What Is Salvation?
Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001)
(Loyal Pastor of First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana for over 42 years)
God made man for a purpose. That purpose was that He might have a race
peculiarly made for His praise and glory and honor and that that race might seek
to do only His will. Man chose not to fulfill that purpose when he believed the
evil one, and he fell from his lofty estate of Edenic bliss and fellowship with
God. Now man has fallen, but God still wants to salvage him. Basically, that is
what salvation is...salvation is a salvaging. Now this salvaging is twofold. When a
person is born again, his spirit is salvaged. 'Mere is more, however, to
salvation (salvaging) than being born again. God also wants to salvage our
lives. Ephesians 2: 10, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
We have in our church a man who is educable slow. He is unable to hold a regular
job so he goes from garbage can to garbage can and from roadside to roadside
trying to find aluminum and tin. When he finds it, he salvages it. However, it
is not salvaged when it is simply pulled from the garbage or from the roadside. To be sure, it is no longer in the garbage, and it is saved from the garbage,
but it is not totally salvaged until it is recycled and used again. When man
fell, he became dung. His righteousness became filthy rags. Salvation's plan was
made, but that plan is twofold. The first step in that plan is the salvaging of
the spirit of man when man puts his faith in the finished work of Christ. After
that salvaging, however, there remains another salvaging (salvation) and that is
when man is recycled in order that he
may once again fulfill his original purpose just as the tin and the aluminum
that are recycled.
Hence, salvation is salvaging everything that is possible. Hebrews 2:3, "How
shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to
be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him." The
word "neglect" could also be translated "not completing" or "not totally
salvaged." The book of Hebrews was written to Hebrew Christians; it was not
written to the unsaved. Hence, Hebrews 2:3 was written to the saved, not to the
unsaved. The average preacher who preaches from this passage and the average
teacher who teaches therefrom, teach that this Scripture tells us that if we
neglect being saved, we will not escape the wrath and the judgment of God. Though one who teaches that from this Scripture does not do it an injustice, he
does not teach the primary truth that God intended for this passage. God is
talking here about saved people neglecting their own salvation. It is not
primarily talking about the salvaging from the garbage can; it is talking about
the salvaging to the recycling. God is saying that He will punish us if we do
not let our salvation be complete. Salvation from Hell and to eternal life is
totally of Christ, but God wants more than our souls salvaged; He wants our
lives salvaged.
We have four children. When our oldest daughter, Becky, was a senior in high
school, I bought her a Hammond organ. I told her that the organ was hers as a
gift, but that she should not neglect it. She should practice. She should keep
it polished and dusted. The organ was saved to her, but it was not yet saved for
its purpose. Its purpose was not just to belong to Becky It was more than that.
It was both to belong to Becky and be used by Becky for the glory of God.
When our youngest daughter, Cindy, was seven years old, I bought her a beautiful
bicycle, Two weeks after I bought it, I found it in the snow. I reminded her
that the bicycle was hers, but that she was neglecting it.
God is telling us here that salvation is ours; that is, the salvation of the
spirit is by grace through faith, but God wants us recycled so that we may once
again fulfill the purpose of our creation. We are saved by
grace through faith from the garbage can. Ephesians 2:8, 9, "For by grace are ye
saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of
works, lest any man should boast." We are saved to recycling. Ephesians 2: 10,
"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God
hath before ordained that we should walk in them." The purpose of our being
saved from the garbage can is that we may be recycled.
Now don't misunderstand me. If all God does is save us from the garbage can, He
is pleased. He does not want us to go to Hell. He wants us to be saved from sin
and born again, but His full desire for us is that once we are saved from the
garbage can we be totally recycled so once again we can fulfill the purpose of
His creating us.
Because of this, soul winning is far more than we think. We equate soul winning
with telling someone how to have his name written in Heaven and how to be saved
from Hell and to know he is going to Heaven when he dies. This is soul winning,
but it is not all of soul winning. If salvation is more than being saved from
Hell, then soul winning is more than leading people to be saved from Hell.
Matthew 28:19, 20, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to
observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you
alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." You will notice we have both forms
of soul winning mentioned here. We have pulling people from the garbage can. We
also have "teaching them to observe all things," which means we are also to lead
them to be recycled.
John 15:16, "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you,
that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that
whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it to you." Here
we are to bear fruit; that is, save them from the garbage can. Our fruit should
remain; that is, get them recycled.
James 5:19, 20, "Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert
him; let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way
shall save a soul from death, and
shall hide a multitude of sins." This is talking mainly about recycling. This is
talking about a brother who is saved from Hell but who has not been recycled for
his original purpose. When we win him to Christ, we are soul winning. When we
win him for Christ, we are soul winning.
Proverbs 11:30, "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that
winneth souls is wise." It mentions "he that winneth souls is wise." He that
wins souls to salvation from the garbage can is wise. He that wins souls from
the garbage-can to the recycling is wiser.
Daniel 12:3, "And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the
firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and
ever." Here we are told that we are to turn men to righteousness. There are two
righteousnesses. One is imputed righteousness which is the righteousness of
Christ which is given us at the new birth. The second is the righteousness that
we are to live in our lives. The first righteousness has to do with the
salvation from the garbage can. The second righteousness has to do with the
salvation of recycling.
Psalm 142:4, "I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that
would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul." This is not the cry
of a man who has never been saved begging for someone to care for his soul in
being born again. This is a born again man pleading for someone to care for his
soul in helping him to get recycled. It is care for his saved soul for which he
yearns.
Ezekiel 34:16, "I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was
driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that
which was sick..." This is as much soul winning as the person who goes out
with the Roman Road plan of salvation and leads someone to Christ.
There are those who never lead people to Christ. They never snatch anyone from
the garbage can. They feet their special calling is to lead them to recycling. This is only half their job and they are not totally obeying the Great
Commission or the plan of God. On the other hand, there are those who spend all
their time plucking folks from the
garbage can and never work to get them recycled. These are not complete soul
winners either, for they are only doing half of the Great Commission and leading
folks to a salvation that is only a part of what God had in mind in His total
plan.
May I ask you, reader, "Are you a soul winner?" Remember that a soul winner is a
salvager--one who leads a sinner to choose Christ and one who leads a saint to
choose the will of God, the work of God and the plan of God.
The lost man is free to choose good, but he cannot do what he chooses because he
is lost. He may admire goodness, choose to do goodness, but he will not do
goodness, for even his righteousness is as filthy rags. Isaiah 64:6, "But we are
all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we
all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."
All he can do is choose Christ. Now that he has chosen Christ, not only can he
choose to do good, but he can do good. Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things
through Christ which strengtheneth me." Now good is available to him, but he
needs a soul winner to lead him to choose the good over the bad, and be
recycled.
The first part of soul winning is the choosing of Christ so that the choosing of
good will be possible and that good will be available. The second part of soul
winning is leading the Christian to choose the good that he now can do since he
has chosen Christ. He used to hate the penalty of sin; now he hates sin. He has
been delivered from the garbage can of inability to do good. Now he must be
delivered to the recycling of the choosing to do the good that is now within his
reach because he has chosen Christ.
This means that God not only wants the sinner to come to Christ; He wants the
Christian to come to usefulness. He not only wants the soul winner to lead folks
from Hell and to Heaven by faith in Christ, but He wants the soul winner to
continue his soul winning by leading the Christian to choose to be recycled that
he might once again be used for the purpose for which God made him. This is
salvation!
More Life Changing Sermons by Dr. Jack Hyles:
Do you know for sure that if you died today, you would go to Heaven? You can know! Click Here to find out how!
"I am an old-fashioned
preacher of the old-time religion, that has
warmed this cold world's heart
for two thousand years."
—Billy Sunday
