What Happens To Me Sixty Seconds After Salvation? Series

Personal Questions…

What Happens to Me Sixty Seconds After Salvation?

John 6:35-40

March 4, 2001

Intro:

A. Sixty seconds is a pretty short period of time.

1. But there are a lot of things that can happen in only sixty seconds.

2. There are some pretty amazing things that can happen in only sixty seconds.

B. Salvation is like that.

1. Jesus assures us that we are saved the instant we come to Him in saving faith.

2. The moment that we come to Him in 100% sincere faith, we are instantly saved from the eternal penalty of our sins in hell.

3. We instantly cease to be children of Satan and we become the children of God.

4. Our names are instantly written down in the Lamb’s book of Life and we are on our way to heaven.

5. It is an instantaneous change.

6. When a baby is born into the world, all of its surroundings are completely strange and new.

7. Doctors tell us that there are fifty or sixty changes that take place in a new-born baby in the first few seconds of life.

8. And when a person is born again spiritually through the new birth, many changes take place within the first few seconds of new life.

C. Let’s take a look at John 6:35-40 which I will read and use as spring board to dive into the question of what happens to us 60 seconds after we are saved.

D. What happens to us sixty seconds after we are saved? First…

I. Sixty Seconds After Salvation We Have Been Forgiven of Our Sins

Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

A. This is something that so many people miss!

1. This is a big thing that so many people walk right past.

2. So many people pray a prayer, walk down an aisle, raise their hand, or get dunked in a tank and don’t really fully understand what forgiveness is all about.

3. So many people don’t realize that they are sinners in the first place.

4. So many people believe the lie of the devil that they are "good" people.

5. So many people don’t realize that they were doomed to an eternity in the lake of fire because they are bad people.

6. So many people don’t truly understand what a great gift they have been given in the forgiveness of their sins.

B. And because of this misunderstanding about the greatness of the gift that God has given, they have a hard time forgiving themselves.

1. They don’t realize how much God loves them.

2. They don’t realize that God loved them so much that He sent His only Son to die for them.

3. Let me ask you: Who do you know that would sacrifice their child for you?

4. Who do you know that loves you so much that they would sacrifice their only son for you?

5. You probably don’t know anyone who would do that for you, but God did!

6. Do you realize how much God loves you?

7. And if God loves you enough to send His Son to die for your sins so that you can be forgiven, why can’t you forgive yourself?

8. Are you really going to stand before God and say, "Thank-you for sacrificing your only Son for me. I appreciate that, but somehow it just doesn’t seem like enough to me. I just really don’t think that’s enough for me to forgive myself."

9. God loves you! God sacrificed His only begotten Son so that your sins could be white as snow! God has forgiven you!

10. So FORGIVE YOURSELF!

C. And FORGIVE OTHERS!

1. There are so many people that don’t understand the greatness of what God has done in forgiving their sins and it is visible in their actions.

2. When someone seeks revenge, it says that they don’t understand God’s forgiveness of their own sins.

3. When someone is bitter towards others, it says that they don’t understand God’s forgiveness of their own sins.

4. When someone pronounces judgment upon another, it says that they don’t understand God’s forgiveness of their own sins!

5. When someone distorts another persons words or actions it shows that they don’t understand God’s forgiveness of their own sins!

6. When envy and pride and self-righteousness are displayed in a person’s life it shows that they don’t understand their own sinfulness and what they have been forgiven of themselves.

7. There are so many people now days who gossip.

8. When a person gossips about someone else and talks about them behind their back it shows that they don’t understand their own sinfulness and God’s forgiveness of their own sins!