WHEN
IS A PERSON SAVED?
Part 2
When is a person saved? I
can tell you this - Salvation is something more than walking down an aisle at
the end of a church service and saying what religious hucksters call "the
sinner's prayer". Salvation is an operation of the grace of God upon a
man's heart. Salvation is a living union with the living Lord. The Word of God
makes it very clear that salvation is not something you do for God, it is
something God does for you. Salvation is not accomplished by man, not by the
works of man, nor by the decision of man, nor by the free-will of man.
Salvation is not a co-operative program in which God does his part and you do
your part.
"SALVATION IS OF THE
LORD!" It is God the Holy Spirit who quickens, regenerates and gives life to
dead sinners. It is God the Son who redeemed, justified, and pardoned his
people. It is God the Father who chose his own elect, determined to save them,
and predestinated them unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ. Salvation
is not by man's decision, but by God's decision. Salvation is not by man's
power, but by God's power. Salvation is not by man's work, but by God's work.
Salvation is not by man's will, but by God's will. But the question I am I
asking is this, when is a person saved?
The Word of God teaches us
very plainly that A PERSON IS SAVED WHEN
HE IS BROUGHT UNDER THE AUTHORITY AND DOMINION OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND
MADE TO BOW TO THE SON OF GOD AS LORD. A man must be brought under the
authority of Christ, because he will not submit to Christ by his own choice. A
person must be made to submit to the dominion of Christ, because he is a rebel
by nature. You must be made to bow to the Son of God, because you are stiff
necked rebels against his throne by nature.
My friends, the Bible knows
nothing of a doormat named Jesus. The Word of God known nothing of a
fire-escape from hell called Jesus, Holy Scripture knows nothing of a salvation
that allows a person to take Christ as his personal Savior while refusing to
bow to Christ as his sovereign Lord. THE
WORD OF GOD AND THE GOSPEL OF HIS GRACE DEMAND THAT YOU BOW TO THE AUTHORITY
AND SOVEREIGN DOMINION OF CHRIST. "If
thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus (confess Jesus to be Lord),
and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou
shalt be saved." This is what Christ himself says "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and
wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he
cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after me,
cannot be my disciple ... Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he
hath, he cannot be my disciple".
Is Jesus Christ your Lord?
If so, you are saved. If not, you are yet under the wrath of God. SALVATION IS NOTHING LESS THAN THE HEART
BOWING IN SURRENDER TO THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST. Faith's first, constant, and
last act is to submit to Jesus Christ the Lord. Where there is no submission of
the heart to Christ, there is no saving faith in Christ.
All To Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give:
All to Jesus I surrender,
Humbly at His feet I bow.
My friends, either you will
be a servant under the dominion of King Jesus, voluntarily giving up everything
to the claims of the sovereign Christ, or you will go to hell. "No man has
truly given himself to Christ unless he has said, ‘My Lord, I give thee this
day my body, my soul, my powers, my talents, my goods, my houses my children
and all that I have. Henceforth, I hold them at thy will, as a steward under
thee. Thine they are. As for me, I have nothing. I have surrendered all to
Thee.’"(C. H. Spurgeon)
AMEN.
Grace Baptist Church of Danville - Grace For
Today Radio Message #637
2734 Old Stanford Road -
Danville, Kentucky 40422-9438
Donald S.
Fortner, Pastor -Telephone 606-236-8235 - Email grace@mis.net