Is Salvation Really Worth The Struggle?
Text: Heb.2: 3; Ps.73: 1-24
Intro: The part of our text found in the book of Hebrews referred to salvation as ?great salvation.? The majority of the time probably most Christians would agree with that summation. However, there are times when we feel more like Asaph did in Psalm 73. Sometimes it seems like the unsaved and the ungodly are faring better than the children of God. We find ourselves beginning to wonder, ?Is salvation really worth the struggle? Why does it seem that my efforts to serve the Lord keep resulting in my getting the short end of the stick, while the devil?s crowd seems to prosper??
I suspect all of us have asked those questions at some point in our lives. But let us be careful to remember two things: (1) Any apparent or actual ease and prosperity of the ungodly is only temporary at best; and (2) The truth is that God says, ??The way of transgressors is hard? (Prov.13: 15b). The fact is, God sees all things as they are, not merely as they appear. Be rest assured, God is a God of justice, and He will give every man his just due.
Today I would like to examine some things that make our salvation so very wonderful, both in the present and in the future. There are a number of benefits enjoyed by the saints that the lost sinner knows nothing about. Sure, Christians have their troubles and problems. But when one accurately weighs what God has done for His children, they can only conclude that salvation is well worth the struggles of this life.
Theme: Salvation is worth the struggle because of:
I. OUR FORGIVEN PAST
A. Sin Once Ruled Our Past.
1. Sin once controlled our conduct.
Eph.2: 1 ?And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2a Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air??
NOTE: [1] As Paul explained it, one of the characteristics of our former sinful life was that we ?walked according to the course of this world? (v. 2a). The word translated ?walked? means, ?to live, to regulate one?s life, to conduct one?s self, order one?s behavior? (Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest?s Word Studies From The Greek New Testament, Vol. I, published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan; Ephesians And Colossians In The Greek New Testament, pgs. 60-61). In short, when we were lost, we conducted our behavior according the ways of the world, which is under the control of Satan.
[2] When the sin nature is in control, it dictates a person?s actions, which can ultimately be deadly.
Radio personality Paul Harvey tells the story of how an Eskimo kills a wolf. The account is grisly, yet it offers fresh insight into the consuming, self-destructive nature of sin.
?First, the Eskimo coats his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze. Then he adds another layer of blood, and another, until the blade is completely concealed by frozen blood. Next, the hunter fixes his knife in the ground with the blade up. When a wolf follows his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovers the bait, he licks it, tasting the fresh frozen blood. He begins to lick faster, more and more vigorously, lapping the blade until the keen edge is bare. Feverishly now, harder and harder the wolf licks the blade in the arctic night.
?So great becomes his craving for blood that the wolf does not notice the razor-sharp sting of the naked blade on his own tongue, nor does he recognize the instant at which his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his own warm blood. His carnivorous appetite just craves more?until the dawn finds him dead in the snow!?
It is a fearful thing that people can be consumed by their own lusts. Only God?s grace keeps us from the wolf?s fate.
Chris T. Zwingelberg.
2. Sin once controlled our mental concepts.
Eph.2: 2 ?Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.?
NOTE: One might think that the word ?spirit? refers back to the phrase ?the prince of the power of the air.? However, it does not refer to Satan in this verse, but to ?one?s way of thinking and acting? (Ibid, pgs. 62-63). In essence, the idea here is a disposition of mind, which reveals itself in corresponding action. This disposition comes from Satan.
3. Sinfulness was our natural characteristic.
Eph.2: 3 ?Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.?
NOTE: [1] The Greek word translated ?nature? refers to that which is ?innate, implanted in one by nature? (Ibid, pg. 64). To illustrate the thought found in this word we might simply ask the question, ?Why does a pig like to wallow in mud and root around in the dirt with its nose?? The answer: Simply because it?s his nature. He was born with those tendencies. In other words, a pig does what he does because he is what he is. In the same way, Paul says that in our unsaved condition, we were in rebellion against God and under His wrath as a natural course of what we were?sinners.
[2] Only Jesus can give us power to overcome our bondage to the sin nature. We must never forget that the sin nature is a horrible taskmaster.
In 1960, Israeli undercover agents orchestrated the daring kidnapping of one of the worst of the Holocaust?s masterminds, Adolf Eichmann. After capturing him in his South American hideout, they transported him to Israel to stand trial.
There, prosecutors called a string of former concentration camp prisoners as witnesses. One was a small haggard man named Yehiel Dinur, who had miraculously escaped death in Auschwitz. On his day to testify, Dinur entered the courtroom and stared at the man in the bulletproof glass booth?the man who had murdered Dinur?s friends, personally executed a number of Jews, and presided over the slaughter of millions more. As the eyes of the two men met?victim and murderous tyrant?the courtroom fell silent, filled with the tension of the confrontation. But no one was prepared for what happened next.
Yehiel Dinur began to shout and sob, collapsing to the floor. Was he overcome by hatred? By the horrifying memories? By the evil incarnate in Eichmann?s face?
No. As he later explained in a riveting 60 Minutes interview, it was because Eichmann was not the demonic personification of evil that Dinur had expected. Rather, he was an ordinary man, just like anyone else. And in that one instant, Dinur came to a stunning realization that sin and evil are the human condition.
?I was afraid about myself,? Dinur said. ?I saw that I am capable to do this?exactly like he.?
Dinur?s remarkable statements caused Mike Wallace to turn to the camera and ask the audience the most painful of all questions: ?How was it possible for a man to act as Eichmann acted? Was he a monster? A madman? Or was he perhaps something even more terrifying? Was he normal??
Yehiel Dinur?s shocking conclusion? ?Eichmann is in all of us.?
Michael G. Moriarty, The Perfect 10: The Blessings of Following God?s Commandments In A Post Modern World, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Zondervan Publishing House, 1999; pgs. 219-220.
B. Salvation Opened Sin?s Prison.
NOTE: Jesus set us free from sin’s prison. But in so doing we became His willing servant.
No man in this world attains to freedom from any slavery except by entrance into some higher servitude. There is no such thing as an entirely free man conceivable.
Phillips Brooks (1835- 1893), Perennials.
1. Faith in Christ set us free from the power of sin.
I Cor.15: 56 ?The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.?
2. Faith in Christ set us free from the penalty of sin.
Col.1: 12 ?Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:?
NOTE: [1] Folks, in our lost state, we were under the penalty of death, for ??the soul that sinneth, it shall die,? says God (Ezek.18: 4c). That?s the reason we needed ?redemption,? which means, ?a releasing, for (i.e., on payment of) a ransom? (W.E. Vine, M.A., An Expository Dictionary Of New Testament Words, Vol. III, published by Fleming H. Revell Company, Old Tappan, New Jersey; pg. 264).
[2] Paul strengthens the idea of redemption by referring to it as ?forgiveness,? which means, ?to cancel a debt? (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Complete, published by Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois; pg. 47). Our sinful condition had put us in hock for more than we could ever pay. The point of all that Paul said here is that only Christ could set us free, canceling our sin debt, by giving His own life and blood for our ransom.
3. Faith in Christ will one day set us free from the presence of sin.
I Thess.4: 16 ?For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.?
NOTE: The question today isn?t ?if? Jesus returns, but ?when.? Dear child of God, are you living in anticipation of Christ return?
The word ?maranatha? is a Syriac expression that means: ?Our Lord comes.? It was used as a greeting in the early church. When believers gathered or parted, they didn?t say ?hello? or ?goodbye,? but ?Maranatha!? If we had the same upward look today, it would revolutionize the church. O that God?s people had a deepening awareness of the imminent return of the Savior!
Our Daily Bread.
II. OUR FABULOUS PRESENT
A. We Enjoy Our Savior?s Peace.
1. The battle between our soul and God has ceased.
Rom.5: 1 ?Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:?
NOTE: [1] ?Justification means that God declares us righteous?? (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Right, published by Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois; pg. 49). It means to be declared righteous?to be given a right standing before God.
[2] ?Peace? is the result of having been justified by faith. When we were lost, living according to the ways of the world, we were in opposition to God and his ways (Rom.5: 10; 8: 7). After salvation, there is ?the cessation of hostility? between God and his child (W.H. Griffith Thomas, D.D., St. Paul?s Epistle To The Romans, published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan; pg. 148).
2. We have this peace as a gift from Christ.
John 14: 27 ?Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.?
3. The peace of God guards our hearts and minds constantly.
Phil.4: 7 ?And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.?
NOTE: The word ?keep? means that, ?God?s peace, like a sentinel, mounts guard and patrols before the heart?s door, keeping worry out? (Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest?s Word Studies From The Greek New Testament, Vol. II, published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan; Philippians In The Greek New Testament, pg. 110).
I rest beneath the Almighty?s shade,
My griefs expire, my troubles cease;
Thou, Lord, on whom my soul is stayed,
Wilt keep me still in perfect peace.
Charles Wesley.
B. We Enjoy Our Savior?s Presence.
1. Christ?s presence with us is His promise.
Matt.28: 20 ??lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.?
Heb.13: 5b ??I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.?
2. Through the person of the Holy Spirit, Christ?s presence is personal.
John 14: 17 ?Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.?
C. We Enjoy The Savior?s Provision.
1. Christ has provided us with life more abundant.
John 10: 10b ??I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.?
Phil.4: 19 ?But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.?
2. Christ has provided us with instant access.
Heb.4: 16 ?Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.?
III. OUR FUTURE PROSPECTS
A. One Day We Will Experience Our Savior?s Welcome.
Matt.25: 21 ?His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.?
B. One Day We Will Experience A Body That Is Wonderful.
1. We will receive a body glorified.
Phil.3: 21a ?Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body??
2. We will receive a body impervious to pain and grief.
Rev.21: 4 ?And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.?
3. We will receive a body covered by glistening garments.
Rev.7: 9 ?After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;?
C. One Day We Will Experience All Of Heaven?s Wonders.
1. The saints? mansions will be ready.
John 14: 2 ?In my Father?s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.?
2. The sites of heaven will be rapturous.
a. We?ll see the foundations of the wall, made of precious stones.
Rev.21: 19 ?And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.?
b. We?ll see the wall, which will be made of jasper, and the city made of gold.
Rev.21: 18 ?And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.?
c. We?ll see the gates of pearl and the streets of gold.
Rev.21: 21 ?And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.?
d. We?ll see the glory of God lighting the city.
Rev.21: 23 ?And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.?
NOTE: My! Heaven must be a wonderful place. But heaven is not so much about ?what? is there, as much as it is about ?Who? is there. Are you sure you?re ready for Heaven?
A little girl was taking an evening walk with her father. Wonderingly, she looked up at the stars and exclaimed; ?Oh, Daddy, if the wrong side of heaven is so beautiful, what must the right side be!?
Charles L. Allen in Home Fires.
Theme: Salvation is worth the struggle because of:
I. OUR FORGIVEN PAST
II. OUR FABULOUS PRESENT
III. OUR FUTURE PROSPECTS
Be sure to check out the author’s May 12, 2011 book release entitled, "Meditations of the Heart: Thoughts on the Christian Life" at: http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Heart-Thoughts-Christian-Life/dp/1453739238
Copyright © January 1986 by Rev. Donnie L. Martin. All rights reserved.
