What We Believe About Salvation

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SPEAKER_00 0:01

Good morning. My name is Josue Villa. As Nick mentioned, I serve uh as one of the elders here. I serve the church. It's my privilege to serve in that capacity. And also the privilege to serve on the teaching team. So I'm glad to be up here this morning, sharing with you this message that God has put in my heart to share with you all. We're in this series talking about some of the foundational beliefs of Christianity. Now, we all have different beliefs about so many things, don't we? And I believe that God actually does give us freedom on so many issues. He really does. Some people believe that children should be educated in a certain way in public schools. Other Christians believe children should be educated at home. And God gives us freedoms. And if you want to read about those freedoms, all you have to do is go to Romans chapter 14. I'll give you some homework to start with. Romans 14, you can read about the freedoms that God gives us, about so many beliefs, so many personal convictions. But there are some, there are a handful of essentials. There are a handful of things that are non-negotiable, things that God says there is only one way. And those are the things that we've been talking about for these seven weeks. And if you remember, if you go back with me, the first week we talked, Nick talked to us about what we believe about the Bible. That we believe that it's God's spoken word to us, that it's his revelation. And through the Bible, we get to know God's character, his heart. We get to know his purposes, his will. The second week we talked about our belief in the mystery of God existing in three persons and yet still being one. One God. It's a mystery, isn't it? God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and how they all are essential in our faith. The third week we talked about humanity, hardly talked to us about all humans being created in the image of God, that there is beauty in all of us. We're this complex individuals. There's beauty in us, but there's also brokenness in all of us. And um, and for some reason, for that reason, is we need a savior to save us from a brokenness. Last week, uh Nick talked to us about Jesus and what the Bible says about Jesus being fully human and fully divine at the same time and another wonderful mystery, but how all of that, all of human uh Jesus' divinity and humanity, how all of that makes a difference for us. So that brings us to today, what we believe about salvation. Now, for some reason, uh I got the most controversial topic. I was praying when I saw the list of topics, and I was gonna preach one of them. I was like, as long as you don't give me that one, and then uh I got assign that one. But it's controversial, I believe, because in our human nature, we want to know how do I make sure I achieve salvation? How do I do this right? Is there a correct formula? Is there some kind of prayer I need to pray? Is there some uh some kind of religious ritual that I must perform? Um what are the minimum entrance requirements to heaven? Are there any teachers here at this place? Yeah, there's a few teachers. You know, what's the most common question asked in any classroom? Right? Right? Is this gonna be on the test, right? What do I need to do to pass? Um and that's how it is for some of us. When we looked at salvation, when we look at eternity, it's as we want to know what's what's the minimum, God? What's the minimum that I have to do to get in? Now, as with everything that we talked about so far in this series, there is some kind of mystery to salvation. It's not about a correct formula or a to-do list, but about a person, the person of Jesus Christ and the work that He accomplished on our behalf. So to start with, I want to just give you a simple definition. And if you have your worship God, will you take it out and fill in the blanks and at least pretend you're writing? It'll make me feel better. All right. Now, this definition doesn't come directly from the Bible, it doesn't come from a theological book. I just put it together from just my own understanding, my best understanding of today's scripture. And my prayer this morning is that it will help us as we go through this, that it will help us build up our faith. And my prayer also is that for some of you, maybe for the first time, to respond to the message of salvation. But the simple definition of salvation, according to my understanding, is this salvation does not depend on my own goodness or accomplishments, but on receiving what Christ has accomplished for me. I'll repeat that one more time. Salvation does not depend on my own goodness or accomplishments, but on receiving what Christ has accomplished for me. Now here's the problem. By nature, most of us go to our default position. And our default is to depend on our own moral accomplishments as a means, as a means of being right with God. A few years ago, a friend and I we went to Town Lake. He's a cameraman for one of the news stations. And um we went to Town Lake where right before Easter, a lot of joggers in the springtime, and and we went and I went around with a microphone asking just dozens of people, do you believe in heaven? And a lot of people didn't believe it, so they just, you know, didn't want to answer questions, but uh a lot of people did believe in heaven. So then I asked them a following question Well, how does one go to heaven? 95% of the people that we interviewed, 95% said, if you're a good person. Now, I had heard that most people believe that, and but when I actually tried it out, that astounded me. That many people are betting their eternity on that plan. Many of you here may still be on that plan. I'm a good person. I work hard, I love and provide for my family, I pay my taxes, I don't cheat or steal, I vote for the right party. I give to anyone who asks, I take my shirt off my back for anyone who's in need. I'm not perfect, but there are people who are far worse than me. There are a lot of people on that plan. And let me just say this morning that that's a dangerous plan. Because in that plan, there is absolute no need for Jesus. But as we'll see, we'll also see in a few moments, this plan leads nowhere. Let me just say before I move on that I was on that plan. I personally was on that plan. I grew up in a church home with Christian parents. Believe it or not, I was a pretty good kid. Most, they say most uh preachers' kids rebel. Uh, I'd like to think that I didn't in the big sense of rebelling. I did the right things, avoided the wrong things, or avoided the wrong crowds. I performed for God, I performed for others, I performed for my dad. I performed for God so that He would approve of me. But let me just say that that plan left me empty inside. Left me empty. I tried and I tried really hard to be a good person, and then when I would fail, I felt like I had to make up for my failures. To be in good standing with God again. I mean, I was on that plan and it tired me out. It just crushed me emotionally. You see, because that's not God's plan for us. This morning I want to look at a classic text in scripture in Ephesians 2, 1 through 9. If you have your Bible, you can open there. If not, we're gonna try to move through this fast, but you can follow up on screen. But Ephesians 2, 1, uh I'm sorry, 8 and 9. Ephesians 2, 8 and 9 says, for it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. The apostle Paul says, salvation is a free gift of God. You've been saved, you've been rescued, you've been redeemed, you've been delivered as a gift of grace. Now he says the opposite of that is what he calls works. That's the performance plan, that's the being a good person plan. That's the way of salvation, the way of salvation, Paul says, it's the gift of grace. That's the only way. Now, at this point, you would think that if you preach this, that everyone would say, Yay, grace. I want that. But Paul says, actually, there's a little issue with that. If we're saved by grace, that's a free gift. Paul says, there's no room for boasting. No room for boasting. Grace is available to us in the presence of deep humility and humbling of ourselves. And I believe that that's why this gift is rejected by so many. There's too much humility involved in this. Let me just say, what if tomorrow you went to work? What if tomorrow you went to work, you should have at work, and your boss just told you, hey, you know, you've been working for me for a while, but did you know that your job is actually a gift of grace? You're really not that good at it. You don't deserve it, you haven't earned it. It's just my free gift of grace to you. I don't know about you, but I think I would be offended. That's too humbling. I wouldn't want to work there. What if when I got home today, my wife said to me, Josue, I married you out of sheer grace. Why do you laugh? Because it's true, right? What if she said, You don't you don't deserve it, you didn't earn it, you didn't achieve anything? That would be so offensive. See, the scripture says there's a deep problem with that. The scripture says we have a problem. I have a problem, you have a problem. And the problem comes from what we know about God's character. And what we know about God is that God is love and God is just. And if we are to understand salvation, we have to understand this about God. We have to understand that God is both love and just. I think that God being love is something that we can all agree on, right? Every Christian can agree that God is love. But there's that other side to God's character, God's justice. And they both exist in God, and it's not a contradiction. God is love, and at the same time, he's just. A few weeks ago, remember, Harley taught us that we were created in the image of God and that we share some of his character traits, some of his qualities. Remember that? Love and justice, I believe there are two of those. We we don't love exactly like God loves, but we we have a bit of that. And there's also something within us that we know justice, we want justice. This last week we saw in the news a horrific crime in Spring, Texas. Just reading, I read about that. A 33-year-old man looking for his ex-wife and in cold blood executed an entire family. From a four-year-old to a fourteen-year-old and mom and dad. And I read that and as I was reading that, my blood was boiling. How could anyone? I mean, I was just imagining my kids. How could anyone do that? And everything within me just said, man, that that man deserves to die. That their justice must be served. Friends, whatever little sense of justice there is within all of us, it pales in comparison to God's justice. God, who is perfectly just and holy, was more enraged than I was by all the crimes against him. So I want to spend a few minutes talking to you about an important word in the Bible. We just sang about it in this song. We sang about atonement. Atonement, this word paints a clear picture of God's character as he loved us and as he acted justly. So let me talk to you a little bit about that atonement. We need an atoning sacrifice. We needed an atoning sacrifice. There was no other way. When Jesus' birth was announced to Joseph, the Bible says in Matthew 1, 20 and 21, he says, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. You see, Jesus was born. It wasn't just a casual life. From the very beginning, even before he was born, the purpose of Jesus' life and death and resurrection had already been set. They had already been prepared. That was God's plan. Because God saw the biggest need for humanity. God, friends, God knows our needs. And he saw the biggest need as he looked at the world and as he looked at all the depravity and all the sinfulness. He saw our biggest need to save people that couldn't save themselves with their own performance plans, to save people from their sins by humbling himself and coming down to be one of us, to live a sinless life, and then to die the death that he died, all to earn our salvation. And all of that is referred to as atonement. And the question for us is do I really need someone to atone for me? Or is that too humbling? Friends, God knows our needs. Let me talk to you a little bit about those needs. Why we need an atoning sacrifice? Aren't we needy people? We're so needy, aren't we? Physically, emotionally, spiritually. We're we are needy. And I'm not just talking about women. Men are needy too, right? Oh, sorry. We're all of us are needy. Often we look to God as a means to get us out of our tough circumstances or a way to make our lives a little more comfortable. But God's biggest concern for us, friends, is to feel our deepest needs. And one of your biggest needs and my needs is someone that would pay the penalty for my sin and your sin. And Jesus did that. Jesus paid the penalty that I deserve to pay. The Bible, which we believe is God's truth, says in Romans 3.10, there is no one righteous, not even one. Well, there goes that good person plan. A few verses down, Romans 3.23, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We've all sinned, Paul says. We all like to think that we're good people, but the problem is that God knows our hearts, doesn't he? Other people don't know what's in there. So we perform for others, but God knows. God knows all the secrets, all the hateful thoughts, all the rage, all the bitterness, all the arrogance, all the ingratitude, all the pretending, all the greed, all the lies, all the hidden habits. He knows them. We can't hide them from him. And see, that's a problem because God is perfect and holy and just, and when all that sin adds up because of his justice, a penalty has to be paid. The Bible says in Romans 6 23, for the wages of sin is death. It might be too humbling for you, but when all that sin it keeps adding up, it deserved a penalty. The death of Jesus died, that's actually what we deserve. See, often we forget that God actually had options. When it comes to our lives and our eternity, God has options. And he had options. One of those options is just to let us go on our own. Bible says we've all turned away from him, and that's one of his options, just to take hands off and let us lead our own lives. And you know where that ends. It always ends in destruction. Not sometimes, but it will always end in hurt and pain. Being lost. God has that option. He had another option. That option was death. That option was to crush us. He had an option to just wipe us out like he did in the times of Noah. He had that option. He had that right. But he instead had a third option, and that was to send his son to pay the penalty for our sin. And I know that is humbling to know. That God chose another way. I don't know about you, but that that humbles me that he had that option on my life to bring death. He he did. But he rescued me. Jesus stepped in and filled that need. You may not be aware of that need today. Maybe you've never been aware of that need, but if you've never accepted that gift, that it's always available for you. The apostle John said in 1 John 4 10, this is love. Not that we have love, God. There's nothing we can't accomplish this love that that's not real love, but that real love is this that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Friends, God knows our deepest needs, and it's humbling to know that it required the death of Jesus to atone for me. That is something that I can't do for myself. That's one reason. Another reason for the uh need for an atoning sacrifice was this that Jesus bore God's wrath that I deserve to bear. Seven hundred years before Jesus, the prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 52, 53, I'm sorry, four and six, but he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way, followed just my own plan. And he says, But the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all. He just poured it all on him. See, friends, the death that Jesus died was not like any other death. He was wounded, he was stricken, he was crushed, he was disfigured. I know when we look at the crucifixes nowadays, you know, I know that Jesus is crucified, but it's Jesus is still kind of nice and neat, right? And with a loincloth and still with nice open arms. We forget that the Bible says that I mean he was stripped of all his clothes, humiliated, crushed. Isaiah 52 14 says, His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man, and his form marred beyond human likeness. It was horrific. It wasn't a hero's death like we see in the movies, like Gladiator, that's my favorite movie, right? Dies in the end and they honor him, and it's just nice. No. God unleashed his wrath that our sins deserved on Jesus. Romans 5:9. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him? We were saved from God's wrath. See, we need salvation from God's wrath, and Jesus offers that as a free gift. Number three, Jesus' atoning sacrifice also filled another need, and that was that Jesus' death made peace and reconciled us to God. I don't know what your needs are today, but I know we all have this need. We have a need for God. Some of you may be here. You have a need for God, maybe to solve your personal problems or fix a relationship or to get up out of a financial crisis. And let me just say, God cares about those things. He does. He cares about those needs. He cares about our problems. But the deepest human need that we have is for us to be reconciled to our Creator. Anyone ever been to the Grand Canyon? One person? Y'all need to get out more. Okay, a few more people. Right? I've never been. I need to get out. But I've seen pictures. But imagine this: this is Grand Canyon. Imagine God on one side and you on the other. And there's that great chasm. Imagine trying to get to God. Trying to jump. Trying to get there. It doesn't matter what kind of athlete you are. It doesn't matter if you high jumped in high school or college. We would all fall short of the glory. We would all fall short of God. You see, that chasm right there, it was brought on by our sin. That separation from God, it was brought on by our sin. Isaiah 59, 2 says, Your iniquities have separated you from God. Your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear. Friends, that's a big problem. That chasm is a big problem that you can't overcome on your own. If you're on one side of the Grand Canyon and God's on the other, you cannot close the gap as hard as you try. Only Jesus' death was able to do that. Romans 5.10 says, For if while we were God's enemies, we were God's enemies. We were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son. How much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life? Salvation. There's only one way to be reconciled to God. Jesus. Out of all our needs, that's a big one. Number four, the atoning death of Jesus accomplished one more thing for us. Jesus paid a ransom to buy our freedom from our sin. See, Jesus paid a heavy price, not only as a penalty, or to take the wrath that we deserve or to reconcile us to God, but He bought our freedom. Through His death, He bought our freedom from the bondage of sin. The Bible is clear, apart from Christ, we are slaves to sin. But Jesus paid our ransom to purchase our freedom. If someone abducted one of my kids, Joshua or Tabbit or Susanna, and the abductors called me and asked me for a ransom. Do you know what I would do? Just like any parent here would do. I would take all the money in my account, my savings, I would sell our house, our cars, all our possessions. I would go to the bank and borrow money. I would come to you, some of you, and ask you for money. I would do anything, I would exchange it all for one of them. And that's what Jesus did for you and me. Apart from God, you are captive, you are in bondage, but God who is rich in mercy bought your freedom. 1 Timothy 2, 5 and 6 says, For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind. Not many, not many ways. There is one. The man Christ Jesus who gave himself as a ransom for all people. So you see, Jesus live a perfect life and sinless life, and he died this horrific death. He paid the penalty for our sins. He took the complete brunt of God's wrath on our behalf. He overcame the great chasm that separated us from God and He frees us from the bondage of sin. Now, at this time, the whole church is saying, Oh, come on. Right? See, that's what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. And that's what we believe as followers of Christ. We have a great salvation in Christ. That's the work of Jesus' atonement for our sins. There is only one that can offer this salvation. The apostle said Acts 4, 12, salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. And that's what we believe as the church, as followers of Christ. We believe it to the core. There is no other way, no other way for men and women of every nation, every tongue, any religion to be saved other than faith in Christ. But here's the thing salvation is a humbling thing because there's no boasting. Yay, I did it. No, you didn't, I picked you up. It requires humility to receive a gift. There are some people that I know that just can't receive this gift. I don't know if it's too much pride. Maybe that's why it's so dis difficult for so many to grasp salvation, because we want the perfect formula, we want the correct steps instead of just receiving. And that is our first response, our response to the gift of salvation. Is there a response? Yeah, I believe so. And it's this to receive his grace and forgiveness. Just receive it. Quit fighting it. Quit trying to fix it yourself. Get off the self-salvation and performance plans. They say that lifeguards, I don't know much about lifeguarding, but they I read that lifeguards they actually have a hard time saving people when they're drowning. They have a hard time because people are fighting. They kick and scream, and they won't let the lifeguard just save them. And that's how it is with so many of us. We just will not let go. We will not let go and allow God to save us. To everyone who has experienced salvation, I this is just a recurring theme every time you hear someone talk about their salvation. There came a moment when it just clicked. When the light went on. When they realized that they the awful danger that they were in, that we were not aware how far the divide was between us and God, that we didn't know the danger of encountering God's wrath and holy justice. We didn't know that Jesus actually paid a heavy penalty for us. But for some that received that gift, it's at the moment that they get it, it just clicks. For some people, it happened at a church service, for others, it happened in a jail cell. Or in a time of distress or pain or simply when they heard it from a friend. In my experience, when people talk about their salvation, they talk about when the light finally went on and they'll say, I finally understood the gravity of my sin and the wonderful gift of grace that Jesus would die for me. And I'm so thankful, I'm so thankful, I'm so thankful, and I am in awe of God. And when that happens, friends, usually you also see this change in them. It's what we call repentance, it's a response, it's a natural response, it's not something that you force, it's something that happens when the light just clicks. To repent from our sins and its lifestyle. This happens when people see the gravity of their sin and they compare it to God's love. See, repentance was not a religious word. It all it means is just making a U-turn. If you were heading that way on the highway, you make a U-turn and start heading the other direction. It's not about fixing anything, it's just making a U-turn. Salvation, friends, I've also found that it's more than just an intellectual thing. It evolves the heart. 50 days after Jesus was crucified, Peter preached the first gospel sermon. He clearly communicated, more clearly than I could ever or anyone could ever communicate, but he clearly communicated what had happened through the death and the resurrection of Jesus to the same people who had crucified him. He told them that the Jesus who they had just crucified had died for their sake. This was a gift of grace. Bible says in Acts 237, when the people heard this, they were cut to the heart. Yes, it's an intellectual thing at times, but it's also a heart issue. I have always loved that passage because the light went on for many of those people there. The message became clear and it cut to the heart. And when it finally gets to the heart, friends, things change. People change, lives change. The rest of the verses, and they said to Peter the apostles, brothers, what shall we do? How should we respond? Peter replied, repent, be baptized, make a U-turn, follow Jesus. Another thing that happens when the light comes on is that there is surrender, complete control to Him. When I repent, when I confess Jesus as Lord, an exchange happens. Not something that I do, something that God does. I give up control because having control, friends, is tiring. But when he has control, God does wonderful things in our lives that we can't do for ourselves. God takes our old messed up heart and gives us a new heart. He gives me the Holy Spirit to live inside of me, to be my guide, my friend, my forgiver, my leader. And he takes full control. I just get in the back seat. Not because he forces himself on me, but because the light comes on and I realize it's better if he takes control of my life. And what happens when he changes my heart, it just makes me into a different person. My heart becomes more tender. I've seen greedy people become more generous. Angry people become more loving, more humble. People who all they cared were selfish and all they cared about with themselves, they become servants of others. I've seen it time and time and time again. That's the work of Christ. I can't do any of those things on my own, but because of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, it's possible. Friends, that's the gospel. We believe God's free gift is available to anyone. We believe that. It doesn't matter where you've been, no matter your age. Oh, I'm too old. No, I'm too young. Doesn't matter. It doesn't matter your background, how good or bad you think your performance has been in the past. It doesn't matter. But you do have to decide. Jesus will not force himself on anyone. He gently waits on people to believe and repent. My prayer today is not only that we would have gotten smarter, okay? I hope you did. But my prayer is also that for some of you here, that it would click. Maybe for the first time. If it has clicked for you, for you to know that you can receive this gift. Turn to him and say, God, I finally understand. I finally understand my position where I was in your position, and it finally clicked. I want I I understand now how much you really do love me. I understand. I confess my sin. I I repent, I turn away from that life. I want to put my life in your hands.