The Salvation of the Bible (07/03/2005)

I can tell some of you knew that one. I'd like to have Kenner come up and sing that with us next time. That'd be fun. We've got to practice. I'd like for you to turn to the book of Hebrews this morning, chapter 13 and verse 10.

The Salvation of the Bible Revealed in Hebrews 13

We're going to talk about the salvation of the Bible as revealed to mankind by the Word of God. There is only one salvation. We're going to talk about that salvation this morning from these beautiful verses.

Hebrews chapter 13 starting with verse 10. As soon as I find it. We have an altar whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. For the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest because of sin are burned without the camp.

Wherefore Jesus also that he might sanctify the people with his own blood suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp bearing his reproach. For here we have no continuing city but we seek one to come.

By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name but to do good and to communicate forget not for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

Now I'd like for you to drop down to verse 20. Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant make you perfect in every good work to do his will working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ to whom be glory forever and ever.

Amen. The last two verses, verses 20 and 21 are the main verses in our message today but some of the ones we read are introductory so let's look back at verse 10. We have an altar whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.

What this proves, this first introductory verse is that salvation is exclusive. Those from every religion and cult group in the world that attempt to please God through human service or religiosity have no right to eat at the altar which we have which is the Lord Jesus Christ himself for he is both the altar and the sacrifice.

Those who do not see it God's way those who follow man's plan of salvation which was the same as Cain's plan of salvation which is no salvation at all they attempt to bring the work of their own hands.

They are not welcome at this altar the Bible teaches in verse 10. Verse 11 says for the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burned outside the camp.

Now this was a type by the way. They didn't know why they were burning this outside the camp other than that God had told them to do it this way. But there was a picture being painted by God for thousands of years before the Lord Jesus Christ would come and it was a picture of Jesus and the fact that the carcass of these animals were taken outside the gates of the city and burned out there was a picture of the fact that Jesus Christ would come and dwell outside of the religious knowledge of his day.

He would not be a part of the religious thinking of his day. The pharisaical legalistic thinking where the trappings and the things of God were more important than God himself. Jesus would have no part in that and they would have no part with him.

It will always be that way. And so it says that just as those bodies of those beasts were burned outside the camp as a type or a picture verse 12 says where for Jesus also that he might sanctify the people with his own blood he suffered outside of the gate.

I've been to Israel and I've been to Jerusalem and I've been to Golgotha where the cross was and I've seen it with my own eyes and it looks like a skull. Golgotha means the place of the skull. It has eye sockets.

It has a mouth place and a nose socket. It looks just like a skull. It still looks the same today practically as it did the day Jesus was crucified on it and I'll guarantee you that archeology has proven that the gates of Jerusalem are in one place and that little hill is outside the gate.

He was crucified outside of the city because that city pictured the religion of the day and he had no part of it and God removed him from that and he was crucified outside the gate. It says in verse 13 now even that is another picture.

That then becomes a picture for us who live today in these last days. It says let us, you could say therefore, go forth unto him outside the camp bearing his reproach. Now you stop and think about that a little bit, that progression.

The Old Testament saints burned the bodies and sacrifices outside of the city. They didn't know why just God told them to do it that way. It was painting a picture of the fact that when Jesus came he would be cast out from the religious popularity of the day and not accepted by the religious leaders.

In fact, they in large part crucified him but he was crucified outside the city of Jerusalem. Then it brings it to us. It says now that is a picture and an example by our Lord to us today that we also should go outside the camp and we will bear reproach.

The camp pictures the established religion of the day we live in. This gate of which we are to be outside is the gate of worldly religion. The acceptable religion of the day. The institution. The popular culture religion.

The pharisaical legalism. And the modern hedonism of the social gospel. And the self-worship of the popular success preachers on TV. In short, the whore, which is the world church of the last days found in the book of Revelation, we are to come out from among her and be outside the gate of popular religion when Jesus Christ comes back.

May he find you standing well outside that gate. John chapter 14, 6 says Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the father but by me. If ye had known me, you should have known my father also.

And from henceforth ye know him and have seen him. And for this the Bible says we shall bear reproach from the same world that loves the other type of religion. So the Bible says salvation is exclusive.

All of those from camps and beliefs and cults and religions that believe that you approach God by doing good things by religiosity, by trappings, by rules, by religious aura, and burning incense, and all of those things, they have no place at this altar.

Because the only way to heaven, Jesus Christ said, is myself. I am the way, the life, and the truth. No man comes any other way. You will bear reproach if you teach that and preach that. If you tell your friends that's what you believe.

When you go to college, the mindset today is to bring all religions together and they're all just as good as any other. And if you say, well, I don't believe that, I believe Christianity is the only way, and since I'm a Christian, I'm going to heaven and you're going to hell, you won't be popular.

You might find a nicer way to say it than your preacher says it, but you still won't be popular. I don't care how nice you put it. Now you will be asked by the Lord to take that stand, by the way, young people, when you go out there.

You will have that opportunity, I'll promise you. All of you will have that opportunity to take a stand, what you learned in the scriptures, right here while you were growing up. And if you don't take it, you'll be cowardly.

I'm not saying you look for the opportunity, though. Don't be obnoxious. But when someone confronts you with a falsehood and you know the truth, and you hear that little, subtle voice saying, say something, and you're going, I don't want to, that's the time to say it.

You say, Jesus is the only way, you're mistaken. I'm sorry, but you're mistaken. You can't get there through Islam, Buddhism, etc. Now let's look at verse 14. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.

The Believer as a Stranger and Pilgrim in This World

The second great point we see in this passage is first that salvation is exclusive. Second, the saved are not of this place. Now, if you're younger today, if you're a child, teenager, young adult, I want you to listen to this, because even up into the young adult years, some of our college students and people that age, you still have had a pretty nice go of it in this world.

Your parents have taken care of you, and that's the reason why. They've loved you. They've created a greenhouse for you, you little children, the same way. Even a Christian school, in many cases, are homeschooling, and the word of God is there, and love is there, and you've had fun, because it is not wrong to have fun in this world and to eat some ice cream and some of the things we like to do.

That's all great, and you think the world's pretty good. And that's because we wanted you to feel that way in our families. But according to the word of God, you will find out, as you grow older, and not that much older, that the world hates everything to do with Jesus Christ, and since he dwells in you, the world will not like you very much.

It will actually hate you. And if given opportunity, it would slay you. But we have laws in this country right now where that can't happen, supposedly. But we need to understand, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that this world that we're living in is not our home.

We're just traveling through this place. I'll tell you what it's like, Ben and Matt, it's like we're soldiers. We like to play army many times every day. It's like we're soldiers, and we're traveling through enemy territory.

Does that make sense? So what do you have to do when you're behind enemy lines? You've got to be watchful. You've got to have your armor ready, your weapons ready. It's not the same as if you went back home and had R &R with the family because you're not home.

You're behind enemy lines. For here, we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come. Our city is the one that's coming when we're with the Lord. That is our true home. This place is not a continuing place.

Do you know what that means, young people? I hate to be the one to tell you. If you like the way things are now, they will change. There will be a day when you'll lose your mom or your dad to death unless the rapture happens soon, which it very well could.

But if not, if it takes a while for the rapture to come, you will face the death of one of your parents, eventually both, assuming you live to be a nice old age. Grandparents, ladies and gentlemen, you might face the death of one of your children.

If you're like me, you just soon go on before that happens. But what I'm telling you is there is no continuing city here. Everything changes. We're behind enemy lines. And the devil is roaming to and fro, seeking whom he may devour.

And he can even pluck them out of a congregation this solid. And so, we need to know this is not our home. We are to live as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Sarah, and all of those who are listed in the Hall of Faith, which is found in Hebrews chapter 11.

They live by faith, not by sight. I'll read a little bit of that for you. Hebrews 11, 13. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off. That's us, by the way.

We are fulfilling the Abrahamic promise. They just got to hear about it and see part of it, but they saw it afar off. Jesus had to come and live his life and die on the cross and resurrect and go into heaven before they could see the fullness of this promise.

But they saw it afar off, and they were persuaded by these promises. They had faith. Faith is being persuaded that what God says is true, even when you can't see it. And they embraced these things that they couldn't see, and they confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth, the same as we are today.

This was not their home. They were just passing through on a mission that God sent them to do here, behind the lines. For they that said such things declared plainly that they seek a country, because this is not their country.

And truly, if they had been mindful of this country from which they came out of, you see, they had already in their mind been delivered from this place. You need to live that way. When you face that horrible moment of darkness, of the valley of the shadow of death, realize that you are not from this country, and don't be mindful of this world and the way it is.

Don't think that much about how great it was growing up as a child when everything was perfect, because it's not always going to be that way. Don't be so mindful of the things of this world, but rather understand that you came out from it.

In your hearts and minds, you've already come out from this world. You're not a part of it. You're living here as a witness for God and as a soldier for Jesus Christ. So you're not part of this world any more than if you were over in Iraq today, you would be part of the nation of Iraq.

You're a soldier serving the Master. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country, this world from which they came out, they might have had opportunity to go back to it. You understand the warning there?

If you start to love things of this world in the wrong sense, you might go back to it. So you need to remember that you've come out from this world, and your home is with the Lord. But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.

Wherefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He hath prepared for them a city, and by the way, this city is a continuing city. Once you get there, you don't have to worry about change because we'll all be together as a family, brothers and sisters in Christ, and we'll be with the Lord wherever He is forever, and there will be no change to that.

Now, those who consider themselves to be not part of this world will suffer reproach. Drop down to verse 33, and I think I'm still in Hebrews 11. I'm reading from my notes. Tell me if this is right. Who through faith subdued kingdoms, now I know I'm right because I'm familiar with it.

This is a short description of how these people lived. And it's the same in our day. It's only masked by the freedom that we have in this nation, which is temporary also. There is no continuing city. The freedom to have this school, the freedom to meet in this building, is temporary.

But we've covered over the fact that it's really still this way that I'm about to read about. These people who lived by faith, we're supposed to emulate their walk. It says this in verse 33. Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, they're the only ones who could bring righteousness into this world, obtained promises from God as they walked through the enemy territory, stopped the mouths of lions.

Daniel was cast into the lion's den by the powers that be and those lions just laid there, chewed the hood like a cow. Didn't chew on Daniel at all. Quenched the violence of fire, like the three Hebrew children.

Escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, grew valiant in fight, turned to flight the enemies and the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead, raised to life again. Remember Lazarus?

And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance. They chose rather to be burned at the stake for their faith by predominantly the Roman Catholic Church. And they died receiving a better resurrection, the Bible says.

Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonments. They were stoned.

They were sawn in half, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and in mountains and in dens and in caves of the earth.

And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise because the Lord hadn't come yet in their day. They saw it afar off. God having provided some better thing for us, those of us who live in these last days, that they without us should not be made perfect.

The Abrahamic covenant cannot be made perfect through the laws of Moses. Jesus had to come, live and die on the cross, resurrect, go into heaven and bring his church into the world. And now that the church is here, it's now back to Hebrews chapter 13, verse 20.

The God of Peace, the Resurrection, and the Shepherd of the Sheep

Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant. Notice that it says the God of peace is a God of peace only to save.

He is a God of peace to save, just like he is in Romans 15, 33, where he says the God of peace is with you all. No matter what shadow of darkness you go through, you will never go through it alone. The God of peace is there.

And when you go through that, I know you can't believe it sitting here today, but if you went through it, you would have grace at that time that you don't have now because you don't need it right now.

And when you get that grace, it is as if God's hand is in yours and he walks with you through that time. The same God of peace found in Romans 16, 20, who shall bruise Satan under the church's feet shortly, the Bible says.

And the same God who is in 1 Thessalonians 5, 23, the God of peace who shall sanctify you wholly, your whole spirit, soul, and body. That's the rapture, the sanctification of the body at the rapture. The God of peace is who does this.

The same God of peace of the Old Testament in Judges 6, 22 and following Jehovah Shalom is his name. The God of peace. The same God of peace who brought peace in Colossians 1, 20 when he said, having made peace through the blood of his crops by him to reconcile all things unto himself.

By the way, that's what Romans 3, 16 means when it says for God so loved the world that he gave his son. The all things means the entire order of God, the cosmos. By him I say whether they be things in earth or things in heaven.

The same God of peace that's found in Matthew 10, 34 where it says, think not that I am come to send peace on the earth. I am come not to send peace but a sword. For I come to set a man at variance against his father and the daughter against her mother and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law and a man's foe shall be they of his own household because what will divide will be who's saved and who's not.

Who's elect and who is not elect. Who's God's seed, who's Satan's seed. Blood doesn't matter. It could be right in the middle of your family. If you had one who is not of God, he will fight to be at variance with those who are even in the family lines and especially so as we grow more and more into the last days.

So the same God of peace who is a peace to his children, a God of peace to his children is a God who brings sword to the rest of the world. Same God of peace found in Romans 6, 15 is not a God of peace to the world because it says, and the kings of the earth and the great men and the rich men and the chief captains, the mighty men, every bondman and every free man hid themselves in the dens and the rocks of the mountains and they said to the mountains and the rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb for the great day of his wrath has come and who shall be able to stand that believe it or not is the God of peace.

How does he bring peace? He destroys the enemy. There is no greater peace than once the enemy has been destroyed. There can be no war. The best defense is a strong offense. So we see that salvation is exclusive and here we see that the one who saves us is the God of peace.

Now fourthly if you go back to Hebrews chapter 13 verse 20 we're going to see that Jesus is declared to be the only begotten son of God by the resurrection of the dead. Hebrews 13 20 says now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus.

This is the great fact upon which our salvation stands. The proof that he is who he claimed to be. The proof that since he is risen he can call your name and raise you from the dead someday is found in this phrase that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ proclaiming forever that he is the only begotten son of God.

It is the resurrection that proclaims this and that the only name that may be given under heaven whereby we may be saved is the one who was resurrected Jesus Christ. Romans 1 3 concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh and declared to be the son of God with power.

What power? The power of the resurrection according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. Now as we go on in this verse Hebrews 13 20 it says now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant.

We see the fifth point in this little passage and that is that the elect are saved by the shepherd. They cannot save themselves for they are helpless. He is that great shepherd of the sheep. You did not seek him.

You were off astray from the flock. He came after you with that crooked stick and he did whatever it took to bring you in. He either used the stick or he used the rod end of it. He either whooped you back to the flock or he put the hook on your neck and he drug you back.

In fact the scripture says that no man comes to the father unless he is drawn. No man comes to the son unless he is drawn by God. That is the role of the shepherd and we see that he is called in fact the great shepherd of the sheep.

John 10 27 says my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish. Now if God gives it to you and you can never perish how can you lose it ladies and gentlemen?

You cannot lose it if it's eternal. Eternal means it's everlasting. If it's a gift and it's given to you and you now possess it and it says you never perish neither shall any man. Now the word man is not found in the Greek language so it should read this way.

Neither shall anything pluck them from my hand. How can you lose your salvation ladies and gentlemen? The only way you could is if you earned it yourselves. But if you were a sheep out wandering around lost and the shepherd came and got you and placed you in his hand and then it says my father which gave them to me is greater than all and no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand so here's Jesus' hand, here's the sheep and here's the father's hand.

How are you getting out of there? Why would you want to? Your nature's been changed and you've been given the nature of God your want to has changed. You don't want to do the things you used to do. You want to serve God.

The idea that a born again Christian could lose his salvation is straight from the pit of hell. And it is as false as the devil himself. Fortunately you've never believed that and if you did you changed your mind today.

Because the word of God testifies to you. He says my father which gave them to me is greater than all and no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand. I and my father are one and then the Jews the Bible says took up stones to try to stone him.

Why would they do that if they didn't understand what he was saying? Now Gentiles today will tell you well Jesus never claimed to be God. Don't wear the Bible. The Jews knew he did. Why do you think they picked the stones up when he said I and the father are one?

Now that brings us to the next point. In Hebrews chapter 13 verse 20 again it says now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant make you perfect in every good work to do his will.

It is this that we are made complete in Christ not in our own efforts. It is his blood only that saves us and his blood cannot fail. For you to lose your salvation his blood would have had to have lost its effect because he only shed his blood for one group and that was the elect.

He knew every number of them and every name from before the foundation of the world he knew your name and he gave that blood for you. Therefore if you end up in hell his blood didn't work. So those who believe you can lose your salvation don't know how you get saved in the first place.

They've never studied the word of God. The deep things of the blood of Christ. They don't understand the cross. They don't understand the shepherd. They don't understand the savior. What does it mean to be saved?

If you're in a house burning with fire and you've already consumed enough smoke where you're laying there on the floor dying what does it mean when you get saved from that fire? Do you get up and go well I'm going to save myself here by doing good and walking out this door.

You fall out on the grass and you live. Is that how it works? Or is there a savior who comes in that house and takes you in his arms and carries you out? And how much part did you play in being saved?

Why is it that man thinks even people in all of our churches around think that we save ourselves or play some part in that. So therefore we could lose it. That fireman has no chance of not saving you if he's Jesus Christ.

If he goes in the house to get you and comes out with you you are flat saved. And that's the end of the story. And you now have a continuing city the Bible says unlike the one that we have now. The blood of the everlasting covenant the Abrahamic covenant of which we are made a part because we are in Jesus Christ is spoken of in this phrase.

Now the God of peace that brought again Jesus from the dead that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant made you perfect in every good work to do his will. You see you are not made perfect by what you do.

There's nothing in the Bible that says that. If you could lose your salvation because you messed up on what you were doing. But if you are made perfect by the blood of the Abrahamic covenant that cannot fail because it's Jesus is blood and is perfect.

I hope the light just came on if there's anyone that's ever doubted eternal security is the truth of it. It is the everlasting covenant that brings this. Galatians 3 .13 speaks of it Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us for it is written cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ not through themselves they couldn't save themselves.

Gentiles didn't have a clue about this through Jesus Christ that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith now to Abraham and his seed where the promise is made he saith not and to seeds as many people but as seed as to one person and to thy seed which is Christ.

So the Abrahamic covenant has to do with Abraham and his seed not his seeds. That means Jesus Christ is the one who brought in and fulfilled the Abrahamic covenant and by this covenant we are made perfect by the blood of this covenant the word perfect here is katartizo it means to be complete thoroughly.

Be complete thoroughly. If the blood of Jesus makes you complete thoroughly how can you mess that up. You didn't add anything to it to start with. And it says in the phrase in Hebrews chapter 13 verse 20 and 21 it says not only that he is the great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant and that he makes you perfect but then he goes on to say this perfect in every good work to do his will through the blood of the everlasting covenant.

The works that you find yourself doing are a direct result of the Abrahamic covenant. The fact that Jesus gave his blood for you brought you into his family gave you his divine nature. And now you have the desire to serve God.

And that's the only reason you do any works. It's all a result. The works are a result of the salvation. It's not the other way around. Now if I thought I could lose my salvation I would understand it that if the works came first and then God was pleased and saved me and then I quit doing the works I could lose it.

But if the truth is that you were born with a heavenly birth and then when you're born into this world into the family of God you're now here and you have the opportunity for the first time to do good works.

And therefore the works are a result of the salvation a result of the born again experience a result of the new nature a result of the salvation that you already have which by the way the Bible says is everlasting and which by the way Jesus said no man nothing can ever take it from you then you can't lose it.

This is not even a sermon on eternal security. If you want to hear my sermon on eternal security bring a sack lunch. Galatians 2 16. Matter of fact you need one pretty quick here. Galatians 2 16. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by the faith of Jesus Christ.

Whose faith is it that saves you. Yours. No Jesus's so not only did you not have any good works you didn't even have any faith that could save you. That's on loan from God as Rush Limbaugh says. Except he got it wrong.

It's not talent. It's faith the faith of Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law or by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

The world views salvation as an attempt upon the part of man to please God whom he cannot and does not even know the word of God views salvation as a choice on the part of an all-powerful God to reach down and save those whom he has known from before the foundation of the world because they were always his children.

He has known them as his own and he shall lose none of them. He does this through the everlasting covenant which he made with his own people. John chapter 6 verse 37 continues and says. All that the father giveth me Jesus Christ says they all come to me.

But what if you didn't go out and witness on Thursday night think we might lose one or two of them. I don't think. So your witnessing didn't save them. You're supposed to witness everywhere you go by the way not on Thursday night he says.

And that all that the father giveth me shall come to me. Doesn't say they might. Doesn't say I hope they do. It says they shall. So that's what the great Calvin meant when he said irresistible grace. And he was right about it.

And him that cometh to me. I will in no wise cast out. There's your eternal security. Did you ever have a time when you came to him. Maybe you thought it was you doing it. We all thought that when we first got saved because we hadn't read the scriptures yet all we could tell was hey my mind just changed.

Lord save me. I want you now. I want to go with you now. And we thought we did that. We read the scriptures we find out it was him pulling us to himself bringing us into his arms. Well the fact that you've done that he now says he will never cast you out.

Eternal security. Is that an issue here. Of course not. If you've studied the word for I came down from heaven not to do mine own will. But that the will of him that sent me. And this is the will of him that sent me that of all which he hath given me.

I should lose nothing but should raise it up again the last day. If you lost your salvation Jesus failed. That is blasphemy. Ladies and gentlemen it cannot happen. Now we go back into Hebrews 13 20 and 21.

We see this fifth point. God himself works in the life of the believer to produce the works which God himself requires. Now think about that. It's a paradox isn't it. God says here's my law. Here's what I want you to do here's how I want you to live.

And then he comes and lives in your life and produces the very works and the fruits that he required you to have. Why'd he do that. Because he knows your flesh and mind. We can't produce that fruit but he requires it.

So he comes within our life. He puts power there the same power of the resurrection. And he brings the fruit. He brings the fruit. We just bear it. We're like a limb or a branch that has fruit coming off of it.