1262. An Unmost Salvation

Welcome to The Daily Platform. Our program preacher sermons from Chapel services Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. Every day students are blessed by the preaching and teaching of the Bible from the University Chapel platform today speaker is Dr. Steve Pettit, who served as an evangelist for over 29 years before becoming president of Bob Jones University. We are looking at two primary themes that we find in the Scripture and the first one were looking at this morning from Hebrews chapter 7 and were reading. Beginning in verse 23 were going to read the other verse 25 and the focal point this morning will be on verse 25 and I want to speak to you this morning on the theme and utmost salvation does what he says in verse 23 and they truly were many priests, because they were because they were not suffered or permitted to continue by reason of death when he met here is eases the reason why there were so many priests is because priests passed away and the worship of God for the Jewish people continued own by bringing in more priest who grew up in the in the family of the Levites. Verse 24, but this man, speaking of Jesus, because he continues ever that is. He is a perpetual permanent priest has on changeable priesthood now tells us why. Verse 25 wherefore or in consequence of this key. Jesus is able also to save them to the uttermost that come under God by him were that is through Jesus saying that he ever lives. That is, Jesus ever lives to make intercession for them. There is only one book in the world that has ever been written in world history teaches us a permanent salvation that comes only through the grace and the mercy of God. There is only one blog. That is, the Scriptures, the word of God that we have in which we learn to have eternal life through the grace of God and so this morning I would like to take Hebrews chapter 7 in verse 25, where she basically unfolds the way of salvation, and that is through the theme when he speaks about most salvation.

Let's look at verse 25. Again, wherefore he that is Jesus is able to save them to the uttermost that come under God by him, seeing he Jesus ever lives to make intercession for them.

Now, how it takes three questions and basically unpack this verse and the first question is who is it here that are being saved to the matter most and notice what he says he is able to save them to the uttermost that come under God by him or you could say why Jesus Christ, who is it that God saves to the uttermost. It is everyone that comes to God by Jesus Christ. There is no restriction and there is no limitation to God if you come to God by Jesus Christ and to be more specific. Notice where these people come to Vegas as they come on to God – how do I get to God. I get to God through Jesus Christ and him.

He speaks about us coming to God.

He's speaking about our whole self coming to God. For example, when you came into this building today you didn't come in this building with just a part of you. You then leave your your arms or your legs outside. You brought your whole self into this building when you come to God you don't bring up part of yourself.

You bring of yourself. The story is told that when Christianity became a state religion under Constantine in 300 A.D. and Constantine being a soldier had all of his soldiers baptized that when they were baptized everything in their body went under the water with one exception, and that is their swords and they held their arm up out of the water holding their sword because they would not bring that to God when we go through baptism and we are dipped under the water. It is the entire person who comes to God your whole life is to be brought to God. Just like the old testament sacrifices were completely devoted to God. May I ask you this morning you sell completely holy come to God.

I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I committed unto him against that day. What if I committed him to him my whole self. Who is it that your say to the uttermost those that come to God and they come through Jesus Christ and obviously this coming to God implies leaving something else.

If you come to God.

There's something you're leaving. What is it that you're leaving and in essence you're leaving your old life before faith we talk about your old life. The Bible uses the phrase the old man and that old life refers first of all to what you think is good and secondly to what you know is bad when you come to God, you are actually leaving what you think is good and the first thing that you think is good is yourself.

You actually don't believe you deserve the judgment of God, but everyone that comes to God through Jesus Christ believes and understands that there is not good. No, not one but you also leave what you know is bad because you're leaving a life of unrighteousness living for yourself, pleasing yourself satisfying your all your own desires coming to God means I want God in my life I no longer running from him in my own way, I am coming to him not is an enemy, but I want him to be my friend, have you come to God by Jesus Christ. But notice what he says not only where these people come, but he noticed but notice he says now becomes how do they come to God. They come to God by Jesus Christ. That means they, believing in the person of Jesus Christ. For what for. There is one God and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

There is no other way to heaven but through Jesus Christ and Jesus is an all-inclusive Savior. That is, he includes all who come to God through him. If you come through him you come to God. He tells us that he is all-inclusive and that he excludes anyone who tries to come in any other way. We read in acts 412 and there salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under God given among men by which we must be saved and nobody can come in the God except through Jesus Christ.

So how do they come they come by Jesus Christ to you, to God by Jesus Christ but notice he also says this he tells us what do they come from. When you come to Jesus. What do you when you come to God what are you coming or what do you want God to do for you. Well, there's no doubt that there are people who come to God all the time. They may come to God for help in life's troubles.

They may come to God for deliverance from life's perplexities, fears they may come to God to protect them from life's threats. How many people prayed to God in the midst of Cove and coming to God for those things are not necessarily when this verse is speaking coming to God by Jesus Christ.

There is only one reason to come to God through Jesus Christ and that reason is I want God's mercy. Why do I come to God through Jesus Christ because I will.

God's mercy. There is only one group of people that come to God through Jesus and that those who are sinners because we come to God to be saved to be saved from my all sin's so I ask you this morning. Have you been saved to the uttermost by coming to God through Jesus Christ. There's only one reason to come and that is for mercy. Back when I was in the ministry of evangelism we had a young lady who came to travel with us on our team for two or three years, who was our schoolteacher.

She grew up in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. She went to a Christian school grew up in a Christian family. She attended a Bible college and got a degree in educational degree from Bible college and so she came to travel with us and in her second year we were actually holding a two week revival meeting here in Greenville South Carolina in 1990 at Morningside Baptist Church. Think about that. That's two weeks of preaching everything I and on the second week on a Monday night. This young lady.

Our teacher was in the front of the auditorium standing there with my wife and during the song service. She turned to my wife and she said I need to talk to you. Can we go out. So they went out in the lobby of the church, she said to my wife. I don't think I'm saved remember where she came from what she was doing. My wife said I think you need to talk to my husband after the service.

So after the service. My wife tells me and so I go with my Bible in hand with the intention to help her to get and understand the assurance of salvation, surely she's just doubting her salvation and I think I can help her not sat down and I asked her some basic questions because my assumption was that she was a believer and said that's her name was prejudice a Christian me ask you this question when when do you believe you became a Christian and she said to me she said Steve I've always grown up in a Christian home and I've always believed in Jesus. That's what she told but she said I never have understood why is it that I really need Jesus.

I went oh Kate and then she said I never saw myself as being all that bad.

Now, my first thought was, well, if you asked me I would've told but for the first time in her life.

She literally had a revelation about herself that she actually started to understand that the reason she needed to come to God by Jesus Christ. Was she needed God's mercy in her life and you would've thought that she would've gotten saved that night she did. Fact is, she said I'm not ready and for one week she ran from God resistant, stubborn, it's almost like squeezing up simple everything on the inside discarding coming out in one week later she came to our trailer and walked in and literally got on her knees and she said I want to be safe, now she came to God by Jesus Christ. Why do you come to God. There is only one reason, because you know you need mercy and I pray because I believe that many of you who know about God and about Jesus. It is in your head but is never drop down 18 inches in your heart you never come to God by Jesus Christ for his mercy. So question number one. Who is it that are saved to the uttermost those who come to God by Jesus Christ. Question number two. How far does this uttermost salvation extend how far does it go, what are the boundaries or what are the limitations of this salvation and notice what he says. Therefore, Jesus is able to save them to the uttermost. What is the word uttermost me. It's one word in the Greek, but is two words put together the one word is the word pan or upon hello sort to loss and that comes from two Greek words, the first word is the idea of the word poss which means all in the second word to lots means complete or to the destination or to the end. So when you drove to Bob Jones University. Are you flew here when you arrived here at your destination. That's what the word Telus me so is the ideal of all and destination in and that we have the idea of uttermost that is first and foremost, Jesus is able to save all who come to him. John 637 all that the father giveth me will come to me and he that cometh in the me I will in no wise cast out. Uttermost extends to everyone, even to those who experienced extreme guilt. There is no limitation to his demonstration of salvation uttermost means of all who are sinners. Nobody is beyond the power of Jesus. That's why the word he is able is put there because the word he is able means the idea we get the word dynamite is referring to the supernatural, all powerful omnipotent power of God that God is able to save you to the uttermost. Every single part of you can be redeemed and say your heart your soul your mind your will, your emotions and your purpose is your planned Eisai to the uttermost. Nobody is beyond the grace of God. In 1989 the we experience in the world something very unique and that was the fall of communism.

Russia, East Germany, and so forth.

Around 1991 or two I went on a missions trip to Siberia, Russia. We flew from the United States to Anchorage, Alaska and then we flew to the far Eastern Siberia right north of North Korea in a city called Khabarovsk. It was there we took a 15 hour train ride inland into Siberia just north of China. We came to a city called blog of his cheeks and we were there in that area for over a week preaching the gospel. One of the profound experiences I had was when we were on the train going the blog of his cheeks.

Everybody was Russian except for us were Americans and I actually began to have a conversation and they can speak and some broken English. I began to have a conversation with Russian soldiers who had been fighting in Afghanistan long before the United States were with began to share the gospel with them.

And here I was on the other side of the world and yet the human heart is the same. And when I told them that God would save them. Do you know the response was their response was we cannot become a believer. We cannot be forgiven because we have done too many bad things obviously his soldiers and all that goes with that. And here I was on the other side of the world. Understanding that when Jesus says the Bible says he saves to the uttermost. It is for those who are in extreme guilt. God is able to save you. They also refers here to that uttermost extends to those who have not only experience extreme guilt but those who experience extreme rejection and what I mean by rejection is this and I know it's true in this building today. There are many of you who have heard the gospel from your childhood. You've grown up in a Christian home you have Christian grandparent Jim Christian parents you have Christian siblings you are educated in the Christian school meal even drank Christian milk everything you had was Christian but you're not a Christian. Somewhere along the line you have decidedly decided not to believe you have resisted. A thousand prayers.

You've wasted hundreds of sermons you won't run away from countless gospel presentations you have resisted the Lord, you have hardened your heart in your own willful choice of not believing in yet even in your is extreme rejection. God's grace still reaches out return on the me the Lord says, and I will return unto you, he is able to save those who are who will come to him who are coming from the very worst he is able to save all within the second idea of the word uttermost is he's not only disable all to come to him, but he's able to save completely those who come to him.

You see salvation to the uttermost is not just referring to you when you come to Jesus. But when you come to the end of your life. God's ultimate and in your salvation is salvation from sin, you have been saved from the penalty of sin. If you are a believer you will not perish but this ultimate salvation is the final salvation, and that is the deliverance from all sin.

Not only sin in its penalty but sin in its power over my life for this salvation extends to your temptations into your infirmities and extends to your darkness and extends to your depression. Bible says now to him is the that that comes to him. He is able is the Scripture says in Philippians 1. He he. That began a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. We live in a neighborhood we been there for five years. In the last five years they've built 15 homes. It's been crazy and every day. I'll drive by these homes are being built and I seem clear the land and then I see them for the foundations and then I see them put up the structure.

The framing the house and then bricking the house and then putting on the roof and then they start to do the yard and they that one thing they have all done everything they started they finished if you have come under God when he says he's going to save you to the uttermost. It means he's going to finish what he started in your life. He is not going to leave you, he's not going to forsake you. You have been saved to the absolute uttermost that leads me to the third and final question and that is why is it specifically in this verse that Jesus is able to save to the uttermost. Look at what he says in Hebrews 725 pieces seeing he, Jesus ever lives to make intercession for them. Why is it that were saved to the uttermost because of the intercessory work of Jesus.

What you think of it this way, what is Jesus doing right now as we sit in chapel. It is 1132. What is Jesus doing right now because we think of Jesus we think of what he did his incarnation, his crucifixion, his resurrection is his ascension into heaven, but why did he going to have in us as he sat down at the father's right hand. Why, what, Susan, what is he doing what is Jesus doing right now he is interceding for us. What does that mean and just for the sake of time to make it the simplest I can't.

An intercessor is one who is an agent for you on the behalf of another and in this case, the picture that we have here is the Old Testament priest for what did the primary job of the high priest to do.

He was to go into God's presence with a sacrifice to be offered for the sins of people.

Blood sprinkled on the ark of the covenant in the mercy seat and is he appeared in the presence of God with a sacrifice. It brought forgiveness of sin for the Jewish people for one year with the problem with all of that is that this was not a permanent priesthood because they all died. This was not a perfect sacrifice because the blood of animals can't take away your sin. This is not a permanent priesthood because they live in they die they commonly go and they can't stay in God's presence forever.

When Jesus died and rose from the dead and ascended in the heaven. What did he do just like that holy of holies he entered into the presence of God in Jesus Christ entered in with the sacrifice of his own life. The perfect sacrifice that takes away all of our sin, he is a permanent priest forever after the order, not of the Levites, but Melchizedek, which was an eternal priesthood and he is permanently in the presence of the Lord. He is been there for 2000 years, and what is he doing just like the Old Testament high priest offered sacrifices for us so that we could experience forgiveness we have in the very presence of the Lord Jesus Christ who was there and he is ever living to through his life and sacrifice intercede on our behalf, so that you and I can be save all the way to the end.

So let me put it this way, you can't lose your salvation, not because you don't mess up and I want to talk about that tomorrow, but I know that I'm going to be save to the absolute uttermost because I have a permanent high priest who is already offered a perfect sacrifice for me and he is ever living in the presence of the Lord and all those mess ups and all those things that you do wrong. Throughout the course of your life.

How do I know for confidence that I'm save because I have that one ever living in the presence of God. For me, we know the song before the throne of God above, I have a strong and perfectly a great high priest whose name is love whoever lives and he pleads for me. My name is written on his hand's I'm engraved own his heart and I know that I am saved by his grace to the uttermost in. There are many of you in this room that are not saved. I beg of you today come to God by Jesus Christ.

Father, thank you for your word and thank you for this rich grace that we have in Jesus are intercessor. Whoever lives in. Thank you for this glorious assurance that we have not on the basis of our righteous life. But on the basis of our high priest who lives to plead for us. We thank you for this in Jesus name, amen. You been listening to a sermon preached by Dr. Steve Pettit, president of Bob Jones University.

We hope you'll join us again tomorrow at the same time as we study God's word together on The Daily Platform