By Grace Ye Have Been Saved

Driving home: Well, the answer to that question is because of the constant, the constant tendency of the human heart to pervert the grace of God.

Grace is likened to a pure, crystal-clear stream that man constantly pollutes at its inlet (by adding merit) and outlet (by antinomianism).

The stream of grace comes from God as a pure, crystal clear stream. And as it comes to sinners with saving benefits, it comes as a stream of pure grace. But man is constantly polluting it at the inlet as grace touches him, and he's polluting it at the outlet as grace goes out from him. In its intended effect and influence.

5:35 - 6:04 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Well, the answer to that question is because of the constant, the constant tendency of the human heart to pervert the grace of God.

The passage Ephesians 2:8-10 is described as creating sentries to protect the inlet (verses 8-9) and outlet (verse 10) of grace from abuse.

And so this passage is calculated to create a sentry who stands and protects the inlet, verses 8 and 9, and a sentry who stands to protect the outlet at verse 10. And therefore the grace of God is preserved in these verses from any mixture of human merit and human effort in verses 8 and 9. By grace, you say, and through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works that no man should glory. That's keeping grace pure at the inlet.

6:05 - 6:40 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Using the analogy of a rolling snowball, Martin traces the word 'saved' from Genesis 3 through the Old Testament (Exodus, Judges, Prophets) and into the New Testament, showing its…

Biblical words, like 'saved,' are compared to a snowball that starts small in Genesis and grows in size and richness (quantitatively) as it rolls through Scripture, without changing its essential nature (qualitatively).

Well, though it's scoffed at, and mocked at, and sneered at, and abused, it is one of the most precious words in all of Holy Scripture. And you ought to have a biblical understanding of what the Bible means when it says, by grace ye have been saved. And like most biblical words, it's one of those snowman words. You know, I'm not going to be able to use this illustration much more if we don't have a decent winter one of these years.

12:23 - 12:53 Read in full sermon

Driving home: To be saved is to be delivered from sin and all of its consequences unto all of the blessings grace provides both now and in the world to come.

A story of a boy falling through ice and being rescued by Jake, then brought home, disciplined, and comforted by his mother, illustrates that 'saved' means not just deliverance from danger but also restoration to warmth, communion, and all blessings.

Let me illustrate again from a winter situation. Here's a young boy. He's at home in his living room with his mom and dad and they have a warm fire going and he's told that he must go down to the local store. They're out in a rural situation and pick up a loaf of bread for sandwiches for school the next morning.

20:16 - 20:37 Read in full sermon

Driving home: There is a blessed certainty a thrilling finality a settled actuality a holy infallibility about this salvation. You have been saved.

An arrow coming to a point and then another arrow extending indefinitely from that point visually conceptualizes the Greek perfect tense, showing an action completed with ongoing results.

And it's also significant that He uses a perfect. And the concept of the perfect in the Greek the best way I know to convey it is to have you look here while I try to illustrate with my hands. Picture an arrow coming from this direction to a point. The arrow stops and you see a dot and from that dot you see another arrow heading out in this direction indefinitely.

26:18 - 26:42 Read in full sermon

Driving home: It is the favor of God shown to those who deserve just the opposite. And therefore grace is always set in the strictest opposition to works and to human merit.

Grace is illustrated as a king pardoning and adopting rebel subjects who sought to destroy him, rather than merely bestowing wealth on poor but loyal subjects, emphasizing its undeserved nature.

It is his saving disposition which lies exclusively in his own heart and is expressed not because of what we are but in spite of what we are. Grace is not the king coming to subjects in poverty and lavishing upon them his wealth a wealth which they had no claim to. Grace is the king coming to rebel subjects who are determined to undermine his government and defy his laws and destroy his person and laying hold of such rebels and pardoning them and inviting them into the household and making them heirs with all the benefits of his kingdom. That's grace.

31:39 - 32:23 Read in full sermon

Driving home: When you take the glass of grace and you put one millionth of a drop of works it is no longer grace.

Diluting milk with water still leaves it milk, but adding even a 'millionth of a drop of works' to grace completely ceases it from being grace, highlighting grace's absolute purity.

You see it is not as though you can still have milk if you put an ounce of water in a 16 ounce glass of milk you can still perhaps call it milk call it weak milk watered down milk but call it milk. Listen. When you take the glass of grace and you put one millionth of a drop of works it is no longer grace.

33:51 - 34:15 Read in full sermon

The point: Form a plumb line with 'by grace ye have been saved' to evaluate and reject all religious teaching that does not measure plumb with it.

The doctrine of 'by grace ye have been saved' is likened to a plumb line (string with a weight) to test the straightness and truthfulness of all religious teaching.

to do three things in the workshop this morning first of all to form a plumb line for all religious teaching now you know what a plumb line is? you take a piece of string and you take a piece of string and you take a heavy object a piece of weight better yet if you have a nice little pointed turned brass object that has a point on it you take your weight and your string and you tie the string to the center of that weight so it hangs straight down then if you want to know whether or not the shoemaker carpenters who renovated this place of whom I was one of them and a lot of the others are here ...

37:48 - 39:16 Read in full sermon

The point: Form a plumb line with 'by grace ye have been saved' to evaluate and reject all religious teaching that does not measure plumb with it.

The biblical concepts of 'saved' and 'by grace' are presented as a mirror for personal reflection and self-examination of one's heart's response to these truths.

that's not overstating the case because you who come here with any frequency know that I constantly warn against overstating the case but that's classic Arminian theology they'll say verses 1 to 3 are true we're dead we're bound we're condemned but God has given to all men in grace this common ability to repent and believe if they would but you see my dear people that's just my problem it's my wooder that's just my problem for this passage says that they will to do the lust of the flesh and of the mind that's the problem my will is enslaved to my sin and if you get my will liberated you got me...

42:14 - 43:43 Read in full sermon

The point: Build a tower for proclamation, standing on the truth of salvation by grace to declare hope to the confused, sin-sick generation.

The truths of salvation by grace are to be used to build a 'tower' from which believers can proclaim the gospel to a confused and sin-sick generation.

we say to the confused sin sick generation in which we live there is salvation by grace these biblical concepts not only form a plumb line for all religious teaching and a mirror for self examination but also a mirror for self examination but they form a tower for proclamation and that proclamation is that the God of grace is the living God and salvation by grace is still operative and God will continue to save by grace until the Savior comes and consummates the purposes of grace in all of his heart now you notice I didn't say you're to go out and make a club with these materials or a board of...

46:57 - 48:23 Read in full sermon