New Salem Baptist Church

Such a Great Salvation Part Two

April 21, 2024

Read Hebrews 2:2-3; 14-15

We have such a great salvation! As fallen creatures we need salvation. Because we have sinned against a perfect and holy God we deserve separation from him and we deserve punishment.

The Lord Jesus, and his apostles after him, taught that this punishment is terrible and it is eternal. The apostle John calls the place of our punishment the lake of fire (Rev. 20:34-35). No one who enters it will ever leave or have any hope of redemption (Rev. 21:27). Likewise, the apostle Paul makes it abundantly clear that this punishment is eternal (2 Thess. 1:5-9).

Only those who place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and repent of their sins will be saved from the lake of fire. The exclusiveness of this salvation, that only those who have faith in Christ will be saved, has offended the unbelievers. Many find this so offensive that they will refuse to place their faith in Christ. But the exclusiveness of this salvation is too clearly taught by the Lord Jesus himself  (John 14:6; 3;18; 3:36; 8:24; Luke 10:16; 12:8-9) as well as his apostles (Acts 4:11-12; 1 John 2:23; 5:11-12). Thus, we must accept it. Our sensibilities do not have authority over Jesus and the apostles. Jesus and the apostles have authority over us and over our sensibilities. If we refuse to believe what Jesus and his apostles taught then we confirm our rebellious heart and our deservedness for eternal separation from God.

Recognizing that the words of Scripture are truth and loving the truth are the first steps in order to receive initial salvation.

That we are saved from the consequences of our sins shows the greatness of this salvation.

We also need to be saved from the power of sin. Even believers have rebellion remaining in their hearts. Our mind, our emotions, and our will need to transformed. We are saved from this power through the Holy Spirit, given to those who have faith (Ephesians 3:16-19), and through the word of God (John 17:17).

Finally, our bodies need to be saved from their corruption and mortality. This will be accomplished by receiving completely new and incorruptible bodies (I Cor. 15:50-54).

This complete salvation of spirit, soul, and body is the salvation to which the author refers in verse 3.

Last time we saw that one of the things that makes our salvation so great is the greatness of the One who procured it for us. Jesus is both God and man. He is the captain of our salvation (2:10). And, he is our high priest, ministering bread and wine to us after we do battle.

In addition to who Christ is, our salvation is great because of what he has done, what he is doing, and what he will do!

[1.] The Lord has purified our sins. We saw this in chapter one (1:3). If you have placed your faith in Christ then you can have complete peace. Your sins have been purified. Even your sins from yesterday are purified. The Lord Jesus has purified your sins once for all time (7:27; 10:10).

[2.] He tasted death for us. That is, he died in our place. This means that we do not have to die for our own sins. But those who do not have faith will die for their own sins. They will be separated from God forever. That our Lord tasted death also means that he abolished death (2 Timothy 1:10). This means that we will never experience spiritual death if we believe in him. What a wonderful and fantastic accomplishment!

[3.] Christ has destroyed Satan. Through his death he has destroyed the devil. Some might think, “How can the devil be destroyed? He is deceiving the nations of the world and the people of the world in big ways!” That is obviously true. The answer is that the devil has been destroyed in the lives of those who belong to Christ and only for them. When you sense his presence or are being tempted you can say, “Satan, you have come to the wrong place. Don’t your know that you have been destroyed?” We have also been released from the slavery of fear.

[4.] The Lord Jesus is sanctifying us. We need to be changed, as has already been stated. This process of sanctification is lifelong. It begins when we repent of our sins and come to Christ and continues until we pass this life. The more we cooperate with the Lord, by heeding our conscience and by knowing the Scriptures, the easier the process will be. If we ignore the revelation of our inadequacies then the sanctification process becomes more difficult to us. But, whether smooth or bumpy, we are being sanctified by the Lord through the Spirit and this will result in our glorification. Oh! What a Savior we have!

[5.] He helps us in our temptations.

¹⁸ For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. ^[1]

Because our Lord experienced temptation when in his earthly body he sympathizes with us in our temptations. He also helps us to overcome the temptation. However, you must resist the temptation. If you resist, he will be your Helper to overcome it. The best way to receive the Lord’s help is to call upon his name. The word in the original language for call means to “verbally invoke.” In other words, to call out loud. In fact, the louder you call the more you will experience the Lord’s help. Many followers of Christ will testify that prayer works sometimes. But sometimes it doesn’t. Many Christians have prayed in times of temptation and still succumbed to it. However, if you call you will be delivered.

⁹ Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;

you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ ^[2]

Watchman Nee tells a story about a church that he met with in China. Nee often proclaimed the importance of calling on the name of the Lord, out loud. He spoke about it so often that one of the elders of that church complained to him. He said that calling on the name of the Lord was biblical but it only had to do with unbelievers getting saved and it wasn’t for those who were believers already. He strongly opposed the practice. Then one day one of the members of that church was walking down the street and they saw that elder riding his bicycle and was hit rather forcefully by a car. He was literally flying through the air and, as he was flying, that brother heard him yell out, “O Lord Jesus!” Thankfully, he wasn’t hurt badly. But, the Lord showed him how good it is to call on his name!

When you call upon the Lord Jesus, he comes with power to deliver you!

So, our salvation is great because of what Jesus has done, what he is doing, and what he will do!

• He purified our sins
• He tasted death for us
• He destroyed the devil
• He is presently sanctifying us and will continue to do so
• He helps us in our temptations and he will help us in the future.

Finally, our salvation is great because of its amazing extent.

[1.] This salvation will bring us into glory!

¹⁰ For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.^[3]

Every saved person will be brought into glory. Some will be brought into glory sooner than others, but all will receive glory. This glory is something that will be part of us. It is not just that we will be surrounded by glory, which we will, but we ourselves will be glorious! This is amazing and wonderful, that rebellious sinners, as we are, will be glorified!

Think of the glory of springtime. There are some places on earth that have breathtaking glory in Spring. The trees, flowers, and grasses blooming show forth their beauty and their glory. If plants can have such glory, how much more will those who have followed Christ?

[2.] This salvation makes us to possess the coming inhabited earth with Christ.

In verse 5 we read:

⁵ For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. ^[4]

The author is referring to Christ and says that the world to come will be subjected to him. He will be the heir of the whole earth. Both the book of Hebrews and other passages show that those who follow him now will become co-heirs with him. One such passage is in Romans, chapter eight:

¹⁶ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. ^[5]

We are heirs of God. This means that we, too, are going to gain an inheritance and this inheritance is the earth itself with all its people! Thus, we are co-heirs, or fellow-heirs with Christ Himself! What a glory this is!

Some may think, “I’m not good enough. I’m not smart enough. I’m not capable of ruling and reigning with Christ.” If you think this way, you are not alone. I have thought these thoughts often. This leads us to the last point showing the extent of our salvation:

[3.] We are saved to the uttermost!

²⁵ Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. ^[6]

Are you discouraged because you fall into sin seemingly often? Christ is interceding for you! If you are praying and confessing, then Jesus is praying for you more than you are praying for yourself!

Do you feel that you are not good enough to inherit the earth? Remember that he is sanctifying you. You are being changed year by year, even month by month. He is transforming you so that you will have the character that you need to shine!

“What? I’m going to shine?” Yes, if you belong to Christ, you will!

⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. ^[7]

This is a promise and it is wonderful!

Do you think that you are not smart enough or not capable enough? Maybe you are not at the present moment. But the Lord is not done with you yet! Keep pressing into the kingdom. This includes persisting in knowing God’s word. I remember my first year at a Christian college as an undergraduate. One of the most difficult classes was Koine Greek (the language with which the NT was written). I did well in the class, but it wasn’t easy. There was one student, a very likable young man, who failed the class. So, he had to take it again the following semester. He studied harder. But he failed it again. He failed it a third time! Many would have given up at that point. But this young man had a deep desire to preach and he knew that, in order to graduate, he had to pass this class. So, he took it a fourth time and passed!

How strong is your desire to inherit the kingdom? The Lord wants you to inherit it! Don’t give up. Keep studying God’s word! If there are opportunities for ministry now, don’t allow them to pass you by.

[Conclusion and Application]

Our salvation is great because of:

• Who Christ is,
• In what he has done, is doing, and will do for us,
• Our salvation’s great extent

Our salvation is great because the One who procured it is great. He is both God and man! He is the Captain of our salvation and our High Priest, having been sacrificed for those who trust him.

The extent of our salvation is astounding.

• This salvation will bring us into glory. It is a glory that we will actually possess!
• We will also inherit the earth!
• These marvelous things will come to us because he saves us to the uttermost!

Because our salvation is so great, what ought we to do?

This is what we must do: we must be done with lesser things. Our time is short. When we die, it is too late to change our character. Death does not sanctify us. Many have the mistaken notion that, if they are Christians, when they die they will be somehow sanctified. But death does not sanctify us. The character we have when we die is the character that we have as we enter the next phase of our living.

Life, this life, the here and now, is what sanctifies us when we rely on the indwelling Spirit and the word of God.

Therefore, we must prepare ourselves to inherit the earth. Practically, this means studying the word of God and doing works of service to the Lord. What these are will depend on our gifts.