TITLE: SALVATION REQUIRES A SAVIOR
SCRIPTURE: ROMANS 10:10
We are living in a day and age where we appear to want salvation without a savior. We don’t like to talk about Sin any longer. Church that are growing no longer Preach and Teach the requirement of Salvation, we want Salvation without a Savior. We want to be saved on our own terms. We want to design what Salvation should look like for us individually. We want salvation to look like the Five Guys Hamburger Restaurant – where you place your order and tell them what you want on it.
Churches no longer talk about SIN. Sin, it's such a pesky word - we don't use it anymore.
• Sin makes me think of God
• Sin makes me think of Judgment
• Sin would mean there's a giant moral absolute out there and I'm accountable
• I might have to beg for forgiveness
• I'm probably going to be punished
• So we no longer want to deal with the word ‘Sin’
After all I JOHN 5:17 “ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS IS SIN…” Man, that kind of puts things in perspective. So, therefore; we don’t like to deal with or talk about Sin. I JOHN 3:4 “WHOSOEVER COMMITTETH SIN TRANSGRESSETH ALSO THE LAW: FOR SIN IS THE TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW.” It's a transgression of divine law, which means there's a divine Person or God or something that has a law. Any act regarded as such a transgression, especially a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle, that would fall in the category of ‘Sin.’
• Sin means I did it on Purpose
• Sin means it was Willful
• Sin means there is no Valid Excuse
• Sin means I knew it was wrong when I did it, and that doesn't make me feel very good about myself
In fact, if I commit a sin, after a while I think I'm a bad person. So we don't use that word. No sense feeling bad if I don’t have to. There are enough things that I encounter that make me feel bad, I don’t need to add ‘Sin’ to the list.
• Feel bad for cheating on my Taxes
• Feel bad for not answering the phone when I saw your name on my Caller ID
• Feel bad for calling out Sick on the Job and spent day at the Casino
• Feel bad about gossiping about you all night – smiled in your face this morning
• Feel bad for eating the last of the Ice Cream and know you wanted it
• I don’t need to feel bad about ‘Sin’ too
In an effort to feel better, we like another Word instead -
• Mistake
• I made a mistake
• We feel more comfortable with that
• With a mistake I can take an Eraser and correct it
• With a mistake I can hit the ‘delete’ button and start over
• With a mistake I don’t have to feel bad, after all it was just a mistake
A few weeks ago I was talking with a person who said they were Saved. I must admit we had an interesting conversation about “salvation.” He admitted it was a word he was not that familiar with. He told me his Dad back in the day had worked at a SALVAGE YARD. He went on to say salvage and salvation sounded pretty similar. So he figured salvation had to do with claiming something that was broken and messed up and then somehow reselling it for a bit of a profit. Turns out he was pretty close with that Analogy.
The most common meaning of salvation is to be saved by god from the consequences of our sin. But the Bible speaks of our salvation in a bit fuller terms than simply being rescued from hell. When thinking about salvation it’s helpful to think about what we are Saved From - What We Are Saved To - Who We Are Saved By. It’s also helpful to think about our salvation as a Past – Present - And Future Happening.
Under these terms my Brothers and Sisters, it is evident – Salvation Requires a Savior. We cannot save ourselves. I know we are living in a time where we are now running around calling our wives queens and our husbands kings. Sounds good and uplifting, but we don’t have the power or authority to Save ourselves.
• That’s why Calvary was necessary
• That’s why Golgotha was necessary
• That’s why the Place of the Skull was necessary
• That’s why the Cross was necessary
• That’s why a Savior was necessary
It was exciting a few weeks ago to watch 16 of our young people give their lives to Christ at the end of our Community Vacation Bible School. God is still saving during VBS. It will be critical that we spend time with these new believers to help them in their Christian development and indoctrinate them to the life of the Church because we live in a social media generation, we must engage them as to what Salvation ought to mean in the life of every believer. We must counteract what is being dictated on Social Media as to what Salvation looks like and restore the Glory. The standard cannot be Social Media it must be the Word of God.
If we are not careful because of Social Media, it would appear that a Savior is not required for Salvation. On Social Media – Facebook – Twitter – Snapchat – Instragram
• Cuss someone out in one Post – Praise the Lord in the next Post
• Go on a Profanity laced Tweet – Next Tweet on your way to Church to Praise the Lord
• One Video Clip you are shouting because of Johnnie Walker Red – Next Video Clip shouting because of Peter – James – John
I stopped by to tell you this morning – Salvation Requires a Savior. Now don’t get me wrong this morning, there is a "Growing Time" of GRACE allotted to all believers. During this Grace period, God's tender-loving mercies cover and teach us while our conscience is being tutored by the Holy Spirit to let go of things that are wrong and to adhere to things that are right.
Where most believers slow down in the maturing process is when they fail to allow the Holy Spirit to get them past the place where they no longer continue to grow and mature in their new found faith. God loves us with our multitude of faults and His Grace extends a long way for someone who is repentant and really loves Him. But there comes a time in the Believers life where we are no longer switching back and forth from bitter water and sweet. Remember Salvation means Saving from Something and it is a process to mature in the Lord.
Just like when a child takes his first step, his parents excitedly call family and friends to announce this awesome accomplishment. However, soon afterwards, as they chase after their inquisitive toddler, they realize it was the start of a challenging phase of parenting.
• But more importantly, that first step was also the beginning of a new life of greater mobility and maturity for the child
• In the same way, the Christian life begins with a first step—Salvation
• But many people stumble at this point because of false conceptions
• Some folks think being a relatively good person is the key to getting into heaven
• Others have the idea that believing in God is all that’s required
• However, salvation comes only through a personal relationship with the Lord through His Son
• Salvation Requires a Savior
This Journey of Salvation to Christian Maturity is a Step by Step process and there is only one way to do it.
• We can Rationalize all we want
• We can Justify all we want
• We can Find others that will Agree with us
• But there is only one way to Salvation
• Salvation Requires a Savior
There was an article appearing in a large Newspaper Company about a man by the name of George Swanson who had a plan to get to heaven.
• He was buried in His Corvette
• He planned to drive His white Corvette down the highway to heaven and arrive at "the Pearly Gates in style" the newspaper column said
• That was George Swanson plan
• Unfortunately for him, it is not God’s plan
God’s plan is found in understanding Salvation.
• To get to heaven, you must go by the way of the Cross
• God’s plan is to give His priceless salvation as a free gift to all who trust Him and demonstrate that faith publically by confessing Christ Jesus as their Savior and Lord
God’s plan of Salvation is applicable to all people –
• From the Irreligious to the Religious
• From the bad to the good
• The illiterate to the educated
• The young to the old
• The poor to the wealthy
• The sick to the healthy
• The feeble to the strong
• From the nutty to the wise
• It is an all encompassing plan
• God has opened the door of heaven and bids all men everywhere to call upon Him and come to His eternal home
The sad reality is - We are not seeing those around us being Saved like we used to see when we were coming up because we have begun to Compromise the Gospel. There are steps from salvation to Christian maturity. There are many people looking for “Steps To Salvation.” People like the idea of an Instruction Manual with five steps that, if followed, will result in salvation.
• An example of this is Islam with its Five Pillars
• According to Islam, if the Five Pillars are obeyed, salvation will be granted
• Because the idea of a step-by-step process to salvation is appealing, many in the Christian community make the mistake of presenting salvation as a result of a step-by-step process
• Roman Catholicism has seven sacraments
• Various Christian denominations add BAPTISM, PUBLIC CONFESSION, TURNING FROM SIN, SPEAKING IN TONGUES, as steps to salvation
But the Bible only presents one step to Salvation. In ACTS 16, when the PHILIPPIAN JAILER asked Paul, “WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?” Paul responded, “BELIEVE IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND YOU WILL BE SAVED” - It’s so simple that even a child can understand, but we would do well to examine our redemption more closely to learn and appreciate what the Lord has done for us.
• Salvation can be defined as the work of God’s Grace by which He pardons our sins and bestows upon us the gift of eternal life
• This means we are not saved by our works but by God’s Grace, which is His undeserved favor and love
There is no -- have it your way - Burger King declared in the 1970s, with a slogan that reflected the growing INDIVIDUALISM -- CONSUMERISM -- PLURALISM of the West. Other companies followed suit by promising that we could have their products our way: tailored to our particular tastes - delivered on our specific terms.
• It’s hardly surprising, then, to find us bringing the same agenda to religion
• The idea that we have no choice about how to be saved is ANATHEMA to the spiritual consumer of our day
• We want salvation our way
Can I tell you one more time this morning as I move to a close – Salvation Requires a Savior - There is no other way. It would be bizarre to accuse your doctor of unfairness for prescribing the only remedy that works.
--Jesus declared that He had been sent into the world with one primary purpose: that those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life
--Faith in Jesus is both sufficient and necessary for salvation
--Those who do not believe in Him will not gain eternal life
--Only those who “feed” on Jesus will live
--As if the matter needed further clarification, Jesus left absolutely no doubt in these words to His disciples
--“I AM THE WAY, AND THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME”
--There is no other way to be Saved but by the Savior
--You can’t Buy your way In
--You can’t Work your way In
--You can’t Tithe your way In
-- Salvation Requires a Savior
--Not a Degree
--Not a Fancy Car
--Not a Title in the Church
-- Salvation Requires a Savior
--He is the only Way
--You must Come in at the Door
-- Salvation Requires a Savior
