Ephesians, chapter 1. That was my little sister over
there. Not long ago, Henry Mahan was
preaching here, and Ann sang and played the piano. And after
the service, Henry came to her and said, Ann, did Tim get anything
from that gene pool? And Ann said, well, Dad did give
him an 88 Caprice Classic. But I tell you, that ain't all
she knows. She gave me these cuff links, too. One verse of Scripture, verse
13. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye
heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. In whom also, after ye believed,
ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. The title of my message tonight
is two words, Your Salvation. Your Salvation. Now over the years, as I was
preparing this message to preach back home, I remembered three
instances over the 30 years that I pastored where men have confronted
me on the front steps of the church or either called me a
day or two later and gave me a hard time. Now, there's been
other times, but these three in particular was when I preached
from this passage of Scripture concerning your salvation. What this passage declares is
when a person is saved after that you heard the Word of Truth. You believed after that you heard
the Word of Truth. I remember one man who was a
preacher. He lived in Florida. He was also a doctor, I think.
And he called me one night from Florida, because he was moving
to Franklin, North Carolina, not far from where we passed
him. He questioned me on whether or
not I was a grace preacher, and I told him I was. He asked me
if I was a Calvinist, and I asked him what did he mean by that
before I answered it. And, of course, he gave me the
five points of Calvinism, and I said, well, according to that,
I am a Calvinist. He asked me if I preached the
gospel of God's free and sovereign grace in Christ, and I said,
absolutely, I do. to receive these phone calls
with less excitement than I used to. I kind of wait until the
dust settles after everything is said and done. But I was glad
to think that the man and his wife would come and find a home
there at Sequoia among the mountains of Cherokee. And after some time
I made this statement that a man was not saved, was not a believer
until He heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel, as it is set forth
in the Scriptures. Though He did not say anything
to me after that service, He called me during the week and
told me that He was offended by what I had said, that He was
upset with me, and He told me that He was saved and had believed
on Christ at the side of his mother's sickbed. And then he
gave me a sad story. It was a sad story, full of emotion,
and I'm sure he was telling me of a true and real experience
he had in his life. He said he had made a profession
and attended a church that did not preach sovereign grace. And I asked him over the phone
if the Christ he believed then was the same Christ he believed
now. And he admitted that the preacher he had sat under all
those years did not know the gospel. That he preached a Jesus
who only made salvation possible, but actually saved no one. That Jesus who could save no
one unless he was allowed to by the sinner. that Jesus who
had done all he could do and that salvation relied upon the
exercise of man's free will. And he went on to add the common
caveat that is usually added at the end of these conversations,
but he preached some truth. He preached Jesus. And I told him over the phone
that that fellow did not preach Jesus Christ, but another Jesus
who by his own admission could not and did not save anyone. And he continued to defend his
experience and finally I told him that he was defending his
experience at the expense of the truth. That if what he described
as salvation was indeed salvation, Then God saves sinners without
the preaching of the gospel. That God gave me in faith to
believe a Christ that did not exist. And He told me He would
never be back. And He was true to His Word.
He called me sometime later and told me that He had joined a
church. A reformed church. A Calvinistic church that accepted
His version of His salvation. and assured me that the man preached
Christ. And that was the last thing I
ever heard from him. This man believed that a person could
believe in a Jesus that is diametrically opposite to the Christ of Scripture
and sometime later come to believe the sovereign grace of God. being saved when he heard of
this other Jesus. Grace, through clearly the doctrine
of God's salvation, is born in a man not by further study of
Scripture. It is a doctrine born in the
heart by the sovereign act of Almighty God in grace. When God bestows grace upon a
man through the preaching of the truth, He does it only through
the preaching of the truth, and never through the preaching of
a lie. Our brother read from Romans
chapter 10. Turn over there just for a moment. Romans chapter 10. Verse 13 says, For whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. That's true. If you, any man, whoever you
are, any woman, whoever you are, call upon the name of the Lord,
you shall be saved. But that's not how this ends.
So listen very carefully. How then shall they call on Him
in whom they've not believed? So you can't call on Him and
won't call on Him until you are a believer. That's what it says. And how shall they believe of
whom they have not heard? So you won't call on Him unless
you're a believer, and you won't believe unless you've heard. And how shall they hear without
a preacher? So you won't call on Him unless
you believe on Him, you won't believe on Him unless you've
heard of Him, and you won't hear of Him without a preacher. And
how shall they preach? except they be sent. So, you won't call on Him unless
you believe on Him. You won't believe on Him unless
you've heard of Him. You won't hear of Him without
a preacher. And you won't hear from a preacher unless God sends
you on. And let me tell you about the
preachers that God sends. They're going to tell you the
truth. They are. The truth of God's free grace
in Christ. How God saves sinners. You see, Christ said it this
way, and they shall all be taught of God. Everyone therefore that
has heard and learned of the Father comes to me. Now unless God is speaking out
of both sides of his mouth, and preaching a sovereign grace doctrine
over here to sovereign grace people, and an Arminian doctrine
over here to Arminian people, and a free will doctrine here,
and a God's will doctrine here, then the truth is the only way
you're saved. God's not speaking out of both
sides of His mouth. How do you know the truth? If you know it,
God taught it to you. How did He teach it to you? by
sending someone to tell you about it. So you could hear it. So you could believe. So you
could go. So you could go. Now I don't
doubt anybody's experience. People, I've had experiences,
you've had experiences, religious experiences. We've had them at
rock concerts. We've had all kinds of experiences. When I was in religion most of
my life, I had an experience every time we had a revival.
They used to call me, oh, Mr. Rededication. I'd come up front
because I was guilty. I was always guilty because I
was a thief and a crook and a felon and just that close to the penitentiary.
But I'd come running down the aisle and cry and they'd pat
me on the back and I'd feel good for a while and go away. And
I'd come back again and do the same thing over and over again.
And those were real, true, emotional upheavals and experiences. And
every one of them were false. But they were experiences. I
experienced them. So if you've had an experience,
I don't doubt your experience. I would never question a person's
recollection of the experiences of life. And I never will. Though
I am sometimes amazed at what folks tell me. I know that salvation
is experienced. But I know for a fact by the
clear declaration of God in His Word that the experience of salvation,
the new birth, regeneration, is according and by the preaching
of the truth. A bluebird ain't going to land
on your shoulder and tell you. God didn't write it in the stars.
You're going to hear it from some other man whom God saved
and called to tell you. all about it. You're born again, not of corruptible
seed, but incorruptible, even by the word of God, which liveth
and abideth forever. And this word, by the gospel,
is preached unto you. Of his own will begat he us with
the word of truth. If your experience of salvation
does not line up with the truth, then your experience is not salvation. It's not salvation. Though it
may be a real, true, emotional, sentimental, rememberable experience
in religion, it's simply not so. It's not born of the truth. You see, the truth is a person. The Lord Jesus Christ. The singular
person described in the Word of God who is called the Word
of God. Christ the Word. The Word is
truth. Christ is the truth and ye shall
know the truth and the truth shall make you free. Our text
declares that you believed after that you heard The Word of Truth. After. Now the Bible speaks of
salvation in many ways. In Genesis 49, salvation is called
Thy Salvation. In Hebrews 5, it's called Eternal
Salvation. In Jude 3, it's called Common
Salvation. In Philippians 2, it's called
Your Own Salvation. Hebrews 2 calls it So Great Salvation. Isaiah 45 calls it everlasting
salvation. But here, it becomes very personal. The writer of Hebrews, who I
believe is Paul, so I'll say Paul because it's easier to say
that than the writer of Hebrews. He says, In whom ye also trusted,
in whom ye also trusted after that you heard the word of truth. Now look at the next line. The gospel, the good news, the
glad tidings of your salvation. That says a mouthful. When you believed, you believed
after you heard the word of truth. And what you heard was that salvation
was already yours. It was already yours before you
even heard about it. God has saved us and called us
with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to
His own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus
before the world began. Where were you when that took
place? It is God who saved you by the
work of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the Holy Spirit who through
the Word convinces you of the fact that your salvation is your
salvation. And it's already been accomplished
for you. What is your salvation? What
did you learn when you heard the truth? What did you learn? Let's look back at the first
part of Ephesians chapter 1. And what we're talking about
here is not high theological things. We're not talking about
high doctrine. We're not talking about lofty
things. Theologians like to look at this
and say, oh, we're getting into deep theology and high theology
and entering the ethereal realms of academe here. No, we're not.
This is plain everyday stuff. When you see the word like elect,
don't tell me you don't understand that. Everybody understands that. It means to choose. Oh man, that's
deep. I choose to drink this water. Would you like to explain that
in Greek for me? Why I chose to drink that water. Predestination. To determine to do something
and then do it. Wow. Deep. Substitution. To take the place
of someone. These are not high things. And
this portion of Scripture here is Theology 101. This is not
seeking the master's degree or the doctorate. This is kindergarten,
folks. This is what you learned when
you heard the truth, after which you believed. This, as I said,
what did you learn first? You learned and believed that
your salvation was a spiritual blessing settled forever in the
eternal counsels of God. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in Christ before the foundation of the
world." That's what you learn. That's a spiritual blessing.
What is a spiritual blessing? Anything that you can take with
you when you go. Everything else ain't. So look
around you. We ain't spiritual blessings.
This church ain't a spiritual blessing. It's not. This building's
not a spiritual blessing. Your money, your bank accounts,
whatever you are, whatever you have, is not a spiritual blessing
because you can't take it with you. You came in naked, you're
going out naked. Everything you make in this world, you're going
to leave to somebody else. And they're going to be happy to
get it. And you wouldn't get it back if you came back and
asked for it. What is spiritual is what you
take with you when you go. And all you can take with you
when you go is eternal life. And He's blessed us with all
spiritual blessings that attend eternal life in the Lord Jesus
Christ, in the heavenly counsels of God. That's spiritual. Now
if you don't understand what I'm talking about, I understand
why you don't understand it. The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit, they are foolishness to him, neither
can he know them, nor discern them, because they are spiritually
discerned. This is what you learn when you
hear the truth. You hear that God has given you
all spiritual blessings. Secondly, when you heard the
truth, you learned to believe that you were chosen by God to
be saved before the foundation of the world. And that God saved
you to make you holy. Look what it says in verse 4.
"...according as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
Him." God chose you to make you holy. And God did make you holy
by the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. You are God's holy
ones. You are a holy generation. A
royal priesthood if you are a child of God. You are not being sanctified. You have been sanctified. You
are sanctified. And Jesus Christ is your sanctification. You're not going to progress
in sanctification unless Christ can get better. And that ain't
going to happen. God has made Him to be sanctification
unto us. God saved you because He chose
you. He chose you. before the foundation
of the world. Brethren, we are bound to give
thanks always to God for you, beloved of the Lord, because
God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the Spirit and belief in the truth, whereunto He called you
by our gospel, after you heard the word of truth, to the obtaining
of the glory of the Lord. Chose you. What does that mean?
He picked you out. He said, that's mine, and that
one's mine, and that one's mine. I love that one. Why? Are they
lovely? Oh, no. Are they lovable? Uh-uh. Anything about them that
would make you want to love them? No. Anything about them to stop
you? No. I love them. Whoever God has saved, He saved
because before the world began, before they existed, before anything
was, before the stars and space, before they plugged the planets
in their sockets, before any of that took place, before a
fallen race existed in His purpose and according to His plan, in
a fallen race that He would create and bring into this world, He
chose out of that race. men and women for Himself as
the trophies of His grace, I'm going to save them. Not only
that, no matter what anybody says about them, I'm going to
make them holy. I'm going to declare them to
be, I'm going to put them in the category of one who is holy, and I'm going
to make them holy. I'm going to make them holy on
the inside and holy on the outside. I'm going to make them holy.
And that's what He's done. That's what you learn when you
heard the Word of Truth. You learned that. Verse 5 says,
"...having predestinated us through the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to Himself." You learned and believed that God predestinated
you in love to be part of His family solely because it pleased
Him. Solely because that's what He
wanted and that's what He intended to do. So that's what He did.
It was done according to the good pleasure of His will. And
He always does what pleases Him. You weren't consulted in the
matter. No one was. He said, I'm going to make you
mine. You're going to be my family. You'll be with my children. You'll be
welcome in my house all the time. You'll never have to worry about
coming in my presence. You'll come boldly into my presence
by the blood of Jesus Christ. That's what you learned when
you heard the Word of Truth. You also learn and believe that
He did this to honor and glorify His own grace. And by that grace
you were fully accepted. You did nothing and can do nothing
to be accepted by God. He accepted you in Jesus Christ,
His beloved Son. Verse 6. To the praise of the
glory of His grace wherein He hath made us accepted in the
Beloved. You know, most people in this
world seek some kind of acceptance. They do. We're just poor old
preachers and we want to be accepted. We want to be light. We hold out hopes of being treasured
by somebody. But we certainly want to be accepted. If you're a child of God tonight,
one whom He's chosen and predestinated to be holy, one who's given all
spiritual blessings, right now, whatever you think, Whatever
you don't think, whatever you've done, whatever you're ashamed
of, whatever shortcomings you have,
you're fully, completely, absolutely accepted in Jesus Christ. That's what you learned. You
learned that you were accepted. Also, you learned and believed
that you had been redeemed and that all your sins were forgiven
when Jesus Christ died. Look at verse 7. In whom we have
redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sin according
to the riches of His grace. Forgiveness. Forgiveness. Redemption. Bought back by the
blood of Jesus Christ. Bought off the slave market where
we were. Taken off the slave market where
we were. Taken from the dunghill and set
among princes. Redeemed. How I love to proclaim. Redeemed by the blood of the
Lamb. Forgiven! How often? Well, how often do you see it?
How often have you seen it? How often will you see it? Forgiven. Forgiven. That's what you learn.
And listen, you didn't learn that you could be these things.
That these things might be in your future. You didn't learn
that God may have chosen you, you learned that He chose you.
You didn't learn that you can be forgiven, you learned that
you've been forgiven. You didn't learn that you can
be redeemed, you learned that you have been redeemed. You have
been redeemed. Because remember, this is not
about how you might be saved. This is the good news and the
glad tidings that you have been saved. It's the gospel of your
salvation. Yours! And it ain't good news
if it ain't yours. It's bad news if it's put to
you like this. This is how you can be saved.
I don't want to hear that. Do you? Sound like it's up to
me. If you do this or if you believe
this, you'll be saved. No, you're saved and that's why
you believe this. This is the word of truth, the good news
of your salvation. Also, you learned and believe
that you lack nothing. You lack nothing. You were given
all things necessary in the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 8. wherein he hath abounded toward
us in all wisdom and prudence." All wisdom and prudence. Everything
necessary. Do you know you're complete?
You are. You're complete in Christ. What
does that mean? You don't need anything. Well,
I just need to be a better person. You ain't going to be. I'll tell
you who you're trying to make good. You're trying to make Adam
good. He ain't never going to be good. I'm telling you that. You're
the best you can be. You ought to be in the army.
You're the best you can be. And you're not going to get better.
You're not even going to get better when you cross out of this world
and the next. You're going to be exactly the same as you are right now
in God's eyes. The only thing you're going to leave behind
is this old wretched body of flesh. You're going to leave something
behind, but you ain't taking nothing else with you that you
ain't already got. You're complete. Complete in Him. Of God are you
in Jesus Christ, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. For as it is written, He that
glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. All things work together for
good to them that love God, to them that are called according
to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate
to be conformed to the image of Christ, that He might be the
firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He did predestinate,
them He also called. And whom He called, them He also
justified. And whom He justified, them He
also glorified. What shall we say to these things, if God be
for us, who can be against us? He spared not His own Son, but
freely gave Him up for us all. How shall He not with Him freely
give us all things? In Him dwelleth the fulness of
the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete in Him. And that's what you learned.
You didn't learn you had a way to go yet. You learned you were
complete. Complete. You also learned that God had
purposed to reveal the gospel to you." Look at verse 9, "...having
made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to the
good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself." The third use of
the word predestination in Scripture is found in 1 Corinthians chapter
2 and verses 9 through 14. And it simply says this, that
God has ordained the gospel for His people. This is how you found
out about it. What did you find out? What God
had done. You know what the gospel tells?
Is it good news on any level if the gospel says this is what
you must do? Think about it. You know you, don't you? You
know what you're capable of and what you're not capable of. The
gospel is not good news unless it is the glorious record that
the work is done, it is finished. It is done, the great transaction
is done. I am the Lord's and He is mine. He did all this because it pleased
Him. He purposed to do it. And whatever pleases God, that's
what He does. None can stop it. Our God is
in the heaven. He hath done whatsoever He hath
pleased. You also learn and believe that you were brought to Christ,
drawn to Christ, and gathered to Christ at the appointed time
of your deliverance. Look at verse 10, that in the
dispensation and the fulness of times, he might gather together
and want all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and
which are in the earth, even in Christ. That's what you learn.
You were brought to Christ, drawn to Christ, gathered to Christ
at the appointed time of your deliverance. No man come to me
except the Father which hath sent me. Draw him, and I will
raise him up again in the last day." Draw him. Greek word there
is heilko. I don't know much Greek. I know
a little Greek. His name is Sam Vlahos. He owns
a restaurant in Winston-Salem. Nice guy. Did a little talk about
that. But the word is heilko. It means
draw. Can't mean drag, but basically what it means is to take an inanimate
object and move it from one place to another. Peter drew his sword. Same word. Now, Peter didn't look at his
sword and say, now, if you'll take the first step, won't you decide? Won't you exercise
your free will? That's just stupid, isn't it?
Of course it's stupid. It's dead, you see. It has no
life. It's cold steel. It must be grasped
by life and power and moved from its scabbard and planted in the
rock, Christ Jesus. It's the only way it's going
to happen. You learn that. You learn that. You also learn
and believe that you have assurance and a true familial relationship
with God because He has put you in His will and guaranteed you
an inheritance. And you have that inheritance
because the One who bequeathed it to you does everything according
to the purpose of His own will. Verse 11, In whom we also have
obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the
purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His
own will. The New Covenant is a New Testament.
It's a last will and testament, if you will. This is God's will
and testament for His children. Before the world began, He put
in here what belonged to you according to
His good pleasure. As His Father, He was going to
leave this to you. Jesus Christ came into this world,
ratified that covenant by His death, and when He died, those
things became yours. Because after the death of the testator,
the covenant is in force. You now have all things. All things are yours and you
are Christ and Christ is God. Everything is yours. Stop acting
like it's not. And stop graphing somebody else
is using it for a while. All things are yours. The world
and it's all therein. Why? Because your name was in
the wheel. You're an heir according to promise. God says it's yours. That's what you learn. You don't
learn that you're going to get something. You learn you have
something. You have all things. You have assurance. Full assurance
of faith. Also you learn and believe what
your salvation was about. What is salvation about after
all? Salvation is about the glory of God. Look at verse 12. that we should be to the praise
of His glory and first trusted in Christ. Look at that little two-letter
word, four words in, that we should be. Not do or act or pretend or show off, or show out, or look
for evidence, or show evidence, or that you should be, exist for God's glory. Now, how are you going to do
that? How are you going to exist for God's glory? Well, I'm sure
of this, if anywhere along the line in your existence you take
credit for anything having to do with your salvation, you do
not exist for God's glory. You're going to be for God's
glory. That's what you are. As a sinner
saved by Christ. As a sinner saved by love. Your salvation is God's glory.
Your existence is for His glory. He first trusted in Christ. He
entrusted Him with the eternal salvation of your soul. Now you
trust in Him. Christ is a consulate for His
glory in the Father's name, and you are the recipient of the
manifold grace of God. Exist, Paul says. Be. Be for His glory. We come here
to worship God. That's why we're here. Sometimes
people say, well, you know, I didn't get anything out of the worship
service. Let me tell you, you ain't supposed to get nothing
out of the worship service. God is. Worship is offering praise and
thanksgiving to Him. And what that does is strip you.
Strip you. Worship is worshiping Him. I
didn't get much out of that. You're not supposed to. God's
the one that receives worship. We offer worship and thanksgiving
and praise. And here's the thing about thanksgiving
and praise. It's called a sacrifice. You
know why? Because you can't thank God and thank Him. You can't. If you're thanking
God, you can't thank yourself. If you're praising God, you can't
praise yourself. So you sacrifice yourself. You kill yourself when you come
to worship God. And offer up that which pleasing
and is honorable to His name, and that's the person of Jesus
Christ revealed in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Also, you learn and believe that
the faith you have is a gift of God, endowed through the preached
word of the truth, in whom you also trusted after you heard
the word of truth. In verse 13, Thy grace, ye are
saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It's a gift
of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. You have faith
the night you didn't work it up, you didn't come up with it,
because all men have not faith. You didn't come up with it. One
day you weren't a believer, the next day you were. Would you
like to explain that to me? I've been trying to figure it out
for years. Tell somebody how to believe. You want a trial? You want a thing to try to do
that can't be done? Tell somebody how to believe.
You can't do it. But one day, you know this is
true. One day, you were an unbeliever, weren't you? And the next day,
you were a believer. Not only that, one moment, you
were an unbeliever. And the next moment, you were
utterly convinced of the gospel. How in the world did that happen? In His grace, put faith in your
heart. And now you can't do anything
but believe. You can't quit believing. You might want to sometimes,
but you can't quit. Because you're a believer. That's
what believers do. They believe. They just keep
on believing. Try to stop believing. Give it your best. You can't
do it because you're a believer. Now you're full of unbelief like
all of us are. But you're a believer. Why? Because God gives you faith. God gives you faith. To believe
what? The truth. The word of truth. You're assured in Jesus Christ
by His indwelling Spirit. The presence of the Spirit of
Christ in you is the assurance of your eternal salvation. I
found this over the years to be true, and it gets truer if
such a thing can be so as the older I get. I can't prove anything
I say. And neither can you. Prove to me you're a believer.
If you think you can, you're in trouble. I really... Well, you know, I
go to church every week. They don't tell me nothing. I read the Bible, I don't tell
me nothing. I pray, I don't tell me nothing. Prove to me that
you're a believer. Show me your faith. Can't do it. The only people who know that
they have faith is the one who has it and the God who gave it
to them. You're a believer. by God's grace, and that faith
is your assurance. Only. Nothing else at all. Faith is the evidence of things
hopeful, the confidence or substance of things not seen. Also, you
learned and believed that the Spirit of Christ in you is down
payment, or earnest, or guarantee that you have been purchased,
bought with the price that your eternal state of glory is absolutely
secure of final and full redemption and salvation. Verse 14, Which
is the earnest of our inheritance unto the redemption of the purchased
possession and to the praise of His glory. And you learned
and believe that your salvation was all in every facet from Alpha
to Omega, from first to last, from beginning to end, from pole
to pole, was that God alone would be praised for it and receive
all the glory for it, the glory of the salvation of your soul. That's what you believed. after
that you heard the word of truth. Thanks for having me and all
the folks in Cherokee send their regards. God bless you.