Salvation By Reminder
Fundamentals 2021 • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
Introduction
Greetings…
2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—
(Expound)
Salvation By Grace
Salvation By Grace
What does Grace Mean?
What does Grace Mean?
It simply means “favorable gift” in its most fundamental definition.
The Greek word for grace is found 154 times in the N.T. and is translated “grace” 123 times in the ESV.
Thus, most of the time the word is dealing with “God’s gift of salvation” but can be used generically.
3 And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem.
30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
How Are We Saved By Grace?
How Are We Saved By Grace?
First let’s examine what it isn’t.
Being saved by grace doesn’t mean…Once saved always saved, i.e., one cannot fall from grace once they have been saved.
This loses its value as soon as one reads Paul’s words to those Judaizing teachers in Galatians 5:4.
4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
Being saved by grace doesn’t mean…That everyone will be saved.
Yes, God’s gift of salvation has bee given to everyone (Romans 6:23; Titus 2:11).
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,
However, not everyone will accept that gift.
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Being saved by grace doesn’t mean…That there is nothing we have to do to be saved.
Because Paul said in Ephesians 2:8 that we are saved not by “man’s doing based on his result of works” this has led some to think we have no work to do in our salvation.
However, every aspect of obedience to God is a “work” just not a manmade merit-based work, rather a God desired spiritual work.
28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
What does being saved by grace mean?
Being saved by grace means I understand my spiritual position without God’s gift of salvation.
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
Being saved by grace means I understand Jesus was the Father’s gift of salvation for me.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Being saved by grace means I understand the cost of accepting that gift.
33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
Summary
Summary
There is no way to be saved without accepting first the “free gift of God,” i.e., Jesus and the expectations that come with that gift.
Let us express the joys of “God’s grace” not only to ourselves but to all that will listen.
Understanding grace is vital to understanding “God’s Plan of Salvation.”
That plan is how we accept God’s grace.
The first step in God’s plan of salvation is…
Salvation By Study
Salvation By Study
Why Study Not Hearing?
Why Study Not Hearing?
In Romans 10:17 we Paul states…
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Obviously before all of God’s word was written down and providentially preserved for everlasting people did not have ready access to the whole New Testament.
This was the reason for miracles throughout time until the finish of this “perfect law of liberty” (Mark 16:20; 1 Corinthians 13:9-10; James 1:25).
Thus, the only way for “most people to study God’s word” was through “hearing it proclaimed.”
Today, we have the entire written down word of God and thus “hear it or study it” by examining it in written form.
That isn’t to say one doesn’t need someone there to “help them understand” as they do (Acts 8:30-31; Romans 10:14).
So, with that in mind…
How Does Salvation Come By Studying?
How Does Salvation Come By Studying?
Simply put, one cannot actually “know Jesus” without getting into God’s word.
If one cannot have “faith” without studying God’s word and Romans 10:17 teaches this, then one cannot accept God’s grace without studying who Jesus really is.
Even the Jews that had been around Jesus needed more than Peter’s first sermon words to know Jesus and obey the gospel.
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
Summary
Summary
There is no other way to come to know God’s plan of salvation for us i.e., “salvation in the name of Jesus” than “getting into the good book.”
Thanks be to God that he has delivered this “perfect law of liberty” that teaches us how to to be saved.
12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Lastly, we examined…
Salvation By Belief, Faith, & Faithfulness
Salvation By Belief, Faith, & Faithfulness
Salvation By Belief.
Salvation By Belief.
Aren’t belief and faith the same thing?
The answer is no as belief and faith are two separate words in the original though many translations try and combine them in limited situations.
To illustrate this notice the Greek word is rarely if ever translated as faith.
In the ESV, the Greek word for belief is translated as belief, believe, believers, etc., 231 times and only twice as faith.
In the KJV & NKJV it is translated as belief, etc., 240 times and never translated as faith.
In the NASB it is translated as belief, etc., 233 times and only one time as faith.
What does belief mean then?
Biblical belief is the recognition of existence concerning God the Father, Son, and Spirit.
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 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.
Belief in God does not equate to salvation.
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
Belief is the “precursor” to faith.
In other words, one cannot have faith in God without first believing that God exists.
Belief is the precursor to faith.
So what about…
Salvation By Faith.
Salvation By Faith.
Again, a brief look at how the Greek word is translated tells us this word is not the same as belief.
In the ESV it is translated as faith, etc., 241 times and never as belief.
In the KJV it is translated as faith, etc., 239 times and belief 3 times.
In the NKJV it is translated as faith, etc., 240 times and belief 2 times.
In the NASB it is translated as faith, etc., 241 times and never as belief.
What does “Faith” mean then?
As we noticed earlier faith is based on what we learn from our study of God’s word.
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
The word conviction means, “evidence that makes someone fully agree, understand, and realize the truth or validity of something; especially based on argument or discussion.
In other words, faith is not based on a leap in the dark but empirical knowledge based on the study of the perfect law of liberty.
Faith, as the byproduct of belief, is trust in God.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
When we “know” God exists and not just “wish it true” we then cannot help but put our trust in God to keep his word and save those that “obey his will.”
2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”
When one learns that God does in fact exist and then starts studying his “perfect i.e., divine word,” that one will find themselves trusting God more and more.
They will go from “realizing God exists” to trusting him to save their soul.
This faith or trust then “should” turn to obedience.
Salvation By Faithfulness.
Salvation By Faithfulness.
As we all know, faith without obedience is dead.
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
So then faith alone cannot save anyone.
Not the Christians James is writing to nor the non-Christian who needs their sins washed away.
Again, faithfulness is the natural byproduct of faith, so If one trusts in God’s word that “should” lead them to obeying God, but how does it do that?
That trust in God turns to love and love is an action not an emotion (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) therefore, that faith turned to “love” is faithfulness.
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:
6 And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.
Summary
Summary
When our faith turns to obedience, it is only then that we can actually “love God” and fulfill the requirements of taking hold of the gift of God, salvation by grace.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Next week we will study what that study, trust and love for God means for our “transformation” from living in sin to actively living for God.
That transformation begins with a heart of repentance and that is what we will look at next week.
Invitation
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.
8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.