I think we've probably all thought
about salvation by grace. We've heard that. Salvation is
by grace. And we've heard of salvation
by faith. A lot of folks mess up what that means and they think
faith is the cause of salvation, but I hope we know better than
that. Christ is the cause of salvation
and we believe that. Salvation by faith. But how often
have you thought of salvation by inheritance? Salvation by inheritance. Now, there may be somebody in
this room this evening that has no financial concerns whatsoever. And really, we shouldn't. The
Lord's taking care of us. Probably everybody in here has
financial concerns of some kind. Whether you're going to have
enough for retirement, enough to pay your bills, enough to
put food on the table. You will. But people think that
way. Now, you think of the concerns
you have right now. How much concern would you have
or how would these concerns appear if you knew next week you would
inherit $1 billion? Whatever is bothering you wouldn't
bother you much, would it? Because you would know that all
of that, and then some, is taken care of. Now, in an inheritance,
something becomes yours solely because of the relationship you
have with somebody else who has died. It is that simple. You have known
people who received inheritances that genuinely, they were unworthy. They didn't have anything coming
to them. They were not, quote, good people in so far as, you
know, they shouldn't have that. But they got it for one reason,
solely because of the relationship they had to somebody else who
had died. You don't earn an inheritance. Now, there have been men who
have written out their last will and testament and died, and after
they're dead, people have contested the will. They have not liked
the terms of the will, and they've tried to get more for themselves
out of it, and they've brought it through lawyers, and that
man's dead. He is not alive to make sure his will comes to pass. You can find out a whole lot
about people when it comes to the time of the reading of a
will, how people act, how people conduct themselves, what people
want. But with regard to the Lord Jesus
Christ, yes, he has died, but he lives. and is able to make sure his
will comes to pass exactly as he stated it and as he wanted
it. Now, somebody once said, we should
hear the gospel as one hearing the reading of a will to see
if we're in it. And if so, how much? And that
is the way you and I ought to hear the gospel. We're reading
the will, the last will and testament of him who died and has been
raised from the dead. And we're hearing to see if we're
in it. And if so, how much is in it
for us? Now, I pray that that is how
we will hear this message. Salvation by Inheritance. Salvation by inheritance. And look in verse 16 of Acts
chapter 13. Then Paul stood up and backing with
his hand said, men of Israel, ye that fear God, give audience,
listen carefully. Verse 17, The God of this people
of Israel chose our fathers. Now this is where salvation begins
with God's choice. Not my choice, not your choice,
but God's choice. This is a reference to election. He chose whom he would save before
the foundation of the world, his election in Christ. And if
we're going to begin right, that's where we'll begin. And if we
don't begin there, we never got started in the first place. That's
the first thing he says, the God of our fathers hath chosen
this people of Israel, our fathers. And next he says, he exalted
the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt.
Now, do you have any idea how much, and I don't, You don't
either, but I like thinking about this. Do you have any idea how
much you were exalted when Christ died for you? Do you have any idea how much
you were exalted as Christ sits at the right hand of the Father
and you sit in Him in the very presence of God, accepted, exalted? You, every believer, is exalted
in the Lord Jesus Christ. And then it says, with a high
arm brought he them out of it. When they were strangers in the
land of Egypt in bondage, with a high arm brought he them out
of it. And I have no doubt that this
is a reference to regeneration. You were dead, you were in bondage,
and with almighty power, he brought you from death to life, from
bondage to liberty. It's his regeneration. Now here
we see the work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
in salvation. Verse 18, and about the time
of 40 years suffered he their manners in the wilderness. Now
we considered this a few weeks ago. He suffered their manners. He
preserved them. He kept them. He didn't cast
them off. Now, I think this is a reference
to preservation. He suffered their manners. Aren't
you thankful the Lord suffered your manners? And then in verse 19, it says,
and when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan. Now, what if I said the United
States Canada, England, Russia, China, India, and France were
destroyed by God. And all their land was given
to Guatemala. That would be shocking, wouldn't
it? But that is exactly what this
passage of scripture is saying. He destroyed seven nations to
give them to Israel. And when he had destroyed seven
nations in the land of Canaan, and somebody says, well, that
seems harsh. Turn back for a moment to Deuteronomy
chapter nine. I want to remind you of this.
Somebody says, well, why did God destroy these nations? Because
they deserve the judgment of God. Look in verse four of chapter
nine, speak not thou in thine heart after the Lord thy God
has cast them out from before thee saying, for my righteousness,
the Lord of the brought me in to possess this land. but for
the wickedness of these nations, the Lord doth drive them out
from before thee. They were guilty of all kinds
of wickedness and atrocities and perversions. He wasn't giving
Israel these nations because of their righteousness. He was
driving these nations out because of their wickedness. Verse five,
not for thy righteousness, but for the uprightness of thine
heart does thou go to possess their land. but for the wickedness
of these nations, the Lord thy God doth drive them out from
before thee, and that he may perform the word which the Lord
swear unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Understand,
therefore, that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this good
land to possess it for thy righteousness, for thou art a stiff-necked people.
The people of Israel were just as bad as these nations that
he destroyed, but because he is gracious, he had mercy on
them. Now, the Lord says, I'm driving
out these seven nations before you. And notice the language. He divided their land to them,
their land. It wasn't their land, but now
it is. It's their stuff. It's their
personal possession. I've driven these nations out
and I've divided your land. I've given it to you. It now
is yours. And I did so by inheritance. That's what the word lot means
by inheritance. It became theirs. Now this is
given to teach the believer that what they have is theirs by inheritance. It's because of their relationship
with the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who died. And all they have is because
of their relationship with him, the one who died and it was raised
from the dead. Now, what is this relationship
the believer has with Christ? Remember, salvation is by inheritance.
What is this relationship that every believer has with Christ
that makes all that Christ has theirs, that they're heirs of
God and joint heirs with Christ? What is this relationship? Hebrews chapter two. I wish you'd listen to the reading
of this verse of scripture like you didn't know the answer and
you wanna know. What is this relationship with
the Lord Jesus Christ that causes them to be heirs of him? Look in verse 11, Hebrews chapter
two, verse 11. For both he that sanctifieth
and they who are sanctified, are all of one. For the which cause? He's not ashamed
to call them, to own them. That's my brother. And when he
says that, he's saying that with pride. That's my brother. I'm
proud of him. I love to own him as my brother. How? Because he that sanctifyeth
and they who are sanctified are one. Not close. Not joined together real close,
tied up with one another. No, they are one. Union with Christ Jesus, those
God elected, those that Christ died for, Spirit of God gives
life to those that are preserved, made to differ by God himself
from others. They're joint heirs with Christ
because they're one with Christ. And you don't have to turn here.
You can if you want, but I'm gonna read it. Romans 8, 17. If children,
then heirs. Heirs of God and joint heirs
with Christ. If, don't miss this, If so be
we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together. Now
this is a big if. If we suffer with him. Now is
that talking about the sufferings that are going on right now in
our lives because of confessing Christ? Not on your life. When he suffered, I suffered. That's what baptism tells us.
When he suffered, I suffered. When he was glorified, everybody
he suffered for was glorified with him, together with him. Joint heirs with Christ, if he
died for us, and if he was raised from the dead for us. If he lived
for us, if he died for us, and he was raised from the dead for
us, we are joint heirs with him. Now Christ is the one whom God
has appointed heir of all things. Hebrews 1. And my dear friend,
if you're a joint heir with him, I don't want to, I'm afraid I'm
almost diminishing this when I say, if you were the heir of
Bill Gates, that would be nothing compared to this. Absolutely
nothing. joint heirs with the Lord Jesus
Christ. Whatever he is heir to, so are
all of his people. You know, he's the king of righteousness. I love that term for him, found
in Hebrews 7, the king of righteousness. And I'm an heir to his righteousness. His righteousness is my, my personal
righteousness. It's not merely, and I want to
say this fearfully, I don't mean to say merely, that's not the
language I ought to be using, but it's not just charged to
me, it's mine. That's who I am. The very righteousness
of God. He has immediate access to the
Father at all times. Is there ever a time, now you
think about this, is there ever a time when he's not welcomed
into the Father's presence? In whom we have access with boldness. The same access the Lord Jesus
Christ has, we have. Now what an inheritance. He has complete acceptance with
the Father. Oh, how the Father's pleased
with him. How the Father loves him. How the Father sees him
as beautiful and perfect and holy and without spot. Same thing every single believer
has. You think of his wealth, the
incredible wealth that he has. It can't even be described. He's
the heir of all things. So is every believer. The father respects him. The
father respects us. That's scary saying that, but
it's so if I'm one with Christ. The father esteems him. The father
esteems everyone. The Father is so satisfied with
him. The Father is satisfied with
all those in him. Listen to this scripture, 1 John
4, 17. As he is, so are we in this world. Right now, present
tense. Now I fear that we don't much
believe this. I just fear we don't much believe
it because I think that that would radically affect more of
the way we feel about everything if we believe this as we ought
to. But however strongly we believe
it or how much the flesh hides this from us, it doesn't take
away from the reality of it. As He is, so are we in this world,
absolutely secure, one with the Father at his right hand, right
now. How much does the Father love
Jesus Christ? You can't quantify it, can you?
You can't give a definition to it. And yet the Lord tells us, thou
has loved them as thou has loved me. I repeat, this inheritance is that of being
a joint heir with Christ. Now I'd like you to turn with
me to this verse of scripture, Galatians chapter three. Verse 18. Galatians chapter three,
verse 18. If the inheritance, what is meant by the inheritance?
All of the fullness of God's salvation. That's what this inheritance
is. All of the fullness of God's
salvation. If the inheritance be of the
law, It's no more a promise. But God gave it to Abraham. And that word gave is the verb
form of the word grace. God graced it to Abraham. And anything me or you have is
the same way God graced it to you. You know, the term accepted
in the beloved is literally graced in the beloved. God graced it
to Abraham by promise. Now, if that inheritance were
of the law, somebody says, give me a real
simple definition of law. Well, there's a lot of things
that you could have, but I love that law first mentioned. What's
the first law mentioned? Don't eat of the fruit of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That's the first law
ever mentioned. And I thought about this many
times. They could have anything they wanted. They were in paradise
and they were only given one law. Don't touch that fruit. Don't eat that fruit. He didn't
even say don't touch it, don't eat it. Do you know, if he would have
obeyed that law, he would be standing in his own obedience,
wouldn't he? He would at least get some of the glory for that,
actually all of it. But you know what? He could have
never served by love. Because the only way you can
serve by love only is if there is no law. If you serve by law,
you cannot possibly have the right motive. You're doing it
to get out of trouble. You're doing it to earn things.
You're not doing it purely out of love. It's only when you see
that The law has been done away with. I'm complete in Christ.
I'm perfect in Christ. You want to serve him out of
love, not fear, not fear of consequences, but love. But the first law in
the Bible was don't eat of that And you know what took place,
but here's what I love thinking about. Do you know God never
intended for anybody to be saved by their law keeping? He never
intended it. He said to Adam, in the day you
eat thereof, not if you eat, in the day you do, you shall
surely die And now the door is open wide for grace. Now, law is you doing your part
to enable God to do his part. God is God responding. Law is God responding to what
you do. Now it can be seen in so many
different ways, beginning, here's where it begins with most people,
free will. God offers you the gospel. I hate to hear the gospel
portrayed as an offer. It's not an offer. God doesn't
offer to save anybody, he saves. present it like it's some kind
of, you know, the free offer of the gospel. It's not a free
offer, it's salvation. If it's an offer, that means
it's up to you to take it or reject it and not receive it. And that means you're the one
that is in control of the destiny of your salvation. That's not
gospel. Grace is God's response to Jesus
Christ. Grace is God's response to himself.
The gospel is not an offer, up for your acceptance or rejection.
And there's other people who take it in a different way. This is more of the, well, it's
not, I guess, reformed, Arminian, all of them think this. You can,
through your own efforts, through scripture reading and self-denial
and efforts in godliness and putting down sin, you can, through
your works, become more holy. more pleasing to God and less
sinful through what you do. You know, somebody that presents
that is a liar. That's all you can call them,
a liar. They're presenting themselves
in such a way, they're saying, you need to get like me. It's
a lie, it's a lie, it's a lie. Somebody else thinks they're
at the end of salvation. God's gonna reward some people
because there's some people that are more obedient than others.
Wouldn't you agree with that? There is. There's some people
that I think honor Christ more than other people. The way that
their conduct and the way they act, the way they forgive, the
way they're meek. There's no doubt about that,
but that's because of grace. That's because of grace. But
to put somebody up and say, well, they've earned a higher reward. That's works. And if you think
that there's something a man can do that would add on to justification,
you've got a mighty low view of justification. Mighty low
view. Now look what he says. For if the inheritance be of
the law, it's no more of promise. but God graced it to Abraham. Abraham wasn't saved by the law,
was he? God graced it to Abraham by his promise. Now here's another scripture
I'd like you to look at with me. 2 Corinthians 1. Verse 18. But as God is true, don't miss the glory of that.
God is true. But as God is true, our word,
in my marginal reading says, our preaching toward you was
not yea and nay, For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was
preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus,
was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. For, what's that next
word? All the promises of God in him
are yea, and in him Amen unto the glory of God by us. Now, Paul says, we didn't come
preaching yea, nay. Is the blood of Christ sufficient
to save me? Yes, it is. But not if you don't
accept it and do your part. Is salvation really all of grace? Yes, it is. But if you don't,
no, it's not. Yes and no to the same thing. Paul said we didn't preach like
that. If you hear somebody preaching yea, nay, know this, they don't
know the gospel. They've never learned Christ. They know nothing
of salvation by the promise of God. They're depending on their
works. Yea, nay, yea, nay. For all of
the promises of God in him are yea. In him, amen. Unto the glory
of God by us. Now this inheritance is called
in Hebrews chapter nine, verse 15, an eternal inheritance. You know, while I don't understand
eternity, I love eternity. This is an inheritance that was
determined before the foundation of the world. Also in the book
of Hebrews, we read of the eternal covenant, eternal salvation,
eternal redemption, eternal judgment. God is the eternal God. And he
said in Jeremiah chapter 31, verse three, behold, I have loved
you. This is not some kind of generic
love. You put your name in there if you're one of his. Behold,
I've loved you, you. with an everlasting love, a love
that had no beginning and no ending. Therefore, therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. In Matthew chapter 25, when the
Lord is giving us that great look at judgment day, Do you
remember what he says to the sheep on his right hand on judgment
day? Come ye blessed of my father
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. Ephesians 1 11 says in whom also
we have obtained an inheritance being predestinated according
to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel
of his own will. Now it is impossible for the
divine predestination of God to fail to come to pass. This
is the inheritance of every believer. Now turn with me, we're gonna
close by looking a couple of scriptures about this inheritance.
Turn with me to 1 Peter 1. Peter, 1 Peter 1. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ
to the strangers, scattered throughout Pontus,
Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Now this I know, if you're one of
his, you're a stranger here. This world's not your home. You're
not of this world, even as he is not of this world. And you
do feel yourself to be a stranger, a pilgrim, waiting for that time
of being in his presence. You're
a stranger. He says, elect. It is amazing how election was
so common in the language of the early church. The elder unto
thee elect lady. The children of thy elect sister
greet thee. The church that's at Babylon
elected together with you salutes you. I mean, I would love to
see the expression on somebody's face if they came up to somebody
in the early church and said, I don't believe in election.
Where'd you come from? What planet are you from? You
missed out all together. I mean, this is who God is. Elect according to the foreknowledge
of God. Somebody says, see, he foresaw
who would choose him, therefore he elected him. That foreknowledge
is foreloved. whom he did foreknow, not events,
persons. Elect according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience
and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Now I've read so
many different translations and says you're elect unto obedience.
You've been elected to be obedient. That's talking about the obedience
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I want to be an obedient
child. I'm not saying anything against that, but if that was
saying elect toward obedience, I'd say, well, I'm not one of
the elected. I mean, that's the only conclusion I'd come from
was something like that. That is talking about the obedience
of Christ. Every thought is to be brought
into subjection to the obedience of Christ. and the sprinkling
of His blood. That's the death, that's the
life of the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace unto you, and peace be
multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy
hath begotten us again unto a lively, a living hope, by the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead. Now, the hope I have is because
he was raised from the dead. That's my salvation. That's my
hope. That's my acceptance. He was
raised from the dead. Verse four, to an inheritance. That's what we've been talking
about. An inheritance is what you have solely because of your
relationship with somebody else who's died. But the one thing
different about this inheritance, that one who died has been raised
from the dead. And he's going to make sure his
will comes to pass. To an inheritance incorruptible,
not subject to corruption, undefiled, and that fadeth not away reserved. Do you know I've got a reservation? My name's there. My name's there. I've got a reservation. What are you doing here? I've
got a reservation. Reserved in heaven for you who are kept. by the power of God through faith
unto salvation. What an inheritance. Turn to
Colossians chapter 1. Verse 12. Giving thanks unto the Father
There really isn't anything else to do, is there? As far as our
inheritance, we give thanks to the Father. He is the cause of
our inheritance. Giving thanks unto the Father,
which hath made, which hath, not which will make us, which
hath made us meet, fit, sufficient. to be partakers of the inheritance
of the saints in light. Now, I love to think of this
glorious vision, the saints in light. 10 million times 10 million,
millions and millions, crying, worthy is the lamb that was slain. Don't you wanna be in that? Great
choir. And these people are glorified. They're without sin. They're
without fault. They're perfectly conformed to
the image of Christ. Worthy of the Lamb that was slain.
I love to think about this. What are they talking about in
heaven? What are they singing of in heaven? The Lamb that was
slain. I love there in Revelation chapter
5 where It said to John, don't worry,
the lion of the tribe of Judah hath prevailed to open the book
and loose the seals thereof. And when John said he looked
for the lion, what did he see? A lamb, as it had been slain,
the sacrificial nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. What good
would his life do for you if he didn't die? It wouldn't do
you any good at all. Oh, worthy is the lamb that was
slain, the inheritance of the saints in light. Now, it says
he hath made us fit. Not we'll be fit once we get
there. It means right now, we have all that there is to be
in this glorious choir. I can't get any more saved than
I am. I can't get any more justified than I am. I can't become more
holy than I am right now. I'm fit to be there right now.
The only difference is gonna be I'm not gonna have this sinful
flesh. It's gonna be gone. It'll be no more. But right now,
I am fit because he has made me fit to be a partaker of that
glorious inheritance of the saints in light. I'm gonna close with this thought.
Turn with me to Joshua 24. Now, who was the man that the
Lord used to drive out these seven nations? You remember Moses
could not bring them into the promised land, could he? You
know why? Moses represents law. And the law can never bring me
or you into the promised land. If salvation is in any way dependent
upon me or you doing anything, we won't be saved. You believe
that? It wasn't Moses who brought him
in. Who was it? It was Joshua. Joshua is the
Old Testament name for the name Jesus, Savior. And he was the
one who brought the children of Israel into the promised land. Now, in Joshua chapter 24. I'm in Judges, I'm sorry. The seven nations have been driven
out and Joshua is giving them his farewell address before he
dies. Kind of like Moses did in Deuteronomy.
These are Joshua's last words to the children of Israel. Now
look what he says in verse 11 of Joshua chapter 24. And you
went over Jordan and came into Jericho and the men of Jericho
fought against you, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites,
the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites,
these seven nations. And I delivered them into your
hand." He didn't say, me and you did
it together, did he? He said, I did it. When he by himself,
purged our sins. And I sent the hornet before
you, which draved them out from before you, even the two kings
of the Amorites, but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow. I'd love to think of them thinking
this. Here they are looking, and a hornet's come and starts
stinging these people. They have to run. They have to
get out. He said, it wasn't done with your bow. Wasn't done with
anything you have. And I have given you a land for
which you did not labor, and cities which you built not, and
you dwell in them, of the vineyards and olive yards which you planted
not do you eat. This is all simply what I've
given you. Now therefore, fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity
and in truth. There ain't no other way to serve
him. In sincerity, in wholeheartedness, in the truth of the gospel. I am the way, the truth, and
the life. No man comes to the Father but
by me. And here's what you do when you
serve him in sincerity and truth. Put away the gods which your
father served on the other side of the flood and in Egypt, and
serve ye the Lord." All false concepts of God, get rid of them. Get rid of them. You can't serve
God in sincerity and truth and then worship a God that's somewhat
less than the God of this book. Can't be done. Verse 15, and
if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day
whom you will serve. whether the gods which your father
served that were on the other side of the flood or the gods
of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. Now, if you don't
want to serve the Lord, choose something else. Somebody says,
see there, you've got to choose. What does he say? He doesn't say choose to serve
the Lord. He said, if you don't want to serve the Lord, pick
your poison. Choose the god of the Amorites. This is not talking
about free will. But look what he says. But as for me and my house, we
will serve the Lord. That's what Joshua says, y'all,
pick your poison, if that's what you wanna do. But as for me and
my house, we will serve the Lord. May this be by grace, our resolve,
all who've experienced this salvation by inheritance. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for the
inheritance we have in thy Son, and we confess our salvation
is wholly in him. Accept our thanksgiving and our
praise, and we ask that we might be found only in your Son. In
his name we pray, amen. care of.