Transcript The Great Salvation - Medina Church of Christ

The Great Salvation
Church of Christ at Medina
July 20th, 2014
Much of this lesson taken
from a sermon by Foy L. Smith
Salvation
“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we
have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the
message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and
every transgression or disobedience received a just
retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great
salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was
attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore
witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by
gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”
- Hebrews 2:1-4, ESV
Salvation
• “Someone compared man’s mind to a leaky vessel. What
he hears and receives will slip away if he does not
exercise caution to retain it.”
• No subject is more fully treated in the Bible than the
topic of salvation.
• “Salvation belongs to the Lord…” (Psalm 3:8)
• “Before the lost can begin the journey toward the
realization of salvation, he must realize that he is lost.”
Salvation
• God provides salvation today in the person of Christ and
in the good news of the gospel.
– Acts 4:12 – “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.” (ESV)
– 2 Timothy 2:10 – “Therefore I endure everything for the sake of
the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in
Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” (ESV)
– Ephesians 1:13 – “In him you also, when you heard the word of
truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were
sealed with the promised Holy Spirit…” (ESV)
Salvation
• God provides salvation today in the person of Christ and
in the good news of the gospel.
– 1 Corinthians 15:1-2 – “Now I would remind you, brothers, of
the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you
stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the
word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.” (ESV)
– Romans 1:15-17 – “So I am eager to preach the gospel to you
also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for
it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to
the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of
God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The
righteous shall live by faith.” (ESV)
The Great Salvation
• God’s Salvation is great because of who authored it.
– Hebrews 5:8-9 – “Although he was a son, he learned obedience
through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became
the source (author) of eternal salvation to all who obey him,
being designated by God a high priest after the order of
Melchizedek.” (ESV)
– Jesus showed us the way to salvation by suffering for us and still
being obedient.
– It is only then through the author of salvation and His blood –
Jesus – that we can receive the forgiveness of sins.
– Romans 5:8-9 – “but God shows his love for us in that while we
were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have
now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved
by him from the wrath of God.” (ESV)
The Great Salvation
• God’s Salvation is great because of the magnitude of the
awful condition from which it saves.
– Romans 616-19 – “Do you not know that if you present
yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the
one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of
obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God,
that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient
from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were
committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become
slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because
of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your
members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to
more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to
righteousness leading to sanctification.” (ESV)
The Great Salvation
• God’s Salvation is great because of the position which it
places man.
– God does deliver us from the depths of sin and allows us to
partake in the “divine nature, having escaped from the
corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” (2
Peter 1:4)
– We are allowed to become part of the family of God. (1 John
1:3)
The Great Salvation
• God’s Salvation is great because of the price paid!
– 1 Peter 1:18-19 – “…knowing that you were ransomed from the
futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable
things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of
Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” (ESV)
– Hebrews 7:27 – “He has no need, like those high priests, to
offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of
the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up
himself.” (ESV)
Salvation can be neglected.
• People neglect salvation when they neglect their
opportunities to obey.
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Each invitation may be the last one…
Each time he neglects, his heart becomes harder…
They may drift away from the truth they have been taught…
They are wayside hearers who had the truth of the gospel
snatched from their heart by the devil. (Luke 8:12)
Salvation can be neglected.
• People neglect salvation when they neglect their
opportunities to worship.
– Hebrews 10:24-25 – “And let us consider how to stir up one another
to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the
habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you
see the Day drawing near.” (ESV)
– 2 Peter 2:20-22 – “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of
the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has
become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better
for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after
knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to
them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog
returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns
to wallow in the mire.”(2 Peter 2:20-22 ESV)
Salvation can be neglected.
• People neglect salvation when they neglect their
opportunities to study and know Him.
– Ecclesiastes 12:1 – “Remember also your Creator in
the days of your youth, before the evil days come and
the years draw near of which you will say, ‘I have no
pleasure in them.’”
– 2 Timothy 3:15 – “…and how from childhood you have
been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are
able to make you wise for salvation through faith in
Christ Jesus.”
We are preparing for an eternal salvation!
• Our salvation here is only a small portion of the salvation
that the Christian will enjoy.
– Hebrews 9:28 – “…so Christ, having been offered once to bear
the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin
but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (ESV)
– ‘For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal
weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the
things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the
things that are seen are transient, but the things that are
unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:17, ESV)