Salvation Made Plain –
LESSON 5
The Word “Saved”
1. The Word “Saved” Is a Bible Word
Some people
don’t understand it, because they don’t read the Bible.
The word “saved” is not a denominational word – it is a word that needs to be kept alive in all of our churches. When the word “saved” is no longer being used in our churches, we
have backslidden from something – because the word “saved” is a Bible word. When churches cease using this word, they soon cease
being evangelical and evangelistic. I
am going to use some illustrations that I hope will get the point across.
Illustration
I think of some
years ago when my brother-in-law, Ronnie, went to the hospital to visit someone
who was dying. In his approach to the man, Ronnie said: “Mister,
are you ready to die?” – And, of course, the man said he was.
We went from
the hospital, to visit a dear soul. Her name was Sister Carter. She had been
with the Methodist church all her days – and when the United church became the
She was now an old
lady, and because she knew this man in the hospital, Ronnie told her about our
visit. He told her about asking the man if he was ready to die, and you should
have heard that dear old soul come to life! She looked at Ronnie and said:
“Don’t you ever do that
again!” “Do what?” “Ask a dying person if they are ready to die.
And don’t ask them if they are a Christian – because
there are people who live in
“Whenever you meet an individual who is facing life and death,
ask them if they are saved. They can hedge if they
are being asked if they are a Christian, and they can hedge if you
ask them if they are ready to die – because somebody can think they have been
good enough to be ready to die. But when you ask that pointed question –“Are
you saved?” – that is a
word they can’t hedge about.”
Illustration
When I was
pastoring in Moose Jaw, we lived next door to the church. I was on my way to a
Bible study, and just before I stepped out of the front door, I heard a knock at the back
door. Two men were standing there. I usually invite them in, but I didn’t have
time because I had to go and keep this appointment.
They turned out
to be Jehovah Witnesses. I said “I can’t invite you in because I have an
appointment, but before I leave you, I want to ask you a question “Are you men saved?” You should have
seen their expression. They moved from one foot to the other, and the one
spokesman said “You can’t know that you are saved until you get to the
other side.”
On that
occasion I had one of those “Holy spouts” (that I can’t explain) – where the
blessing of the Lord came down upon my soul. And standing there at the door,
the Holy Spirit brought 1 Corinthians
1 Corinthians 1: 18
(18) For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish
foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of
God.
I think that
was a good verse to use. Here is a verse of Scripture that says it is possible
to know that you are saved.
I thank God that when the thief died he was saved. And if I die tonight, will you tell everyone that
the sinner Lorne Pritchard died saved – it
was well with
his soul!
Illustration
We had a phone
call from a lady named Lottie. I had known her when she was about fifteen years
of age, and I hadn’t crossed her path until after she was married and had a
little family. She married a man who I think was scarcely saved (if I can use that expression). He didn’t have much of a
testimony. Lottie phoned and said: “The Mormons are coming to our home and Art,
my husband, is getting interested in them. They have an appointment to be at
our home, and Lorne, I want you to be there.”
So I went and arrived
there ten minutes late. I found out you shouldn’t do that when the Mormons
come, because when I went in, they had their flannel board set up and the
following statements were on it:
1. Christ had a
church.
2. That
church had apostles and prophets.
3. Those
apostles and prophets died.
4. What
church has apostles and prophets today? –
the Catholic church? – no,
the Presbyterian church? – no,
the Baptist church? – no.
5. What
church has apostles and prophets today? – the Mormon church.
Therefore
what church is the right church?
With that – I
put up my hand and I said “May I ask a question? My question is regarding the first statement. The first statement isn’t true. Christ had a church – that
isn’t right. Christ HAS a church.”
You see –
everything after the first statement was built on a false premise. They asked me to be silent – “Please don’t
ask any more questions until we are finished” – so I obeyed. About
I hope I get
that across to you. That question hits people right
between the eyes! I made that spokesman terribly uncomfortable. He went from one foot to the other and he couldn’t answer
the question.
Then Lottie,
who hadn’t gone to church for a while, and had sort of grown cold toward the Lord – suddenly came to life, and I didn’t have to say one more
word. She looked at the Mormon preacher
and she said:
“Do you mean to tell me, you are in my house preaching to my
family, and you’re not even saved yet? I’ve got
more than you’ve got – please take
the door!
And the Mormons
left, and they never came back again. That was the end of that – because when they faced this question of “saved,” they couldn’t answer it.
Illustration
I don’t want to waste your time with illustrations, but I
hope I get through. There was a
dear little girl, who is now a mature lady. She is a school teacher. I will
always call her Margie for as long as she lives. We were pastoring in
Behind Margie’s folks, lived Mrs. Wong. She was a white woman
who had married a Chinese man, and they operated the best café in town. Mrs. Wong was hanging out her
wash on the clothesline, and little Margie went up to her and said “Mrs. Wong, are you saved?” Margie was only six
years old!!!
It was only a matter of days until the phone rang, and we were invited over to Mrs.Wong’s
home. My wife and I went in, and here
was this young woman in her early twenties. She lit one cigarette and took a
couple of drags on it, put it out, walked around, and took another one. I think
she lit the whole pack while we were there.
The first thing she said to us is “I’ll never cry for anybody. I
cried myself to sleep so many times, I can’t cry any more. I’m the most unhappy woman in
I took the Bible and gave her a verse. I would open the Bible
to the verse, and hand it to her and tell her to read it. I gave her verse after verse and none of them worked. Somewhere around midnight I gave her a verse
that worked.
John 1:12
(12) But as many as received him, to them gave he
power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Remember that only a few hours ago she said she would never cry for anybody. She
read the verse, and somehow the Spirit of God shone upon the page, and the Light struck her heart, and she said “Isn’t it
wonderful – I think I’m going to cry.” She was saved! She put her head on
the arm of the couch, and she wept tears of joy.
Praise God for the knowledge of sins forgiven. Praise God
for the reality of Salvation. Never
get away from this word “saved.” I’m saved
and I know it. Praise God for Salvation, and Praise God, when it happens you know it!
2. The Word “Saved” Is Connected With ---
The Work of Jesus Christ.
Let’s look at
some Scriptures that are going to reveal a tremendous fact.
Matthew 1: 21
(21) And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name
Jesus: for he shall save his people from their
sins.
He shall save His people means His own relations. Do you know what the Old Testament is? – It
is the family tree of the Lord Jesus – His relatives.
✡ It
goes back and tells you about David.
✡ It tells you about Jacob.
✡ It tells you about Isaac.
✡ It tells you about Abraham.
They are Jesus’ family tree. Don’t forget that
fact! And may I tell you this – they are a bad bunch.
You better not look up your family tree either – because if you had your family tree put in front of you – you may find some
criminals and a few other things down the line.
Isn’t it
wonderful? – Jesus came to save his own relations
from their sins. He didn’t come to save good
people – he came to save bad people. That’s how come I got
saved. Isn’t it wonderful that all of you bad
people got saved!
The song
goes: Sinners
Jesus will receive
These stories
are written for our admonition and for our learning. Each
of these texts that I have chosen, has to do with the Person of our Lord Jesus.
And being saved is connected with the Work of Christ.
Luke 19: 10
(10) For the Son of man is come to seek and to
save that which was lost.
I want to show
you something which is very significant.
Matthew 18: 2, 10, 11
(2) And Jesus called a little child unto him
Don’t miss the context
(10) Take heed that ye despise not one of
these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do
always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
(11) For the Son of man is
come to SAVE that which
was lost.
Did you notice
anything different between Matthew
Luke 19:10?
Luke 19:10
(10) for the Son of man is come to SEEK AND TO
SAVE that which
was lost.
The word “seek” is not in Matthew. When Jesus was dealing with Zacchaeus
the man – he had to be sought and saved, but you don’t have to seek children – isn’t that blessed!
Have you worked
with children? Children are ready to get saved. And if it were not for parents
who discourage them – there is no problem in leading
children to Christ. They need to be saved, but they don’t
have to be sought. It is people our age that have to be sought out and
saved. But thank the Lord, He came to save children. And thank the Lord he came to save adults. The Son of man has come to seek and
to save.
Hebrews 2:10
(10) For it became him, for whom are all
things, and by whom are all
things, in bringing many sons unto
glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
Who is the Captain of Salvation? Who is
the One who produces Salvation? – None other than the Lord Jesus Christ. He is
the Captain of our Salvation.
Hebrews 5:9 Speaking
of Jesus
(9) And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
Turning now to
Acts:
In a book by
Bishop Ryle, I found something on this verse that I want to share with you.
Acts
(12) Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under
heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
When it comes to the Doctrine of Salvation –
Jesus Christ is the only One who
can save.
Bishop Ryle has
written the following regarding Acts 4:12:
Peter means that no one can be saved from sin (its
guilt, its power, and its consequences) except by Jesus
Christ. He means that no one can have peace with God, except through
the atonement of Jesus Christ.
… In Christ alone, God’s
rich provision of Salvation for sinners is treasured up.
… Christ’s blood alone can
cleanse us.
… Christ’s righteousness
alone can clothe us.
… Christ’s merit alone can give
Jews and Gentiles (learned and unlearned)
A title to Heaven.
Kings and poor men,
all alike, must either be saved by Jesus Christ, or be lost forever.
There is no other person who is
commissioned, sealed, and appointed by the Father to be the Savior of
sinners.
In Noah’s day there
was only one place of
safety – the ark. Today, there is only one hiding
place, and that place is the Ark – Jesus Christ. When the Egyptians
and Israelites needed food, they had to go to Joseph. It was a
waste of time to go to anyone else. Today
there is only One to whom
our hungry souls must go if we would not perish. We must go to Christ.
There was only one
word that could save the Ephraimites (Judges 12:6). When they came to the river
they had to say Shibboleth. If they couldn’t say Shibboleth they couldn’t cross
the river. And so it is today – there
is only One name
that will avail when we come to the gates of Heaven. The name
we are going to breathe is the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
You heard people
talking about Peter being at
the gate of Heaven, and letting people in. It is not going to
be Peter. Man is not
going to let us in. The way into Heaven
is not by man – the way into Heaven
is by Jesus Christ alone.
There is no other name under Heaven given among men
whereby we must be saved.
We are to venture
the whole Salvation of our souls on Christ – and Christ only.
We are not to rest:
➙ partly on
Christ and
➙ partly on doing
good, and
➙
partly on going
to church.
In the matter of our justification – Christ is all in all.
Heaven is before us, and Christ is the only Door in.
Hell is beneath us,
and Christ alone is able
to deliver us from it. The devil is behind us and Christ only is our Refuge
from his wrath and accusations. The law is against us and Christ alone
–is the only One to redeem us. Sin weighs us down, but the Lord Jesus Christ
alone is able to take it away from us.
This text proves
that everything else is useless. The text
proves the folly of any religion where Christ has not the first place. This
text proves the great error committed to those who add anything
to Christ, as being necessary for Salvation. To
look for Salvation from any other than Christ, is to be
looking in the wrong direction. Christ
and Christ alone can save
our souls.
Religion may say
“do the best you can” – but Christianity says “man, the best you can
do is cling to Christ.”
Neither is there Salvation in any other, for there is no other
name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved
.
Jesus didn’t say “I am A way” – Jesus said “I am THE way.”
I repeat – there is no other way of Salvation. What does it mean to be
“saved”? – it means you come in contact with the only One who can save you.
Well, Glory to
God – I’m glad I’m on the right track, and I have no desire to turn back –
because I know Salvation is all in a Person. And
that Person is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jonah 2:9
(9) But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving;
I will pay that that I
have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.
You may not
understand the language, but get this – whatever it means to be saved, is connected with what Jesus Christ has done.
Now the next
may hurt you a bit!
3. Only Sinners Can Be Saved
Are you
saved? That is a wonderful confession. The
only people who are going to be in Heaven are sinners, saved by Grace. Only sinners can
be saved!
1 Timothy 1:15
(15) This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, (What?) – that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
I believe that Scripture with all of my heart. The greatest event of all history took place 2000 years ago, when Christ
Jesus came into this world. There hasn’t been anything like it since – and
there won’t be anything like it again until He Comes
again. What did He come for? – He came into the world to save sinners. And Paul says “of whom I (Paul) am chief.” He came to save sinners. Don’t miss the point of His Coming!
Matthew 9:13
(13) But go ye and learn what that meaneth. I will have mercy and not sacrifice; for I am
not come to call the righteous, but sinners to
repentance.
I wish we would
all believe this. Jesus didn’t come to save good people, He came to save bad people.
Matthew 11:19
(19) The Son of man came eating and drinking and they say, Behold a
man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of
publicans and sinners.
That is a
wonderful statement! If you recognize that you are a sinner,
and that you need Salvation as the thief did
– then I don’t know of any better news than that! Jesus is a friend of sinners! Thank God Jesus was not the
friend of good people – he was the friend of sinners. And he is still the friend of sinners.
We sing “What a friend we have in Jesus” – but we forget that He didn’t become our
friend when we got saved. We were His enemies! He was our friend before we got saved. And now we
can sing with a new reality: “What a friend we have
in Jesus”
Illustration
Some 45 years ago I was preaching, and I was staying with a
bachelor. I went into his bedroom and
here was a sign that read:
A Friend is one who knows
the worst of you, and the best of you –but he loves you just the same.
I’ve quoted that for 45 years. When I read about Jesus being my friend –
I’m glad I know that He knows the worst of me. If there is any best, I don’t know
where it is. He knows all about me – and it doesn’t change His heart toward me
one little bit – because Jesus is the sinner’s friend!
Romans 3:23
(23) For all have sinned, and come short of the Glory of God;
If all have
sinned, then it certainly makes sense to say that only sinners can be saved.
I like to instruct Sunday School teachers to always be
careful as to what you would say to your classes – especially if you have a
class of little boys. The Sunday School teacher will look at these little
rascals (if I may use that phrase), and in order to get their attention, and in
order to have some order of discipline, they say: “you’ve got to be good, because Jesus only loves good little boys
and girls.
There is nothing farther from the truth. If Jesus is only going to love good boys – He is
not going to be able to love any
boys, because there isn’t any other kind of boys but bad boys.
So speak the truth! Tell
them that Jesus loves sinners whether they
are boys or men, or girls or women!
4. Because You Are a Sinner -----
You Can Only Be Saved By Grace
A sinner cannot
do anything that is acceptable to God. That is why Salvation has to be by Grace.
Ephesians 2: 8
(8) For by grace are ye
saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is
the gift of God:
Somebody asks
“what is the Gift – Grace or Faith?” The answer is that they are both a Gift from God. Grace is
a gift, and Faith is a Gift.
Ephesians 2:9
(9) Not of works, lest any man should boast.
If you are going to be saved by what you do – (if you
are going to be saved by works,) then tell me when
you have done enough? Did you ever think of that? How long have you got to work to save yourself?
When could you finish the
job?
There is something else I should say in passing. If you accept this fact – that Salvation is by grace through faith alone – that it’s a gift of God, not of works –
then you have to accept the fact that you are not saved
by what you do. You
are saved by what Jesus Christ has done. Oh I wish I
could get everybody to believe that! Jesus Christ did for me what I could not do for myself,
and my Salvation is in His
work not mine!
Titus 3:5
(5) not by works
Would to God we
would believe what we read
Titus 3:5
(5) Not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to his mercy.
Can you see the mercy of God in the story of the thief? The problem is, we do not see ourselves hanging on a
cross like he –
therefore, we do not see our need of mercy. We need it as much as the thief did.
Titus 3:5 we read again
(5) Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us.
“He saved us” –
three wonderful words. We didn’t
save ourselves – He
saved us.
Titus 3:5 finishing the verse now
(5) he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and
renewing of the Holy Spirit
Romans 11;6
The most
tongue-twisting verse in the New Testament
(6) And if by grace. We have just read that it is by grace
And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be
of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
Here is the truth
from that verse: If you are going to be
saved by works,
you cannot be
saved by Grace.
And if you are going to be saved by Grace, you cannot be saved by works.
You are not saved by Grace and works – you are saved either by Grace or by works – because Grace and works do not live in the same
house. I thank God I am saved by Grace through Faith and that not of myself: it is
a Gift of
God.
Some people are running in order to get saved. Other people are running in order to keep saved.
The song goes:
I cannot work my soul to save, for that my Lord has done.
But
I would work like any slave, for love of God’s dear Son.
I wonder if I
can use a couple of illustrations here.
In the ninth
chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul talks about running a race. When you are at a
picnic, you run a race – not to save your life, but to gain a prize. All
you Christians are not running to save your life –
you should be running to get a
prize.
Illustration
When I was a
boy I used to run a bit in school. But by 1958, I was deep and wide. I think I
weighed around 170 pounds. At the church picnic they decided the men my age, would run against the teenage
boys – and there would be a prize at the end. You know what happened before
I tell you.
I hit off (with
all the years and all the weight I had accumulated,) forgetting that I couldn’t
run like I used to. I got half-way through the race and my
legs crippled out under me, and I fell flat on my face. That is how I finished my race.
Illustration
But there was
another time altogether different. I think I was eight years old at the time
of this incident. We were in the little
Those were the
days of the brush cut. You had your hair cut down to an inch on
your head and then you put goo on it to make it stand up.
Ivan had a
brush-cut, and we were chasing him. We chased him in the darkness down
behind the Chinese café. On the side of the café was the kitchen with only a
screen door. I don’t know why boys do what they do – but Ivan hid in the bushes behind the café. Arnold, Fred and I stood at this kitchen
door. – And as we looked in, Fred says: “chinky, chinky Chinaman.” Now
pardon me, but in those days the Chinese used to wear a long braid hanging down their back. That is where
this little poem came from:
Chinky,
chinky, Chinaman sitting on a rail.
Along came a white man and chopped off
his tail.
Fred was saying
this – and at that moment, out came the Chinese cook. He came to the screen
door, holding this big butcher knife with which he had just been using to cut a
piece of meat. The more I think about it, the bigger the
knife gets.
I went back two
years ago. Brother Jones bought the café and tore it down. He has that butcher knife at his home, and I measured it. It was exactly
26 inches long. I want to tell you, in 1928 I
thought it was 36 inches long.
Getting back to
the story – I saw that big butcher knife – and you know what we three boys did
– we started to run. And do you know why we were running? – We were running for our life!
Ivan didn’t know why we were running. He came out of the bushes with that
brush cut. It was semi-dark, and he looked about the same size as the cook, and I am with short legs. My mother used to tell me if the Lord had put
legs on me I would have been a man. The
Lord has cut the wicked short – that’s why I’m short! Anyway, I was leading the pack. Can you
believe it? Arnold couldn’t keep up with
me, and Fred couldn’t keep up with me. I could only see that butcher knife coming after me.
I didn’t dare
turn around – because if I were to turn around – I’d miss a step. I’d say to
You don’t have to run to get saved. We are not in a
race to keep our life. We are in a race at a picnic. We as Christians are in a race,
and at the end there is a prize. We
are not running to get our
life. We are not running to keep our
life. We are not running to sustain our
life. We are running because we have life.
Can you see the
difference? Saved by Grace through Faith
– not running to be saved, but
because we are saved.
5. All That Needs To Be Done To Save You, Has Been Done
Look at the
following wonderful verse of Scripture. Peter tells us it was on the tree that
Jesus bore our sins in His own body.
John 19:30
(30) When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished and he
bowed his head, and gave up the ghost (Spirit).
What was finished? – Sin was
finished.
What was finished? – The Work of Salvation was finished.
On the cross, Jesus provided Salvation for us.
1 Corinthians 15:1
(1) Moreover Brethren, I declare unto you
the gospel
I want to say
this again and again – The Gospel is not something you argue about. The Gospel is not something you dialogue about. The Gospel is something you declare.
Cartoonists
capture so many good things. I saw a cartoon in “Christianity Today.” The
Philippian jailer is in the picture and he is on his knees in front of Paul and
Silas (Acts 16). The jailer says “Sirs, what must I do
to be saved?” And the cartoon says: (Paul says) “Well, what do you
think?”
I don’t know if
you got that or not! They are making fun of how we do
things today. Do
you know what we do today? – We get four ignorant people on a panel (pooling
their ignorance) to tell us something about something they know nothing about!
One of the
things I have to laugh at is when the media go out on the street with their
camera and their microphone, and they go to a little child,
and ask a little child to express himself on a major concern of
Canada. What does a child know about it?
You can put
four men on a panel to discuss the Gospel and to dialogue the Gospel, and you won’t get anywhere. The Gospel is not something that you dialogue about. Paul said: “I declare unto you
the Gospel.” That’s what I’m in the business of doing.
After hearing
the last teaching I did on this subject, Brother Kirkpatrick from Saskatoon
sent me a letter in which he said: “Oh Lorne, keep thundering it.” I guess I do sound
like a thunderstorm. I want to thunder it out. The Gospel is something you declare. I declare unto you
the Gospel.
1 Corinthians 15: 1-3
(1) Moreover Brethren, I declare unto you
the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye 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.
Where did the Gospel
begin? – Bethlehem? – Not really. We are
not told to celebrate the birth of Christ – but we are told to meet at the Lord’s Table and
celebrate the death of Christ. For the Gospel begins how that
Christ died for our sins.
We come to
church on Sunday and once-in-a-while we sing
Jesus paid
it all – all to Him I owe.
Sin had left a crimson stain – He
washed it white as snow.
Do you believe it?
Do you really sing it, and when you sing it – do you listen?
If Jesus didn’t pay it all – He
didn’t pay anything at all. It’s either all or nothing.
On the cross, He paid for all of
your sin. Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture. Somebody says
“that’s fine for my past sins, but what about my future sins?”
When Christ died, you weren’t even born yet – so the only kind of sins that He died for on your
behalf, were future sins. They were all future when Christ died weren’t they? So He died for all of your future sins.
When we were in
When peace like a river attendeth my
way,
When sorrows like sea billows
roll
The man who
wrote it had just lost four daughters at sea, but he could sit down and
write: “It is well with my soul.”
As he sat alone in his cabin, going across from America to Paris, he wrote
this hymn. Verse three of the hymn
My sin, oh, the bliss of
this glorious thought:
My sin not in part, but in whole, is
nailed to His cross -- and I hear it no more.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
It is well with my soul. It is well; it is well with my soul.
All I can say
is “Praise the Lord.” If Jesus Christ did not bear
all of your sin on the cross of Calvary – He
didn’t bear any of your sin. It is all or none at all.
I thank God
that by dying, He provided Salvation for me, and he provided Salvation for you – a
complete Salvation from all our sins.
Colossians 2: 13-15
(13) And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of
your flesh, hath he quickened together
with him, having forgiven you all trespasses.
I don’t know
how I can make a little word sound bigger
than that. The biggest word in the verse is ALL
trespasses. Do you dare to believe it? By His cross, there is forgiveness. Through
this Man, is preached unto you forgiveness of sins.
(14) Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against
us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to
his cross;
(15) And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show
of them openly, triumphing over them
in it.
In what? – In His cross. What is this text talking about? – The law damned up the evidence against
us.
Illustration
When I was at Eston, one year we came up with so many rules, that if we had kept up with them, we
should have expelled all of
the students – and that is not an exaggeration!
We had so many rules in the rule book that nobody could keep
them. It ended up that we had the Law of Moses in the school.
We decided we would try something different. The
students eat their breakfast, lunch, and dinner, cafeteria-style. As they filed
by to get their meal, there was a great big bulletin board. So if anybody broke a rule, we would take
their name and put it on a big piece of paper, and tack it up on the board. The
100 students going by that bulletin board three times a day didn’t know what the infraction
was, but there was
the damning evidence
that the person had done something wrong.
That is exactly what this verse is
saying. The law had put the damning evidence over my head, and there was enough against
me to send me to hell forever. And there was enough against you to send you to hell
forever. But Jesus came, and in His cross, He took down the evidence, and He took away the sin. He nailed it
to the cross and He said “It is all looked after – I paid every debt.” Jesus paid it all. That’s what it means
to be Saved by Grace.
6. How Then Can One Be Saved?
Acts
(30) And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
(31) And they said, Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Paul and Silas
said “Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ.” When someone asks you “What must I do to be
saved?” – What is the requirement today?
John 6: 28-29
(28) Then said they
unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
(29) Jesus answered
and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent,
Get those verses into your heart so you can show people what
the Bible
says.
The Bible says: Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ.
The Bible says: This is the work of God – that you believe on him whom he has sent.
Illustration
I tell you this next.
It may be helpful to you when dealing with Jehovah Witness people. May I
say this – regarding Jehovah Witness people – I now consider them to be hungry people. Don’t
look at them, as somebody to feel sorry
for. Look at them as somebody who is hungry for the Truth – and then
pray to God to help you to lead them.
I have found that usually when you are in a hurry,
and you haven’t got time to talk, and they want to talk – the best way to conclude the conversation is
to invite them to get down on their knees and pray. I’ve only had one Jehovah Witness who would do it. Every time that I have
suggested we get down and pray, they have said “No, I’m sorry, we haven’t got
time.” So if you don’t
have time, just get down and pray and see what happens.
On this occasion, after attending a
While Ralph and I were sitting together talking about Bible
business, the man beside us said “Are you boys Witnesses too?” Our first reaction was to say “No” – but we
said, “Yes, we are witnesses
for Jesus Christ.” This man, Tom, turned out to be the leading Jehovah
Witness in Swift Current.
I can’t recall the whole conversation, but I know I took him
through Acts 2, trying to prove to him that Jesus is Jehovah. The wonderful thing is that I
have a loud voice, and there are times when it really comes
in handy; so as I took him through Acts 2, and the whole café was listening.
We didn’t preach to only one
person, we preached to everybody. I’m not suggesting you do that – it
just happened
that way.
We weren’t getting any place with him, so Ralph looked into
his eyes – and he said “Tom, what did Paul say to the Philippian jailer?” Do
you know the man couldn’t answer! I
discovered something – by and large, Jehovah Witness people do not study their Bibles – they study
their books about
their Bibles. They’ve got a sort of railroad track on which they go round and
round, and they know everything their book says, but you’ve got
an advantage if
you know what the Bible says.
Tom didn’t know what the Bible said. So in front of all of those people, Ralph
said, “If you don’t know what it says, let me tell you. Paul said to the
Philippian jailer, “Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.””
At that time, the head of the café came up to us. She didn’t
know Ralph and I, but she knew Tom. She said “Tom if you are going to preach,
please go and rent your own hall.
Don’t use my
café!” So I had to stand up (and I did) – I stood up in front of those people
and I apologized. But
I couldn’t take back one word that had been said. Hallelujah – they had all
heard the way of Salvation “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt
be saved.”
Romans 10: 9-10
(9) That if thou
shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt
be saved.
(10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
How can people be saved?
These are some verses you can use when you lead a person to Christ. You
use one verse,
and if it doesn’t work, you use another
verse – and so on – until you hit on the one verse that will work for that
particular person.
Here is a little word of instruction. The better thing is not
to quote the
Bible. If you have opportunity to deal with a person – know where the
Scripture is, find it, then give it to them, and let them read it.
Illustration
About the 7th day of May this year, our group came
home from the Holy Land. Anne and I stayed behind, and were traveling from Tel
Aviv to Jerusalem. We went on an ordinary Israeli bus, and right across the
aisle sat a twenty-two year-old university student. She was a Hebrew girl – an
Israeli.
I cannot tell you how the conversation got started, but
again, it was like that experience in the
And once again, the whole bus was
listening. From Tel Aviv to
When I got off the bus, I wrote in my little book “I felt His
presence today.” And when I got off the
bus, I was weeping for joy! It is
wonderful to feel the blessing of
the Lord as you minister the Word of the Lord.
Romans 10: 9
(9) If thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart
Somebody has
said there are eighteen inches between genuine Salvation and Reformation. It doesn’t say
if thou believe in thy HEAD.
Many people have a head belief, but they do not have a heart belief.
Illustration
I just came back from Regina where we had great meetings. Saturday
morning we had a men’s breakfast and one of the members gave his
testimony.
He was a
fisherman’s son down in
He said it was like
a knife cut off whatever was holding the anchor, and he got back to land. He
said his folks had taken him to church all his life. He said they went to
church every Sunday when the fish weren’t biting. He was in the
It is possible to know the Bible – to know about him, but not know Him! This man took
a Psychology course and he became an instructor in the Penal Institutions. He
landed up in
He has now been transferred to the jail in Regina, and he is
one of the outstanding men
in the church – because three years ago it got from his head to his heart! Three years
ago, what was knowledge in
his head became
knowledge in
his heart. He
said “I knew all about him,
but I didn’t know Him.”
Read it again
Romans 10: 9-10
(9) If thou shalt confess with thy
mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in
thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved.
(10) For with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation.
If you will
believe in your heart the facts regarding the work of Christ,
God says He will do the saving.
John 1: 11-12
(11) He came unto his own and his own received him not.
(12) But as many as received him, to them gave he
power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his
name.
You can’t
believe in your heart and not receive something. You can’t receive Him
and not believe. From the moment you believe,
you receive!
Romans
(13) For whosoever shall call upon the name
of the Lord shall be saved
Revelation 3:20
(20) Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will
come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
The Lord is a
gentleman – He won’t barge in. He knocks at heart’s door and He says:
“all you have to do is respond. You open the door, and I’ll come in.”
Illustration
I think of an illustration that fits these verses. Some years
ago, I read in “Christianity Today” that in the United States there are 65,000
baptized Christian atheists. My response to that is Grape Nuts. Have any of you folks ever had Grape Nuts in
your home? When you eat Grape Nuts – you
haven’t had any grapes. When
you eat Grape Nuts – you haven’t had any nuts. Grape Nuts are neither grapes nor nuts! And to say “baptized Christian atheists” – if
you are an atheist you are not a Christian. And if you are a Christian you are not an atheist. There
are certain things that don’t go together. A Christian is one who confesses what he believes
about Jesus Christ.
Revelation
7. When One Is Saved One Will Know It
John 1:12
(12) As many as received him, to
them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his
name.
The emphasis is
on receiving Him. I am not sure, but I think that five times
in the New Testament, getting
saved is likened to getting married – and I find that interesting. If you were to come to me and ask
“Sir, are you married?” – My response would not be
“I think I am” – or, “I suppose I am” – or “I hope I am.”
If I answered in that way, you would wonder what kind of nut I
am – wouldn’t you? If a man is married
he knows it. I
think you got the illustration!
What is Salvation?
– It is receiving a Person. It is bringing
someone into your life to live with you. And as surely as a man who is
married knows he is married, so it is with a Christian. When he has really accepted Christ, he knows he is saved!
Perhaps John
was ninety-five to one-hundred years old when he wrote these words.
1 John 5: 10
(10) He that believeth on the Son
of God hath the witness in
himself:
Illustration
In 1968, while traveling to the Holy Land, we went to the
city of Rome. It blesses my heart to think about it and talk about it. Back in
the city of
A young man by the name of Neil Barr was traveling with us. A
girl, who had left
When this brother Neil Barr had gone to talk to the pastor
that afternoon, the pastor said “We don’t let strangers preach in our church, because we have had
a lot of Americans come, and they haven’t done us any good. Unless we have
letters of recommendation, we don’t let those we don’t know preach.”
As quickly as we could, we made our way from the hotel to
this Assemblies of God church in the city of
They ushered Neil, I, and another man within three seats of
the front – on the side where the men were seated. At
The moment they started to sing I was “at home!” I couldn’t understand a word, but I sure
understood the Spirit. There
was something within them
that was within me. Then we got down on our knees – seven-hundred
people on a Sunday night – all on their knees!
Elders in the front of the church started leading out in prayer, and the
pastor said to me “When Mr. Barr left this afternoon, I said I wouldn’t have
you preach. But I tried to get ready to preach tonight, and the Spirit of God
wouldn’t let me, and
I have to ask you to
preach.”
He said “these people are poor. The people in the morning are a different people than at
night. These people
can only afford to come to church once on Sunday. The congregation we have here tonight only comes once a week, because they
can’t afford any more. Because of that, one Sunday night we have an Evangelistic
meeting and the next Sunday night we have a Bible study meeting. And you
guessed it – I arrived on the right night – the Bible
teaching meeting. He said “This is the night for a Bible study.” He told me
to write my name on a paper, because he still didn’t know it – so I put “Pritchard, Regina Canada.”
We stood up after the rest of the service and he introduced
me in Italian. He could talk English of course, so he was my interpreter. He
stood beside me, and within two minutes we were working together as if we had
worked together for twenty years. The anointing came upon me and then the anointing came upon him.
After the service – what do you do when you can’t say a word to the
preacher? When I stepped off the platform, those men kissed me on both cheeks,
from the platform – all the way down the aisle. I had never been kissed so
often in all my life. Those people knew there was something in me, and
I knew there was something in them.
The same Spirit that was in me was in them. Praise God, that when you are “born again of
the Spirit of God” there is a witness of
the Spirit.
Every man has the witness in himself.
You shouldn’t need anyone to
tell you that you’re saved. If somebody
gets saved – I don’t
want to tell them that they are saved – I want them to tell me –
because God is big enough to let us know
when we are saved.
1 John 5: 10-13
(10) He that
believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
(11) And this is the
record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
(12) He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
(13) These things
have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
What is the purpose of
Bible study? – To let us know what happened to us when we were saved. When we were
saved, something wonderful happened!
Something happened when He saved me. If something didn’t happen to you – you better get saved – because something happens when God saves
somebody.
These things are
written that you might know. Praise
God – when we are saved we know it.
Don’t let God be too small. Make
your God big! The
more you exalt God –
the less you
will exalt yourself. The less you exalt yourself – the more you will exalt God. Get your eyes
focused on Him. He
is the Savior. He
is the Healer. He
is the Baptizer. Men are not – but He is.
Praise the Lord!
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Recap: The Word “Saved” |
|
The word “saved” is a Bible Word.
When dealing with an unsaved person, always ask the question “Are you saved?” |
|
The word “saved” is
connected with the Work of Christ.
Jesus came to save that which was lost. Jesus is the only One
who can save. He is a friend
of sinners. He came to save sinners.
Christ alone can save our souls. |
|
Only sinners can be
saved. All have sinned and come short of the Glory
of God, therefore, all of us qualify
to be saved. Jesus came to save bad
people, not good
people. |
|
Because you are a sinner,
you can only be saved by Grace. Salvation
is by Grace through Faith alone –
it is a Gift of God – not
by our works. You are not
saved by what you do – you are
saved by what Jesus has done. |
|
All that needs to be done
to save you has been
done. Jesus finished the work of Salvation on the cross. We
cannot add or subtract
from it. Jesus paid the price in full
for all our sins. |
|
How then can one be saved? – believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did on the
cross for us. Salvation is the Work
of God. |
|
When one is saved, one will know
it. Salvation is receiving a Person –
the Lord Jesus Christ.
Salvation is likened to a marriage. When you are married,
you know it. When you are saved,
you know it. |