The Method of Salvation
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Intro
Intro
Over the last few weeks we have looked at Paul’s burden for Israel to be saved, we have also looked at the heart of salvation, & today we are going to look at the method of salvation. There is a very clear method that we can follow if we want to see the lost come to Christ. If we are obedient in following this method there is no doubt we will see many people come to Jesus.
In our two key points for today we will see the Presentation of Redemption & unfortunately, the Rejection of Redemption.
Read
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
18 But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
19 But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.
20 But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.
21 But to Israel he saith, All day long have I stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.
Pray
Presentation of Redemption
Presentation of Redemption
We will start by looking at the presentation of redemption
Paul lays out a clear method for us to follow. He actually starts at the end goal of salvation and works his way backward.
The progression goes like this
Sent
Preach
Hear
Believe
Call
Saved
It is a perpetual loop that continues until the return of the Lord.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
He actually starts at the end goal and works his way backward.
The progression goes like this
Sent
Preach
Hear
Believe
Call
Saved
This is the method we must use if we are to see the world come to Christ.
The strategy is simple, anyone can do it.
We, the church, are to send people to preach the gospel to all nations, some will hear and believe and as a result they will call upon the name of the Lord for salvation.
Lets reverse engineer the method for clarity.
SENT
It stated with Jesus, God sent His Son to earth to reconcile man back to God.
9 In this was manifested the love of God towards us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
God loved us so much that He sent his only begotten Son to pay the penalty for our sin.
During Jesus’ life he trained disciples and eventually sent them out.
1 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Mark
18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
They were sent out with the purpose of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.
So God sent Jesus to the world, Jesus sends his disciples to the world, now we are tasked with being sent to the world.
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
As a result of Jesus departing from this planet, he has sent out his disciples to make more disciples so that they too can be sent out for the purpose of seeing the world come to Christ.
This sending has a dual application for us today.
Local Church & Personal responsibility
Local church
We should be doing this on a local church level.
Sending people out to preach the gospel to all nations.
2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
3 And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
The Holy Spirit called Paul and Barnabas out to be sent out
As a result the local church sends them out.
It is imperative that we continue to send people out, remember
2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
We have the truth in our body, we have men and women that have caught vision of the Lord and His Word
We must now take it to others that do not have Jesus.
We are not here to hoard the truth or settle into a comfortable life, we are here to get the good news of Jesus Christ to the uttermost.
Therefore, we send people out as a church.
But there is also another application of being sent.
Personal responsibility
There is also a personal responsibility to this.
God has called every believer to the ministry of reconciliation
2 Corinthians 5:
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are past away; behold, all things are become new.
18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 to wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
17-21
We are Christ’s ambassadors, we are His representatives to a lost and dying world.
As a new creature, we are sent on His behalf.
As a new creature in Christ we are sent
to our work place
1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
to our family
to our neighbors
to our community
to the nations
While there is definitely a corporate body application to being sent, there is also a personal responsibility for us to go to the lost.
How amazing it is the used by the Lord.
He wants to use YOU!
We are sent with a specific task. That is to preach.
PREACH
We preach a simple message.
We preach a simple message.
We preach a simple message.
the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We preach a simple message.
The gospel of Jesus Christ
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also you have received, and wherein ye stand;
2 by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
1 Corinthians 15:1-4
I know what you’re thinking, but Mason, I’m not a preacher.
To that I say, sure you are.
You may not be a Pastor, but you most certainly are a preacher.
Think of it like this. All pastors preach but not all preachers are pastors.
Preaching is nothing more than proclaiming or announcing a message.
Thus a preacher is nothing more than someone with a message.
Get on the internet and you will see people preaching for any cause they seem to get behind.
Get on the internet and you will see people preaching for any cause they seem to get behind.
Get on the internet and you will see people preaching for any cause they seem to get behind.
Politics
Music preferences
Sports teams
The list goes on and on...
Thus we are all preachers.
Obviously not all are called to pastor, but all are called to preach or proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.
G
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Why is it so important to preach the gospel though?
Why cant we just be good people?
Without a doubt we must and should reflect Christ to the world, otherwise no one will believe our message.
But being kind and Christlike are not enough.
The Bible is very clear that words are necessary
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
The gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation.
There is power in the message of Jesus Christ
Thus we preach the gospel.
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
Preaching is the means by which God chooses to save those that believe.
Therefore, we must preach
When we preach the gospel it gives people the ability to hear the good news of Jesus’ redeeming love.
HEAR
Believe it or not, most people have never heard a full presentation of the gospel.
Believe it or not, most people have never heard a full presentation of the gospel.
This is so sad.
“How many people would receive Christ if only they knew how?” - Brian Clark
How will they know if they have never heard?
We must give them the opportunity to hear
13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
14 For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews:
15 who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:
16 forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.
The Thessalonian believers heard the gospel and recieved it.
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
As we will look at in a bit, faith is produced by the hearing of the Word of God.
When people hear the gospel preached it will produce saving faith in those that receive Christ.
When people hear the gospel preached it gives them the ability to believe the message.
BELIEVE
This is laid out clearly through the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch.
This is laid out clearly through the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch.
27 And he arose and went: and behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,
28 was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.
29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
33 in his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.
34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
Acts 8:27-
Philip preached Jesus to him, he believes and receives Jesus.
CALL
This belief prompts individuals to call upon the name of the Lord.
32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: For in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, As the Lord hath said, And in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
SAVED
Once they have called upon the name of the Lord they shall be saved.
The end goal is Salvation
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
The most important decision you can make in their life
This is an eternal matter, thus it is of utmost importance
26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
1 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.
2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
5 And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.
6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread.
8 Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?
9 Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
10 Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
11 How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?
12 Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Cesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels: and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
Matthew 14:36
:36
We must see people’s souls as are our primary objective in life.
How will someone know of their need for a savior?
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
It is a beautiful thing to see God’s people walking in obedience to the mission.
What a joy it is to see people come to Christ.
What peace we have when we live our life with passion and purpose according to His will.
It truly is beautiful
And so the cycle goes again, the saved individual:
Is Sent out to the world
Personal
To Preach the gospel of Jesus Christ
Corporite
So that the lost can Hear of their need for a savior.
So that some will Believe the message.
And Call upon the name of the Lord.
For Salvation.
Those that are saved are then sent to preach etc…
You get the point
This never stops
Now that we have seen the Presentation of Redemption, we will look at the Rejection of it.
Rejection of Redemption
Rejection of Redemption
This is a God given method that is proven to work, the only problem is that not all will receive it.
Some will reject Christ
Individual Rejection
Individual Rejection
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
18 But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
While the method is flawless, unfortunately not all will receive it.
1 Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
This does not stop us from preaching Jesus, it simply lets us know that we are not going to have a 100% success rate.
In v.18 Paul is quoting “their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.”
No one is without excuse
Of a truth everyone has heard
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament sheweth his handywork.
2 Day unto day uttereth speech, And night unto night sheweth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language, Where their voice is not heard.
4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
Psalm 19:1
Creation itself declares the glory of God.
It is the universal language in which all can understand that their is a God.
Everyone can look at a sunrise and see the beauty of God
Not only is their the physical world, but God also gave us His written Word
continues
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Psalm 19:7-
Between the physical creation and written Word everyone has had the opportunity to hear and believe.
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
This is why it is so important for us to preach the gospel to the lost.
When we preach the word faith will be come.
Side Note on v.17:
This is also true in your own life.
Want to know why your faith is weak?
You are not hearing from the Lord in his Word.
You must be in the Word daily for yourself if you want to be strong in your faith.
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Israel’s Rejection
Israel’s Rejection
Paul goes on to explain how Israel rejected Jesus as their Messiah and thus opened the door to us, the Gentiles.
19 But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.
20 But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.
21 But to Israel he saith, All day long have I stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.
Israel chose to turn their backs on God, all throughout the Bible this is abundantly clear.
21 They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; They have provoked me to anger with their vanities: And I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
Their idolatry and rebellion led to God turning to the Gentiles.
11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
We are the foolish or uncomprehending nation.
Praise God for Israel’s rebellion.
As a result we have been found grace in the eyes of the Lord
28 Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.
11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
But God is not done with Israel, He has his hand stretched forth towards them.
2 And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, And all kings thy glory: And thou shalt be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the Lord shall name.
2 I have spread out mine hands all the day unto a rebellious people, Which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;
14 if by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.
He will bring them back unto himself.
More on this in
1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,
14 if by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.
In closing, let us be about the method of salvation. If we want to reach this city for Christ we must take personal responsibility in getting the gospel to the our friends, neighbors, coworkers.
Remember,
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent?
The Cambridge Paragraph Bible: of the Authorized English Version. (1873). (). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Pray