Salvation Sermon | What It Is And Why We Need It

1. Man has sinned.

1) Sin entered the world. Genesis 2:16-17 “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

2) Sin separates man from God Isaiah 59:1-2 “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”

3) All have sinned. Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10

4) All are deserving of death. Romans 6:23; James 1:15.

2. Man needs redemption.

1) All are asking this question: Romans 7:24 “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

2) We cannot find redemption through riches, Psalm 49:6,7 “They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him.”

3) We cannot find redemption through the blood of animal sacrifices, Hebrews10:4 “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.”

4) We cannot find redemption through our own works, Ephesians 2:9 “Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

5) We cannot find redemption of our own devising and invention, Jeremiah 10:23 “O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.”

3. Christ came to redeem man with his blood sacrifice.

1) Redemption is “in Christ.” Romans 3:24 “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:” – The Place of the Redeemed

2) Titus 2:14 “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” – The People Redeemed

3) Hebrews 9:12 “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” – The Propitiation for the Redeemed

4) 1 Peter 1:18 “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; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:” – The Price of the Redeemed

1. Salvation is only in the name of Christ – By the authority of Christ.

1) Acts 4:12 “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Compare Acts 4:6

2) Matthew 28:18 “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”

3) John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” – Not Muhammad, Buddha, Confucius, etc.

2. When one is saved, one is “in Christ.”

1) No condemnation for those in Christ Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus…”

2) Redemption is in Christ. Romans 3:24 “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus”

3) The love of God is in Christ. Romans 8:39 “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

4) The one body is in Christ. Romans 12:1 “So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.”

5) Sanctification and sainthood are in Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:2 “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:”

6) We always triumph in Christ. 2 Corinthians 2:14 “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ,”

7) We are new creatures in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

8) Reconciliation with God is in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:19-20 “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”

9) Christian liberty is in Christ. Gal.2:4

10) God’s power is in Christ. Ephesians 1:19-20.

11) God’s eternal purpose is made known in Christ. Ephesians 3:11.

12) Rejoicing is in Christ. Philippians 3:3.

13) Grace is in Christ. 2 Timothy 2:1

14) Salvation is in Christ. 2 Timothy 2:10

15) All spiritual blessings are in Christ. Ephesians 1:3

3. Being in the Christ is being in His body, the church.

1) Romans 12:5 “So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.”

2) Ephesians 1:22-23 “And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.”

3) Ephesians 5:23 “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body.”

4) Colossians 1:18 “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”

5) 1 Corinthians 12:12 “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.”

1. Hear – Does merely hearing get us into Christ?

1) Must hear to believe. Romans 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

2) Hearing must be with a view toward obedience. Matthew 7:24-27 “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”

3) Merely hearing does not get us into Christ because we must hear with a view toward obedience.

2. Believe – Does merely believing get us into Christ?

1) Believing is terribly important; it is the foundation upon which salvation is laid. John 3:16, 17 “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. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

2) Belief in the Christ is mandatory if we want to be saved. Hebrews 11:6 “For without faith…”

3) But belief does not put one INTO Christ. Romans 10:10 “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.” Romans 1:16 “the power of God unto salvation; to every one that believeth.”

4) Some believe, yet are lost. James says that the demons believe and tremble. James 2:19

5) There were some Pharisees who believed, but would not repent and confess. John 12:42 “Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”

6) Believing alone is not enough. We must change our ways and repent as well.

3. Repent – Does repentance get us into Christ?

1) Repentance is mandatory for salvation. Luke 13:3 “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

2) God commands all men everywhere to repent. Acts 17:30 “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:”

3) Repentance is necessary to avoid eternal perishing. 2 Peter 2:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

4) But repentance does not bring one into Christ. Acts 11:18 “When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.”

5) Acts 19:4 contains an account of some who repented, but were not baptized correctly.

6) Repentance, like faith, is toward or unto God. Acts 20:21 “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”

4. Confess – Does confession get us into Christ?

1) Confession is necessary to be saved. Matthew 10:32,33 “Every one therefore who shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father who is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father who is in heaven.”

2) Confession is unto salvation. Romans 10:10 “for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

5. Be Baptized – Does Baptism get us into Christ?

1) We are baptized INTO the one body. 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”

2) When we are baptized into Christ we put on Christ. Gal.3:27-29 “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

3) When we are baptized into Christ we are baptized into his death. Romans 6:3,4 “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

4) By being baptized into his death, we come into contact with the blood of Christ for it was in Christ’s death that he shed his blood. John 19:34 “But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.”

5) Jesus blood was shed for the remission of sins. Matthew 26:28. Baptism is for the remission of sins. Acts 2:38. It is that place where we come into contact with the blood of Christ.