Hebrews chapter two. Look with me at verse three of
Hebrews two. How shall we escape if we neglect
so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken
by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him. Listen to this question. How
shall we escape? How shall we escape the righteous
judgment of Almighty God? How shall we escape eternal punishment? How shall we escape if we neglect
such a great salvation? If we neglect it, it means we
have no regard for it. No regard for Him. It means to
make light of it, to be careless about it. You ever wonder if, as we sat
here this morning, if we knew this was the last time we would
ever hear the gospel, the last opportunity we'd ever have to
hear the gospel preached, how would we regard it? Would
we give it a little more regard? Would we maybe pay a little closer
attention, maybe give a little less thought to the things of
this world and more regard to the Savior, more regard to the
Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord told a parable in Luke
12. Maybe you remember that. He said
that the ground of a certain rich man brought forth much. It brought forth plentifully. And that rich man thought within
himself, he said to himself, what shall I do? I have no place
to bestow all of my fruits. Whose fruits? My fruits. Who
was he talking about? Himself, the things of this world,
the things that he had. And he said, this is what I'm
gonna do. I've got barns, but I'm gonna tear those down. and
I'll build some bigger ones. And I'll bestow all my fruits,
again, all my fruits and all my goods. And the rich man said to himself,
soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thine
ease. Eat, drink, and be merry. That's what he said to himself,
but what did God say? He said this, thou fool, this
night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then whose thing is all that
stuff gonna be? That which you've provided. Who's
it gonna belong to then? In Acts 24, Paul spoke to Felix. And we read this, that he reasoned
with him of righteousness, of temperance, of judgment to come. And Felix trembled. It must have
scared him a little bit, got his attention a little bit, but
he wasn't concerned. He wasn't that concerned. He
answered Paul and he said, you go away. Go away for this time. And when I have a more convenient
season, I'll call for you. That convenient season may never
come again. In Luke 14, our Lord told a parable
of a certain man who made a great supper and he bade many to come. He said, all things are ready.
Come to the feast. What'd those folks do? They started
making excuses, didn't they? One said, well, I bought a piece
of ground and I need to go check on that. Another one said, I
bought five yoke of oxen and I need to go prove them. Another one said this, he said,
I've married a wife, therefore, I just can't come. Excuse after
excuse. We find every reason, don't we? How shall we escape if we neglect
such a great salvation? Well, why is this salvation called
a great salvation? I want us to consider that this
morning. And first, consider the author of it. How shall we neglect so great
salvation which first began to be spoken by the Lord? The Lord. Turn with me to Hebrews
chapter 5. Chapter 5. Look beginning with verse 8. Hebrews 5. It says, though he were a son, yet
learned he obedience by the things which he suffered. And being
made perfect, he became the the author of eternal salvation. Unto all them that obey him,
the Lord Jesus Christ is the author of eternal salvation. He's not the co-author. He didn't
share that with anybody. We don't contribute anything
to that. He's the designer, the creator,
and the cause of salvation. It's all of Him. By Him, salvation
is accomplished. It's finished. Listen to a few
of these verses. His right hand and His holy arm
hath gotten Him the victory. Whose arm? His arm. Did any help
him? Was any involved in that? He
hath trodden the winepress alone, alone. And of the people, there
was none, none with him. He alone, he's the author of
salvation. Listen, in this sense, every
blessing comes from him. in Him alone. Every part of salvation,
election, calling, justification, sanctification, it's all of Him. Salvation is of the Lord. How? According as the Father
hath chosen us in Him from before the foundation of the world. God has people. He saved them. He saves them through the Lord
Jesus Christ, through his son. It's in him that we're called.
It's in him that we're preserved. It's in him that we're accepted. All grace flows from him. It's all of him. Christ is all
and in all. Salvation within us, it's all
his work. He sought us and he bought us. He purchased us as his own. He's our wisdom, he's our righteousness,
he's our sanctification and redemption. He did it all. It's a great salvation, isn't
it? It's a great salvation second when we consider the wisdom of
it. The wisdom of salvation. Chapter three. Romans chapter three. Look at verse, beginning with
verse 24 of Romans three. Chapter three, verse 24. Being
justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation
through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness. For the remission of sins that
are passed through the forbearance of God, to declare, I say at
this time, his righteousness. That he might be just and the
justifier of him which believeth in the Lord Jesus Christ. Consider
this, the believer is innocent. Innocent. And not just innocent, but found
to be righteous. How can that be? How can that
be so? How can a sinner be innocent
and be found righteous? Only in Christ. Only in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Only God in his wisdom could
be both just in punishing sin and just in justifying his sheep. He's a just God. and a savior. That's what God's
word said. Oh, what a great salvation. Consider
the wisdom of it. Third, it's a great salvation
in the sense of who it is for. Great sinners, great sinners. Who did Christ come to save?
Sinners. Doesn't that just thrill your
heart? Word says this, that he came into the world to save sinners. He came not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance. Those Pharisees, they called
him the friend of sinners. They thought they were insulting
him when he said that. I tell you, if you're a sinner,
aren't you thankful? Aren't we thankful he's the friend
of sinners? The scribes and the Pharisees,
they struggled with that, didn't they? They said, why do you eat
with publicans and sinners? Well, that's who he came to save.
That's who he died for. That woman, there was a woman
that came and washed our Lord's feet. with the very hairs of
her head. And they said, they said, if
this man, if he were a prophet, he would know who and what manner
of woman this is that touches him, for she is a sinner. And he told the Pharisee, he
knew that, didn't he? He knew she was a sinner. He
knew her name. Knew her from all eternity. She's one of his. He told those Pharisees, I say
unto thee, her sins, which are many, she was a great sinner,
wasn't she? Her sins, which are many, are forgiven. He put them away. Sins forgiven. He said this, her sins, which
are many, are forgiven. for she loved much. But to whom
little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And then he turned
and he said to her, he looked at this woman who sat at her
feet, sat at his feet, washing his feet with the very hairs
of her head. And he said to her, thy sins
are forgiven. throughout God's Word. We see
that over and over again. How the Lord Jesus Christ saved
great sinners, great sinners. How? By a great salvation. Oh, it's a great salvation. Christ
not entered, he didn't enter in the holy place made with hands,
which are figures of the truth, but into heaven itself. to appear in the presence of
God for us. Nor yet that he should offer
himself often as the high priest entered the holy place, every
year with the blood of others, for then he must have offered
several times, over and over and over again. Once. He entered in once in the
end of the world, hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice
of himself? Fourth, how shall we escape if
we neglect such a great salvation? Well, it's a great salvation when you
consider this, the cost of it. The cost of salvation. God's word declares that we've
been bought with a price. A payment was made. Well, was
it the blood of goats and heifers? Huh? Is it a price that, Lionel,
is it a price you and I paid? Oh, was it by our so-called,
as men say, self-righteousness? No. What's the cost of salvation? What's the cost of it? Titus
3, 5 says, not by works of righteousness which we've done. Isn't that a foolish thought? What could we offer? What could
man offer unto Almighty God? We were out in the yard last
night. It was a clear night, and you
just look up, you just look up at the sky, and you think those
stars have been in the same place since God put them there from,
God put them there, huh? From all of creation. Well, David said, what's man?
What's man that thou art mindful of him? What can a man bring to Almighty
God in the way of merit or deeds or works? By the deeds of the
law. No flesh justified in His sight. You know, Isaiah, that had been
revealed to him back there in the Old Testament. He said this,
all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Well, what was the
price paid? What was it? Turn to 1 Peter
with me. 1 Peter. 1 Peter 1. Look at verse, 1 Peter 1, look
at verse 18. For as much as you know, you
were not redeemed with corruptible things. silver, gold, from your
vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers.
We weren't redeemed with silver and gold. We weren't redeemed
by traditions. We weren't redeemed by ceremonies
and rituals and other vain and useless things that we received
from our forefathers. No, my friends, the price of
redemption is much greater, much greater than that. What was it? What was the price? What was
the cost? Look at verse 19 of 1 Peter 1. But with the precious blood of
Christ, as of a lamb without spot, without blemish, purchased with the blood of Christ,
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah. That sacrificial lamb without
spot and without blemish. This isn't just, it's not just
any blood. This isn't just any blood. Christ's
blood, it is human blood. But it's not like anything going
through our veins, is it? His is perfect. It's not tainted
with sin. I don't understand that. I can't
explain that. All I can do is declare it. God
became a man. He was made a man. And that blood, it's one of who's
man and it's one of who is God. And He shed His blood. He suffered
and died and shed His blood for His people. It's the sufficient
price. Anytime I hear that word sufficient,
I think of your pastor. I remember him preaching this
one time. He said, what's that word sufficient mean? It gets
the job done. Sufficient price for our redemption
because of who he is. It's precious. Precious blood. Precious to the father in whom
it's offered and precious to the believer. for whom it was
shed. Oh, the precious blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ. A great salvation for the great
cost of it. Hebrews 9, 12 says, neither by
the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered
in once to the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for
us. We sing that hymn. What can wash
away my sin? Nothing, nothing but the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, the faithful witness
and first begotten. First begotten of the dead. He who loved us and washed us
from our sins, from our own sins, in His own blood. Great for the cost of it. It's a great salvation, listen,
when you consider the power of it. Paul, writing in the Romans,
in Romans 1, 16, he said this, I'm not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation. to everyone that believeth, to
the Jew first and to the Greek. Power. Power, that's taken from
that same word we use today for dynamite. It's the power of God
unto salvation. In 1 Corinthians 1, I'll just
read it to you, verse 23. We preach Christ crucified unto
the Jews, a stumbling block unto the Greeks, foolishness, But
unto them which are called, both Jew and Greek, Christ, the power
of God, Christ, the wisdom of God. And it's by his power that
we're saved. It's by his power that we are
kept. Kept. Think about that. Kept
by the power of God unto salvation. Oh, it's a great, great salvation. the author of it. Consider the
wisdom of it. Consider the greatness in who
it's for. Great sinners. Consider the cost
of it. Oh, what a price that was paid.
His own precious blood. Great in the power of it. And then last, consider this. It's great when you consider
the character of it. What kind of salvation is it?
Is it temporary salvation? Is it partial salvation? No,
it's eternal salvation. John 3.16 says this, for God
so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever
believeth in him should never perish. but have what? Everlasting
life. Eternally, eternally secure in
him. He said this, my sheep, hear
my voice. And I know them. He knows them,
he knows us, he knows his people, he knows them by name. He said,
and they follow me. and I give unto them eternal
life. They shall never, never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. My Father which gave them me
is greater than all. Think how secure the believer
is. Just stop and just think about
that. He said, they're in my hand.
No man can pluck them out of my hand, and no man can pluck
them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. He is salvation, eternal salvation. And listen, the Lord Jesus Christ,
Christ is the only way of salvation. Turn with me to Acts chapter
4. Acts chapter 4. Look at verse 12. Acts 4 verse 12. Neither is there salvation in
any other, for there is none other name under heaven given
among men whereby we must be saved." The only, the only way
of salvation. In closing, I'd ask you to consider
what we read at the beginning of this message. How shall we
escape? How shall we escape if we neglect
such a great salvation? Paul wrote to the Corinthians
in 1 Corinthians 15, he said this, he said, moreover brethren,
I declare unto you the gospel. the gospel which I preached to
you, the gospel by which you're also received, the gospel wherein
you stand, by which also you're saved, if you keep in memory
what I preached unto you, unless you believed in vain. He said,
I delivered unto you first of all, that which I received, how
that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. And that he was buried and that
he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. This gospel,
it's the gospel which has been, I know this congregation, it's
been faithfully preached here for many years. It's the gospel
you received. It's the gospel by which you're
saved. Don't neglect it. Don't take
it lightly. Don't be indifferent to it. I read an article Todd Nybert
wrote not too long ago and he said these very words, escape if we neglect such a great
salvation. What could be truly, what could
be more insulting to Almighty God than to neglect this great
salvation? What do we neglect? You know,
typically we neglect those things that are of no value to us. That's what Esau did when he
sold his birthright, didn't he? It didn't mean anything, this.
Listen, of this one thing we can be sure we will not escape
if we neglect such a great salvation. It's the gospel our Lord declared. It's the gospel that his disciples
declared. It's the gospel that his messengers
continued to declare. Don't neglect it. Oh, don't neglect
it. Paul wrote to Timothy. He said,
I endure all things for the elect's sake that they may also obtain
the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. Salvation. It's Christ. It's
Christ. Simeon said that. Remember that?
He walked into the temple. He said, let thy servant depart
in peace. How's that? How's that possible?
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Zacchaeus, when he's up there
in that tree, what happened? The Lord passed by. He stopped
at the place. He looked up at him. Come down,
I must abide with thee. What else did he say? For this
day, salvation has come to thy house. I ask you, who visited
Zachi's house? The Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, what
a great, great salvation. All right.