Turn with me to Ephesians chapter
two. Ephesians chapter two. If you're taking notes, and I
always recommend that you do, it helps you to remember things.
The title of my message is Six Bible Descriptions of Salvation. I'll give you six points, and
they'll be very brief. You won't have any trouble following
along. I presume you're here because,
at least in some measure, somehow, when this life is over, you hope
to stand before God in heavenly glory, in everlasting salvation. We want salvation. But if you
asked a dozen people, if you left here this morning, went
to the nearest shopping mall and asked a dozen people about
salvation, I guarantee you, you'd get at least a dozen different
answers as to what salvation is. Most everybody thinks salvation
is in the church, in baptism, about everybody I just walked
an aisle, made a profession of faith, knelt at some altar in
some Baptist church at some morning's bench. I know I'm saved because
I had this indescribable sensation that day when I went down to
the old morning's bench and I prayed through. You might as well have
gone to a confessional booth and kissed the rosary bead and
talked to a priest. Salvation not accomplished in
any of that nonsense. Some say salvation is taking
the Lord's Supper. Salvation, I obtained it with
meditation and prayer. They think that moral reformation
and moral decency with a little religious flavor accomplishes
salvation. Some foolishly imagine that acquiring
a certain measure of doctrinal knowledge is the acquirement
of salvation. Many think that they are just
broken enough. that will be God's salvation.
If they just have a certain sensational religious experience, that's
certainly salvation. With all the confusion and babble
there is in this world, I think it might be good for us to lay
aside the church creeds, the confessions of faith, the catechisms,
all of them, all of them, all of them. Lay aside the theology
books, the religious papers, even the opinions of great men
in the past, all of them, and try to forget for just a little
while what Calvinists say salvation is and what Arminians say salvation
is. And see if we can look in this
book and discover what God says it is. Will you dare do that? Will you
dare put out of your mind for just a few minutes everything
your mama and daddy, your grandma and grandpa, that pastor and
this one's ever said to you about salvation? Just put it all aside
and let's see what God says in his word salvation is. Nothing
else much matters, does it? Nothing else much matters. Well,
I follow John Gill. I follow Spurgeon. I follow John
Wesley. Put them all aside. Let's see
what this book says. Let's start in Ephesians chapter
2, verse 8. Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8. By grace are ye saved through
faith. and that not of yourselves now
the apostle paul writing by divine inspiration speaks of three things
he talks about grace and faith and saved salvation by grace
are you saved through faith and then he uses one singular connecting
word and that Because he's speaking of all three things as one thing. The three things go hand in hand. You can't have one without the
other. If you have one, you have the
other. If you have grace, you have salvation
and you have faith. If you have faith in Jesus Christ,
you have grace and you have salvation. And that, the grace, the salvation
and the faith, is not of yourself. It's not of yourselves. It's
not something that is mustered from within. It's not something
that lies dormant within you and must be stirred and flamed
until at last it comes to life. That, not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. Not a present waiting for you
to open it. Not a package. It's amazing to me how preachers
all put on a fake smile. Sometimes I think they have special
surgery. Smile like possums eating briars. A preacher on television
last year during Christmas season back home, he said, salvation
is like a present. Every year under the tree we
have presents that somebody didn't come and get. And the presents
are left unclaimed and unopened. That's God's salvation for you.
Here it is, just take it. Ralph Barney used to say somebody
ought to put a ten cent bounty on preachers. Maybe two cent. Oh, what nonsense. No. When the scripture speaks of
salvation as a gift, it's not an offer. It's a gift, something
God sticks in you. Something God doesn't offer to
you, He performs it in you. It's a gift in its freeness,
and it's performed as that mighty operation of God. Not of works. That's what it means when it
says it's a gift. Not of works. Because if you had anything to
do with it, you'd stick your thumbs in your suspenders and
pop them, and you'd say, look at me, I saved myself. Well,
nobody said that. Listen to them. Just listen to
them. Everybody says that. Not of works,
lest any man should boast. Now, let me say a couple of things
before I look at our first text. First, we must be agreed upon
when we talk about salvation. That's what we're talking about.
Salvation is the deliverance of our souls. from the ruin of
the fall of Adam, our father, and the ruin of our souls in
Adam's fall. It is the deliverance of our
souls from the pit of damnation. The deliverance of our souls
from the curse of the law. the deliverance of our souls
from the dominion of sin and all the evil consequences of
sin into the glorious liberty of the sons of God in heavenly
glory when this world is on fire. It is the complete deliverance
of our souls. Salvation is not just an experience
I had yesterday or 40 years ago. Salvation is that which God performs
for me, including everything done in eternity past, everything
done in time, everything done today, and everything done tomorrow. It takes in the whole of God's
operations of grace, whenever you think about salvation. Think
about salvation in this huge way. It includes everything. Everything. The scriptures never
isolate salvation to one event or one experience. Salvation
includes election, and the redemption of our souls by Christ, and the
new birth, and the preservation of our souls in grace, and resurrection
glory. I want you to see that wherever
salvation is spoken of in this book, four things are always
asserted about it, emphatically asserted. Salvation, number one,
is by grace alone. Why do you say by grace alone?
The Campbellite preacher in Danville Church of Christ, in case you
don't know who Campbellites are, writes an article and he every
now and then likes to take me to task. That's all right. He says, nowhere does the Bible
say salvation is by grace alone. And he's right. It never says
that. But it teaches it everywhere.
Salvation by grace alone. Without works. Salvation by God's
will, not by your will. Salvation by God's doing, not
by your doing. Number two. Salvation by faith
alone. by faith alone. That is, it is
that which we obtain only by faith in Jesus Christ, and even
that faith is the gift of God. It's part of the salvation. Salvation
is in Christ alone. Not in this church or that. Not
in this denomination or that. Salvation is not an experience,
it's an emancipation. It's not a decision, it's a deliverance.
It's not a reformation, it's a restoration. And it's all in
Christ. This salvation, by grace alone,
through faith alone, in Christ alone, is accomplished entirely
without works on the part of the one saved. Now be sure you
hear me right. Be sure you understand what I'm
saying. My works, what I do or do not do, whether it be outwardly
performed or just inwardly imagined, my works have absolutely nothing
to do with my relationship with God. Nothing. Listen carefully. My relationship
with the eternal God does in great measure determine what
I do. But what I do does not in any
measure determine my relationship with God Almighty. God's grace
has much to do with my works. But my works, be they good or
bad, have nothing to do with God's grace. Now let's see if
I can make good on that in this book. We read it here in Ephesians
2, verses 8 and 9. You just listen to this. Therefore
we conclude that a man is justified by faith. Well, that's good without
the deeds of the law. That's even better. What saith
the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it
was counted to him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the
reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. If you do something
to get it, and God gives it to you, it's a reward of debt. But
to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth
the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Therefore
it is of faith that it might be by grace to the end, the promise
might be sure to all the seed. So then it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.
Paul said we know that a man is not justified by the works
of the law. By the works of the law shall
no flesh be justified. Turn over to Galatians chapter
5. Now let me show you the importance of this. Brother Don, what can be wrong
with a man trying to do something to please God. I had my father a few years before
he died. He was visiting with me, and
whenever he came to visit his mom, I tried my best to reason
with him from the book. And he said to me right before they
left the house one day, tears running down his cheeks, He said,
Son, someday, someday, I hope I can do something to make up
to God for all that I've done. And with broken heart, I said,
Dad, quit trying. You can't make up to God. You
can't do it. And if you don't quit trying,
you're going to hell. Quit trying. Quit, try. Or you can't be serious. Let's
see what the book says. My opinion doesn't matter, and
neither does yours. What does the book say? Galatians
chapter 5, verse 2. Behold, I, Paul, say unto you,
that if you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. Now you can read that this way,
and you read exactly what the Holy Spirit of God intends. Behold,
I, Paul, say to you, if you say your prayers every day, Christ
shall profit you nothing. Behold, I, Paul, say to you,
if you read three chapters every morning and three every night,
Christ shall profit you nothing. Behold, I, Paul, say to you,
if you join New Caney Latter-day Saint Baptist Church in New Caney,
Texas, and you get baptized, Christ shall profit you nothing.
Behold, I, Paul, say to you, if you become a thorough-going
Calvinist, Christ shall profit you nothing. You mean, Brother
John, that I ought not to do any of those things? That's not
what he said. That's not what he said. If you
do any of those things, hoping to get God to smile at you, You
do anything hoping to win God's favor. You do anything and hope
by those things to make atonement for your sin and to make up to
God. Christ has not been trusted by
you and he will profit you nothing. You can't trust two things. You
can't trust Christ and what you do. You can't trust Christ and
your works or your baptism or your will. It's either Christ
or nothing. And if you have something else,
Christ is nothing. Look at verse 4. Christ is become
of no effect unto you. He doesn't say Christ is become
of no effect. He said Christ is become of no effect unto you.
Whosoever of you are justified by the law, You've missed grace
altogether. You've fallen from grace. This
then clearly is the doctrine of Holy Scripture. Salvation
is God's work alone. It is a gracious work of God
wrought for sinners and wrought in sinners by God Almighty without
our aid and without our assistance in any way through the mediatorial
work of Jesus Christ our Lord by the power of God the Holy
Spirit. All right. Let's get started. Genesis chapter
49. Six Bible descriptions of salvation. The very first time this word
salvation is used in the Bible. It's used by Jacob in the prophetic
words given to his sons regarding the twelve tribes of Israel.
Look at Genesis 49 verse 18. And there Jacob says, I have
waited for thy salvation, O Lord. If we had nothing else to go
on except the law of first mention, that is, this is the first time
the word is mentioned in scripture. That's enough to teach us that
wherever this book talks about salvation, it's talking about
something that belongs to God. It is thy salvation. Salvation
is the peculiar property and the peculiar prerogative of God
Almighty. Jonah said salvation is of the
Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. The psalmist David said the salvation
of the righteous is of the Lord. Salvation is the Lord's. Do you remember how Moses brought
the children of Israel out to the edge of the Red Sea? They've
come out of Egypt. Passover has been sacrificed.
And they're at the edge of the Red Sea and Pharaoh's horses
are breathing down their necks. and they're murmuring and complaining.
Why did you bring us out here to kill us? And Moses had a response. Oh hurry up and do! Moses said stand still and see
the salvation of the Lord. God built a wall out of water
and dried up the sea and delivered his people. It's repeated time
and again. The Lord said to Josh, in fact,
you shall not fight in this battle. The battle is the Lord's. Stand
ye still and see the salvation of the Lord. Fear not, Jacob. I will hold thee. I will help
thee. I will hold thee by my right
hand, the right hand of my righteousness, for I have redeemed thee. Fear ye not. Salvation is of
the Lord. It is that which God purposed,
that which God provides, that which God performs, it is that
which God brings to perfection, and it is that for which God
will have the praise. Salvation is of the Lord. It
belongs to Him. I remember when I was just a
boy, my pastor, Brother Tavner Davis,
spoke about Jonah in the whale's belly. And he said, he said,
I can just picture Jonah in that whale's belly and some Arminian
free will preacher comes out there and knocks on the whale's
belly. And he said, Jonah, Jonah, you've got to make a decision.
And he said, as Jonah's spitting out the seaweed, he said, oh
no, my decision's what got me here. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is God's prerogative.
It is God's performance. It is altogether God's property. He gives eternal life to whom
He will. Well, Brother Don, the way you
preach sounds to me like, in this thing of salvation, there's
nothing for me to do. You got it just right. Nothing
for you to do. Nothing for you to do. Nothing
for you to contribute. You mean, Brother Don, nothing
depends on me? Nothing. Nothing. Number two,
Hebrews chapter five, verse nine. Hebrews chapter five, verse nine.
The Apostle Paul, guided by inspiration, is describing our Redeemer, the
Lord Jesus Christ. And he says in verse nine that
the Lord Jesus Christ is the author of eternal salvation,
being made perfect He became the author of eternal salvation
unto all them that believe. Now please listen carefully.
Though our salvation was purchased at Calvary by the blood of Jesus
Christ, and though it is wrought in the hearts of chosen sinners
by God the Holy Spirit at God's appointed time of love and regeneration,
salvation is an eternal work of God. It was devised and secured
in eternal predestination, purposed according to the will of God
before the world began, and it was performed in the covenant
of grace by God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit,
before ever God said, let there be light, and there was light.
I'm not talking about what Calvinism says. I don't give a hoot what
Calvinism says. I'm not talking about what's
logical or necessarily logical. I'm talking to you about what
God says plainly in his word. Either God says it, Glenn, or
it's not so. It's just that simple. Jesus
Christ is described like this in the book of God. The Lamb
slain from the foundation of the world. slain from the fa... that means
God Almighty sacrificed His Son before ever the world was born
ever made before ever His Son was born at Bethlehem before
ever He made anything He sacrificed His Son as the Lamb before the
world began and He accepted Him and He accepted us in Him God
chose us in Christ and predestinated us unto heavenly glory according
to the good pleasure of His will, giving us all the blessings of
grace in Christ before the world began. Ephesians chapter 1 says
so. And He accepted us. Not just made us acceptable,
He accepted us. Accepted us because He accepted
us in the beloved where He had put us by His grace. And we were
redeemed, justified, called, and glorified in eternity. Turn to Romans chapter 8. Let
me show you. Romans chapter 8. Now I hear folks say, well that's
hard-shelled doctrine. That's primitive Baptist doctrine.
I don't care if it's Buddhist doctrine. This is what the book
says. This is what the book says. Romans chapter 8, verse 28. We know that all things work
together for good. That's not what the book says.
That's not what the book says. Bumper stickers say it all over
the table. That's not what the book says. Church signs say it
all over the country. That's not what the book says.
All things work together for good. Right there it is, Brother
Don. That's not what the book says because that's not all it
says right there. And if we want to know what the book says, Brother
Ray, we've got to see what the whole thing says. What does it say? All things work together for
good to them that love God. There. That's still not all the
book says. All things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are thee called. That's
still not it. According to His purpose. Now you got to what the book
said. Salvation is by purpose. Not your purpose, but God's.
And he works all things together in time to accomplish his purpose
that he purposed in eternity. In verse 28, he's telling us
what God is doing. When you read your newspaper,
don't pay any attention to the newspaper commentators. They
don't know what's going on, conservative or liberal. They don't know what's
going on. They don't have a clue. Read this book. Remember what
we're reading right now. What's going on? God's saving
his people. God's saving his people. He raises
up nations and tears down nations to save his people. That includes
this one. That includes this one. I appreciate
those men serving our nation, defense of liberty and freedom.
I meet one in the airport. I love them. I appreciate what
they're doing. Thank God for them. Pray for them. I'm prepared
to go right now if called on. I'm dead honest. I'm prepared
to go right now. But don't ever imagine this nation has a claim
on God. It doesn't. It doesn't. God raised up this
nation just as he raised up Rome and just as he raised up Cuba
for the saving of his people. That's the only purpose she serves. She serves the purpose of a holy
nation, part of whom is in this nation. Be sure you understand
that. Be sure you understand that.
What's God doing in this world? He's saving His people. I have
two young men, good friends of mine down in North Carolina.
Their daddy was raised in Siberia. Their mama was raised in Poland.
God tore down the Iron Curtain and crumbled the communist nations,
their block. And lots of folks immigrated
here. One of them heard me on the radio one night
preaching. He was out in Denver, Colorado.
He was engaged to this Polish girl. He called her long distance,
1994. He said, you've got to hear this.
And held the thing up to the microphone, held it up to the
speaker on the telephone. God was pleased to give them
both life and faith in our Redeemer. They're now in the church in
the Shallow Baptist Church in Huntersville, North Carolina.
I called the boys aside a few years ago. I said, you boys,
you don't have to understand this yet, but I want you to remember
this when you get older. God Almighty destroyed a nation
so that you could hear the things you're hearing right now. Does
God really do that? Read the book of Isaiah. I gave
Ethiopia for you, Sabah for you, people for you, nations for your
life. God saving His people. That's what He's doing. All right.
Verse 29, it tells us what He's done. For whom He did foreknow,
those whom He did love from eternity, He also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn
among many brethren. That's what He shall do. And then it tells us what He's
done. Look at verse 30. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them
he also called. That doesn't mean he called as
invite or called as asked to come. The word means named. What did you call that child?
You named that child sons of God. Them he also named. And whom
he named, them he also justified. And whom he justified, them he
also glorified. Now that's not a prophecy. I
know the commentator says he's speaking prophetically. This
is not a prophecy. I defy you to find me a prophecy
that's spoken of in the past tense. He's talking about something
already done. Already done. Called the sons
of God. Justified and glorified. You? Man, you don't look glorified
to me. That doesn't matter. That doesn't
matter. God declares it done. That means
it's done. We were accepted into beloved
and blessed of God with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus the
Lord. Let's look at the third one.
Jude, verse 3. Jude said, when I gave all diligence
to write unto you of the common salvation. Common salvation. Oh my soul, what's he talking
about? Is salvation a common thing? No. No. Not in the sense that it's ordinary
or cheap. Not in the sense that it's available
for everybody. Not in the sense that it's something
everybody can have and everybody possesses. No. No. But it is common in this sense.
We're all saved by the same grace, by the same Savior, with the
same salvation. In the church and kingdom of
God, there are no big eyes and little yous. In the church and kingdom of
God, there are no second-class citizens. We're saved by the
blood and righteousness of God's Son. equally justified, equally
accepted, equally righteous, equally beloved of God. Because
our acceptance is in Christ the Lord. And this is what that means. Lot and Abraham had the same
salvation. Don Fortner and Eric Richards
have the same righteousness. The same righteousness. Tamar
and Desta have the same sanctification. You mean, Brother Dunn, our works
don't have anything to do with the status we had before God?
Oh, I wouldn't say that to you. God did. God do. Well, if I don't gain
anything by what I'm expected to do, I'll just quit doing it. I expect you will. Enough said. Number four, Philippians chapter
two, verse twelve. Here's God's description of salvation.
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in
my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out
your own salvation." Oh, my. Your own salvation. That's how
God describes it. It's mine. If right now If right
now you find yourself believing on the Son of God, if right now
you find yourself trusting Jesus Christ, salvation is yours, your
property, your possession forever. God gave it to you. Christ bought it for you. The
Spirit of God wrought it in you. It is your personal possession. And when he says work out your
own salvation with fear and trembling, with meekness and fear, he's
not suggesting that you work in order to get it. He's saying
work outwardly what God has wrought inwardly. Adorn the doctrine
of God our Savior in all things. Let your light so shine before
men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father
which is in heaven. Walk before God with all meekness
and humility, being careful to maintain good works. Look at Hebrews chapter 2 verse
3. What is Salvation as this book
describes it. It's thy salvation. It's eternal
salvation. It's the common salvation. It's
your own salvation. And here's the fifth one. How
shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? So great salvation. Salvation from the great God.
given to us by a great price, the precious Son of God, worked
in us by great grace, salvation for great sinners, flowing from
the great reservoir of God's everlasting love. Could we with
ink the oceans fill? And were the skies of parchment
made, where every stalk on earth the quill, and every man a scribe
by trade, to write the love of God above, would drain the oceans
dry, nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from
sky to sky. We're saved with so great salvation. And it secures for us a great
inheritance in heaven. One more thing. Isaiah 45 verse 17. I want you
to look at this one. Israel shall be saved in the
Lord with an everlasting salvation. Ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded,
world without end. Salvation is eternal both ways. If salvation is God's work and
it is, it is forever. Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes
3.14. That means sinners saved by grace shall never perish. I am. I am beyond the reach of
condemnation. I am beyond the reach of danger. I am beyond the roar of Satan,
beyond the power of Satan. I'm in Christ. I have everlasting
life. John Bunyan in his Pilgrim's
Progress describes Pilgrim making his way up the hill difficulty
to the house beautiful. And he says as he goes along
his path, he heard a horrible roar, a horrible roar. But he said, there's nothing
behind me but destruction and only life is ahead. And so I
proceeded along my way, and as I made my way a little further,
the roar got louder, terrifying to my soul. On either side of
the path, all I could hear is a trembling roar. But I can't
go back. Life is ahead. And so he goes
on his path, and he says, I looked, and on this side of the path
and that is a huge black lion roaring. And I froze in my tracks. But I can't go back. Though the
lion stands in my way, I can't go back. Life! Eternal life is
ahead! And so I proceeded a little further.
And I saw to my soul's delight that the lion was chained with
a mighty chain. And his fangs were gone. and
his claws were gone, and all he could do was roar. Satan is a roaring lion seeking
whom he may devour, but me, me. I either speak in presumptive
arrogance or in confident faith. We'll find out which. me he cannot
devour because my savior is his master and he put him on a chain and he took out his claws and
he pulled his teeth and his roaring is good for me and when my master's
done with him he's gonna throw him in hell where he belongs I'm saved in the Lord with everlasting
salvation by which I shall not be confounded. How about you? Would you stand before God with
no dread, no trembling, no terror, only thanksgiving? Believe on
the Son of God. Right where you are without saying
a prayer, without moving a muscle, right now, right where you are,
trust the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you find yourself so believing,
it's because salvation had been brought in you by God's almighty
grace. Amen. There's nothing nobody can add
to that. I just say amen. Amen. Everybody's invited for
lunch, so please stay and let's fellowship together and let's
dismiss in prayer and we'll go ahead and thank the Lord for
His food that He's given us, both the foods. Lord, we do thank You for this
Word that we've heard. that You delivered it in such
clearness and that You delivered it with such power. The Holy
Spirit spoke to us that You pierced hearts, Lord. We know that everything's in
Your control and we're happy. We bow to it. We bow to our Lord
and it's because of Your gift. You give us that. Lord, we ask you to bless the
food we're about to receive and help us to be thankful for all
the things that you over-provide for us. May we thank you every
day, Lord. In your name I pray. Amen.