Head Corner Stone

Q: What does the Bible say about salvation in Jesus Christ?

The Bible teaches that salvation is found only in Jesus Christ, as stated in Acts 4:12, which affirms there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. In Acts 4:12, the apostle Peter boldly proclaims that 'Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.' This declaration emphasizes the exclusivity of Christ as the only Savior, affirming that God's plan for redemption centers entirely on the person and work of Jesus. Throughout Scripture, the effectiveness of salvation hinges on recognizing that humanity cannot save itself; we are fully incapable of achieving right standing before God through our own efforts. Salvation is a divine act of grace that can only be accessed through faith in Christ, who bore the penalty for sin and offers us His righteousness.

Q: How do we know that the doctrine of salvation by grace alone is true?

The truth of salvation by grace alone is affirmed through Scripture, specifically in Ephesians 2:8-9, which states that it is the gift of God, not by works. The doctrine of salvation by grace alone is firmly rooted in Scripture. Ephesians 2:8-9 states, 'For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.' This passage underscores that our salvation is purely the result of God’s unmerited favor, entirely independent of human works or merit. The theological foundation for this doctrine lies in the belief that all humans are sinners incapable of attaining holiness on our own. Thus, it’s through Christ's sacrificial atonement, rather than our efforts, that we achieve salvation. The total sufficiency of Christ’s work on the cross exemplifies God’s grace, assuring believers of their salvation based solely on faith.

Q: Why is it important for Christians to preach Christ continually?

Preaching Christ continually is vital for Christians because it is the power of God for salvation, as emphasized in Romans 1:16. The necessity of consistently preaching Christ is rooted in the belief that the message of Jesus is the power of God unto salvation. Romans 1:16 boldly claims, 'For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.' This illustrates that the gospel message not only transforms lives but is the means by which God draws sinners to Himself. By continually focusing on Christ, believers remind themselves and others of the hope and redemption available through His finished work. Historic Reformed theology emphasizes that the gospel must not change; it must remain centered on Christ alone, as this is the only message that can lead to true conversion and deliverance from sin.

Q: What does it mean to be saved according to Acts 4:12?

To be saved means to be redeemed through faith in the name of Jesus Christ, as asserted in Acts 4:12. Acts 4:12 succinctly encapsulates the essence of salvation, declaring, 'Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.' Being saved signifies not only receiving forgiveness for sins but also being restored to a right relationship with God through faith in Christ. This includes being justified, which means being declared righteous before God, and signifies a transformation in the believer’s life. They are brought from spiritual death to life, granted new nature, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Salvation is comprehensive, encompassing deliverance from the penalty, power, and eventually the presence of sin, assuring believers of eternal life and security in Christ.

the book of Acts chapter 4. And
I'd like to read here this morning, beginning with verse 10, read
down through verse 13. Verse 10 through verse 13 of
Acts chapter 4. Be it known unto you all, and
to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead,
even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set
at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in
any other, for there is none other name under heaven given
among men, whereby we must be saved." Now, when they saw the
boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned
and ignorant men, they marveled and they took knowledge of them
that they had been with Jesus. This portion of the Word of God
has been a challenge to my heart. It was a blessed story that our
brother read to us out of Acts chapter 3. Now these brethren
that were preaching the gospel and were suffering because of
the miracle that had been performed upon the impotent man. In verse
20, when they were told that they could no longer speak in
the name of Jesus, they said in verse 24, we cannot but speak
the things which we have seen and heard. God Almighty has been
pleased to raise up and to call men to speak the word, His word,
to speak the word of salvation, to speak the message of His grace. I want you to turn over with
me, if you will, to the 10th chapter of the book of Acts,
and I want you to see that when our Lord would convert Cornelius,
a Gentile, that he had a man. He had a man by the name of Peter,
and he raised up Peter to be a preacher of the gospel of redeeming
grace. And Peter was sent of God to
the house of Cornelius. We know that he was sent of God
because it was necessary for God to perform a miracle and
to put Peter through a process where that he would have a vision
before he would even go speak to a Gentile. The Gentiles were
looked upon by the Jews as being dogs, Gentile dogs. And so the Lord showed him a
vision wherein he showed him that he was to call no man common
or unclean. And so he went to the house of
Cornelius. because Cornelius had been told
by the Lord, in verse 6 of the 10th chapter of Acts, that he
shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do. He shall tell thee what
thou oughtest to do. Now, Peter was one of those that
had been told, you're not to preach anymore in this name.
You're not to teach anymore in this name. But here we find that
the Lord is instructing Cornelius, you sin for Peter, and he shall
tell thee what thou oughtest to do. And then as you look over
in verse 22, you see that when Peter arrived over there at the
house of Cornelius, that there was a crowd gathered, and again,
Cornelius tells Peter, he says, I was warned from God by a holy
angel to send for thee into his house and to hear words of thee. I was warned of God by a holy
angel. I was told that I was to send
for you and to hear words of thee. And then we look a little
further in this chapter in verse 32, and he again is reiterating
here what the Lord had said to him. And he said, Send therefore
to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter, he is
lodged in the house of one Simon a Tanner. by the seaside, who,
when he cometh, shall speak unto thee." He'll have words to say. He'll have something. He'll have
a message from God. He'll have words to say unto
thee. And immediately, therefore, I
sent to thee, Cornelius says, and thou hast well done that
thou art come. Now, therefore, are we all here
present before God, listen, to hear all things that are commanded
thee of God. We're all here present to hear
all things that are commanded thee of God. And then in the
11th chapter, in verse 14, after Peter had preached the Spirit
of God had fallen on these Gentiles and they believed the gospel
and they were baptized, Then he goes back and he is telling
the Jewish brethren what the Lord did. And he reiterates here
in verse 13 and 14. And in verse 14 he said, Who
shall tell thee words whereby thou and all thy house shall
be saved? He said, I was told by the household
of Cornelius that I was to speak words from God, and through those
words, Cornelius and his household would be saved. They would be
saved. Now, beloved, God is pleased
to bless his word to the salvation of souls. He hadn't said that
he would bless our word, but he would bless his word to the
deliverance and the salvation of men and women. In the 11th
chapter also of the book of Acts, in verse 21, after the brethren
had testified of what the Lord had accomplished among the Gentiles,
we see in verse 21 that the hand of the Lord was with them. The
hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and
turned unto the Lord. Now, beloved, there are three
things here quickly that I want to mention and get back to our
text. But we see, first of all, that the hand of the Lord was
with them. Our vain is every effort that we would make to
preach if the hand of the Lord is not with us. If the hand of
the Lord is not with us, there won't be anything accomplished
when we lift up our voice to speak and to preach the message
of the gospel. Secondly, there was a great number
that believed, and they believed because the hand of the Lord
was with the brethren and because they testified in truth and sincerity
and in power of the gospel of the grace of God. There was a
great number that believed. Now, beloved, these three things
we want. desperately in our congregation. We want the hand of the Lord
to be with us when the preacher gets up to preach, when the brethren
are singing, when the brethren are testifying, when the brethren
would pray unto our God. We want the hand of the Lord
to be with us. And then secondly, oh, do we
not want a great number to believe? We certainly would like to see
men and women converted to Christ. My soul, what have we come to?
If we that profess to know the Lord, if we have no desire to
see those around us converted and brought into a saving knowledge,
of the Lord Jesus Christ. I question the salvation of any
individual that doesn't want to see his family saved. I question
the salvation of any individual that's not interested in his
neighbors, interested in people around him, that they would come
to know our blessed Redeemer and have their sins pardoned
and put away and forgiven. I question whether they're really
alive in the Lord or whether or not they're hypocrites. And
then we see also in verse 21 that there was a great number
believed, and they turned unto the Lord. They didn't only believe,
but they turned toward God. They turned their faces away
from sin, and they turned them toward the living God, and toward
holiness of life, and toward faithfulness. They turned toward
our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. And so we see that we're not
out here just to get a great number to believe some little
fancy message that we might have. But we're out here to get men
and women to turn unto the Lord. Because it's as you turn unto
the Lord that your life will be changed, that the glory of
God will come down and fill your soul, that there will be marvelous
things happen in your life and your testimony for Christ will
be a very energized testimony and one that will speak volumes
for the Savior, volumes for His glory and for His honor. But
as I come back, let's turn back now to the fourth chapter of
the book of Acts. As I come back to my text here
this morning, we see where that this is the stone. That stone
is Christ, which was said in all of you builders, He has become,
Peter said, the head of the corner. And then he made this tremendous
statement in verse 12. Neither is there salvation in
any other. There's no salvation in any other
except In that one which has become the head of the corner,
this stone which the builders have said it not and said he'll
never do, we'll never have this man to rule over us, this one
God has raised from the dead and he's become the head of the
corner, and Peter said there's no salvation in any other. For
there is none, none other name under heaven given among men
whereby we must be saved." There's none other name given among men
whereby we must be saved. Now, beloved, as a preacher of
the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, we're coming in to a
new millennium, and it might There might be some that might
think, well, the preacher, when year 2000 comes, he ought to
have a new message. He ought to have a different
message to preach. But, beloved, we're under command
of God if the world stands another thousand years If the world stands
another thousand years, our message is already given to us to preach. We're not at liberty to go out
and pick and choose something to declare unto the souls of
men, because neither is there salvation in any other, for there
is none other name given among men whereby we must be saved. Paul said, we preach not ourself,
but Christ Jesus the Lord. And again in Galatians 1.8, he
said, but though we or an angel from heaven preach any other
gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let
him be accursed. Let him go to hell when the Lord
comes. Whether it's the year 1999 or
whether it's the year 2000, Paul said, let no man preach any other
gospel than that which is laid down in the Holy Word of God. Years ago, there was a preacher
by the name of William Romaine, and he was asked why he preached
Christ so much. And he answered, people wonder
that we always preach Christ, but the truth is we have nothing
else to preach. Bishop J.C. Ryle admonished a
group of preachers, He said, let your sermons be dyed red
with the blood of Jesus Christ. And why not? John Kent wrote
in 1803, he wrote this poem, sin is lost beneath the flood,
drowned in the Redeemer's blood. Zion, oh, how blessed art thou,
justified from all things now. Preach Christ, said Charles Spurgeon
to an inexperienced student preacher. I have, was the reply, then preach
him again and preach him again, said the old veteran preacher,
be always at it. Preach him, preach him again.
Now the message of good news that God will show mercy to sinners
because of the person and work of the beloved son is the theme. It's the very theme of the ministry
of this church. I pray that I will never grow
tired of preaching the message of salvation by grace through
the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I trust that you'll
never grow tired of hearing it. It's the only life-giving message
there is in this world, is the message that Christ is salvation. For this is a faithful saying,
Paul said, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." So the Lord
Jesus came into this world to save sinners. For sin not his
own, he died to atone. And our message may be offensive.
Our message may be offensive to some, and I know that there
are many in the religious world and outside of the religious
world that don't like to be told that they must be saved altogether
by the work of another. that they're not able to redeem
themselves, they're not able to save themselves, that they
have no power to give themselves right standing before God. But
our message, while it may be offensive, is a true message
because it's the only message that is spelled out by all the
holy prophets and by the apostles in the Word of God. And the message
is clearer that our message is Christ. It is not new. It is
not a new message. It cannot be true if it is new,
because if it's true, then, beloved, it is not new. Now John the Apostle
preached the Lord Jesus in 1 John 1 and verse 3. That which we've
seen and heard, he said, we declare unto you. And this was the preaching
of John the Baptist in John 1 and verse 29, Behold the Lamb of
God that taketh away the sin of the world. And Philip the
Evangelist in Acts chapter 8 and verse 5, he went down to Samaria
and he proclaimed this message. He went down and he preached,
the Bible says, Christ unto them. Peter preached Christ also in
Acts 2.36. He said, God hath made the same
Jesus whom ye have crucified, he hath made him both Lord and
Christ. This was Paul's message. 1 Corinthians
2 and 2, he said, I determine not to know anything among you
save Jesus Christ and him crucified. So our orders are clear. And
if, my friend, examples mean anything, Then these examples
of these that preached in the word of God are set before us.
And we're to preach the message that will never grow old and
the message that will never grow obsolete. The Bible says the
Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Now this word salvation, this
word salvation, what a blessed word it is. It is perhaps the
greatest word in the language of man. I know there was a day
long ago when it was the most blessed word to me when I was
a lost, condemned sinner without any hope in this world. It was
a blessed word when I heard about salvation. when I heard about
that God was willing to pardon a sinner like me, that God could,
He was willing and He was able to save me. Now salvation is
also a very inclusive term. It takes in all the blessings
of grace in this world and all the bliss of heaven's glory to
come. Salvation, what is it? It is
to be saved from sin. It is to be saved from sin's
penalty. It's to be saved from its power. And thank God someday it's to
be saved from its very presence. It is the redemption of our souls
from the curse of the law. Galatians 3 and 13 tells us that
Christ was made a curse for us and that he's redeemed us from
the curse of the law. It is the renewing of our hearts
by the Spirit of God. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creation. Old things are passed away, and
behold, all things become new. 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 17. Paul in Titus talks about the
renewal that is brought about by the Spirit of God, saying
that we've been saved by mercy. We've been saved by mercy and
not by works. And we've been saved through
the renewal that was brought about by the Spirit of God. And
so to be saved is to be loved of God. It's to be chosen of
God. It's to be justified by God. Romans 8.33 says, Who shall lay
anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. So to be saved is for us to have
a standing before God just as if we had never committed a sin,
just as if there had never been one sin charged to our account. We are justified before God in
Christ. We're forgiven of all sin. Can you believe that? That's
what it means to be saved. Thou said this word salvation
was an all-inclusive word, and it means that we've been forgiven,
that our sins have been put behind the back of God, and they'll
never be remembered us again. We've been adopted into the family
of God, and we've been accepted in the beloved one. accepted
in the Beloved One. Now, it's wonderful, and I know
that there's many that often wonder about that statement of
the Word of God, but it tells us that we have our acceptance
before God in another, and that is that one that Peter's talking
about in our text this morning, when he said, there's none other
name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Our acceptance is in the Lord
Jesus. You see, He's altogether lovely. He's the lily of the valley.
He's the bright and morning star. And the Lord Jesus is altogether
lovely to the Father. And the Father looked upon Him
and said, this is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. And my friend, if you get in
Him, then God looks upon you the same way because you're in
Him. and God sees you as being beloved in His sight and He accepts
you in Christ. And that's the only way that
God will have anything to do with any of us. We must be in
His Son for God to accept us. If I have salvation, I have the
wisdom of God. Christ is the wisdom of God.
And if I have salvation, I have the righteousness of God in the
Lord Jesus Christ. And if I have Christ, and if
I have salvation, then I've been sanctified with the only sanctification
there is. I've been set apart by God in
the person of His Son and sanctified and perfected forever through
that offering that our Lord Jesus Christ has made. And redemption,
I've been bought back from sin. And nobody, I've been bought
back from the slave market of sin. Satan had me and he take
me captive at his will, but the Lord Jesus come along and he
paid the ransom price and delivered my soul from eternal death. Salvation is the undoing of all
that Adam did and more. Salvation is the total restoration
of a man from his fallen state. Salvation in Christ fixes our
standing before God more secure than it was before we fell in
Adam. Do you believe that? Our standing
before God is more secure now than what it was before we fell
in Adam. When we were innocent in Adam,
My friend, we had a standing before God of innocence, but
after Adam fell, we being in him, we fell and were guilty.
We did what he did because we were in him. But now in the Lord
Jesus Christ, I have a standing that's more secure, more blessed,
because now I do not have human righteousness. I have God's righteousness,
which is the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation,
unto everyone that believeth, unto the Jew first, and also
unto the Greek, for therein, for therein, for therein, for
in the gospel is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to
faith, as it is written, that just shall live by faith. So,
beloved, we have a righteousness that is more, that gives us more
security, because it's the righteousness of Christ. And everybody that
is in Him is as righteous as He is before God, because God
has given us the righteousness of His Son. Grace finds us broken
in pieces by the sin and fall of our father Adam. It finds
us defiled, it finds us stained, it finds us corrupt, and it finds
us helpless and condemned. But salvation heals our wounds,
it takes away our curse, it washes us clean before God, and sets
our feet on the rock. Christ Jesus, rock of ages, cleft
for me, let me hide myself in thee. Let the water and the blood
from thy ribbon side which flowed be for sin the double cure. Oh,
bless God, we are healed and made accepted in the Beloved
One. Salvation lifts us up above all
principalities and power and crowns us with eternal glory
in Christ, the King of Heaven. Charles Spurgeon put it this
way, Salvation begins with us as wandering sheep. It follows
us through all our mazy wanderings. It puts us on the shoulders of
the shepherd. and it carries us into the fold. It calls together the friends
and the neighbors. It rejoices over us. It preserves
us in that fold through life. And then at last, it brings us
to green pastures of heaven beside the still waters of bliss, where
we lie down forever in the presence of the chief shepherd, never
more to be disturbed. Hallelujah. Isn't that marvelous? That's a great picture of salvation. Now my friend, this salvation
has come to those of us who are saved, has come to us only by
the virtue of Christ. It has come to us only by the
merits of Christ. Blessed name, blessed name, only
by His merits, only by His power, only by His authority. My friends,
salvation, salvation should be a matter. It should be a matter
of great concern to you. A matter, I say, of great concern.
You are by nature lost. without Christ, without hope,
without life, without God in this world. and this matter of
salvation. Oh, should you not be concerned
about your never-dying soul? Should you not be aware that
soon your life shall end? Soon we shall all take our last
journey into eternity. Should we not be aware that we
shall die and then stand before God in the judgment? Should we
not be concerned about salvation, about being born again, about
becoming a new creature in the Lord Jesus Christ? Now you're
a cursed member of a cursed race. The curse of God is upon you
if you be not in Christ, who was made a curse for us. If you're
not in the substitute, the Lamb of God, if you're not in Him,
then you stand this morning under the curse of God. And I want
you to flee from the wrath to come. I want you to flee to the
Lord Jesus. Soon your life on this earth
will be over. Your body will return to the
earth. and your soul will return unto the God who made it, and
your immortal soul. It must stand naked, my friend,
if you're not in Christ, before God in the judgment. You must
stand naked before the bar of God. God will require, He will
require two things of you in that day when you stand before
Him. I say, God will require two things
of you in that day. Number one, complete satisfaction
for all your sin. God's gonna demand that you satisfy
his justice. Somewhere or another, his justice
has got to be satisfied. Somewhere or another, payment
has to be made for your sin. You must, your sin debt must
be paid in full. God must be satisfied. And how
are you gonna satisfy God for all your sin? How are you going
to pay the debt that you owe? You owe a debt that you cannot
pay. Only Jesus Christ can pay the debt that we owe the justice
of God. He's the only one that has the
ability to do that. He's the only man that ever lived
that had no sin to die for himself. And he died, he was A very God,
a very God, He was able to take our sin upon Him and answer to
God and answer to the justice of God on our behalf. Complete
salvation for all of your sin. Oh, my friend, can only come
through Christ. Satisfaction for all your guilt,
for all your law-breaking. can only come through Christ.
And perfect righteousness, you must have a perfect righteousness. You say, how good you got to
be a preacher to go to heaven? I'd like to get in on it, but
how good do I have to be? I'll tell you, you must be perfect
to go to heaven. You must have a perfect righteousness. God will tolerate no man or no
woman in eternity that is not as righteous as His only begotten
Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. You must be righteous as God
is righteous to be able to go to heaven. And now, my friend,
this ought to sober us all. We cannot produce these two things. We cannot produce neither of
these two things. We cannot satisfy God. We can't
raise enough to satisfy God. We have no way to pay Him off.
And we cannot produce a righteousness that God will accept. We cannot. We're not able to do it. We're
not able to be holy as God is holy. Not only is he holy, he's
thrice holy. Isaiah saw him high and lifted
up and said, holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, he's thrice
holy. And we're not able to produce
a righteousness that will please him. atonement for sin and righteousness
can only be found in a substitute. And thank God there is a suitable
substitute. There is one who is capable and
able of satisfying God's justice and at the same time can weave
a garment of righteousness that will cover our sinful souls and
give us right standing before God. Now if you die without Christ,
you die without hope. But if you have Christ, you have
everlasting life. John 3 and 36 says, He that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. 1 John 5 verse 12 and 13 says,
He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son
of God hath not life. These things have I written unto
you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may
know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the
name of the Son of God. only in Christ. I asked the question
last Sunday morning, what is eternal life? I asked it again
on Tuesday evening for the young people, and there was one young
lady that spoke up, and oh, she's wiser than the theologians of
our day. I asked her, what is eternal
life? And she said, Christ is eternal life. And she was right
on the money, right on the money. He that hath the Son hath life,
and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. Now let
me go on further here. I want you to know this, that
you cannot obtain salvation by anything, by anything that you
can do. You cannot obtain salvation by
anything you can do. Now those of you that have been
in the Lord for a number of years, You might grow weary, maybe,
of hearing somebody say that we cannot obtain salvation by
anything that we do, but it's not by works of righteousness,
which we have done, but according to his mercy. that he saved us. And I doubt that anyone ever
comes to God directly through the straight gate anymore. Most
people, works are so ingrained into our natural religious consciousness
that we all, like the prodigal, we got to give them a try. We
got to give this works business a try. You know, we got to try
to save ourself. And somebody said, well, you
must try to save yourself. But is that the gospel? That's
not the gospel of the Word of God, because in the Bible it
tells us clearly and plainly that we're not able to save ourselves. Neither is there salvation in
any other. For there is none other name
under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Now,
until we're beaten and foiled and defeated, we will not come
to Christ. We will try everything in the
world. Somebody told us to get down on our hands and knees and
push a penny up to 10th Avenue South. We would probably do it.
We'd probably try to do it if we thought that would save us.
But my friend, that will not save you. Nothing you can do.
not by works of righteousness which we have done. We come to
Christ only when we're pressed to do so by necessity, when we
find that He alone is the way to God. He alone is the way to
God. Jesus said, I am the way, the
truth, and the life. No man can come unto the Father
except he come by me. We come to Christ, I say, when
we're pressed to do so by necessity. When God opens your eyes and
shows you what you are and shows you your failures and when you
become conscious that regardless of your attempts to do good,
that you failed over and over and over and over again, you
fail. You're not able, you're not able to save yourself. Then
you're going to be pressed by necessity. You're a never-dying
soul. You must, you must be concerned
about it. Where will it spend eternity?
And when we find that He alone, that Christ alone is the way
to God, good works, religious reformation, baptism, prayers,
tears, vows, resolutions will never bring salvation to a man's
soul. If you've been trying to do something
to get saved, give it up. Give it all up and give it up
at once. Trust Christ. Trust Christ alone. Christ alone is salvation. Now I assure you on the authority
of God's holy word that there is one name under heaven given
among men whereby sinners can be saved. You have no other hope. And my friend, if you do not
find salvation in Christ, you will not find it anywhere in
this world. There is only one place. You're
shut up to it. I shut you up to it this morning.
If you don't find eternal salvation in Christ for your immortal soul,
you will never find it anywhere in this world. And I'm concerned
about you. I'm concerned about you. I pray
for you. And I preach to you. And I'm
in earnestness about it. I will not let you go to hell
without you being told that there is salvation and you're not going
to find it anywhere except where it is. And that is in this one
that Peter's talking about in our text. And that is in the
Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one. He is the one,
my friend, he's your only hope out of the mess you're in. You're
enslaved by sin and he's the only hope. The man who trusts
so much as a single hair's breadth to his works has missed the Lord
Jesus Christ. No, my friend, you must cast
yourself entirely upon God's appointed sufficient Savior. We cannot trust partly to our
works and partly to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now Arminianism
says that neither you nor Christ by yourself can save your soul. Now listen to what they say.
They say neither you by yourself nor Christ by his self can save
your soul. But the two of you together can
do what the two of you separated cannot do. Now that's what they
tell you. And that's heresy, my friend.
That's blasphemy is what that is. It's blasphemy. We must come
to the place where we're utterly stripped of everything. We must
come to the place, listen, and I love to find people who have
nothing good about them. who have come to the end of themselves,
who knows that they're not able to cooperate with Jesus. They've
been running for 20 some years, or 30, or 40, or 50 years. They've been running away from
God, and their back is toward Him this morning, and they know
that they're not cooperating with Jesus Christ, and there's
nothing good about them. The Bible teaches plainly that
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, and that
our righteousness are as filthy rags in the sight of God. And
I say I love to find people who say, I just don't have a thing
good about me, preacher. Well, my friend, there's hope
for you. There's hope for you. There's more hope for you than
there is for the Pharisee who thinks that there is no chaff
in his wheat. Oh, he thinks there's no chaff
in his wheat. And you remember the publican, he cried out, God,
be merciful to me, the sinner. He didn't see any wheat in his
chaff. None whatsoever. And I here tell you this morning,
that until you come to where that old publican was, where
you cannot see any wheat in your chaff, my friend, right then,
until you get there, you're not gonna find Christ precious to
your soul. Some preachers like to find something
good in men before they preach to them. But I like to find poor
souls who knows that there's nothing good in them, and then
preach the grace of God to them. To preach to them that everything
God demands of them, He provides for them in the person of His
Son. Hallelujah. That's a wonderful
message. To tell men and women, everything
God demands of you, He's provided for you already in the person
of His Son. And the only one that God's going
to take knowledge to is His own Son! And God forbid that we should
stand apart from Him. We must be in Him, in Him, for
God to accept us. Now, if you were in the hospital,
and you wanted the attention of the doctors and the nurses,
what would you do? Would you tell the doctor that
there was nothing wrong with you? They asked you, say, how
you doing? Would you say, oh, there's nothing
wrong with me. Oh, no, there's not a thing that were wrong with
me. I ought to be out of here. I mean, I ain't got no business in here.
Well, if you tell them you were in good shape, then they'd probably
just leave you be and go somewhere else and be releasing you. But
actually, I think what you would really do is you'd be inclined
to appear like you were sicker than you really were. in order
that you could get some attention, in order that you could get the
doctor to pay attention to your situation and your case. You
certainly cannot exaggerate your low and sinful condition before
God. You cannot exaggerate it. You
come before God and you say, Lord, I am just a worm, a wiggling
maggot of the dust. Are you exaggerating? Absolutely
not. You say, Lord, I'm nothing. Well,
the Bible says clearly that we're nothing, nothing before God. The nations are as a drop in
the bucket, and we're nothing before God. Listen to me, you're
not exaggerating when you say, Lord, I'm a poor sinner and nothing
at all. Well, listen, my friend, but
if you could tack on to the end of that, I'm a poor sinner and
nothing at all, but Jesus Christ is my all in all. If you could
put that on the end of it, then my friend, there'd be some hope
for you. Now then, I want us this morning
to think as we close that there is salvation in Christ. I want everybody to know that. I want everybody to go out of
here with that knowledge. There is salvation in Christ. And that's what our text means.
And I like to keep hammering these texts. Neither is there
salvation in any other. For there's none other name under
heaven given among men whereby, whereby we must, whereby we must
be saved. Now Isaiah 45 and 22 says, look
unto me. and be you saved all the ends of the earth for I am
God and there is none else he is able he is willing doubt no
more now my friend we have taken words and we have given you words
whereby you can be saved this morning and may you be given
hearing ears my friend the admonition the word of God is take heed
how you hear take heed how you hear the words that have been
given by the preacher. Take heed. We have heard the
preacher, and we trust that truth has been expressed, that the
message of salvation has been given in clarity, and we trust
that the Holy Spirit will take it home to some poor sinner's
heart, and somebody will rejoice in a full salvation here this
morning. May God bless this word, to your
heart. Father, in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, bless this message and use it this morning, if you'd
be pleased to do so, in the salvation of some poor soul. And maybe
somebody this morning will begin to see, maybe their eyes have
been opened just a little, and they begin to see that it's hopeless. It's hopeless. It's curtains
for them if they do not get to Christ. And oh, may they flee
to the Lord Jesus. May they flee to Christ and find
everlasting pardon and everlasting life. In Jesus' name, amen. Mike, would you lead us in a
hymn, please? It's 222. There is a fountain. Let's all stand in the sun.

Head Corner Stone

What does the Bible say about salvation in Jesus Christ?

How do we know that the doctrine of salvation by grace alone is true?

Why is it important for Christians to preach Christ continually?

What does it mean to be saved according to Acts 4:12?

Sermon Transcript

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Articles

Featured Authors

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Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

Head Corner Stone

What does the Bible say about salvation in Jesus Christ?

How do we know that the doctrine of salvation by grace alone is true?

Why is it important for Christians to preach Christ continually?

What does it mean to be saved according to Acts 4:12?

Sermon Transcript

Comments

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