This morning we have a special opening illustration - and I need some helpers-so let me see - I know - I need "Buff Daddy" Danny Beasley, MAJOR (P) "I’m a weekend Warrior" E.C. Wallace, and LT (P) "Don’t mess with me ’cause I carry a gun" Michael Edward Bennett. (They’ll be escorted out momentarily while I prepare some props----------***then tell congregation when asked by me "who are they?" - yell out "FIREMEN!!!" And when asked "What’s their job?" - yell out "PUTTING OUT FIRES!!!"*** - bring back in the helpers.)
These are our three "HONORARY FIREMEN" and their job is putting out fires. Here is your honorary fireman’s hat which you must wear the rest of the sermon. Put them on. Now, Mr. BUFF DADDY, you are MR. CLEAN. You are to wash, wax, BUFF, and keep the fire trucks shining and looking good. Mr. WEEKEND WARRIOR, you are MR. KITCHEN. You are to cook the meals and wash the dishes. Mr. I GOTTA GUN, you are MR. COMMO. You are to keep the radios and all communication equipment accounted for and running properly.
(Now ask each one "Who are you? What do you do?" three or four times faster each time. - Then ask audience - "who are they? **FIREMEN** "What do they do?" **PUT OUT FIRES** ) - That’s right! I just told you men 5 minutes ago - you are firemen, and your job is putting out fires - and you’ve already forgotten. So keep you hats on during the rest of the sermon as a reminder - who are you? What do you do? Please take your seats.
Now, the main question for today is WHO ARE WE? And WHAT DO WE DO? Those of you who are here today and you know Jesus Christ personally, you have made a profession of your faith, then the answer to WHO WE ARE is -- WE ARE CHRISTIANS. The answer to WHAT WE DO IS -- THE GREAT COMMISSION of Matthew 28:18-20, we share the GOSPEL of ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.
The PROBLEM is this: Living in the 21st century - we find that those of us who are of the Christian Faith are on a collision course with the world system! This is becoming more and more evident with reactions to Southern Baptist witnessing and prayer efforts for cities and people groups around the world. For example, the outcry over our encouragement to pray for our Jewish friends has met incredible opposition not only from the secularists of this world but also from some brothers who consider themselves a part of the Christian community! We’ve come a long way since Romans 10:1 where the apostle Paul said, "Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved."
The bottom line is that Christianity has always been at odds with culture and the world system. But all too often the church today is trying to win a war without really knowing where the battle is actually being fought.
The WAR is NOT about separation of Church and State. The WAR is NOT about abortion. The WAR is NOT about women’s rights. The WAR is NOT about homosexual rights. The WAR is NOT about family values. The WAR is NOT about building buildings. The WAR is NOT about having lots of money in the bank. The WAR is NOT about submission. All of those things are simply SKIRMISHES. You see, the WAR is MUCH BIGGER than all that. The WAR is for PEOPLE’S SOULS!
Today’s world system is known as POSTMODERN-ISM. The 21st century world philosophy tells us that ALL behavior, ALL beliefs, ALL lifestyles should be considered equally valid. The big BY-WORD today is TOLERANCE. But here’s the RUB - along comes a follower of Jesus Christ who boldly proclaims that JESUS is "the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes tot he Father except through Him." IMMEDIATELY that person finds himself at odds with the world system.
And at the very HEART of the issue is the central message of the Church and of Christians - ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.
You know as well as I do that our culture tells us there are many paths to eternal life. Eastern religions say there is one truth but many paths. Postmodernists tell us there are many paths and NO real absolute truth. Since the message of the church is SALVATION BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH, this great truth needs to be proclaimed as never before in our world today. In our focal passage Paul reminds us of three things regarding salvation. We want to CELEBRATE SALVATION together today.
1. First, SALVATION IS GOD’S WORK. (vs.8)
QUESTION? Where does salvation begin? Culture says it begins with man. God says it is "by Grace." You see, salvation is NOT my work, it’s God’s work. Eternal life is NOT my job, it’s God’s job. I cannot work for my salvation, I cannot earn it, it’s not my birthright, it’s THE GIFT OF GOD BY HIS GRACE.
Rev. 3:20 says "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." Romans 3:23 says "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
GRACE! Grace is God’s Goodness manifested to undeserving man. Grace gives us what we do not deserve. "Grace" denotes goodwill, kindness, and benefit. It evokes images of a superior granting favor to an undeserving inferior. The Lord’s GRACE includes UNDESERVED FAVOR, UNEXPECTED ACCEPTANCE, AND UNCONDITIONAL, ETERNAL LOVE!
Jesus is the giver of Grace (John 1:14,17). A sampling of Christ’s "GRACE GIFTS" include SALVATION (Eph. 2:8), ADOPTION (Eph. 1:5), INHERITANCE ((Eph. 1:11), HEAVENLY CITIZENSHIP (Phil. 3:20), HOLINESS (Eph. 1:4), ACCESS TO GOD (Eph. 2:18), FORGIVENESS (Eph. 1:7), PREPARATION FOR SERVICE (1 Peter 2:5-9), THE INDWELLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (Eph. 1:13), THE ARMOR OF GOD (Eph. 6:10-18), FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT (Gal. 5:22-26), GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT (1 Cor. 12:1-11, Rom. 12:3-8, 1 Peter 4:10, Eph. 4:11-16), and much more - It’s no wonder God’s Grace is called MANIFOLD (1 Peter 4:10).
Salvation can also be described scripturally as "snatching" someone out of serious danger. I remember when I was about 13, we were swimming in a creek and using a huge tree swing over the water, and at one point a cousin of mine, Norman, started to flounder in the water and was actually drowning. I looked around, and it seemed that no one believed his gurgling cries for help. I believe they all thought he was pretending, but I could tell he was serious. So I swam out to him and "snatched" him up out of the water, grabbed him by the hair - and brought him back to water he could stand up in. As he was trying to recover, he choked out a "Thanks, Danny, you saved my life!" and that was the end of it. In that same way, the Lord Jesus Christ "SNATCHES" every person who TRUSTS in Him, every one who FAITH’S Him, from eternal death in HELL! Salvation can thus be understood as God’s DELIVERANCE.
We can celebrate today because Salvation is GOD’S WORK. Aren’t you glad salvation is God’s Work? I sure am. Not only is salvation God’s work, but --
2. SALVATION IS GOD’S WORK - IN GOD’S WAY. (v. 8-9).
Question? How do we receive God’s Grace? The answer - through FAITH! Our scripture says - "For by Grace you have been saved through faith - and that not of yourselves - it is the gift of God - not of works, lest anyone should boast."
The term here "YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED" is very hard to translate into English. The Greek perfect tense emphasizes ACTION initiated in the past, the effects of which continue into the present and future. Salvation has a moment of initiation in the past, but the results of that experience continue. This is another proof text for the ETERNAL SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER. Salvation is God’s work - not ours. My ability to GET saved depends upon the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross and the work of the Holy Spirit in my life. Jesus "SNATCHES" me out of the jaws of Hell! My ability to STAY saved depends upon Christ’s ability to HOLD ON to me, NOT my ability to HOLD on to Him!
The term salvation is used to describe all that God does for the repentant believing sinner solely on the basis of the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary!
The work of salvation is seen as threefold:
(1) The past tense, the moment of Faith, in which God justifies the believer and declares him to be righteous before a Holy God. Justification is God’s deliverance from sin’s penalty. The penalty for sins that have been committed in the past as well as sins that will be committed in the future has been paid through the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross.
(2) The present tense- Sanctification is being set aside for God’s service. It’s God’s progressive deliverance of a believer from sin’s power. God’s desire is that all believer’s mature and become more Christlike, free from sin’s control in their lives. And God has given the Holy Spirit to assist believers in the process of sanctification.
(3) The future tense - looking toward the time when the believer receives his glorified body at Christ’s appearing. Glorification is God’s ultimate deliverance from sin’s presence. Those who have trusted in Christ will someday be completely freed from the very PRESENCE of sin - and his salvation will finally be complete in the presence of a Holy God.
The bottom line is this: You must have a personal encounter with Christ, surrendering your life to His leadership and Lordship! At this moment "salvation" or "deliverance" occurs. From that moment throughout eternity, the power of Christ IN the believer is far greater than the power of sin OVER the believer. Christ, in turn, covers your sins with His blood,having paid the price for your sins through his death on the Cross of Calvary.
We want to climb up on the rooftops and shout the words - SALVATION IS BY GRACE…THROUGH FAITH…NOT OF YOURSELVES…THE GIFT OF GOD!!!
HALLELUJAH! PRAISE GOD! CELEBRATE JESUS!
Salvation is not only God’s work, it is God’s work in God’s way - and God’s way is the way of FAITH alone. It means Trusting - TRUSTING God - by FAITH - placing your trust in Him - a great acronym for FAITH is Forsaking All, I Trust Him. Do you trust Him? Have you placed your FAITH in Him? You see, your FAITH is NOT something that somehow MERITS salvation. It is simply a response of TRUST stimulated by the Holy Spirit and leading to salvation. You see, God’s purpose in making salvation a free gift is to eliminate or prevent any possibility of people thinking they can somehow earn, deserve, or work to gain salvation through their own efforts. Once "snatched" from the hold of Satan, we are challenged by Christ to live for Him and grow in His grace. Thus, salvation is GOD’S WORK, and salvation is GOD’S WORK IN GOD’S WAY, and finally,
3. SALVATION IS GOD’S WORK IN GOD’S WAY ACCORDING TO GOD’S WILL (Eph. 2:10).
Christians are NOT saved BY their good works - but we are saved FOR good works. Those who have been saved by God’s Grace are His WORKMANSHIP. The Greek word, "Poiema" - is translated "workmanship" or "masterpiece" or "work of art" - and we are specially created by Him for the purpose of "doing good works."
Actually, we get our English word "POEM" from this Greek word. We are God’s "POEM", His special work of art!
We are "created in Christ Jesus for Good Works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Folks, in eternity past God prepared these good works that he will accomplish in and through each believer by the power of His indwelling Spirit.
Through JUSTIFICATION we are saved immediately from sin’s penalty. By SANCTIFICATION we are saved progressively from sin’s power. And in GLORIFICATION we will be saved ultimately from sin’s presence.
In the midst of all the recent "millennial madness" and hype of the new century - the world seems to have forgotten one MAJOR thing - after two thousand years - the BIRTH OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST is STILL the DEFINING moment in all of human history! Folks, if that don’t light your fire - your wood’s all wet!
Praise God we can celebrate SALVATION THROUGH JESUS today. And if you are here without Him, if you have never experienced Jesus personally - answer one question - WHY NOT PUT YOUR TRUST IN HIM TODAY? WHY NOT COME TO JESUS BY FAITH RIGHT NOW. He is standing at the door of your heart - knocking - asking for entrance into your life. Open your heart and receive the free gift of God through Jesus Christ.
If you are already a believer - let’s CELEBRATE JESUS and SALVATION together today - and in a warm and winsome way - let’s be about the business of telling the world what they so desperately need to hear -
SALVATION IS GOD’S WORK IN GOD’S WAY ACCORDING TO GOD’S WILL. AMEN.
