CHRISTIANS ARE ABNORMAL IN HOW THEY VIEW SALVATION
- Matthew 7:13-23
On April 13th, 2008, Oprah Winfrey said that Jesus could not be the only way to God. She went on to ask about “People who live on the planet in places where they never even hear the name of Jesus”.
Even more recently, in a men’s Bible study I lead, a man I like and respect, a deacon of a sister church in our association, indicated that he too believed that God had another way for people who have not heard about Jesus.
What does the Bible say? Is Jesus the only way to God? Is He the only way to be saved?
I. WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO FIND THE NARROW GATE?
A. Some folks ideas on salvation:
1. Church Membership – There are some that believe that church membership is required for salvation, or even that being a member of a church will save you.. Half-way Covenant – Partial membership that allowed baptism and the acceptance of communion by people not willing to commit themselves totally to the Lord, or to adhere to all of the church’s requirements.
Jonathan Edwards.
2. Baptism – Some believe baptism is required and that if you are a member of the church and that if you are baptized, then it’s a pretty good chance that you are saved.
> Acts 2:37-38 When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles: “Brothers, what must we do?” 38 “Repent,” Peter said to them, “and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus the Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Church of Christ – “for” – wanted poster, ignore the thief on the cross.
** Reasons for baptism
a. Following the example of Jesus – We are immersed
b. Following the command of Jesus – Matthew 28:16-20
c. Claiming the promise of Jesus – John 14:2-3
3. Believing in Jesus – Well, if I believe Jesus is the Son of God, that He died on the cross for my sins, then I will be saved.
Judas believed all of that and yet hung himself because he knew he had messed up
> James 2:19 You believe that God is one; you do well. The demons also believe—and they shudder.
4. Saying you are a Christian –
> Romans 10:9 if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
- Matthew 7:21-23
5. Praying the “Sinner’s Prayer
No where in scripture do you see an instance where someone prayed the “Sinner’s Prayer”. Many people pray that prayer, say those words and yet are not saved. You and I know many examples of people like that. They pray a prayer, may even be baptized and join a church and then disappear. You never see them again.
The South is full of people like that. At least when I was up North, if people weren’t Christians they didn’t mind telling you they weren’t. In the South, there are a lot of people running around who prayed some prayer as a child, and were even baptized, and because of that they believe they are saved, that they are Christians; even though their actions and their lives give no evidence that they are Christians.
You have to get them lost before you can get them saved.
W. A. Criswell estimated that 80% of the people sitting in our churches today are not really Christians; are not really Christ-followers. Billy Graham put the figure at closer to 90%.
B. What Jesus Said About Salvation
1. You must repent – Luke 13:1-5
This means that you acknowledge God is God. You acknowledge that He has standards and that you fall short of them. You regret what you have done, ask Him to forgive you, and set out to live a life of obedience and one that is pleasing to Him.
> Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but [only] the one who does the will of My Father in heaven.
> Acts 2:38 “Repent,” Peter said to them, “and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus the Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
- Luke 18:9-14
2. You must ask for the pardon God has made available
> Romans 10:13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Gift of a coat. I have to ask for it.
3. You must trust in God alone –
a. Matthew 19:16-22 – He was trusting in his wealth, in his stuff.
b. John 3:1-7 – He was trusting his nationality, in his religious heritage.
4. You must Confess
- Matthew 10:32-39
II. CAN I KNOW I AM SAVED?
MARKS OF A CHRISTIAN
- 1 John 4:20 - 5:13
Some things in this world look very much alike. They are very similar. For instance, a King Snake and a Coral Snake look very much alike. An alligator and a crocodile look a lot alike. They are very similar. We have a citrus tree growing in our yard, that produces both sweet and sour oranges, and the 2 look very similar. Often, people are unable to tell these things apart because they look so much alike.
But on each of them, there is something that sets them apart. Each of them is distinctive in some way you just have to know what to look for. In King & Coral snakes you look for the placement of their rings. In alligators & crocodiles, you look at their teeth, and the shape of their snouts. Similarly, the sweet and sour oranges have different peels and leaves. You have to know the marks that make them distinctive.
In the parable of the wheat and the tares, Jesus commented that in the church, some are believers and some are not, but the 2 are there together. They look very similar, but they are not the same and the end of the two will be very different.
Evidently, in this passage, John was addressing some people, some folks who believed they were Christians, but were experiencing some doubt. In chapters 4 and 5 John gave some distinctives, some marks to look for in Christians’ lives and then he wrote in verse 13, “I have written these things so that you may know you have eternal life.”
What are the “things” John speaks of we are to look for in our lives? What are the distinctives you find in one of Christ’s disciples that set him apart? In this passage I believe John records for us 3 primary marks we are to look for in a believer’s life.
I. MARKS OF A CHRISTIAN
1. An Obedient Christian has a Distinctive Love
- 4:20-21
We live in a society today where any live only for themselves. It doesn’t matter what it takes to get ahead. It doesn’t matter who you have to step on, who you have to talk about, who you have to cheat, swindle, or lie to, as long as you get ahead.
There are those today who carry grudges. There are those who refuse to forgive. There are those who hate others just because they are different. They talk different, or they look different, or they dress different. They have a different skin color, or something. So they hate them, put them down, or look to climb over them.
“It doesn’t matter, as long as I get what I want. It doesn’t matter as long as I get ahead.” I love God, but hang them. The Bible says, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar.”
My friend, the Bible says, “God is love.” Jesus Himself said, “The first commandment is to love God. The second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The two go hand in hand. Think of how people’s despair and pain, moved Jesus to tears. If Jesus is alive and well in your heart, it will show it self in the way you treat other people. It will reveal itself in the way you love others. Jesus said, “By this may all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another.”
It breaks my heart when I think of how supposed believers treat unbelievers. It breaks my heart when I think of the way those in the church treat people in the world, forgetting that God sent His Son for them just as He did for us. It breaks my heart when I see believers seeking the grace of God for themselves, who are unwilling to offer it to others.
Let me ask you, “Do you love other people?” A Christian has a distinctive love.
2. An Obedient Christian has a Distinctive Life
- 1 John 5:2-3
The Bible says, “If you love the Father, if you love the Son, that you will obey.” My friend, morality is not an option. Godly living is not an option.
Now, let me make myself clear. The Bibles says, “For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourself, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. You and I are saved through faith. There is nothing you and I can do to earn our salvation. There is nothing you and I can do to earn our way to heaven. You cannot clean up the outside enough. You cannot attend church enough. You cannot give enough. You cannot serve enough or work enough to get to heaven. You cannot earn your salvation. At the same time, a Christian will live differently than those in the world.
We live in a world where people are basing their salvation on a case of the “warm fuzzies.” “Well, I just love Jesus and Jesus loves me.”
Some people are basing their salvation on some prayer they prayed 30 years ago. Others believe they are saved because they were baptized or they walked an aisle, or they filled out a card, or they shook a preacher’s hand and he told them they were saved.
Listen, you want evidence of salvation? You want assurance of your salvation? Then look for a changed life. I’m not talking about perfection, but I am talking about a desire for perfection.
So it is with God and us. We can’t just say, ‘Oh well, I only broke 17 of God’s laws this week – that’s not so bad.’ No, the issue is, what does it say about our relationship with God Himself if we knowingly disregard His law?” (Mark Dever, 9 Marks of a Healthy Church, 2004, pg. 81).
And my friend, that is one reason we remain in a church body. That is one reason we regularly fellowship with other believers. We help look for and encourage growth, maturity, and obedience in one another. Religion is a personal thing, but not a private thing in the New Testament.
An obedient Christian lives a distinctive life. Let me ask you, is your life pleasing God? Is it different from your neighbors’? An obedient Christian has a distinctive love, he lives a distinctive life, and he has a distinctive faith.
3. An obedient Christian Has a Distinctive Faith
- 1 John 5:1,5
A Christian’s life is marked by a distinctive faith. There are certain beliefs Christians hold.
a) About Jesus – For instance, Christians believe in Jesus and Jesus alone for their salvation.
> John 14:6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Ron Jon Surf Shop has a commercial they used to run all the time. You may remember the ad saying, “Ron Jon Surf Shop, not one of many, but one of a kind.” Christians understand that Jesus Christ is not one of many, to fit in somewhere between Buddha, Mohammed, and Confucius. He is not one of many different paths you can take to get to God. But He is, instead, one of a kind. He is the Only begotten Son of God. He is the Only Way, the Only truth, and the Only Life.
The Bible says in Romans 10:9, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead. You will be saved.”
Obedient Christians have a distinctive love. They live distinctive lives and they have a distinctive faith. Paul commands us in 2 Corinthians 13:5,
> 2 Corinthians 13:5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves.
Let me ask you. Do you love like Jesus? Do you live like Jesus? Do you believe in Jesus and Jesus alone? If not, then you have 1 of 2 problems. You have 2 courses of action to take this morning.
II. ACTIONS OF OBEDIENCE
If you do not love like Jesus, if you do not live like Jesus, or you do not trust in Jesus, there are one of 2 actions you need to take this morning.
1. Accept Jesus – First, if those marks are not in your life, it could be that you are not a Christian. It could be that you have never made Jesus the Boss in your life. In that case, I implore you this morning, won’t you accept Jesus? Won’t you trust in Him and make Him the Boss in your life?
2. Obey Jesus – If you know that you know that you know, that Jesus is in your heart. If you know that you know that you know, that Jesus is in your life, then I congratulate you. I rejoice with you for you can never lose your salvation. You rest securely in the hands of Jesus and His Father.
However, if you are a believer and yet you don’t love like Jesus and you don’t live like Jesus, then you are being disobedient. You are bringing dishonor to Jesus and His church. You are destroying your testimony and damaging the church’s testimony. This evening, you need to repent. You need to tell God you’re sorry. You need to return to your first love.
> James 1:22 But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
You need to repent of your disobedience. You need to ask God to forgive you for misrepresenting Him to the world and for your sin against Him. Then you need to change. Get the sin out of your life brothers and sisters.
It’s not enough to say,
“I’m sorry and repent”
And then go on from day to day,
Just like you always went.
Repentance is to leave
The sins we loved before,
And show that we in earnest grieve
By doing them no more.
3. Share Jesus
a. Individually - We have a responsibility to share Jesus with those we encounter. We are to be the ambassadors of Jesus …
b. Collectively - Sharing also means that we support missions and missionaries. We help fund and pray for those who are going and sharing where we cannot go. …
4. Praise Jesus – Oh I shall rejoice because I know the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. My Lord has adopted me into His family, He has placed me in His hand, He has given me the Holy Spirit as a deposit, He has made me a citizen of His kingdom.
What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow. No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.
I will praise Jesus because He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. The author of my salvation. The finisher of the faith. He is the Chief Corner Stone, the Rock the builders rejected. This One has written my name in the Lambs book of Life and right now He is preparing a place for me.
I will praise the Lord, because when I was still in my sin, Christ died for me. I will praise the Lord because one day Jesus is coming again to take me to a place where there are no tears, there is no pain, and there is no sorrow.
Thank you Lord, for saving my soul. Thank you Lord, for making me whole. Thank you Lord, for giving to me, Thy great salvation so rich and free.
