(John 1:6-13 KJV) “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.{7} The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. {8} He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. {9} That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. {10} He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. {11} He came unto his own, and his own received him not.{12} But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: {13} Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Do I understand that the Scripture teaches that salvation – my salvation – if I am saved – is wholly from God my Savior? How does my understanding of my salvation affect my Christian walk?

People have a tendency to make salvation– that state where God Himself bring the believer in Jesus to – to make salvation a man made work. It is not a man made work. It is a supernatural work from beginning to end. It is all of God.

Man is incapable of saving himself. In fact, the default position that all people are born in is antagonism toward God and His people. Jesus told us this.

John 15:17-20 (KJV)  These things I command you, that ye love one another.  [18]  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.  [19]  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I HAVE CHOSEN YOU OUT OF THE WORLD, therefore the world hateth you.  [20]  Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

We who are saved are born of the extreme love of God. What does the Scripture say?

1 John 4:19 (KJV)  We love him, because he first loved us.

We were not born loving Jesus. Our first birth brought us from the embrace of our mother’s womb to the embrace of darkness.

1 John 5:19 (KJV)  And we know that we are of God,
andthe whole world lieth in wickedness.

The world – any person not in Christ – hates us. It may tolerate Christianity like Rome did in the first century – but only as long as we go along with the world’s agenda.

The first century Church suffered great persecution. In Rome is was perfectly acceptable to worship any god you chose,as long as you worshiped Caesar once every year. Once you worshiped Caesar by burning incense to him and saying out loud, “Caesar is Lord”, you were given a document that showed you fulfilled this requirement. The early Christians would not do this, so they were subjected to terrible persecution for worshiping their God illegally.Nothing has changed. The world does not care for the Christ nor His people. The world will tolerate us as long as we give the head nod to dark things:

Promiscuity
Homosexuality
Abortion
Idolatry

If we celebrate these things and blend our faith with worldliness we will get along with the darkness. Many believers and churches are doing this today in hopes of attracting larger crowds. Listen Beloved:

“Mixing Christianity with the world is like mixing ice cream with cow manure. You won’t hurt the cow manure, but you’ll sure ruin the ice cream.”

In John’s Gospel we start out with the story of God (Who is LIGHT) reaching out into a dark and godless world. How do we reach this world? We – like John the Baptist – simply do as God asks and trust HIM for the results.

Man Is Totally Lost – But God Is Totally Able

John 1:6-7 (KJV) “There was a man SENT¹from God, whose name was John. {7} The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through Himmight believe.

The first five words in this text establish a key truthin the Book of John.

You see, John the Baptist was a man sent from God. “Sent”is a Greek word that means “to be sent as a messenger, as an Apostle, as one who brings a message from a King or from God”. In fact, this verse could be translated:

John was sent by God and continued to be sent as His Apostle, God’s Messenger

Though Jesus our Lord chose twelve Apostlesto represent Him at the beginning of His earthly ministry, John the Baptist was born an Apostle.

God chose John the Baptist from eternity to go before Jesus and preaching the coming Lamb of God– and the interesting truth about John’s choosing was that he was set apart while he was yet in his mother. The Bible says that before John was ever conceivedGod commissioned him to this holy office. We read:

Luke 1:15-17 (NKJV)(John the Baptist)will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

John was set aside by God, chosen by God, and saved by Godto do His work before he was ever conceived! This meant that John was SAVED from his mother’s womb. He did not earn his salvation, nor his purpose in God. God purposed for John, and God purposed for YOU! You have a calling of God that you must fulfill. What is very interesting about John is what he said about Jesus.

When John was going about his business doing as God called him to do – preaching about the Coming Messiah –one day Jesus came to be baptized of John. When John saw Jesus he said:

Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world
My COUSIN Jesus!

Now that’s not what John said – not fully. Here’s what John actually said:

(John 1:29-31 KJV) “… Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.{30} This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. {31} And I knew²him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel,therefore am I come baptizing with water.”

Though Jesus Christ was John the Baptist’s COUSIN John did not really know that Jesus was the Messiah until the day John baptized Him. John was sent to baptize, and in obeying he saw and perceived Jesus as Messiah. Later in his ministry John would be imprisoned for his preaching against Herod the King. While in prison John would send two messengers to Jesus, asking:

Luke 7:19 (KJV) Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?

Some people have mistakenly thought that John had begun doubting Jesus while in Herod’s jail. This is not the truth. You see, in the Old Testament the Messiah was presented both as a

suffering Savior (Isaiah 53; Zechariah 9:9-10)
as well as a
conquering King (Ezekiel 37:24-25; Zechariah 14:2-4)

John and many others in Israel wanted the conquering King to come first. When Jesus came loving and forgiving John wondered if He was just the suffering Savior. But Jesus told John’s messengers:

Luke 7:22-23 (KJV) … Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.  [23]  And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

God is in control – ALWAYS! God set apart and saved John from birth to be His messenger.

(John 1:8-9 KJV) “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. {7} The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. {8} He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. {9} That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

John the Baptist was not the Light of God– Jesus alone occupies that position – but he was sent to bear witness of that Light. The enigma that is John and the salvation of sinners through Jesus are tied together in this text. God is Sovereign – and His Sovereign power exists particularlyin the area of the salvation of sinners.

In our day and age we make salvationa matter almost entirely a work of man.

The Purpose Driven Church written by Rick Warren talks about setting up services in ways that will enticeunbelievers into the Church. I am sure his heart is right, for God has used Rick Warren in many ways. Yet GOD is in control. Many of my preacher brethren believe and teach that – unless we change the way we do business – then we will never reach the unsaved. But I disagree with this! There is nothing wrong with doing things adifferent way– nothing wrong with using technology such as Power Point and different forms of music. But Beloved, the Power in salvation is not whether or not I convince you to come forward– the power is in God Almighty!

The Bible says of humanity that we are all under sin, actually in slavery to sinprior to the point of our salvation:

(Romans 3:9-12 KJV) “… we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; {10} As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: {11} There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. {12} They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

The Bible is very clearthat man is unablebecause of sin to seek God on his own. Man has no will to find God, nor does he ever even lookfor God. Look at the above text. The Bible clearly says and repeats the word none.

NONE righteous

NONE who understands

NONE seeks God

NONE in the way of God

NONE profitable

NONE good

The old time preachers described the spiritual state of man in sin as atotally depraved state, or the total depravity of man.

All people are (Ephesians 2:1 KJV) “… dead in trespasses and sins³“

Godmust open the heartof the unbeliever before that unbeliever will accept Christ. The Bible says:

(John 1:10-11 KJV) “He [Jesus]was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the WORLD KNEW HIM NOT. {11} He came unto his own, and HIS OWN RECEIVED HIM NOT.”

You may believe in your heart that people are inherently good, and that, at their core, all people will automatically do the decent thing. That’s not true for the unsaved, for the person lost in spiritual death. The world acts the way the world acts, because the world marches to the tune of that fallen angel Lucifer. The world⁴is dead, and knew not nor knows not Christ. To the world Jesus is nothing, and self is everything. Man is totally, desperately, absolutely lost – unable to do the good, and unable to seek God.

The Hope Of Man Is The Power Of God

(John 1:12-13 KJV) “But as many as RECEIVED HIM, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: {13} Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

If man is in a totally lost state – then what hope do we have?
The Bible tells us that the answer is in the Sovereign and Absolute Power of God.

We read in verse 12 “as many as received Him”. This is the whosoever willof Scripture, a whosoever willthat is often misunderstood. If man is unableby nature of his fallen estate – unable becausehe is spiritually dead and separated from God – then God Himselfmust open the heart of manto the Gospel.

This is why we PRAY.
This is why we meet on WEDNESDAY NIGHTS.
God must be in our efforts.
If God does not do it, it will not be done.

The Bible teaches us both truths. It teaches us that “as many as received Him”– the whosoever willof the Word. But the Scripture also teaches us that “to then gave He [God]power to become to sons of God”. We are unableto be saved apart from the power of God. We are unableto even desire God, to seek God, apart from God’s calling. We are unableto become sons of God unless He empowers. But when He opens the doorand calls to your heart, you’d better receive Him as Savior!

Our Lord Jesus told us:

John 6:37 (NKJV) ALL THAT THE FATHER GIVES ME WILL COME TO ME, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.

John 6:44 (NKJV) No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me DRAWS HIM; and I will raise him up at the last day.

God must open theheartand make it pliable to the Gospel. He must give understanding. He must come into the inner man and drawhim. Unless God opens the eyes to the Gospel message, none will never come to Christ.

In short, Beloved, it is very dangerousto believe that you can accept Christ as Savior anytime you want. The Bible is very clear that God must be in the process, or you are absolutely unable to come into the Kingdom. So many have said, “I’ll not accept Christ today – another day will do”. Yet God is clear that He must – by reason of the fallen nature of man– be in the process of calling to salvation. If He is not, you will never come to Him.

(John 1:13 KJV) “Which were born, NOT OF BLOOD, NOR OF THE WILL OF THE FLESH, NOR OF THE WILL OF MAN, BUT OF GOD.”

Those who are in the state that Jesus Christ called born again⁵– saved by faith in Christ – are in that state because God opened their hearts to the Gospel messageand they accepted that call. It is God’s will that you be saved, and God Who opens the door. But once the door is open, you must step through! It is a dangerous thing to hear the call of God, then reject that call.

Salvation begins with the calling of God. The person whose heart is opened to the message of salvation because God willed to do sothen must step forward and accept what has been offered.

There must be an enablingon God’s part,
and a receiving on man’s part.
Man does absolutely nothing of meritin the process of salvation.

When the believer’s eyes are opened to his lost estate, he steps forward toward the Light that is Christ. He steps out of that darkened room of spiritual death and toward the Bright Light of Jesus.

At that moment you become born again, as the Bible says:

1 Peter 1:23 (KJV)  Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, BY THE WORD OF GOD, which liveth and abideth for ever.

You become born into the Family of God through the incorruptible power of God. The Word of God – Jesus Christ – Who lives and abides forever brings you to that state of Eternal Life. We who are saved are born again, born into an Eternal Family. This New Birth comes:

2 Peter 3:9 (KJV)  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

God calls, and calls, and calls to salvation. Very few Sundays pass when the pastor does not see someone in the audience resist the Gospel, refusing to step forward for Christ. How dangerous that is! Unless the Lord opens the heart, none are able to be saved. Unless the Lord lightens the path, none step forward to meet Him in glory.

The hope of salvation is – from beginning to end – fully in Christ. The hope of salvation is fully a product of God. Not of your own goodness, not of your own ability, but of the very power of God.

The Saved Have The Power They Need

If you have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior, then to you

(John 1:12-13 KJV) “… gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: {13} Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

You who believe aresons of God, even now.

You have been give His Spirit, the Holy Spirit to follow.

Romans 8:14 (KJV) “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”

You have been adopted into the Family of God. One day you shall be in glory with Jesus and like Jesus.

1 John 3:1-3 (KJV)  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.  [2]  Beloved, NOW ARE WE THE SONS OF GOD, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.  [3]  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

If you are saved, you are called to love Him. You need to understand that you will not be able to reach these loved ones on your own. You must pray, and ask the Father to open the doorway of their hearts. He alone has the power to make new life, to draw the sinner, and to raise up the fallen. May God touch your hearts with these words.