… SALVATION MADE PLAIN …
As taught by Rev.
Lorne Pritchard – Jubilee Bible School
All Scripture is
quoted from the King James Bible
Salvation Made Plain --
Introduction
There is no
greater a subject concerning a human being than the subject of Salvation. Of all the subjects in the Bible, the doctrine of
Salvation will eventually shine out to be that pearl
of great
price.
Fifty years
from now, for most of us, the only thing that will really matter is that we are saved
(that we know the Lord.)
Salvation has to do with knowing
the Lord, so it thrills me to think how important this subject is in light of
the time that is ahead.
The Scriptures
were written to tell us, what happened to us when we were saved. You can be saved and really not know what it is all about. By studying the
Scriptures, we can know.
Matthew, Mark,
Luke and John tell us that Christ died. Paul’s Epistles tell us why Christ died. And the doctrines that develop out of
what was involved in the death of Christ can only be found as we study the
Scriptures. We are going to follow a plan in this study. The lessons are set
out in five sections.
Section #1
We are going to
illustrate the doctrine of Salvation by using the story of the three crosses.
Section #2
We are going to
answer the question, How are we saved? Are we saved by baptism? Some say – if
you are not baptized in water, you are not saved. Others say – if you don’t
talk in tongues, you are not saved. Others say – if you don’t keep the Law, you
are not saved. All these things are added,
but the question is, How are we saved? We want to answer that question with the
help of God – using His Holy Scriptures.
Section #3
We shall
contrast the Before and After
aspect of Salvation.
The Bible says:
Now that you are saved,
you have been quickened.
Before you were saved, in the sight of God, you
were dead. Some people are dead and don’t even know
it. After you are saved, you are made alive. We will contrast this, using the
Scriptures.
Section #4
I think a very
important contrast is the difference between Salvation and Service. If only we
could see this clearly! We will contrast the difference
between Salvation and Service,
and I trust you will get this straight.
You don’t serve the Lord in
order to get saved –
You serve the Lord because you are saved.
A lot of people
don’t know that. They want to end where God says you begin. What do I mean by that? – They hope that by their good works they will eventually be saved. God wants
you to know that you are
saved. And because you know that you are saved, you start to live for him.
Section #5
We will
contrast the two paths that are set before the Christian. What do I mean? In
Paul’s letter to the Corinthians he says: I could
not speak unto you as unto spiritual but as unto carnal.
There are two kinds of Christians – Carnal, and Spiritual. Once
you see that fact, it not only opens up a lot of
Scripture – but it also answers a lot of questions that you face regarding the
way that some people live.
Section #1
Doctrine of Salvation
We are going to
illustrate the doctrine of Salvation – using the story of the three crosses.
Salvation Made Plain – LESSON 1
1. Jesus, the Lost Thief and the Saved Thief-
The Story of the Three Crosses.
Luke 23: 33-35
(33) And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, (This
is the only place where Calvary
is mentioned in the Bible. Calvary is a real
place.)
There they crucified
him and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.
(34) Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them;
for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment and cast lots.
(35) And the people stood beholding. (Actually
the word used for “beholding” is a much stronger word. It
means staring.)
And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let
him save himself, if he be
Christ, the chosen of God.
I want to show you something here.
John 1: 40-41
(40) One of the two which heard John speak, and followed
him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
(41) He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto
him, We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted the Christ.
Messiah and Christ are one and the same
word:
Y Messiah
is the Old Testament word, and
Y Christ
is the New Testament word.
There is no
better way to join the New Testament with the Old Testament than by, every once-in-a-while, inserting the word Messiah
where you see the word Christ. That will help you to understand that
they are one and the same word.
Let’s go back
to our Scripture reading in Luke. The Old Testament people had been promised
the Messiah. We read in verse 35 where the people stood staring at Jesus. Now we continue in that verse:
Luke 23: 35
(35) And the rulers also
with them derided him,
saying, he saved others let him save himself if he be
Christ the chosen of God.
These were Old
Testament people who knew the writings
of the Old Testament very well – so they are saying:
Y If
this is the Christ
Y If
this is the Messiah
Y If
this is the chosen of God, then let him save
himself.
They knew from the Old Testament that when Messiah would come:
Y He would
be the chosen of God
Y He would
be the Savior.
So now they are
saying, if this is the
Messiah, if he is
who he claims to be – let him come down from the cross.
Luke 23: 36-38
(36) And the soldiers also
mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar,
(37) and saying, If thou be
the king of the Jews save thyself.
The soldiers also knew from the Old Testament that the King of
Israel would come, and that the King would be the Son
of David. And if He is the Son of David, then He has to
be Messiah. All of that
is connected with the Old Testament.
(38) And a superscription also was written over him in
letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
Now we get to
the important part
of our lesson:
Luke 23: 39-45
(39) And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him,
saying, If thou be
Christ, save thyself and us.
(40) But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not
thou fear God, seeing
thou art in the same condemnation?
(41) And we indeed justly; for we
receive the due reward of our deeds:
but this man hath
done nothing amiss.
(42) And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when
thou comest into thy kingdom.
(43) And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today
shalt thou be with me in paradise.
(44) And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all
the earth until the ninth hour.
(45) And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple
was rent in the midst.
Do you believe
with me that this thief got saved? We are going to illustrate the way of
Salvation. I don’t know of a more beautiful story than this one – that can tell us more clearly what happens when
a man gets saved. All the steps are right
here.
Chart
(Adam’s
sin was imputed to the whole human race)
|
Lost Sinner |
Jesus |
Saved Sinner |
|
Thief Vð ð ð ð This thief’s
sin imputed to Christ This man rejected Christ In
Life: Sin in him In
Death: Sin in
and on him John 8: 24 He
dies in sin |
Savior W All human sin
was imputed to Christ In
Life: No sin In Him 2 Corin. 1 Peter 2: 22 Psalms 1: 1 In
Death: Sin on Jesus Isaiah 53: 6 1 Peter 2: 24 Jesus
dies for sin |
Thief ï ï ï ïV This thief’s
sin imputed to Christ This man received Christ In
Life: Sin in him In
Death: No sin on him 2 Corin. He
dies unto sin |
Looking at the
chart – there is no argument that the two fellows on the left and right were
dying as thieves – so everybody
can see
that they were sinners. And between these two sinners is the Savior.
Now we are
going to add Scripture for these three crosses. We will
start with the center cross.
W
The first
Scripture is the story of the Samaritan woman.
John 4: 40-42
(40) So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they
besought him that he would tarry with
them: and he abode there two days.
(41) And many more believed because
of his own word:
(42) and said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because
of thy saying:
for we have heard him ourselves, and know that
this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the
world.
I want you to
get that word “the.” Jesus Christ is not “a”
Savior, Jesus Christ is “the” Savior. There isn’t anybody else! Here is
another Scripture regarding this very same thing:
John 14: 6
(6) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, I
am the truth, I am the life –
no man cometh unto the Father but by me.
Isn’t that positive!
Now I want you
to think in terms of the fact that you have:
a sinner over
hereÃ Ä and a sinner over here
V W V
And in-between
these two sinners, you have, according to the Scripture, the only One
Who can qualify to be called the
Savior. Now we are
going to talk about all three of these men and their LIFE.
V
This man is a thief. Would you agree
with me that the thief had sin in him? Why was he
a thief? – He was not a sinner because
he stole, – he stole because he was a sinner.
Do you get the difference? The sin that was in
him, came out, by what he did. Man is basically not a sinner because of what he does. Man is a sinner because of what he is. This man’s thieving proved
that he was a sinner. In his life he has sin in him – and because it is in
him, it comes out
of him.
Regarding
raising children, I have often said that one of the hardest things I have had to do, has been to spank my
children for the same things in them
that I recognized were in me. How do children act? – just like their
fathers!
V
Now the fellow
on the other side also had sin in him. They both had sin in
them – equally, in their life.
W
But on the center cross there is Somebody Who had no sin in Him. Until we see that, we will never see the Gospel. Until we see the distinction between Jesus and everybody else, we will never get
it!
Let’s go to the
Scriptures and read some facts regarding Jesus. There is no Gospel apart from Jesus Christ. And there is no Salvation apart from Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 5: 21
(21) For he hath made him to be sin for us,
who knew no sin.
Four little
words “who knew no sin.” Do you believe
that statement regarding Jesus Christ? Did Jesus ever get angry? – Yes he did!
One day he went into the temple and drove out the money changers. Isn’t that
great! – you can be angry and not sin! And if you
don’t get angry at sin – then there is something wrong with you. When I read about abortion I get angry – and it is the right
thing to do. It is not sinning!
Jesus got angry but he knew no sin. That makes him different than both of these other fellows on the crosses.
While it
crosses my mind – Is it a sin to get old? – No. There is no sin in getting old.
If you live long enough you can be sure that you are going to get old. But I
think the problem lies in giving
in to old age – giving up. When Brother Barber preached at a
conference I attended – he said “I prayed that the Lord will keep me alive until I die.” Isn’t that good!
Let’s go to the
next fact regarding Jesus.
1 John 3: 5
(5) And ye know that he was manifested to take away our
sins: and in him is no sin.
V He Who knew no sin
V In Him was no sin
And now,
speaking in the context of Christ – the first four words of:
1 Peter 2: 22
(22) who did no sin
V He knew no sin
V In
Him was no sin
V He did
no sin
These are
tremendous statements regarding the Savior. If you read the New Testament it says that Christ is in all the Scriptures.
What do we find in the Old
Testament? – We find Christ in:
V type
V shadow
V picture
V promise
V prophecy
I was delighted
when a Jew by the name of Gretzinger taught me to find Christ in the first
Psalm. He went to a Rabbi one day and asked him to translate the first two
verses of the first Psalm. I don’t often argue with the King James Bible, but I
think the evidence of this is everywhere.
Let’s read it.
Psalm 1: 1-2
(1) Blessed is the man that walketh not in the
counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the
way of sinners, nor sitteth in the
seat of the scornful
(2) but his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his
law doth he meditate day and night.
Will you be
honest with me? – Have you ever met a Christian of whom you can say verse two honestly belongs? Most Christians you have met have their detours don’t they. But do you think verse two would really
fit Jesus?
This Rabbi
translated it exactly as you have it here. Brother Gretzinger said “translate
it again.” The Rabbi translated it again, exactly
the same as before. Brother Gretzinger then said “In the Hebrew, is it not this way?”
Blessed is the man who never walked
in the counsel of the ungodly. Blessed is the man who never stood
in the way of sinners. Blessed is the man who never sat in
the seat of the scornful. He delighted in the law of the Lord and in his law he
meditated day and night.
In light of the
New Testament, would that not fit Jesus?
V He did
no sin.
V There was no sin in him.
V And he never violated any of these rules.
The evidence is in Psalm 1. Although it may have an application to those who are Christians – the interpretation is talking about Christ.
Christ is in all the Scriptures!
Brother
Gretzinger asked the Rabbi if he knew anyone
who was like that, and he was able to witness
of his faith in Christ. He said: “I know a man who did exactly that:
V He never
walked in the counsel of the ungodly.
V He never
stood in the way of sinners.
V And he never
sat in the seat of the scornful.
Do you know
what the New Testament is so plain about? – that Jesus
Christ is different than every other person. What is the first doctrine you are called upon to believe when you read
the New Testament? – the virgin birth
of Christ. After the genealogy you come to:
Matthew 1: 18
(18) Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: when as
his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph before they came together she was found
with child of the Holy Spirit. (You come face-to-face with the doctrine of
the virgin birth).
I remember one
young fellow who was going to University. One day he asked me if it was necessary to believe in the virgin birth in order to become a
Christian. I said this: “You may not know anything about the virgin birth before you believe in Christ, and before you become a Christian – but once you are a Christian you will believe in the virgin birth.” So I say to you – If you don’t believe
in the virgin birth, I suggest that you get saved!
Why is the
virgin birth so important? – It pin-points the fact that Jesus stands out separately
from all other human beings. Here is Somebody who has come on the pages of
history and He is different than anybody else – He didn’t sin!
Illustration
The problem
with my preaching is that I tell too many stories.
My wife was always getting after me for preaching too long. She said: “Lorne,
if you wouldn’t take so much time with those stories
– you wouldn’t be so long-winded
when you preach!”
One night we
went to hear a preacher preach. In the car on the way home she said: “Wasn’t
that interesting!” I said “Yes – What did you notice about it?” She said “Oh,
his illustrations – that’s
what made it so interesting.”
I didn’t have
to say any more. And she doesn’t talk about it any more – because it really is the illustration that gets the point across. Have you ever noticed
that you may forget the doctrine that was presented, but you don’t forget
the illustration?
Illustration
These boys had
joined a Liar’s Club – and they were seeing who could tell the biggest lie. One
boy said: “I will give my dog as a gift to the one who can tell the biggest lie.”
While they were
talking, a preacher came along. The preacher asked the boys what they were
doing. They answered “We have just joined the Liar’s Club, and we are looking
for someone who can tell the biggest lie.
Preacher, how about you? – Tell us a lie.” The preacher responded “Oh boys, I never tell lies.”
The little boy said “You win –
take the dog.” I think that got through to you!
Illustration
One time I
heard a fellow testify – and I would not trust him! He got up and said that he
hadn’t sinned in word, thought, or deed for twenty years. I thought afterwards,
“If he hadn’t sinned before, he sure sinned there in what he said.” The Bible says that all of us have sin in
us. And because we have sin in us, it comes out of us.
Illustration
I was pastoring
in Moose Jaw from 1956 to 1958. The old church was downtown on High Street, (right
off Main Street.) At the bottom of Main Street was the CPR train station, and
at the rear of the train station was the red-light district.
Back in the
30’s and 40’s and 50’s we used to talk about Bums
and Hobos. Did you ever hear those words? I have
forgotten who is the Bum and who is the Hobo – but they used to come off the railroad track. I
think the church was an old Theater building. It had a big balcony – and
underneath this balcony was my office. There was a long stairway that went up into my office, and down
to the door that opened onto High Street.
On this
particular night I had taken a very heavy
portable tape recorder down the long flight of stairs and set it by the door.
The phone rang, so I ran upstairs to answer it, leaving the recorder at the
door.
I was talking
on the phone with my back to the door, and before long, there was somebody
breathing down my neck. When I turned around, the fellow said “Don’t you ever
do that again!” I said “What have I done?” He said “I came into this church to get
help, and the first thing I saw was that tape recorder. I got out of jail three
days ago, and you don’t know the fight
I had with myself not to walk out of here with that tape
recorder – so don’t ever do that again!”
He wanted to
talk, so we went to a restaurant and had coffee. This man insisted on paying for the coffee. It was the first time in my life that a Bum or Hobo paid for my
coffee.
We had our
coffee, and after a long conversation, I found out that he was a Roman
Catholic, but he never went to church. I hope you understand that I am not
taking pot-shots at any religion – I am only telling you this as an illustration. It was obvious that he had a lot of liquor in him.
He knew what he was doing, but he was drunk.
I laughingly said to him “Why didn’t you go to your
priest? Why did you come to a Protestant minister?” Now, this is not true of all priests, but he said “I didn’t go to my priest for help because he drinks
just like I do.”
I hope you get
the point. I’m not condemning all priests – but I’m saying this: If you are
going to get help regarding your
need, you can only get help from somebody who lives above you. Aren’t you glad Jesus
did not sin! Aren’t you glad there was no
sin in Him! – because it is only the One who is above you who can help you.
Illustration
I lived in
Eston, Saskatchewan for many years. Because it is an old sea bottom, it has the
worst mud
in all the world. There is just nothing like it! We lived there before they had
paved streets, and we hated to see the spring months of March and April roll
around.
My boy Jamie
was perhaps five years old, and his playmate was Bob Wilson’s son, Darryl. I
can still see little Darryl coming to our door. He had been running and he was all
out of breath. He said “Uncle, uncle, Jamie is stuck in the mud.”
I grabbed a
shovel and a ten-foot toboggan and put them into my Station Wagon. My daughter,
who was eight years older than her brother, came along with me. She was all
tensed up and angry that her brother broke
the important rule – in Eston you don’t go into the ditches in March and
April – you stay up on the sidewalk!
When we got to
where Jamie was, my daughter ran into the mud to get her brother out, and she got stuck. So now there were two of them stuck in the mud -- right up to the top of
their rubber boots. I used the shovel to lift the rubber boots out of the mud –
but the boots tore apart. The foot-part stayed
bogged down in the mud and the top-part tore
right off the boot-part. That’s how scummy this
stuff is. It really pulls in!
I learned something that day – You don’t take
somebody out of the
mud by getting into the mud
yourself. You have to be on top!
I was a farmer
up until 1938 and I knew enough that when a tractor got stuck, you didn’t run another tractor into
the mud hole to pull the other one out.
I think that is
enough illustrations. Jesus is above us. Jesus knew no sin, and in Him
was no sin – therefore He was able to do something about sin. So I thank God that I can talk about a Savior
Who stands out above me.
Peter thought
he had a wonderful idea on the Mount of Transfiguration. When Jesus was
transfigured, and Moses and Elijah appeared, Peter said “We will make three
tabernacles – one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for Jesus.”
But suddenly
Moses and Elijah disappeared and they saw only Jesus. Why? – Because there is only One who can save us – and His name is Jesus. You will never get Salvation straight, until you get
that straight. I am glad that Jesus is not as we are!
Back to our
chart. We looked at these men in LIFE. Now we look at these three men in DEATH.
V In death this man dies in sin – a lost sinner – a lost thief.
V This man dies unto sin – a saved
thief.
W This Man in the center dies for sin because He is the Savior.
The Gospel is
positively stated in
1 Corinthians 15: 1-2
(1) Moreover, brethren, I declare unto
you the gospel which I preached unto you
(2) by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto
you, unless ye have believed in vain.
The Gospel
is not something you argue about. The Gospel is not something you dialogue about. The Gospel is something you preach. It is a declaration.
What is the
Gospel?
1 Corinthians 15: 3
(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.
On the chart
you see the word “imputed.” Let’s talk about the word “imputation.” Over the years, words have a way of being eroded
and having their meaning changed. If we are going to have an intelligent
discussion together, we need to have agreement as to the meaning of words. So what do we mean by this word imputation?
The word means,
in its simplest definition, “to
charge to another.” If you owed $10.00 to a store and I
said “impute that to me” – the store manager would put your $10.00 debt on my
account. That is what “impute” is – to charge your account to somebody
else. Now we will illustrate this from
Scripture.
I make the
statement here “Jesus died for
the world.” Do you believe that? One of Calvin’s doctrines is that Christ only
died for the elect – limited atonement. I don’t agree with that, and I think I have positive Scripture to back that up.
John 3:16
(16) For God so loved the world that he
gave his only begotten Son.
Back to the
chart. If John
V V
These are representative men. God couldn’t put the name of every saved man in the Bible, and tell us their individual
story – so He has chosen to give us representatives. All through history there have been representatives
of men without faith, and representatives of men with faith.
Here are two
men who are basically in the same circumstance – and they represent the world of sinners. They represent what it means to be lost, and what it means to be saved.
Both
of them were near the Savior – and both had sinned the same way. I like to emphasize
that. Someone can’t come along and say that one fellow was better than the other one. We are told in Scripture that
they were both thieves – and both were also murderers. Here are two men who had lived the same way
and they are now dying the same way. And at the time of their death they are in the presence of Christ – so both had equal opportunity.
Maybe you have
had a problem wondering about the lost heathen. How much light does a man have,
or need to have? – and so forth. I hope this next
verse in John will be helpful to you.
John 1: 8-9
(8) He (John the Baptist) was not that
Light, but was sent to bear witness of that
Light.
(9) That was the true Light,
which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
Somebody says:
“Well, they all haven’t heard the gospel.” This is not
what I said! The Light of Christ will cross the path of every man. Don’t ask me how. Don’t ask me when. I can’t
answer that. But I believe God’s Word – and that verse states that every
man is going to be without excuse.
Now going back
to the two thieves – Did the one thief who was lost have opportunity? – Yes – the true Light, which lighteth every man. Jesus died for both men. Their sin was imputed
(charged) to Jesus.
|
Recap: Doctrine
Of Salvation |
|
Man is a
sinner, not because of what he does,
but because of what he is
(a sinner). |
|
The two
thieves are representatives of what it means to be lost, and what it means to be saved. |
|
Both thieves lived the same
way and are dying the same
way. Both had equal opportunity to be saved. The lost thief died in
sin. The saved thief died unto sin. And Jesus died for sin. |
|
Jesus is the Savior. |
|
Jesus is different than anybody else. He is above us because He knew
no sin, in Him was no sin, and He did no sin. |
|
Because Jesus
was sinless, He was able to do something about
sin. |
|
Jesus died
for the whole world
– for everyone. |