What Do You Mean by This Saved Business? — Peter Brandon

Salvation Through Faith in Christ

The subject tonight is, what do people mean by this saved business? This is what a man put to me, and I'm giving you it verbatim. What do you mean by this saved business? Now my reading tonight is from Romans chapter 10, and I'm going to read from verse 1.

Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they, being ignorant of God's righteousness, are going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, that the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise.

Say not in thine heart who shall ascend into heaven, that is to bring Christ down from above. Or, who shall descend into the deep, that is to bring up Christ again from the dead. But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thine mouth and in thy heart.

That is the word of faith which we preach. That if thou shalt confess with thine mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

For the scripture saith, whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed, meaning disappointed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek. For the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Now God will bless to us the reading of his word. Many people are confused about this word saved. For instance on one occasion I was on a bus in London and the man that I was with was a very bold witness.

And he had a very large badge, Jesus saves. And I heard a cockney bus conductor saying to him, you couldn't save for my job. You don't get enough money. Jesus saves. Now can you see that that man had the wrong impression altogether.

Again I was speaking to another lady and she said of course I'm saved. I was desperately ill and dying. And I just prayed that God would help me and he did. And he saved me from death. Now of course it's nearer to the bone.

But quite frankly it's not a physical salvation. So then what does this word basically mean? Now first of all we must see if it's physical. And if we had a good concordance and we went through the Old Testament.

We would find that the word is mentioned 300 times. And if we went through the New Testament we would find that the word is mentioned 69 times. In fact every time we say Jesus we are really saying Jehovah the Saviour.

For that's what his name is. And therefore right at the heart of Christianity is this lovely word Jesus. And right at the heart of Jesus is this word Saved and Saviour. And what kind of person would he be if he didn't save people when they call him Saviour.

Salvation Is Needed by Everyone

Then someone might say well is it universal? A few years ago if you wanted to hear a good preacher in London. Someone would take you to hear Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones at Westminster Chapel. And you would hear that man with all the brilliance of his Welsh oratory.

Saying to a vast congregation they might be church members. They might be moral people. But they all needed to be saved. And that's a Congregationalist. Then perhaps you might say to your God. Take me to see someone that's perhaps in the Anglican Church.

And in those days they would take you to All Souls Langham Place. And you would hear the Queen's Chaplain John Stott. And he would say to a very cultured congregation with a very cultured English voice.

And he would say something like this. You may be christened. You may even be confirmed. But you all need to be saved. Now that's an Anglican. A Church of England. Then you might say well take me to hear a good Methodist.

And in those days you would go and hear Dr Sangster. At Westminster Central Hall. And you would have a job to get in because there would be people queuing to get in. And there would be three thousand people packed in that church.

And you would see that patriarchal man preaching. And he would say something like this. You might even have the handshake of fellowship. But that won't save you. All of us, religious or irreligious, need to be saved.

And that's a Methodist. And then you might want an excursion from that kind of preaching. And so you would say to your friend that was your guide. Take me please to hear a good Baptist. And in those days you would go and hear a man by the name of Stephen Alford.

Dr Stephen Alford. And you would go to Richmond. And again you would see a packed congregation. And would you believe it he would say something like this. You may be a member of my church. You might even be a baptized member.

But that won't save you. Every one of you must have a direct relationship with Christ in salvation. And that's a Baptist. So can you see dear friends. It's not the doctrine of a particular religion. It's the doctrine of the Bible.

Humanity’s Need for a Saviour

Now someone will say well do you think the word is practical. Do you think the world needs a saviour. Do you think poor Britain needs a saviour. Do you think Australia needs a saviour. Now let's get far more personal.

Can we all cope. Of course we can't. Man desperately needs a saviour. So can you see it's a word that brings us right down to earth with a bump. This word saved. Now I'm going to look at it in three ways.

First of all the why of salvation. Secondly the who of salvation. Then thirdly the how of salvation. Now why do we need to be saved. The only person that doesn't need to be saved is the person that's never sinned.

Have you ever met that person. I'm sure you haven't. We all know by the hard rub of life that we sin. You do not know or need a preacher tonight to convince you that you have sinned. You know it by your own conscience.

For instance we lose our temper. We tell a lie. We get irritable. Sometimes we gossip. Sometimes we laugh. Sometimes we get jealous. These are the particular sins that plague the human family. And we all know that it hinders us personally.

And that's why we need to be saved. Because of the great fact of sin. Now someone might say this. The trouble with you Christians is this. You have a neurosis about sin. A complex. Don't you believe it.

Now here are some facts. Someone might leave this building tonight and you might go home. And when you get into that home you see a confounded mess. What's happened? A burglar has come in. What is that?

That's downright sin. That's not only neurosis. A little child might come home from school. A beautiful little child. And when that little child comes in you can see that someone has molested that little life.

That's sin. And that's a killer. Or. An old lady is walking the street with her handbag. And all of a sudden she feels a heavy thing on her head. And she's thrown to the ground. And someone steals the bag.

What's that? That's sin. Or. A man comes home and he opens the door and he feels there's something strange about the house. And he sees a letter. And his wife has left him with the two children. And he's smashed to pieces.

That's sin. Ladies and gentlemen let me say it slowly. Sin is our number one killer. Sin has got the nation by its throat and it's destroying it. And there's no politician that can handle it. There's only one person that can deal with sin.

And that's Jesus Christ. And the reason why we need to be saved is because of the ugly fact of sin. And we're all guilty of it. Every single one of us. But secondly we need to be saved from the fact of sin.

Salvation from Sin’s Power

And we need to be saved from the power of sin. Now I know this is very sensitive. But we're living in days when we must be honest from the platform. Every single person in this building has a besetting sin.

Every single one of us. And there's not one person in his own power that can handle his besetting sin. Take for instance a man that has a shocking bad temper. When he gets aroused and he does something that's drastic.

Why did that man lose his temper? There's a power he can't control. Here is a person that's constantly gossiping. Causing trouble everywhere. And you begin to say to her. Madam why don't you control your tongue?

She can't do it. There's a power that's hindering her. Can I go deeper? Hundreds of men and women when they go into the bathroom have a besetting sin. That causes them to abuse their bodies. And this is why scores of people live a secret life.

And that kind of sin can turn on homosexuality and lesbianism. And let me raise my voice when I say this. God hates homosexuality. In fact he has judged it. And therefore we see these mounting besetting sins.

And we see them controlling people and destroying people. And none of us are exempt. Now being saved not only means being saved from the fact of sin. But it means being saved day by day from the power of sin.

You see and this is the wonderful thing about the gospel. The Lord Jesus can not only forgive your sins. But he can give you power to live above the gravity of sin. Now if we have seen the deadly seriousness of sin in our society.

God’s Judgment on Sin

I wish I had longer in order to explore this with you. How does God react to sin? Now my dear friends may I say this. God hates it. Do you know why? Because sin destroys society. Sometimes I have often seen a mother picking up a baby that has cancer.

And as she holds that little darling. She loves the child but she hates the cancer that is killing the child. God loves you. But he hates the cancer of sin that is destroying you. And therefore God has made one complete decision that is irreversible.

And he says this. The wages of sin is death. The soul that sinneth it shall die. And that means if you die in your sins you are completely lost. Last night I went through deep sorrow after the address when I spoke on the subject of hell.

Whenever I speak on that subject my sleep goes from me completely. But may I say this dear friends. With all the love that God can give me. Out there in the mystery of the abyss. There is a realm called hell.

And if a person dies in his sins. He is lost forever in that sphere. And that is why you need to be saved. God is determined to keep sin out of heaven. He said the naught that defiles shall ever enter in.

And therefore we can see now the deadly seriousness of sin. It not only separates us from God. But it will separate us eternally if we are not saved. Now I know this is using ordinary illusions and illustrations.

But if a man is going to live. He must drink water. If a person is going to really live. He must breathe correctly. If a person is going to live. He must eat a certain amount of food. They are essential.

But the most essential thing in life above all other things is to be saved. And that is why the word of God says very clearly. How shall we escape if we neglect. So great salvation. What haunts me on many nights is this.

That thousands of people that we love. They go through life without Christ. They die without Christ. And when they open their eyes in eternity. They are lost forever. And what a tragedy. And that is why we need to be saved.

Christ Came to Save Sinners

Now who can save us? Well the reason why Jesus Christ came into this world was not to give us a state visit. When Jesus Christ left heaven and came into this planet. He came for one purpose alone. And the apostle Paul sums it up beautifully.

And this is what he says. This is a faithful saying. It is absolutely true. Unworthy of all acceptation. Everyone can accept it. That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And therefore when Jesus Christ came into this world.

He came into this world praise God. To grapple with the monster of sin. Therefore when he was born to Joseph and Mary. The name was given. Let me quote scripture verbatim. Thou shalt call his name Jesus.

For he shall save his people from their sins. The apostle John sums it up all beautifully. When he says the father sent the son to be the saviour of the world. And the Lord Jesus put everything in a common nutshell.

When he says the son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. So can you see ladies and gentlemen. The prime purpose of the Lord Jesus coming into this world. Was to be the saviour. Now how could he save us?

The Cross and Substitutionary Atonement

We know that when Jesus Christ was here. He did outstanding miracles. But miracles wouldn't save us. We know from Matthew chapter 5 to 7. He gave us a piece of oration. That was the most balanced form of oration that we have in literature.

But an oration wouldn't save us. You see dear friends. If we get our facts right theologically. We find this. Man has sinned. He has broken the commandments of God. He is born with a sinful nature. And because of the fact that he has sinned.

And he has this sinful nature. He is guilty before God. And therefore he is under judgment. Now it meant two things. A divine person would come into this world. And actually bear the judgment for us. Or we bear it ourselves.

And when Jesus Christ came into this world. He came into this world to die. And on that cross to grapple with the fact of sin. Therefore when you look at the cross carefully. You will find that the Lord Jesus was six hours on the cross.

Please note this. He was three hours before men. And if I may use slang phraseology. He allowed men to butcher him. I am not going into the details of that tonight. But the cross was the worst form of torture that man has ever invented.

And he met all the hatred of the human family. By a beautiful prayer. Father forgive them. They know not what they do. You will notice he didn't say I forgive them. There was never a moment in his heart when he was bitter.

He was thinking of the father's thoughts. And he says father forgive them. They know not what they do. And then the greatest thing in the universe took place. From the sixth to the ninth hour. Darkness covered the whole earth for the first time.

And in those three hours God brought sin together. In all its infinite mess. God brought together the whole sinful nature of the human race. And God measured its judgment and God measured its condemnation.

And he brought that sin together in such a way. That Christ became a bearer of our sins. But more than that. He bore the judgment of those sins. And at that moment it was so deep. And now I am going to use prophetic language.

He actually said on the cross. I sink in deep mire where there is no standing. The waves and the billows pass over me. And on the cross according to the word of God we read this. He was wounded for our transgressions.

And he was bruised for our iniquity. And the chastisement of our peace was upon him. And with his stripes we are healed. And he was made so much one with our sin. That he cried the language of people in the abyss.

My God, my God why has thou forsaken me? You see there was nothing figurative about Christ bearing our sin and judgment. It was absolute bare reality. That there on that cross he became as it were a mediator between God and man.

And bore the judgment of our sin. And ladies and gentlemen I want to say this now to you from my heart. You will never be loved like that by any other man. The God that created you was the same person that died for you on the cross.

And he bore your sins in his own body on the tree. So that you might be righteously forgiven and saved. But if I left you there, there would be a problem. When Jesus had exhausted the wrath and the judgment of God.

He turned his eyes heavenward and he said with a mighty voice. Finished, done. And the work was complete. And if I stayed there that would be a wonderful message. But something would be wrong. Now why?

The Resurrection and Christ’s Continuing Salvation

A dead man can't help you. Just before I came here I was at a funeral. And I saw a mother weeping at the grave of her husband. And she was talking to a dead man. Now I knew the sentiment. But we all know someone who is dead cannot help you.

What a dreadful thing it would be if I said this to you. You must go to the sepulcher there at Jerusalem. And worship the body that is decomposed. What a tragedy, what a tragedy. But here is the difference.

Jesus Christ died, died for our sins. Was realistically buried in a solemn tomb. And on the third day he was miraculously raised from the dead. And that's why Christianity is different from all the other religions of the world.

And because God has raised him from the dead. God has received him back into glory. And sitting upon the eternal throne of God that will never be toppled is Jesus Christ. And God has conferred upon him the authority and the privilege of being the universal saviour.

And the word of God says this, I love to quote it. He is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him. Seeing he ever lives to make intercession for us. And may I say this dear friends.

He's been in the soul saving business for two thousand years. And he hasn't lost a game. Not one. And as I stand on this platform tonight. I want to tell myself now. He's saving millions in China tonight.

He's saving millions in the far east. In certain parts of South America. There are mighty movements of the spirit. And hundreds are coming to Christ. And I believe in Australia here in this little hall tonight.

There's a man there. There's a woman there. There's a man there. That he wants to save. And probably tonight he'll save you. And you will know it. You see he's alive. He's more alive than the preacher.

And he's able to cleanse you from sin. And to give you the power to live above its gravity. Now when he saves. He always saves immediately from the guilt of sin. So that the fear of death goes. Then because he lives.

He has the power to save you day by day. If you keep on coming to him in faith. And once you have been saved. Hallelujah. You can never be lost. He says I give unto my sheep eternal life. They shall never perish.

Calling on the Lord for Salvation

Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. Now you say that's all very very good. That's the castle in the sky. How do you bring this right down to us in the congregation? How do we get saved? Now I wonder could I ask a very abrupt question?

Would you allow me? Do you want to be saved? Now do you? Now if you want to be saved. The Lord is longing to save you more than you desire to be saved. Now how do we get saved? First of all the scripture says.

Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. That means it's a call of simplicity. When you go to a doctor and he gives you some medicine. In the old days it used to be in a glass. You used to try and read the bottle and you couldn't read the writing of the doctor.

But you poured it in the glass with some water and you drank it. And if it was good medicine the drinking of it would do you good. A simple act. When you sit down for a meal. Someone puts the knife and fork by your side and all you have to do is to receive it.

You don't have to run round the table 55 times before you eat the meal. You just receive it. When a person is drowning in the water. You don't dive in and say. John copy my example and do the breast stroke.

The poor man if he could gurgle would say. I can't do the breast stroke. You have to save him. And my dear friends. Please scriptures. When you're going to be saved. The Lord Jesus has to do the saving 100%.

You do the calling. And the trusting. That's all you can do. Lord I'm so weak. I can't live above the gravity of sin. I hate it. I want to turn from it. Thank you Lord for dying for me. And save me now.

But it's a call of urgency. It's not the call of a friend where you pick up the phone and you have 20 minutes. Conversation. Not that call. It's the call of a drowning man. In my naval days there in the North Sea.

A man fell overboard late at night. And I shall never forget hearing that call. Do you mind if I do it? Louder than that. And you knew it was a man in agony. Now that's the call. You realize you're lost.

You realize that if you died in your sin. You would go to an eternal hell. And you call upon the name of the Lord. It's a call that comes from the depth of your heart. But it's not only the call of simplicity.

The call of urgency. It's the call of sovereignty. Now here is the hard piece. Notice what the scripture says. I'll quote it slowly. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus. Now the word confess there is very deep.

And it means to confess something with the burning conviction of your heart. It's not like saying something like. Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus, my Lord. It's something you say with deep conviction. Now what does that mean?

When a person is saved or going to be saved. He comes to the Lord Jesus. And he realizes that only the Lord Jesus and no one else can save him. He believes with all his heart that he came into the world to save sinners.

He believes that he died on the cross to save sinners. He believes that he was raised again to save sinners. And he believes that he can save that person. And he comes and simply asks the Lord to save him.

That's the first thing. But then he must ask the Lord Jesus not only to save him. But to be the Lord of him. One person stayed behind a beautiful girl in Motherwell. We shall never never forget this. And she had been coming every night.

And she went into the inquiry room. And we were speaking to her. And she was deeply moved. And we knew that the Spirit of God was moving in her. And I said now we come to the point where you have to make that step of faith.

Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And then my dear wife wisely interrupted and said. Are you prepared to turn from all sin? Are you prepared to turn to God from sin? And she said I want Jesus to save me.

I'm afraid of going to perdition. But are you willing to turn from all sin to God? Are you willing to make him Lord? And then she said this. I'm living with my boyfriend as husband and wife. I'm not married.

And my wife said very wisely. You cannot carry on that relationship once you're saved. You'll have to break immediately. That's adultery. And that poor girl got up after God was working in her heart. And she said no I can't do it.

I believe that girl's life has been smashed to pieces. What a mistake. When you become a Christian note this. You make him Saviour, Saviour and Lord. Can I repeat that? Saviour and Lord. You say well what does it mean to make him Lord?

Jesus as Saviour and Lord

If a good man gets into the car and he takes hold of the steering wheel and he's a good driver. Everyone feels safe. And what you do when you become a Christian. You slip out of the driving seat and you let Christ take the steering wheel.

And he controls your life. And you make him Saviour and Sovereign. And this is what he says. If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord. And shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead.

Thou shalt, isn't it lovely, be saved. No doubt about it. As clear as a bell. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. You say how is it done? Now I'm going to do something I've never done before.

An Inquiry Room Conversation

I'm going to let you into an inquiry room where a person gets saved. And we're all alone. And I say to the person, what's your problem? And the person invariably will say something like this. I want to get right with God.

And then I say to the person through the scriptures. Do you realize you're a sinner? Yes, that's why I've come. Do you realize if you die in your sins you're lost? That's why I'm here. I've been worried for two or three nights.

Good. Do you see that Jesus Christ loves you and Christ died for you on the cross? Do you understand that here? Now can I ask you this question? Do you realize that Christ died for your sins individually?

I realize that now. Good. That's divine revelation. Do you see that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead? And he comes to you in a meeting like this? He came to me tonight. That's why I'm here. That's marvelous.

I know you were speaking to no one else but me. Well look, I don't really know you. But that was the Spirit of God applying the word. And then I take them to this verse. If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved.

Are you willing to make Jesus Savior and Sovereign? And then you see something that's beautiful. You see the eyes going misty and the head going down. I want to do that right now. So let's pray. And I pray for them.

Now I say I can't save you. You must seek the Lord for yourself. And you hear a prayer like this. Lord, I can't pray very much. I come to you as a sinner. Thank you for dying for me. Lord Jesus, save me now and be the Lord over me.

That's all I can say but thank you. Amen. And the greatest thing in the world takes place. They are saved. Saved by the Lord. They've come through. Their names are in the Lamb's Book of Life. And I read this scripture to them.

Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And you see the light coming and you hear them say, Thank you. It saved me tonight. Would you mind if I point it? Wouldn't you like to be saved?

And you, and you, and perhaps one there, right now.