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Gospel Message!
Salvation Neglected and Rejected!
Reading Hebrews Ch. 2 v 1-18!
Preached by Ken Humphries, Cookstown Baptist Church.
Introduction:
The great painter G. F. Watts was asked to paint his impression of someone rejecting God’s great offer of salvation.
Some months later he returned to the Art Gallery with the painting of a man’s back. This represents the full and final rejection of God, here is the young man who went away sorrowful from the Lord Jesus Christ because he chose rather to hold on the things he had rather than follow Jesus. Fancy said Watts, a man turning his back on the Saviour of the world rather than giving up his possessions. When asked to give the picture a name, he quickly replied, "The Great Refusal".
Our text today is one so often spoken upon and I suppose known by even the youngest person in our congregation.
Heb.2 v 3.
"How shall we escape, if we neglect so great Salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him"
The stupendous Niagara Falls have been spoken of in every part of the world. But while they are marvellous to hear off, and wonderful to see, they have been very destructive to human life, when by accident some have been carried down the cataract. Some years ago, two men were in a boat and found themselves being carried so swiftly down the current that they must both inevitably be borne down and dashed to pieces. At last, however, one man was saved by a rope that was floated out to him, which he grasped. Another rope was floated to the other man, but at the same instant the rope came into his hand, a log floated by him. The thoughtless and confused man, instead of seizing the rope, laid hold on the log. It was a fatal mistake. They were both in imminent peril, but the one was drawn to shore because he had a connection with the people on the land, while the other, clinging to the loose, floating log, was borne irresistibly along, and was never heard of afterward. Faith has a saving connection with Christ. Christ is on the shore, so to speak, holding the rope, and as we lay hold of it with the hand of our confidence, he pulls us to shore. But our good works having no connection with Christ are drifted along down to the gulf of despair. Grapple our virtues as tightly as we may, even with hooks of steel, they cannot avail us in the least degree. They are the disconnected log that has no hold on the heavenly shore.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Quotable Spurgeon, (Wheaton: Harold Shaw Publishers, Inc, 1990)
I make this plea as we commence this message, do not neglect God's great Salvation, to do so will be the most foolish decision ever, believe me!
"Which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord"
Now there have been many great preachers over the years! And those preachers have come from many different denominations.
Bishop Usher, that great Church of Ireland preacher!
Bishop Ryle, that great Church of England preacher!
John Knox, that great Church of Scotland preacher!
Martyn Lloyd Jones, that great Welsh preacher!
John Wesley, that great Methodist preacher!
Joseph Parker, that great Congregational preacher!
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, that great Baptist preacher!
To name but a few that we may have heard of from our study of history! Great and mighty preachers all of them, and with great passion and pathos they preached this very same gospel.
And yet mighty as they were they were no match for the most wonderful preacher of all, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The preacher that first announced salvation was the greatest preacher ever!
A. In His Birth Salvation was Announced:
"The angel said, thou shalt call his name Jesus, and he shall save his people from their sins." Matt. 1 v 21.
B. In His Life Salvation was Announced:
Jesus himself said, "I am the way, the truth and the life." John 14 v 6.
I am the way to God; there simply is no other way.
I am the truth of God; there simply is no other truth.
I am the life of God; there simply is no other life.
C. In His Death Salvation was Announced:
"For while we were yet sinners, Christ Jesus died for us." Rom. 5 v 8.
D. In His Resurrection Salvation Was Announced:
The angel said. "He is not here, but is risen." Luke 24 v 6.
Living he loved me, dying he saved me,
Buried he carried my sins far away,
Rising he justified freely forever,
One day he’s coming, O glorious day.
Dear folks, Jesus Christ, from birth to resurrection announces salvation! Why? Because as Bishop Ryle says.
When I walk through the crowds of people, I see some bent on pleasure, some on business, some look rich, some look poor, but there breathes not a man or woman in the crowd but must have their sins forgiven, or they will be condemned forever in the last day.
The Bishop says, to know your need of the forgiveness of your sins is the first step to heaven.
Sin is a burden and needs to be lifted of us.
Sin is a defilement, and must be cleansed away.
Sin is a mighty debt, and it must be paid.
2. This is a Message with Infallible Proofs! v 4.
"God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will."
Now the gospel has been set out for us with the very best proof you could find, in fact, the gospel is presented by infallible proofs lest there be any doubt in our minds. And remember, we have a mind with which to think. We are not morons; God has given us certain faculties, which we should use to think something as important as our eternal welfare through.
Isa. 1 v 18. "Come now let us reason together saith the Lord."
We have here a threefold witness to the proof that the gospel is true in verse 4.
Now I believe that was to convince the Jew! Why? Because the Jew, required a sign. 1 Cor.1 v 22. All through the life and times of the Lord Jesus, sign after sign was given to convince His earthly people yet still they cried, we will not have this man to rule over us. They missed the signs of the Messiah!
B. The Witness of Manifold Powers:
And the manifold powers were to convince the Gentiles! Remember they looked on anything coming from within the religion of the Jews with great suspicion, so great and mighty power was deployed to give the Gentiles proof that what was happening was indeed of the power of God. But they missed it all!
Of course the gifts of the Spirit were to confirm the message to the Christian!
Christ, in his superior majesty and power as the Son of God, has "abolished death, and has brought life and immortality to life through the Gospel." 2 Tim. 1 v 10.
Because of who He is and what He has done, and because of the truths embodied in Himself, there is no escape for those who neglect salvation through him. Thus the writer brings the Hebrews to the crossroads of faith
He is saying, well, what more proof do you need? It’s all there; you could not have any better proof than that. What holds you from following Jesus? With such a salvation provided, you are without excuse!
The late venerable and godly Dr. Archibald Alexander of Princeton had been a preacher of Christ for sixty years and a professor of divinity for forty. On his deathbed he was heard to say to a friend, "All my theology is reduced to this narrow compass-Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners." End quote!
The repeated promises in the Qur'an of the forgiveness of a compassionate and merciful Allah are all made to the meritorious, whose merits have been weighed in Allah's scales, whereas the gospel is good news of mercy to the undeserving. The symbol of the religion of Jesus is the cross, not the scales. John Stott in Authentic Christianity.
3. This is a Message from an Invincible Prince! v 5-8.
He points them to the Superior Person of Christ!
Made lower than the angel! Who were of course always subject to him.
Made of a woman! This is his own creation. The creator is born of his creation.
Made man! Took the form of a servant. He humbled himself.
Made sin! He who knew no sin. He was obedient unto death even the death of the cross.
My dear people, this Lord Jesus is indeed an Invincible Prince. Just ponder for a moment on the amazing fact as to how low Jesus came to lift so little.
We were sinking deep in sin, sinking to rise no more,
Overwhelmed by guilt within, mercy I did implore.
Then the Master of the sea heard my despairing cry,
Christ my Saviour lifted me, now safe am I.
Love lifted me! Love lifted me!
When no one but Christ could help,
Love lifted me! Love lifted me! Love lifted me!
When no one but Christ could help,
Love lifted me!
And yet v 9a reminds us he will be Honoured, Crowned, Ruler, Sovereign, King of Kings! It is true, He stooped so low but one day He will be lifted so high. And that for all human kind to see and know that He is the Lord Christ. You see, all Heaven and all Hell already know who exactly He is, it's only human kind that is blinded by the god of this world.
Dear one not yet saved, will you not think with that mind God has given you and believe on the one who gave His life for you, that He might put His life in so He may live His life through you? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.
4. This is a Message Costing an Infinite Price! v 9b.
"By the grace of God, should taste death for every man."
We have a better Saviour! We have a better Security!
We have a better Sanctuary! We have a better Sacrifice!
(I draw this from Dr. John Phillips)
What an amazing price was paid for our salvation!
The flogging administered by Pilate was merely the beginning of a long series of physical and emotional tortures that would finally culminate in the death of Jesus.
Let me try, ever so imperfectly, to paint a picture of the MOCKERY, SHAME, CURSE, PAIN, and the HUMILIATION of our dear Saviour on Golgotha, what an amazing scene!
And yet, as always, Jesus did not revile those who reviled Him, rather His only words about His tormentors as he hung on that old rugged cross were a loving plea for mercy and forgiveness (Luke 23v34). Jesus had come to the cross willingly, knowingly, and in absolute submissive obedience to His Father, to die for the sins of others. And though the abuse and torture men heaped on Him were agony beyond anything we could ever imagine or have the ability to fathom, those were nothing compared to the wrath of God against the sin He bore.
5. This is a Message Giving Inestimable Privileges! v 10-18.
B. A Call into the Family of God! v 11
C. A Church to be a part of! v 12
F. A Conquest over fear! v 15
G. A Commitment to human beings! v 16
H. A Compatibility to Deity! v 17. Reconciliation.
John Newton was nurtured by a devoted Christian mother who dreamed that her only son would become a preacher. But she died when John was a child, and he followed his sea-captain father to a sailor's life. John didn't care for the discipline of the Royal Navy: he deserted ship, was flogged, and eventually was discharged. He then headed for regions where he could "sin freely," and ended up on the western coast of Africa, working for a slave trader who mistreated him. Newton's life during that period bore the appearance of a modern Prodigal Son's: "a wretched looking man toiling in a plantation of lemon trees in the Island of Plantains--clothes had become rags, no shelter and begging for unhealthy roots to allay his hunger." After more than a year of such treatment, he managed to escape from the island, in 1747. The following year his ship was battered by a severe storm. Newton had read The Imitation of Christ, and during the life-threatening voyage he became a Christian. Ironically, Newton then served as captain of a slave ship for six years. He gradually came to abhor slavery and later crusaded against it. Newton became greatly influenced by George Whitefield and the Wesley's. He married his long-time sweetheart and began studying for the ministry and preaching in whatever vacant building he could procure. Known as the "old converted sea captain," he attracted large audiences. He was ordained within the Anglican Church, and in 1764 he took a curacy in Olney.
Newton felt dissatisfied with the hymns of the traditional Psalter. He began writing his own, many autobiographical in nature, including "Amazing Grace!" He also befriended poet William Cowper, and they collaborated to produce Olney Hymns, which became the standard hymnal of evangelical Anglican churches. The hymnal, which includes Newton's hymns "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken" and "How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds," was reprinted in England and America for the next century.
In his old age, it was suggested that Newton retire because of bad health and failing memory. He replied, "My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: That I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Saviour!" "The Golden Age of Hymns," Christian History, No. 31.
Delay no longer sinner friend! Come to Jesus as you are!
If I can help in any way please don't hesitate to e-mail me; I will be delighted to respond.
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