BLJ: We will spend a few days talking about salvation. Let me blunt. I am convinced that many people attending church are not saved. They go to church because of the social benefits and friendships they make. Yet, they lack the deep commitment to Jesus Christ. As we study a work by Rev. Kenneth Fay, search your soul. Are you saved?
THE MIRACLE OF SALVATION
The God that stopped the sun on high,
And sent the manna from the sky,
Laid flat the walls of Jericho,
And put to flight old Israel's foe,
Why can't He answer prayer today,
And drive each stormy cloud away?
Who turned the water into wine,
And healed a helpless cripple's spine,
Commanded tempests, "Peace be still,"
And hungry multitudes did fill,
His power is just the same today,
So why not labor, watch and pray?
He conquered in the lion's den,
Brought Lazarus back to life again,
He heard Elijah's cry for rain,
And freed the sufferers from pain,
If he could do those wonders then,
Let's prove our mighty God again!
Why can't the God Who raised the dead
Gave little David, Goliath's head,
Cast out the demons with a word,
Yet sees the fall of one wee bird,
Do signs and miracles today
In the same, old-fashioned way?
-- Martin Luther
St. John gives six identifying marks of the miracle of salvation.
They are as follows:
1. THE NEW CREATURE LIVES ABOVE SIN.
"Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin" (1 John 3:9). "Whosoever is born of God sinneth not" (5:18), for he has gone out of the "sin business." By reason of his new nature he no longer follows the habits of sin, that is, "A wilful transgression of a known law" (Wesley). He no longer swears, cheats, steals, lies or knowingly breaks God's moral law. But if he should sin and is pained thereby he hastily repents and puts that sin away. His life is transformed, his ambitions have changed, his ways are different. A miracle has taken place.
2. THE NEW CREATURE LABORS FOR SANCTIFICATION.
"Everyone that doeth righteousness is born of Him" (1 John 2:29). One born of God, but not yet wholly sanctified soon realizes that he has an enemy within--the old, depraved Adamic nature. It stirs when provoked and brings darkness to the soul as the carnal tendencies display themselves in wrong feelings of many sorts. The child of God is grieved by these inner conflicts and longs for deliverance. The newborn child of God attempts to suppress and control the carnal nature within until such time as he reaches the point of death to old self and full and final consecration to Christ when the baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire purges his heart of all that is carnal and fills him with holy power. Until the second great crisis occurs, the child of God cries to God for deliverance from his indwelling corruption. When a professed Christian is indifferent to his need of a clean heart, one has every reason to question the genuineness of his conversion for truly such will long and labor for a sanctified heart.
3. THE NEW CREATURE LEAVES CORRUPT SOCIETY.
"Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world" (1 John 5:4). As light comes to him he casts away all that is not of the Father as if it were a deadly serpent. Along with his new birth has come new desires. He has lost his relish for the pleasure of sin. He no longer conforms to the world with its fashions and follies, with its sinful pleasures and its corrupted ideals. Old associates no longer desire his company. They may ridicule him and declare he has gone off the "deep end," but this does not move him. He turns a deaf ear to their chatter and joyfully shoulders his cross. One is convinced of the miracle of salvation when he views his radiant face and hears him singing "Take the world but give me Jesus."
4. THE NEW CREATURE LOATHES THE SUGGESTIVE.
"He that is begotten of God keepeth himself" (I John 5:18), and "purifieth himself, even as He is pure" (1 John 3:3). He guards carefully his new found treasure. He does not want to grieve God in any way. Therefore, he "abstains from the very appearance of evil," dressing in modest clothes, keeping his conversation clean and his business dealings honest. He strives for deep spirituality and to this end watches and prays. He is indeed a miracle of saving grace!
5. THE NEW CREATURE LOVES THE SAINTS.
"We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren" (1 John 3:14). The saints he used to shun he now embraces. They come to mean more to him than even his own worldly flesh and blood. There is no poverty, illiteracy, eccentricity or unpopularity that dampens his love for the saints. That mutual bond which binds them to the Father ties them together. All the born again ones are brothers and sisters in the Lord. They value each other's company, prayers, and council. Their voices blend in song--"Blest be the be that binds our hearts in Christian love." Their love for each other is a strong proof of the miraculous element in salvation.
6. THE NEW CREATURE LOVES THE SAVIOR.
"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God " (1 John 5:1). He knows that Jesus alone wrought this wonderful change. He testifies to the fact that Jesus did it. Christ becomes the object and center of his affections because his affections have been drastically altered. His deepest affections, which once reached out for worldliness and sin, now are obsessed with their heavenly attachment. He sings:
"My Jesus I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign.
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou,
If ever I loved Thee my Jesus 'tis now."
"Oh! the love which drew salvation's plan! Oh! the grace which brought it down to man! Oh! the mighty that God did span, at Calvary!" Oh, yes, but these are the mere beginnings of the marvelous grace of God. His children will forever be delighting themselves with new and further discoveries of this mercy they received when first they did believe.
It has been suggested that:--
Longfellow could take a worthless sheet of paper, write a poem on it, and make it worth $6,000--that's genius.
Rockefeller could sign his name to a piece of paper and make it worth a million dollars--that's capital.
Uncle Sam can take gold, stamp an eagle on it, and make it worth $20.00--that's money.
A mechanic can take material that is worth only $5.00 and make it worth $50.00--that's skill.
An artist can take a forty-cent piece of canvas, paint a picture on it, and make it worth $1,000--that's art.
God can take a worthless, sinful life, wash it in the blood of Christ, put His Spirit in it, and make it a blessing to humanity --that's SALVATION!
Heaven above is softer blue,
Earth around is sweeter green!
Something lives in every hue.
Christless eyes have never seen:
Birds with gladder songs o'er flow,
Flowers with deeper beauties shine,
Since I know; as now I know,
I am His, and He is mine.
-- Wade Robinson
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