Salvation

Q: What does the Bible say about salvation?

Salvation is deliverance from the wrath of God and the penalty of sin, as illustrated in the book of Exodus. The Bible defines salvation as redemption and eternal deliverance from the wrath of God, the curse of the law, and the penalty of sin. A vivid picture of this is found in Exodus, where God saves His chosen people from slavery in Egypt through the blood of the Passover lamb. This historical account illustrates the spiritual truth that God hears the cries of His people and acts to deliver them, foreshadowing the ultimate sacrifice of Christ for our salvation.

Q: How do we know that Christ is our Passover?

Christ is our Passover because He is the sacrificial Lamb whose blood delivers us from death, as seen in Exodus and fulfilled in the New Testament. The New Testament establishes Christ as our Passover Lamb, fulfilling the typology set forth in the Exodus narrative. Just as God commanded the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb and apply its blood to their doorposts for protection from judgment, Christ's shed blood serves as the ultimate sacrifice that protects us from eternal death. In 1 Corinthians 5:7, Paul explicitly states, 'For Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us,' emphasizing that Jesus meets the requirements set forth in the Old Covenant and serves as our eternal hope and salvation.

Q: Why is the blood of Christ essential for salvation?

The blood of Christ is essential for salvation because it is the means by which God passes over our sin and grants us forgiveness. The blood of Christ is fundamental to salvation, as it represents the atonement necessary for the forgiveness of sins. In Exodus, God instructed the Israelites that He would pass over the homes marked by the blood of the lamb. Similarly, when God sees the blood of Christ, He sees the price paid for our sins and is satisfied. The blood signifies life and a divinely appointed sacrifice, making it the only basis for our justification before God. This underscores the idea that our good works or intentions cannot save us; only the blood of Christ can deliver us from the judgment we deserve.

Now, my subject this morning is salvation. That's a word that's used so
frequently now. People talk about getting saved.
I got saved. Come down and get saved. Now
it's time for you to get saved. Well, that's my subject this
morning. Salvation. Redemption. eternal deliverance from the
wrath of God, from the curse of the law, from the penalty
of sin, deliverance from bondage and condemnation. And there's no better scripture,
there's no better picture of this great work to be found
anywhere in the Bible than in the book of Exodus. So I want
you to turn to the book of Exodus, chapter 11 and chapter 12. Exodus 11, 12. Now, when I was
preparing this message, I prayed for plainness, for simplicity,
for the power of God to let me illustrate how God redeems sinful
men. Now before I read from these
two chapters, let me give you the background a little bit.
First of all, the Lord permitted Israel, His people, to go down
into Egypt. He permitted that. There were
only 70 of them at the time when they went down into Egypt, and
for many years they were treated quite favorably by Joseph, by
those who knew Joseph, those who followed Joseph. And the
people of God, Israel, multiplied rapidly in this country of Egypt. But soon a Pharaoh arose, the
scripture said, who knew not Joseph. And he feared the people of Israel.
There were so many of them. Estimates run anywhere from two
to five million of them. He feared the people of Israel.
He feared their God. And so he forced them into slavery,
into a terrible, terrible bondage. Now here's the picture. Israel,
the people of God, are in Egypt in bondage and slavery, terrible
conditions. And they were there for 400 years. And finally their cry went up
to God. And the Lord God heard them. And the call went forth from
God's servant Moses to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians, let my
people go. Let them go. But this call was
refused. When Moses came to Pharaoh and
said, God said, let my people go, Pharaoh said, who's the Lord
that I should obey him? I'll not let them go. And his
heart was hardened. And after every plague, every
plague, his heart was hardened a little more. And he added to
the bondage, and he added to the suffering of the people of
God. Finally, God announced judgment. In Exodus 11, beginning with
verse 4, listen to this. Exodus chapter 11, verse 4. So Moses said, thus saith the
Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt.
I will. All my life I've heard about
the death angel. The death angel going to the
land of Egypt. God didn't send a messenger on
this mission. He came. He's going to deal with
sinners. He's going to deal with rebels.
I will. At midnight, will I go out into
the midst of Egypt, and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt
will die. Universal judgment. They'll all
die. From the firstborn of Pharaoh,
that sitteth upon his throne, even to the firstborn of the
maidservant that is behind the mill, and the firstborn of the
beast, the firstborn in Egypt, ever wanted I. And there shall
be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there
was none like it, nor shall be like it any more, God best in
the world in judgment. But thank God there was a covenant
revealed. I tell you, it would do you well,
and me, to go through the Bible and mark this little word, but.
But. Here in verse 7, but. Oh, I tell
you, over in the book of Ephesians, it talks about Ephesians chapter
2, what we what we were, what we are by birth and by nature
and by practice and by choice. And it says, but God. But God
who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved
us even when we were dead in sin quickened us together with
Christ. But God. And here, the land of
Egypt, with all of its idolatry and rebellion hardness of heart
and corruption. God said, I'm going to pass through.
I'm coming through. At midnight, I'm coming through
and I'm going to destroy it. Death's going to reign. Death's
going to touch the home not only of the king, but that little
old maid grinding corn down there behind the mill. I'm going to
kill her childhood. cattle and beast on the hillside. I'm going to let man and beast
taste my wrath. But against any of the children
of Israel, my people, mine elect, my chosen, my brethren, my jewels,
call them what you will, my sheep. But against my children shall
not even a dog Move his tongue. You talk about protection, provision. You talk about hedging them about.
God says not only death is not going to touch them, but even
a cur dog is going to bark at them. They are going to be so
sheltered, so shielded, so hedged about, so protected, so kept,
that not even a dog is going to move his tongue against man
or beast. Even their dog is not going to
be barked at. Not only them, not even their
dogs. That you may know how that the
Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. Who put the difference? We are
separated people. He separated you. I tell you there's a difference
in the believing and unbelieving. God made the difference. That's right. He put a difference.
He made a difference. That's right. What have you got
that you didn't receive? Who made you the difference?
He said, I put a difference. I put a difference between us.
I put a difference. And then in chapter 12, Redemption
is provided. Now here it is. God's going to
visit in wrath. And you can just carry that out
any way you want to. Past, present, and future. God's
going to visit rebels in wrath. But against any of his children,
not even a dog's going to move his tongue. God chose them. God loved them. God redeemed
them. God set them apart. God made a difference. between
them and the heathen. And here's the way he redeems
them. Now watch it. Exodus 12, And the Lord spake
unto Moses and Avid in the land of Egypt, saying, This month
shall be unto you the beginning of months. It shall be the first
month of the year to you. Now you speak. Speak ye unto
all the congregation of Israel, saying, Now my friends, will
you listen to me just a minute? God chose Israel. God made the
difference. But God gave them a gospel. God gave them something to believe. God gave them a message to be
heard and to be heeded. That's right. God gave them an
act of faith to perform. Right here. In other words, it's not, well,
the elect's going to be saved no matter what. No, that's not
it at all. Men are predestinated to heaven
no matter what. Oh, no. There's going to be a
lamb slain. There's going to be a sacrifice
offered, and there's going to be faith exercised. That's right. All right. Now you speak to them,
and you tell them in the tenth day of the month, they'll take
to them, every man, a lamb. Got to have a lamb. According
to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house. Everybody's
got to have a lamb. And if the household be too little
for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to the door into
his house take it according to the numbers sold. But every man,
according to his eating, shall make your count for the lamb.
And your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first
year. Take it from the sheep or from
the goats. Keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month.
And the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall
kill it in the evening. They shall take the bull. You
do it now. You kill the lamb and you take
the blood and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper
door post of the houses wherein thou shalt eat it. And thou shalt
eat the flesh in that night. Roast it with fire and unleavened
bread. With bitter herbs thou shalt
eat it. Don't eat it raw. Don't eat it mixed with water
or gravy or anything else. Roast it with fire, his head,
with his legs, and with the pertinence thereof. And let nothing of it
remain until the morning. The whole lamb. remain unto the morning, and
that which remaineth of it unto the morning ye shall burn with
fire. And thus shall ye eat it, with your loins girded, shoes
on your feet, staff in your hands, eat it in haste, it is the Lord's
Passover. And I will pass through the land
of Egypt this night, I will smite all the firstborn in the land
of Egypt, man and beast, against all the gods and princes and
idols and rulers of Egypt, I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. Now then, and the blood shall
be to you for a token upon the houses where you are. And when
I see the blood, I'll pass over you. When I see what? when I see the blood, I'll pass
over you. And the plague shall not be upon
you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt. Brother man,
what's that got to do with us? I see that. That's perfectly
obvious. The condition existed. Slavery,
bondage. The call went forth, let them
go. The call was refused. I will not. Judgment announced. Destruction and death. But a
covenant revealed. God says, My people, I put a
difference. I put a difference. Not even
dogs don't bark at them. But now you take a lamb and kill
it and put the blood on the side post and the door. And you'll
be delivered. When I pass through, I'll pass
over you. And that happened. What's that got to do with me?
Well, there's several reasons why I know it's got a whole lot
to do with you and me. And the first reason is this,
in this same chapter, Exodus 12, you there? You still at Exodus
12? Look at verse 24. God ordained this Passover feast,
this kill the lamb, roast its body with fire, shed its blood,
put it on the altar, eat the flesh, God ordained this to be
kept every year at this particular time, the Passover feast, forever. On and on and on. Well, read
it, verse 24. Exodus 12. And you shall observe
this thing for an ordinance to thee and to your sons forever.
Forever. This is a way of redemption forever.
And it will come to pass when you be come to the land which
the Lord will give you according as he hath promised You keep
this service, this Passover service. It come to pass when your children
shall say to you, the boys and girls, say, what are you doing?
Why are you killing this lamb? Why are you roasting it with
fire? Why are you putting the blood on the altar? Why are we
eating this lamb? What does this mean? Then say
to them, it's the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, who passed
over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when he smote
the Egyptians And He delivered our houses, and the people bowed
their heads in worship. So God said, keep this always. Well, brother man, where's our
Passover? Where's the lamb, if it's to
be kept forever? I'm glad you asked. Turn to Luke
chapter 22. Luke chapter 22. Luke chapter 22, verse 7. Now, when Jesus Christ, our Lord,
our Savior, came into this world, He was born of a woman, born
under the law. Born under the law, made under
the law. A man subject to all these laws,
rules, and regulations. He kept them. He was circumcised
when he was eight days old. He went to the synagogue every
Sabbath day. He kept the Sabbath day. He paid the tithes. He did
all these things. He even kept the Passover. In
Luke chapter 22 verse 7, then came the day of unleavened bread. Do you have it? Luke 22 7. Please
turn. Now this is so vital. When the
Passover must be killed. Now this has been 2,000 years.
And he's still killing that Passover. And our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Lamb of God, the God-man, God Himself in human flesh, is sitting
down at a table observing the Passover. He's a Jew. He's a
man. Verse 8, he sent Peter and John
saying, Go and prepare us the Passover that we may eat. And
they said to him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? And he
said, Now behold, when you've entered into the city, and there
shall a man meet you bearing a pitcher of water, Follow him
into the house where ye entereth in. And ye shall say to the goodman
of the house, The master said to you, Where is your guest chamber,
where I shall eat the pie sober with my disciples? And he shall
show you a large upper room, furnished, and there ye make
ready. And they went, and they found, as he said to them, and
they made ready the pie sober. And when the hours come, he sat
down, and the twelve apostles with him, and he said to them,
Now listen, this is so important. With desire, I have desired to
eat this Passover with you before I suffer, this particular Passover,
because, my friends, this is the last one. It's a new Passover
from now on. This is the last one. Him whom
the Passover pictured, the one whom the Passover represented,
the one for whom the Passover stood till he came, now stood
in their midst. Jesus Christ. That's right. So listen. For I say unto you,
verse 16, I will not eat any more eat thereof until it be
fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup and gave
thanks and said, Take this, this wine, and divide it among yourselves. For I say unto you, I will not
drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God shall
come. He took bread and gave thanks and break it and gave
it to them, saying, This is my body which is given for you,
this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup, after
supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant, the new testament
in my blood which is shed for you. We have a lamb to eat, it's
Christ Jesus. We have a lamb sacrificed and
a lamb to feed upon. Eat my flesh, my body broken
for you, and drink my blood. So when we come to the Lord's
table, And we take the bread and take the wine. It's the blood
of the Lamb. It's the body of the Lamb of
God. And we take that bread and bless it and break it and eat
it. This do in remembrance of Him who died on the cross as
our Passover Lamb. You see that? All right, turn
to 1 Corinthians 5, 7. 1 Corinthians 5, 7. We have a Lamb. He's the Lamb
of God. We have a Passover. He's the
Son of God. We have blood shed and placed
on the mercy seat. It's His blood on the mercy seat
of glory. That's right. In 1 Corinthians
5, verse 7, listen. Purge out therefore the old leaven,
that you may be a new lump as you are unleavened. Don't go
back to the old feast and holy days and sacrifices and tabernacle
and Sabbath days and those things. and sacrifices, we have a lamb. Listen, for even Christ our Passover
is sacrificed for us. Now turn back to Exodus 12. Exodus
chapter 12. We're in bondage to sin, slavery. We need to be delivered, and
we're delivered by Christ the lamb. And Israel's deliverance
from Egypt is a picture of our deliverance. Well, let me show
you this. Exodus 12, verse 3. Speak ye unto the children, the
congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month
thou shalt take every man a lamb. Do I have a lamb? John the Baptist
said, Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the
world. I have a lamb. In Revelation chapter 5, it says,
I saw in the midst of the throne a lamb as it had been slain. Isaiah says he is led as a lamb
to the slaughter as a sheep before her shearers is done. He opened
not his mouth. Christ is my lamb. Or right down
in verse 5, your lamb shall be without blemish. When they went
out to select the lamb to sacrifice for the Passover, it had to be
a perfect lamb, not diseased. Not diseased. And my lamb is
perfect. He knew no sin. He had no sin. It says a male of the first year
in the prime of life. Don't get an old lamb about to
die. Get a young lamb right in the
prime of life. Christ our Lord died. He said
no man takes my life from me. He didn't die of old age. He
was in the prime of life. He laid down his life. Verse
6, And ye shall keep it up unto the fourteenth day. They kept
that lamb in a pen for four days and observed it and watched it
to make sure that it met the requirements. And our Lord Jesus
Christ came to this earth, born of a woman, made under the law. He grew up in a home with a father
and a mother. He had brothers and sisters.
He lived exactly like you and I live. Exactly. He was tried
in every point, in every stage. He was a teenager. He was a child. He was a young man. He worked
as a carpenter. He suffered. He was tried and
tested in every way. Tested by heaven, tested by demons,
tested by the devil, tested by men, and tried at every point,
and yet without sin. Perfect. He had to be perfect. He learned obedience for the
things he suffered. Perfect. Not a blemish, not a
spot. Absolute perfection. And then
it says in verse 6, kill the lamb. Kill the lamb. In the evening, our Lord Jesus
Christ died on that cross. The lamb was slain and he shed
his blood. Now then, it says in verse 7,
and you take the blood And you strike it on the two side posts
and on the upper door posts wherein you shall eat it. And verse 13
says, and when I see the blood, I'll pass over you. Have you a lamb? Have you a Passover? Have you a sacrifice? Have you
a representative? Have you eaten his flesh and
drunk his blood? Have you confessed him? Have
you put the blood on the door? Have you before God said, this
is my Lamb, Christ is my Lamb, Christ is my Passover? And come
together with the people of God around the table in an act of
worship and say, God, this is my Lamb. He's going to pass through. He said, I will pass through.
And every home, everyone's going to feel the judgment and wrath.
When God passed through the land in judgment that fearful night,
the only thing that stood between Israel and death was the blood. When God passed through the land
of Egypt in that dreadful, terrible night, the only thing that kept
the judgment of God from falling upon the people of Israel was
not that their houses were better built, not that their works were
greater, The blood, God said, when I see the blood, I pass
over you. And I declare unto you, all that
stands between this center, this center right here, and eternal
death is the blood of Christ. Not my preaching, not my religion,
not my baptism, not my works, not my... I don't have anything
before God but the blood. On the door of this heart is
the blood. On the forehead of this sinner
is the blood. On the mercy seat of glory before
a holy God is the blood of Jesus Christ. That's it. That's what
this book says. Christ our Passover is sacrificed
for us. Now let me close and give you
four things. Remember these four things. First of all, the blood. That
was accepted. was the blood of a divinely appointed
Lamb, just any Lamb won't do. God didn't leave the way of deliverance
up to Israel. And I know a lot of people think,
well, by the way, it doesn't matter how you come to God, just
so you're sincere. You don't really believe that,
do you? What if a father in Israel listened
Moses said, take the blood and put the blood on the doorpost.
And he says, well, you know, that's all right for you, Baptists,
or you Methodists, or you somebody else, but I believe as long as
a man's sincere, I believe if I put some flowers around the
door, you know, blood doesn't look very good. Blood is a distasteful
thing. I mean, don't talk about blood. Blood is, you know, this is a
modern generation. And if we'll just put us a basketball
goal for the children, and some flowers around the door, and
maybe have a dinner, a potluck dinner, and everybody brings
what they want, and you know, just sincere, that's what counts.
It's not what counts. It's the blood that maketh atonement
for the soul. I'm telling you. It's a divinely appointed sacrifice,
a divinely appointed lamb. And Jesus Christ is our divinely
appointed Lamb. He said, I am the way, I am the
truth, I am the life. No man comes to the Father but
by me. Other foundation can no man lay. There's none other name
under heaven given among men. I tell you, my friends, it's
the blood that makes us atonement for the soul. When I see the
blood. Alright, here's the second thing.
It's a divinely appointed Lamb. It's got to be a lamb, it's got
to be death, it's got to be death. So this sinner shall die. Somebody's
got to die. But the second thing is this,
is one condition affixed to the promise. The promise of deliverance. One condition. God didn't say,
when you do this or when you do that. He said, when I see
it. When I see it. Brethren, I don't
understand all these things. You don't have to, thank God. I know Israel believed God, they
acted in faith, they put the blood on the door. They didn't
understand everything that God was showing them and doing. You
think they did? Moses says when God passes through
here at night, folks, midnight, folks are going to die. Now put
the blood on the door. I don't imagine any of them understood
how that blood was going to effectually deliver their son, but they believed
it. Because God said, not when you
see it, when I see the blood. You see, Christ's sacrifice was
not to us anyway, it was to God. It wasn't to satisfy you. I hear
somebody say, well, I'm satisfied with Jesus. I ain't got nothing
to do with it. It's God satisfied with Him.
That's the whole thing, when I see the blood, when I see the
blood, when God sees the blood, when He sees the blood of Christ,
He sees our sins put away. Because the blood of Jesus Christ,
God's Son, cleanses us from all sin. That's right. When He sees
the blood, He sees an atonement. It's the blood that makes an
atonement. When He sees the blood, He sees satisfaction. God is
satisfied. He is sanctified with one offering
forever, them that are sanctified. perfected them. So that's what
God, when God sees the blood, He sees a reason to let you go. There's no other reason. If the
blood's not there and He looks at you, He can't see any reason
to turn you loose. He can't see any reason to set
you free. He can't see any reason to forgive
you if there's no blood there. I don't care if the basketball
goal is there. I don't care if you have done
wonderful works for the children. I don't care if you have done
all these things. Still, that just adds to your condemnation,
because you're trying to appease God with filthy rags. You're
waving your filthy rags in His face and say, these be my atonement. No, He can't pass you by. If
He sees the blood, He will, because the blood makes us atonement.
He sees a reason. He sees a reason. My son died. Christ died. Who is he that condemned
me? Christ died. You boys and girls
see that? There's a reason why God... You
say, your gospel doesn't make sense. It's the only one that
does. It's the only one that does.
God has a reason to be just and justify. God has a right to pass
you by. Because somebody's already died.
And that somebody is able to die for a whole lot of folks.
So that's the only condition. I don't understand. I don't either. That makes all of us in the same
boat. I don't have to. I believe God. I believe God. I'm beginning to understand a
few things, but I just see through a glass dimly. Or thirdly, here's
the certainty of deliverance. He said, when I see the blood,
I will. I will pass over you. There's nobody who can guarantee
you salvation but God. There's no one who can guarantee,
I hear these preachers say, you come down here and shake my hand
and accept Jesus, I guarantee you God will save you. You can't
do that, my friend. But He can. And I tell you, I love the guarantees
of God. I love the shalls and the wills
of God. He said, All that my Father giveth
me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no
wise cast out. O the sheep I have which are
not of this foal, them I must bring, and they shall hear my
voice, and they shall be one foal, and they shall never perish. When I see the blood, I will
pass over you. I will, God said, I will. And he did, because everything
he wills, he does. Everything he wills he does.
I will. This is it now. I may never preach
again, but I'm preaching this morning. I may never get hold of any liberty
to make the way clear again, but it's being made clear this
morning. It's the blood. When I see the blood, when I
see the blood, put it on the door now, and when I see it,
you don't even have to see it. You don't have to go to the Holy
Land. You don't have to find the cross. All you have to do
is believe. I will. Now watch this. The fourth
thing, it's not your work. It's not the Spirit's work. It's
the Savior's work that delivers us. It's the blood. You know, Spurgeon said this.
Listen, I wrote this down verbatim. It's like I read it. He said,
I preach to myself today when I preach to you. I often find
myself like this. I pray that the Holy Spirit will
abide in my heart and give me a greater knowledge of the Word
of God. I pray that the Holy Spirit will cleanse my heart
from pride, cleanse my heart from evil thoughts, cleanse my
heart from sin, make me more like Christ. I find myself disappointed
because these things are not done like I want them to be done. And I'm disappointed. I'm filled
with fears and I'm filled with doubts. And I ask the reason.
Why do I fear and why do I doubt? And the answer comes, I've been
looking to the Spirit's work and not to the Savior's work. I've been looking within myself
and not without to Him. It is the blood that maketh atonement
for the soul. It is the blood that cleanses
from all sin. It's the blood that delivers
men from the wrath of God. God said, when I see the blood,
I'll pass over you. Don't put your works on the door,
and don't put the Holy Ghost on the door where Christ is supposed
to be. We must have nothing and no one
as the basis of our hope except the blood of Christ. For we have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of sin. That's where it is. When I see the blood, I'll pass
over you. What can wash away my sin? Nothing
but the blood of Jesus. May God simplify our message
and make it plain and keep you And this preacher, as long as
he lets us have breath, at the very foot of the cross of the
Son of God, where his blood was shed for the remission of our
sins. I hope you grow in grace. I hope I do. I hope we learn more about the
Word of God. I hope you do and I do. I hope our lives adorn the doctrine
of God our Savior, and I hope we walk in this life more like
Christ. But it hadn't got one single
thing to do with the redemption of my soul. Not a thing. I was just as saved back there
when I first saw the blood of the Lamb as I am right now. Not
one thing had it. Nothing I've ever done made God
love me. And nothing I'll ever do will
increase that love. He loved me in Christ and saved
me by His blood. And that's it.

Salvation

What does the Bible say about salvation?

How do we know that Christ is our Passover?

Why is the blood of Christ essential for salvation?

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Salvation

What does the Bible say about salvation?

How do we know that Christ is our Passover?

Why is the blood of Christ essential for salvation?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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