How Did People Go to Heaven Before Jesus?
Gal. 3:6-8July 10, 2005 FBC, Chester Mike Fogerson, Pastor
Introduction:
Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. 7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. 8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU." Gal 3:6-8 (NASB)
ETS: Abraham’s faith, not works, allowed him to be justified.
ESS: A saving faith in Jesus is still the only way to heaven.
OBJ: I want my listener to know that saving faith in the gospel will always be the only way to heaven.
PQ: How can we know that saving faith in the gospel is the only way to heaven?
TS: Let’s look at two pieces of evidence that can help us know that saving faith in the gospel will always be the only way to heaven.
I Faith in the gospel saved Abraham
A The Judaizers held Abraham in the highest esteem as the father of their nation (quintessential Jew)
(IL) How Americans respect George Washington, Ronald Reagan, Martin Luther King, Jr.
1 Judaizers believed/taught that Abraham was righteous because he had been circumcised.
a And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." Gen 12:2-3 (NASB)
"This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. Gen 17:10 (NASB)
b These folks argued that the rest of the world would only be blessed/share in the promised blessing ONLY if they first took the sign that marks God’s people, circumcision.
2 Paul says "no way" by using Gen. 15:6 Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. Gen 15:6 (NASB)
a At least 14 years before Abraham was circumcised, he was justified in the eyes of God. Why? "Abraham believed..."(v.6)
aa By faith, Abraham followed God to an unknown country
bb By faith, Abraham believed God would give him a son
cc By faith, Abraham even looked forward to Christ
b The moment Abraham believed, he was in right standing with God.
B Today some hold to a family member’s faith (grandparents, mother, father, etc.) like an inheritance.
1 We can’t be saved by someone else’s faith.
a Judaizers were banking on Abraham’s walk with God to bleed through on them
b God doesn’t have any grandchildren
2 It’s only by faith in Christ that we stand rightly before God.
a (IL) I know a guy who married a woman who had enough money to burn a wet mule. When they got married all her money, property was his, too. All he had to do was accept her as his wife and then everything that was hers was his, too.
b The notes look like they say 1 Cor. 5:21?
aa When Abraham placed his faith in God, all God’s righteousness was added to Abraham’s spiritual account
bb My friend became as wealthy as his wife, Abraham came into God’s eyes as righteous as God.
cc When we put our faith in Christ, we become righteous too!
II Faith in the gospel saves people today.
A God brought the "good news" to Abraham centuries ago (v.8)
1 The Apostle Paul brought the same "good news" to the Gentiles in Galatia.
a The heart of the "good news" was that sinners are justified by faith, not by keeping the law.
b Paul’s logic is clear (v. 7): the true children of Abraham are not those who have been circumcised/observed the law, but those who have placed their faith in the living God of Israel.
2 God’s message of the Gospel was how everyone went to heaven from Adam to Abraham to the Gentiles in Galatia.
B The same faith/Gospel that was justified in Genesis/Galatia is the same gospel that is justified in Chester.
1 What kind of faith saves us today?
a Imagine the faith Abraham had in God when he (Abraham) was told that he was going to be a 1st time dad at 80, Sarah a 1st time mom at 60-something. FAITH
b That faith tells us what kind of faith in Christ we need to have to be saved.
2 C.H. Spurgeon told a story about two men in a boat caught in severe rapids. As the boat tipped over and they were heading toward the perilous rocks & fall, men from the shore tried to save them by throwing out a rope.
a One man caught the rope and was saved. The other man in the panic of the moment grabbed a log that was floating downstream. Fatal mistake.
aa The man who caught the rope was drawn to the shore because he had a connection to the people on the shore.
bb The man who clung to the log was carried downstream by the rapids...never to be found.
b Faith is like grabbing the rope from shore; it’s our saving connection to Jesus Christ.
aa Putting our faith in good works, church membership, faith of our godly family members, baptism, Lord’s Supper, is like grabbing onto the log, carrying us to our doom.
Conclusion:
A ETS: Abraham’s faith, not works, allowed him to be justified.
ESS: A saving faith in Jesus is still the only way to heaven.
1 We’ve looked at 2 pieces of evidence that can help us know that saving faith in the Gospel will always be the only way to heaven.
a Faith in the gospel saved Abraham.
aa The gospel has been how God has been saving since the beginning.
bb The gospel was never an afterthought of God.
b Faith in the gospel saves people today.
aa No other plan
bb No other way (works, baptism...just by grace through faith).
2 I hope you know that saving faith in the gospel will always be the only way to heaven.
a Exceptions: either God makes exceptions, or He doesn’t
b Urgency: if God doesn’t make exceptions, then there is an urgency to us sharing our faith.
aa Every time we make a REACH call
bb Every time we invite someone, meet them at the door
cc Every time we invite someone to a SS event
dd Every time we invite someone to revival
ee Every time we invite someone to SS
ff We are putting into practice that we believe that God doesn’t make exceptions. He only saves those who have placed their faith in Christ.
B How can you know that saving faith in the gospel is the only way to heaven?
1 Imagine you’re a glass manufacturer and you make windshields for the space shuttle
a You have a flaw in your manufacturing process: your windshield has a bubble in it.
b You go to NASA as tell them about your windshield (only flawed in one place, all the rest of it is flawless, one imperfection isn’t bad, it occurred a long time ago, it hasn’t gotten any worse).
c If you were the Quality Control Engineer for the space shuttle, you might listen patiently, sympathetically, but would you accept the windshield for the space shuttle? Of course not!
• It doesn’t matter how small the flaw, or how long ago the flaw occurred.
• The only relevant piece of information is that the windshield is not perfect.
• Good windshields do not go on the space shuttle, only perfect ones.
2 Good people do not go to heaven.
a He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit Titus 3:5 (NASB)
b For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Eph 2:8-9 (NASB)
c The reason good people don’t get to heaven is because they do not meet God’s standard. Not goodness, perfection.
d That presents a problem because no one is perfect (Romans 3:10, 23)
3 How do we get perfect? The same way Abraham did.
a We must have our sins forgiven and our imperfections eliminated.
b That’s done ONLY when we believe in, and receive Jesus as your personal Savior.
c When we really believe we’re sinners and we need Jesus’ blood to wash away our sins, accept them as Savior, then "paid in full" is on our debt to Him.
d We go to heaven on Jesus’ perfection, not our own, there is no other way.
4 PQ: How can we know that saving faith in the gospel is the only way to heaven?
a Faith in the gospel is the only way my boys will go to heaven...always been that way, always will be that way.
b Move us to urgently bring people to Him.
Notice to Sermon Central Users:
My name is Mike Fogerson, and I pastor a Southern Baptist Church in Chester, Illinois. I have been a long-time user of Sermon Central and truly appreciate its content and contributors. Some of the best sermons I’ve ever preached have been reworked material from this website. As you use the material from my sermon bank, understand that it is work that has been done from not just myself, but from hundreds of other pastors as well. If you see part of your message, or a bunch of your message with my name on it and this upsets you, please email me and I will quickly respond and cite you as the main source. My intent is not to claim someone’s work as my own. I am disclaiming up front that I use the resources from Sermon Central and appreciate the tool. I simply want all those who use my work to know that some of these messages were inspired by the Holy Spirit working through other pastors. Because I do use the messages of other pastors I waive all claims of originality or origin of creativity for the messages posted under my messages. I pray God blesses your preaching ministry for the glory of His Kingdom.
Respectfully,
Mike Fogerson
