SALVATION BELONGS TO JESUS
By Michael D. O’Neal
Pastor, Gospel Light Baptist Church
Albany, Georgia
Scripture Reading: Ps. 3:1-8
Text: Ps. 3:8
Psalms 3:8 Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.
Introduction: This entire Bible is about Jesus! Before any of the New Testament books were written, He said:
John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
While the great truths of salvation are not defined in the Old Testament, they are certainly prophesied and pictured there. Our text is one of the great Old Testament statements that bear witness to a New Testament truth, even as does the statement by Jonah in Jonah 2:9:
Salvation is of the Lord.
Jonah’s pronouncement, that salvation is OF the Lord can refer to the fact that:
Salvation ORIGINATED with the Lord
Salvation is the OPERATION of the Lord
Salvation is OWNED BY the Lord, or salvation belongeth unto the Lord
In our text we see this great truth, and this is the title for the message, that
SALVATION BELONGS TO JESUS
The difference between what we Christians call salvation and what the world calls religion is that salvation belongs to the Lord, and religion belongs to man.
Jesus IS SALVATION!
He is the way to salvation!
He is the truth about salvation!
He is the life in salvation!
He is the door of salvation!
He is the author of eternal salvation!
Jesus is the only way to heaven!
Jesus is the only name under heaven for salvation!
I. JESUS PLANNED SALVATION BEFORE THE WORLD BEGAN
Titus 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
A. He perceived the need
B. He planned and promised the solution – through types and prophecies:
1. The seed of the woman
2. Abraham – God will provide himself a lamb
3. The lamb of the passover
II. JESUS PROVIDED SALVATION FOR THE WORLD
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
A. Jesus desires for ALL men to be saved
B. Jesus died for ALL sinners
III. JESUS PURCHASED SALVATION WITH HIS BLOOD
1 Peter 1:18-19 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
A. Our sin created a great debt
B. Our Savior paid a great price
IV. JESUS PROVIDES SALVATION AS A GIFT
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
A. The purchase has been made
B. The package is God’s gift
V. JESUS PRESENTS SALVATION BY HIS SPIRIT TO INDIVIDUALS WHO BELIEVE
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Acts 16:29-31 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
It is a personal choice
A. To believe the message of the gospel – Rom. 1:16
B. To believe the MAN of the gospel – the Lord Jesus Christ
This “belief” is a trust, a faith, or a dependency, but it is still belief. John 3:16 is still true “that whosoever BELIEVETH in him should NOT perish, but have everlasting life”! Amen!
Jesus bought salvation,
The gospel taught it,
The devil fought it, but
The Spirit brought it,
And I caught it! Amen!
VI. JESUS PRODUCES SALVATION THROUGH HIS WORD
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
1 Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
James 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
A. The scriptures give the answer
B. The scriptures do the action – 1 Pet. 1:23
C. The scriptures bring the assurance – 1 Jn. 5:13
VII. JESUS PRESERVES SALVATION BY HIS POWER
1 Peter 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
John 10:27-30 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and my Father are one.
A. Jesus saves
B. Jesus seals
C. Jesus secures
For you, the devil, or anyone else to be able to undo God’s salvation and the security of the believer, you would have to be stronger than the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Almighty.
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Revelation 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Revelation 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Will you trust Him today to save your soul?
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Michael D. O’Neal (Proverbs 11:30), Pastor, |