I've entitled the message for
this evening, This Salvation. Notice our text, verse 26, men
and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever
among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation. sent. Now, if I would say that the
Bible is about salvation, strictly speaking, the Bible
is about the character of God, and salvation comes from that. As a matter of fact, when God
identified himself as I am that I am, could just as easily be translated,
so I've read, I save in the manner which I save. If you want to
know who God is, if you want to know His true character, it's
seen in this salvation. Now I'm so thankful salvation
comes from the manifestation of God's character. This book is the manifestation
of God's character and who he is is seen in this salvation. I love the way Paul addresses
these men in this Jewish synagogue. He addresses them as men and
brethren. I like what Scott Richardson
once said, somebody says, why do you call everybody brother?
And he'd always say, brother, so-and-so, and brother, so-and-so.
And why do you call everybody brother? He said, well, if I
don't get you in Christ, I'll get you in Adam. And that's true. We're brothers in that sense. All men, we're brothers. We all come from Adam, men and
brethren. Children of the stock of Abraham,
he's talking about the Jews, and whosoever among you fears
God. I love this word, whosoever,
don't you? Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall
be saved. Now, whosoever among you feareth
God. Now, the fear of God is not the
fear of punishment. There's a lot of people that
have that kind of fear, fear that something bad is going to
happen. If I do something, God will bring misfortune and disaster
and sickness into my life, and I might even end up getting sent
to hell. That's not the fear of God. That's
no reverence and respect of God. Now, here's the litmus test of
truly fearing God. If you have a true fear of God,
you're afraid to look anywhere but Christ alone as everything
He requires of you. And if you don't have that, you
do not have the fear of God. The fear of God is that which
makes you afraid to look anywhere but Christ alone as everything
in your salvation. And if you don't do that, you
don't have the fear of God. Now, who is this Message sent
to with regard to this salvation, men and brethren, children of
the stock of Abraham, whosoever, whosoever fears God. And you
look to Christ only. Now salvation, to be saved. What's that mean? Well, as much
as anything else, it means you're lost and you can't find your
way to God. and you're dependent upon Him to come and save you. Whatever that means, you are
completely dependent upon God to come to you. Like that man
who was half-dead in the ditch, and the Good Samaritan came to
him where he was. Not where he ought to be, but
where he was. I need the Lord to come to me
where I am and save me. That is salvation. What God does for you. The son of man is come to seek
and save that which was lost. You know what really troubles
me when I hear people say I got saved or so-and-so got saved,
I wanna give you the benefit of the doubt, but that's blasphemous
to speak of salvation in that manner. I got saved. I acquired salvation. Doesn't
work that way. If you're saved, it's because
the Lord saved you. He came to you where you were
and He saved you. And salvation means deliverance. I love Matthew 121, thou shalt
call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Now I need him to come and save
me. I need him to save me from myself. I need him to save me
from himself. And I need for him to save me
from my sins. Arthur Pink had a... Message
on salvation from sin, and he had four points to it, and I
like these I've used them so many times salvation from the
penalty of sin I Don't want to go to hell. I want to be saved
from the penalty of sin salvation from the presence of sin I Mean
the the power of sin now the way I am naturally I Can't do
what God requires me to do. I can't believe I can't repent
I Can't love God, I need to be saved from the power of sin by
him giving me a new nature that does. Salvation from the presence
of sin, and this goes along with it, salvation from the love of
sin. And that's what I need saved
from. Salvation from the love of sin, where I have no love
of sin, that I'm perfectly conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now he says, And brethren, whosoever
of you that feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation
sin. You see, salvation has a content. It's described by the word. I love that passage of scripture
in 1 Corinthians 1.18, for the word of the cross. The word of
the cross is to them that perish foolishness. Why, that's ridiculous.
But unto us which are saved, Christ, the power of God. In 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse
15, Paul said to Timothy, from a child, and what a blessing
this is. This could be said of many in
here. From a child, thou hast known
the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation. Now this salvation is the salvation
described in the scriptures, not just by what some preacher
said. This salvation can be clearly
identified from the scriptures. And a salvation that does not
line up with the holy scriptures is not The salvation of God. It's not that salvation which
Jonah described of salvation is of the Lord. Would you turn
with me to Luke chapter two for a second? Luke chapter two. Beginning in verse 26. Or verse 25. And behold, Luke chapter two,
verse 25. There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. The same was just and devout,
waiting for the consolation, the comfort of Israel. Now, I
remember when I was a young person, when I would read these scriptures,
I would just say, man, the guys back then just were holier people. Just, devout, never did anything
wrong. Well, Simeon was as sinful as
me and you are, but he was justified. But he was devout. He had the
fear of God, like every believer does. Waiting for the consolation
of Israel, and the Holy Ghost was upon him, and it was revealed
unto him by the Holy Ghost. that he should not see death
before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Now, do you reckon he
was in anticipation of this glorious revelation? The Lord said, you're
not gonna see death till you've seen the Lord's Christ. Verse 27, and he came by the
Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought
in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
then took he him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord,
now let us thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word,
for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Now, if I would describe God's
salvation, There's no way I could describe it more clearly than
saying Jesus Christ is God's salvation. Now the source of
this salvation, I've already quoted Jonah 2.9, And I have
no doubt salvation of the Lord speaks of salvation is of the
Lord, the Father. Salvation is of the Lord, the
Son. Salvation is of the Lord, the Spirit. But I love this passage
of scripture in Revelation chapter 7 verse 10. where the song of
the great multitude which no man could number is this, salvation
to our God that sitteth upon the throne. You gotta begin with
God's character as the absolute sovereign of the universe, salvations
of the Lord and to the Lamb. Salvation to our God that sits
upon the throne and salvation to the Lamb. Now this salvation
is called by Jude in Jude chapter one, verse three, and I'm mighty
thankful for this description. It's called the common salvation.
This is not a salvation that a special few attain to. This
is the salvation that every single child of God has in common. The common salvation. That word common means that which
is general to all as opposed to that which is peculiar to
the few. If God has saved me and if God
has saved you, he saved us the precise same way. Now, I've heard people talk about
their experience of salvation, what they felt, but let's just
forget that right now. I don't know how I felt when
God saved me. I don't even know exactly when he saved me. I don't
know. Somebody says, well, it seems like you ought to know.
Why? You know, I never will forget
hearing fellas say, if you break your leg, you know what happened.
You know when it happened. You know the precise time it
happened. If you're safe, you know when it happened. Well,
when I was born, I don't remember it. Do you? I don't remember
when I was born. I couldn't tell you. I was born. I had life, but I didn't remember
it. The issue is not when. It's, are you looking at Christ
now? Right now, are you looking to Christ only? Just forget about
the past, but every believer has a common salvation. I'm saved
because God elected me. I know that. I'm saved because
Christ died for me. He worked out my righteousness
and put away my sins. I'm saved because God the Holy
Spirit gave me life. Salvation. is of the Lord. Every believer believes the same.
Every one of us believe that Jesus Christ really is all in
our salvation. We believe that. I believe that
so thoroughly. I know it so. So does every other
child of God. It is the common salvation. And this salvation is an exclusive
salvation. In this sense, it excludes all
other ways. I love the way Peter said, neither
is there salvation in any other. He's gonna make sure they understand
that this is the only way of salvation. This salvation excludes,
puts away every other way. And Peter said, neither is there
salvation in any other. It's necessary. There's none
other name. given under heaven, given among
men, whereby we must be saved. Now listen to this. If Jesus
Christ died for you, you must be saved. Every attribute of
God demands your salvation. And then this salvation in Hebrews
chapter two, verse three, is called so great a salvation. How shall we escape? What a sobering
thought. Listen to me, everybody. How
shall we escape if we neglect, if we neglect so great a salvation? And how can we even describe
the greatness of this salvation? A sinner being made just like
Christ. Whom He did foreknow. Isn't that great to be foreknown
of God? He also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn
among many brethren. Moreover, whom He did predestinate,
them He also called. Isn't it a great thing to be
called by God? Moreover, whom He called, them He also justified. If he called you, you know what?
He justified you. He didn't offer you justification.
He justified you. He declared you to be justified. That means without guilt before
God. Is that a great salvation? Moreover,
whom he justified, them he also glorified. Oh, what a great salvation. what is called in Luke 177, this
salvation speaks of the power or the horn, the horn or the power of his
salvation. That's what the horn means. It
means the power of this salvation. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of
the gospel for it's the power of God and the salvation. And
here's the glorious thing about the power exerted in this salvation.
There is more power exerted in the salvation of the sinner than
there is the creation of the universe. Now you think of the
power, the unimaginable power exerted by God in speaking the
world into existence. But he didn't have anything to
work against. He just spake it into existence, there it was.
But for me or you to be saved, Jesus Christ had to die. I don't know what else needs
to be said. For me or you to be saved, Jesus Christ had to
die. And that is a miraculous, powerful,
glorious thing that He gave Himself, that the Father gave Him. Oh,
what power! is involved in Jesus Christ actually
dying. How that happened, I find that
so mysterious. The God-man died. Somebody says,
God can't die. Well, the God-man did. Explain
that to me. I couldn't begin to explain that
to you. But it's so. What power is involved in taking
a sinner and through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, making
him perfectly righteous in God's sight. Paul spoke in Titus 2.11
of the grace of God that bringeth salvation. Now, when somebody
asks us over to eat, Lynn would usually say, can I bring something?
And it's either yes or no. But in this thing of salvation,
can I bring something? No. No. Don't dare bring a thing,
because it's offensive to God. provides everything in this salvation. Can't I bring anything? No. No. You're not to bring a thing.
This is the salvation which is of the Lord. Don't bring a thing. And then I love the way this
salvation is called in Ephesians 1.13, the gospel, the good news
of your salvation. Now, how can I explain that?
the gospel of your salvation. You find out you're saved. It
comes as good news to you. Now, what if you were in trouble? You were in debt. You were gonna
have to file for bankruptcy. I mean, you were in trouble. And the very day that you're
going to have to file for bankruptcy, you don't know it, but a rich
uncle left you millions of dollars, and you don't know it yet, but
you've got this fortune, and it's no problem with that debt.
I mean, it's just not a problem at all. You don't know it yet,
but it's already yours. It's already been willed to you,
but you know when it's good news to you? When you find out. You
find out it's all yours, given to you by the last will and testament
of one who died. This is that great salvation
and it's good news. It's the gospel, it's the good
news of your salvation. It's what Paul said to the Thessalonians,
we're bound to thank God. That's so important. You know,
a lot of times in religion, we're so thankful for you. Well, I
ain't thankful for you. I'm thankful you're here. I really
am. I'm thankful I'm here. But I'm not thanking you. We're
bound to thank God, always for you. Brethren, beloved of the
Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation. What a humbling thought. Why
me? God hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit. That's the regenerating
work of the Holy Spirit and belief of the truth. There's two things
that cannot be separated. the sanctifying work of God,
the Holy Spirit, and the belief of the truth. Now, I find this interesting
word concerning salvation. Paul speaks in 2 Corinthians
7.10 of repentance unto salvation that needeth not to be repented
of. Now think about that statement.
Repentance unto salvation. This salvation that needeth not
to be repented of. Now most, or all, not most, all
of your efforts of repentance, you know what they need to be?
Repented of. Every one of them. Somebody says,
well how can I know if I've truly repented? I can tell you if you've
truly repented. If you've truly repented, you
look to Christ alone. And if you don't look to Christ
alone, you've never repented. You've never had your mind changed.
You've never had that great change of mind, repentance. Faith is
the evidence of repentance. And repentance is the evidence
of faith. A repentance that needs not to
be repented of. Now, you may remember where the
Lord said, he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. And Lynn and I were talking this
afternoon. She made the statement, you know,
it's not a lot of people endure to the end. That's a sobering
thought, isn't it? How many people have come here
and gone, and they have not endured to the end? They're gone now.
They're gone. have plenty of good reasons in
their own mind, I realize that, but they're not here. They have
not endured to the end. I think of that scripture, we're
made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence
steadfast to the end. Now somebody may think, are you
saying if somebody leaves this assembly, That's proof they're
not saved. I'm saying if somebody leaves
Christ and the hope of the gospel, they're not saved. I'm not saying
because somebody's left this assembly, they're not saved.
But I am saying this, if somebody leaves the hope of the gospel,
the only ground to salvation, Christ only, no, they're not
saved. Well, how? Now, I think of this
thing of persevering all the way to the end, and I have some
awareness Not enough, but I have some awareness of my own sinfulness,
my own weakness, my own, just a walking contradiction. And
you know you're that way too, don't you? A walking contradiction. I have some awareness of that. How am I gonna continue into
then? Peter put it this way in 1 Peter
1, 5, he spoke of those who are kept. And the only way I'm gonna persevere
is if he keeps me. Kept by the power of God through
faith unto salvation. Now that's the way somebody's
gonna persevere to the end, they're kept. Now unto him that is able
to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before
the presence of his glory with exceeding joy to God only wise. Now, I'll be kept as he keeps
me. Now, how does he do this with
such unworthy, sinful recipients of his salvation? Well, Peter
gives us another statement with regard to that. Knowing this, long-suffering of the Lord is
salvation. He's so long-suffering. He's so long-suffering. I think of what Peter said, the
Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness, but he's long-suffering to us for it. Not willing that
any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Oh, the long-suffering of the
Lord. Listen to this scripture. You can write these down. Romans
10.10 says, with the heart man believeth unto righteousness,
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Now,
this salvation, is a confessional salvation. Now what do you mean
by that? You mean you go into some confessional
booth and start confessing? Of course not. The word confessional
or the word confession means literally to speak the same thing. Complete agreement. And do you know I am at complete,
doesn't matter whether I am, well, it does matter whether
I am or not, because if I'm not, I'm not saved. But I am at complete agreement
with God's way of salvation. With the heart, man believeth
unto righteousness. With the mouth, confession is
made unto salvation. Now, you confess with your mouth.
Now, somebody says, I don't know how to articulate, but you're
articulate. You might not, but you're going to stand for it.
You're gonna stand for it, you sure enough are. You identify with this message.
With the heart, man believeth unto righteousness. With the
mouth, confession is made unto salvation. Now listen to me.
With my heart, I believe that Jesus Christ's righteousness
is my personal righteousness before God. And I confess that
with my mouth. With my heart, I believe it.
Now, what's meant by the heart? Does that mean some kind of ethereal,
ooey-gooey, you can't really explain what it is? Is it my
heart? No. The heart is the understanding. I understand that Jesus Christ
is my righteousness before God. The heart is the affections I
love. Jesus Christ's righteousness
being my only righteousness before God. I love that, I really do.
I rejoice in that. The heart is the will. Now if
you give me a choice, do you want to be saved by Christ's
righteousness or your own righteousness? That's a no-brainer. With the
heart, man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth, confession
is made unto salvation. First Thessalonians chapter five,
verse eight speaks of the hope of salvation. Now the scripture
says, hope that's seen is not hope. For if a man sees it, why
does he yet hope for it? Hope is something we do not see,
but believe. Now I have a hope, I can't see
this. I have a hope that when I stand before God on judgment
day, he's going to look me over, upside and down, and say, well
done, thou good and faithful servant. Somebody says, that's
just hard for me to get a hold of something like that. I can't
imagine him saying to me, well done, thou good and faithful
servant. I just can't grasp that. How
can that be? Because if Jesus Christ did well,
I did too. That's why I'm gonna hear that.
Because the life of the Lord Jesus Christ is my life before
God. And he's gonna look at me because
Christ said to John the Baptist, thus it becometh us to fulfill
all righteousness. When he fulfilled all righteousness,
I did too. Because of that, he's going to
look at me, Todd Nybert, and I have some knowledge of who
I am. I don't really know the half
of it, but I know something about my own sinfulness. But he's going
to look at me, and there will be no sin. No sin. Well done, thou good. and faithful,
serving inner value to the joy of thy Lord. I've got that hope.
You know what else I hope? I've got a hope. I can't see
it. I can't see it. It's a hope. But I've got a hope
that everything that has happened to me from my birth until I stand
in glory, God is using it and working with it to make me just
like his son. It's for my good and his glory. And that's what the scripture
teaches. Romans 8, 28 says, and we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are called
according to his purpose. Now remember, when God sends
a trial your way, a trial's difficult. A trial's difficult. Somebody
says, well, I really did well in that trial. Well, it wasn't
much of a trial then. A trial is difficult. But remember this,
about every trial God sends your way, he's in control of it. and he's using it for his glory
and for your good. It is working together for your
good. Now that's the kind of hope of
salvation we have. We have a hope that we stand
before God. Well done. Well done. And he wouldn't say that if it
wasn't well done. That's how truly Jesus Christ is my righteousness
before God. I'm gonna receive the things
done in this body. Whatever Christ did, that's my
works. Those are the things I've done
in this body. And everything that happens to
me, to every believer, is working together for my good and his
glory. Now the writer to the Hebrews,
spoke in Hebrews chapter six of things that accompany salvation. Let's read, I want you to look
at this with me, Hebrews chapter six. Now he had made this scary statement Verse four, for it is impossible
for those who were once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly
gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost and have tasted
the good word of God and the powers of the world to come,
if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance, seeing
they crucify to themselves the Son of God and put him to an
open shame. Now let me say this. If you can taste the Word of
God and the powers of the world to come and be a partaker of
the Holy Spirit and end up being lost, no. He's saying if you have that,
it's impossible for you to be lost. You see, if you were, Christ
would have to be crucified again. And that's not going to happen.
This scripture used to scare me so much, but I find such comfort
in it. Enlightened by God, tasted of
the heavenly gift, made partakers of the Holy Ghost, tasted the
good word of God and the powers of the world to come. If they
should fall away, they can't. But if they should, here's what
would happen. to renew them again into repentance,
seeing they crucified themselves as son of God, and put him to
an open shame for the earth, which drinketh in the rain, and
cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth its dress, receive a blessing
for God, but that which bare thorns and briars is rejected,
and nigh into cursing, whose end is to be burned. But, beloved,
we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany
salvation. though we thus speak. Now, beloved,
there are things that accompany salvation. Faith. Genuine repentance before God. Love to Christ. Being poor in
spirit. Mourning over your sin. being
meek before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness,
His righteousness, being merciful. I'm just giving
the Beatitudes. Being pure in heart, having been
given a new heart, born of the Spirit, being a peacemaker, not
a troublemaker, a peacemaker. being persecuted for righteousness'
sake, His righteousness' sake? What about the fruit of the Spirit?
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy. You know, I love God. I really do. I love Him as He
is. Now, when I start thinking about how strong my love for
Him is, I quit looking at Him and I start faltering. Let's
just forget about yourself. Do you love God as He is? Do
you love the God of the Bible? Do you love the God who is sovereign?
Do you love the God who is absolutely just? Do you love the God who
is immutable? Do you love the God who is utterly
independent? Do you love the God who is immutable? Yes, I do! The fruit of the Spirit
is love. Joy. Are you happy God is the
way He is? Peace. The peace that comes from
knowing that Christ is our peace. Long-suffering, gentleness, goodness,
faith, meekness, temperance, the fruit of the Spirit. Not
the fruit of your works, the fruit of the Spirit. And it's
such an encouragement to me to know this is the fruit of the
Spirit. But there are things that accompany salvation. You
know what the Lord said to every one of the churches? What's the
first thing he said to them in Revelation chapters two and three?
First thing he said, I know thy works. Now, if you're a believer, you're like what John said in
Revelation 14, 13. Blessed are the dead that die
in the Lord. Yea, saith the Spirit, from henceforth
their works do follow them. Now, this is so important, the
position of the works. They don't lead them as the cause
of salvation. They don't walk alongside as
a ground of assurance. Well, I've got the works, I must
be saved. If you look at it that way, you miss Christ altogether.
They don't walk alongside of them as the ground of assurance.
I'm saved because I, well, I see the fruit of the spirit in my
life. I see the beatitudes in my life. I see good works. No, no. But they walk behind
them. and there will be evidence that
you really believed what you said you believed with regard
to every believer, things that accompany salvation. I turn to
Hebrews chapter nine, verse 24, He's not entered into
the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the
true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence
of God for us. Don't miss that word now. Right
now, right this second, he's appearing in the presence of
God for us. Nor yet that he should offer
himself often, High priest entereth into the holy place every year
with the blood of others. For then must he have often suffered
since the foundation of the world. But now, once in the end of the
world, hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of
himself. And as it's appointed unto men,
wants to die. And after this the judgment.
Now here's two appointments me and you are going to keep. Death
and judgment. There's no getting out of these
two appointments. So Christ was once offered to bear the sins
of many and them that look for him. That's what every believer
does. You're looking for him. Shall he appear the second time
without sin unto salvation? This is a sinless salvation. Now one final scripture, turn
to Luke 19. Verse one. And Jesus entered and passed
through Jericho. He was on his way to the cross
at this time. He would be crucified in a short
time. And he's on his way to Jerusalem
and he passes through Jericho. And behold, there was a man named
Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans and he was
rich. He was a wicked man that had
received his riches by ripping off the Jews. And here's where salvation begins,
as far as our personal experience goes. He sought to see Jesus
who he was. And there's where salvation begins,
insofar as our experience goes. You want to know who he is. You want to know who he is. And you know what happens when you
want to know who he is? You find out you can't know.
He could not. He could not. For he was little
of stature. And he ran before and climbed
up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that
way. He just had an insatiable desire to see who he was. This
rich man climbed up in a tree, runs ahead, I want to see him. I want to see who he is. For
he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, I love to picture this in my
mind, he's walking toward Jerusalem, going through Jericho, all kinds
of people around him. All of a sudden he stops and
looks up. Zacchaeus, make haste and come
down, for today I must abide at thy house. And he made haste. And he came down. You see, you
always come down when you come to him. You always come down. And he received him joyfully. Oh, he was so happy. And when they, the religious
people, saw it, they all murmured, saying that he was going to be
a guest with a man that's a sinner. Aren't you glad he comes to be
guests with men who are sinners? Well, these religious fellows
murmured at it. And Zacchaeus stood and said unto the Lord,
he wasn't talking to anybody else, he was talking to the Lord.
Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and
if I've taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore
him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This
day is salvation come to this house. The salvation we've been
speaking of. Because he gave half of his goods
to feed the poor. Doesn't say that at all, does
it? This day is salvation come to
this house. Here's why. For as much as he
also is a son of Abraham. Now is that just talking about a physical Jew? No, this is talking
about the spiritual seed that Christ came to save, the elect. Remember when the Lord said,
I've only sinned for the lost sheep of the house of Israel?
This is who this is. This is the son of Abraham. Now
look what he says after that. The Son of Man is come to seek
and to save that which was lost. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for this
salvation that glorifies every one of your attributes completely
and saves us completely. Lord, we ask that you would say
to each heart here what you said to Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus, make
haste and come down. For today I must abide in thy
house. And Lord, may we make haste and
come down and receive him joyfully. In Christ's blessed name we pray.
Amen. Well, we're happy to