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This is a sermon that summarizes some basic principles about the plan of salvation as presented in the Bible. The pastor follows an outline that has been attributed to the thinking and messages of John Wesley, the "Father of Methodism."
Written Excerpts:
John 3:3, 7 (NKJV) Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'
Introduction:
I
think I may have mentioned before that I am currently receiving a daily email
devotional reading that I have subscribed and is written by a pastor/theologian
by the name of John Piper. A
few weeks ago the devotional for the day included an outline he suggested as a
way to think about the salvation that has been provided and offered by God to
each of us. I had planned to use that outline and develop a sermon with it for
today.
However,
this past week as we attended the family camp for the Fellowship of Bible
Churches, the preacher gave a message about salvation using an outline that I
liked better than the one I had planned to use. So,
I wish to preach to you today using part of the outline he used, then I plan to
use the remainder of the outline next Sunday to finish speaking on the topic of
salvation.
The
preacher at family camp acknowledged at the beginning of his sermon that the
outline he was using was “borrowed” from John Wesley, the Anglican minister who
lived in the 1700’s and is credited as being the “Father of the Methodist
Church.” After
some additional study, I learned that these points may not have been exactly
stated by John Wesley, but they represent a summary of his teaching and preaching in
contrast to the theology taught by Calvinism in many
Christian churches. These
points only pertain to Wesley’s views regarding salvation and are not intended
to represent his entire theology.
There
were a total of five points in the outline, but I only wish to speak on three
of them today. The Lord willing, we will consider the other two points next
Sunday.
1.
All people must be saved.
2.
All people may be saved.
3.
All people may know themselves saved.
Before
we go any farther in the message I would like to take a moment to talk about
terminology.
“Salvation”
– The word “salvation” is a noun that refers to the process and condition of
being “saved.”
Just
in case you’re interested, the theology term for the study of salvation is:
“soteriology.”
When
we used the word “saved” in everyday life it often refers to various
experiences that people have.
Lost
> saved = found.
Imminent
danger (e.g. fire, drowning, storms, etc.) > saved = rescued.
Serious
health issues (e.g. imminent death) > saved = spared from death and health
restored.
In
regards to spiritual matters, all analogies apply.
Saved
= no longer lost in life without direction and purpose.
Saved
= rescued from sin and its consequences.
Saved
= spared from eternal death and restored to a right relationship with God.
In
our Scripture reading today, we especially pointed out verses 3 & 7 which
speak of being “born again.”
“Born
Again” is synonymous with “Saved”
Jesus
said, “You MUST be born again!” Or, “You must be saved.”
So
let us now consider the three points we mentioned a few minutes ago, along with
many Scriptures that support each point.
I. All People Must Be Saved.
A. This
principle speaks of universal need.
All human beings are born into this world with an
inherited inclination toward sin and rebellion against God.
Romans 3:10-12 (NKJV) As it is written: "There is none righteous,
no, not one; There is none who understands; There
is none who seeks after God. They have all turned
aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who
does good, no, not one."
Romans 3:23 (NKJV) for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God,
B. This
principle speaks of serious urgency.
All MUST be saved, because the only alternative is
eternal destruction and torment.
Romans 6:23 (NKJV) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
Hebrews 10:28-31 (NKJV) Anyone who
has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three
witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose,
will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted
the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and
insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,"
says the Lord. And again, "The
LORD will judge His people." It is a fearful
thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Revelation 21:8 (NKJV) But the cowardly, unbelieving,
abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars
shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is
the second death."
Revelation 20:11-15 (NKJV) Then I saw a
great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven
fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw
the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And
another book was opened, which is the
Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the
things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the
dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in
them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then
Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the
lake of fire.
C. This
principle speaks of a divine remedy for our condition.
“Be Saved” – When we acknowledge that all must be saved, we are also acknowledging
that there is such a thing as “a way
to be saved.”
We just shared several passages of Scripture that
revealed the judgment of God against sinners who have not come to God in faith
and are not “written in the book of life.”
But, the Bible gives multiple references to the fact
that God has provided a way for people to be saved from judgment.
John 3:16
1 Peter 3:18 (NKJV) For Christ also suffered once for sins,
the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in
the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,
Ephesians 1:7 (NKJV) In Him [i.e. Christ] we have redemption
through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His
grace
II. All People May Be Saved.
A. This
principle speaks about universal invitation and opportunity for salvation.
There is a segment of the Christian church that
believes and preaches that God has decreed from eternity past who will be saved
and who will be doomed or eternally lost. They would have us believe that the Bible teaches a
doctrine of election in salvation where God chose prior to creation that some humans
would be redeemed and saved from judgment and others were chosen/selected/
condemned to be eternally lost and tormented.
This is a theological issue that cannot be easily
described in a short period of time, but… There are clear passages that indicate God desires and
provides for the entire human race to be saved.
1 John 2:2 (NKJV) And He Himself is the propitiation for
our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
1 Timothy 4:10 (NKJV) … we trust in
the living God, who is the
Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.
1 Timothy 2:3-4 (NKJV) For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who
desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV) The Lord is … longsuffering toward us, not
willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Heard on Christian radio station a week ago:
“God desires for everyone to be saved. [It is His wish
for them to be saved.] But He decreed that some would be lost.” (This statement comes from the same kind of theologians who say God’s
will cannot be thwarted or opposed.)
B. This
principle speaks of the choice to be saved.
“May” – indicates the possibility but not the
certainty. It is our God-given privilege to choose whether we will respond to
the call of God’s Spirit for salvation or not.
The only way I know that sovereign election and human
choice can be united is to say something like this: “God decreed before
creation that whosoever will believe, shall be saved.”
John 3:16 … whosoever
believeth in him shall not perish…
Romans 10:13 (NKJV) For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be
saved."
Revelation 22:17 (KJV) … whosoever
will, let him take the water of life freely.
To choose to be saved is to choose to accept the
conditions for salvation. The Bible speaks of at least three conditions for salvation…
Repentance, Confession, and Faith
(We do not have time to proceed to the third point today, so we'll begin with it next Sunday.)
Conclusion:
I assume that many of us here today have already been
saved; having asked for God’s forgiveness and repented or turned away from our
sin and trusted in Christ.
However, I am also assuming that there may be some
here today who have not been saved, or may have turned away from God after once
trusting in Christ in the past.
I want to encourage you today to seek the Lord.
You MUST be saved!
You MAY be saved!
Let’s end the service by standing together and singing Softly and
Tenderly Jesus Is Calling
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