Urgency of Our Salvation: A Spiritual Reflection

Click to edit Master title style OUR SALVATION: A MOST URGENT MATTER! 1

INTRODUCTION Click to edit Master title style Over the course of a lifetime, we will encounter many different situations where we are called upon to act or respond Because situations are different, the seriousness of the situation will dictate the type of response we need to make and the type of response that is appropriate It is a fact of life that some situations we encounter in life will be a lot more serious than others For those not so serious situations, a casual, relaxed or even delayed response may be sufficient for the moment For those more serious situations, an urgent response may be required 2 2

INTRODUCTION Click to edit Master title style Consider for a moment a couple of real-life examples Ex #1: Your doctor tells you to schedule a routine physical examination sometime within the next year Ex #2: Your doctor tells you he or she has just finished analyzing your recent test results and he or she needs you to get to an emergency room or urgent care facility ASAP! In Ex #1, you have some flexibility Your response does not need to be immediate It can be delayed for a time with minimal impact In Ex #2, you have very little flexibility or perhaps no flexibility at all Delaying will result in serious negative consequences 3 3

INTRODUCTION Click to edit Master title style These real-life examples relate to physical situations, but our primary concern today relates to spiritual situations Spiritual situations are of far greater importance We often describe the Bible as a book that reveals God s scheme of redemption or His plan for man s eternal salvation from sin and its consequences We cannot study the Bible, particularly the NT and fail to see and appreciate our salvation is a most urgent matter In truth, We will not face a more urgent matter in this lifetime Because our salvation is not a trivial matter, we cannot afford to treat it casually or as something we have an option to delay [i.e., put off until later]. The consequences are eternal. 4 4

INTRODUCTION Click to edit Master title style In today s lesson, I want us to together consider some NT passages from The Gospels, The Book of Acts & The Epistles related to our salvation These passages will impress upon our minds and remind us our salvation is a most urgent matter With the understanding our salvation is such an urgent matter, we need to treat it as such We simply cannot afford to do otherwise because where we will spend eternity is at stake 5 5

INTRODUCTION Click to edit Master title style Before considering the NT passages I have selected for our study, I want to define the words urgent & urgency Urgent: Calling for immediate attention. Of a state or situation requiring immediate action or attention. Very important and needing attention immediately. Urgency: Something of extreme importance requiring fast or swift action. The quality of being very important and needing attention immediately. Regarding urgent matters, one simply cannot afford to delay ACTION IS REQUIRED NOW!!!! 6 6

INTRODUCTION Click to edit Master title style An interesting observation regarding some of our English translations of the NT (i.e., KJV, NKJ, NAS & ESV) The words urgent and urgency are rarely if ever used For example, in the NKJ these words are only used 2X [2 Cor 8:4]: Imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. [Titus 3:14]: And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful. There are other words used in the NT that express a similar thought (i.e., haste, immediately, diligent, etc.) 7 7

INTRODUCTION Click to edit Master title style With these introductory remarks in mind, let us now consider some NT passages that remind us our salvation is a most urgent matter Though the words urgent and urgency are not used in these passages, the meaning of these words will be clearly evident 8 8

1) CONSIDER THE LIFE OF JESUS Click to edit Master title style Studying the life of Jesus teaches us about the urgency of our salvation Our Lord understood the importance and urgency of His mission and ministry while on earth. He was constantly busy. He recognized His time on earth was limited, so He carried out His ministry with a sense of urgency to maximize His opportunities to reach the lost (John 9:4) In ~3.5 years, Jesus finished the urgent task His Heavenly Father sent to earth to accomplish (John 17:4) Consider also Luke 2:49 (Jesus at 12 years old), John 4:32-35 (Jesus and the Samaritan woman) 9 9

2) CONSIDER THE GREAT COMMISSION (MATT 28:16-20) Click to edit Master title style The command to Go indicated to the apostles the urgency of their assignment to make disciples of all nations Notice Jesus did not say When you have time, go When you feel like it, go In a year or two from now, go When the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles with power in Acts 2, they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and preached the gospel to them The rest of the book of Acts records how the apostles, including Paul, maintained this sense of urgency Let s notice a few examples of this urgency in Acts 10 10

3) CONSIDER THOSE CONVERTED ON PENTECOST (ACTS 2) Click to edit Master title style Peter s sermon to the Jews in Acts 2 is recorded in V14-V36 In V16-V21, Peter informed the people what they were witnessing was in fulfillment of prophecy, Joel 2:28-32 In V22-V36, Peter preached Jesus as the Christ to the Jews Notice V22-V24 and V32-V36. Specifically, V23 & V36 In V37, we have the Jews reaction after hearing Peter s sermon and indictment against them They were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? In this question, the Jews recognized their urgent need They had the blood of Jesus, God s Son, on their hands V38-V41 record how this urgent need was addressed 11 11

4) CONSIDER THE CONVERSION OF THE PHILIPPIAN JAILER Click to edit Master title style The Philippian Jailer (Acts 16:25-34) Paul & Silas had been imprisoned for casting an evil spirit out of a slave girl (V16-V24) At midnight while Paul & Silas were praying & singing hymns, there was a great earthquake that opened all the prison doors & loosed the chains of all the prisoners (V25-V26) The jailer assuming all the prisoners had escaped was about to kill himself, but Paul told him not to harm himself (V27-V28) V29-V30: The jailer ran to Paul & Silas and asked, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? Now notice V31-V34 (V33*). The jailer and his household were baptized immediately and well after midnight. Their salvation was an urgent matter. 1212

5) CONSIDER THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS (ACTS 10) Click to edit Master title style Recall, this account began with Cornelius praying to God and having a vision about the 9th hour of the day or 3:00 PM (V3) After being instructed by an angel to send for Simon Peter in V4- V6, Cornelius understood the urgency of the angel s command and acted accordingly. Notice V7-V8 V7-V8: Cornelius did not allow the fact it was already late in the day delay him in immediately sending servants to summon Peter at Joppa: A distance of between 30 & 40 miles Notice V24 and Cornelius preparation for Peter s arrival After Peter s arrival, Cornelius told him about the events that led him to urgently summon Peter (Acts 10:30-33*). Note V33 Cornelius and his household appreciated the urgency of the situation 13 13

OUR SALVATION: A MOST URGENT MATTER Click to edit Master title style A sense of urgency is not only required when we initially obey the gospel A sense of urgency must be maintained by the children of God after we have obeyed the gospel In this portion of our lesson, I want to consider some passages in the NT epistles that remind us, our salvation continues to be a most urgent matter 14 14

6) CONSIDER ROMANS 13:11-13 Click to edit Master title style Our salvation is nearer than when we first believed, so for that reason we need to Be awake Cast off the works of darkness & put on the armor of light Walk properly by putting on Christ and making no provisions for the flesh Paul would also have us understand what it means if we are not engaging in the holy and righteous conduct described in these verses Our condemnation is drawing nearer Therefore, we need to repent to avoid condemnation Paul s Message: We need to appreciate the urgency of remaining faithful to God 15 15

7) CONSIDER 1 THESS 5:1-10, 2 PETER 3:10-12 Click to edit Master title style Both these passages remind us the day of the Lord s return will come like a thief in the night Like a thief in the night, the Lord s return will be both unannounced and unexpected For that reason, we need to be in a constant state of readiness so we are not caught unprepared Those caught unprepared will experience the wrath of God and eternal destruction from the presence of the Lord The need to maintain a constant state of readiness for the Lord s return demonstrates this is a matter of the utmost urgency 16 16

8) CONSIDER HEBREWS 9:27 & JAMES 4:14 Click to edit Master title style Hebrews 9:27 reminds us we all have an appointment with death, assuming Jesus does not return before we die James 4:14 reminds us at best life is a fleeting proposition Our lives are like a blip on a screen, here one moment and gone the next so we need to use out time wisely (Eph 5:15-16) With the utmost urgency, we need to appreciate the words of Paul in 2 Cor 6:1-2 1 We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For He says: "In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, NOW is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation. 17 17

OUR SALVATION: A MOST URGENT MATTER Click to edit Master title style Sadly, not all who hear the gospel will appreciate the urgency of its message I want to begin to bring our lesson to a close by considering two NT examples of individuals who heard the gospel message, but apparently failed to appreciate its urgency Governor Felix (Acts 24:24-27) King Agrippa (Acts 26:24-29) 18 18

9) CONSIDER PAULS DEFENSE BEFORE GOVENOR FELIX (ACT 24:24-27) Click to edit Master title style Paul s defense before Felix as recorded in Acts 24:10-24 took the form of a gospel sermon Acts 24:25 records Felix reasoned about the things Paul taught and became afraid, yet he sent Paul away for a more convenient time We have no biblical record that convenient time ever came for Felix. See Acts 24:26-27. How many like Felix, fail to appreciate the urgency of the matter, and wait for a more convenient season to respond to the gospel? For how many will that convenient season never come? Either because they eventually dismiss the idea entirely, or Because they are called from this life while waiting for that convenient season to come 19 19

10) CONSIDER PAULS DEFENSE BEFORE KING AGRIPPA (ACTS 26:24-29) Click to edit Master title style As was the case with Felix, Paul s defense before Festus and King Agrippa also took the form of a gospel sermon Acts 26:24 records Festus believed Paul had been driven mad by much learning Acts 26:28 records Agrippa s response to Paul, You almost persuade me to become a Christian. An invitation song we sometimes sing is #348, Almost Persuaded Recall the last verse of that song: Almost persuaded, harvest is past! Almost persuaded, How many in the world today are almost persuaded? Simply stated: Almost will not get the job done! Those who are almost persuaded fail to appreciate salvation is a most urgent matter 20 20

CONCLUSION Click to edit Master title style The goal of today s lesson was to remind us of a very simply and fundamental spiritual truth Our salvation is a most urgent matter; therefore, we need to treat it as such We will face no matter in this lifetime of greater importance and greater urgency than our eternal salvation Q: ARE WE TREATING OUR SALVATION WITH THE URGENCY IT DESERVES? 21 21