This is the third sermon in a series of messages designed to enlarge our concepts of what God has provided for us in and through Jesus Christ. He came to do something more than give us a ticket to heaven.
Salvation in the past includes our conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit that leads us to trust Jesus Christ and turn from sin. The Holy Spirit effected the miracle of the new birth, and we were justified in God’s sight by our faith in Jesus Christ. That is the first phase of our salvation. For those of us who are Christians, this is salvation in the past tense.
Salvation in the present tense began at the moment of our conversion and will continue until our death or the Lord’s return, whichever is first. Salvation in the present is a process in which the Holy Spirit works in our hearts and reveals to us and through us the nature and character of a true follower of Christ.
For an audio recording click the YouTube link at the end of the manuscript
Salvation in the past includes our conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit that leads us to trust Jesus Christ and turn from sin. The Holy Spirit effected the miracle of the new birth, and we were justified in God’s sight by our faith in Jesus Christ. That is the first phase of our salvation. For those of us who are Christians, this is salvation in the past tense.
Salvation in the present tense began at the moment of our conversion and will continue until our death or the Lord’s return, whichever is first. Salvation in the present is a process in which the Holy Spirit works in our hearts and reveals to us and through us the nature and character of a true follower of Christ.
For an audio recording click the YouTube link at the end of the manuscript
Scripture:
Titus 2:11-15 (ESV)11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.15 Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.
Text:
Philippians 2:12-13 (ESV)12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Introduction
In the first two sermons of this series we said that the first thing that we must realize and acknowledge is that there is only one way to our great salvation and that is through Jesus Christ.
John 14:6 NLT Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
We said that Jesus is the way out of slavery to sin. We said that sin enslaves and separates people from God, and other people, and Jesus is the only one who can deliver a person from slavery to sin.
Last week we talked about the danger of believers not experiencing all of the benefits of this great salvation. There are benefits to salvation and being a child of God that we can experience and enjoy now.
Today we consider the great salvation that God provides for us in the present.
Dale Moody, who was a professor at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Texas from 1947 and 1983 said, “There is one way of salvation; there are two sides to the salvation experience; and there are three phases of the great salvation that God offers.”
The one way is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
The two sides of the salvation experience are the divine side and the human side.
The three phases of our great salvation are the past, present, and future.
Salvation in the past includes our conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit that leads us to trust Jesus Christ and turn from sin. The Holy Spirit effected the miracle of the new birth, and we were justified in God’s sight by our faith in Jesus Christ. That is the first phase of our salvation. For those of us who are Christians, this is salvation in the past tense.
Salvation in the present tense began at the moment of our conversion and will continue until our death or the Lord’s return, whichever is first. Salvation in the present is a process in which the Holy Spirit works in our hearts and reveals to us and through us the nature and character of a true follower of Christ.
This is sanctification and salvation in the present tense.
Salvation in the future occurs after the Lord’s triumphant return. It is salvation from the very presence of evil and sin.
Our focus today is on our salvation in the present.
Listen to how J. B. Phillips paraphrases our text: “So then, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed me—and that not only when I was with you—now, even more in my absence, complete the salvation that God has given you with a proper sense of awe and responsibility. For it is God who is at work within you, giving you the will and power to achieve his purpose” (Phil. 2:12–13)
1. Salvation in the present tense.
A close study of the text in its context reveals that Paul was talking to people who were already his brothers and sisters in the faith. They had experienced the miracle of the new birth, turned from sin, and received Jesus as Lord and Savior. Paul understood the conversion experience as being just the beginning of God’s good work in them.
Philippians 1:6 (ESV)6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
2. Salvation in the present tense is available to each of us.
A. By his death on the cross, Jesus made possible salvation from death that results from sin.
Romans 6:23 ESV For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
B. By his victory over death, Jesus rescued us from the power and practice of sin. He saves all who are willing to obey him and his instruction.
2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 Peter 2:23-24 ESV When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
Isaiah 53:4-5 ESV Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
The words of our text introduce God into our present salvation.
Philippians 2:12-13 (ESV)12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
He is the God of love and power who has come to dwell within us through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ. Our God is not some dead ruler whose power and presence were limited to the work of creation. He is an active God who lives within the heart of every believer to deliver us from the slavery of sin and evil today, in the present.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
The Holy Spirit causes us to be dissatisfied with sin. The Holy Spirit creates a hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Here's what Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount;
Matthew 5:3-6 ESV “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
As God works within our hearts, he puts in us the desire and ability to live according to His will.
To completely experience our great salvation, we must respond to Jesus as the authoritative Teacher sent from God to impart the wisdom of heaven to those living in the present. Jesus said that all who hear and practice his teachings will have strength and be able to stand when the storms of life threaten to destroy them.
Matthew 7:24-27 ESV “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
We cannot escape collapse or catastrophe when the pressures of life beat against us, if we fail to respond to our Savior.
As Christians, and disciples, we must move beyond the initial experience of just trusting Jesus Christ as Savior. We must also let him be the master Teacher who has come to deliver us from sin.We believers must respond to Jesus as the Teacher who came from God. We talked about that last week.
A close study of the text in its context reveals that Paul was talking to people who were already his brothers and sisters in the faith. They had experienced the miracle of the new birth, turned from sin, and received Jesus as Lord and Savior. Paul understood the conversion experience as being just the beginning of God’s good work in them.
Philippians 1:6 (ESV)6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
2. Salvation in the present tense is available to each of us.
A. By his death on the cross, Jesus made possible salvation from death that results from sin.
Romans 6:23 ESV For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
B. By his victory over death, Jesus rescued us from the power and practice of sin. He saves all who are willing to obey him and his instruction.
2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 Peter 2:23-24 ESV When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
Isaiah 53:4-5 ESV Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
The words of our text introduce God into our present salvation.
Philippians 2:12-13 (ESV)12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
He is the God of love and power who has come to dwell within us through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ. Our God is not some dead ruler whose power and presence were limited to the work of creation. He is an active God who lives within the heart of every believer to deliver us from the slavery of sin and evil today, in the present.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
The Holy Spirit causes us to be dissatisfied with sin. The Holy Spirit creates a hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Here's what Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount;
Matthew 5:3-6 ESV “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
As God works within our hearts, he puts in us the desire and ability to live according to His will.
To completely experience our great salvation, we must respond to Jesus as the authoritative Teacher sent from God to impart the wisdom of heaven to those living in the present. Jesus said that all who hear and practice his teachings will have strength and be able to stand when the storms of life threaten to destroy them.
Matthew 7:24-27 ESV “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
We cannot escape collapse or catastrophe when the pressures of life beat against us, if we fail to respond to our Savior.
As Christians, and disciples, we must move beyond the initial experience of just trusting Jesus Christ as Savior. We must also let him be the master Teacher who has come to deliver us from sin.We believers must respond to Jesus as the Teacher who came from God. We talked about that last week.
3. Present-day salvation illustrated.
Jesus wants to do more than save your soul from the penalty of sin and ultimately your body from the presence of sin. He wants to save your life today from the destructive power of sin. Let me give you an example of this by looking at what He said in his teachings in the Sermon on the Mount about overcoming anxiety. Anxiety is a very real problem today in this COVID-19 pandemic. There is anxiety and fear of catching the virus, there is financial worry for those who have lost jobs. There is the anxiety associated with just having to stay home.
Here’s what Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount. We are going to specifically look at what it says in Matthew 6:26-34
To experience salvation from anxiety we must do several things.
A. We must trust our loving Father
Matthew 6:30-32 ESV But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
B. We must know that God values us.
Matthew 6:26 ESV Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
C. We must accept ourselves as God’s unique creation
Matthew 6:27 ESV And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
Also look at what it says in;
Psalm 139:14-16 ESV I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
D. We must dedicate our lives to seeking and obeying God’s will.
Matthew 6:33 ESV But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
E. We must determine to live one day at a time
Matthew 6:34 ESV “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
If we disregard this salvation from anxiety, we will miss God’s full salvation for us today, in the present. When we worry about yesterday’s failures and fear what might happen tomorrow, there is no power under heaven that can save us from the burden of anxiety. Our only hope is to fully respond to the Lord’s teachings.
Jesus wants to do more than save your soul from the penalty of sin and ultimately your body from the presence of sin. He wants to save your life today from the destructive power of sin. Let me give you an example of this by looking at what He said in his teachings in the Sermon on the Mount about overcoming anxiety. Anxiety is a very real problem today in this COVID-19 pandemic. There is anxiety and fear of catching the virus, there is financial worry for those who have lost jobs. There is the anxiety associated with just having to stay home.
Here’s what Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount. We are going to specifically look at what it says in Matthew 6:26-34
To experience salvation from anxiety we must do several things.
A. We must trust our loving Father
Matthew 6:30-32 ESV But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
B. We must know that God values us.
Matthew 6:26 ESV Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
C. We must accept ourselves as God’s unique creation
Matthew 6:27 ESV And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
Also look at what it says in;
Psalm 139:14-16 ESV I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
D. We must dedicate our lives to seeking and obeying God’s will.
Matthew 6:33 ESV But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
E. We must determine to live one day at a time
Matthew 6:34 ESV “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
If we disregard this salvation from anxiety, we will miss God’s full salvation for us today, in the present. When we worry about yesterday’s failures and fear what might happen tomorrow, there is no power under heaven that can save us from the burden of anxiety. Our only hope is to fully respond to the Lord’s teachings.
Conclusion
Our great salvation includes redemption from the penalty of sin in the past. We now need to accept salvation from the practice of sin in the present, but we cannot do it on our own. We have the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit to help us.
The Holy teaches and reminds us.
John 14:26 ESV But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
The Holy Spirit is the source of revelation, wisdom, and power.
1 Corinthians 2:10-13 ESV these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
The Holy Spirit helps in our weaknesses and intercedes for us
Romans 8:26-27 ESV Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
The Holy Spirit sanctifies and enables us to bear good fruit in our lives.
Galatians 5:22-24 ESV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Living a Christian life is a cooperative venture as we walk with God while he works within us.
Yes God has given us a great salvation, in the past with our conversion and new birth, in the present as the Holy Spirit works within our hearts and reveals to us and through us the nature and character of a true follower of Christ.
God has also given us a great salvation in the future through Jesus Christ, and we will talk about that next week.
Yes, we do have a truly a great salvation. Let us not neglect any phase of it.
Our great salvation includes redemption from the penalty of sin in the past. We now need to accept salvation from the practice of sin in the present, but we cannot do it on our own. We have the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit to help us.
The Holy teaches and reminds us.
John 14:26 ESV But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
The Holy Spirit is the source of revelation, wisdom, and power.
1 Corinthians 2:10-13 ESV these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
The Holy Spirit helps in our weaknesses and intercedes for us
Romans 8:26-27 ESV Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
The Holy Spirit sanctifies and enables us to bear good fruit in our lives.
Galatians 5:22-24 ESV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Living a Christian life is a cooperative venture as we walk with God while he works within us.
Yes God has given us a great salvation, in the past with our conversion and new birth, in the present as the Holy Spirit works within our hearts and reveals to us and through us the nature and character of a true follower of Christ.
God has also given us a great salvation in the future through Jesus Christ, and we will talk about that next week.
Yes, we do have a truly a great salvation. Let us not neglect any phase of it.
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