Can God Really Save Your Soul?
John 3:16-17
Intro
In this passage detailing the conversation between the Lord Jesus Christ and Nicodemus, the Lord says, very plainly, that He came into the world to provide salvation for all men. The matter of salvation is of vital importance to every person under the sound of my voice, and throughout the entire world, for that matter. You see, what you do about salvation will determine where you spend your eternity.
Before we move deeper into this message, I want to offer up a definition. Too often, we Christians forget that we are like a little subculture. What I mean is that we have our own dialect and sometimes the things we say are simply confusing to those who don’t know our lingo. One word that I want to define today is the word Jesus used in verse 17. Jesus tells us that He did not come into the world to condemn the world, but that the world, through Him, might be “saved.” It is that word “saved” that I want to consider for a moment.
We throw that word around in our sermons and in our testimonies, but those who are not saved may not understand what we mean when we use the word saved. So, to clear up any confusion, I want to tell you what that word means. The word “saved” comes from the Greek word “sozw”, (pronounced – sode zo). This word literally means, “to save, to keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction.
• To save one (from injury or peril)
o To save a suffering one (from perishing), that is, one suffering from disease, to make well heal, restore to health.
o To preserve one who is in danger of destruction, to save or rescue.
• To save in the technical, Biblical sense
o To deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgment
o To save from the evils which obstruct the reception of the Messianic deliverance
If this word has that meaning, then why do we use it in regard to the soul? Because, man is his natural state, is a sinner, Roman. 3:23. When we come into this world, we arrive here already under a death sentence, Rom. 6:23. Unless a person is “saved” then they will die in their sins and they will spend eternity in Hell, forever separated from the presence and power of God. Now, no right thinking person wants that to happen to them! Therefore, we must know how we can be saved. That is something I will explain as this message unfolds.
Now, we know what it means to be saved, and I think we all want that for ourselves, we are about to find out how to be saved. All that remains in this one question, “Can God Really Save Your Soul?” that is, if you do what the Bible says and receive His plan of salvation, can God really save you and keep you out of Hell? That is the question I would like to answer this morning. Can God Really Save Your Soul? I say, “Yes He Can!” Allow me to give you three reasons why.
I. God’s Promise to Save
a. It is an Old Promise
i. In the beginning, when God made man in His image and man decided to sin against the Lord, God made a promise to Eve in the Garden of Eden, Gen. 3:15.
ii. God’s promise to provide a means of salvation is even older than that.
iii. Rev. 13:8 tells us that Jesus is “the lamb slain form the foundation of the world.”
iv. Peter takes it even farther in 1 Peter 1:20, “who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world.”
v. These verses tell us that even before there wsa a sinner to save, before there was even a sin to cleanse, the Lord already formulated a plan to redeem sinners.
vi. His is a plan older than man, older than sin, older than Satan.
vii. God’s promise to save is an old promise that shall never fail.
b. It is an Ongoing Promise
i. While God’s promise is older than the world and even older than mankind, it still has all the power of the Almighty behind it.
ii. The promise is as valid today as it has ever been.
iii. John 5:24, John 3:16, Acts 16:31.
1. This promise has never and will never lose its great power.
2. God is a saving god and nothing will ever change that truth.
c. It is an Open Promise
i. God’s promise of salvation is not limited to a selected few, but it is a promise that is offered to all men.
ii. There are several passges that bear out this truth.
1. Rev. 22:17; John 6:27; Rom. 6:47, just to name a few.
iii. It is clear from these verses that anyone who senses the need for salvation can be saved by the grace of God.
iv. The only requirement for participating in God’s plan of salvation is that it is for sinners only!
1. If you are good you cannot be saved.
2. If you are righteous, you cannot be saved.
3. Jesus came for the lost and for them alone.
v. The fact is though, we are all sinners according to Romans 3;23.
1. Therefore, we all qualify under the terms of salvation.
2. The problem is, not everyone is willing to admit his or her guilt.
3. Yet, the Bible tells us tht we are in sad shape apart from God.
4. In fact, it tells us that the best we can produce out of our own self effort is a pile of putrid, filthy rags in the sight of God.
5. In simple terms, we need what god has to offer to us in His plan of salvation.
II. God’s Power to Save
Now that we know that the Lord has promised to save those who receive His plan of salvation we need to know that He can do what He says He will do. Just how does God go about bringing men unto Himself? And, when a sinner does go to God for salvation, how does he or she know that God can do what He has promised? Perhaps spending a few minutes looking at God’s power to save will clear up any areas of confusion.
a. He has the Power to call the Sinner
i. No one can be saved when they feel like it!
1. The Bible says that the sinner apart from God is dead, Eph. 2:1
2. That is, they possess no spiritual life and are unable to approach God on their own, Rom. 3:11.
3. The only way the sinner can be saved is for him to be called by God, John 6:44.
4. Salvation is a process that always originates with God in Heaven!
5. It never begins with man!
6. But I truly believe that God gives every man the opportunity.
ii. Never presume upon God though.
1. When He calls, is the time for you to come to Him, 2 Cor. 6:2.
2. God is never obligated to call again.
3. Therefore don’t bank on time
4. By they way, don’t run from the repeated calls of God either.
b. He has the Power to Convert the Sinner
i. When a sinner places his or her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, God does a work of grace so powerful in their life that it cannot be explained in human terms.
ii. Things of such a profound spiritual nature take place that it boggles the mind.
iii. Just a few to help you understand what I am saying are:
1. All Sin is Immediately and Completely Forgiven, 1 John 1:7
2. The Sinner Becomes a Child of God, 1 John 3:1-2
3. The Sinner is Delivered From Sin
a. The Power of Sin, Rom. 6:14
b. The Penalty of Sin, Rom. 5:9
c. The Presence of Sin, Rom. 21:27
4. The Sinner becomes a Joint Heir with Christ, Rom. 8:17
5. The Sinner Inherits a Heavenly Home, John 14;1-3
6. The Sinner Becomes a Saint, when Jesus saves you, he changes you forever.
iv. God has saved some by His power:
1. Saul – Acts 9
2. Nicodemus – John 3, 7, 19
3. Bartimaeus – Mark 10
4. Zacchaeus – Luke 10
5. The Dying Thief – Luke 23
v. It may not prove anything to you, but I know what He has done fro me, and that is all the proof that I need.
vi. There are many more references and blessings that could be named, but these are sufficient to prove that when God saves the sinner, He has the power to change them forever.
c. He has the Power to Conserve the Saint
i. When God calls and the lost person responds to that call and they receive Jesus into their life, is it possible for that person to ever be lost again?
ii. Does the saved person ever have to worry about somehow becoming “unsaved?”
iii. There are many denominations and others who would say yes.
iv. However, the Bible says otherwise.
1. You see, not only does God have the power to call and convert sinners, He also had the power to keep them saved forever!
2. There are several verses that prove this truth
a. 1 Peter 1:5
b. John 3:16-17
c. John 10:28
d. John 6:37
e. John 6:47
f. Rom. 8:38-39
g. Hebrews 6:1-4
v. Even the word “saved” loses all power and meaning if the “saved” one is still in danger of being lost.
1. If I can lose my salvation before I get to Heaven, then I cannot be saved until I get there first.
2. If that be true, then there is no genuine salvation on this side of eternity.
3. I thank God that when salvation is given, it cannot and will not be taken back. 2 Tim. 1:12.
d. Thank God, there is power in the Lamb to save the sinner!
III. God’s Provision to Save
a. He Provided a Precious Substitute
i. When man sinner in the garden, man fell under the curse of God
1. For a man to be redeemed, man had to die.
2. However, not just any man would do.
3. The One who died would have to be a perfect man.
4. One without sin and without wickedness.
5. God knowing our need and our inability to do anything about it ourselves, provided a perfect substitute.
6. He gave us none other than His own Son, Jesus Christ.
7. In fact, the gift of God in Christ proves God’s love for you and me.
ii. You may not understand it this morning, but when Jesus died on the cross, he was literally taking your place.
1. he was dying for you.
iii. When Jesus was on the cross, God transferred your sins to Jesus and He dies to pay your price on that cross.
b. He Provided a Perfect Sacrifice
i. When Jesus was on that cross, His death and sacrifice were sufficient to provide for the saving needs of the entire world.
ii. He gave Himself, once for all, that we might be able to be free from the grip of Sin and that we might be able to experience God’s perfect salvation, which is available on through Jesus Christ.
c. He Provided a Plan of Salvation
i. Now, we come to the crucial question.
ii. If God promised to save man, if He has the power to save him and if He has provided the means to save him, how does on go about being saved?
iii. The answer is found in the verses we read this morning, John 3;16-17.
1. The Bible tells us in no uncertain terms exactly what a person must do to be saved from their sins.
2. The answer is to believe on Him!
3. This is explained to us in great detail in Rom. 10:9-10.
4. There verses tell us that to be saved, we must acknowledge the claims of Christ and that we must transfer our faith from works, religion, self-effort, self-righteousness, whatever it may that we are trusting in and trust Jesus and Him alone for our soul’s salvation.
iv. Salvation is simple, but man wants to complicate it.
1. The best thing we can do is to simply take God at His word and accept salvation as what it is: The gift of God.
Closing
Maybe there is someone here this morning and you have been plagued with doubts about salvation. Maybe there are those who know that they are not saved. But, today, the Holy Spirit has spoken to your heart and you are ready to come to the Lord. God is calling and you know what you need. You may be asking. “Can God Really Save my Soul?” I invite you to find out for yourselves that God can! You know your heart and all I ask you to do today is to listen to the call of the Spirit of god in your soul. If you need something form the Lord this morning, I challenge you to come get it right now. Will you mind the Lord today?
