Great job, Brian, and a great song.
You know, that is our testimony as Christians, isn't it?
I mean, I know it's mine.
I am in so, just every day in great need of God's grace,
His undeserved favor.
I love that.
In 2013, Billy Graham concluded his long public ministries of 60 plus years
at his 95th birthday party.
He was unable to preach.
There was a video made instead that was distributed nationwide.
But that night, he was able to give what I think is one of the best final statements
that any Christian leader could give when he said this,
with all my heart, I want to leave you with truth.
When I read that in the Greenville News the next day,
I thought that's how I would like to conclude my ministry one day.
Well, here it is almost eight years later, and that day has come.
I am concluding 25 years as your pastor next Sunday.
As I've said three weeks ago,
that is the theme for my final messages here as your pastor.
We looked at the first week the truth about the Bible,
then the truth about the church,
and last week the truth about today's key cultural issues.
Today I want us to look at the truth about salvation,
which will also prepare us to observe the Lord's Supper together.
You know, whenever we come to a worship service like this,
and you walk in the room,
if you are a Christian,
if you're familiar with what is on this table here,
when you come in and you see these elements,
the thought ought to come to your mind,
that represents what Jesus did for me on the cross.
He died.
He paid the penalty for my sins.
To put it another way,
the Lord's Supper should cause us to think about the gospel,
the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ.
One of the clearest expressions of the gospel found in the New Testament
is 1 Corinthians chapter 15,
and I want you to turn with me this morning and look at it.
1 Corinthians 15.
That's the great chapter on the resurrection of Jesus.
Paul was dealing with a problem in the church,
false teachers,
some believing that some false teachers teaching the resurrection didn't really happen,
denying its reality.
And so Paul introduces the resurrection by talking about how it took place
in the context of explaining the gospel,
trying to set the record straight.
The resurrection is the key part of the Christian faith.
Without the resurrection, there is no Christianity.
There is no salvation.
Let's read it together.
1 Corinthians 15, beginning in verse 1.
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.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received,
that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures,
that he was buried,
and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures,
and that he appeared to Cephas,
that's Peter,
then to the twelve,
then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time,
most of whom are still alive,
though some have fallen asleep.
Then he appeared to James,
then to all the apostles,
last of all,
as to one untimely born,
he appeared also to me.
Now, Paul reminds the Corinthians of the gospel,
that he had preached to them,
that he explains in basically three statements in verses three and four.
I want you to look at them with me as we prepare the way for looking at the aspects of salvation.
First,
that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures.
The first statement of the gospel,
Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures.
Look at that first phrase,
Christ died for our sins,
points out that Jesus died in our place
to pay the penalty for our sins.
Jesus was sinless.
He lived a perfect life.
But he came into this world to go to the cross and become our substitute,
to take our sins upon himself,
to suffer the penalty,
the punishment,
the wrath of God that we deserve.
Christ died for our sins.
It says,
in accordance with the scriptures.
That means the Lord's death was a fulfillment of Old Testament prophetic scriptures.
This was always God's plan,
and he had revealed it much in advance.
One of the best statements in the Old Testament,
describing the death of Christ for our sins,
is in Isaiah 53.
I'd encourage you to read that later on.
Second statement he makes about the gospel,
that he was buried.
Now that emphasizes that Jesus really did die.
That was important in what he was trying to tell or convince the Corinthians of,
refuting those who denied the reality of the resurrection.
Jesus was buried.
He died.
He was placed in a tomb.
But three days later,
that tomb became forever known as the empty tomb,
because he arose.
Third statement,
that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures.
The gospel is good news,
because Jesus was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures.
If Jesus did not arose from the grave,
he would have just been another Jew executed by Romans.
The gospel message,
certainly the centrality of the cross,
what Jesus has done for us through his death on our behalf,
is vital.
But it would not be,
if Jesus was not who he said he was,
the Son of God.
If he had not done what he said he would do,
rise from the grave.
And Paul is just emphasizing,
this is true.
Now, if you go on and read verses 5 through 8,
that's the most detailed list in the New Testament,
of who the resurrected Lord appeared to.
All those people.
Now, let's look back at how the Corinthians responded to this gospel,
in verses 1 and 2.
That's where we're going to look at the truth about salvation.
Look at this again.
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.
Let's look first at the truth about salvation
is that it is more than a transaction.
Salvation is not a deal that you do.
Salvation does not involve checking a box
of something that you have believed.
Based on nearly 40 years of pastoral ministry,
and by the way, I started when I was 10.
But based on 40 years of pastoral ministry,
excuse me,
I think many, if not most,
church members across this country
don't fully understand the truth about salvation
or the full meaning of the gospel.
Now, I'm hoping you do.
I'm trusting that you do.
But there are many church members
in this county,
in this state,
in this country.
They don't really understand the truth
about what salvation involves.
They don't understand the real meaning of the gospel.
Now,
some Christians,
many church members,
think of the gospel simply as good news that,
quote,
Jesus died on the cross
to pay the penalty for our sins
to save us from hell.
And some would probably add
and to take us to heaven when we die.
There's a problem of thinking just only that.
That's not an incorrect statement.
But the problem of thinking of the gospel
only like that
is that it makes salvation more of that transaction.
I believe it's over and done with,
deals done,
go on your merry way.
Let me ask you a question.
There can be two questions on the board.
If you are a Christian,
which best describes the way that you,
right now,
think about,
understand salvation?
Now,
don't,
as you look at this,
don't think about the words,
have I ever said this?
Think about what is being said there.
Is that how you think?
Is that what you believe about salvation?
First,
look at this.
Does this describe you?
I believe that Jesus died on the cross
to pay the penalty for my sins.
Therefore,
I am now saved.
Everything is settled.
That's all I need to be concerned about.
I move on with life.
Or,
is this next statement
more along the line of how you think and believe?
I believe that Jesus died on the cross
to pay the penalty for my sins.
I also believe that He arose from the grave
and I am following Him right now
as my Savior and Lord.
Jesus died to save me from sin and death
and to enable me to have a relationship with Him
and God as my Heavenly Father
now and forever.
You see the difference?
That first statement
is more like that transaction.
You jump through the hoops, so to speak.
You've got a profession of faith.
In some churches, you walk down an aisle.
In some churches, you get baptized.
It's a done deal.
I go on with my life.
Or,
do you think of salvation in terms of,
yes, you put your faith and trust in Jesus,
but He is the living Lord Jesus Christ.
And you love Him and serve Him
and seek to follow Him.
And in this way,
you think of salvation more in terms,
not a transaction,
but a relationship
that begins when you trust Jesus,
but it continues throughout your life.
The second statement,
I hope,
is what you think,
how you believe.
Now, let's move on
and look at what Paul actually says
about this salvation.
Number two,
the truth about salvation
is that it involves
an ongoing relationship with Jesus Christ.
This is the fact.
This is the truth.
These verses describe salvation
as a past,
present,
and future experience.
Look at it quickly.
Salvation is a past experience.
He says,
now I would remind you,
brothers,
of the gospel I preached to you,
which you received.
Paul uses that word
in terms of
which you believed.
You embraced
the good news
that Jesus had died
for your sins.
He's talking about people
who truly did
trust Jesus
as their Lord and Savior.
He's talking about people
who initially
when a person
initially believes
the gospel.
If you have received
the gospel this way,
if you are truly
trusting Jesus,
then you can say
with confidence,
I have been saved.
The New Testament word
for that is justification.
Justification means
when you put your faith
and trust in Jesus,
God looks at you
and declares you
by virtue of your faith
in Jesus,
your union with Jesus,
God declares you
righteous
or right with Him.
It's a declaration
God makes
right then and there
because of what Jesus
has done
and you trust Him,
you are declared
right with Him.
The Bible makes this clear
in many places.
Here's a good example.
Paul wrote,
therefore,
since we have been
justified by faith,
declared right with God
by faith,
we have peace with God.
We're no more enemies.
We're no more strangers.
We have a relationship.
We have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
When you trusted Christ
for your salvation,
I want you to think,
God declared you
at that moment
not guilty
of all your sins.
When you put your faith
and trust in Jesus
for your salvation,
at that moment,
God forgave you.
He wiped the slate clean.
He gave you
a fresh start.
You think,
how could God do that
when I,
I've still done those things.
They're still on my record.
Well,
I want you to think
of it this way.
When you put your trust
in Jesus,
you became one
with Him in faith.
Paul likes to talk about,
if we're Christians,
we are in Christ.
We are united to Jesus.
We are one with Him
through faith in Him.
Now,
when that happens,
we become one
with Christ through faith.
From that point on,
when God looks at you,
He doesn't just see you,
He sees you united to Jesus.
And what that means is,
He sees you united to Jesus,
and He sees that Jesus
lived a perfect,
sinless life,
and so the Lord's righteousness
is credited to you.
When He looks at you,
you're united to Jesus,
He sees Jesus paid the penalty
for His sins.
You're forgiven.
It's all because of your union
with Jesus.
You're united to Him.
You are one with Him.
Here's a way to think about it.
Suppose you have a daughter
who marries a man
that you consider
unworthy of her.
Some of you are saying,
I do.
Some of you are saying
it's the man,
but I'm not going to use it.
I've got boys.
I've got two daughters-in-law
sitting here right now.
And I don't want to use it
to talk about man
that other way
because I don't want them
to think
that I just accept them
only because
of who they married.
See,
I've got wonderful,
loving,
sweet,
kind daughters-in-law.
And I say all that
to lay the groundwork
for them to take care of me
when I'm old.
You know?
But let's use
the way I said it.
Suppose you have a daughter
who marries a man
that you consider
unworthy of her.
Even though
he is unworthy,
you know him.
You don't like him.
You would never
have chosen him
to be your son-in-law.
But you receive him
into your family
because of your daughter.
He's married to her.
And because he's married to her,
you start looking at him,
not that unworthy guy
I don't like,
you start looking at him
as your daughter's husband.
Here's a little
parenthetical statement.
That's a smart thing to do.
Whoever your son
or daughter married,
it wasn't your choice.
You gotta live with it.
Why not make the best of it
and just embrace them
because they're married
to your son or daughter.
Love them like they are.
It'll make life
a whole lot better
in your family,
in your family gatherings.
But going back to the point,
you start looking at this guy
you consider unworthy
as your daughter's husband.
Your focus then
becomes on your daughter.
The guy is not accepted
because of who he is
or what he's done.
He's still not worthy.
He is accepted
because he is united
to your daughter.
She makes him worthy.
As Christians,
we're not worthy
to be called children of God.
But we are accepted
as God's children.
We are right with God.
Not because of who we are
or what we've done,
but because of who Jesus is
and what he's done.
And by trusting him,
we're one with him.
That makes us acceptable to God.
But this is just a part of salvation.
Here's what I want you to understand.
What we're looking at now,
this is the first part
of the salvation experience.
Number two,
salvation is a continuing experience.
Look back in the verse one.
Now I would remind you,
brothers,
of the gospel I preached to you,
which you received,
in which you stand.
Talking about where they are now.
This is a description of the way
Christians continue
to believe the gospel.
A true Christian continues.
They stand firm
in their trust of Jesus
as their Savior
and the Lord of their life.
You know,
if you've received the gospel,
you truly have trusted Jesus.
And you're standing firm
in that belief,
that commitment
to Jesus right now.
You can say,
I am in the process
of being saved.
I mean,
the process of being saved
from the power of sin
so that I can
become more like Jesus,
my Savior.
The New Testament
uses the word
sanctification
to describe
this process
as we are growing
in our salvation.
Sanctification
is a lifelong process
in which God works in us
to make us
more like Jesus.
You know,
I hope
I hope you can
illustrate that
for yourself
with at least
two verses of Scripture
that we have looked at
many, many times
over the last 25 years.
I want to look at them
one more time.
Romans 8, 29.
Here's what God's doing
in every person
He has saved.
For those
whom He foreknew,
He also predestined
to be conformed
to the image
of His Son.
In order that He might
be the firstborn
among many brothers.
Salvation
is the work of God.
God chooses us.
God regenerates us.
God puts His Spirit
within us.
God gives us
the ability
to see our sin,
repent of our sin,
trust Jesus
as our Lord and Savior.
Well, when God
begins this work,
He's going to
never give up on us,
but work in all kinds
of situations
in our lives
to shaping
and molding
our character,
making us
more and more
like Jesus.
Here's another example
and hope it is even
more near and dear
to you.
Philippians 2.
Therefore,
my beloved,
Paul's writing to a church,
as you have always
obeyed,
so now,
not only as in my presence,
but much more in my absence,
work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling,
for it is God
who works in you
both to will
and to work
for His good pleasure.
Every person
who is truly a Christian,
the Spirit of God
works in them,
and the Spirit of God
gives us the desire
to please God.
The Spirit of God
works in us
to give us the ability
to please God.
If you're a Christian,
let me say it this way,
if you are a Christian,
then you know all this.
If you're a Christian,
you know from experience
that God has been working
in your life
through His indwelling Spirit
since the day you were saved.
You know what it's like
to have this heartfelt desire
to overcome sinful habits
and to develop
Christ-like character.
If you're a Christian,
you know from experience
because God's been working
in you,
you know what it's like
to resist temptation.
None of us do it
all the time, do we?
But if you're a Christian,
the Spirit of God
living within you,
He has been working in you
and you have seen
some good results
in being able to say no
to some sinful habits,
resist temptation,
and actually overcome
some things.
And you can see
in your life now
far from perfect,
but evidences
of Christian fruit,
character of Jesus
type qualities like
love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness,
and self-control.
I've said on many occasions,
like the Chuck Swindoll book title,
in this process of growing,
sometimes we make
three steps forward
and then two steps back.
But three steps forward
and two steps back
is progress.
That's what I want us
to see here.
All of us have a long way
to go in becoming
more like Jesus.
But if we're truly Christians
and have been
for any length of time,
we should be able
to see signs
signs of progress.
Not perfection,
but signs of progress.
Salvation is a lifelong process.
It will continue
until the Lord calls us
home to heaven.
But on that day,
it will be complete.
Look at this,
one more.
Salvation is a future experience.
Now we're going to go
into verse two.
Now I would remind you,
brothers,
of the gospel I preached to you,
which you received,
which you stand,
and by which you are being saved.
This last phrase
underlined there
describes salvation
as an ongoing process.
Now since it will not
be complete
in this life,
it won't be complete
until we meet the Lord
after death
or at His coming.
It points to the future
of when our salvation
will be complete.
Now the New Testament word
that describes
our salvation being complete
after life in this world
is the word glorification.
That's the final step
in the process of salvation.
It will take place
not in this life,
but when we see Jesus,
however that happens.
When that happens,
we will be set free
from all the sinful desires
of our sinful nature.
We'll be set free
from all the temptations
of the world
and the devil himself.
You know,
there's a lot we don't know
about what's going to be like
because we don't know anybody
that has arrived
to that point yet.
You've got to be dead
in terms of this life
and this world
to experience glorification.
So we don't know anybody.
We don't know a soul
except Jesus,
what it will be like.
But John, the apostle,
he lets us know
looking at Jesus is enough.
Look at what he says
about what things
are going to be like one day.
Beloved,
we are God's children now
and what we will be
has not yet appeared,
but we know
that when he appears,
we shall be like him
because we shall see him
as he is.
This passage we're looking at
this morning
helps us see the truth
about salvation.
As we now prepare ourselves
to observe the Lord's Supper,
understand that
if you are truly a Christian,
you should think
of the salvation
that Jesus secured
through his death
and resurrection
like this.
Think like this.
My salvation began
at a moment in time
when God called me
to turn from my sin
and put my trust
in Jesus
as Savior and Lord.
Therefore,
I can say right now,
I have been saved.
But that's not enough.
That's not the whole gospel.
That's not the full truth
about salvation.
That's just the beginning.
If you're a Christian,
you should be able
to say right now,
my salvation has continued
ever since my conversion.
God has been working
within me.
Enabling me
to continue to believe,
to love him more and more,
to want to obey,
put forth the effort
to obey.
If you're a Christian,
your testimony
would be right now,
while I am,
I've got a long way to go
to truly be like Jesus.
By God's grace,
I can see progress.
Therefore,
if you're a Christian,
you can say right now,
I am actually being saved.
I'm in the process
of being saved.
And then one more.
If you're a Christian,
you should be able
to say right now,
my salvation
will be complete
when God calls me home.
I won't be,
I won't have any more problems
with temptation and sin.
Then I'll be like Jesus.
I will be fully mature
as a Christian.
And at that point,
I will be able to say,
I am saved.
But until then,
we say,
I will be saved.
Final thought.
Paul makes it clear
that saving faith
is continuing faith
in verse two.
Look at this.
And by which you're being saved,
if you hold fast
to the word I preach to you,
unless you believed in vain.
I've said this many times
and we're closing with this.
Saving faith continues.
When God begins a work,
he's going to bring it on
to completion,
Philippians 1, 6 tells us.
So I want you to understand,
look at that verse.
By which you are being saved,
if you demonstrate
that you still believe,
that you still love the Lord,
that you still are seeking
to follow the Lord.
Only God can do
that kind of work in us
to cause that to be true.
Only God gives us
the desire and ability
for that to be true.
But if you're a Christian,
that will be true.
I want us to spend
the next few minutes
examining ourselves,
thinking about what the Lord
has said to us
through this message,
and prepare to observe
the Lord's Supper.
Would you pray with me now?
Father,
please work right now
in the lives
of every person
in this room
to show them
where they stand
before you.
Father,
I pray that every
true Christian,
you will give them
assurance.
Help them to understand,
dear God,
that salvation
is your gift
through faith in Jesus.
but Lord,
help them to see
that saving faith
is continuing faith.
And I pray, dear God,
that you will
dispel the lie
if anyone believes
it this morning
that simply because
they mouthed words
of confessing Jesus
or walked an aisle
in a church
and were baptized,
and they think of that
as their salvation,
a transaction,
a done deal.
Help them to see,
that's wrong,
that's a lie of the devil,
that's deception.
Help all of us
to understand,
dear God,
that when you save,
you never leave us alone.
Help us to see,
dear God,
that even times
when we fall away,
you bring us back.
You make our lives
miserable
until we confess our sin
and come back to you.
So, dear God,
drive home the point
in everyone's life
this morning,
the truth about salvation.
There is a beginning,
but it continues.
Don't let anyone
leave here today
thinking
that a mere profession
of faith
with no evidence
of a changed life,
no desire and ability
to please you.
Don't let them think.
That's what
biblical salvation is.
Help us,
Lord,
also now
to prepare ourselves
through confession,
through commitment,
through whatever
needs to be done.
We might observe
the Lord's Supper
in a way
that would honor you,
that would be
meaningful to us.
and just,
let's all now
just an attitude of prayer.
Heads bowed,
eyes closed.
Listen to the Lord,
respond to Him,
and prepare for the Lord's Supper.
Amen.