of reformation, works of charity. Salvation's
got nothing to do with that. And salvation's got nothing to
do with the exercise of your will. Salvation is the gift of
God. Turn to Galatians. Galatians
chapter five. Let's stop at verse chapter two
for a minute. Galatians chapter two. Verse 16. Peter was at Antioch
and, uh, Peter flat messed up. He just flat messed up. He was
over there at Antioch eating with the Gentiles and they were
having a good pork barbecue. And he was chowing down on some
ribs, and he saw some fellas from Jerusalem coming, some Judaizers,
who believed that you must be circumcised to be saved. And
this is what he did. He just wiped his mouth and walked
away from the table. That's all he did. He didn't
say anything. He just wiped his mouth, and
he He said, excuse me, fellas, I need to be dismissed and walked
away. And a whole bunch of folks walked
away with him. Because by his example, he demonstrated that
this somehow has got something to do with God's salvation. And
he led a dissimulation against the apostle Paul and the preaching
of the gospel. And Paul said, I grabbed him
by the scuff of the neck and I shook him good right in front
of everybody. And I said, Peter, hang on, bud, you're dead wrong.
You mean he literally did that? No, no. He just flat scolded
him publicly because he had led a public dissimulation. Now,
look what it says. Glacier to 60, knowing that a
man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith
of Jesus Christ. Even we had believed in Jesus
Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ. We're
justified by our Lord's faithful obedience as our substitute.
And now we believe him that we might be justified by his faith
and not by the works of the law. For by the works of the law shall
no flesh be justified. Verse 22 or 21, rather. Paul said, I do not frustrate
the grace of God. Frustrate it, make it meaningless. For if righteousness come by
the law, then Christ is dead in vain. If righteousness can
be accomplished by something you do, then Christ died for
nothing. And you frustrate the grace of
God, you deny the whole thing. Look in chapter five, verse two.
Behold, I, Paul, say to you, that if you be circumcised, Christ
shall profit you nothing. Now I've just got to ask, is
there anybody here who has an appointment anytime soon to go
get circumcised? You know, while I will be 61
years old, just a few days, I've never even thought about the
possibility. Never understood why any man
would choose to do so. Never understood that. Never
understood that. Well, that doesn't have anything to say to us then.
It's not what he's talking about. He's not talking about physical
circumcision alone. The Jews looked upon circumcision as the
token of God's grace, as the indication of God's grace. And
you couldn't have God's grace without being circumcised. If
you do something, Bill Raleigh, if you do something, I don't
care whether it's going through your Bible reading program or
saying your prayers and if you do something, coming to church,
giving, working, if you do something by which to win God's favor or
to make yourself in better standing with God, what does it say? Christ shall profit you Nothing,
nothing. Verse four, Christ has become
of non effect unto you. Whosoever of you are justified
by law, you're falling from grace. You've missed the gospel altogether. God has saved us and called us
with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to
his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus
before the world began. but is now manifest by the appearing
of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death and
hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Back in Ephesians chapter 2. Salvation is the work of God
alone. The gracious work of God wrought
for us and in us. without our aid, without our
assistance, through the mediatorial work of Christ and through the
omnipotent mercy and irresistible grace of God the Holy Spirit. And at last, we are his masterpieces. His masterpieces. And when God's
salvation is finished, He will spread the host of his redeemed. Oh, the innumerable, countless
10,000 times 10,000 of his redeemed. He will spread them before the
wandering worlds of the damned, demons and Satan and the damned
in hell, and show them this is what my grace has done. This is God's salvation. It's
what he planned. It's what he purchased. It's
what he performs. It is that which shall give him
the praise. So God's people say with Jonah,
salvation is of the Lord. Amen.