Salvation,Sanctification,Security and Satisfaction

If you are a believer in Christ, if you are an honest and sincere
seeker of God, you can say with me tonight that
there are four definite thoughts that occupy your mind more than
anything else. Paul expresses his own concern
about these four things in the text that I've read to you, beginning
with verse 8. He says in the latter part of
verse 8, O that I may win Christ and be found in him. Your salvation is the most important
thing in all the world. What is more important than your
redemption? What is more important than the
redemption of your soul? Can you think of anything? Now,
you may be satisfied to rest in your experience. You may be
satisfied to rest in a decision which you made for Christ ten,
fifteen, twenty years ago. That's your business. You may
be content to rest in your good deeds, the law, church membership,
your experience, baptism. That's your decision to make. And that's your privilege. But
Paul wasn't willing to rest in those things. He said in verse
4, some of you claim to have confidence in the flesh. If any
man thinketh that he hath whereof to trust in the flesh, I more.
Why, he said, I was circumcised the eighth day of the stock of
Israel, God's chosen people, the tribe of Benjamin. I was
a Hebrew of Hebrews. Concerning the law, a Pharisee. You couldn't touch Paul's obedience
to the law, concerning zeal, enthusiasm? Well, I persecuted
the Church when it came to the righteousness which is in the
written law. No man could charge Paul with
one offense. He said, I was blameless, not
blameless before God, but blameless before men. How did he consider
these things? his religious experience, his
religious tradition, his religious knowledge, his religious doctrine. What did he think about them?
He used two words. He said, I count them but lost,
and I count them but done. That's about what they're worth.
That's about what your decisions are worth, and that's about what
your deeds are worth, and that's about what your experiences are
worth, and that's about what your denominationalism and sectarianism
and religious profession is worth. It's done. That's about all it's
worth. Paul was concerned about one
thing, not trying to trace his salvation back to an experience,
but to be in Christ. Oh, that I may win Christ and
be found in him." Are you concerned about that? Here's an apostle
that wrote 13 books in the New Testament. Here's a man that
met God in person on the road to Damascus. Here's a man that
founded churches all over the known world. Here's a man that
was the first missionary sent out from the church. And yet
here's a man who is not satisfied to rest in presumption, but who
continually cries, Oh, that I may win Christ and be found in him. It's amazing to me that we who
are babes in swaddling clothes compared to this man can find
so much confidence and assurance in our little religious profession.
Oh, I'm saved. I joined the church when I was
twelve. Oh, I'm saved, I made a profession and was baptized
several years ago. Oh, I'm saved, I believe the
Bible. You hadn't commenced to begin to get started to believe
this book like Paul believed it. And yet here he is crying,
Oh, that I may win Christ and be found in him. I'll tell you the second thing
he was concerned about was his sanctification. We're going to
look at that word tonight. His sanctification, he says in
verse 4, that I may be found in him not having my own righteousness,
which is of the law. Paul wasn't content to rest in
his fleshly obedience to some written laws. He said, in my
flesh dwelleth no good thing. He said, in my flesh, or in the
flesh, no man can please God. Christ picked out the most religious
people of his day, the most moral people of his day, the most church
or synagogue loyal people of his day. He picked out those
with the best reputation of his day and pointed to them and said,
unless your righteousness exceeds theirs, you won't enter the kingdom
of God. not having man-owned righteousness,
which is the law of the law, but that which is through the
faith of Christ. the righteousness which is of
God, the holiness, the sanctification that does not come from obedience
to some laws and statutes and standards and rules and regulations
laid down by churches and men, but having that perfect, pure,
holy, immaculate righteousness which is of God. I'll tell you
this, and I've thought about this and weighed it, this is
not off the top of my head. I'd rather stand at the judgment
before God as a murderer than to stand there clothed in, robed
in, wrapped in my own righteousness. Because I know the thief on the
cross had the promise of life. I know the harlot Mary Magdalene
had the promise of life. I know the publican Zacchaeus
had the promise of life. But our Lord didn't promise one
religious pharisee anything but judgment, not one. He said, I come not to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance. And you go ahead clutching your
robes, your rags of self-righteousness, and covering yourself and hiding
in them if you want to. But I want God's burning searchlight
of holiness to expose every fig leaf, apron of self-righteousness
in which I can possibly trust, and blow it away like the wind
blows away the chaff, that I might flee naked to Calvary and be
robed in His holiness. not having mine own righteousness. Most people don't have the faintest,
foggiest idea of what sanctification is. It's nothing but a perverted,
misapplied, misused word. But it's got something to do
with that holiness without which no man will see the Lord. We're concerned about our security. I am. I'm concerned about the
salvation of my soul. I'm concerned about the sanctification
of my soul. I'm concerned about the security
of my soul. Oh, that I may know him and the
power of his resurrected life. Not that I may profess him, that
I may know him. Not that I may claim to know
him, that I may know him. You know what the Amplified Version
says, verse 10, listen to it. That I may know Christ, that
I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted
with Him. If you're not growing in grace,
you do not know grace. If you're not growing in the
knowledge of Christ, you've never met Christ. That I may come to
know progressively the power outflowing from his resurrected
life to be in Christ, to remain in Christ, to grow in Christ. I'll be perfectly honest with
you. I think most religious people If they would examine what sanctification
is, Bible sanctification, what Bible growth is, what the fruits
of the Spirit are, they would come to the shocking conclusion
that they never have met Christ. They've professed him, they've
claimed him, they've owned him, but they really have never met
him. And then the fourth thing about
which we are concerned, Paul talks about it here, if by verse
11, if by any means, that is, if possible, oh think of it,
that if possible, I, Paul, human being, son of Adam, creature,
enemy of God, by nature, by birth, by choice, by practice, if by
any means I may attain to the resurrection of the dead. We handle this so flippantly,
we go out to bury somebody and we handle it so flippantly One
day the Lord will descend and the grave will open and this
loved one will rise. You reckon he will? He'll rise,
all right, but will it be unto life or unto death? Paul wasn't
as confident as you are. He wasn't as presumptuous as
you are. He wasn't as cocksure as I am. Oh, he said, if possible. You reckon it's possible. Can
it be that I, that I should attain unto the resurrection of the
dead? When the Lord Jesus comes to claim his own, is it possible
that I could be one? When the Lord Jesus descends
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with
the trump of God, and calls forth his beloved, redeemed by his
blood, I, you reckon, I could be one of them! It is a point I long to know,
oft it gives me anxious thoughts. Do I love the Lord or no? Am
I his or am I not? And like I say, if you want to
tuck that away in a little easy believism, a little religious
profession you made one time under an emotional experience,
and you got it all fixed up, That's all right by me. That's
yours. You got one soul. It's yours. God entrusted you
with it. If you're satisfied with that,
that's all right. I'm not. If you want to rest
in the fact that you went to church a time or two and gave
a little money and helped do this, that and the other, that's
your privilege. If you want to rest in the fact that you've
been a good little boy or a good little girl, that's all right.
That's all right. But I'm going to take my place
with this great man of God. I'm going to sit down beside
him, I'm going to cry out with him, O, that I may win Christ
and be found in him. God, don't leave me in a refuge
of lies, however safe it may seem. O, that I might know him
and the power of his resurrection, that I might grow in grace, that
I might progressively become more intimately and personally
acquainted with him, that Christ might occupy my thoughts, and
oh, if possible, if by any means, under heaven, If it is in God's
will, in God's purpose, oh, that I, that I, that I might attain
to what? The resurrection of the dead,
the highest glory, the greatest satisfaction, to come out of
the tomb in the image of Christ. Think of it! about all most people think of,
it's on Sunday morning for a little while, that is, they don't have
anything else to do. Maybe they might consider a little
bit on Sunday night, but David said, as for me, I will
behold thy face in righteousness, I'll be satisfied when I wake
with his likeness. Look at verse 12, Paul said,
I hadn't already attained, I hadn't attained this goal yet, You can
fold your Bible, lay it aside until the dust gets an inch thick.
You've attained it. You've got it all fixed up. Paul
said, I haven't got there yet. I haven't attained this goal
yet. I'm not already perfect. You are, he's not. He said, I'm
not already perfect. I've fought a good fight, but
I'm not already perfect. I've kept the faith, but I'm
not already perfect. I'm not perfected. He said, verse
13, I count not myself to have apprehended. I don't consider that I've captured
my aspirations yet. I haven't. I'm not like Christ
yet. I'm not as intimately acquainted
with him as I want to be. I'm not as personally acquainted
with him as I want to be. I don't feel the confidence and
assurance and security that I want to have. I'm not there yet, he
said. I'm not there yet. I don't consider
that I've captured my aspirations. But this one thing I do, I'm going to forget those things
which are behind. I'm going to reach forth into
those things which are before. I tell you what you'd better
do, you'd better forget that little profession. You'd better
forget that linic spirit. You'd better forget all those
little deeds. You'd better ask God to wipe the slate clean and
start writing something all over again. Write it in the blood
of Christ. Write it with the hand of the
Spirit. Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching
forth unto those things which are before, I press towards the
mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. These are my goals, he said,
to be saved. These are my goals to be redeemed,
to be found in Christ. These are my goals These are
my goals, to be sanctified, to have his righteousness, not mine
own, his righteousness. These are my goals, to be secure
in his fold. Can a woman, David said, can
a woman forget her sucking child? Yes, they may forget. Yet he said, I will not forget
thee. Oh, that could be said about me. Isaiah 49, 50, will God forget
to be gracious? Will God in anger shut up his
tender mercies? I like to think that he won't. And then to be able to say with
Paul, I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is
far better. Now let's look at these briefly. First of all, salvation. Turn
to Ephesians 1. This is our concern. Let's look
at them. Ephesians 1, salvation. My friends,
salvation is not in the Church. Salvation is not in the front
of the Church. Salvation is not in the ordinances
of the Church. Salvation is not in the law. Salvation is not even in the
Bible. Salvation is in Christ. Look at Ephesians 1 verse 3,
"...Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ." All spiritual blessings are in Christ. To seek salvation
and eternal life anywhere but in Christ is to be denied, to
be frustrated, to be condemned, to build on a false foundation.
Because first of all, verse 4 says, we were chosen in Christ. That's
how we got in Christ. We were chosen in Christ. He
said, God hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ,
according as he chose us in Christ. That's how we got in Christ.
But our will are you in Christ Jesus. Who of God is made under
us? Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification
and redemption. According as he chose us in Christ
before the foundation of the world. God's mercies are in Christ. God's love is in Christ. God's grace is in Christ. And these blessings are eternal
blessings. They're not gifts of emotion.
They're not gifts of time. They are eternal gifts and they
are decreed in God's covenant, in God's purpose, in God's grace,
in God's love. We are his sheep. Turn to John 10. Let me show you a beautiful picture
here in John 10, verse 22. And it was at Jerusalem, the
Feast of the Dedication, it was winter, and Jesus walked in the
temple in Solomon's porch, and the Jews came round about him
and said, How long are you going to make us doubt? If you're the
Christ, tell us plainly. He answered, I told you. And
you believe not. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me, but you believe not because you're
not of my sheep. As I said unto you, my sheep,
hear my voice. I know them, they follow me,
I give them eternal life, they shall never perish, neither shall
any man pluck them out of my hand, my Father which gave them
me." Where did he get them? My Father which gave them me
is greater than all. No man can pluck them out of
my Father's hand. Look at verse 14, same chapter.
I'm the good shepherd, I know my sheep. I know my sheep, I'm
known of mine. Look at John 10, verse 1, "...verily
I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold,"
what is a sheepfold? Well, back yonder in Oriental
days, and maybe today, I guess, there used to be a common sheepfold.
The shepherds would graze their sheep out on the mountains and
the green pastures and the valleys, and at night they would bring
them in. They'd bring them into the community, or into the town,
or into the city, and there was a big sheepfold, and they had
a porter in charge. They had one gate. And the porter
would put all the sheep in there together. Sheep look alike to
me. They're all just as woolly, and just as nearsighted, and
just as scraggy, and just as dumb, and just as dirty. They
all look alike, but there all the sheep are together. Eight
or ten shepherds had brought their sheep into the sheepfold.
Now, the next morning, Our Lord said, He that entereth by the
door into the sheepfold, he that entereth not, but clambereth
up some other ways a thief and a robber. But he that entereth
by the door is the shepherd. To him the porter openeth. Shepherd
comes down the next morning, comes to get his sheep. They're
his. And the porter knows him, and
he opens the door to him. And he goes in there and he calls
his own sheep by name. He knows his sheep and they know
him. They know his voice. And when he put forth his sheep,
he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him. They know his
voice. And a stranger they will not follow. So this shepherd
comes down to the sheepfold, and the porter knows him. And
he opens the door and lets him in. He goes in there, and he
starts calling his sheep. And they hear his voice, and they
just follow him. The rest of the sheep don't move.
They stay right in there. They won't follow him, because
they will not follow a stranger. They follow the shepherd. when
they hear his voice. They run right out behind him,
and he leads them out. And that's what Christ is saying
about you and me. He says, My sheep know my voice,
and they hear my voice, and they follow me. And you are not of
my sheep, he said. You don't hear my voice, you
don't follow me, that's an indication you're not of my sheep. Look
down at verse 7. Salvation is in Christ. We were
chosen in him. It says in verse 7, We are redeemed
in him, in whom we have redemption. I found a ransom, Job said, a
price. You're bought with a price. The
justice of God is satisfied in full with that price. The law
of God is satisfied in full with that price, that redemptive price. You go down to the loan office, to the palm
shop, you have a watch, and you say, what do you give me for
this watch? Well, I'll give you $25. All right, there it is. He puts a ticket on it. He gives
you the ticket. You want that watch, you got
to pay $25 for it. Somebody's got to pay $25. Man
comes down the next day or two, and he says, I want to redeem
that watch for Brother May, and what'll it cost? It'll cost you
$25. That's the redemptive price, $25. You pay it, you get the
watch. You don't pay it, you don't get
the watch. I'll pay it, the watch is yours. In whom we have redemption. What was the price? It was his
death. It was his blood. It was his
suffering. It was bearing the wrath of God.
It was paying the debt. All the debt I owe, that's the
redemption price. That's what Christ paid. Not
only do we have redemption through his blood, we have the forgiveness
of sin. There's pardon. Listen to this. There's pardon for transgressions
past. It matters not how black their
cast, And, O my soul, with wonder view, For sins to come there's
pardon too. My sins, O the bliss of that
glorious thought, My sins, not in part but the whole, Are nailed
to the cross, I bear them no more. Praise the Lord, it's well
with my soul. Look at verse 6. The last line
says we're not only chosen in him, redeemed in him, forgiven
in him, but verse 6 says we are accepted in him. I'm not accepted when I make
a promise. I'm not accepted when I obey
a rule. I'm not accepted because I made
a decision. I'm not accepted because I made
a promise. I'm accepted because Christ fulfilled
all that God required. in him, not in my work, not in
my experience, not in my loyalty, in the Beloved. I met the law
in the Beloved. I went to the cross in the Beloved. I went to the tomb in the Beloved. I rose again in the Beloved. Accepted am I, risen, ascended,
seated on high, saved from all sin by his wonderful grace in
the Beloved. I am given a place That's salvation, it's in Christ.
That's what Paul is saying in Philippians, that I may win Christ
and be found in him, because that's where all the blessings
are in Christ. That's the well of living water,
that's the fountain of living water, that's the source, Christ,
it's all right there. So what about sanctification?
Well, I don't need to go deeply, I couldn't do it if I wanted
to, but I don't need to what it doesn't mean, I think all
of you are acquainted with what it doesn't mean. But in the Old
Testament scriptures, and that's where we have to go, the Bible
operates on the law of first mention. You find out how something
is dealt with first in the word of God, that's usually what it
means throughout the word of God. Now, sanctify is used in
three senses in the Old Testament, three senses. First of all, it
means to set apart. It means to take something that's
common, something that's ordinary before, and set it apart for
God alone. for God's glory, so that that
common, ordinary thing becomes the property of the Lord, it's
holy unto the Lord. For example, the scripture says,
and I'm just going to give you these references, you can write
them down, Genesis 2.3, he sanctified the Sabbath day. Sanctification
does not mean eradication of the old nature. Sanctification
does not mean to be rendered without fault. Sanctification
does not mean the second blessing, because the Sabbath day couldn't
be sanctified if that's what it meant. But the Sabbath day
is an ordinary, common day. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday. That's the Sabbath day, Saturday.
And it was sanctified, it was set apart from the other days.
God said, this is my day. He said that, this is my day. He said he sanctified the firstborn,
both cattle and men. When a woman had a baby, And
it was a boy, that was the Lord's. He was sanctified, he was set
apart. He belonged to the Lord. When a man had some sheep, firstborn
belonged to the Lord. God didn't get the leavings like
he gets today. God didn't get what was left
of my time, he got the first. He got the cream off the top.
God didn't get what I could spare him, I got what God could spare
me. Firstborn was sanctified, set
apart. The tabernacle wasn't anything
but an ordinary tent, but it was sanctified. The priest wasn't
anything but an ordinary man, but he was sanctified. The altar
wasn't anything in the world but a block of wood, but it was
sanctified. It was set apart. It was holy
unto the Lord. Now turn to John 10. I do want
you to look at this scripture in John chapter 10. Did you know
that the Father not only sanctified the Sabbath day and sanctified
the firstborn and sanctified the tabernacle and the priest
and the altar, but he sanctified the Son? Christ didn't need any
second blessing. Christ didn't need any eradication
of an old age. He didn't have one. But listen
to John 10.36, "...say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified,
and sent him to the world, that he blest thee?" Who sanctified
him? The Father did. The Father set
him apart. He was a man, but he was an anointed
man. He was an ordained man. He was
a sent man. He was holy unto the Lord. God
sanctified those vessels in the temple. That's what happened
to Belshazzar when he drank out of them. They were just glasses
like these, but they were sanctified, set apart. Now turn to Jude,
verse 1, the book of Jude, verse 1. If you'll keep that in mind,
the word sanctified first of all means by an act of God, by
the will of God, by the purpose of God, that which was ordinary,
that which was common. was sanctified, set apart. He
said, fine, all right, Jude 1, Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ
and the brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God
the Father. Who did it? God the Father. He set us apart. He said, those
are my sheep. Now, Lord, they're just ordinary
folks, I know, but they're The Lord ain't no good, but they're
mine. I chose them, and they're mine. All right, secondly in
the Old Testament, the word sanctified turned to Isaiah 8. It means
to actually regard as holy, to treat as holy, Isaiah chapter
8. It means to declare something
to be holy. Not only set it apart to be holy,
but actually to regard it To declare it, to treat it as it
is a holy thing. Now, Isaiah 8.13, listen to this. Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself,
and let him be your fear, let him be your dread. Now, the Father
doesn't need a second blessing. The Lord God of heaven doesn't
need any eradication of an old nature. He doesn't need any progressive
growth and grace. So the word sanctify here means
what? It means to regard God as holy. It means to treat him
as holy. It means to dwell upon him as
holy. It means to fear him and revere
him and honor him in your heart, to acknowledge his holiness. And then Numbers 20, listen to
this. In Numbers 20, God is speaking
here to the people through Moses. In Numbers 20, verse 12. And
the Lord said to Moses, an alien, because you believe me not to
sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel. That's when
Moses smoked the rock and called attention to himself and lifted
up himself instead of calling the people's attention to the
Lord. A lot of preachers are going to get whipped right here.
They don't honor God, they honor themselves. They don't call attention
to God, to Christ, to the blood, to the atonement, to the cross,
they call attention to themselves. God said, Moses, you're not going
to lead the people into the promised land because you didn't sanctify
me. Can I sanctify God? Well, sure. See him, revere him,
stand in awe of him, treat him as holy, regard him as holy.
That's what sanctify means here. Look at Leviticus 20. Leviticus
10, I beg your pardon, the 10th chapter of Leviticus. and verses
1-3, Leviticus 10, verse 1-3. Listen to this. And Nadab and Abihu, the sons
of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein,
and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the
Lord. And God devoured them, God destroyed them, they died
before the Lord. Now watch verse 3. Then Moses
said to Aaron, this is it, that the Lord spake, saying, I will
be sanctified in them that come now unto me, and before all the
people I will be glorified, I will be sanctified. I'm going to be
regarded, I'm going to be treated, I'm going to be honored and declared
to be holy. Now, that will give you a little
light on 1 Corinthians 1. Let's look over there in regard
to our sanctification. First of all, In 1 Corinthians
1, first of all, we're sanctified by God the Father. That's right. We are set apart. We're no better
than anybody else. We're dug out of the same pit.
We're lifted out of the same dunghill. We're found in the
same mire, just like Friday and Saturday. But Saturday is the
whole end of the law in the Old Testament days. It was sanctified.
Those badger skins and other skins on that tabernacle, they
were just skins of animals. until they adorned and graced
the house of God, then they were sanctified. God set them apart. And God, out of mankind, has
chosen a people. And he said, These are mine,
they are my sheep. Now look at 1 Corinthians 1,
verse 2, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them
who are sanctified in Christ Jesus. You know what that means?
That means in Christ I'm not only declared to be holy, not
only set apart to be holy, I am declared to be holy. In Christ
I am treated by the Father as holy. I am regarded by the Father
as holy. I am declared by the Father to
be holy. The scripture says, by one sacrifice
he perfected forever them that are sanctified. When God looks
at me, he doesn't see me, he sees Christ. I'm in Christ, and
with his holy garments on, I'm as spotless as the Holy Woman."
Now, the third meaning of sanctification, you have two of them. In the
Old Testament, it was taking something that was common and
ordinary, and all the rest, setting it apart to glass, vessel, tabernacle,
a man, a day, and God said, I've selected it, I've chosen it,
it's mine. And then to sanctify it is to regard it as holy, to
treat it as holy, to look upon it as holy. And God set us apart
and put us in Christ, and Christ fulfilled for us every jot, every
tittle of the law. In Christ we are holy. In Christ
we're accepted. In Christ we're looked upon by
the Father as having no sin. In him, you see that? In Exodus 19, let's look over
here, Exodus 19, to sanctify, and here's where we come into
a very important part, don't hide in these other two, it's
to actually make holy. That's right, actually purify
and to make it holy. Exodus 19 verse 10, now look
at this. And God said to Moses, go down
to the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow and let them
wash their clothes. And be ready against the third
day, for the third day the Lord's coming down. Moses came down
and said to the people, wash your clothes. clean yourself
up, the Lord is coming down among you. And that's repeated several
times in Leviticus 20, verse 7. We have it again, Leviticus
20, verse 7. Sanctify yourselves and be ye
holy, for I am the Lord your God. Sanctify yourselves. What
does that mean? This work of sanctification,
this work of making us, not only regarding us as holy, but making
us holy. It's begun in regeneration, and
it's a progressive work performed by the Holy Spirit through the
word of God. Wherewithal shall a young man
cleanse his way, taking heed to the word of God. How can we
be cleansed? How can we become holy? The scripture
says, Sanctify them through thy word. Thy word is truth. And so you have there the third
meaning of sanctification. It's a progressive growth and
grace. It's becoming more like Christ
in your attitude, and more like Christ in your action, and more
like Christ in your conversation, and more like Christ in your
behavior, and more like Christ in your conduct, and more like
Christ in your business dealing. And if you're not becoming more
like Christ, you're not sanctified. And it's not something that's
done subtly, with the laying on of hands, with the words of
some preacher. You don't walk in an infant and
walk out a grown man. It's done by the Spirit of God,
and it's a progressive work. It's making us holy. Be ye holy,
for I am holy, saith the Lord. As your Father in heaven is merciful,
so be ye merciful. And that's sanctification. But
my friends, all of that is in Christ. In Christ. My security. Let's look at this.
My security. This is a battleground. It ought
not be, but our security is found in the same place where our salvation
is found, in Christ. Our security is found in the
same place where our sanctification is found, in Christ. Look at
John 6, verse 37. Turn over there now. Salvation
is the gift of God, the gift of God's eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Salvation is the gift of God.
Security is the gift of God. It says in John 6.37, "...all
that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh
I will in no wise cast out." Christ said, I'm not going to
cast out those who come to me and those who are given to me
by the Father. Turn if you will to Romans 11.29.
Listen to this. Romans 11.29. and calling of God are without
change. The gift of God's eternal life,
the calling of God, we are the call of Christ Jesus, and they
are without change. Turn back to Romans 8, verse
39, "...for whom he did foreknow, he did predestinate, whom he
predestinated, he called, whom he called, he justified, whom
he justified, he glorified." Every one of them. Salvation
is a gift of God. Sanctification is a gift of God.
We're sanctified by God the Father, in Christ the Son, by the Word
of God. And security is the gift of God.
Salvation is the work of the Son, so is security the work
of the Son. Turn to Philippians 1, verse
6. Listen to this. You know, Paul said in Ephesians,
we are his workmanship. Well, look at Philippians 1,
verse 6. Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath
begun a good work in you will perform it. You know what that
word perform is? Look over in the margin reference
of your Bible. Is there a little letter beside
that word perform? Finish. That's what it is. He
that hath begun a good work in you, he's going to finish it
in the day of Jesus Christ. Salvation comes to us by faith,
security comes the same way. Now, last of all, my satisfaction,
that's in Christ too. These things must never be separated
from the Son. My salvation is in Him. My sanctification
is in Him. My security is in Him. Out of
Christ, I'm not secure. Forget it. You're not saved because
you made a profession. You're saved because you're in
Christ. You're not eternally secure because you walked an
aisle, shook a preacher's hand, joined the church, was baptized.
You're secure because you're in Christ. If you are, and if
you aren't, you aren't secure. I don't care how many professions
you make. And our satisfaction is in Christ. David said, I'll be satisfied
when I wake in heaven. No. I'll be satisfied when I
wake and see Mother again. No. I'll be satisfied when I
wake and find out I'm not in hell. No, I'll be satisfied when
I wake with his likeness, with his likeness. We shall be raised
by him. He said, I am the resurrection
and the life. We'll be raised when he comes. The Lord himself
shall descend from heaven with a shout, and the dead in Christ
shall rise. We shall be raised in his likeness.
We'll see him and be like him. To be like Jesus, to be like
Jesus, all I ask is to be like him. All through life's journey
from earth to heaven, all I ask, Paul said, is to be like him.
Everything is in Christ. To seek it, to expect it, anywhere
else, is to be desired. So if we think on these four
areas, from this day forth, forgetting those things which are behind
you. Don't go back and try to prove anything by what happened
years ago. Forget it. I am in Christ by faith. I am
sanctified in Christ. I am secure in Christ. And one
of these days I'm going to be like Christ. Our Father in Heaven,
use this message for the glory of our Lord and for the good,
the eternal good of these us who have heard it, O that we
may know him and the power of his resurrected life, that we
might be conformed to his blessed image. In his name we pray, amen.

Salvation,Sanctification,Security and Satisfaction

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Salvation,Sanctification,Security and Satisfaction

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