Abraham, David And You!

INTRO.- What’s required for salvation?

ILL.- It was said that one time a businessman who well known for his ruthlessness once said to writer Mark Twain, "Before I die I mean to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I will climb Mount Sinai and read the 10 Commandments aloud at the top." "I have a better idea," replied Twain. "You could stay in Boston and keep them."

What about keeping 10 commandments? Must we keep them? And by keeping them will be saved? That’s the mentality that many people in our world have. If any good comes our way it’s because of what we do and not because of anyone’s gracious gift. We all tend to believe that we have to work in order to get anything good in life, including God’s salvation.

ILL.- Our Louise Smith is from the old school, so to speak, that if someone does something for her then she must do something for them. There have been a few times when I have gone to the Kmart pharmacy for Louise to pick up her prescriptions and she always want to pay me for running that errand. And yet, it’s about one mile from her apartment at South Wind Heights to Kmart, like I am spending a big fortune to run that errand!

Don’t misunderstand; I think it’s gracious of her to offer to pay me but I am very happy to do things for free. After all, isn’t this what our salvation is all about? If we had to work our way into heaven we’d never make it. That’s why God provided the way through His son the Lord Jesus. Louis understands the principle of grace, and she also understands what it is to be gracious and giving.

Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He paid the price for our sins. By so doing, He both pleased His heavenly Father and appeased His anger toward our sin. Why would God ever get angry at mankind? It’s called sin.

Can you imagine how angry God could get with mankind over the sins of this world?? Here is why God gets angry.

Romans 1:29-32 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

It sounds like all mankind is in deep trouble with God and we are! So what should we do? Our text tells the story.

PROP.- Paul considers how various people get saved.

1- The salvation of Abraham

2- The salvation of David

I. THE SALVATION OF ABRAHAM

1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Genesis 12:1, 4 1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.

God said, “Go” and “Abraham went” and at the age of 75.

ILL.- An old fellow fell in love with a lady. He got down on his knees and told her there were two things he would like to ask her. She replied, "OK." He said, "Will you marry me?" She replied, "Yes," then asked what his second question was. He replied, "Will you help me up?"

A hard thing to do is pick up all your belongings and move to a foreign land and especially, when you’re 75 years old, but that’s essentially, what Abraham did and he did it by faith, a faith that obeyed God.

Hebrews 11:8-9 “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.”

Do you know of anyone who has done anything like Abraham? I do.

ILL.- Ted and Beverly Skiles are from the small town of Eldon, MO, near the Lake of the Ozarks. It’s a town of around 5,000. Ted and Beverly went to Ozark Christian College in the 60‘s, got their education and were moved to become foreign missionaries. Ted and Beverly moved to Taiwan, China, and founded the Home of God’s Love which is a non-profit Christian orphanage. They founded orphanage 37 years ago but started working there before that time in order to establish themselves and that missionary work. Their internet site states: We are a non-profit Christian organization that is sponsored by individuals and independent Christian Churches. Our main ministry in Taiwan is providing a Christian home for children who for some reason cannot live with their families.