Salvation

[Listen to an audio version here]

The Imperiled World
When people look around the world, they see an imperiled world. They see a world that is threatened by climate change, war, terrorism, income inequality, racism, materialism, or tyranny. When the prophets looked at the world, they also saw an imperiled world. However, they saw the world imperiled in a different way. Behind all the challenges the world faces, they saw the wrath of God coming against the world.

This is how the book of Zephaniah begins: “‘I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth,’” declares the Lord” (Zeph. 1:2). What Zephaniah sees coming is the great day of the Lord. “The great day of the Lord is near—near and coming quickly. . . . That day will be a day of wrath—a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness” (Zeph. 1:14–15).

Notice that Zephaniah calls this event “the day of the Lord.” The day of the Lord has a lot of different meanings in the Bible. It can refer to any time God comes in judgment on a nation or an individual. It can refer to His acts of wrath and of deliverance. All of these point, however, to a final day when God will come and judge the world. In Zeph. 3, God declares what this will be like. “I have decided to assemble the nations, to gather the kingdoms and to pour out my wrath on them—all my fierce anger. The whole world will be consumed by the fire of my jealous anger” (Zeph. 3:8). This is the great day of the Lord.

So, the question in the prophets is this, how does the world survive the wrath of God? How does history have any hope? When the prophets consider man’s sin and God’s holiness, all they can see is judgment and wrath.

Better Than I Deserve

Steve Bain was a man who loved to study the Bible and know more about God. But he wasn’t always that way. He didn’t grow up studying the Bible, and, for much of his adult life, he didn’t have much interest in God.

So, what led him to change? His wife. She came to a crisis that led her to realize that the only thing that could give her meaning was a relationship with God. It was really God working with her that led him to Norcross Presbyterian Church. When he got there, he found that there was more to the Christian faith than he ever realized. He saw that it was really meaningful and helpful. At Norcross, he gave his life to Christ and became a follower of Jesus.

After that, Steve wanted more and more. When he went to Perimeter Church in Atlanta, he enrolled in the multi-year course, Theological Foundations for Leaders. He told me many times how helpful this was in his life. He was always active in small groups. When I first came here, he was involved in a group that was studying Henry Blackaby’s book, Experiencing God. He kept going, though. He got involved with Bible Study Fellowship. I would often ask our elders at our meetings, what is God teaching you these days? Steve would give an insight from the book of Joshua or another book that he was studying. I always appreciated that about him.

One thing Steve understood, though, was that the foundation of the Christian faith was a simple message. You have it here in 1 Timothy 1:15. “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” Now, I want you to see three things based on this passage: Steve’s Savior, Steve’s example, and Steve’s praise.

Steve’s Savior
All around the world, you will find a surprising symbol. A cross. It was an instrument of capital punishment and even torture in the Roman Empire. Yet millions upon millions look at it and see hope. Why? Because on that cross was the man whom Steve called Savior and Lord, Jesus.

Christianity begins with a message that God created the world good and created human beings for harmonious fellowship with Him and with one another. However, humans have gone their own way and become alienated from God, one another, creation, and even themselves. They have sought to make themselves the center of the universe rather than submitting to God.

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