The Means of Salvation
Romans 3:22b-24
October 21, 2007
This morning we learned that there is a salvation available
Apart from being good enough to deserve it.
WHAT A GLORIOUS TRUTH!
We also learned that this salvation
Is available for those who have faith in Jesus Christ.
THAT SHOULD BE NO SURPSISE
GOD HAS ALWAYS WANTED FAITH
Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
He has always wanted His people to trust Him,
As evidenced by continual obedience.
Psalms 50:12-15 “If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains. “Shall I eat the flesh of bulls Or drink the blood of male goats? “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving And pay your vows to the Most High; Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.”
Isaiah 1:18-20 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool. “If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land; “But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword.” Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
That is why in the New Testament,
Jesus came preaching the same thing.
John 8:31-32 “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
God wants faith, and He wants faith in Jesus Christ.
And according to verse 21 and the first half of verse 22,
If you will place your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
God will give you His righteousness.
Then you will be pleasing in His sight…
Then you will be acceptable to Him…
Then you will be delivered from under His wrath…
But that is hard for some to swallow.
“I can’t earn it, but God will just give it to me?”
“But you don’t know what I’ve done”
People in our world talk themselves out of salvation
Either because they believe it can’t be possible,
Or that God wouldn’t do it for them.
Tonight I want to show you how this salvation works,
And why it works,
And why it can work for you,
Or for anyone you know.
There are three things:
#1 THE RECIPIENTS
Romans 3:22b
Paul said we could get “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ”
But then the pessimist in us comes out.
We still assume it is for someone else.
We still act like there is some sort of prerequisite.
“Where is the fine print?”
“Why am I really not eligible?”
“What’s the catch?”
THAT IS WHY PAUL KEEPS WRITING
“for all those who believe; for there is no distinction”
Paul just removed the fine print,
He calmed our anxious spirit,
He nullified any pre-requisites,
And said, it is for anyone who wants it.
Surely we are reading that wrong…
Romans 10:13 “for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
John 6:37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
When Peter preached to Cornelius
Acts 10:34-35 “Opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.”
When Paul preached at Pisidian Antioch
Acts 13:38-39 “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.”
And if you still have doubts that anyone can be saved,
Then listen as Paul lifts his own life as evidence that anyone can.
1 Timothy 1:12-16 “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.”
Paul was a blasphemer of God
Paul was a persecutor of God’s people
Paul was violently aggressive against God’s people
Paul was ignorant
And not only did Jesus accept Paul, Jesus went looking for him.
DO YOU GET THE POINT?
No one is beyond the salvation of God.
God’s righteousness is for all who believe in Jesus Christ.
Murderers… Rapists…
Homosexuals… Liars…
Thieves… Drunkards…
Baptists…
God doesn’t require a pedigree of goodness…
God doesn’t require so many years of church attendance…
GOD DOESN’T REQUIRE
THAT YOU’VE EVER DONE A SINGLE THING IN YOUR LIFE RIGHT.
GOD ONLY REQUIRES THAT YOU PLACE YOUR FAITH IN JESUS
“for there is no distinction”
Anyone who believes will be saved.
First the recipients
#2 THE REASON
Romans 3:23
Now I know, it still sounds a little too good to be true.
We in our society love to evaluate self worth.
We love to rank ourselves according to our own importance.
And despite Paul saying that faith is all that God requires, somewhere in the back of our minds,
We still can’t thinking some people deserve it more than others.
Remember the Pharisees?
Matthew 9:10-13 “Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. “But go and learn what this means: ‘ I DESIRE COMPASSION,AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
They thought some people
Were beyond the reach of God’s salvation.
If you think that is you.
If you think that you are beyond the reach of God’s salvation,
Let me give you a comforting truth.
Isaiah 59:1 “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear.”
You are not outside the reach of God.
Because if you were outside of the reach of God,
Then everyone would be outside of the reach of God.
WHY?
“because there is no distinction”
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
AS GOD LOOKS DOWN HE DOESN’T SEE PEOPLE IN GROUPS.
Group A will be easy to save, they are close to being perfect.
Group B will take a little longer, but I can still get it done.
Group C is so far away, it may be impossible to get them saved.
WHEN GOD LOOKS DOWN WHAT DOES HE SEE?
Psalms 14:2-3 “The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God. They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one.”
Isaiah 64:6 “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”
Proverbs 20:9 “Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin”?”
The truth is simple.
If one man is reachable, then all men are reachable.
If one man is unreachable, then all men are unreachable.
“for there is no distinction”
You cannot assume anyone is beyond the reach of God.
If God was able to save you, He is able to save anyone.
NAMELY BECAUSE GOD DOES NOT REQUIRE GOODNESS, BUT FAITH.
Faith is the only thing every believer has in common.
Matthew a tax collector
Peter a fisherman
Paul a Pharisee
The woman at the well
The Centurion with the sick slave
All they had in common was faith in Jesus.
God does not require anything else.
If you can give Him faith, you can be saved.
AND NOW LET’S SEE WHY.
Let’s look at why this salvation works.
Something like this doesn’t just automatically work.
#3 THE REQUIREMENTS
Romans 3:24
And before we dive into this text,
Let me tell you why this point is so great.
These are the requirement for salvation,
And they have nothing to do with you.
They all depend upon God.
IF THIS TYPE OF “WHOSOEVER” SALVATION
IS GOING TO WORK, IT REQUIRES TWO THINGS.
1) A REDEMPTIVE ATTITUDE
“being justified as a gift by His grace”
In other words, if this sort “whosoever” salvation is going to work,
Then it is going to require a God who is merciful and gracious.
It will require a God who is rooting for man,
And who is willing hold out hope for him.
That is exactly who God is.
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
Salvation requires a God like that.
If He is quick tempered, or impatient, or selfish,
There is no way He is willing to put up with mankind.
A salvation like this requires a loving, merciful, God.
And that is who He is.
As evidenced by what Paul says here.
He said that all men are sinners and fall short of God’s glory,
But now he says that this sinful fallen man
Is “justified as a gift by His grace”
“justified” translates DIKAIOO (dik-ah-yo-o)
“to deem to be right”
And we understand that truth.
We constantly seek justification in things all the time.
But in our life, any justification we receive comes after much debate.
We argue to prove we are right.
We argue to vindicate ourselves.
And even in Scripture this word is used in that sense.
Matthew 11:19 “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”
Jesus said, wisdom is proved right,
Or justified when the deeds she inspires are successful.
And so we understand that justification is hard work.
BUT LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENS HERE.
“being justified as a gift”
God is just going to give it to us.
No debate (which wouldn’t work)
No proof (which doesn’t exist)
No nothing…
God just decided to give us a gift of eternal justification.
And also notice the text is in a Present Continuous Sense.
Carrying the idea not just of a one time justification,
But of continual justification.
This is opposite of the way Paul will use it later.
Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”
There Paul uses the word in an Aorist Or Point Tense,
Indicating a point in time when we were justified before God.
Both are true.
But here Paul uses it in a continual sense,
Meaning that not only do we get justified,
But we are continually justified before God.
THIS IS HUGE
Hebrews 7:25 “Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”
We still sin…
Satan still accuses…
But God continually justifies us.
Romans 8:33-34 “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.”
According to Paul, this justification that is so difficult to attain,
Has just been freely given to us, and not just once,
But continually given to us.
WHY?
“being justified as a gift by His grace”
And there you have it.
GRACE
God is a gracious God.
He does it, not because we deserve it,
But because He can, and He wants to.
“gift” translates DOREAN (do-reh-an)
“freely or without a cause”
Another place it is used
Galatians 2:21 “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”
And maybe that is a good word to use here.
God didn’t need to justify us.
God didn’t have to justify us.
God certainly didn’t owe it to us.
He just wanted to because He is gracious.
I AGREE THAT THIS SORT OF “WHOSOEVER” SALVATION
SEEMS FAR FETCHED, AND IT WOULD BE,
IF GOD WERE NOT GRACIOUS.
It requires a redemptive attitude,
And thank God, He has a redemptive attitude.
Ephesians 2:1-9 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
That is our God to a tee.
He has a redemptive attitude.
But you and I know that is only half of what is required.
For there still remains the issue of the presence of sin.
A gracious God desires salvation, but a Holy God
(which He also is) requires payment.
So there is more required than just a redemptive attitude.
2) REDEMPTIVE ACTION
“through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”
“redemption” translates APOLUTROSIS (ap-ol-oo-tro-sis)
It is a strengthened form of LUTROSIS which means
“to release upon a receipt of ransom”
LUTROSIS was the word commonly used for a person who buy a slaves freedom, or who would pay a debt that someone owed.
But we are not talking about any small debt here are we?
Psalms 49:7-8 “No man can by any means redeem his brother Or give to God a ransom for him — For the redemption of his soul is costly, And he should cease trying forever”
In order to buy back humanity,
It was going to take something truly costly.
It is one thing to want to redeem someone.
It is another thing to pay the price.
JESUS PAID THE PRICE
Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace”
Colossians 1:13-14 “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
THE ISSUE OF DEBT IS SETTLED
THE ACCOUNT IS CLEARED
THE BILL IS PAID
CREDIT IS AVAILABLE
BECAUSE OF JESUS, ANYONE CAN COME TO GOD
John 12:32 “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”
1 John 2:2 “and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”
John 4:41-42 “Many more believed because of His word; and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”
John 1:29 “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
Colossians 2:13-14 “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”
Salvation is available because
God is gracious and because of the sacrifice of Jesus.
Titus 3:3-7 “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Tonight, I want you to realize that.
If you thought there is no way you can be saved,
I have some good news.
God is gracious, and Jesus died for your sins.
Now, if you will place your faith in Jesus, you will be justified in God’s sight.
Romans 10:9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
Beyond that,
We live in a world of:
Thieves…
Adulterers…
Homosexuals…
Murderers…
But God can and will save them.
MAKE SURE THEY KNOW THAT.
Romans 10:11-13 “For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”
