WHAT SALVATION MEANS TO US
Sunday AM February 18, 2000
Matthew 6:25-34
25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
26 “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
27 “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;
29 “and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 “Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
32 “For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Let us bow our heads in prayer
Here Jesus is telling us that we need not worry about the everyday functions of our life.
God, all ready knows our need’s, and our wants.
What we need to be worrying about is our own salvation.
He is telling us in verse 33 that we need to seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness and all of these things will be added to us.
God knows that we all have needs, but the first and foremost need is salvation, without salvation we would all be lost.
Thank God that He sent His Son to die for us that we would not have to go through the suffering, HE ( JESUS ) DID IT FOR US.
AND TO KNOW THAT THIS TRUE TURN TO
MATTHEW 1:21
21 “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
ALSO TURN TO,
1 John 3:5
5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.
ALSO
1 John 3:6
6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
God will not even hear a prayer from a sinner, no matter how sincere a sinner might pray in a time of need god does not hear.
Not only does He not hear, He can not hear you.
God cannot be anywhere sin is, He hates sin so much that when his only son Jesus Christ was hanging on the cross dieing for our sins, god turned his back on his son Jesus.
When Jesus was hanging there he called out to his Father and said my God my God why hath thou forsaken me.
Why, someone might ask?
God cannot be around where there is sin.
You might ask if God does not hear a prayer from a sinner then how will you be able to get saved.
That’s an easy one to answer.
When a person gets tired of sin.
Sick of sin.
Ready to give up sin and live a clean life for God,
Then that person has all ready taken a step forward and has become a repenter.
And when you become a repenter,
That is the first step that it takes to become a person that is wanting to be saved and is ready to live for God.
You might also turn to
John 3:3-8
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
8 “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Somehow the world has failed to see the real meaning of salvation.
Salvation is an outstanding bible doctrine and also the initial Christian experience.
Is it not true that the saints of God need to clearly see what God did for them on the cross, when Christ died?
Unless believers have a clear knowledge of salvation they cannot enter into the adequate benefits that it provides.
Let us look at the Christian life at its inception and see what we start with the very moment we put our trust in Christ.
Now what is salvation?
Redemption from darkness;
Colossians 1:13-14
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
Man has been blinded by satan, the god of this world;
2 Corinthians 4:3-4
3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
Man needs salvation to rescue him from darkness and open his eyes to the new life that is in Christ
To turn from the darkness of this old world, and turn to that light that can only come from the Lord Jesus Christ.
And it tells us over in,
Acts 26:18
18 ‘to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’
Salvation is what we need to give us that peace of mind, so that we are better able to cope with the everyday problems that come about.
Also with that comes the,
Redemption from sin:
1 Peter 1:16-19
16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;
18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
Redemption in it self means to be born again;
John 3:3
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Redemption delivers us from the authority of sin and puts us under the Lordship of Jesus Christ!
Romans 6:14
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
Resurrection from death:
Ephesians 2:1
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
When a man trusts Christ and believes on him.
He is raised from the dead and made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus;
Ephesians 2:5-6
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Sin has killed us spiritually;
Faith in Christ raises us out of the grave of spiritual death and gives us divine life.
We need that new birth!
Let’s turn to
2 Corinthians 5:17
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
The new birth, is being a new creation!
1 John 3:14
14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
And again in
Ephesians 2:1-10
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
We find here that the new birth is a passing out of death into life, the impartation of life to men dead through trespasses and sins.
We also find that the new birth brings about a renewal of the mind.
Romans 12:2
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
The new birth also imparts a new nature, even God’s own nature, to the one who is begotten again.
2 Peter 1:4
4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
By this we mean that you entire nature will change.
You will no longer say the things that the world does.
You will no longer act as the world does.
You will no longer have the desires of the world.
You will begin to live a life filled with the Holy Spirit!
And by living this way you will start to see the results of the new birth.
1 Corinthians 3:16
16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
And again in
1 Corinthians 6:19
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
And then that brings us to a return from exile like it tells us in
Ephesians 2:13
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Salvation through the blood of christ, brings man home from exile to walk with god;
It brings us to a place where we will have a craving to live and become more like Christ.
And it tells us in,
Acts 2:17-21
17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath:
Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.
21 And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the LORD
Shall be saved.’
Glory to God, it tells us right there that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Whoever means just what it says that includes everyone.
It’s Gods will that everyone should be saved and no one shall perish!
Salvation releases us from captivity;
Romans 6:6
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
A man without Christ is bound by the chain of sin;
Mark 5:1-5 Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes.
2 And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
3 who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains,
4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him.
5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.
Salvation makes it possible for man to be free to live for the lord.
Free to serve the lord and free to enjoy the saviour;
It will also bring a freedom from the ways of the world!
And then it tells us in;
John 8:32
32 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
John 8:36
36 “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
Some profess to be “born again” but they are still bound by the social pressures and the opinions of their friends.
They try to hold on to god with one and the devil with the other.
Matthew 6:24
24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
It is impossible to go both ways, you cannot just live for God on Sunday and then live for the devil all week long.
Revelation 3:15-16
15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.
16 “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
When born again Christians make a total commitment to God they are cleansed.
They are released from the bondage of sin to rejoice in the Lord.
Galatians 5:1
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
In other words stand fast in all things and god will see you through!
The born again christian will rewarded in ways that you can never be able to comprehend.
There will be little things in you everyday life that will happen to you that you will wonder where they came from,
God will take care of you in ways that you never thought would be possible.
And then let’s look over in;
Luke 13:22-30
22 And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.
23 Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them,
24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
25 “When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’
26 “then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’
27 “But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’
28 “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.
29 “They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.
30 “And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.”
There will only be a few that will find there way,
But they that do will be an elite group of people!
They will not always have a easy road to follow here on this earth.
But then god will never put more on us than we will be able to bare.
The rewards will far out number anything that this world will ever be able to give us.
