Glen Bond 5-3-05 Subject: Salvation Three points to expound. 1 - Man is a sinner, and doesn't know it. He is blind to his condition. 2 - God is sovereign and doesn't have to save anyone. 3 - Christ died for - "sinners". Every person born on this Earth is a sinner. Psalms 58:3 The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. You say, "Oh, thats talking about the wicked!" Yes, he is talking about the wicked, the righteous won't be telling lies. Do you think that there are some who are not wicked? Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none righteous... That means that all must be wicked. The only righteousness on this Earth is the righteousness of Christ. If you are saved then you have a share in his righteousness. If you are still in your sins, then you are one of the wicked. But listen, As soon as you are born, you begin speaking lies. This is Gods word, are you calling God a lier? Look, you don't become wicked when you tell a lie, you tell lies because you are wicked. I want to say that again... You don't BECOME wicked when you tell a lie, you tell lies because you ARE wicked. You are not born righteous, and then become a sinner when you tell a lie. No, it's not that way. You are born a wicked sinner. Thats right, you are born a sinner. You didn't know that did you? Why? Look at Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? The natural heart is wicked. It's no wonder that Christ had to come and die for us. Romans 3:12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Every person on this earth is a sinner. You say OK, I'm a sinner, now what. I want to emphasize this, ...I can tell you all day, every day that you are a sinner, but until God sends his holy spirit to convict and convince you of it, all my efforts are in vain. Man is completely blinded to his natural condition. You are a sinner, Gods word tells you that you are. Do you believe Gods word?? You are a sinner, and you should be crying out to the great God of the universe to forgive your sin and save you. But you won't! Why won't you?? You won't because you DO NOT SEE YOUR NEED!!! You are blinded to your sinfull nature and your sinful condition. You are blinded by the god of this world, Satan. "Oh," you say, "I am blinded by the devil?" I know that most people won't believe that Satan has them blinded. I believe that most of the people who agree with me about being blinded by Satan do not even realize that they are blinded. It just doesn't click in your mind - you don't realize what it means. But most people won't believe that Satan has them blinded. They think that Satan is a wimpy devil that can be bargained with and outwitted, but they are wrong. Satan has very great power, and would destroy us all if God did not hold him back. But look at: 2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 'The god of this world' is Satan. 'Them which believe not' are those who are not saved. 'The glorious gospel shining unto them' is the lost being saved. If you are not saved, You are blinded by the god of this world. You can not see your condition until God opens your eyes and lets you see. Satan is an angel of light to deceive you. 2 Corinth. 11:13,14 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Many are decieved, they think that they are saved, and will escape Hell. But they won't. Your ignorance won't save you on that last great day. You are going to have to seek the Lord. You are going to believe what the bible says about you, or you will perish with out hope. I had an uncle who died many years ago, and I talked to him just days before he died. He was in the hospital at the time. I remember him telling me he said, "They tell me that I am sick ( or something to that effect) but I feel just fine. They had not yet told him that he was going to die. They had told him that he was sick. Now suppose they had told him that he was going to die, and suppose they told him there was a cure for his sickness, and suppose he said to them, "I'm not sick. I feel just fine. I don't need a cure." And then he went out and died a few days later. Is this you? You don't think you need salvation? I am trying to show you what Gods word says about you. and It says you are a sinner that needs salvation. Satan is a powerful enemy, he has power to decieve. Are you so decieved that you think that you need no salvation? Do you think that you have salvation? I'm telling you that you are sick and need a cure, but you are saying "I'm not sick." Now Suppose my uncle went to the doctor for the cure, and the doctor gave him specific instructions on exercise, and medicine to take and told him everything to do to be cured. Then he went home and half heartedly went about the exercises, thinking, "well I'm not really sick, this is not really doing anything for me anyway." He would not take the medicine like he should and would not do what was necessary for the cure. And Then he died anyway. Why?? Because he neglected to do what he was instructed to do. He saw no need for it, and thought that he was wasting his time. Let me ask you here tonight, Do you think you're wasting your time seeking the Lord? Are you doing it half heartedly? because you see no need for it? Well, I can assure you, If you are outside of Christ, When you die you WILL enter into an eternal Hell. Here I have to say, Praise the Lord!! No I don't say praise the Lord because you will go to hell, I say praise the Lord because he delivered me from Hell, and He is able to deliver you too. and when he does deliver you, you will say with me, PRAISE THE LORD! And it will come from the heart, it won't be just empty words. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Now I want to show you that: 2 - God is sovereign and doesn't have to save anyone. First I want to read you some scriptures. I have several, you just hold your place. These show the soveriegntry of God. That God has the power to do with each of us as he pleases. Jeremiah 18:6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. Romans 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? Doesn't the Lord have power to make one person to be saved, and another person to be damned. He has made each of us for his own purpose. Some of you will say "Oh, God would not make a person just to send him to Hell". First I want to say that God doesn't SEND anyone to Hell. He has made a way of salvation available to all. Anyone who goes to Hell, goes there because he will NOT come to Christ for salvation. Now with that said, God is not obligated to save anyone. There is no reason for God to save anyone who comes to him. Yet, he has said, Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. Then to show that no man CAN come to Christ for salvation: John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. Now this looks like a contradiction doesn't it. You go to Hell because you won't come, and you can't come unless the Father draw you. Well you have a responsibility to come. John 12:32 says 32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This takes away your excuse. We know that he was lifted up on the cross. I have come to see one thing about sinners coming to Christ. I have learned this from hearing other people and from what I have seen in myself. We all want to make an excuse for why we won't come to Christ. And it is never MY Fault. It is always sombody elses fault. We want to say, The Lord won't do this or that, so I can't come. I have this or that problem and I can't come. Well, you will just have to go to Hell. If you have a problem, you take it to the Lord, he is able to help you. Now lets look again at John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: John 6:65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. This is written twice, that we should not misunderstand it. These two verses should do away with all these "decision for Christ" people. I learned, by the Holy Spirit, that I was not able to come to Christ. When you begin earnestly to pray and seek the Lord, you will come to see that you are powerless to save yourself, and that you can't do anything to cause the Lord to save you. God is a powerful God, he is all powerful, that is, all power is in his hand. He has power to save whom he wills, and he has power to destroy, in Hell, whom he will. For a man to be able to make a decision for Christ, is to put power into the hand of man, and to cause God to be at the disposal of man. This is not so, and is not taught anywhere in Gods word. Many people today think that God is a weak and helpless God. They think that he is too busy to be concerned with the little things we do. They say, "Oh ,just be good, keep the ten commandmments and everything will be OK". NO! Those people who say that are blind to what they are. A wicked sinner! They are ignorant to what God is. Supreme and all powerful. They are Stubborn and self willed. They only want their way. They will not have this man (Christ Jesus) to rule over them. Let me ask you, Is this You? Have you come to know that God is all powerful? Have you come to see that God doesn't have to save you? Have you come to see that you are a great sinner who deserves only Hell? Have you ever come before the great God of the universe and acknowleged your guilt, and submitted yourself to him, to do with as he pleases?? Have you come to see that Christ died for you? I have heard it said, about election, that God looked down through the ages and saw all of the ones who would come to him, and wrote their names in the book of life. Now I believe that God did look down through all of the ages of time, but he saw that no man would ever come to Christ for salvation. No man will ever come to Christ, except the father draw him. If a man is left to himself, he will NEVER come to Christ. You won't!! I can speak boldly here, because I was there. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. Exodus 12:13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. Luke 10:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: A note from Matthew Henry about the decieved sinner. But many who were baptized, and constantly attended the ordinances, have remained without Christ, died in their sins, and are now past recovery. Rest not then till thou art cleansed by the Spirit of Christ and the blood of Christ. His resurrection from the dead is that whereby we are assured of purifying and peace.