Heb 7:25 ...He is...able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him...
We see two things here: a) The Savior's Ability and b) The Savior's Efficiency
* The Savior's Ability: "He is...able to save to the uttermost"
The word "uttermost" could also be translated as completely or fully to the very end. The Savior is able to save to the uttermost, completely, fully to the very end.
There is no sin so dark, guilt so great, force too strong, a thing so big, a height so high, a pit so deep, a difficulty so insurmountable that can hinder, oppose and thwart the saving ability of the Lord Jesus.
In all these things, He is able to save completely, fully, to the very end, to the uttermost. He is not a Savior who saves at the beginning and then leaves you mid-way, unable to carry it out to the very end. No, He is a Savior who is able to save to the uttermost, completely, fully to the very end. What He begins, He is able to finish and complete.
* The Savior's Efficiency: "...He is...able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him..."
He is able to save sinners but only those sinners who come to God through Him in faith. The sinner's sole responsibility is to come to the able Savior in faith. His efficiency comes into work if you put your trust in Him.
He is completely able. Are you willing?
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
GOSPEL NUGGET #244
A Picture Of Spiritual Salvation
Lu 7:14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise."
15 So he who was dead sat up and began to speak....
The Man's Physical Condition
* Dead (He had no life in him)
* Disabled (He was unable to do anything to make himself alive)
* Down (He's down in a coffin)
The Messiah's Philanthropic Compassion
* He drew close to him (He came near and made contact)
* He declared consciousness into him (He gave him life)
Applying this to spiritual salvation:
The Sinner's Condition
* Dead (He is spiritually dead, separated from God)
* Disabled (He is powerless to save himself)
* Down (He is spiritually down and out)
The Savior's Compassion
* He drew close, He came down and made contact by becoming a Man Himself
* He declares life to anyone who will put their trust in Him for salvation.
Lu 7:14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise."
15 So he who was dead sat up and began to speak....
The Man's Physical Condition
* Dead (He had no life in him)
* Disabled (He was unable to do anything to make himself alive)
* Down (He's down in a coffin)
The Messiah's Philanthropic Compassion
* He drew close to him (He came near and made contact)
* He declared consciousness into him (He gave him life)
Applying this to spiritual salvation:
The Sinner's Condition
* Dead (He is spiritually dead, separated from God)
* Disabled (He is powerless to save himself)
* Down (He is spiritually down and out)
The Savior's Compassion
* He drew close, He came down and made contact by becoming a Man Himself
* He declares life to anyone who will put their trust in Him for salvation.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
GOSPEL NUGGET #243
Objections To The Gospel
#8 "The Bible does not exactly say that salvation is by faith ALONE."
Answer:
True, we can not read the exact terms "salvation by faith alone" in the Bible but the idea is exactly and clearly there.
Eph. 2:8 For by grace you have been SAVED THROUGH FAITH; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 NOT AS A RESULT OF WORKS, so that no one may boast.
"SaveD through faith...not as a result of works." Notice we can receive the whole package through faith.
If Paul said: "By grace you have been 50% saved through faith", one might conclude that salvation is not by faith alone, the other 50% must be attained by works, since the exercise of faith can only result in 50% salvation.
But if through faith a sinner is saveD (note the past tense, implying the whole package of salvation 100%) then salvation is by faith alone.
Question: "Is faith enough to receive full and complete salvation according to the verse? Yes, absolutely! Look at the verse. If by exercising faith you have received full and complete salvation, then salvation is by faith alone. If by faith you have received the whole package, is there anything else you must do to receive it? None! So it is by faith alone.
To emphasize the point further the apostle Paul said: " "By grace you have been save*D* through faith...NOT AS A RESULT OF WORKS."
It is as clear as the noonday sun.
#8 "The Bible does not exactly say that salvation is by faith ALONE."
Answer:
True, we can not read the exact terms "salvation by faith alone" in the Bible but the idea is exactly and clearly there.
Eph. 2:8 For by grace you have been SAVED THROUGH FAITH; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 NOT AS A RESULT OF WORKS, so that no one may boast.
"SaveD through faith...not as a result of works." Notice we can receive the whole package through faith.
If Paul said: "By grace you have been 50% saved through faith", one might conclude that salvation is not by faith alone, the other 50% must be attained by works, since the exercise of faith can only result in 50% salvation.
But if through faith a sinner is saveD (note the past tense, implying the whole package of salvation 100%) then salvation is by faith alone.
Question: "Is faith enough to receive full and complete salvation according to the verse? Yes, absolutely! Look at the verse. If by exercising faith you have received full and complete salvation, then salvation is by faith alone. If by faith you have received the whole package, is there anything else you must do to receive it? None! So it is by faith alone.
To emphasize the point further the apostle Paul said: " "By grace you have been save*D* through faith...NOT AS A RESULT OF WORKS."
It is as clear as the noonday sun.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
GOSPEL NUGGET #242
Objections To The Gospel
#7 "What?!!? All one has to do is to do the small thing of intellectually believing in the Savior and that's that, a sinner will then be saved?"
Answer:
The word "believe" in the Bible in relation to salvation does not mean intellectual belief. It means deeper than that. It means to trust, to rely, to depend, to entrust yourself entirely to another, namely the Savior.
Trusting, relying, depending and entrusting yourself entirely to another is no trivial thing. It could spell disaster on your part if you are trusting, relying, depending and entrusting something precious to another who is unstable and unreliable.
If you entrust 5 dollars to someone as investment money, the risk of losing that money might be there, but since 5 dollars is just a modicum amount, a pittance, you can afford to shrug it off as nothing if the investment hits rock bottom.
But the situation is entirely different, infinitely serious, when we are dealing with the salvation of your soul and where you will spend eternity. With this issue in mind, it is no small thing to be asked to trust, rely, depend and entrust entirely your soul's salvation to another.
If that another turns out to be unreliable and incompetent, you are doomed forever! This is what the Bible means when it says: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" to be saved.
It is saying: "Trust, rely, depend and entrust your soul's salvation entirely to Him and what He did on the cross." This is an absolutely risky thing to do if He turns out to be incompetent and unreliable.
But know that there is absolutely zero risk if you commit your soul's salvation entirely to Him. He is the appointed and approved Savior of the world, the Son of God, who is able to save any sinner who will come to Him in faith.There is no question that stepping into a ship to go to some place is simple. The issue is the great implication that accompany that simple step into the ship. Though stepping into that ship is simple, it is no small thing for it implies that you are willing to entrust your life and safety into that ship.
#7 "What?!!? All one has to do is to do the small thing of intellectually believing in the Savior and that's that, a sinner will then be saved?"
Answer:
The word "believe" in the Bible in relation to salvation does not mean intellectual belief. It means deeper than that. It means to trust, to rely, to depend, to entrust yourself entirely to another, namely the Savior.
Trusting, relying, depending and entrusting yourself entirely to another is no trivial thing. It could spell disaster on your part if you are trusting, relying, depending and entrusting something precious to another who is unstable and unreliable.
If you entrust 5 dollars to someone as investment money, the risk of losing that money might be there, but since 5 dollars is just a modicum amount, a pittance, you can afford to shrug it off as nothing if the investment hits rock bottom.
But the situation is entirely different, infinitely serious, when we are dealing with the salvation of your soul and where you will spend eternity. With this issue in mind, it is no small thing to be asked to trust, rely, depend and entrust entirely your soul's salvation to another.
If that another turns out to be unreliable and incompetent, you are doomed forever! This is what the Bible means when it says: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" to be saved.
It is saying: "Trust, rely, depend and entrust your soul's salvation entirely to Him and what He did on the cross." This is an absolutely risky thing to do if He turns out to be incompetent and unreliable.
But know that there is absolutely zero risk if you commit your soul's salvation entirely to Him. He is the appointed and approved Savior of the world, the Son of God, who is able to save any sinner who will come to Him in faith.There is no question that stepping into a ship to go to some place is simple. The issue is the great implication that accompany that simple step into the ship. Though stepping into that ship is simple, it is no small thing for it implies that you are willing to entrust your life and safety into that ship.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
GOSPEL NUGGET # 241
A Sinner Must Be Convicted To Be Converted
Before a man can experientially know the salvation of Christ, he must first know who and what he is in the eyes of God. That he is a sinner helpless and hopeless to save himself. Aware of this knowledge, he will look and flee to the Savior who alone can save him.
Lamentably, we often rush someone to "decide" to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior even if he obviously has not seen his true condition before God by the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit. As a necessary result, we have so many shallow conversions and fill our churches with spiritual goats.
You don't truly need a Savior when you have not truly seen yourself a sinner hopeless and helpless to save yourself. You must know that you are dead to realize that you need life. Without conviction of sin there is no true conversion.
A true and faithful evangelist will not only preach vigorously the free grace of God in salvation but he also preaches the utter lost condition of man before God. He preaches the one as much as he preaches the other. The latter is in preparation for the former.
It is alarming to hear testimonies of so called conversions that are totally devoid of any trace of conviction of sin in their lives. It is not surprising therefore that there is not even a mention of "Christ" in their testimonies.
Christ is prominent when conviction of sin is present.
Before a man can experientially know the salvation of Christ, he must first know who and what he is in the eyes of God. That he is a sinner helpless and hopeless to save himself. Aware of this knowledge, he will look and flee to the Savior who alone can save him.
Lamentably, we often rush someone to "decide" to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior even if he obviously has not seen his true condition before God by the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit. As a necessary result, we have so many shallow conversions and fill our churches with spiritual goats.
You don't truly need a Savior when you have not truly seen yourself a sinner hopeless and helpless to save yourself. You must know that you are dead to realize that you need life. Without conviction of sin there is no true conversion.
A true and faithful evangelist will not only preach vigorously the free grace of God in salvation but he also preaches the utter lost condition of man before God. He preaches the one as much as he preaches the other. The latter is in preparation for the former.
It is alarming to hear testimonies of so called conversions that are totally devoid of any trace of conviction of sin in their lives. It is not surprising therefore that there is not even a mention of "Christ" in their testimonies.
Christ is prominent when conviction of sin is present.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
GOSPEL NUGGET # 240
How A Russian Got Saved
True Story
A Russian Christian was asked: "How were you saved?" This is his testimony:
When he was about 17 years of age, he was filled with the overwhelming desire to know God. There were no Bibles in Russia during those times. Russia was under communism.
Bibles were not made available but anti-Christian literature were circulated. He got hold of a copy of an atheistic dictionary which contained Bible verses in it. Bible verses were only there in order to be contradicted.
He cut out all the Bible verses that were in there and placed them all in a notebook. The notebook became practically his own Bible. Reading it, he came to know Christ in a saving way.
He realized that he was a sinner in need of a Savior. Trusting in Christ alone for salvation, he got saved.
Compare him to many people today, who have complete Bibles from Genesis to Revelation made readily available for them, but still they have not found Christ in a saving way.
The Russian man is a lesson for all---any sinner who is truly seeking God, can find Him, even in an atheistic literature that seeks to gainsay His Word.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
GOSPEL NUGGET #239
Will You Go With This Man?
Ge 24:58 Then they called Rebekah and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" And she said, "I will go."
Genesis 24 is the story of Abraham seeking a wife for His son Isaac. He sent his trusted servant (probably Eliezer) to find a wife for him. Abraham's servant found Rebekah and her family and told them everything as to what he was sent for.
A question was posed to Rebekah: "Will you go with this man?" She replied: "I will go." And he led her to Isaac, Abraham's unique son, and they became married.
This is nothing less than a picture and an illustration of salvation. God the Father sends the Holy Spirit, presenting Christ, God's Son, to the sinner. One of the Spirit's ministries is to woo the sinner to Christ. If the sinner does not resists the Spirit, he will be led to the Savior for salvation.
If you are reading this article right now and you have these desires to repent and come to Christ, know that that is the Holy Spirit wooing you.
Will you go with this "Man," the Holy Spirit, to lead you to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation?
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