Category: Salvation
Subject: Salvation
Invitation: One Way to Salvation
Invitation delivered by: Josh Cox
The world tries to convince us that there are many ways to reach heaven. In this lesson, Josh reveals the one way to be saved.
Drops of Dew
Deuteronomy 32 records the song that Moses spoke to assembled Israel just before his death. Joshua took over as leader of the people, as they crossed over the Jordan and at long last entered the promised land of Canaan. There is a beautiful sentiment expressed in the opening words of the song:
“Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak;
And hear, o earth, the words of my mouth.
Let my teaching drop as the rain,
My speech distill as the dew,
As raindrops on the tender herb,
And as showers on the grass.
For I proclaim the name of the Lord:
Ascribe greatness to our God.
He is the Rock, His work is perfect;
For all His ways are justice,
A God of truth and without injustice;
Righteous and upright is He.”
(Deuteronomy 32:1-4)
Notice that Moses characterized his speech, where he proclaimed “the name of the Lord,” as words of freshness and revival, likening them to rain and dew.
Dew, (tiny drops of water that form on cool surfaces during the night, as water vapor condenses) has always been portrayed as beautiful and rejuvenating. In the very beginning, God used such to water the ground, “but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground” (Genesis 2:6).
From the Preacher’s Pen: We Will Be Judged
In 2 Corinthians 5, the apostle Paul wrote of the hope of heaven, contrasting it with our life here on earth. He said, “For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.”
It is an interesting picture, putting off this tent (our frail and mortal body), and replacing it with an eternal one. Paul was confident that he would obtain that promised life, and so stated in verse 8, “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”
People today speak of their confidence, placing all of it in “the finished work of Jesus Christ.” They state they are confident, not because of what they have done, but what Jesus has already done for them, assuring them the hope of heaven. They view any suggestion of responsibility on the part of man to be a form of legalism, and a trust in works of merit.
Paul looked at it differently. He recognized what God had done for him, and his confidence was in God (see verses 5-7). However, he still understood the necessity of obedience, writing, “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (9-10). As we recognize what God did for us in sending His Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins, let us acknowledge that our final standing will, in part, depend upon what we have done while living our lives on earth.
Sermon: Stop Waiting in Line!
There is no waiting in line:
- To be heard by God in prayer.
- To receive spiritual blessings.
- To praise and worship God.
- To read and learn more about God.
From the Preacher’s Pen: Not “Quite Right”
I recently came across the following quote from C.S. Lewis:
Jesus Christ did not say, “Go into all the world and tell the world that it is quite right.”
“God In The Dock” (1970)
It seems that in every generation the desire is present to compromise the message of the gospel. It is certainly so in our day. Paul noted, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
Today, the biggest churches are those who tell the worldly that they are “quite right.” People flock to whoever will tell them that God accepts them as they are, without the need for change, without the need for zeal, without the need for obedience, for fidelity.
This treachery does not change the truth. “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned’” (Mark 16:15-16). The world is in need of salvation. Our message must be a call to faith, repentance and baptism. The gospel tells men that they are not “quite right.” But, with God’s help, they can be.
Sermon: Our Reward for Standing
Numerous passages in both the Old and New Testaments establish for us the rewards we will receive for our faithfulness in standing with God.
Sermon: The Elect of God
Colossians 3:12 identifies Christians as the elect of God. The text reveals what the elect, or new man is to do in his new life as one accepted of God.
In the News: Pope Francis and Atheists
A recent online article from The Telegraph reported that the recently elevated Pope of the Catholic church has made efforts to reach out to agnostics and atheists. (for Telegraph article, click here .)
His words were given in response to some editorials that had appeared in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica. The paper’s founder, Eugenio Scalfari (an agnostic), had asked whether, “the Christian God forgives those who do not believe and do not seek faith.”
Sermon: Self-Sufficiency
Deuteronomy 8:11-18. The text introduces the question, Is there room for God in your life? A comfortable life can be dangerous, as we forget God. Truly, we are sufficient only in God, because only God is sufficient!
Sermon: Our God is Able
The sermon begins in Daniel 3, and demonstrates that Our God is able to:
- Give and sustain life
- Save our souls
- Deliver us
- Reward us
- Punish the disobedient
Invitation: Tension then Rejoicing
Invitation delivered by: Stan Cox
It is easy to see the point at which the penitent achieved reconciliation with God in the New Testament. In examples such as the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8), Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9) and the Philippian Jailor (Acts 16), those who heard the gospel and were convicted of their sin were concerned, showing immediate desire to respond to God’s commands. Having done so, and finally being baptized for the remission of their sins, they “went on their way rejoicing.”
Sermon: Wise Men Still Seek Him
When the Messiah was born, wise men from the East came seeking the baby Jesus. Today, wise men still seek Him as their Lord and Savior.
The Patternists: The Five Steps to Salvation
The question is as old as the Kingdom itself, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (cf. Acts 2:37). When confronted with the reality of sin, those convicted of their guilt desire to know what they must do to be saved from condemnation.
An examination of God’s word reveals five things to be done for a person to be saved. So, Christians have often referred to the five steps to salvation. This phrase has been ridiculed as simplistic, legalistic, PATTERNISTIC. What it is, is scriptural.
- HEAR. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).
- BELIEVE. “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness…” (Romans 10:10).
- REPENT. “Repent…for the remission of sins…” (Acts 2:38).
- CONFESS. (That “Jesus Christ is the Son of God” Acts 8:37) “…with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10).
- BE BAPTIZED. “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27).
The process of passing from death to life begins when an alien sinner hears the good news of Jesus Christ, and is completed when he arises from the waters of baptism to “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).
For those who object to such a listing of steps to salvation, we ask two simple questions. Are any of the listed steps unnecessary? Did we leave any steps out? In reality, this teaching approach has led to the salvation of multitudes. The gospel is sublime, but simple.
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Mining the Scriptures: Matthew 1:18-25
The circumstances of Jesus’ birth are established forthrightly by Matthew and Luke. While modernists struggle with the concept of a child being born of a virgin, the believer accepts God’s intent, purpose and ability to bring this event about.
Matthew reveals the following in this short section of his gospel:
- After Joseph and Mary were betrothed (a type of engagement), Mary became pregnant.
- At this time Mary was a virgin, the conception was the work of the Holy Spirit.
- Joseph was informed of God’s plan, and scuttled his plans to put away Mary (as he obviously had thought from her pregnancy that she had been with another man).
- God’s plan was that the virgin would bear a son named Jesus, who would be the Savior of mankind (vs. 21).
- The birth of Jesus was a fulfillment of prophecy (Isaiah 7:14). That prophecy refers to the child as “Immanuel” which means “God with us.” Thus, Jesus was declared from birth to be God on earth (cf. John 1:14).
- In answer to the vision from God, Joseph did not have sexual relations with his wife until after she gave birth to Jesus.
This account marks the beginning of the events leading to the ultimate redemption of mankind (cf. John 17:3).
