We live in a day that's 22, where young Josiah
reigned. He began reigning when he was
just eight years old, and he did that with his right in the
eyes of the Lord. And when he was 26 years old,
this young godly king sent the prophets and the priests and
the workmen into the house of God to repair the house of the
Lord because of the breaches God had made against Israel because
of Israel's disobedience. The house of God was in ruins,
the word of God had long been neglected, and the men, women
of Israel were under the curse of God's wrath because they burned
incense to many gods, and yet they claimed to worship the one
true and living God. How like our day that is. How
like our day that is. The house of God, that which
he professed to be God's house, is in ruins. The Word of God,
in most places, among most people who claim to be Christian, is
despised and utterly neglected, seldom ever considered at all. It's dust covered, and its leaves
are unopened from week to week. Would to God we might, like Shapin
described, Hilkiah the priest, find the book of God, open it,
and read what it has to say. And like Josiah, when he heard
the word, Hilkiah brought in the book of God. He said, this
is God's book. The king said, open it and read
to me. And he said, now you go inquire of the Lord what all
this means for me. Let us inquire of God what this
book means, what it teaches. Ask God to teach us its message. I wonder if it'd be possible
for anyone to open the book of God and seek from God an understanding
and us be willing to submit our minds Our thoughts, our traditions,
our prejudices, our religious backgrounds, submit everything
to what God says in His Word. I think it would be wise sometimes
if we could forget everything we heard as children about God
and Jesus and the Spirit and religion and the Bible. Forget
all the silly little ditties that we learned to sing as children.
and forget all the silly stuff we see on television screens
and movie screens, that stuff that comes out of Hollywood.
You can just mark this down. You can mark this down. If you
see it on your television about religion, it ain't so. It just,
that's not the way it is. If it came out of Hollywood,
they got it wrong. Whatever sentiments they have
are nothing but idolatrous religious superstition and best thing you
can do is forget it. And regrettably, for most of
us, If you learned it from your mama or your daddy, if you learned
it from your grandparents, if you learned it from your neighbors,
what you've learned about religion, about God, about Christ, and
about Christianity, what you've learned about the Bible is dead
wrong. It's just dead wrong. What you've
learned about salvation is dead wrong. Let us then put aside
our religious prejudices, preconceived ideas, our notions about religion,
and come to the Book of God and ask God the Holy Spirit to teach
us what his Word declares, particularly with regard to God's salvation. I want us to begin this evening
in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8, a very familiar text of Scripture. I want to talk to you tonight
about salvation as God describes it, or God's description of his
salvation. Here in Ephesians chapter 2 and
verse 8, the Apostle Paul, writing by divine inspiration, tells
us, By grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Now these four things are clearly
stated in this text of where the Apostle Paul is instructing
us about salvation. If you read Ephesians 1 and Ephesians
2, you will see clearly that Paul's subject matter here is
God's salvation. In chapter 1, he's talking about
what God does for us. In chapter 2, he talks about
what God does in us. In chapter 1, he talks about
God's purpose of grace. In chapter 2, he talks about
the power of his grace. So the context is God's salvation. And whenever you interpret the
Scriptures, If you want to understand the Word of God and be honest
with it, always build your doctrine from the contextual interpretation
of Scripture. That is to say, if you want to
understand what the doctrine of God is with regard to anything,
go to that place in Scripture where that subject is dealt with.
And all relevant passages must be interpreted in the light of
those clear statements of Holy Scripture. Now I'm stressing
this for this reason. Wherever you read of God's salvation
in the Word of God, that which Paul declares in this text of
Scripture must prevail. And this is what Paul tells us
about God's salvation. Number one, salvation is by grace
alone. I'm not pausing because I'm wondering
what to say next. I'm pausing because I want it
to sink in. Campbellite Pooh went down here and wrote an article
in the paper that said salvation It's by grace but it's not by
grace alone. Oh yes it is. It's by grace alone. It's by
grace alone. You might say well he said well
the Bible doesn't say it's by grace alone. I wonder what the
next word is. Not of works. That means by grace
alone. Salvation is through faith alone. Not faith and the sacrament not
faith in baptism, not faith in the Lord's Supper, not faith
in church membership, not faith in good works. Salvation is by
grace alone through faith alone. That is, we obtain it, we receive
it only by believing on the Son of God. You do not get God's
salvation by believing on Christ and doing good. You do not get
salvation by believing on Christ and being baptized. You do not
get salvation by believing on Christ and repenting of all your
sins. You do not get salvation by believing
on Christ and persevering to the end. You get God's salvation
by believing on God's Son. That's all. Now all those other
things follow God's salvation. But you don't get God's salvation
by faith and something else. Thirdly, salvation is by grace
alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Oh, get Christ and you get everything. You get everything. Miss Christ
and you miss everything. Brother Winfrey Kavanaugh, He's
with the Lord now. Maurice preached to his wife
for years and years and years. Preached to his whole family
for years and years and years. Wentz had no interest. He'd come
sometimes just to be nice, but he had no interest. When he was
an old man, God saved him. And his brother was real upset
because he was in the wrong church. And it wasn't going to be a big
deal by the district. You know, we're the only ones.
And he said to them, You need to be in the Lord's church or
you're going to lose all the rewards when you get to heaven.
And Winfred was kind of a simple fella. I love simplicity. He said to his brother, he said,
do you reckon I'll have Christ? He said, oh yeah, you'll have
Christ. He said, that's all I want. Will you understand me? Get Christ,
you get everything. Miss Christ, you miss everything.
Salvation's in Christ alone. And this fourth thing must be
understood. Salvation is by grace alone,
through faith alone, in Christ alone. And this salvation is
accomplished entirely without works of any kind on the part
of the person who is saved by God's grace. But where do our
works enter in? They don't. They don't. Your works enter in? It doesn't
matter where you put them. It doesn't matter where you put
them. If you be circumcised, Christ the prophet, you're nothing. If you attempt somehow in the
beginning, in the middle, or in the end, to mix your works
with God's grace, you've missed Christ. Salvation is by grace
alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and look at it,
and not of works, lest any man should boast. Not of works. All
right, now with that said, I want you to understand that the doctrine
of Holy Scripture is just this. Salvation is the work of God
alone, a gracious work of God, wrought for and in chosen sinners,
without their aid, without their assistance, without even their
cooperation, through the mediatorial work of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the irresistible power and grace of God the Holy Spirit.
I want us then to look in the Word of God tonight, and I want
you to follow me through for the next few minutes, and I want
you to see how God himself describes his salvation. These are not words that have
come from theology books. These are not the words that
teach Calvinism or Arminianism. I wish we could just forget Calvinism
and Arminianism. These are the words of God Almighty,
and that's the only thing that matters. Listen to what God says.
Let's begin in the beginning, in Genesis chapter 1. If you
go through the whole scripture, And find what God says about
salvation. Everything that I have said thus
far will hold true and you will see that it holds true. Salvation
is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, without
works of any kind on our part. Number one, Genesis chapter 49
and verse 18. The very first time the word
salvation is mentioned in the Holy Scripture is right here
in Genesis 49 verse 18. In the context, Jacob is prophesying
concerning the blessings of God upon the twelve tribes of Israel,
his sons, upon Israel in time yet to come, and particularly
going beyond those physical twelve tribes to the whole Israel of
God. Jacob speaks of God's salvation. Now look what he says in verse
18. I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord. Now if you didn't have
anything else to go on except the law of first mention, this
text of scripture by itself is sufficient to convince us that
whatever the Bible teaches about salvation, it is talking about
something that belongs exclusively to God. Salvation, Larry, is
God's property, God's possession, God's prerogative. It's his possession. He holds it. It's not your salvation,
it's his salvation in the first place. Salvation is that which
God Almighty possesses and gives to whom he will. In Exodus chapter
12, the Lord God says, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. Moses told the children of Israel
when they came to the Red Sea, stand ye still and see the salvation
of the Lord. When Menorah and his wife saw
the angel doing wondrously, who was Christ Jesus the Lord, at
the sacrifice that ascended up into heaven, they just looked
on. They just looked on. Well, what
do you do with God's salvation? You look at it. You observe it. You believe it. But you have
nothing to do with it. Listen to the scripture. In 2
Chronicles 20 verse 17, listen. You shall not need to fight in
this battle. When we come to this business
of our battle, the battle for our souls and the glory of God,
you don't need to fight in this battle. Set yourselves, stand
ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you. O Judah
and Jerusalem, fear not, nor be dismayed. Tomorrow go out
against them, for the Lord will be with you. Do you read the
43rd chapter of Isaiah? The Lord God speaks to his children,
his sons and daughters, you and I, who have experienced his saving
grace and regeneration. We who have been called by his
grace And now having experienced his grace and knowing something
of his redeeming love, mercy and grace, he tells us also with
regard to all our conflicts in the future, with regard to our
present trials, our present difficulties, with regard to everything that
comes our way by which Satan would destroy us, with regard
to every enemy that would stand before us and against us. Listen
to what he says in verse 10 of Isaiah 41. Fear thou not. for I am with thee." That's enough. That's enough. I'm with you. Read on. Be not
dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee, yea,
I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand
of my righteousness. Behold, all they that are incensed
against thee shall be ashamed and confounded. What's that mean? That means, by Biestas, there's
no such thing as a demon in hell or a man on this earth who's
angry with you, who will not soon bow before you. That's exactly what it means.
All that are incensed against thee shall be ashamed. They shall
be confounded. They shall be as nothing they
described with thee shall perish. Well, just how far can you carry
that? Just as far as they'll go. This is as far as it will
go. Look at verse 13. For I, the
Lord thy God, will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, fear
not, I will help thee, fear not, thou worm, Jacob. I'm so glad
he used that verse. Don't be afraid, thou worm, Jacob. As if somehow, Jacob, this thing
depends on you. You're just a worm. Don't be
afraid, thou worm, Jacob. and you men of Israel, I will
help thee, saith the Lord, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of
Israel. Salvation then is God's work,
and God's work alone. It is not something that depends
on us in the initiative. It is not something that depends
on us in the process. It is not something that depends
on us in the preservation. It is not something that depends
on us in its end. Salvation is God's work alone. Listen to what Jonah said and
learn it well. Salvation, blessed be his name,
is of the Lord. Thank God it's that way. Because
if any of it depends on you. Bob, we wouldn't make it to the
next day. No, not at all. You mean, Pastor, are you suggesting
that we're all together, unreliable, undependable, sinful, corrupt,
fickle, frail? Those words don't even begin
to describe it. It doesn't begin to, salvation is of the Lord. Either he picks us up from the
pit of destruction, and carries us all the way into the gates
of glory, and sets on our head the crown of glory itself, or
we will perish forever in hell. All right, now then, look at
Hebrews chapter 5 and verse 9. First, salvation is thy salvation. Second, the apostle writes here and says,
being made perfect, the Lord Jesus Christ became the author
of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. Eternal salvation. Now you listen carefully to me.
I'm going to take a stab at this now and we'll come back to it
another time, the Lord willing. But though our salvation was
purchased at Calvary with the precious blood of the Son though
it was accomplished in time by the regenerating power and effectual
call of God the Holy Spirit. The salvation of God's elect
is something that was planned, purposed, devised, secured, predestined,
and accomplished in the mind of God from eternity. Now these
things are not matters of speculation. I recall years ago I was preaching
in a Bible conference on this very subject in An older man
came up to me after the service was over, and he said, Well,
that's just a good point of logic. I said, Logic my foot, right
here it is. It's written as plainly as this,
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. I
mean, it's just that plain. Listen to the Word of God. In
Revelation chapter 13 and verse 8, the Lord Jesus Christ is described
as the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world.
Oh, I can't understand that. I can't either, but I can't believe
it. The only thing I can understand about it is that in the mind
and purpose of God, for Him to will it is for Him to do it.
And when God said that His Son became responsible as our Trinity
from the foundation of the world, the Father laid on Him the iniquity
of us all and swore Him in His mind and purpose and thus the
work was done. There's no other way to understand
it. Listen to the Scriptures, Romans chapter 8, verse 28. We know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are be
called according to his purpose. Now, what's God's purpose? Read the next verse, just right
down below it, read it. For whom he did foreknow, then
he also did predestinate. Whom he did predestinate, them
he also called. Whom he called, them he also
justified. Whom he justified, them he also
glorified. Now, I'll tell you what I'll
do. I'm not a betting man, so this
is not a gamble. Somebody listen to this, they'll
say, oh, he's betting with us. No, this is not a gamble. I just
bet you my next week's pay. I just bet you my next week's
pay. You can't find a concordance or a dictionary anywhere in the
world, Greek or English, that will translate those words in
the future tense. They're in the past. They're
in the past. It's not talking about what God's
going to do after I'm in the future. This is not a prophecy.
It's a declaration of an accomplished fact. Those who are God's elect
had been from eternity since Christ is the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world in the mind and purpose of God,
redeemed, justified, called, and glorified. It does. How secure
is salvation? As secure as God's throne, as
secure as God's purpose, as secure as the covenant between God the
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We who are born
of God have been from eternity. and to be loved. How do you like
that? Accept it. Accept it. There was a time when I wouldn't accept it anywhere. And standing before you right
now, knowing what I know of myself, I wouldn't accept being myself
right now. But having believed and believing
on the Son of God, God declares to me by his Word and by his
Spirit, Rex, that there never has been, is not now, and shall
never be a time when I'm not accepted before. And nothing else much matters.
Nothing else much matters except the Word means highly favored.
When the angel came to man and said, Blessed art thou among
women, highly favored among women. That's the word you say. We are
accepted, not for our sakes, not for something we do, not
for our decision, not for our works, accepted in the beloved. When the father accepted the
son as our mediator and substitute, he accepted us in the beloved. And the scripture tells us. Look
at Ephesians 1, no turn to 2nd Timothy, you're real familiar
with Ephesians 1, but turn to 2nd Timothy. The scripture tells
us that we who are redeemed, justified, called and glorified
in Christ the beloved and accepted in him from eternity, we have
been blessed in Christ with all the blessings of God's salvation
and grace from eternity. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Now look here at 2
Timothy chapter 1 verse 9. How important is this? Well Paul
is about to die and he's writing to Timothy encouraging Timothy
to be steadfast in the faith. And he's writing to Timothy,
describing to him that gospel for which he was now imprisoned
and about to suffer death. And he says, Timothy, this is
the essence of it. 2 Timothy 1 verse 9, God hath
saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to
our works. Look at it now. but according
to his own purpose and grace, oh, I love this, which was given
us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Given to us in Christ before
the world began. How can that be? How on earth
can you understand that? There's only one possible way
to understand it. There's only one way it makes
any sense. If it was given to us in Christ before the world
began, it was given to us in Christ as a surety, a representative,
a mediator, a substitute, before ever time was. When the Father
and the Son made an agreement for the salvation of our souls
by His shed blood and His righteousness, the Father and the Son struck
hands in the covenant and the Father gave us all God's salvation
when He gave it to us. He gave it to him. He said, all
right, here it is, here it is. The Father trusted him as our
surety from eternity. That's what Ephesians 1.13 tells
us. God the Father, for whose glory we now trust him, first
trusted Christ. Now look at verse 10 of 2 Timothy
1. But is now made manifest Boy, I wonder what that means.
Just exactly what you think it does. It was done from eternity. And when we come to believe on
Christ, when the gospel is preached to us and applied to our hearts
effectually by the Holy Spirit so that he gives us faith, we
get in on it. That's exactly what it says.
It's now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior, Jesus
Christ, who hath abolished and brought life and immortality
to light through the gospel. He brought it to light now for
you and me who now believe through the gospel. Our salvation then
in time is neither more nor less than the outworking of our eternal
salvation given us in Christ before the world began. Let me
show you one third thing. with regard to God's description
of salvation. He calls it the common salvation. Look in Jude, the book of Jude,
verse 1. Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ,
and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the
Father, and preserved in Christ, and called mercy unto you, and
peace and love be multiplied. Beloved, when I gave all diligence
to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for
me to write unto you and exhort you that you should earnestly
contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints."
Now look what he says, the common salvation. Now that does not
mean that God's salvation is something ordinary. something
irrelevant, something that's cheap. What it does mean is that
God's salvation is that which is the common possession of every
believer in its entirety. The common salvation. We don't
all experience grace the same way. Don't ever make the mistake
of thinking so. Sometimes you will hear me preach,
or one of these other men preach, someone teach or read scripture
and talk about their experience of grace and well I must not
be sacred I hadn't failed to see and done what they did. Paul
and Lydia did not experience grace the same way. God knocked
Paul on his back, laid him out in the desert, blinded him for
three days. Lydia, the Lord just opened her
heart. Paul reasoned without a scripture, God opened her heart.
They didn't experience grace the same way but probably experienced
the same grace. And you and I haven't experienced
grace the same way, but if we are born of God's Spirit, we've
experienced the same grace. Those who are saved possess and
enjoy the common salvation. That means that we, all of us
who believe, have a common Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. A common
hope, for our only hope is Christ. our only hope, not our feelings,
not our doings, not our righteousness, not our works,
not our experiences. Our hope is Christ. Our hope
is yonder at the right hand of God. He's an anchor for our soul,
both sure and steadfast. Now you know what an anchor is?
An anchor is not something that you hold in the boat. When the
storm comes, you throw the anchor And the anchor for our souls
is not in here, it's under Christ Jesus the Lord. And we have a
common blessedness. Every child of God possesses
all the blessings of God's grace and God's glory in Jesus Christ. You mean there's not something
special for missionaries, something special for preachers, something
special for men and women who who make great sacrifices? Yeah,
something special for us all. And that special thing is Jesus
Christ and all the glory of God, that Jesus Christ, the God-man,
our mediator, has earned and purchased by his obedience in
blood and has given to us by his free will. This is God's
salvation. It's all together by grace alone. through faith alone, in Christ
alone, without any works of any kind on our part. May God make
it your salvation for Christ's sake. Amen.