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Now, here's today's podcast, From Pathway to Victory. As you look through the Bible, there are three biblical words that describe what it is salvation does for us. There are more words, but there are three that I've selected today. One is the word atonement. There's a second word, and that's the word reconciliation.
The third word is redemption. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress. You know, in the Garden of Eden, God created Adam and Eve and gave them dominion over His perfect world.
Then they disobeyed God and they introduced sin into the world. But thankfully, the story does not end there. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress describes the priceless gift that God has offered to everyone. Now, here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.
Dr. Jeffress. Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. We're in the final stretch of my teaching series called, What Every Christian Should Know.
But before we get started with the next message, let me pose a question. Did you know that Pathway to Victory publishes a magazine? Well, we do, and it's called Pathway Magazine, and the subscription list is growing daily. Well, I'd love to send you a complimentary copy just for getting in touch today. In Pathway Magazine, I've written daily devotionals to inspire your walk with God, and you'll find a variety of helpful articles on Christian living as well.
So please, while this offer stands, visit ptv.org to request your copy of Pathway Magazine. Our subject all this month is focused on 10 core beliefs for standing strong in a shifting world. I'm calling the series, What Every Christian Should Know, and for good reason. The cultural conversations in our world seem to flip-flop every day.
Have you noticed that? Someone picks a pet subject, and they create a narrative that supports their personal agenda while completely disregarding the facts. Well, for the Christian, it's critically important to remain on solid ground. In my book, What Every Christian Should Know, I help you understand 10 unshakable truths that will inform the way you interact with our world. A hardbound copy of my book is yours when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. Now, let's get started with our next study in this teaching series. Today, I want to speak to you about becoming a Christian.
I titled today's message, What Every Christian Should Know About Salvation. If you're in the mood to start an argument, especially among a group of men above a certain age, just throw this out there. The best way to get to blank is by going blank.
It doesn't matter what you fill in the blank with. You can say the best way to get to your own house is and give the route, and somebody will argue with you. They'll say, oh, there's a better way. Better way, just go down two blind alleys, take a left at the courthouse, drive across the golf green, and you can shave seven and a half seconds off your time there.
People always say they have a better way, but just try saying the only way to get to blank is by going blank, and that's when the fireworks erupt. You see, we recoil at the idea of exclusivity, that there is one way to anything, and yet exclusivity is at the heart of the core biblical truth we're going to look at today. In our series, What Every Christian Should Know, we're examining the 10 core beliefs of historic Christianity, and today we're going to look at what every Christian should know about salvation. Now, we talk about salvation, we sing about salvation.
What are we exactly talking about? That word salvation is soterion in Greek. We talk about soteriology in seminary, that's the study of salvation, but that Greek word soterion means to rescue from danger, to save from destruction. We have a savior who has saved us. Well, what has he saved us from? The Bible uses that word salvation in three distinct ways.
There are three distinct ways in which Jesus saves us. There is a past aspect of salvation, we call that justification. I have been saved from the penalty of sin.
That's what the word justification refers to. The moment you trust in Christ for salvation, you are justified, you are declared not guilty by God. And that happens at the moment of your salvation. Romans 5, 1, therefore having been justified through faith, we have peace with God. Ephesians 2, 8 says, for by grace you have been saved, not you will be saved, you have been saved through faith. Grace that we receive through faith. So that's what faith is.
So that's justification. But there's also a present aspect of salvation. I am being saved from the power of sin.
That's called sanctification. Our final message in this series, or next to the last message, will be what every Christian needs to know about sanctification. Right now, if you're a Christian, the Holy Spirit is available to save you from the power of sin. That's what Romans 6, 7, and 8 is all about. Sanctification says, I am being saved from the power of sin.
That's what Paul meant in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 18, when he said, for the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. But to those of us who are being saved, it is the power of God. I have been saved. I am being saved.
The third aspect of salvation is future glorification. I will one day be saved from the presence of sin. When we get rid of these old bodies, and aren't you looking forward to that? These bodies that are filled with the sin virus, one day we're going to be rid of that.
And God's going to give us a brand new body. And at that point, I will be saved forever from the presence of sin. Hebrews 9, 28 refers to that future salvation. So Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation. Why does He have to come back to save us? I thought He's already saved us. There's a future salvation. It's not with reference to sin, but to those who eagerly await Him. His second coming is going to be for our glorification, to give us those brand new bodies free from sin. As you look through the Bible, there are three biblical words that describe what it is salvation does for us.
There are more words, but there are three that I've selected today. One is the word atonement. Christ is the atonement for our sins. That word atonement means covering.
He covers our sin. Remember we saw last time in Genesis 3, that after Adam and Eve sinned, the first sin, they immediately felt guilt for their sin. And instinctively, they wanted to cover over their guilt. So they made that covering of fig leaves that had been sewn together.
But that didn't do the trick. They still felt guilty. They ran and they hid from God. And when God found them, He killed an animal. The first death recorded in human history was the death of an innocent animal. And God took the skin of that animal and He made a garment to cover Adam and Eve.
Genesis 3 21, the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them. God was teaching all of humanity a lesson. Someone has to die for our sin.
Someone innocent must die for those of us who are guilty. And only God can provide the covering for our sin. Of course, that would be a foreshadowing of what Jesus, the Lamb of God would do, who would take away the sins of the world. That's the covering, the atonement. That's what atonement means, a covering for our sin. There's a second word, and that's the word reconciliation. That's another aspect of salvation. Reconciliation.
The Greek word is katalaso. It refers to two parties, two people who've had a break in their relationship. The relationship has become hostile, but one of those parties takes the first step to reconcile, to change the status of the relationship from hostility back to harmony. And that's a picture of what God did for us. He made the first move in sending Christ to die for us. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 20 says, therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ. As though God were making an appeal through us, we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. Even though you and I are the ones who have moved away from God, He has made the first step in bringing us back together.
How did He do it? Verse 21 says, for God made Him, Jesus, who knew no sin, to become sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. The third word that describes what Christ does for us is redemption.
Galatians 3, 13 says, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. That word redeem in Greek is the word ex agorazo. It's actually two words.
Ex means out of. Agorazo refers to the agorum, the marketplace, the forum where things were bought and sold in the Greek culture. And among those things that were bought and sold were slaves. If you needed a slave, if you needed a slave, you would go to the agora, the marketplace, and you would pay the necessary price to redeem that slave. What purpose did you redeem the slave?
Not to set him free, but to serve you instead of serving the other master. Well, that is a picture of what Christ did for us with His own blood. He redeemed us.
Our late member, Charles Ryrie, noted that there are three aspects to redemption. We are redeemed from something, out of something. In our case, we are redeemed out of Satan's bondage.
When we are born into this world, whether you realize it or not, every baby that's born is born a slave of Satan and an enemy of God. That's all because of the Adamic curse, that God in His mercy has sent Christ to redeem us. We are redeemed from something, the marketplace of sin. We are redeemed by something.
There has to be a price paid. The price was the blood of Jesus Christ. And we are redeemed for something. We are redeemed to serve a new master. Jesus didn't pay that price on the cross to set you free to serve yourself.
He set you free to serve Him. That's what Romans 6, 7, and 8 are all about. Paul said it this way in 1 Corinthians 6, 19 and 20. Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
For you have been bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body. We were redeemed by the blood of Christ from the marketplace of slavery to serve God. And the price that was paid was the blood of Christ. For He Himself, who knew no sin, became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. And that's why there are not many ways to be saved. The only price that could be paid to redeem us was the blood of Christ. And that leads us to the exclusivity of salvation. God has not provided many ways to Himself. All roads do not lead to heaven. There is one way to be saved.
And that shouldn't surprise us. You see that pattern of exclusivity beginning in the opening pages of the Old Testament. For example, when God gave His Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, the very first commandment was, I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me.
Well, that sounds intolerant, doesn't it? For God to say, you must worship me and no other God. But God is very intolerant when it comes to other gods and other religions. What we celebrate today and call diversity or pluralism, God has another word for it, idolatry.
To acknowledge any other God as a legitimate God is idolatry and God hates idolatry. You see that in Exodus 20. You see it in the instructions in Genesis 6 that God gave to Noah. God told him a flood was coming and he was to build a boat to rescue himself and any who would believe. God gave Noah exacting specifications for the size of that ark, the wood that it was to be made from, how it was to be fashioned together.
Only the ark God designed would save the people who believed. Or look in the instructions that God gave Moses in Exodus 25 to 30 about the construction of the tabernacle, the first place of worship. Did he say, oh, I don't care about buildings. I don't care what kind of building you build.
Build anything you want. No. There were exacting specifications for what that tabernacle was to look like, even down to the intricate instructions for the priestly garments. You had to do it God's way for God to recognize your worship. Or in Leviticus 16 to 27, you have all of the detailed instructions about the sacrifices to temporarily remove the problem of sin. Did God say, I don't care about what sacrifice you offer, just as long as it comes from your heart, just as long as you're sincere, offer anything you want to to me.
No. God had specific requirements for the sacrifice that was to be offered him. There is not many paths. There are not many paths to God.
There is one path to God. Somebody who learned that lesson the hard way was Cain. Do you remember the story of Cain in Genesis 4, 3 to 5? Cain was one of the many children of Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve didn't just have two children, Cain and Abel. The Bible says they had many children, which answers that age-old question, where did Cain get his wife from?
You've heard that before. They had many children. But you remember Cain and Abel. Genesis 4, verse 3 says Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. Abel on his part brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for, he accepted Abel's sacrifice, but for Cain and his offering, he had no regard. So Cain became angry and his countenance fell and he ended up killing his brother over the jealousy. Now, why is it God accepted the offering of Abel and rejected the offering of Cain? Well, it's very clear. It's because Abel's offering was the offering that God required.
Cain decided to try to approach God in his own way with his own offering. Well, where is that? That's not in my Bible in Genesis 4. Well, it is in the white space between verses 2 and 3. That's where you find it. But no, there's a better place to find that.
It's true. Genesis 4 doesn't tell us that, but Hebrews 11 tells us that. Verse 4, by faith, Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous.
The fact is, Abel's offering was better because it met the specifications that God gave them. And another verse that tells us for sure that happened is Jude 11. Woe to them, for they have gone the way of Cain. That is a phrase that you find in scripture used to describe any attempt to approach God on your terms rather than by God's terms. The way of Cain refers to any religious system that attempts to earn God's favor through good works rather than God's grace. The way of Cain is any religious system that focuses on man's goodness rather than man's sinfulness. The way of Cain is a religious system that says there are many paths to God instead of one way to God. The way of Cain leads to eternal death rather than eternal life. That's why Proverbs 14, 12 says, there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is destruction. Exclusivity is taught throughout the Bible beginning in the Old Testament. You know, people, as I said, recoil against that.
They have four major objections to this idea of exclusivity. Some people say, well, exclusivity, that's just intolerant to say Jesus is the only way to be saved. And in our culture today, the worst thing you can be accused of is intolerance, to be saying that there's only one way to anything. We teach people to be tolerant.
We try to drill in our children the idea of tolerance. But what we need to understand is tolerance, that word, has undergone a radical devolution, not evolution, devolution in the last 70 years. It used to mean tolerance was a virtuous characteristic. It used to mean to respect the right of other people to be wrong about something, to treat people that you disagree with with dignity and respect.
And that's a good thing. My grandmother years ago wrote a well published poem entitled A Plea for Tolerance. She begged people to be tolerant, but by tolerant, she was talking about respectful, respecting the right of others to be wrong. Today, that term has devolved into meaning all ideas are equally valid. To be tolerant means to say, I don't have a market on the truth.
Your way to God is just as good as my way to God. And such a claim is idiotic when you think about it. There are whole areas of our world that are very intolerant.
The world of mathematics is intolerant. 7 times 7 doesn't equal 51 or 103. There's one answer, 49. When you ask what temperature does water freeze at? It's not 103 degrees. It's not 33 degrees.
There's one answer, 32 degrees. When we come to the idea of faith, the faith that is required to get into heaven is very intolerant. There are not many ways to God. There is one way to God.
A second objection people raise often about the exclusivity of Christ is this. Well, how could so many other people be so wrong? I mean, after all, Pew Research says that only 31% of the world's seven billion population can be categorized as Christians. And if Jesus is the only way to heaven, then you're saying billions and billions of people living today and billions that have lived in the past are all wrong about faith.
How could so many people be so wrong? Well, isn't that what Jesus predicted? Jesus said most people will miss heaven. Most people won't find that narrow way that leads to salvation. In Matthew 7, Jesus said, enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction and many are those who enter into it.
But the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life and there are few, few who find it. A third objection, some people say, well, you don't have to claim to be exclusive because all religions teach basically the same thing. All the world religions teach basically the same thing. The only people who say that are people who are ignorant about world religions. Because if you look at world religions, you see they are very different. They don't all teach the same thing.
And interestingly, most all of them claim to be exclusive. Their way is the only way to heaven. Finally, people say, well, it's just unfair for God to send people to hell, especially because they just hadn't believed the right thing about Jesus. The fact that God chooses to save some and not everybody is not because God is unjust. People who receive Christ, His pardon, they receive God's mercy.
Those who reject Christ receive God's justice, but in no case is God acting unjustly. This is the most important topic in the entire teaching series because eternity hangs in the balance. Your response to the doctrine of salvation will determine your destiny in the life beyond. I've written a book that addresses this foundational doctrine and many more. My book is called What Every Christian Should Know, 10 Core Beliefs for Standing Strong in a Shifting World. The purpose of my book is to help you get in touch with the non-negotiable essentials of your Christian faith.
I want to show you what every Christian should know about 10 core beliefs, including the Bible, the Holy Spirit, the end times, sin, and salvation. A hardbound copy of my book, What Every Christian Should Know, will be sent to your home right away when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. Nothing will leverage your investment in Pathway to Victory quite like becoming one of our monthly supporters. We call them our pathway partners.
In this important relationship, you receive a number of wonderful benefits. These are clearly detailed for you online at ptv.org. But the best part of becoming one of our pathway partners is that your generosity flows through Pathway to Victory, touching lives, and piercing the darkness with the light of God's Word. Now here's David to explain how you can become one of our pathway partners today.
Thanks, Dr. Jeffress. You can sign up to become a pathway partner by visiting ptv.org. And when you give your first Pathway Partner monthly gift, or when you give a generous one-time gift, you're invited to request a copy of the best-selling book by Dr. Robert Jeffress called What Every Christian Should Know. Again, go to ptv.org or call 866-999-2965. Now when your gift is $75 or more, you'll also receive the complete collection of audio and video discs for this month's teaching series, What Every Christian Should Know.
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Box 223609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. I'm David J. Mullins, inviting you back next time for part two of the message, What Every Christian Should Know About Salvation. That's Friday here on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. Imagine waking up to the sight of Alaska's majestic coastline or spotting wildlife from the deck of a luxurious cruise ship. Experience these unforgettable moments on the Pathway to Victory Cruise to Alaska with Dr. Robert Jeffress, June 15th through the 22nd, 2024.
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