Salvation Is of the Lord

Q: What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty in salvation?

The Bible teaches that salvation is entirely God's work, as He is sovereign in all things, including salvation. The sovereignty of God in salvation is a central theme in Scripture. The preacher emphasizes that God is sovereign in creation, providence, and salvation, and affirms that it is He who has purposed, planned, executed, and applies salvation. Ephesians 1:4-5 highlights that God elected a people for salvation before the foundation of the world, demonstrating His sovereignty in choosing who will be saved. Ultimately, God declares, 'Salvation is of the Lord,' asserting that it is by His grace and will that anyone can come to Him.

Q: How do we know that Jesus Christ redeemed His people?

The Bible confirms that Jesus redeemed His people through His perfect life, sacrificial death, and shed blood. Scripture is clear that Christ's death was not an accident, but rather a fulfillment of God's sovereign plan. The preacher cites passages that affirm that Jesus put away all sin and redeemed His people through His sacrificial death (Romans 5:8). His death served as a propitiation for our sins, indicating a complete and satisfactory atoning work. Through His perfect life and sacrificial death, He took upon Himself the sins of His people, ensuring that those He came to save are indeed redeemed and reconciled to God.

Q: Why is the Holy Spirit's role in salvation important?

The Holy Spirit plays a crucial role by awakening dead sinners to spiritual life, granting them a new heart and desire for God. The theology of salvation includes the essential work of the Holy Spirit, who quickens dead sinners and brings them to life. According to Ezekiel's vision of the dry bones, the Spirit breathes life into those who are spiritually dead (Ezekiel 37:1-14). The preacher emphasizes that without the Holy Spirit's effectual calling, no one can come to Christ, as it is the Spirit who moves upon the heart to regenerate and transform. This crucial act underscores that salvation originates, is executed, and is applied by the triune God, with the Spirit actively working to draw people to Christ.

Q: Will all believers persevere in their faith?

Yes, all believers will persevere, as they are kept by the power of God through faith until the end. The doctrine of perseverance asserts that those whom God has justified will continue in faith until the end. The preacher references passages from Scripture that affirm this, such as Philippians 1:6, which assures believers that He who began a good work in them will bring it to completion. This security does not rest in human effort but in God's faithfulness to preserve His people. The assurance of perseverance is rooted in the effectiveness of God's grace and His continuous work in the lives of believers, ensuring they will not fall away but finish their race.

Q: What does it mean that salvation is a gift?

Salvation is a gift of God's grace and cannot be earned through human works. The message conveyed in the sermon is that salvation is rooted in the grace of God. It is not something we can achieve or work towards, but rather it is a gift given freely by God (Ephesians 2:8-9). The preacher stresses that this gift is not contingent on human effort but is initiated, executed, and applied by God Himself. Understanding salvation as a gift emphasizes the fullness of God's mercy and kindness, which He extends to sinners undeserving of His grace. This perspective upholds the necessity of recognizing our own incapacity to save ourselves and the beauty of God’s unmerited favor.

The message that I brought you
last week on this program entitled, Six Stubborn Statements, goes
with the message that I'm preaching today. This is a continuation
of that message. Today's message is entitled,
Salvation is of the Lord. Now, I'd like for you to write
and get these tapes and listen to them again. That message last
week on six stubborn statements. and the one today on salvation
is of the Lord. Now, to refresh your memory,
last week I asked you six questions, six stubborn, pointed, important
questions. Here's what they were. Is God
Almighty? Is God sovereign in all things? Is He sovereign in creation,
in providence, in salvation? Is He? The Bible says he is.
The Lord rules over all. None can stay his hand or say
unto him, what doest thou? Can I not do with my own what
I will? That's what God says. Now, that's
true. All right. Secondly, the second
question I ask is this, is man really lost? Is he really dead
in trespasses and sin? Totally incapable of spiritual
work, Is it true what Paul said in Romans 3? There's none good,
no not one. There's none righteous. There's
none that understand it. There's none that seek after
God. Is that true? The Bible says it is. You will
not come to me that you might have life. Christ said, let another
come in his own name and him you will receive. But I come
in my father's name and you receive me not. No man can come to me,
Christ said, except my father which sent me drawing. Is that
true? The Bible says it is. Did God, here's the third question
I asked you last week, did God indeed elect a people in Christ
Jesus to salvation before the foundation of the world? The
Bible says He did. God's Word says that He elected
a people in Christ. He chose them. He gave them His
blessed covenant, the everlasting covenant of grace in Christ Jesus,
chosen in Christ by the power of God. All right, the fourth
question. Did the Lord Jesus Christ, did Christ on that cross
actually redeem His people? Did He actually save them by
His perfect life and by His shed blood and by His sacrificial
death? Did He actually put away all
sin? Put it away. Cast it behind His
back. Separate us from sin as far as
the East is from the West. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleanseth us from all sin." Is that true? He put away all
sin, all death, and all hell by His perfect life and His perfect
death. He did make an atonement. Is that true? The Bible says
it is. The Word of God declares that Christ Jesus, by His death,
redeemed His people. God set Him forth as a propitiation. The fifth thing I ask you is
this, does the Holy Spirit, does the Spirit of the living God
really quicken me into life? Does He really give life, spiritual
life to dead sinners like the dry dead bones in Ezekiel's valley? Breathe, O Spirit of God, breathe
on these dry bones. Does He really breathe life into
a dead sinner? Does He give men a new nature?
A new heart and a new desire for God. Does the Holy Spirit
effectually move upon a dead sinner and quicken him who was
dead in trespasses and sin? Does He? Or does He just try
to do it if they let Him? Well, the Bible says He does
it. The Son quickeneth whom He will. And then the last question
I asked was this. Will all believers persevere?
I ran out of time last week and this is the one that I wasn't
able to deal with. at any link. But will all believers
persevere? Will all believers be preserved
in faith by the power of God until God calls them home? The
answer from the Scriptures is yes. Yes, we're kept by the power
of God through faith. He that hath begun a good work
in you shall finish it in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now Jonah, when he was in the
belly of the fish, He said, the seaweed was about me and the
iron bars had closed forever and darkness surrounded me. And
he cried this in his helpless state, totally, completely helpless. No outside force could help him.
He couldn't help himself, perishing. He said, salvation is of the
Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. And
what I'm saying is this, that we're in by nature, by birth,
sinners dead in trespasses and sin and a spiritual grave we're
as hopeless and as helpless and without God as Jonah was in the
belly of that fish and if anything is to be done in us and for us
and to us it'll have to be by the power and by an act of God
Almighty because salvation is of the Lord from beginning to
end and all in between And the Bible declares it over, David
says it twice in the book of Psalms. The salvation of the
righteous is of God. Salvation is not an offer, it's
a gift. It's a gift. Now here's five
things that I want you to think about in this message. Salvation
is of the Lord. First of all, salvation is of
the Lord in its origination. When did salvation originate?
With whom did salvation originate? Who purposed it? Who planned
it? Who set it forth? Who decreed
it? God did. God did. Man had nothing to do with that.
We didn't enter the council halls of God and have any part in this
thing of purposing and decreeing and planning salvation. God did
it. When did God plan it? When did
God purpose our salvation? Before the foundation of the
world, from the beginning. That's what the Bible says. When
it talks about Christ, it says, He was the Lamb slain before
the foundation of the world. When it talks about us, it says,
We were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.
When it talks about His work, and we are His workmanship, it
says, Known unto God are all His works from the beginning. From the beginning. Salvations
of the Lord in its origination. God purposed it. God planned. Is that not true? Secondly, salvation
is of the Lord in its execution. What is execution? Carrying it
out. Completing the work. Executing
what is purpose. Make your plan and execute it. And that's what God did. Now
listen to this. God sent His Son into the world. In the fullness of time, God
sent His Son into the world. Made of a woman. Made under the
law. He decreed salvation, and He
carried it out. He sent His Son into the world,
and listen, that cross, I know wicked men nailed Him to the
cross, but they did what God determined before it to be done.
They carried out the will of God. Every nail driven into His
flesh, every, the lash of every whip on His back, and the spittle,
and the cursing, and all of these things, were decreed by God. It says it pleased the Lord to
bruise Him. Thou hast made His soul an offering
for sin. Yes, wicked men drove the nails,
wicked men spat upon Him, wicked men cursed Him while He died,
wicked men erected that cross, but the Scripture plainly says
they did what God Almighty determined before to be done. It's all prophesied
in the Old Testament. The death of Christ was no accident.
He talked about that hour time and time again. And wait a minute.
God raised Him from the dead. God sent Him. It pleased God
to bruise Him. God raised Him from the dead.
God made Him. God hath made the same Jesus
Lord and Christ. And God hath highly exalted Him.
So this thing of salvation, it's in Christ, it's of Christ, it's
through Christ Jesus, His person and work, and God Almighty willed
it all and executed it and carried it out. And without His will
and purpose and decree, none of it would be done. Christ died
the appointed Savior at the appointed time, the appointed death for
the appointed people. That's what God's Word declares.
Listen to the third statement. Salvation's of the Lord. It's
of the Lord in its origination. It's of the Lord in its execution.
He carried it out. And it's of the Lord in its application. What's this application? Applies
it. He willed it. He decreed it.
He executed it. He carried it out. And now He
gives it. He bestows it. I will be merciful
to whom I will be merciful. I will be gracious to whom I
will be gracious. The Son quickeneth whom He will.
No man can come to me except my Father draw him." That's what
I'm saying. It pleased the Lord to make you
His people. That's what the prophet said
to Israel. It pleased God to make you His people. You were
not the greatest of all people. You were the smallest. There
was no tabernacle. in Egypt, there was no mercy
seat among the Philistines, there was no high priest among the
Amalekites, there was no atonement among the Hittites, only Israel. God chose Israel. It's not of
him that willeth, it's not of him that runneth, it's of God
that showeth mercy. The Apostle Paul, describing
his conversion, said this, when it pleased God, When it pleased
God, who separated me from my mother's womb, to call me by
His grace, He revealed His Son in me." When? When it pleased
God, He called me by His grace. He chose me. He revealed His
Son in me. It's of the Lord. You know, John
chapter 1, verse 11, 12, and 13, you're familiar with it.
He came unto His own, His own received Him not. As many as
received Him, to them gave He the right, the power, the privilege
to become sons of God, even to them that believe on His name."
There's a colon there. There's not a period there. That's
not the end of the sentence. Those that received Him, to them
gave He the right, privilege, power to become sons of God,
which were born, not of blood, that is, not of fleshly genealogy
or family inheritance, Not of blood, not of the will of the
flesh, not of the will of man, they're born of God. God applies
salvation. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. And then fourthly, salvations
of the Lord. Not only in its planning, not
only in its execution, not only in its carrying it out, its application,
and it's bestowing that salvation. But it's of the Lord in its sustaining
power. It's sustaining power. You know,
what I'm saying is this. We have been saved. We're being
saved. We're being saved. And our salvation
is nearer than when we believe. God not only awakened us and
called us, but God keeps us. That's what Peter said in 1 Peter
1, 5. We're capped by the power of God. No man keeps himself. God doesn't put a man on the
road to glory and tell him he'll meet him at the end of the road.
He carries him. He carries him. Our Lord put
that sheep on his shoulder and carried it to home. He said, He brings us to God. He keeps us. Ephesians 2, 8 says
this, For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves. It's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man
should boast. We're His workmanship. We're
His workmanship created in Christ Jesus. And He that has begun
a good work in you will complete it and finish it in the day of
Christ Jesus. Salvations of the Lord in its
sustaining power. We're kept. We're called. We're chosen. We're called. We're redeemed. And we're kept.
And He said, I won't forsake them. I'll never leave you. I'll
never forsake you." And he said, they'll never leave me. I'll
never leave them. They'll never leave me. I'm going
to keep them. I'm going to keep them. And then here's the fifth
statement. Salvation's of the Lord in its ultimate perfection. Now, if God's done all he can
do and the rest is up to me, then I'm in a bad shape. Not
only can I not keep myself, but one day I'm going to die. And
that day's not too far ahead. I'm up in years. God said, what,
three score and ten? That's 70 years. That's not very,
very much, very far off. I'm going to die. Who's going
to get me out of that grave? Who's going to give me strength
and life again? Who's going to raise my body?
And who's going to change it and make it like His glorious
body? Who's going to take it to heaven? Now, I can't do that.
The church can't do it. The preacher can't do it. Who's
going to do it? It's going to have to be God. The one who planned
this thing and executed it and applied it and sustained it is
going to have to finish it. Going to have to finish it. He,
the Scripture says, He is able to raise our vile bodies and
make them like His glorious body. He's able. You see, Abraham believed
that God was able to do what He promised. Paul said, He's
able to keep that which I've committed to Him. Jude says He's
able to keep you from falling and present you faultless before
His throne with exceeding glory. And in Philippians, the apostle
declares He's able to raise our vile bodies and make them like
His glorious body. And then I hear preachers talk
about Christ may come at any moment, and some of us are not
going to die. We'll be here when He comes. Well, who's going to
change you? You going to change yourself?
You're going to change yourself. The Scripture says we not all
die, but we must be changed. In a moment, in a twinkling of
an eye, when the trumpet sounds and Christ comes, those which
are dead shall rise and these which are living shall be changed. Changed what? From flesh and
bones and blood to a glorified body, to an incorruptible body,
to an immortal body. That takes the power of God.
What I'm trying to say takes the power of God. My friends,
1 Corinthians 1, do you ever study the Scripture? 1 Corinthians
1, 26, you see your calling, brethren. Do you see your calling? Do you see this glorious salvation?
Do you see this glory of God, this power of God, salvations
of the Lord? He gets all the glory because
He does all the work. Not many wise men after the flesh,
not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God had chosen,
God had chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the
wise. God had chosen the weak things of this world to confound
the things that are mighty. God had chosen the base and the
things that are not to bring to naught the things that are.
Why? That no flesh, no person, no Humans should glory in His
presence. Nobody take any credit to themselves
for anything done in them or for them. Of Him, listen to this
verse, verse 30, of Him are you in Christ Jesus? How did you
get in Christ Jesus? It's of Him. Of Him are you in
Christ Jesus? Who? Of God. How did Christ Jesus
get to be our substitute and our Christ and our Redeemer?
Of God. who of God is made unto us wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, that according
as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." This
is our message, the glory of God. Salvation is of the Lord
from beginning to end. Now, and that's the message of
the Bible, the message of the Bible. And yet, listen to this.
For the next few minutes, I want you to listen carefully. God
is plenteous in mercy. God delights to show mercy. God
will be merciful to the lost in Christ Jesus. God delights
to show mercy. He's gracious. You know, the
scripture says in Psalm 130, If thou, Lord, shouldest mark
iniquity, who could stand? But there's forgiveness with
thee, that thou mayest be feared. God's plenteous in mercy. Then
I ask this question. What can a sinner do? What can
a sinner do? This question's been asked more
than once in the Bible, hasn't it? At Pentecost, they said,
when Peter finished preaching, he said, you crucified the Lord
of glory. That same Jesus whom you crucified,
God has made him Lord in Christ. Your hands are dripping with
the blood of God. You're in trouble. They said,
what are we going to do? What are we going to do? And then
the Philippian jailer said, what must I do to be saved? Job says,
how can a man be just with God? The hymn writer said, depth of
mercy, can there be mercy reserved for me? Can my God, his wrath
forbear, and me, the guilty, chief of sinners spare? Can it
be that I should gain an interest, this interest in the Savior's
blood? Died he for me who him to death pursued? Yes, yes, I
can give you something to do. I'll give you something to do.
Here's the first one. Will you listen to me? Here's
the first thing. You can admit you're a sinner.
Not many people do. You can admit you're a sinner.
A guilty, unworthy, ill-deserving, lost sinner. Can you admit that
in need of mercy? Now the Lord Jesus one time was
having dinner with some sinners, publicans and sinners. And the
religious scholar said to his disciples, said, why does your
master eat with sinners? Why does he eat with sinners?
And Christ looked at him and he said, the world do not need
a doctor, but they that are sick. I am not come to call righteous
people, but sinners to repentance. You go learn what that means.
Are you a sinner? Are you a sinner? I've got good
news for sinners. Christ died for sinners. Are
you ungodly? Christ died for the ungodly.
You can take your place as a sinner. The publican did. He said, God,
be merciful to me, a sinner. Went home justified. The Canaanite
woman did. He called her a dog. She said,
that's all right. I'm your dog. And dogs eat the crumbs that
fall from their master's table. She received mercy. The thief
on the cross, he said, I'm getting what I deserve. Lord, remember
me." If you can just do that, you see, Christ Jesus came into
the world to save sinners, but you know a sinner's hard to find?
It's hard to find. I mean a bona fide, genuine sinner,
a man that is nothing, has nothing, knows nothing, and can do nothing,
just in need of mercy, pure mercy, guilty, guilty, guilty. I'm guilty. God have mercy on
this guilty sinner. Nobody's ever cried like that
to my Lord who didn't receive mercy. But I don't hear that
cry. I don't meet sinners. I don't
meet many sinners. I meet a lot of good people,
moral people, religious people who think they deserve to go
to heaven. But I don't meet many sinners. If I could find a sinner,
I'd tell him Christ died for him because he died for sinners.
He died for the lost. He came to seek and to save the
lost. All right, here's the second thing you can do. You can take
your place as a sinner, and secondly, you can seek the Lord. Seek the
Lord. The Bible doesn't say you can't
seek the Lord. It said you won't. That's what
Scripture says. It doesn't say you can't. You
could if you will. In fact, He promises, seek ye
the Lord while ye may be found. Call on Him while He's near.
Seek Him. He said, you seek Me and find
Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Paul stood on
Mars Hill and said, everybody ought to seek the Lord. Ought
to. The eunuch did. And God sent
him a preacher. Cornelius did. He cried unto
the Lord, and God heard him. The woman with the issue of blood
did. She crawled on her hands and knees. She said, if I can
just touch the hem of his garment. Preacher, where would you seek
the Lord? Where is He? He's in His Word. Read His Word. He's among his people. Find out
who knows the Lord. Go worship with them. He's in
the preaching of the gospel. God has chosen by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe, save sinners who believe.
You can seek the Lord if you wanted to. And then thirdly,
I'll tell you what you can do. You can ask for mercy. You ask
for other things. You ask for a job. You ask for
a doctor's appointment. You ask your wife to marry you.
When you're hungry, you go in and say, you got any food? I'm
hungry. We have not because we ask not.
The publican asked. He said, Lord, be merciful. The
thief asked. He said, Lord, remember me. The
Canaanite woman asked. She said, have mercy. Bartimaeus
cried out, said, Jesus, son of David, have mercy. He asked.
You have not because you ask not. Asking it shall be given
you seeking you shall find knock and it shall be open my friends
Listen to me now you listen put a star by this You quit trying
to decide Whether or not you'll accept Jesus and you seek him
and ask him to accept you. There's a whole lot of difference That's right you quit sitting
around trying to decide what you're gonna do for God and ask
him do something for you God doesn't need your help. He doesn't
need anything you have. He said, if I was hungry, I wouldn't
ask you. He giveth life. He giveth breath. He giveth all
things. Stop sitting around deciding
what you're going to do with Jesus. You're not going to do
anything with Him. But He's going to do something with you. And
I'll tell you what I'd do. I'd ask Him for mercy. I'd ask
Him. I'd say, Lord, don't pass me
by. While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by. Don't
leave me alone. Don't leave me in my darkness.
Don't leave me in my tradition, my form of religion. Do something
for me. And I'll tell you fourthly, you
can walk in the light you already have and you'll be given more
light. We say, show me, preach and I'll believe. You got it
backwards. You believe and God will show you. You walk in the
light God's given you and He'll give you more. Peter had toiled
all night fishing, caught nothing. Christ went down and said, throw
your net over there. He said, Lord, I fished over there and
caught nothing. Nevertheless, at your word, I let down the
net. And that's what you better do
and I better do. We better, Lord, I'd like to send to him, Lord,
I believe. What I know, I believe. What
I've heard, I believe. What I've read, I believe. Show
me something else. Help my unbelief. He said to
that man with a withered hand, stretch out your hand. Well,
the man acted in the light he had. He acted on the command
of Christ. He had a withered hand that he couldn't move, but
he did move it because he acted on the Word of Christ. He told
that man to rise, take up his bed, and walk. The man couldn't
pick up that bed. He couldn't walk, let alone walk
carrying a bed, but he did because he acted on the Word of God.
Now, here's the last thing. You can look to Christ. Look
to Christ and only to Him, not to a church or a preacher or
a profession of faith. Look to Him, just as I am, without
one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me, Lamb of God,
I come to Thee." Now, order these two messages, two messages on
one tape. Six stubborn statements, salvation
is of the Lord. Two dollars, that's all you have
to send. If you don't have it, don't send that. Just ask for
the tape. I'll mail it to you. Here's the address. Till next
week, God bless you.

Salvation Is of the Lord

What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty in salvation?

How do we know that Jesus Christ redeemed His people?

Why is the Holy Spirit's role in salvation important?

Will all believers persevere in their faith?

What does it mean that salvation is a gift?

Sermon Transcript

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Salvation Is of the Lord

What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty in salvation?

How do we know that Jesus Christ redeemed His people?

Why is the Holy Spirit's role in salvation important?

Will all believers persevere in their faith?

What does it mean that salvation is a gift?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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