Saved from What?

When the Bible uses the word salvation it means to be saved from calamity dearly beloved, there is one calamity, one catastrophe so utterly grim that rescue from it becomes the scene of the biblical doctrine of salvage. The most anyone of those because it's a matter of life and today I'm Renewing Your Mind were bringing you one of the most pivotal sermons Dr. RC Sproul ever preached it was delivered in 1988 and then it brings in the clear focus biblical doctrine of salvation.

It's a sermon titled saved from what several years ago I was walking across the courtyard on the campus of Temple University in Philadelphia.

I was alone minding my own business and back on the way to the faculty lounge of the Cardwell school of theology, when suddenly out of nowhere a gentleman stood in front of me, blocking my movement, then said to me directly. Our you say I wasn't quite sure how to respond to this intrusion and the first words that came into my mouth.

I uttered in response, say from what what I was thinking, but had the grace not to say was that I'm certainly not safe from strangers coming up to me and button calling me and asking me questions like this when I said saved from what I think my friend to spot me that day was so surprised by my question as I had been by his and he kind of lost it stammered and stuttered and wasn't quite sure how to respond, say from what would you know what I mean, you know, do you know Jesus and any tried to give me a capsule summary of the gospel that brief encounter left an impression on me. On the one hand course I was delighted in my soul that somebody cared enough about me, even as I was a stranger to them that he would stop me and ask about my salvation, but what distressed me and my soul. Ladies and gentlemen, was that it was clear that though this man had a zeal for salvation.

He had little understanding of what salvation is. But when were talking about salvation. Beloved, we are talking about the concept.

That is the central theme of all sacred Scripture.

When we examine the Scriptures since search the meaning of the term salvation. The first thing that we notice about it is that the term salvation is used in a wide variety of ways.

All sorts of things are discussed in terms of the noun salvation or the verb to say I've often wondered for example, when Paul and Silas were freed from the jail in Philippi. When God delivered them by the earthquake and you recall that situation that the jailer in panic came up to Paul and Silas, and said Sir, what must I do to be saved, and Paul responded immediately by saying believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you and your household will be say now I think I know what Paul meant by salvation when he responded to the jailer, but I've wondered what was in the jailer's mind, here is a man who is responsible to the government for the gardening and keeping of prisoners and the law in that day in the provinces was simply this, that if prisoners escaped from the jail. What ever penalty they were awaiting to suffer for their crimes there. Jailer had to take in the escapees place and so when the walls of the gel fell down and the prisoner started to run free. This jailer runs the Paul and Silas, and ask them about salvation.

It's certainly possible that what he had and his mind at that moment was a question about his eternal destiny about his relationship with God and having heard Paul and Silas, singing hymns and knew that they were religious fellows. He then address the question to the greatest theologian in history.

The apostle Paul, what must I do to be set. Maybe or maybe all the Philippian jailer had in his mind was how am I going to escape from the consequences of this jailbreak because the word salvation in the Bible doesn't always refer to the ultimate question of salvation in terms of being reconciled with God is worth what I'm saying this is that every time the Bible uses the word salvation or the verb to say it doesn't refer necessarily to what we mean by the doctrine of salvation.

The Bible uses the term salvation in many many ways, and the common thread that is found in each of them is that salvation means being rescued or delivered from some calamity, some catastrophe when the Jewish people went into battle against the Philistines and it looked as if they were going to lose that battle and at the last moment, they were able to be victorious that you would say he was say whatever person recovered from a life-threatening disease that person was say because they were rescued from calamity even in our own culture, we speak that way in the arena of boxing. The boxer is knocked to the canvas and the referee begins the count and why the time the referee counts to eight and the bell rings.

We say that the boxer is say by the bell but we don't mean by that doing the boxer has not been assured by the Angels into the kingdom of heaven, we mean that he's been spared from the calamity of defeat, at least temporarily, until the next round big and so the broadest meaning of salvation in Scripture is to be saved from calamity dearly beloved, there is one calamity, one catastrophe so utterly grim that rescue from it becomes the scene of the biblical doctrine of salvage and I will describe that catastrophe in just a few moments. But before I do.

One other thing I need to say by way of introduction, we seen that the word salvation is used in many senses. The verb to say is also used in many 10 six that's easy to remember several sensors several tenses, another Greek language has more tenses of verbs that we have an English and we won't get into the technicalities of it only to say this, that the verb to save is found in the New Testament in every possible sense, and in every possible tenants of the Greek. The Bible says that we have been saved from the foundation of the war. Here, the ultimate sense is used for salvation. So in one narrow sense, at least from all eternity in the hidden wisdom of God. We were say is why Jesus says that there will come a moment when the father will say come my beloved, inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you from the foundation of the world. The Bible also news of the imperfect tense and says there's a sense in which we were being say that salvation from the hands of God for his people is something that he's been working at through all of the pages of history. You were a part of the Exodus and the plan of God's redemption are salvation was being prepared for us through the call of Abraham in the life of Isaac, and Jacob. We were being say, and then the Bible speaks of salvation in the present sense. There is a sense in which we are say a moment to put your trust in Christ and in Christ alone.

That moment God pronounces you just in his sight, he imputes the righteousness of Christ to your account.

You are safe in the arms of Jesus, you are say the Bible also says that we are being say so that salvation is not simply a once for all thing. In one sense, but my salvation begins when I have belief, and as I grow in grace and as I grow in my sanctification, that process of sanctification is also described as a process of salvation.

And finally, beloved, the Bible speaks of the future when we shall be say we are say we are being saved. We shall be say.

As we look forward to our glorification together with Christ and the final consummation of our selfish so we can see from this how easy it is to become confused about what the Bible means by salvation different senses different tenses. Now the time that is left wants to focus our thinking on the altar of incense of salvation and I asked the question to you that I asked my friend in Philadelphia so many years ago saved from what verse 10 of first Thessalonians to wait for his son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, that is Jesus who delivers us from the wrath which is to come. The ultimate salvation that any human being can ever experience is rescue from the wrath that is to come.

Do you believe that there is a wrath that is to come. I think the greatest point of unbelief in our culture and in our church at this juncture in the 20th century, beloved is an unbelief in the wrath of God and in the certain promise of judgment for the human race. I taught the people all the time about Jesus and they say to me things like this RC if you find believing in Jesus meaningful if that turns you on.

If it gives you some kind of solace or whatever then that's fine for you but I don't feel the need for Jesus when they say this like somebody says I don't feel the need for a fireman because their houses and on five who needs a fireman when there's no funner who needs a savior when there's no clear and present threats of judgment and modern man simply does not believe that there will be a day of judgment and beloved, we believe that really believed the energy of our evangelism would increase 100 full the difference fundamentally in the Old Testament between the true prophet and the false prophet was that the true prophets proclaimed the day of the Lord as a day of consuming wrath the people to hear that. And so the false prophet got rich, promising the people that the day of the Lord was a day of brightness and light and joy and that there was nothing to worry, because it has a wonderful plan for your life.

The plan will look so good on the day of judgment.

If you do not repent and God will speak to you in his fury that was the message of Isaiah, Jeremiah, of Ezekiel of Daniel of Micah of Amos, every prophet of God. Amos came to the people and he said to the people you celebrate the day of the Lord, don't you realize that the day of the Lord's day of darkness.

There is no light of it for is the day when God will speak in wrath and his anger will consume the planet's judgment will go this violence will be seen in the streets. Everybody can't wait for the return of Jesus.

Oh happy day yes oh happy day for the saved before the unsaved.

The return of Jesus is the worst of all conceivable calamity's listen again not to me but to the word of God near is the great day of the Lord near coming very quickly. A day of wrath is that day a day of trouble. The stress, destruction, desolation, darkness, gloom on the day of the Lord's wrath.

All of the earth will be divided, for he will make a terrifying and to the inhabitants of this war, say from what is closest to the Thessalonians as he rejoices in Jesus the Savior. He understood that Jesus is the Savior who saves us from the wrath which is to come. One final point again at the core of the biblical message of salvation is this which is also obscured in modern thought salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord.

No human being has the resources, the power, the money or the merit to save himself.

I remember a few years ago was in the hospital up north for kidney stones.

Kidney stones you know what catastrophe means, and it was about Christmas time and I was lying in my bed and looking up at the television set on the wall and spinning the dial and I came to worship service that was coming from Hollywood Presbyterian Church and Californian Lloyd Ogilvie was reading the Scripture, and he was reading the Christmas story from Luke how many times if you heard the Christmas story in Luke, for behold unto you is born this day in the city of Bethlehem, Savior, who is Christ the I heard that a thousand thousand on their these can thousand dollars on the bed and arson of that is what I need right now I need a Savior. My soul is Bob but my kidney needs to be saved fast. Got my attention and I understood the need to be rescued from calamity, but the only person who can rescue anybody from the wrath that is to come is God and his appointed Savior, and when the Scriptures tell us that God saves us so that salvation is on the Lord. We tend to forget that salvation is also listen carefully from the Lord, will you need to be, say from you need to be saved from God, not from kidney stones, not from hurricanes, not from military defeats. The thing that every human being needs to be saved from his cot.

The last thing in the world. The impenitent center ever wants to meet on the other side of the grave is God's but the glory of the gospel is the one from Paul we need to be say is the very one who saves us, God in saving us saves us from himself, but will unto the house who have no Savior on the day of wrath. The Bible says that on that day the unbeliever will scream to the mountains to fall upon him to the hills to hide them. They will be looking for refuge from nature itself say, remain yummiest seal but there's only one she'll the can protect anyone from the wrath that is to come, and it is the covering of the righteousness of Christ. When we put our faith in Jesus, God cloaks us with the garments of G6 in the garments of his righteous are never ever ever ever ever the target of the wrath of God so that he who flees to Jesus has peace with and there is no condemnation, that's Dr. RC Sproul answering one of the most critical questions. Any one of us can ask if you were saved from what are you saved glad you joined us today on Renewing Your Mind. I'm Lee Webb and I think for many Christians the word saved is so common that we don't think about it much. We may say word saved from our sins were that Jesus saves our souls until this essential question is answered, we will not be able to make sense of Christ's sacrifice or be able to explain it to others. Dr. Strohl wrote a book by the same title as the sermon say from what and when you read it you'll have a better understanding of the severity of our sin and the infinite worth of Christ's atonement. When you give a donation of any amount to leader ministries.

We will be glad to send this book to you again. It's titled saved from what you can request it with your gift@renewingyourmind.org or you can call us at 800-435-4343.

Our goal here Lincoln or ministries is to help you grow in your understanding of God's word. We hope that from today's lesson you gained a greater appreciation for your salvation. And to that end table talk magazine is another link in your resource.

We highly recommend. I've been a subscriber for more than 30 years. Each monthly issue deals with a particular theme of this month. For example, focuses on the Christian ethic what is the Christian ethic and why should we have an unwavering commitment to it. The April issue looks back at the pivotal moment in church history 500 years ago when Martin Luther declared his allegiance to God's word and boldly proclaimed. Here I stand I can do no other table talk also features daily Bible studies and other helpful articles you can learn more and subscribe@tabletalkmagazine.com but were in for a treat tomorrow as we hear Dr. Strohl read one of his children's books after Davey and Jesus came to Jerusalem.

Jesus got down and patted Davies back. Davey watched as he entered the temple. Davey felt very proud of himself.

I carry thinking he thought I must be a very special donkey donkey who carried a cane tomorrow.

On renewing your mother