Salvation - Sanctification - Security

Q: What does the Bible say about salvation?

The Bible teaches that salvation is found entirely in Christ, where true eternal life is secured. The Apostle Paul emphasizes in Philippians 3:8 that true salvation is about being found in Christ, not in church membership or ritual. In Christ alone do we find forgiveness of sins, redemption, and our names written in the book of life. As stated in 1 John 5:11, eternal life is in His Son; hence, seeking salvation in any other means is both futile and misleading. Therefore, salvation is not a mere profession of faith or an emotional experience, but a profound personal relationship with Christ, who is our salvation.

Q: How do we know sanctification is true?

Sanctification is the process of being set apart for God's glory and is affirmed through the believer's progressive growth in holiness. The concept of sanctification is rooted in the scriptures, particularly in how God sets believers apart for His use (Genesis 2:3). Paul teaches that believers are sanctified in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:2), meaning they are viewed as holy before God. Moreover, sanctification is an ongoing process empowered by the Holy Spirit, leading to a life that increasingly resembles Christ (Hebrews 12:14). This work encompasses an inner transformation where the believer grows in love, patience, and other Christlike qualities, illustrating that true sanctification is evident in a believer's life.

Q: Why is security in Christ important for Christians?

Security in Christ provides believers assurance of their eternal status and protection against condemnation. Security in Christ is foundational for Christians as it assures them of their salvation and identity as God's elect. Paul highlights this truth in Romans 8, reassuring that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Our security stems from our union with Him, as He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Unlike fluctuating emotions or shifting moral codes, Christ remains our dependable anchor, ensuring that those who are truly in Him will endure to the end. This assurance diminishes fear and strengthens believers' faith in God's promises.

Q: What does the Bible say about satisfaction in Christ?

The Bible reveals that true satisfaction comes from being transformed into Christ's likeness. The concept of satisfaction is deeply entwined with the believer's ultimate goal of being made like Christ. David expresses this yearning in Psalm 17:15, indicating that true contentment will only be found in the presence of God. As Christians, we find satisfaction in hope for a future where we will behold Him in glory and be transformed (1 John 3:2). Until then, believers experience partial satisfaction through their communion with Christ and the Holy Spirit's daily work in their lives, which shapes their desires and affections toward holiness and love.

My friends, I'm not going to
try to preach to you today as much as just visit with you a
little while and talk to you about a subject that I think
is very important. It's entitled, Salvation, Sanctification,
Security, and Satisfaction. I believe if you are a believer
in Christ, a professed believer in the Son of God, I believe
if you are a seeker of salvation and an interest in Jesus Christ,
I believe that you can say that the four things that concern
you most are these. And you know, when I preach to
you and prepare a message to deliver to this television congregation,
I preach to myself. I want to know the gospel. I
want to know Christ. I don't want to miss salvation.
I don't want to miss eternal life. We're not in this thing
to promote ourselves. We're seeking the Lord together,
studying God's Word together, trying to come to a saving interest
in Jesus Christ, myself and you. And I believe these four things
concern us more than anything else. They did, the Apostle Paul.
Take your Bible and turn to the book of Philippians, chapter
3. Now, do that with me. Philippians, the third chapter.
Will you open your Bible? And let's begin reading at verse
8. Paul mentions these four things, four most important things, things
that concern me and things that concern you. I believe the four
most important areas of our entire lives. First of all, in verse
8, when you look at Philippians 3, verse 8, Paul said, Oh, that
I may win Christ and be found in him, O that I may win Christ
and be found in him." Paul was concerned about his salvation.
He was concerned about a saving interest in Jesus Christ for
himself. He didn't say, O that you may
win Christ, that you may be found in him. He says, O that I may
win Christ and be found in him. I can't preach repentance to
you if I've never experienced repentance. I cannot preach Christ
to you if I do not know him myself. I cannot preach faith to you
if I've never believed. This is something that I'm interested
in, and this is something Paul was interested in. What is more
important than our interest in Christ? What is more important
than our salvation? To be found in Christ, or that
I may win Christ and be found in him. Not in the church. It's
not hard to be found in the church. or in doctrine, or in theology,
or in the catechism class, or in the creed, it's not difficult
to be found there. Many people are found there.
Millions of people are found there, but to be found in Christ. John Newton wrote these words.
He's the author of that great hymn, Amazing Grace. How sweet
the sound that saved a wretch like me. He wrote these words,
"'Tis a point I long to know. Often it gives me anxious thoughts. Do I love the Lord or no? Am I His or am I not? Paul was interested in that.
Are you? We're going to deal with that in a moment. Our salvation
to win Christ and be found in Him. Then secondly, look at verse
9, Philippians 3. Paul wrote this, that I may win
Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness,
my own holiness. my own sanctification, but the
righteousness of Christ. He was interested in having a
perfect righteousness. You know, our Lord said to the
disciples, He was talking about the religious Pharisees. They
were the super-religious people of His day, the hyper-religious
people. They were the fellows that stood
on the street corner and prayed long prayers and read the Scriptures
on the street corners. They were the fellows that that
professed to walk with God. They were teachers of the Scripture.
They were super religious, holier than thou. They were the fellows
that brought Christ the woman found in adultery and cast her
at his feet. They were the fellows that threw
the man out of the synagogue that professed to know the Savior.
They were the men that cried for his death. These were the
pious religious people of that day. And Christ said to his disciples,
he said, accept your righteousness, your holiness, exceed theirs,
you won't enter the kingdom of God. So Paul was concerned about
this righteousness, this holiness, without which no man will see
the Lord. He wasn't concerned about his own, because he knew
with Isaiah that his righteousness was filthy rags. He said, I know
in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. He said, I know in the
flesh no man can please God. Paul wanted to know him Christ
Jesus be found in him, not having a fig-leaf apron of self-righteousness
full of holes like filthy rags in God's hands. He wanted to
be clothed in the spotless holiness and righteousness of Jesus Christ. And that's what he was concerned
about, having a holiness, having a righteousness, having a divine
character with which God would be pleased. And then the third
thing, look at verse 10. Paul was interested in salvation,
sanctification, and then in verse 10 he cried this, O that I may
know him and the power of his resurrected life. It wasn't just
a decision that Paul was interested in, it wasn't just having an
experience, but he wanted the security of being in Christ. to continue in Christ. He wanted
that security to remain in Christ and to grow more like Christ
progressively every day. He wanted to know the power of
his resurrected life. He said, I don't want to preach
to others and then myself become a castaway. I'm not interested
in that. But I want to know Christ and
the power of his resurrected life. You know, Israel walked
forty years across the wilderness, and came to the very gate of
Canaan, and fell away. And you know, Judas walked three
years with the master, and then betrayed him. So we're not interested
in just a profession. We're interested in a progression,
a growth in Christ. He that continued to the end,
The shame shall be saved. If any man draw back, God said,
my, I have no pleasure in him. We are the household of Christ
if we continue in the faith, if we hold fast our profession,
firm to the end, if we're able to say with Paul, the time of
my departure is at hand, I fought a good fight, I've kept the faith. I've kept the faith. Security
in Christ is vital. Permanence in Christ. walking
an aisle and shaking a preacher's hand and saying, I believe some
doctrine and getting fixed up for heaven, that's not it. It's
being born again. It's being made a new creature
in Christ. It's the Holy Spirit dwelling
within us. If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he's none
of His. If any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. It's receiving
a new heart. God said, I'll take away that
stony heart and give you a heart of flesh. Write my law on your
heart. You'll be my sons, my jewels,
my brethren, my bride, my people, my sheep. And then the fourth
thing, look at verse 11. Paul was interested in salvation,
that I may win Christ and be found in him. He was interested
in sanctification, having a perfect holiness, a perfect standing
in God's presence. He was interested in security,
permanence in Christ. that growth in grace and the
knowledge of Christ. And then fourthly, he said, if
by any means, verse 11, if by any means, if possible, I might
attain unto the resurrection of the dead. I tell you, Paul
doesn't talk like present-day religionists. These people that
say, I made a profession and I accepted Jesus and I joined
the church and I was baptized and I'll see you in glory. Listen
to Paul. Oh, that I may win Christ. This
was the man that wrote 13 books of the New Testament by the leadership
of the Holy Spirit. This is the man who personally
met Christ on the road to Damascus. Here was an apostle of Jesus
Christ, the chosen vessel to the Gentiles. Here was a man
who founded churches, the first missionary after Christ arose. And here he is talking about,
oh, that I may win Christ and be found in him, that I might
have his righteousness and not my own. that I may know Him and
the power of His resurrected life, all that I may attain,
if possible, if by any means I might attain to the resurrection
of the dead, that I might attain the highest glory, that I might
attain the greatest satisfaction, that I might attain resurrection.
Listen to David. David said, as for me, this is
Psalm 1715, as for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness,
and I shall be satisfied, and not until then, I shall be satisfied
when I awake with his likeness." I haven't attained that goal
yet. Paul said, look at verse 12 through 14, Philippians 3.
I haven't attained that goal yet. I'm not perfect. I'm not
perfect. I've not completed the journey.
I've not finished the course. I've not gained these things
that I want, but I forget the past and I press forward toward
the mark of the prize of the high calling of Jesus Christ
my Lord, to be saved, that I may win Christ, to be sanctified,
having his righteousness, to be secure in his fold, to know
him and the power of his resurrected life, and to be totally satisfied. Oh, that day when I shall see
him. and behold his righteousness
and be just like him. That's when I'll be satisfied.
Now let's look at these four things applicable to you and
to me. We've listened to the Apostle
Paul. Now let's see about our salvation. First of all, salvation. That's forgiveness of sin, that's
pardon, that's our names in glory, and that's being redeemed by
Christ, that's being saved. is in Christ. That's where it
is. It's in Christ. Listen to Paul, that I may win
Christ and be found in him. Salvation is not in the church.
It's in Christ. Salvation is not in church membership. It's in Christ. Salvation is
not in a feeling or in an experience or in an emotion or in a doctrine
or in a sacrament or in an ordinance. It's in Christ. That's where
it is. And to seek salvation anywhere else is to be thwarted
and frustrated. It's to be deceived, it's to
be condemned to seek it anywhere else, but where it is? It's in
a person. This is eternal life, Christ
said, to know God. And Jesus Christ, whom he had
sent. This is the record. God has given to us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son. I was visiting a dear lady just
a few blocks from where I am right now. in this TV studio,
just a few blocks down the street, who was dying. And I turned to
this verse of scripture, 1 John 5, 11. She was not a church member,
to my knowledge. She made no profession of being
saved, but she wanted to talk to me, and I talked to her, and
we read this scripture. I had her read it. This, God
has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. I said, where is it? She said,
in his son. I said, it doesn't say it's in
the church, does it? It doesn't say it's in the doctrine, or
the denomination, or in the priesthood, or in the minister's hand, or
in the baptismal waters, or in the bread and wine. Where is
this eternal life? It's in his son, she said. I
said, that's where it is. It's in his son. He that hath
the Son of God hath life. To know Christ. Paul said, oh,
that I may win Christ and be found in him. All spiritual blessings
are in Christ. Turn over in your Bible to the
book of Ephesians, chapter 1, verse 3. Look at that, verse
3 of Ephesians 1. It says, God has blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in Christ. That's where it is. It's in Christ.
Look, if you will, there at verse 4. It says, having chosen us
in Christ. That's where God chose us. God's
gifts are eternal. God's gifts are not gifts of
emotion or time, but God's gifts are eternal. They're in Christ. And then look at verse 7, "...in
whom we have redemption." Where's redemption? It's in Christ. The
same place we have covenant blessings and spiritual blessings and blessings
of his choice, we have blessings of redemption in Christ. There's
a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Emmanuel's face. and
sinners plunge beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.
The royal banquet of mercy is served up by one host, the Lord
of Glory. The Lord of Glory. The justice
of God is satisfied by the Lord of Glory. The law of God is honored
and obeyed by the Lord of Glory. Look at verse 6. It says, We
are accepted in Christ. In Christ. Oh, the bliss of that glorious
thought. My sins, not in part, but the
whole, were nailed to the cross, and I bear them no more. Praise
the Lord, it's well with my soul. My sins, not because I've repented,
or not because I've preached, or not because I've served God,
or not because I'm doing the best I can. My sins are put away
because Christ paid for them. That's right, by His stripes.
I am healed. So salvation is in Christ. It's in the Christ of eternal
glory. It's in the Christ of time revelation. It's in the Christ who represented
us. It's in the Christ of the cross.
It's in the Christ of the tomb. It's in the Christ of the resurrection.
It's in the Christ of intercession. It's in the Christ of coming
glory. That's where salvation is, to know him, to win him,
be found in him. All right, secondly, sanctification.
Now, my friends, if you would understand, if you would understand
what Christ came to do, if you would understand what Christ
is doing, you're going to have to become acquainted with the
Old Testament. That's right. Now, if you read
1 Corinthians 15, 1 through 3, it says the gospel, Paul said,
that I preached to you, by which you are saved, wherein you stand.
You keep in mind what I preached unto you, lest you believe in
vain. Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.
Now that's talking about the Old Testament scriptures. He
died according to what was written in the Old Testament. You understand
what he was doing? Understand what he did? He died
according to the scriptures, the Old Testament scriptures.
And then he was buried and rose again according to the scriptures.
And then when our Lord opened the understanding of his disciples
in Luke 24, It says that he opened their understanding and spoke
to them concerning himself as it was revealed in Psalms and
Moses and the writings of David and Isaiah and others. In other
words, Jesus Christ the Lord, when he would explain to his
disciples the cross, substitution, the sin offering, God's justice
and righteousness and what he came to do, what did he do? He
went back to the writings of Moses. He said, Moses wrote of
me. Abraham saw my day and was glad. Christ went back to the
writings of Moses and Abraham and David and Isaiah and spoke
to them concerning himself." Now, if you would understand
salvation and sanctification and justification and these words,
you're going to have to get acquainted with the Old Testament, or get
acquainted with someone who can teach you the Old Testament.
Now, the word sanctify, you're going to have to go back to the
Old Testament and get the meaning. We have in the Bible the law
of first mention. How a subject is dealt with first
in the Word of God is generally the translation all the way through
the Word of God. And the word sanctified in the Old Testament
is used in three senses. Now get this. First of all, sanctified
in the Old Testament meant to set apart. That's right. This is the first mention of
the word sanctified is to set apart, is to take something common,
something ordinary. and set it apart for God's use
and for God's glory as holy unto the Lord. Let me give you an
example. Genesis 2, 3. God sanctified the Sabbath day. Now, sanctification meant the
eradication of an old nature only. If sanctification meant
the removal of an old nature and the implantation of a new
nature only, then how would you sanctify a day? How would you
eradicate the old nature of a day? God sanctified a day. What did
that mean? He set it apart. He said, this
is my day. This is my day. This is holy unto the Lord. And
then in Exodus 13, 2, he sanctified the firstborn, even the firstborn
of the cattle and the sheep and the horses. God said, the firstborn
is mine. In Exodus 29, God sanctified
the tabernacle. He said, this tent is mine. He
sanctified the altar, he sanctified the vessels, he sanctified the
priesthood, he set them apart, something ordinary, something
common, something like everything else, but he said, this one's
mine. And then in John chapter 10, verse 36, the Lord Jesus
said the Father had sanctified the Son. Now Christ didn't need
a second work of grace, Christ didn't need an old nature eradicated,
Christ was perfect, but yet the Father sanctified him. That is,
he set him apart for a purpose, as a sin offering, as a substitute.
That's the first meaning of sanctification in the Bible. God setting something
that's ordinary, something that's common, setting it apart for
his glory, holy unto the Lord. Now that in Jude, we, Jude verse
1, we have, writing to the believer, the apostle said, you are sanctified
by God the Father. God had taken you from Adam's
race, something common and ordinary, just like everybody else. And
he said, you're mine, you're mine, you're mine, you're mine.
My brethren, my jewels, my chosen, my sheep. I know my sheep. My
sheep hear my voice. God has sanctified us and set
us apart. Alright, second meaning of sanctification in the Old
Testament means this. It's used when we're talking
about regarding something as holy. treating something as holy
and declaring something to be holy. That's right. Isaiah 8,
13. Isaiah said, sanctify the Lord
God himself in your heart. How am I going to sanctify God?
That means to regard God as holy. Holy and reverent is his name.
I'm to have a reverent fear of God. I'm to declare God to be
holy. I am to look upon God as holy. I am to treat God as holy, because
he is holy. And then in Numbers 20, verse
12, God said, Moses, you didn't sanctify me in the eyes of the
people. You didn't sanctify me. You didn't
regard me as holy and treat me as holy. And then in Leviticus
10, verse 3, God says, I will be sanctified by all those that
come near me. I will be regarded as holy. I
will be looked upon as holy, I will be treated as holy. Now
the scripture tells us down in 1 Corinthians 1 verse 2 in the
New Testament, that we are sanctified in Christ Jesus. We are, not
going to be, not should be, not ought to be, but we are. What
does that mean? That means in Christ, we are
regarded as holy. We're holy in Christ, we're holy,
unblameable, unreprovable. And he's going to present us
before the Father's throne as completely pure, without spot
or blemish. In Christ we're holy. All right,
there's a third meaning of sanctification in the Old Testament, and here
it is to actually make holy. It is to actually purify. In
Exodus chapter 19, God said, sanctify the people, Moses, today
and tomorrow, for the third day, God will come down in their midst,
in the sight of the people, tell them to wash their clothes, and
wash their hair, and wash their bodies, and purify themselves,
I'm coming down. Sanctify themselves. All right,
in Leviticus 20, verse 7, it says, Sanctify yourselves, and
be ye holy. In other words, the work of sanctification
is not only God in his sovereign pleasure, setting us apart and
making us his own. It's not only God Almighty regarding
us as holy in Christ, but it's the Holy Spirit actually, through
a work of grace, making us holy. Progressively making us holy. Sanctify them through thy word. Thy word is truth. Wherewithal
shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed to the word
of God. We are being conformed to the
image of Christ. And the fruit of the Holy Spirit
is sanctification. That fruit is love, joy, peace,
long-suffering, and patience. And I'm telling you this, a man
who is not being sanctified progressively by the Holy Spirit has certainly
never been sanctified by God the Father, and has never been
regarded as holy in Christ Jesus. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creature. Now, God's people are honest,
and they grow in honesty. God's people are truthful, and
they grow in truth. God's people are holy, and they
grow in holiness. They become more like Christ,
more like Christ. All right, thirdly, our security.
Now, my friends, Paul said, Oh, that I may know him and the power
of his resurrection. I want security in Christ, and
this is a battleground, but it ought not to be. Our security,
our permanence in the kingdom of God is found in the same place
as our salvation in Christ. It's found in the same place
as our sanctification in Christ. There's no security in religion. People get religion and lose
it every day. There's no security in feeling.
Feeling fluctuates. I feel good today and bad tomorrow. I feel holy today and have an
experience of feeling unholy tomorrow. I can't trust my feeling. And there's no security in a
moral code, because moral codes are changing all the time. People
dress today like they'd never dress 200 years ago, and I imagine
200 years from now it'll be amazing how people will act and talk
and dress and so forth. So there's no security in a moral
code. And moral codes differentiate
according to countries even, and denominations. And then there's
no security in dreams and visions. Where is there security in Christ? He's the same yesterday, today,
and forever. His word never changes. His word
is always the same. Who can lay anything to the charge
of God's elect? Who is he that condemneth? Christ
died. Christ died. The Apostle Paul
says, who can condemn thee? Christ died. He's risen again. He's ascended. He's at the right
hand of God. He's making intercession for
me. And then last of all, my satisfaction. Now, my friends,
as Christ the Lord is our salvation, we have forgiveness in Him. As Christ the Lord is our sanctification,
we are made holy in Him. Our righteousness is in Him.
As Christ the Lord is our security, we are found in Him, and we're
secure in Him. And we're secure as long as our
Lord lives. He said, because I live, you
shall live. But our satisfaction, this is important to me. I'm
not satisfied. I'm not satisfied with myself.
I'm not satisfied with the world in which I live. I'm not satisfied
with life in general. But I'll be satisfied one day.
You know when that'll be? David tells us. He said, I shall
behold thy face in righteousness, and I shall be satisfied when
I wait. with his likeness. Every believer is going to be
like Christ. John wrote, Behold, what manner
of love the Father hath bestowed on us, that we should be called
the sons of God. It does not yet appear what we
shall be, but when he shall appear, we shall see him and be just
like him. What satisfaction! This message
is on cassette tape. If you'd like to have it, write
to me. Listen again next week at the same time. God bless you,
everyone.

Salvation - Sanctification - Security

What does the Bible say about salvation?

How do we know sanctification is true?

Why is security in Christ important for Christians?

What does the Bible say about satisfaction in Christ?

Sermon Transcript

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Salvation - Sanctification - Security

What does the Bible say about salvation?

How do we know sanctification is true?

Why is security in Christ important for Christians?

What does the Bible say about satisfaction in Christ?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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