THE SAVIOR OF SOULS
Hebrews 7:25, "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." Job in chapter 42 and verse two said that he knew that the LORD could do everything.
(Illustration) "In 1981, a Minnesota radio station reported a story about a stolen car in California. Police were staging an intense search for the vehicle and the driver, even to the point of placing announcements on local radio stations to contact the thief. On the front seat of the stolen car sat a box of crackers that, unknown to the thief, were laced with poison. The car owner had intended to use the crackers as rat bait. Now the police and the owner of the VW Bug were more interested in apprehending the thief to save his life than to recover the car. So often when we run from God, we feel it is to escape his punishment. But what we are actually doing is eluding his rescue."__ Unknown.
There has never been another like Jesus Christ. He is the first, and the last, and all in between. No provision of Christ benefits mankind more than that of a perfect, complete, and full salvation.
Jesus is able to save to the uttermost! He is the Savior of souls. There is no limit to the number He is capable of saving. Many or few--He would that all would come to Him (Mark 1:17; Luke 19:10; John 6:37).
There are a different ways that He seeks to get our attention. One way could be the sudden unexpected death of a loved one. Another way could be having that close call yourself, maybe on a busy thoroughfare. You missed, you don't know how, heart pounding and you suddenly feel weak and trembling, knowing it could have been all over. Had you crashed and your life was taken, where would you be right now? Heaven or hell? He speaks to us with that still inner voice, saying to walk the right path, do the right thing. He is inviting you to surrender your life to Him.__Adapted from an article by Chuck Smith
Our loving Savior can save any number. He is not limited in His saving desires (Romans 10:13) or His saving actions. Two biblical examples of Jesus saving one by one are His work on Nicodemus and His grace extended to the woman at Sychar's Well.
Have we considered Jesus, Salvation, and the multitudes? Again the Holy Bible speaks of Samaritan believers being saved. At the Day of Pentecost in the book of Acts 3,000 saved! Isaiah 66:8, "Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children." Christ can save any number.
Christ came into the world to defeat Satan (1John 3:8) and to save sinners (1Timothy 1:15).
Now we have the opportunity to give thought to the fact that Jesus can save anywhere. What a marvelous thing!Zacchaeus was in a tree. Levi was in the custom house. Peter and some other fishermen were by the sea. The paralytic was in a house. Saul of Tarsus was on the road. The man of Bethesda was in the Temple. An Ethiopian Eunuch was in the desert. In a prison in the city of Philippi a jailer was saved. On a cross a dying thief was saved. Jesus will meet us where we are.
The Savior of souls is still our topic.
The Great Spiritual Emancipator is not bound by the clock or calendar. He can save at anytime, but it is incumbent upon men to accept Jesus now. 2 Corinthians 6:2, "(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)"
The 3,000 at Pentecost were saved around 9:00 A. M. Saul was saved at midday: the thief on the cross between noon and 3 P. M.: John met Christ around 4 P. M. We see Nicodemus coming to Jesus by night. At the midnight hour the Philippian Jailer believed on the Lord.
Morning, noon, and night Jesus is waiting.
(Illustration) The old Dr. Pepper soft drink commercial stated that the body needed a boost at ten, two, and four hours on the clock. Similarly, men need Christ every hour of the day and night.
Before we proceed with this message, let me once again remind us there is one God and one Mediator between God and men; the man Christ Jesus. Neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
We have seen thus far that Jesus can save any number. He can give new spiritual life anywhere. His actions of saving grace is not limited by the clock or the calendar.
Now our Lord can save a person no matter what his age. Jesus can meet the needs of all: children such as Samuel. Jesus said on a certain occasion, "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not...." Youth are considered also--remember the rich young ruler made an inquiry. Some of the first disciples were young men and women.
(Personal Note) This writer was saved at the age of eleven and now I am rapidly approaching the age of seventy. What an exciting journey so far.
Nicodemus was an elderly man (John 3:4)--the Lord saved him. John 6:37, "...Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." Yes, Yes, He can save anyone! Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved; i.e., all who believe and repent. Let's continue to observe some Bible examples: A harlot named Rahab was saved. A demon possessed (demonized) person named Mary Magdalene, a moral man--Nathanael, a religious man-Nicodemus. Digging deeper into Scripture we notice that even a rich man can be saved. His name was Zacchaeus. The flip side--a poor man named Lazarus. Fishermen, doctors, tentmakers, even tax collectors and lawyers came to the Lord and were not rejected by Him. There are others, but we can now determine and affirm the "whosoever will" is a true statement. Vicious or virtuous; princes or paupers, Christ is able to make them His very own.
MORALITY (God can save a good moral person.)
Some years ago, when the news broke that Joseph Stalin's daughter had defected from Communism and Russia, many people were startled. Her statement, given to reporters who met her plane in New York, told why she defected:
"I found it impossible to exist without God in one's heart. I came to that conclusion myself, without anybody's help or preaching. That was a great change because since that moment the main dogmas of Communism lost their significance for me. I have come here to seek the self-expression that has been denied me for so long in Russia."
That woman's struggle was a terrible one. To leave Russia, she had to leave two children in Moscow and realize that it would be, as she said, "impossible to go back."
Pascal said there is within every person a "God-shaped vacuum." He's right. Historians Will and Ariel Durant observed in their summary volume, The Lessons of History, that "there never has been a significant example of morality apart from belief in God."__Morning Glory, February 5, 1994.
OLD AGE (We spoke earlier about the salvation of the elderly.)
Thought I'd let my doctor check me cause I didn't feel quite right all those aches and pains annoyed me and I couldn't get to sleep at night. He could find no real disorder, but he couldn't let me rest. What with Medicare and Blue Cross it wouldn't hurt to do some tests.To the hospital he sent me, though I didn't feel that bad. He arranged for them to give meevery test that could be had. I was flouroscoped and cystoscoped,my aging frame displayed, stripped upon an ice cold table while my gizzards were X-rayed. I was checked for worms and parasites, for fungus and the Crud while they pierced me with long needles taking samples of my blood. Doctors came to check me over. [They] prodded and pushed and poked around, and to make sure that I was living they wired me up for sound. They have finally concluded: (Their results have filled a page) what I have will someday kill me, my affliction is .....Old Age.__Source Unknown.
Conclusion: We have not, by any means, exhausted the subject of salvation. One could allow this discussion to be a springboard for deeper study. There is the Ordo Salutis to consider. Then, studying of the agency of faith would be helpful. "Faith is critical to to an experience of repentance."__Bowdle, Donald N. Redemption Accomplished & Applied. Cleveland, Tennessee : Pathway Press, 1972.
To put it mildly--all this is accomplished through the shed blood of Jesus Christ and the effectual working of God's Holy Spirit!
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is able to save all to the uttermost (John 1:12).
He saves from sin, condemnation, and death (John 5:24; Romans 8:34). We are saved to live with God eternally (Romans 8:39). Through His salvation believers will be citizens of the New Heaven and the New Earth ((2 Peter 3:13). The saints are promised to rule and reign over the universe with Christ throughout eternity (1 Corinthians 6:2-3) (Note: In verse two of 1 Cor. 6 the original for "world" is kosmos, meaning universe.)
Romans 8:31-39 (Contemporary English Version) "What can we say about all this? If God is on our side, can anyone be against us? God did not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won’t he freely give us everything else? If God says his chosen ones are acceptable to him, can anyone bring charges against them? Or can anyone condemn them? No indeed! Christ died and was raised to life, and now he is at God’s right side,[e] speaking to him for us. Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, suffering, and hard times, or hunger and nakedness, or danger and death? It is exactly as the Scriptures say, 'For you we face death all day long. We are like sheep on their way to be butchered.' In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us. I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord."
