Untitled Sermon
Notes
Transcript
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
How is it that we view this verse? I had a question posed to me this week involving this verse, and last weeks sermon on being drawn as a part of salvation. So, who is right? Which way should be look at this part of salvation?
All, Everyone, No One Left Behind is drawn to salvation - God does not force salvation on anyone. If we look at the beginning of creation, God created man and woman with free will, the ability to choose to maintain their relationship with Him. Therefore, God cannot and will not force anyone to follow Him, it is a free will relationship that must be chosen by us. That is where the restoration of our relationship with God truly lies - on our free will choosing of Him as our Savior.
Now, let me ask a question that goes in a different direction, are humans - sinful and rebellious as we are - choose to willfully follow Jesus without some type of call,draw, urge, woo, conviction, whatever word you want to use to describe the indwelling work of the Holy Spirit on mankind?
So, how many of us know where the reference from Romans 10:13 comes from?
32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.
In Joel 2, God is speaking to the nation of Israel to turn back to Him…they had sinned, left His, was ignoring his command. Just like we do today, and as we see throughout scripture just because God calls the nation to return to Him, they don’t always listen. But look closely at what this says, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved....and those are whom the Lord calls. So, in the original text which Romans eludes to God calls everyone who accepts Him and is saved. So let’s look a little closer at how we are called, drawn, urged, wooed, convicted.
External Drawing
External Drawing
24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
We are externally drawn to God through the hearing of His Word. Hearing of the Word causes some to believe on Him. So, by this definition the Word causes the person to think and meditate on God, and through conviction then commit themselves to obediently follow Jesus. So, there is the hearing and also the doing (following) of God’s Word - the doing being believing that God sent His Son Jesus Christ to be our Savior.
It is through this external drawing that man can be saved and inherit eternal life. Literally, upon believing and calling upon the name of the Lord our condition changes from a state of death into a state of life. This leads us from being condemned, to being justified. When we are truly saved, then we are not condemned to eternal death but instead are seen as righteous and given eternal life.
Effectual Drawing
Effectual Drawing
65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”
The effectual drawing is the internal drawing, the urging, calling, drawing, wooing of the Holy Spirit. In this part of John 6, we find the followers of Jesus hearing about the body and flesh being the key to eternal life. Of course, this was metaphorical speaking, but Jesus goes on to say of those who were following Him, that He knew which of them were TRUE believers, not just followers:
64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)
These were the ones John 6:44 was spoken to:
44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
These were followers who were with Jesus, were hearing His Words, were sitting under His teachings, were seeing His healings, and yet still did not believe fully in Him as their Savior. Why? They were more interested in what Jesus was doing or could do - the miracles, the healings, the feeding… They focused on the temporary entertainment and completely overlooked the eternal condition a life of sin had placed them in.
If we look at churches today, how many who attend are truly, truly concerned about what Jesus can do in their life - as their Savior? Or, are we more focused on what Jesus can do for us? Ask, and you will receive, right? Unfortunately, we have people who are more concerned with the entertainment of church, than with their eternal condition. Romans 3:23 tells us we ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
So, how do we overcome sin and receive the glory of God unless we are drawn to Him? Either externally through His Word, or internally through the Holy Spirit?
But what about those who may have never heard the gospel, those who may have never heard of Jesus Christ? Isn’t it awesome to know that even nature can draw us to God?
Nature Drawing
Nature Drawing
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Notice what the drawing is called - an invisible attribute. We cannot see God, we may not hear audible words from God, we may never be able to touch God, but we see, we hear, we touch and we know the things that God has touched.
I think this analogy works well, we feel wind, we see the effects of wind, we can even feel the things that are impacted by the wind. Even though we experience all these things, we do not deny that wind exists do we?
We can see the external power of God in the same manner we see the traits of the wind. We see God through nature and see more than the fact God is Creator. We can see a plan, we see a design, we see purpose, we see the “invisible things” that are of divine nature and we truly cannot deny their existence. We may try to explain them through science, rationalize them through thoughts and processes, but they cannot be denied. When any of us look at the attributes of God through nature we have to reason with ourselves and understand “In the beginning God created”.
All of nature points us to God, and as a result this scripture says man is without excuse. God deals with us rationally in both external, internal, and naturally to draw us to Him IF we look at it with an honest spirit. We have every evidence imaginable that points, draws, calls, urges, woos us to God. But it is up to us to either accept or reject what has been presented.
Does Belief Alone = Salvation?
Does Belief Alone = Salvation?
23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out,
24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”
11 And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”
41 And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
28 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way.
29 And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
Here we see examples of even demons who believe IN Jesus, the problem is they never believed ON Jesus as their Savior. You see, even they recognize who Jesus is, but they continue to reject Him, His power, His majesty, His offer of salvation. But simply believing IN Jesus simply isn’t enough. If you are not being drawn by God, then have you an honest spirit to rationalize what it means to be saved? You can believe IN Him, but do you believe ON Him?
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
You see, there can be someone who is just “religious”. Now, a religious person believes in the one true God, and that is a good thing, but believing IN God is not enough. A belief (like the demons) that does not lead to salvation is a dead belief. To just believe in the deity of Christ isn’t enough. Even looking back at Matthew 8:29
29 And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
Crying out alone to Jesus isn’t enough, the demons are not saved because their belief has not affected their lives or their behavior. So, to call upon the name of the Lord without repentance, without a change caused by the drawing and conviction of the Spirit does not guarantee salvation.
Conclusion
Conclusion
So, preacher are you saying you can call upon the name of the Lord and NOT be saved? Let me be clear on this, anyone who approaches the throne of God asking for true forgiveness will be saved. I believe all mankind is being drawn to God. We have seen examples in the Old Testament where God continues to plead, urge, call His people to return to Him.
12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.
This has not stopped. God still continues to plead, urge, call, draw, convict, woo, whatever word you want to use… God continues today just as He did in the Old Testament times.
But one reality still remains - those who were His “chosen” did not always believe ON Him and follow Him either. Does this mean they were saved? They may have went to temple, they may have even offered sacrifice, but if they continued in their disobedience and rejection, were they saved?
This is where we need to be clear, though. What causes someone to feel the need to call out to Jesus? What then makes them realize the need to call out? The drawing, the urging, the wooing, the calling, the conviction of the Holy Spirit. You see, from the beginning of time God gave us free will to love Him, remain in a relationship with Him, but sin forever changed the relationship WE have with HIM, but HE still desires that relationship with US and He continues to work in our lives. It is then up to us to accept or to reject Him.
Today, what is YOUR choice? Have you ever felt that urging, that calling, that drawing, that wooing, that calling…but never acted on it? Have you ever called upon the name of the Lord, but didn’t know why? Nothing changed in your life? Today is the day that the Holy Spirit is calling to you, He is drawing you to Him, wanting you to accept the free gift of salvation. Will you come?
Transition to Lord’s Supper