2nd Timothy chapter 2, I'll begin reading in verse number 8. Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel wherein I suffer trouble as an evildoer even into bonds but the word of God is not bound therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. It is a faithful saying, for if we be dead with him we shall also live with him. If we suffer we shall also reign with him. If we deny him he also deny us. If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful, he cannot deny himself. So tonight we're looking at this, this is the topic of the lesson within this theme of Finish Strong, Don't Get Over Your Salvation. I want to say some things I think that are important to understand in our Christian life in general and then as introduction and foundation to this particular lesson. There's an old statement, I'm sure you've heard it, it goes like this, you stay successful the way you got successful. A lot of times people get successful and then they start failing because they forget how they got successful, the foundational things. When you quit doing the things that made you strong in the Lord, now we're applying this now in a spiritual way, when you quit doing the things that made you strong in the Lord, then you will stop being strong in the Lord. So you did these things, these things allowed you to be strong, and then later in our Christian life we stopped doing those things, and then can't figure out why didn't we finish strong? Because you stopped doing the things that got you strong to start with. Now notice a couple things, we don't always give you some things right in introduction, this time we will. Notice this, our entrance into the Christian life occurred when we put our faith in Christ alone as our Savior. That's pretty, I think, basic. Hopefully that's not news to a Wednesday night crowd. How'd you get saved? You put your faith in Christ. That began you in the Christian life. That's how you became successful to start with. Did you earn your salvation? No! Wait, let me worry there for a moment. Did you earn your salvation? No. Did you inherit your salvation? No. Was it given to you by someone else? I mean, some other human being? No. Could you pray to the saints to get it? Could you pray to Mary to get it? Who's the only one who gave you salvation? Jesus. God. He's the only one. So we went to Him. That's how we gained our salvation. So our entrance into the Christian life is when we put our faith in Christ alone as our Savior. Now, why is that important? All other truths that follow our salvation are based on the truth of our salvation. This is probably one of the things that trips people up. They get saved based on certain understanding of Scripture, and then they want to walk away from that, and then, like, those, like, okay, well, that's got me saved, now what's going to grow me? The same thing that got you saved. Grace and faith. We don't deserve to be saved, and you don't deserve for God to work you into life and to make you like Christ. He does it out of His grace, and we do it by putting our faith in Him. Faith is not simply a mental hoping, but it is an acknowledging of what the Bible says, and then aligning our actions, believing that God will keep His words. So all of the truths that follow our salvation are based on the truth of our salvation. This is why it's important for people to have a strong understanding of salvation. weak understanding of salvation produces weak understanding of sanctification. When people don't understand what got them saved, they're going to have a hard time understanding how they grow as a believer. So those things are important. That's why if you're witnessing someone, I don't necessarily think you've got to take hours and hours, but don't just try to rush to it and just say, okay, you want to get saved, just say this prayer. You need to give them some understanding of what it means to get saved. First of all, because that's probably important to get saved, but also it helps them as they go forward in their Christian life. Salvation is the foundation upon which all of the truths of the Christian life are built upon. just as a spoiler alert that's really that verse that statement right there you're going to see in the next and I'm not teaching next Wednesday. I will be leaving town on Monday and coming back on Friday. So Wednesday night Brother Mailey will be a week from tonight Brother Mailey will be preaching in the following Sunday morning and Sunday night he'll be preaching. And so if your garden is already done with it and you got all your tomatoes out, just letting you know, you might have a reason to use them. So salvation is that foundation. So that's what's going to, the next lesson I teach is we're gonna come full circle and talk about that again as we connect some more dots to that. But understand, this concept, okay, I don't think we consider enough. We just say, okay, yeah, I got saved, and then we try to move on, not really thinking about how important this concept is. So hold your place there. Let's look at some verse, and we're going to look at quite a bit of verses this evening. 1 Corinthians. because this also sets us up for the next lesson. 1 Corinthians 3, which we won't see as many verses, we'll do probably more applying some of these verses in the next lesson. 1 Corinthians 3, look with me at verse 10. And we'll go down to verse 14. According to the grace of God which is given unto me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. Now what is this foundation? Verse 11. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. He's the foundation of our salvation. This understanding of the gospel, who Christ is, getting saved, so forth and so on. Now if any man build upon this foundation, this foundation of our salvation, Jesus Christ, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, these are the different ways you can build, good, bad. Every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire. This is the judgment seat of Christ. And the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he has built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. So salvation is that foundation which all the other truths of the Christian life are built upon. Thus, then, to finish strong requires us to be reminded about the truths concerning our salvation, and then renewing our commitment to these truths. It's not that you get saved again, then saved again, saved again. I'm not saying that. I'm saying is we understand the truths of salvation, and then as we go forward, we don't just walk away from that. We carry those truths with us and add to them, because that's the foundation. So these truths of salvation is the foundation. Without these reminders, if we don't purposely remind ourselves of these truths, it's easy to let these truths slip away and then endanger our commitment to living for the Lord and to finish strong. These are the truths we cannot let slip away. Grace and faith and all the things that work around it to our salvation. Look at another verse, Hebrews 2. Hebrews 2, look at verse 1. Therefore we ought to give them more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip, just slip away, just drift away. That's the idea, like a boat being taken away by the current or by the tide because it's not anchored down, it just kind of floats away. For the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense or reward. How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? Partially that means if you don't get saved, but I think mostly the way Hebrews is written, it means if you do not take heed, that's what it says in verse one, therefore we have to give them more earnest heed. If we don't take heed of our salvation, what it means, what it requires of us, and building upon it. I think that's the more focus of that verse. How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to us by them that heard him? And so our salvation is that foundation which all these other truths are built upon. Now, with all of that in mind, by way of introduction of foundation, I want to give you five things to consider about not forgetting. Don't get over your salvation. Don't get beyond your salvation. I'm glad when we have our Wednesday night prayer time that Brother Maley always takes time and emphasizes how we should be praising the Lord for our salvation. Because the truth is, we should be. It should be an amazing thing every day. When you first got saved, and depending on your own testimony, maybe you're young and it didn't all make sense at first, but when you got to that point, when you understood what it meant to be born again, saved from your sin, headed for heaven, saved from hell, and you said, man this is wonderful! The thing is, every day we should feel the same way, if we think about it. Are you saved today like you were yesterday? Aren't you glad? Let me ask you, how much sin have you done since you got saved? But yet you're still saved. Because it's not your works, it's His work that saves us. So these things should excite us. And then we build upon it, that's how we grow. That's the process of sanctification. So what do we want to consider? Well, let's go back now to our text, 2 Timothy chapter two. And I would suggest to you, and this is kind of the proposition I'm making, if I use a sermonic or homiletical term, the proposition I'm making to you is that the more we understand, the more we think about, the more we consider our salvation, and then building upon it, the more apt we are to finish strong in our Christian life. So, 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 8. Let's look at our first consideration. Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel." He was raised from the dead. You ever consider what that means? Let me ask you, how dead was Jesus? Was he dead-dead or just kind of dead? He was dead-dead, wasn't he? Mostly dead-dead. I know the show. He was dead-dead. He was like when on Star Trek and they would say, he's dead, Jim. He was dead-dead. Well, when he came back to life, how alive was he? Was he kind of alive or alive-alive? He went from dead-dead to alive-alive. By whose power? By the Father's power, that is true. Who else? The Holy Spirit! Yep, he raised him. Who else? He raised himself by his own power. Because whatever the Father does, the Holy Spirit does, the Son does. They're three in one. So here begins our first consideration. Number one is this, salvation reveals the power of God to accomplish His will in our lives. When we think about our salvation and what it meant for Jesus Christ to raise Himself from the dead, the power that He exhibited there, we ought to realize that's the power at work in our lives. God may not work in my, sorry, let me just read actually what I wrote down, not what I'm skipping ahead. This same power that worked in us at salvation continues to work in us so that we can finish strong for the Lord. We should never forget what that salvation accomplished. Jesus was able to raise himself from the grave. And that same power now is working in us. Sometimes you say, I don't know. I don't know how God can. Let me ask you, how can God raise himself from the dead? by His own power. And that's the power that is at work in your life. That's why you can live for Jesus. That's why you can do God's will. That's why you can be faithful. That's why you can finish strong. Because it's not my, did my power save me? No. Did your power save you? No. His power saved you. His power saved me. And His power is still at work in our lives. That's why we consider our salvation and realize this. Go with me to 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15 and look with me down at verse 21. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 21. These are somewhat lengthy passages we're going to be reading just so we get the whole concept and context of what's being said in them. First Corinthians 15 verse 21, For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man his own order, Christ at first roots, afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom of God, even the Father, when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that should be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet, but when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is accepted which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued in him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him, and that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. Else, what shall they do which are baptized for the dead? If the dead rise not at all, why are they then baptized for the dead? And he's making this argument, which I'm not going to get into all the length of the argument he's making, but he's saying that this is the power of God. He's able to accomplish everything, because the same power that was working him, that raised him from the dead, is the same power that he is going to use to accomplish his will. So this same power that worked in us at salvation continues to work in us so that we can finish strong for the Lord. We're not done yet, Romans 8. Again, same argument being made in another different passage. Now my hope is, as we read these verses, when you get discouraged, because if you're going to do the Christian life right, you need to finish strong. It does no good to live for Jesus ten years, and then quit, and then flounder the rest of your Christian life. You need to finish strong in your Christian life. But there's going to come to a time when you're going to say, I can't, it's impossible, I'm at a point where I can't get beyond it. And that all may be true, but it's not your power, it's His power working in you that accomplishes that. So we get to a point where I can't, you haven't got, okay, when you get to the end of what you can do, you've not gotten to the end of what God can do. He can still do what needs to be done in your life so you can finish strong. Romans 8, verse 8. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. It is not our power, our flesh. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is not of his. Either you're saved and have the Spirit of God. If you don't have the Spirit of God, you're not saved. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, Okay, now he's going to look at the power of the Spirit raising him from the dead. But the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you. He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh who live after the flesh, for if you live after the flesh you shall die, but if you live, sorry, but if you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For you have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. If so be that we suffer with them, that we may also be also glorified together." So God, the Holy Spirit's working in us, we got him at salvation, he's working in us, and continues to work in us. So when you struggle in your Christian life, remember that the hardest work has already been accomplished. So when you get to a point, you say, I don't know how I'm going to live for Jesus. I had this struggle with this sin, or struggle with this problem, or struggle with this person. The hardest work to be accomplished was your salvation. Everything else is a piece of cake. Just like, how hard was it to raise someone who's dead three days and three nights? Humanly, it's impossible. With God, all things are possible. So whatever you're going through, you say, this is too hard. There's nothing harder than saving the soul of a sinful man. That's the hardest work, and God's already done that for you. And so, when you're struggling in your Christian life, remember that the hardest work has already been accomplished. And that same power can finish the work of your salvation, which is now your sanctification. That's the finishing of your salvation. Philippians chapter 1. Flip in chapter 1. Look with me at verse 6. Being confident, I like that, being confident of this very thing. What? That He, which has begun a good work in you, that's your salvation, will perform it, complete it, bring it to completion until the day of Jesus Christ. That's the confidence, that's the faith. My faith isn't I can, my faith is He can. He's promised and I live based on what God has promised, not what I understand or can figure out or I can do, but what He has promised He can do. 1 Peter chapter 1. 1 Peter chapter 1. So salvation reveals the power of God to accomplish His will in our lives. So we consider, we don't get over our salvation, we consider our salvation. That power that was at work to save my soul is still at work to sanctify me and make me like Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1, look with me at verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again into a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fate is not a way reserved in heaven for you, who are kept Now, these are believers who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready revealed in the last time. Now, unto salvation, that is not salvation from our sins. I don't want to re-teach past Bible studies, but just so you know, we talked about Salvation, as far as saving from the penalty of sin, this is now what we would call sanctification. It's saving us from the—that was the penalty of sin. Now we're fighting against the power of sin, so God saves us from the power of sin. Eventually we're going to be saved from the very presence of sin. That's glorification that's in heaven. He's talking about sanctification here. who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed no last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations, that the trial of your faith be much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found in praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen, you love, and whom though now you see him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." That's, again, what he's talking about is sanctification, that power, victory over the power of sin, and eventually the glorification, the absence of sin itself, the removing of sin itself. So salvation reveals the power of God to accomplish His will in our lives. That's the first lesson. Okay, second lesson. Looking at salvation, understanding how it helps us to finish strong. One is we think about the power of God at work. 2 Peter chapter 2. What's the second thing? Okay, so we're looking at five. Number one, we consider our salvation. We don't want to get over it because that power at work is still at work in my life. What else? Verse 9. wherein I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even in the bonds. But notice what he says next, but the word of God is not bound. I'm in bondage, and he's writing this from prison. He's literally in bondage, but he says this, but God's word is not bound. In other words, what God can do with me is not bound. They may put chains on me, but they can't put chains on God. God can still work in this situation. That brings us to number two. Salvation reminds us that God is not limited in what He can do. Now if we took time, we've done this before on Wednesday nights, we haven't done it for a few years, but we've gone through, remember when we did this when we went through different testimonies, different people got and gave their testimony, we kind of just part of the prayer time there. And if you remember, everyone who's truly born again is truly born again the same way. You came to an understanding of your sinful state, you're headed for hell, Rightfully so. You looked at your sins not as something that was just a problem, but it was sending you to hell. You repented of it. You said, Lord, I'm a sinful being. I deserve hell, but I know you died for me and come in my heart and save me. So some form of that is what happened. But then what brought you to that was different. Remember the testimony of Paul Becker? You know, the guy holding up the sign, something about you've got to be born again, or I don't know, all runners are going to hell if they don't get saved, whatever that sign said. And it clicked in Paul's mind. He said, you know, what does it mean? He's not here to give his testimony, so I'm doing the best I can. So he just said, you know, and the guy witnessed him, and he got saved right there. Well, that wasn't your testimony. That was his testimony. You have your own testimony. But here's what happened. God worked to bring you to that understanding. Either he brought someone in your path, he brought you maybe in a church service, or somehow he connected you, he broke you, he humbled you, he did something. Everyone gets saved the same way, that's through the gospel. But the events that bring us to that point can be unique. And God is not limited by what he can do to bring someone to that. Some people can be like, yep, God would never humble me. Don't challenge God, because God may rise to the occasion. And so God has ways of working. So salvation reminds us that God is not limited in what He can do. God is an amazing God. He invents ways to get your intention. Some people are like, nothing God could do would ever change me. You know, you might be surprised. And here's what we tend to do. Well, what they went through I could handle. But God may not give you what they went through. He's gonna give you something totally different. He's a very inventive God. So salvation reminds us that God is not limited in what He can do. Now how does this apply to verse nine? We'll give you a moment, I'll hopefully make the connection. God may not work in my life because of my own lack of faith. That's one of the limitations of the Lord. Not because He's weak, but because He has limited Himself. your lack of faith, God says, well, I'm not going to work then. Not that I can't, but he won't. He himself has limited himself. We see that in the children of Israel. He wanted to do so much more, and he didn't because they wouldn't exercise faith. We're reminded of that in Romans, I believe. So God may not work in my life because of my own lack of faith, but here's what we need to understand. He can work in my life despite the lack of faith of others. Just because I live in 2024 and in 2024 no one loves Jesus, everyone's a heathen. Okay, that's not true, but that's kind of how we approach it. Our nations, which it seems to be from appearance, our nation seems to be trending away from God. Would you kind of agree with that? I don't think we're in a state of revival right now. And we could say, well, how can God work in my life? Look at the nation I live in. Their lack of faith doesn't stop God. Only your lack of faith. As long as you are seeking the Lord, God can work in our lives. So salvation reminds us that God is not limited in what he can do. He has ways to accomplish what he needs to accomplish. Men, now watch this, men may limit us But they cannot limit what God can do in us through His power. Even if they come in and shut down this church and arrest all of us, it doesn't stop what God can do. Because here's what we think. We think the only way that God can work is if everything goes our way. Sometimes when nothing goes our way is when God works the best. Because it's not us, it's Him. We give lip services, it's not me, it's Him. But when He does it without us, we're like, oh, how can it happen because I'm not involved? Because it's not us, it's Him. Now I'll give you an example, biblically, about this here in a second. In fact, understand this, God can use the very attempts against us as the means to work in us and accomplish His will. You say, well, I work at a job, and in my job, no one's saved, they all hate God. But that doesn't stop you from being a good testimony there. Maybe in your family, you feel like you're the only one who's trying to live for Jesus. You say, well, no one else cares. Okay, but it doesn't stop God. In fact, sometimes the very things that people are throwing against us to stop us, God grabs hold of and uses it to accomplish what He wants to accomplish. Consider this. Now we could use several examples about this. We could think about Esther and Haman. Remember Haman is going to hang Mordecai and the only one who got hanged was Haman. Now we can think of several occasions about this, but I am going to stick with Paul since he is the one teaching this. In Paul's previous arrest, not this particular one in the Mammothine prison, but in the previous one at the end of Acts, the book of Acts, when he's arrested there in Rome, that first arrest. In Paul's previous rest, his bondage did not stop God working. It actually provided an opportunity that only the bondage would provide. How do you bring the gospel into Caesar's household? I mean, it's kind of a closed community. You don't just kind of, you know, I'm here to witness to Caesar. It doesn't work that way. How do you get into Caesar's household and witness them and bring the gospel really into the very throne room of Satan there? You do it by getting arrested wrongfully, being treated unfairly. But the Word of God is not bound. So Paul says, they may put me in bondage. They can't put the Word of God in bondage. Nothing stops what God can do when we yield and let the Lord work. Let me show you what I mean. Go with me to Philippians 1. Philippians 1, verse number 12. But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happen in me have fallen out rather into the furtherance of the gospel. Now he's writing this from prison. This is his first arrest. And many of the brethren of the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more... Sorry, verse 13. I skipped a whole verse. Verse 13. So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace and in all other places. The palace, that would be Caesar's place. And many of the brethren of the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Again, he's talking more. We're going to just stop there. Go with me to chapter 4, verse 21. Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you." So again he's writing from jail and saying to this Philippian church, the believers who are with me are sending you greetings. What are these believers? Verse 22, all the saints salute you, chiefly they that are Caesar's household. Satan thought he had the victory. He puts Paul in jail. God says, that's exactly where I want him. Now he can get the gospel right to Satan's stronghold. What I'm saying is God's Word is not bound. Just like God used circumstances and events that maybe you would never imagine to bring you to himself at salvation. God can use similar circumstances and events to enable us to finish strong. You may say, there's no way I can finish strong for the Lord. The Lord can do whatever the Lord needs to enable you to finish strong when we submit and live for Him. Number three. Back now to 2 Timothy again. In chapter 2, verse 10. So, it reveals His power, it reveals that nothing stops Him from getting done what He needs to get done. What else is this, don't get over our salvation, remembering our salvation, what it means in our sanctification, finishing strong for the Lord. Well, verse 10, Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. Number three, salvation encourages us to be faithful like those who witnessed to us were faithful. What do I mean by that? Go with me to Acts 22. Acts 22. Now you're turning there so you already know the answer to the question I'm going to ask you anyways. What Christian do you think may have had a major impact on Paul's salvation. Stephen. Now he didn't get saved there, but it made an impact on him. Now we know that from Acts 22, because we know he's there at least. Verse 19, and I said, Lord, now he's He's talking, this is later in his ministry, so he's reflecting back, okay? So he's reflecting back on what had happened, and now it brings us to that part of his testimony he's giving. And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee. And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by and consenting to his death and kept the raiment of them that slew him. Paul never forgot about the martyrdom that Stephen endured. He also understands this, that the reason that the Word of God was able to be spread was because these early believers endured persecution. Paul's persecution. Paul went and basically said, you change, you give up, you turn from Christ, or you're done for. And they wouldn't. They stayed faithful. They kept staying faithful. And Paul understands, here I am today as a saved person because these people endured. They endured what I did to them. They put up with the persecution. They stayed faithful. Even as son to death, they stayed faithful. So I, therefore, need to endure just like they endured. Someone witnessed to me, and I need to endure so I can witness to someone. So we think about our salvation. What was it that brought our salvation? It was people enduring, people who finished strong, people who lived for the Lord. So, therefore, I must do the same, because that's how I got saved through the human instrumentality of that. So since God uses human instrumentality, so if you're saved tonight, someone played a part in it. I know all glory and honor and praise goes to the Lord. You couldn't have got saved apart from the Lord, you can't get saved in addition to the Lord, it's the Lord and the Lord only, but God uses people. Someone witnessed to you, whether it's a family member, a preacher, a soul winner, someone gave you the gospel. And so just like God used human instrumentality in your life, Every believer is not only indebted to God for his salvation, but also the faithfulness of the one who brought him the gospel. That Saturday morning, knocking on the door while I'm watching Bugs Bunny and my mom's answering the door, led me to where I'm in today. What if those two ladies, one being the pastor's wife, what if those two ladies got to where, because they're coming down, well they might have been going up, I don't know, I didn't really watch which way they came. It's a hill, they're either going up or down, I can tell you that. So I'm on the side of the hill, whole bunch of trailers going this way, whole bunch of trailers going this way, in the trailer park, and then it goes around more, whatever. And so, let's say they're going up, and they're walking up the hill. What if they got halfway up the hill, and they're like, man, it's a Saturday, it's hot, it's hill, we're tired, what if that was my door that was the next one, and they said, nah. We've done enough for tonight. As far as I know, they never came back to Berthiel and locked the doors again. I'm glad they went at least to one more door, which is my door. So when I'm tempted not to endure and tempted to give up and quit, I've got to say, wait a minute, they didn't quit. I shouldn't quit. So that remembrance, when I consider how God used people in my own salvation, encourages me to stay faithful as well. The response to that debt should be our own faithfulness and endurance that causes us to finish strong. Romans 1. Romans 1. I told you I have a lot of verses. I'm tempted to skip some, but I'm not because a lot of this is foundational to the next lesson. At least in my mind it is. Romans 1 verse 8. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of the Son, that without ceasing I may mention you always in my prayers, making a request that if by any means not linked, I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established. That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, but was let hitherto." Now the word let is used different there. We means allow. The old definition actually means to disallow or to hinder. So when he says, but was let hitherto, was hindered, was not allowed to happen, something stopped him from doing it. So he could, but even though he wanted, he couldn't, but he kept pushing that way. That I might have some fruit among you also even as among other Gentiles. I am debtor, this is why I keep pushing, this is why I keep enduring, I am debtor, both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and the unwise, so as much as in me. I'm ready to preach a gospel to you that are in Rome also. He had this understanding that I have a debt. They did their job, I need to do my job. So salvation encourages us to be faithful like those who witnessed to us were faithful. Again, back to 2 Timothy 2. What else does this, considering our salvation, not getting over our salvation, helps us to finish strong? Well, verse 11 and verse 12 is what we'll look at. It is a faithful saying, for if we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He will also deny us. Now all of those are statements basically saying, this is what God has promised, and this is the result of that. For if we are dead with Him, we shall live with Him. So we die to ourselves, we live unto Christ. If we suffer, we shall also reign. There's a crown that is earned through suffering for him. There's a crown that we want. If we deny him, that would now be kind of the negative. He would deny us, not necessarily that we lose our salvation, the way he's talking about, but there's a lack of him working our life and talks about the judgment seat of Christ and so forth. Again, a lot of things being taught. We're trying to stick to the main theme here. So what does this teach us? Number four consideration. Salvation opens to us all the other promises of God. How did you get saved? God made a promise, and you took Him up on it. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. The Bible said it, you accepted it, acted upon it. That's faith, and God kept His part. He saved your soul. That's exactly how we go forward in our Christian life. The same faith in what God has promised God will do. It's an interesting thing. We get to a point in our Christian life where we're like, I don't know, God will or not. Did He promise? You're trusting, now watch, you're trusting the Word of God to save your soul for eternity. But you struggle with God taking care of you today. That doesn't really, that's not reasonable. That's fear. That's not faith. Faith says God promised it and that's what I'm going to build my life on. I don't always know how it's going to be. I just know God has said it. That's the confidence I have. That's what I build my faith on. Our salvation was received because we placed our faith in the promise of God concerning salvation. That faith then opened to us all the other promises of God as we continue to exercise that same faith. Ephesians 2. Another reason to show you these verses, I don't want you to believe it just because I'm up here saying it. It's got to be scripture tied to it. Ephesians 2 verse 11. Ephesians 2 verse 11, In other words, you weren't the Jewish people. No one thought you had any hope, but yet the gospel came to you. that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. But now, in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off are now made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us." This is what God had promised. It's an Old Testament promise about being enlightened to the Gentiles, and it's being fulfilled now in Paul's time. having abolished in his flesh the enmity even the law of commandments contained in ordinances for to make in himself of twain one new man so making peace that and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross having slain the enmity thereby and came and preached peace to you which were far off and to them that were nigh for through him we both have access by one spirit into the father Now, therefore, because of the promise of salvation, now we're just like the Jewish people. We have the God in heaven like they did. We have access to God like they did. Now, therefore, you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, just like the Jewish people are, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone in whom all the building fitly framed together grow unto a holy temple in the Lord in whom ye also are building together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." Do you ever consider who we are as Gentiles? We're the wild grapes grafted in. We look in the Old Testament, we think about Abraham, we think about Moses, those are Jewish people. But yet we attach ourselves to them because we are now, as Gentile people, engrafted in by the promises of God, and we accept the promises even of the Old Testament as ours because of the promise of salvation. So the promise of salvation opens into us all these other great promises that God has made. We do not receive from God because we are worthy, but because we are His, and we have faith in what He has promised. 2 Peter 1, verse 1. Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine power is given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. This would now be the sanctification. Through the knowledge of him that has called us to glory and virtue, whereby given to us exceeding great and precious promises. That by these, these promises, you might be partakers of the divine nature. That's how we be like Christ. That's how we finish strong. The promises of God. Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust, and beside this giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge temperance, to temperance patience, to patience godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, to brotherly kindness charity. This is all that growth process. For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. You'll be a mature believer, finishing strong. But he that lacketh these things is blind and cannot see afar, and hath, watch, forgotten that he was purged from his old sins." You forgot about God's great promises. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you shall never fall. You will finish strong." So we can finish strong because we know that it is Christ in us that makes us worthy, and not our own works. These are the promises of God that we hold on to. Just like the promise of salvation wasn't us, it was in Him, so the promise of Him meeting our needs, and growing us, and maturing us, and enabling us to finish strong are the promises of God. When he can do it with salvation, he can do it with sanctification. Fifth and the last consideration, 2 Timothy. All these things as we reflect on salvation and then add to it now this idea of finishing strong, sanctification. 2 Peter chapter 2. If we believe not, Yet, He abideth faithful. He cannot deny Himself. So what if we don't? What if we don't trust Him? What if we don't have faith in Him? What if we get away from this? It doesn't change who He is. You don't change who God is. You walk away from God, God is no less. You lose, not God. Brings us to our fifth consideration. Salvation brings us to the understanding that God is sovereign. And we must submit to Him. There is no compromise in this. There is no, I give a little, God gives a little. We'll kind of meet in the middle. There's no middle. God never moves. As soon as God changed, He no longer be God. He's immutable. There's no changing. I'm the same yesterday, today, forever. I'm the Lord, I change not. Therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed. God does not change. So we understand He's sovereign, therefore we submit to Him. All that God has planned and purpose will be accomplished. Everything that God has planned and purpose will be accomplished. Now we don't always understand how He's going to do all things, but He will do all things. He will do exactly what He's planned and purpose to do. Watch this. What if Kamala, Kamala, Kamilia, whatever, whatever. I know they get all upset when you don't say it right. I don't, whatever. Kamala. I know that's not right. What if the Vice President, Vice President Harris, wins the election? Can that stop what God is doing? No. What if our nation goes full-blown socialist? Well, it may not have far to go to get there. It doesn't stop what God is doing. I don't know, I said, I don't always know what God is doing. I don't know what God is doing. Neither do you. That's why you submit. See, what we think is this, we think we need to get, okay, God's driving, I'll get in the passenger side, I'll get my phone out, get the GPS, and I'll tell God which way to turn. God doesn't need your help. Best thing for you to do is open the trunk, get in the trunk, shut the trunk, and wait until you get where God wants you to be and get out of the trunk and do what God tells you to do. Just submit. Okay, God is sovereign. Just like God is sovereign in your salvation, He's sovereign in your sanctification. Did you help God to save you? Nope. You didn't help God a bit. He did it all on His own. All you had to do was submit and accept Him as Savior. Just like we can never change God's plan of salvation and have to be saved His way. Some people, I'm not Calvinist in any way, shape, or form, but I understand God is sovereign. And God is only going to save you the way He has planned to save you, which is by His grace. It's through Christ and Christ alone. People say, well, what does it mean that we're elected? That means God has chosen the only way of salvation that's through Jesus Christ. And we can say, well, there is no other way. Well, if God wanted another way, He could have made another way. He didn't make another way. He made one way, and that's through Jesus Christ. If you're going to get saved, that's the way you're going to get saved. You can be as sincere as you want. You will die and be sincerely in hell unless you come through Jesus Christ. So Christ is the only way because that's how God is decided. And just like we can't change God's plan of salvation, so too we can never change God's plan for our lives and must serve Him the way He wants to be served. Just like I couldn't do anything to change the plan of salvation, I can't do anything to change God's will for my life. It is what God wants. I must submit to it. I can sit there and stomp my feet, and I don't like it. It doesn't matter if you like it or not. It's God's will for your life. You submit and you do what He's told you to do. And it may not always be fair in your eyes. It may not always be the way you want it. There are things that God brings in people's lives that are very harsh, very hurtful. But God allows it because it's His will. I don't know why. I don't think He gets kicks. I don't think He gets His thrill from us suffering. But sometimes it's our suffering that glorifies Him. Because He uses it in ways we don't understand. So we have to be faithful even in the difficult times. The only way a person goes to heaven is to do it God's way. And the only way a person finishes strong is to do it God's way. God will never change his word to fit you or to fit me. To do so would be to deny himself. And the Bible says in verse 13, he cannot deny himself. God never does that. So when I think about salvation and the sovereignty of God, it had to be exactly what God said through Christ and Christ alone. I couldn't change it one iota. So too is my sanctification. I've got to do it God's way. God's not going to meet me halfway. Well, Lord, I'll do it this way if you can do some things I want. That's not the way it works. You throw yourself at the altar. That's Romans 12, 1 and 2. You just surrender your life to Him. You submit to Him, just like you did to salvation. Lord, I'm tired of trying to save myself. Please save me. And when you get into sanctification, Lord, I'm trying to run my own life. Lord, you run it. You control it. It's the same thing. So salvation brings us to this understanding that God is sovereign and we must submit to Him. I'll give you three final thoughts and we're done. The cross is the beginning of the Christian life, but is also the continuance of it. What does that mean? Those who want to follow Christ must bear the cross as they follow. In other words, the cross is to go with them. Jesus says, you want to follow me? You've got to bear your cross and come after me. That means the cross I'm carrying with me throughout my Christian life. It's not just I go to the cross and get saved, toss the cross to the side, here I go! No, I bring the cross. In other words, the doctrines of salvation continue to work in my life even after I'm saved because that's how I build into my sanctification. These doctrines that we're talking about, these understandings we're talking about. And here's the last statement. When we get away from the cross, we are in danger of not finishing strong. That's why we got to remember what happened at salvation. Don't get over your salvation. All right, that is our lesson for tonight. Somewhere along the line, I trust the Lord has spoke to your heart. Let's pray. Ask the Lord's blessing and we'll be dismissed. Father, we are thankful for our salvation. We make that a part of our