The Helmet of Salvation

Matthew Reed. America has been involved in over 100 wars since the American Revolution. And some of the wars I think a lot of us know well. World War I, World War II, the Cold War, the Korean War, but there may be some wars that you are not so familiar with.

Some lesser known, lesser remembered ones such as the moral rebellion, the box uprising, Pancho Villa Expedition, and the Keiko War. Now presently, depending upon which source that you go to, the United States is presently engaged in war with at least six different countries. How? Well, by cleverly using international bodies, advanced war technology, new covert capabilities, and through that President Obama and actually a long list of presidents prior to him have been redefining the meaning of going to war.

According to Michael Hirsch of the National Journals, he said this. He says, and I quote, the process of turning war into something other than war is likely to grow more intricate and subtle. Now instead of war, the U.S. is engaged in missions or operations or uprisings or counter-insurgency campaigns. I think we all fear the words, America is at war or America is now at war.

And yet we as Christians are fighting a war with an enemy that we don't even see, with an enemy that we can't hear. And yet he is real and the battle is going on right now. What's going on today? Let's turn over to 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse number 3. 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse number 3. This war is being fought by Christians on the ground, in the air, and you and I, in a sense, are military personnel.

I know we often have talked about we're conscientious objectors. We don't fight, but yes we do. We fight this battle. We fight this war. And we're in a sense a soldier, a soldier of Christ, enlisted really in the greatest battle mankind has ever been engaged in. It's a battle, it's a war against the prince of the power of the air and spiritual hosts of his. Let's note a second, Timothy chapter 2 and verse 3. It says, you therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

You know, those of you that have fought in the military or boot camp or what have you, you know that it's not easy. It's hard. You know, you don't necessarily want to eat. You don't necessarily sleep where you want to sleep, and you don't necessarily go where you want to go, and you have difficulties.

And yet it talks about here that we must endure hardship as a good soldier of Christ. And notice as we go on, it says, no one engaged in warfare. Well, we know what engaged means. It means, you know, coming together. Engaged. I think of Captain Kirk of the, or not Captain Kirk, but Picard, you know, in some of the shows on television with the, what was the name of that ship? The USS Enterprise.

Thank you. And he would tell his helmsmen, engage. And away they go at warp speed, whatever that is. We know what engaged means, and God says, no one engaged in warfare. He's telling us we are engaged in warfare. And no one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life.

Why? That he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. So there we are. It's mentioned soldier twice. Soldiers of Christ enlisted by God as a soldier. And not to entangle, get tangled up with the affairs of this life. Sometimes that happens. And it can happen rather easily. It's one of our enemy's ways of attack. Entangling ourselves with the affairs of this life, we can easily get distracted from the severity of the war.

From the severity of the battle. But we have to really realize that God tells us up front where we are, the seriousness of it. Make no mistake, it is serious. Our spiritual lives and our future in God's kingdom and his family and eternal life are on the line. And if we lose this war, we lose everything. Our adversary, Satan the Devil, and his host of demons have a single driving central force of purpose, and that's to destroy the children of God.

It's to destroy you. It's to destroy me. I don't think that's an overstatement. God talks about that in the Scriptures. We'll cover some of those in a moment. Let's turn over to 2 Corinthians chapter 10, just a few pages over. A few pages back, 2 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse number 3. It says, For though we walk in the flesh, and we are, we're flesh and blood, our present existence is that for now, for though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.

So there he says it again. We are warring. We are waging a war. Verse number 4. For the weapons, referring to our weapons or our armor as we'll cover here in a moment, the weapons of our warfare aren't carnal. The things that God tells us to do, the things that God tells us to put on, the weapons that he makes available to us aren't carnal, but they're mighty. They're mighty in God. They're powerful. In fact, they are not only mighty in God, but they can pull down strongholds.

And I think he's talking about spiritual strongholds. That the weapons that God has made to our disposal are very powerful. Verse number 5. We've talked about in verse 4 that they are powerful enough to pull down strongholds and to cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the truth, against the knowledge of God, even to the point of bringing every thought into captivity, into the obedience of Christ, even the things that are going on between our ears, that these weapons have the ability to bring every thought into the captivity of the captain of our salvation, Jesus Christ.

God tells us how to battle. He tells us how to fight this war. He tells us how to prepare ourselves. And God has told us to equip ourselves with armor. His armor. Let's go over to Ephesians chapter 6 and verse number 10. It's the armor he wears. Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 10, we've been going through a series of sermons on the armor of God. And we're coming to now the fifth piece of armor. But let's just review this armor, these weapons that God has given to us.

And the title of our series has simply been the armor of God in spiritual warfare. And this is sermon number 5. But let's pick it up in verse number 10 of Ephesians chapter 6. A concluding thought, he says, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. So it's his weapons. It's his might that we are strong in. And it enables us to be able to cast down spiritual arguments. He says, verse 11, he says, Put on the whole armor. We talked about that in this series.

It can't just be one or two pieces. It needs to be all of the things that are listed here in this context. A whole armor of God. Why? That we may be able to stand. You know, when the perfect storm comes in our lives, whether it be now in this life or be towards the end of the age, if we're still alive and our enemy is throwing out all the stops, we're going to need to have the armor that he talks about here in order to be able to stand.

So that's why he tells us about these things ahead of time. That you might be able to stand against what? Well, as it says in the latter part of verse 11, against the wiles of the devil. What are the, what's that mean? Wiles. You know, that's not a word that we just throw around every day. The wiles of the devil.

Let's take a look at that for a moment. The word wiles in the Greek is methodea. Methodea. Of which we get the English word method. And according to Albert Barnes' commentary, this is what they say about this Greek word methodea. It means properly that which is traced out with method. That which is methodized. And then, that which is well laid out when it comes to cunning, arts, skill, deceit, craft, and trickery.

There's method, you know, you've heard there's method to the madness. There's method to everything. Our enemy has a method, and his method is filled with trickery, with cunning, with skill, and with deceit. That's how he operates. So the wiles of the devil are his various deceptive tactics. His strategies, which he employs to deceive, to delude, and to destroy. You know, this Greek word only comes in one other place in the entire New Testament.

I'm not going to turn there, but you might want to write this down. It's Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 14. And you know how it's translated there? It's translated deceitful plotting. I think that sums up in two words pretty well the overall his means of attack. Deceitful plotting. You know, sometimes I think it's more easy to encounter an enemy that you can see. You know, that's an open confrontation, if you will. Then it is for someone that comes in a direction of cunningness, or ambush, or what have you.

You know, we need the weapons of God's army to meet his attempts to trap and to snare us, as well as we need them, even if it's an open confrontation, which I think is why God tells us the necessity of being constantly armed to meet our enemy no matter how or when he attacks. Verse number 12, because we're not wrestling against flesh and blood, but against principalities and against powers and against rulers of the darkness of this age and against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places.

Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. I think God reveals that we're not simply a nation at war, but we are the people of God that are fighting a spiritual war. And you know, in our nation wars can come and go, but as the people of God, it sounds like this war continues until the enemy is ultimately defeated after the return of Jesus Christ.

So during this present age, during this present time, the spiritual warfare, the armor of God is designed specifically by God. And if we put it on, God says, He guarantees you and me victory. His word promises that. He says, if we put on the whole armor of God, that we will be able to stand in the evil day. At the end of the day, some may fail. At the end of the day, some may fall. But the armor of God is going to be the only way that we're going to be able to stand according to the Word of God, to be able to stand against the wiles of the enemy.

How is it that as Christians, we're expected to withstand incredible pressures, incredible challenges, and not be defeated? How can we possibly stand against an enemy like this who can throw all that he can against us and still expect to emerge victorious? Well, the answer doesn't lie in ourselves. It lies in a divine and unbeatable defense. And that's the armor of God. And then he begins to list that armor for you and me in verse number 14. We've covered several of these, and in fact, the entire sermon on the verse 14. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth. We talked about the belt of truth and how God loves the truth and how important the truth is and how he hates lying and how one of the things that were part of the Ten Commandments that he could have chosen if everything was that we don't bear false witness, we speak the truth and how God loves the truth. We talked about that and how the church has to be a pillar and ground of the truth that it can pass to succeeding generations. That that's so important. We talked about the breastplate of righteousness, that there is a difference between right and wrong. Despite what's going on around us to blur those two things, there is a big difference between what is right. There are things that are right, there are things that are righteous, and there are things that are evil. It's just not everyone doing right in their own eyes. And that God expects us to do the right, to practice righteousness. All of his commands are righteousness. We talked about some of those things. Verse 15, a whole sermon on having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Talking about the good news of the coming Kingdom of God that it's going to bring peace, it's going to start small, but it's going to continue to grow and leaven the entire planet.

And of this peace there will be no end. Once it starts, it doesn't end. And that God is a God of peace, and that his sons and daughters are also supposed to be peacemakers. As he says in Matthew chapter 5, that blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. And so the sphere of influence that we have that God expects us to plant to those seeds of peace, he's going to do that, and he expects us to do that as well with where we go, with the influence that we have. Verse number 16, above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And we talked about how important that piece of armor was, and talked about what real faith was. It's believing in God and trusting in God, no matter what. No matter what comes along. Jesus said, when I come, will I really find faith on the earth? He told that to his disciples. And the disciples said, Lord, increase our faith. They began to understand how important faith was. And we talked about how faith without works is dead, that faith has to produce something. We talked about how Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac, even though it didn't all make sense at the time. We talked about how Noah built the ark.

And then how he preached for 120 years after that. He trusted God, he went to work, and he built the ark. We talked about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And they stood up to King Nebuchadnezzar, and they said, no, we're not going to bow to this false God. We're not going to honor and worship this false deity, even if it means our life. We're going to put our trust and faith in God. Now, our God can deliver us. But if he chooses not to, we're still not going to do it. They trusted God no matter which direction it was going to go. That's a lot of faith. That's real faith. We talked about Daniel, and continue to pray three times a day when you weren't supposed to pray to any other deity or anyone else to acknowledge the king. We talked about faith, real faith, whether the violence of fire is quenched, as in the case of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, or whether it is not quenched that will obey God no matter what. And then we come to verse number 17, and take the helmet of salvation. So that's what I want to talk with you here about in the time that we've got left here. This is the fifth in a series, this piece of armor, a necessary piece of armor, the helmet of salvation. Furthering God through Paul talks a lot about this helmet.

Paul talks about the helmet of salvation here as a part of the armor of God. Why is it portrayed as a helmet? I think living during the times that Paul did, living with Roman soldiers, a world power that was all around them, that that made an impression on Paul. And likely he saw these soldiers' armor often enough that he began to realize that each piece had to do with defending yourself in battle. He began to see the purposes that it served and why it was important.

And I think at some point God inspired an analogy in his mind so that he could basically portray it in a sense of the war that we are fighting as people of God, like pieces of a puzzle that are falling into place. And Paul saw each piece of Roman armor and that it had a powerful purpose that it served and why it was important. And so he began to see a correlation between it and our own spiritual defenses. What purpose did the helmet serve in the Roman army?

This fifth piece of God's armor, which is referred to as salvation, is represented by the helmet of a Roman soldier. And without a helmet, a soldier would never go into battle. He wouldn't go without his helmet. Some of the helmets were made of thick leather. They were covered with metal plates. Others were molded of heavy metal and beaten metal. And they usually had pieces that would come down that would protect the cheeks, the side of the face. And the purpose of the helmet, of course, was to protect the head, particularly from the dangerous broad sword that was commonly used in warfare at that day. And that was a kind of a two-handed sword about three to four feet long. It had cutting edges on both sides, which they would often use to try to slice the skull open or decapitate or to behead the person. Pretty gruesome stuff, but it would help protect you from that type of an attack. In the book of Revelation, it mentions some of the faithful of God that are going to be there in his kingdom, that they were beheaded for their testimony to Jesus Christ. They at early did lose their heads. Well, our spiritual enemy is trying to spiritually behead us. You know, it's hard to deny the importance of a helmet. Let me give you a couple of examples here, a couple of articles that are here. The first one is from a Lansing State Journal, which was an article that was run on June 23, 2009, about a 36-year-old man who was involved in a skateboarding accident. I'll quote here, it was a death that could have been avoided, officials said. Paul Maxim, who was not wearing a helmet, suffered a skull fracture and other head injuries in an accident at Raney Skate Park near Randore, and he died on Saturday. I quote, a simple helmet would have saved his life, said Lansing Fire Public Information Officer Steve Mazuric. Now, this next story, I think, stands in contrast to the one that we just read. This has disappeared in the Manchester Evening News on July 4th of 2008. It has to do with a young girl, 11 years old by the name of Savannah. It says, Savannah Hayworth, age 11, was knocked unconscious, bicycling while falling in the path of a car. The wheels of the car went over her arm and over the top of her helmet, but she escaped with a swollen elbow and a bruising to her face.

Her parents say she would have been killed without the helmet, and are now urging cyclists, all cyclists, to wear them. I think it's incredible to think about the absence or the presence of a helmet could have a significant difference as to what can happen in a skateboarding accident if someone was pretty close to the ground or somebody else that actually has been run over on their head with a multi-thousand dollar pound vehicle. I'm sure many of you have heard stories about how motorcyclists have been saved by wearing the helmet. The fact that the helmet is related to salvation, I think, indicates a way that our enemy attacks. Some of Satan's blows are directed at us. They're directed at a believer's trust in God and God's ability to deliver. They're basically directed at your trust in God and God's ability to deliver you, to attack your assurance in Christ, who is the captain of your and my salvation.

Some of the dangerous edges of the spiritual attacks of our enemy include a lot of things, but it definitely includes discouragement. It definitely includes confusion and doubt.

In order to discourage us, he can point to our failures, he can point to our sins, he can point to our unresolved problems, he could point to a lot of different things. Whatever else seems to be negative in our lives in order to make us lose confidence in our deliverer, to lose confidence in the love, the care, and the promises of God that he's given to us. Let's go back to some basics here for a little bit. What is salvation? What is it? Let's talk about that for a moment.

I'll look at the Greek word here. This is from Strong's Soterion. It's the neuter of the feminine.

Soterion means rescue. It is also translated deliver. It is translated salvation.

It's translated save. If we were to look at the dictionary definition, dictionary.com, it's got four different definitions. I think they all cover an aspect of salvation. We look at it from an English perspective here. The first definition is the act of saving or protecting from harm, from loss, or from destruction. The act of saving. It includes action. It's a verb.

Something is being done to protect you or me from harm or loss or destruction.

The second definition is the state of being saved or protected from harm, from loss, or destruction. The state of being protected or saved from harm, from loss, or destruction.

The third definition is a source or a means of being saved or, again, protected from harm, loss, or destruction. The fourth one is a theological definition. Deliverance from the power and the penalty of sin. Redemption. A deliverance from the power and the penalty of sin.

Let me share a story with you that I think may illustrate some of what this means when we talk about salvation. Well, normally this flight from Nassau to Miami would have taken Walter Wyatt, Jr. only about 65 minutes to fly from Nassau to Miami. Except in this case, which happened back in December 5th, 1986, he attempted this flight after thieves had stolen his navigation equipment.

So all he had was a pocket compass in his radio. He's going to make this flight.

So with only a compass and a handheld radio, he flew off into blackened skies.

But when his compass began to gyrate, he began to realize he could no longer count on his compass for getting him in the direction that he needed to go. And so he put out a May Day call, which brought a Coast Guard Falcon search plane. They found him. In fact, that Falcon search plane began to lead him to an airport that was only six miles away. So here he thought he was lost. Now all of a sudden he realized that he was going to be okay. Only one problem. He ran out of fuel before he could get to the airport. And with the engine sputtering and completely going silent, he had nothing else he could do but to put that airplane down into the Atlantic Ocean. And so he did.

He survived. He survived the crash into the water. It wasn't long before the plane quickly submerged and disappeared, but he was alive. He'd been cut in his forehead. There was blood. He was a little concerned about that. But he had, he didn't have a life raft, but he had this leaky life vest that was keeping him alive. No planes in sight. Time went by. Not even the sound of an airplane. He found himself bobbing in this water with his life vest leaking. And suddenly he felt a sharp, well, he felt something thump against the side of his body. A shark had found him.

Wyatt kicked the intruder and he wondered if he was going to survive the night.

Because now this happened at eight o'clock at night. He's in the water and starting to get dark.

You know, he managed to stay afloat for 10 hours. Can you imagine? Not even in a life raft. You're in a vest in the Atlantic Ocean for 10 hours. In the morning, he saw no airplanes. But in the water, he saw a dorsal fin was heading in his direction. Twisting his body, he felt the hide of the shark go across his body. Again, he kicked it away. And then he saw two more bull sharks that were slicing through the water. He saw their fins. He saw them slicing through the water towards him.

He was now near complete exhaustion. He was at the end of his rope, so to speak.

And he heard the sound of a distant aircraft. He heard the sound of a plane. When it was within a half mile, he took off his vest and he waved it to try to get the attention of the aircraft. And the pilot radioed to the Cape York, which was a cutter that was only 12 minutes away from him. And they said he gave this message. She said, get moving, cutter. This man is surrounded by sharks. They're targeting this guy. As the Cape York pulled alongside Wyatt, a Jacob's ladder was dropped from the side. I think that's interesting, in that phraseology. Jacob's ladder was dropped from the side. Wyatt climbed wearily out of the water onto the ship. He immediately went to his knees on the deck and he kissed the deck. He'd been saved. He'd been saved. When he was floating in the Atlantic Ocean amidst the sharks, he needed to be rescued. And, brethren, it took outside intervention for him to live. There was no way that he would be able to save himself. Nothing less than outside intervention and rescue from outside of himself is going to be able to deliver him from a certain death. How much are you and I like Walter Wyatt? When he was floating in the Atlantic Ocean, he needed to be delivered. We need salvation. We need to be delivered. Nothing less than outside intervention can deliver us from a death just as certain and just as eternal.

Just like Walter Wyatt, our life is at stake and maybe in a more important life, eternal life, without salvation, we're like bobbing in the water in the midst of a large great ocean.

We need deliverance, too. Outside deliverance, or we'll die. Let's notice to Exodus chapter 14, if we'll take a look at an example of God's people when they needed outside deliverance, or they were certainly going to perish, talking about a physical death rather than a spiritual one in this context, but I think some lessons here for us. Exodus chapter 14.

Salvation, brethren, means to be saved or delivered from something. To be saved or delivered from something. Let's take a look at an example of what they were delivered or saved from. You may remember the story. They'd come out of Egypt. They'd come out of Egypt with a high hand. God had delivered them from slavery and they were on their way. They began their journey, but they found themselves stuck between the Red Sea on one hand and Pharaoh's army on the other with rocks along the sides. They were trapped, and the Pharaoh said, you know what? They are confused. They don't know where they're going. There's no way that they would go this route and be safe. And so here they found themselves trapped. Picking it up in verse 8, and the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. He pursued them. They don't know what they're doing. This is our chance to bring our slaves back to Egypt and put them back to work. They are trapped. There's nothing that they can do.

Remember the children of Israel is the latter part of verse 8 says, they went out with boldness, with a high hand. Verse 9, so the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and the chariots. He's throwing everything at them. Every single piece of military armaments that he had.

And he overtook them. Yeah, he had them right where he wanted them.

Overtook them camping by the sea. Verse 10, and when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. I guess you could see that would be a pretty frightening thing to see that you look one direction. There's water. You look the other direction. There's an army that is descending upon you, and they were afraid.

And they cried out to the Lord, which was a good thing. But what they said next wasn't so good. Verse 11, they said to Moses, is it because there's no graves in Egypt, Moses, that you have put us here? That you've taken us away to die in this wilderness? Why have you dealt with us to bring us up out of Egypt? Notice verse number 12. Well, we'll get to verse 13. Verse 13 is the one I want to focus on, but let's read verse 12. Isn't this the word we told you in Egypt, saying, let us alone that we can serve these people? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die. And then Moses replies in verse 13, he said to the people, don't be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. There's no way that they would have survived without God's intervention to save them from certain death. And notice, it's the salvation of the Lord. We don't save ourselves, and which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see, you shall not see again. You shall see again no more forever.

Brethren, as New Testament Christians, what do we need to be saved from?

What do we need to be delivered from? If salvation means to be saved or delivered from something, what do we need to be saved or delivered from? Romans chapter 6 and verse 23. Romans chapter 6 and verse number 23. Brethren, we need to be saved from the eternal death penalty of sin and delivered into the kingdom of God. Let's read Romans chapter 6 and verse 23. It says, for the wages of sin is death. That's a pretty familiar scripture to a lot of us, but there's a lot there. It says the wages is something that we earn. What you and I earn is death. The wages of sin. Sin is involved, and it produces death. But then the other half of that verse begins to be able to understand, but the gift of God, not something that we can earn, but it's His gift. The gift of God is eternal life. So we begin to see that God is involved to make sure that there's a way to escape this death. But brethren, we have to be saved from a certain death due to the choices and the sins that we've made in our life. Just as Walter Wyatt was saved from certain death at sea by the Cape York and its crew, we need to be saved from a death just as certain by God. For time's sake, I'm going to refer to Ezekiel 18, verse 4. You can turn there if you'd like. But talking about there, God says, you know what? All souls are mine. I've created mankind. All souls are mine. The soul of the father is mine. The soul of the child is mine. The son is mine. But I'll tell you this, He goes on to say, but the soul who sins shall die. The soul that sins shall die. Our sins bring death.

How can we be saved from death due to our sins?

How can we be saved from a certain death because of our own sins?

Well, we need a Savior. We need a Savior. Luke chapter 1, verse 68. Luke chapter 1 and verse 68.

The Savior is going to come. Luke chapter 1, verse 68.

Blessed is the Lord God of Israel. Why? Why should He be blessed? Because He has visited and He has redeemed His people. And verse 69, notice, He's raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets who have been since the world began. This is not a new message. It's been spoken for a long time. The need for a Savior.

Verse 71. That we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all of those who hate us.

It's hard to imagine that people hate us. Verse 72. To perform the mercy that was promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, that oath which He swore to our father Abraham. To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear.

Now, the context here is Zacharias, who's the father of John the Baptist. He's been inspired through the Holy Spirit. These are words that God has inspired through the Holy Spirit about the fact that He's going to send a Savior. Verse 75. In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. And you, child, referring to His son John the Baptist, will be called the prophet of the highest. For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways.

And notice verse number 77. To give knowledge of salvation to His people. To give knowledge of salvation to His people. How? As it says in the second part of verse 77. By the remission or removal of their sins. Let's notice Matthew chapter 1 verse 21. Matthew chapter 1 and verse 21.

It says, and she, referring to Mary, is going to bring forth a son.

And you shall call his name Jesus. Which means Savior. And notice, He will save His people from what?

From their sins. You know, I saw a clip on YouTube and it's been a while now, but it had to do with Oprah Winfrey. It was about a show that she was having. She had some new age luminaries that were on the show. And they were talking about salvation. They were talking about how you are saved. What you are saved by. Or the way to salvation. And they were talking about, I don't know if any of you have seen it, they were talking about all these different ways. If there's more than one way.

And then a lady raised her hand. She wasn't part of the panel, but she was in the audience. And she said, well, what about Jesus? Boy, did the spark start to fly then. Did any of you see that? Did any of you see this particular show or a clip of this particular show? It's hard to find, but I think it's still on YouTube in some places. But all of a sudden, the spark started to fly because Oprah said this. She said, the woman asked, well, what about Jesus? Oprah responds, Jesus can't possibly be the only way.

You know, there was a religious poll that was taken among Catholics and Protestants, and I was surprised. They basically asked, how many ways are there salvation? Is Christ the only way? And I was surprised. The percentage is different among all the different denominations in the Catholics. But you know, two-thirds or more of every denomination said there is more than one way.

And that surprised me. That surprised me. This is among traditional Christianity.

How are you and I saved from death? Are there many ways to salvation?

Is there more than one Savior?

What's God's word say? Are we going to rely on this word, or are we not?

Let's notice John chapter 14 in verse number two. John chapter 14 in verse number two. God reveals the truth. We're going to cover a few scriptures here.

And then you may want to write these down.

John chapter 14 in verse two. Christ makes a very bold claim here. Jesus Christ makes a very bold claim here. He's talking to his disciples. It's getting close to the end of his life on earth as a physical human being. He says, In my father's house are many mansions, and if it were not so, I would have told you. So he's basically telling them the truth.

And I'm going to go and prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I'm going to come again, and I'm going to receive you to myself, that where I am there you may be also. So he tells us he's coming back. Verse number four. And where I go you know, and the way you know.

I'm kind of glad he made that statement, and I'm kind of glad that Thomas asked the question in verse five. Thomas said to him, Well, Lord, we don't know where you're going, and how can we know the way? And Jesus said to him in verse six, I am the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me. I think that's pretty singular. Me. Nobody comes to the Father except through me. I am the way. He didn't say, I am away. There's a big difference between A and V is the article. He didn't say, I am away. He said, I am the way. That's a pretty, I suppose, bold statement. Some that appears rash, audacious, presumptuous, arrogant, because it flies in the face of a tolerant society that we are seeing all around us right now. Don't wait. There's got to be a lot of different ways to do things. There are many ways to the truth. There are many ways to salvation. There are many ways to eternal life. And Jesus then goes on to say that not only is he the way, the life, and the truth, but that no one can come to the Father except through him. It's almost like he said, I'm the gate. I am the door, and nobody can come to God, the Father except through me. Well, the disciples believed what Jesus Christ said, and they also testified, if you will, that Jesus's claims are true. Acts 4 and verse 8. Acts 4 and verse 8.

The context here is God through Peter has just healed a lame man from birth. He was born lame.

And so, God through Peter has healed a lame man from birth, and then he addresses the rulers of the people, the religious authorities of the time. Let's pick it up here in Acts 4 and verse 8. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit. So what he's about to say, God is inspired.

These are God's words breathed through Peter. Filled with the Holy Spirit, he said, rulers of the people and elders of Israel, if we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, by the way whom you crucified, whom God, referring to the Father, has raised from the dead, by him, referring to Jesus, this man stands before you whole. It's no other name but the name of Jesus Christ, because of him, this man stands before you whole. And then he takes it another level.

You know, in a sense, this person has been, quote, saved in a sense from this physical disability. Now he takes it a step further, a big step further. Verse number 11. This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone, nor is there salvation. Now we're not talking about physical healing, we're talking about spiritual healing, a spiritual salvation, nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Is there more than one name? Is there more than one Savior?

Is there more than one way of salvation? Not if we rely on this.

God's plan, His design, revealed to us through the Word, His Word.

To many, Jesus' bold statement that I am the way, not a way. The way and the truth and the life seems presumptuous. And Peter's statement that there is no other name given by the Lord. Given among men by which we must be saved. And he's talking about eternal salvation.

Seem pretty too confining, too limited possibilities.

God's Word says there's only one way to salvation and eternal life. Not many. And there's only one Savior. Not many. John 10, verse 7. John 10, verse 7.

Brethren, do we realize that if we believe that we're in the minority, we have now come into a big minority. If you will, that makes any sense. John 10, verse 7. Jesus talking to his disciples here, brings more information out on this topic.

Jesus said to them again, so it's like I've said this before. He said to them again, Most assuredly I say to you, I am the door. Not we are many doors, but I am the door of the sheep. And I don't want to beat this up, brethren, but it's just not known. It's not understood.

I am the door of the sheep, and all who ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, singular, he will be saved.

And he will go in and go out, and he'll find pasture.

The thief, and I think that has some semblances to our enemy, Satan, the thief doesn't come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. And I have come that they may have life.

That's why I'm here. That's why I was sent. I came that they may have life, and they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.

Let's go to John chapter 3. John chapter 3.

Just a few pages back. John chapter 3.

Jesus Christ is having a conversation with Nicodemus, one of the religious leaders of the time.

He's talking about eternal life. He's talking about being born again as a spirit being, talking about salvation. Verse number 5, Jesus answered, He said, Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born of the water and the Spirit, he can't enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit, and don't marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. But he was marveling. He didn't get it. He didn't understand it.

Verse 8, the wind blows where it wishes. You hear the sound of it, but you can't tell where it comes from and where it goes. And so is everyone who was born of the Spirit.

Nicodemus answered and said to him, How can this be? He didn't understand. How can these things be? And Jesus said to him, Are you a teacher in Israel? And you don't know these things.

He said, I say to you, we speak what we know, and we testify that what we have seen. Jesus Christ said, I'm telling you things that I know and things that I have seen. And you don't receive our witness. Verse 12, if I've told you earthly things and you don't believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to heaven, but he who came down from heaven, he's referring to himself. That is the Son of Man. Verse 13, who is in heaven.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. You remember that story? The children of Israel had gotten off track and God was punishing them. Remember that story with snakes? They were being bitten by venomous and poisonous snakes, and they were dying. God told Moses, I want you to construct this image. It's a pole and it's got this snake that's wrapped around it. You may have seen the icon in chiropractic or doctor's offices or letterhead, what have you. And if they looked upon that icon that God told them to create, that they would live. That they'd be saved from death even though they had been bitten by a poisonous venomous snake. They lived. So, verse 14, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up for a very similar reason. And it's not somebody else. I won't beat it too much more. It was Christ. It was Jesus Christ that was lifted up.

A Son of Man must be lifted up. Why? Verse 15, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, should not die, should not cease to exist, but have eternal life. And he emphasizes that again in verse 16 that, you know, that's the thing that we see in the end zone of football games.

You know, they're holding this plaque here, John chapter 3, verse 16, and it's a pretty important verse. Because God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, it wasn't another Son, it was this one, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

And verse 17 is important too. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him, not anybody else, might be saved.

We heard in the first message, I'll just refer for time to 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 3, and verse 4. You know what God's desire is? We heard about it in the sermonette. He desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. That's what God desires. He desires that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. And as we've already read in Luke chapter 1, verse 77, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by removal or remission of their sins. For then every human being has thought and acted in ways that are an abomination to God.

Our sins break God's beautiful laws, as we also heard about in the first message, that are there to protect us from harm. They're there for our good. Sin is so vile to God that it requires the death penalty and God's justice requires that penalty. But God's loving mercy also provided us a substitute, an incredible substitute, Jesus Christ, who is our Savior, my Savior. To be saved, we need a Savior, and it is He.

How do we receive salvation? What is the first step? Let's take a look. Romans chapter 5 and verse 8. Romans chapter 5 and verse 8. I think we'll see that God takes the first step when it comes to salvation. Romans chapter 5 and we'll pick it up in verse number 8.

But God demonstrated His own love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died.

Wasn't anybody else? He died for us. Much more than having been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

He incurred the wrath that we should have incurred. We're saved from wrath through Him because He paid that penalty. Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8. Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8. It's important for us to understand that salvation cannot be earned. Remember, we read about that already, that it's the gift of God of eternal life. We can't earn our own salvation.

Ephesians chapter 2 and verse number 8.

It says, For by grace you have been saved. By God's grace His graciousness to us, that we've been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. Again, it's the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. So that's important to understand. I think we've been accused that we've been able to earn our own salvation. That's not what we believe, and that's not what we teach, and that's not what the Scripture says either. It says it's a gift from God, and not something that we can obtain through our own right actions, thus obligating God to give it to us. But, brethren, there are other scriptures that say we have to put sin out of our lives, too. We have to change to become more of our Heavenly Father. The whole plan of God shows that the days of 11 bread, which is part of the holy days, that show that we need to come out of that way of life. So we still have to live a godly way of life. That's what gods do. That's what sons of gods do. But we're not saved because of that. God saved us. It's a gift. The second step of salvation, Acts 2, verse 38, Acts 2, verse 38. God is speaking again through Peter. He's inspired. The Holy Spirit has moved Peter very greatly to hear what we're about to hear, read what we're about to read. Acts 2, verse 38, it's towards the end of this sermon that Peter was speaking on this day of Pentecost. And the people said, well, what do we do? They realized now that they were responsible for the death of the Savior. And Peter said to them, we'll repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, in the name of the Savior, for the remission of sins. Talking about our own sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. While knowing this and understanding this now, a lot of them took this step right away. With joy and jubilation, there were several thousand that began that journey towards salvation and eternal life in the King of God.

Further, the salvation permanent. Is it irrevocable gift? Or does it have to be maintained?

Every once in a while, with my clients years ago, and this probably took place about five, six years ago, I was doing a tax return for a client. And we got talking about salvation. Talk about eternal life. Talk about this gift. And he came to the conclusion that salvation is a one-time event.

Once saved, always saved. You probably heard that phrase. Once saved, always saved.

Well, I came across down on the other side of that fence, and I said, I don't think so. And he brought out scriptures to support his point, and I brought out scriptures to support what I believe to be the truth. I'd like you to write down about three different scriptures here.

The New Testament tells us that we have been saved. It says that in Ephesians 2, verse 5, that we have been saved. It says in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 18, 1 Corinthians 1, verse 18, it says we are being saved. It's like a process.

And then Matthew chapter 10, verse 22, says that we will be saved, future, if we endure to the end. We will be saved. So here he's quoting some scriptures on one hand, I'm quoting some scriptures on the other hand. So what's it all about here?

Well, let's turn over to Ephesians chapter 2, verse 4. I think Paul makes it clear that having been saved equates to forgiveness of sins and coming under God's grace, that we've been taken off of death row, and we've started the process. Like the children of Israel coming out of the slavery of Egypt, they were saved from that slavery. There was no way they could get out on their own without God's help. And our journey has started, but it's not yet complete.

Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 4, it says, but God, who is rich in mercy, and because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, he made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. We were dead, as good as dead, and he made us alive unto Christ together, to make us alive together with Christ. Verse 6, and raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We've been saved from something, saved from darkness, and been brought into the light, and the process of salvation has started. Verse 7, that in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness towards Jesus Christ. Verse 8, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that and out of yourselves it's the gift of God. We've covered that already, lest we should boast. But, brethren, we have to look at every word of God when it comes to these topics. Let's turn over to Jude chapter 1 and verse 3. Jude 1 and verse number 3. I guess there is no chapter in Jude, so it would be Jude verse 3. Jude verse number 3. Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you, exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered to the saints. He said, I had to change course of what I was originally going to write to you about, because verse 4, there are certain men that have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation. They're ungodly men who have turned the grace of our God into lewdness or licentiousness, which means you can disobey God. It's okay, but it's not okay. But they have turned the grace of God into lewdness, and they have denied the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 5. But I want to remind you that though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterwards destroyed those who did not believe. Further, it's a process, isn't it? It's not once saved, always saved. This is here for us to understand how it works, that we needed to be reminded, or they needed to be reminded, because even though we're talking about our common salvation, there's still a possibility we may not endure to the end. 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 20. 2 Peter chapter 2 and verse 20. 2 Peter felt the same way as Jude. For if they have escaped the pollutions of the world, I think that's an interesting phrase, they have escaped and freed, saved, if you would, from the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and the Savior, Jesus Christ, and they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.

I think God makes it pretty clear to us. Salvation is a process. It gets started, but it has to continue. Verse 21.

1 Corinthians 1 verse 18. Let's go over to 1 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 8. 1 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 8.

It's important Scripture here about the hope of salvation, this helmet that we wear. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 8. 1 But let us who are of the day be sober. We talked about God's call to us out of darkness and of light. He tells those of us who are of the day to be sober. He basically would be humble to realize that we're in a battle here, putting on the breastplate notice of faith and love. Notice, as a helmet, the hope of salvation. God didn't appoint us to wrath. That's not why He created us.

He didn't appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us. That whether we wake or whether we sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore, comfort each other and edify one another just as you also are doing.

So, brethren, it tells us to comfort each other, to edify one another.

We can receive tremendous hope by keeping our eyes on the vision of the goal of salvation in the kingdom of God, eternal life. I'll just refer for time's sake to Proverbs 29 verse 18. It says, without vision, the people perish. So, God knows the hope of salvation as a helmet is very important for us to keep that vision there and not to let anything distract us from that. There's a lot of distractions out there. Paul has written much of what we've been reading today was attacked many times by the enemy and he needed the helmet of salvation. Notice Romans chapter 8 and verse 18.

Romans 8 verse 18 chapter 8 verse 18.

He had to have vision to say this. He wrote some of these epistles in prison.

He was under house arrest. A lot of times he was in chains.

And this is what kept him going. Romans chapter 8 and verse 18. He says, For I consider that the sufferings of this present time, the sufferings of this present age, because this present age isn't going to continue, the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that's coming. I don't know what that glory is, but he seemed to have a pretty good vision of it. Not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Shall be revealed in you. This is Paul speaking. I don't think I'd compare my sufferings to him. But the most important thing, the goal, the vision that he had was salvation, eternal life in the kingdom of God. Second Corinthians chapter 4.

For someone to go through the things that Paul went through, he had to have this vision. He had to have that helmet of salvation on. God wants us to have it on as well. He knows we're going to need it. Second Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 7. He says, well, we have this treasure. He's talking about this Holy Spirit that God started the process in us, this process of salvation. We have this treasure, this ortaste, this down payment in earthen vessels for still flesh and blood, that the excellence of the power of God, maybe excuse me, of the power maybe of God and not of us. It's his strength. It's his might. It's his power. He says we're hard pressed on every side, and he was, but he wasn't crushed. He said we're perplexed. Not often sure what to do, but we're not in despair. He said we're persecuted, but we have not been forsaken.

The captain of our salvation says he'll never leave us, he'll never forsake us.

He knew he wasn't forsaken, even though he was persecuted. He said we've been struck down, but we haven't been destroyed. We're still alive, and we're still fighting. That's what he's saying here. Let's jump to verse number 17. For our light affliction is only for a moment.

He must have a different definition of light affliction than I do.

He said his light affliction... He says our light affliction. So he's saying whatever we go through is light. Don't let it defeat us, brethren. I don't want it to defeat me. I don't want you to be defeated by affliction. Our light affliction is only for a moment. It's only for a moment, but it's working something in us. It's working something in us. A far more exceeding and eternal weight. How can you say it any more or any better than that? An eternal weight of glory.

Paul went through it all because he kept that vision in front of him. Let's turn over to Revelation. John chapter 10 verse 27.

This is an encouraging scripture here.

A couple of... I want to encourage you here before we break. John chapter 10 and verse number 27.

Jesus is speaking. He said, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. Jesus said, My sheep hear me.

They hear me, and they follow me. And he says, And I give them eternal life. That's where the salvation comes from. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. I've got this gift that I want to give to them, and they shall never die. Eternal death, they shall never perish.

And notice, no one is going to be able to snatch you out of his hand. Nobody. Snatch. No one's going to be able to snatch them out of my hand. And my father, who has given them to me, he's greater than everyone. He's greater than all. And no one's going to be able to snatch them out of my father's hand. We stay close to God. We put on that armor. We follow the example of the captain of our salvation. There's nothing that's going to stop us because of the gift that God's going to give to us.

Revelation chapter 21. Two more scriptures, and we'll wrap things up. Revelation chapter 21, verse 1. Revelation chapter 21, verse 1.

There's a vision here that God's given to us. Revelation means reveal. God's revealing something to us here. Revelation chapter 21, verse 1. He says, Now I saw, John is speaking, I saw something, I saw a new heaven and I saw a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.

And there wasn't any more sea. And then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He's going to dwell with them, and they shall be His people. And God Himself will be with them, and He will be their God, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, no more sorrow, nor crying. There isn't going to be any more pain, because the former things are gone.

They have passed away.

Brethren, this is what we're fighting for. This is why we fight this war. This is what we're fighting for, to enter into that glorious kingdom, to be able to share the ways of God with the rest of humanity. God says, I don't want you to lose sight of this. Don't lose sight of this, no matter what comes your way or my way. Don't ever lose sight of the hope of the salvation, not only for ourselves, but for the rest of humanity. God desires that all men to be saved. He has a plan.

No matter what comes along, brethren, no matter what vicious attacks, we know that as long as we remain faithful to God, put on the armor, we're moving steadily, slowly but surely, towards victory. It's an eternal victory. One last scripture, 2 Timothy 4.

2 Timothy 4.6. I'll read through verse 8. 2 Timothy 4. Paul has kept that helmet on throughout his life of salvation, the vision of it, the hope of it.

And now he knows his days on earth are numbered. And he's talking to Timothy. He's sharing some information with him and with us here as we read 2 Timothy 4 and verse number 6. He said, For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. And finally there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous judge is going to give me on that day. And not only to me, but also to all who love his appearing.

Brethren, Paul had a vision, didn't he? He had a vision. He valued his salvation highly. He diligently fought the fight all the way to the end. And as his life came to a close, he was able to say with complete confidence that he was going to be able to receive a crown.

You know, when Paul wakes up for the resurrection, he's going to be able to exchange his helmet of salvation for a crown, a crown of righteousness. A far more glorious and imperishable crown of righteousness. The crown of a victorious soldier of Jesus Christ.

We can be assured of that, too. God wants us to be. He wants us to be there. That's why he called us to be good soldiers. Let's conclude here just by reading verse 8 here of 2 Timothy chapter 4.

We can maybe say this about ourselves. Paul is thinking about it as himself, but I want you to think of it as yourself as we read through here. Finally, there is laid up for me. Think about that as yourself. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not only to me only, but also to all those who've loved his life.