How God Saved Us

How God Saved Us “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus...” (1CO 1:30) I. Scripture declares that God foresaw the fall of man and so set in motion a plan of salvation based upon His own will and effort, not man's. EPH 1:3-7. A. B. C. D. E. F. G. Man under sin is anything but holy and blameless. ROM 3:9-18. Man's will is corrupt; he is sold under sin and free from righteousness. ROM 7:14; 6:20; PSA 10:4. Man's works are corrupt, even his good ones. ISA 64:6. Laws cannot change his nature nor be kept flawlessly. JER 13:23; GAL 3:10. Sacrifices of sin-burdened creatures cannot take away sin. ROM 8:20-21; HEB 10:4. The gap between God and fallen man was huge. 1. God is holy, pure, righteous and cannot allow any sin in His presence. PSA 5:5. 2. Fallen man is filthy, dead, averse to God and without ability to recover himself. 3. Man under sin is not simply weak or sick spiritually; he is dead. EPH 2:1. Before the world began, God purposed to save men without regard to their works but rather to the work of His Son, Jesus Christ. 2TI 1:9. 1. God at that time chose men in Jesus Christ so that they should be holy and blameless before him in love. EPH 1:3-4. 2. The fruition of this was the purest, greatest demonstration of love. EPH 2:4-5. 3. It is common to love someone who is alive and lovable, but how about loving someone who is dead, unlovable, hateful, wicked and your enemy? COL 1:21. 4. This great love caused children of wrath (EPH 2:3) whose spiritual father was the devil (JOH 8:44; 1JO 3:10) to be called sons of God. 1JO 3:1. 5. According to God's choosing sinners in Christ, He predestinated (pre = before; destinated = appointed to an end) them to be His adopted children. EPH 1:5. 6. GOD DOES IT ALL. Remembering the averse, corrupt and incapable nature of fallen man, note Who is the active party in this great change. EPH 1:3-11. 1. God ''...hath blessed us....in Christ” (v. 3). 2. He “...hath chosen us in him [Christ]...” (v. 4) 3. He “...predestinated us...by Jesus Christ to himself” (v. 5). 4. “...according to....his will” (v. 5), “...after the counsel of his will...” (v. 11). 5. He “...hath made us accepted in the beloved [Christ]” (v. 6). 6. “...in whom [Christ] we have redemption through his blood...his grace” (v. 7) 7. He “...hath abounded toward us...” (v. 8). 8. He “...might gather together in one all things in Christ...even in him” (v. 10). 9. “...in whom [Christ] also we...being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will” (v. 11). 10. GOD DOES IT ALL: His plan, His purpose, His choosing, His pleasure, His Son, His will. The sinner is the passive object of God's gracious love and mercy. 11. Remember all the “will nots” and “can nots” that pertain to fallen man? Well, God willed to save, was able to save, and did save! 2TI 1:9. the doctrine of election: before the world began, God chose out of Adam's fallen race a to live with Him in glory. God's elect are those whom He chose. MAR 13:20. II. This is people A. H. How God Saved Us 2-8-15 Page 1 of 3 B. 1PE 1:2 sets forth specific details about God's elect. 1. “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father...” a. This is not foreknowledge of creature obedience. PSA 14:2-3. b. This is foreknowledge of creature identity. (1) “For whom he did foreknow...” (ROM 8:29). (2) “...his people which he foreknew...” (ROM 11:2). c. The unsaved God NEVER knew (MAT 7:23); the elect He FOREknew. 2. “...through sanctification of the Spirit...” The Holy Spirit in covenant sets them apart as holy. EPH 1:4. 3. “...unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ...” Christ's obedience makes them righteous (ROM 5:19); His blood cleanses them of sin. REV 1:5; EPH 1:7. 4. All Three Persons of the Godhead are active in the elective purpose. C. God's election is of grace and therefore cannot be of our works. ROM 11:5-6. 1. grace: Favour, favourable or benignant regard or its manifestation (now only on the part of a superior); favour or goodwill, in contradistinction to right or obligation, as the ground of a concession. (Compare ROM 4:4) 2. work: Something that is or was done; what a person does or did... a. Personal repentance is a work. MAT 12:41 c/w JON 3:10. b. Personal faith is a work. MAT 23:23; JOH 6:28-29. c. To mix grace and works is to frustrate grace. GAL 2:21. D. God elected Jacob but not Esau WITHOUT ANY CONSIDERATION OF THEIR ACTIVITY OR THEIR WILL. ROM 9:11-16. 1. God's election is sovereign; He does the choosing and none can fault Him. 2. God's election is particular; He only chooses some. 3. God's election is an act of mercy; therefore the elect had no claim to it. 4. God's election consists of Jews and Gentiles. ROM 9:24. 5. God's election results in an innumerable multitude of saved men of every nation, kindred, people and tongue. REV 7:9-10. 6. Paul makes plain that fighting against God about His election is futile. After all, HE is God, not man. ROM 9:14, 17-21. 7. Men make discriminating choices all the time. a. A man will choose one woman to marry, not all. b. A couple may adopt one orphan when they could have adopted more. c. A father may have many hateful children but only give his estate to one. d. If men are just for discriminating acts of love, mercy and favor, then how can they fault God? E. Stop and think! 1. If God's election of some sinners unto salvation is a matter of Him basing His choice upon their performance, He is hardly a righteous judge. 2. In such a case, He would be a respecter of persons, accepting bribes from those who deserved condemnation as much as the ones He did not choose. 3. God is not a respecter of persons. ROM 2:11. III. Election unto the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ (1PE 1:2) implies a covenant salvation. HEB 10:29; 13:21. A. covenant: A mutual agreement between two or more persons to do or refrain from doing How God Saved Us 2-8-15 Page 2 of 3  certain acts... B. God the Father did the electing. EPH 1:3-4. C. God the Son would bleed and die for the elect. 1PE 1:2. 1. Christ was given a specific mission: to save those the Father had given Him to save. JOH 4:34; 6:37-39; 17:2-3. 2. Christ successfully completed the work He was sent to do. JOH 19:30; HEB 10:9-10. 3. This cancelled the legal debt of sin which they could not discharge. ROM 8:3. D. God the Spirit would apply the merits of Christ's blood in power to the elect, regenerating them inwardly. TIT 3:5; JOH 3:8. 1. They are new creatures in Christ. 2CO 5:17; EPH 2:10. 2. They are fitted for God's kingdom. JOH 3:5-7. 3. This vital change sets the elect free from the uncontested dominion of sin and enables them to believe, obey and relate to God as Father. GAL 4:4-6. E. At Christ's return, their bodies will be made pure and holy. PHIL 3:20-21. F. God's election of sinners to be saved by Jesus Christ is the answer to both Sin (the principle) and Sins (the deeds). 1. Jesus Christ's blood takes away the penalty of sin that was due unto them. 2. Jesus Christ's blood applied in power to the inward man takes away the power of sin that had dominion over them and gives them a new spiritual nature. 3. Jesus Christ's blood continues to avail for them when they err. 1JO 1:7-9. IV. Mind that the Christ of the Bible successfully completed the mission for which He was sent: to secure eternal life forever for God's elect/sheep. JOH 10:27-29. A. He justified and reconciled them to God. ROM 5:8-10. B. He sanctified and perfected them forever. HEB 10:10, 14. C. He by himself purged their sins. HEB 1:3. D. He redeemed them from out of every kindred, tongue, people and nation. REV 5:9. E. He is satisfied about His work. ISA 53:11. F. But there is another Christ preached in the world who: 1. shed his blood for all mankind but only some will be saved. 2. actually saved none by his death. 3. left it up to the polluted, incapable, anti-God sinner to be saved by doing something that he never would, nor ever could do. 4. only saves where his gospel goes; all the rest are eternally damned. 5. saves those who believe but damns those to whom the believer doesn't witness. G. Which Christ should be believed in? V. (1CO 1:30) But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: How God Saved Us 2-8-15 Page 3 of 3