What Saves Us?

Introduction

Do you remember much from your school days? Do you remember spelling words? That was a regular ritual when I was in school. Every week. If I’m remembering it correctly, it started on Monday. Every Monday we got, and I won’t do, again, my memory may not be as clear as it should be, but I want to say that we’d get ten spelling words on Monday assigned to us. With the thought and the goal that on Friday we would have a test on those words, a blind test, and we would have to spell correctly those ten words. And there would be exercises throughout the week on those words. One exercise in particular I can remember is that sometime between Monday and Friday, we had to turn the sheet of paper in with all ten of those spelling words with the definition out beside them.

And so at some point before that assignment was due, you had to get a dictionary, look up those words, and write out the definition for each of those words. If you were a lazy student like I was, there was nothing better than opening up the dictionary to a particular word and finding that at least one of the definitions was really short. In fact, you hit the jackpot if it was a one-word definition. And nothing could ruin your day more than opening up the dictionary, and there were no short definitions. Far from a one-word definition, it was a whole paragraph. And you’d have to write that whole paragraph out. We usually like things simple, don’t we? Just one word explanations, one word definitions. Keep it simple. But definitions of words don’t work that way, do they?

Sometimes a definition of a word is a whole paragraph. And in fact, some words are so complex that it’ll have two or three definitions that are distinctly different usages of the word. But we like it simple. Just tell me the one thing. But life, spiritual matters, is often like dictionary definitions of words. Sometimes it’s not that simple, is it? Sometimes there’s more than one thing. This morning’s lesson, we’ve simply entitled What Saves Us. How would you answer that question? If that was your homework assignment, what saves us? And you had to turn a sheet of paper in with the answer. You might be disappointed that you couldn’t, if you were answering it correctly according to the scriptures, you couldn’t turn it back in with just one word, could you?

One word would answer it, but it wouldn’t fully give the answer. This morning’s lesson, we’re going to examine that question, what saves us, and we’re going to see that it’s a complex, not complicated. There’s a difference. Not complicated, but a complex answer because there’s more than one answer. If you have your Bibles, turn with me in the Old Testament to the book of Joshua, chapter six. Our Bible reading was in the first five verses, our last Psalm, was about this event in the history of the children of Israel. Very memorable event. And I want us to retell the story briefly. Look at a few verses here in Joshua chapter six. The children of Israel have made it through that long, it didn’t have to be long, but because of their unfaithfulness, that long journey through the wilderness.

That older generation, because of their lack of faith, has died off. In fact, Moses, their leader, is also gone. Joshua’s the new leader. And really, the first act, if you will, the first major act that Joshua is asked to perform as the new leader of these people, is to take the city of Jericho. But it’s going to be an interesting battle. Can we call it a battle? Because these residents of Canaan are well trained in fighting. Their cities are built for defense in mind. These children of Israel, though they are large in number, they’re ill-equipped. They haven’t spent their life learning how to fight. Their parents were slaves that made bricks in Egypt. Virtually their whole life, they’ve been nothing but travelers, walking around in circles in the wilderness.

They’re not skilled in the art of fighting. They don’t have the equipment, the training, the expertise, the history. But that doesn’t matter because they have God. And so as they’re going to take this city, it’s going to be taken, overtaken, in a most unique of ways. You saw the beginnings of this. Look again in Joshua chapter 6, verse 2, the Lord said to Joshua, see, I have given Jericho into your hands. Its king and the mighty men of valor. If you’ll skip ahead, after they’ve done what they was asked of them, it is repeated again in verse 16. And the seventh time it was so when the priest blew the trumpets that Joshua said to the people, shout, for the Lord has given you the city.

So if we were to ask the question, before we get to the question, what saves us? If we were to ask the question, what knocked down the walls? There’s our first answer. God says, I have given you. It was a gift. But notice, go back to verse 2. That right after in verse 2 of Joshua chapter 6, God states, I am giving you. In fact, he states it as if it’s already occurred. I have given you this city. What happens beginning in verse 3 and following? There’s instructions of what they’re supposed to do. Not just instructions, but detailed instructions. Here’s what you I have given you the city. Now here’s what you do. Your priest are to do this. The ark of the covenant is to be brought out, and it’s going to be marched around this city once a day for six days.

And not just that ark, but the priest are going to be there. And the people are going to be marching with those priests for six days. And on the seventh day, the instruction is given. The seventh day, the end of verse 4, you’ll march around the city seven times, and the priest shall blow the trumpets. Then it shall come to pass when they make the long blast with the ram’s horn, verse 5, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout. Then the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, every man straight before him. And even in the verses that follow, more details are given about what they weren’t to do and what they were to do when they were to do something and when they were not to do something.

These instructions follow the statement. I have given you the city. But here’s what you need to do. Follow these instructions. God tells Joshua, and then Joshua tells the people. You remember the story, the instructions were given, and this time at least, the children of Israel followed them to a T, didn’t they? They did exactly on the first day what God told Joshua to tell them to do. Now let’s pause. And let’s think about that scene. Here is the city of Jericho. This walled city. They have shut themselves in. They can see, you can’t hide this many people. They see these people coming. Maybe they had heard word of what had been promised to these people. And so they’re ready.

They would have had watchmen watching this, reporting back to the higher-ups as to what was going on. Can you imagine that first report? Watchmen reporting back to maybe to the commander of the army. What happened today? Well, they walked around the city. And then they left. The next day. What happened today? Well, they walked around the city and then they left. See it from the children of Israel’s side. We’re going to destroy this city. What are we to do? Day one, we’re going to march around it. Be quiet. What are we going to do tomorrow? Same thing. And so they do that. They march around it for six days. On the seventh day, the seventh day is different. The seventh day they march around it not once, as they had done before, but march around it now seven times.

Verse 16, look at verse 16 again. And the seventh time it was so when the priest blew the trumpets that Joshua said to the people, now let’s pause here. This may be where the expression, they had marched around it once a day for six days. Now seven times the priests are blowing the trumpets of the ram’s horn. This may be everything had been done that they’ve been told to do. This may be where the expression, it’s all over, but the shouting came from.

And the people, as they had been instructed to do, shouted. Joshua’s instructions again in verse 16, shout, for the Lord has given you the city. Skip down to verse 20. So the people shouted when the priest blew the trumpets, and it happened when the people heard the sound of the people, and the people shouted with a great shout. The wall fell down flat. And the people went into the city, every man straight up before him, and they took the city. The city that Jehovah had already said, I have given you. Now the inspired text says they took the city.

They followed the instructions to receive this gift. Now turn with me to the book of Hebrews in the New Testament. Hebrews chapter 11 tells us about many Old Testament heroes and events, this being one of them. Go to the 30th verse of Hebrews chapter 11. This short verse says in Hebrews chapter 11, verse 30, by faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for three days. So what caused the walls of Jericho to fall down flat? What gave the people the city?

It was a gift of God. But the text also said, now here’s some instructions. Here’s what you’re to do. Very detailed instructions that have to be followed to the letter. And then they were told to take the Hebrew writer further adds to that by saying it was by faith that the walls of Jericho fell flat. You see where I’m going with this. How can we reconcile these three things? What was it? Was it a gift? Were there instructions that had to be obeyed? Or was it faith? This simple Old Testament Bible story illustrates for us how all three of those can work together, can’t they? To accomplish the purposes of God. And I firmly believe that no right-thinking individual would have trouble in reading this story, reading Hebrews 11 and verse 30, would have any trouble in their mind reconciling those three: gift, obedience, and faith.

1. It Can Be More Than One Thing

No one, it’s my contention, unless they were just being cantankerous, no one would argue that one of those canceled out the other. That one negated the other. It’s easy to see in this story, isn’t it? How it was a gift, but yet there were instructions that had to be followed. And those were followed because of their faith. Well, let’s make the application then. What saves us today? The first thing we need to notice is that it can be more than one thing. If we are capable of multitasking, if we are capable of understanding and even asking of other people more than one thing at a time, if we are capable with our feeble finite brains of being able to see how that sometimes the definition of a word is more than just one word.

In fact, sometimes it’s a paragraph, and sometimes it’s three paragraphs. If we’re capable of seeing in this story how three of these elements work together, don’t we think that our Almighty wise God can use more than one thing to destroy a city? Or to use more than one thing to save our soul. In the book of Ephesians, chapter 2. And so if we’re just open up our scriptures to places such as Ephesians chapter 2 and ask the question, what saves us? Here’s the answer that we would arrive at. Ephesians chapter 2, begin with me in verse 4. Familiar text that says, but God, who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he has loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us a lie together with Christ, by notice this parenthetical statement, by grace you have been saved.

What saves us? Grace. Another word for grace is simply gift.

This corresponds perfectly to God’s statement to the Israelites before the taking of the city when he says, I have given you. Grace means gift. By grace have you been saved. In fact, many times in the New Testament, just the word gift itself is used, is it not? And we understand what that word means. We don’t need a dictionary definition for gift, do we? It means something that’s just given to you. That’s something that you don’t have to earn, but something that’s just handed to you. And so what saves us? Grace. Romans chapter 5. Verses 1 and 2. This same apostle inspired by the same Holy Spirit says this, Romans 5 verses 1 and 2. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Ephesians 2 says, What saves us is the grace of God. Romans 5 says, What saves us is our faith. You were justified by faith. But then we get other passages of Scripture. Look in 1 Peter chapter 3. 1 Peter chapter 3. And in verse 21 says, there is also, 1 Peter 3, 21, there is also an antity which now saves us. Baptism. Not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Baptism. In fact, we were to, if we were to broaden that, we’d just simply say obedience. So which is it? Which saves us? There’s three things at least. And if we kept reading this morning, we might be able to expand that list to even more than three.

2. One Thing Does Not Negate the Other

But for sake of succinctness, we’ll just put most of those under the umbrella of obedience, of the instructions that we’ve been given. You see, it can be more than one thing. That old Testament story of Joshua and the children of Israel in the walls of Jericho help us to understand that these three things can work together. And so it can be more than one thing. The second point is that we understand that one thing does not negate the other thing. We might illustrate it this way. This week being what it is on our American calendars, going to be a lot of cooking. There’s going to be a lot of eating, but it’s going to be a lot of cooking going on. Some of you probably be using recipes.

Again, I’m very simple. Deedra has a lot of cookbooks. If I was cooking, I would only use one of those cookbooks. She has a cookbook that’s entitled Three Ingredient Cookbook. Every recipe has just three ingredients. That’s my kind of cookbook. Simple. And if I cook one of those recipes for you, and you ate that, and you say, that’s good. What’s in there? There would be three answers, wouldn’t there? In fact, someone might say, if my reply was yes. Someone might say, Well, I think. Someone says, No, no, I’m detecting a flavor of. And someone says, Oh no, it’s got a crunch to it. That’s this. And assuming that all three respondents were correct, we would understand one does not negate the other. What knocked the walls of Jericho down?

It was a gift. They took the city. They followed it. They marched around it. And we could tell those details. Someone else says. The short answer is in Hebrews was faith. You see, one does not negate the other. Turn over to James chapter 2. That’s what James chapter 2, verses 14 through 26 is really trying to show us, isn’t it? We don’t have the time to do a full exposition of James chapter 2, verses 14 through 26, but let’s look at it. What does it profit, James 2, verse 14? What does it profit, my brethren? If a man says he has faith but does not have works, can faith save him? And then he uses the illustration of a man who needs something and we give something to him.

Thus also, verse 17 is the conclusion, thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. Someone will say, verse 18, you have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You see what James is trying to get us to see? James is saying, it can be more than one thing.

3. That Doesn’t Mean They’re All Equal

Obedience or works, as James uses it here, does not eliminate faith. In fact, he says faith and obedience work so closely together that they cannot truly, in the picture of salvation, they cannot truly be separated. Because if they are separated, they cease to be what they ought to be even when they stand alone. Obedience is the expression of our faith. Faith is a deep abiding trust that will do whatever is asked of it. They can’t be separated. And one doesn’t negate the other. But I think it’s also worthy to make this point. That it can be more than one thing. One thing doesn’t negate the other. But that doesn’t mean that they’re all equal. Go back to the recipe. This week, as you’re cooking, you’re probably going to find out if history is any teacher that you’re out of something.

What do you do? Well, I tell you what Mr. OCD does. Everything has to stop, and you have to go to the store and get that one item and measure it out perfectly and add it to the recipe. I’ll tell you what Deedra does. Deedra opens up the cabinet. What else have I got? You can do that with some ingredients, can’t you? But there’s some ingredients that are so integral to that recipe that they can’t be substituted or changed. That illustration simply just points out there’s some things in that recipe that maybe are more important. Are there more than one things in it? Yes. But is there one thing or two things that may be more important than the others? Yeah, it can work that way too.

In the story of Jericho, the walls of Jericho, we looked at at least three things. Grace or a gift, I have given you the city. But here’s the instructions that you’re to obey. And so you take the city. The Hebrew writer says it was really faith that caused the walls of earth. Three things. It can be more than one thing, though one does not negate the other. But that does not necessarily mean that they’re all three equal. Make no mistake about it. We are saved from our sins by the grace of God, by the mercy of God, by the love of God. To put it plainly, we are saved by God. That’s the most important ingredient. Because without God, without his gift, there was absolutely nothing that we could do.

Faith could not be offered. Obedience could not be extended, if not for the grace, the mercy, the love, if not for God Himself. Go back to Ephesians chapter 2.

It can be more than one thing. But that doesn’t mean they’re all equal. Let’s back up to verse 1 of Ephesians 2 to paint the full picture. I’m reading from the New King James. The New King James actually adds some words in verse 1. And if you’re reading from the New King James with me, you’ll see those words are in italic. That means they’re put there by man to help us many, many times to understand the text more clearly. But I’m going to leave those words out and read it as it was originally written. Ephesians 2, verse 1 says, And you who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the Spirit who now works in the sons of obedience, among whom also we also once conducted ourselves in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of our flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

Period. Those three verses constitute one sentence.

Took two pieces of paper. That one long sentence shows what you and I did. The mess that we got ourselves in. We were dead in our trespasses and sins.

And it’s not till verse 4 that two of the most profound words in all of Scripture are given. After our miserable, pitiable condition is described. The words, but God. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us. Even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved. And raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. Make no mistake about it. They’re not all equal. Grace stands above them all. God stands above them all.

But that doesn’t mean that there’s not something for us to do.

Because what’s shouting going to do?

Conclusion

No. For by grace you have been saved through faith. God says, I’m giving you. But now here’s what you do. It can be more than one thing. In fact, when we say that in order to be saved from your sins, you must believe, repent, confess, and yes, according to the scriptures, you must be baptized for remission of your sins. We are in no way negating the gift, the grace of God. How dare someone think that by us simply complying to the stated command of God that somehow we are defying and negating the grace of God? I’m going to tell you how you defy and negate the love and the grace of God. You leave out something that He, by His providential wisdom, has put there for us to obey.

How do we submit by faith to receive the gift of God? We do what He has said. I don’t understand how marching around a city, blowing a trumpet and yelling at the top of my lungs is going to knock a wall down. But if you said it, I’ll do it. I don’t understand how me stating some words of confession and being immersed in a pool of water is going to wash away my sins. But if you said it, I’ll do it. For by grace have you been saved through faith. Will you bow with me this morning? Dear God, we’re so thankful for the love, the grace, the mercy that you’ve had toward us in saving us. We’re so thankful that when we were lost, wandering people, that you gave us a home.

That you have given us a city, whose builder and maker is God. We’re so thankful that you spelled out your instructions of what you would have us to do. Have given us our marching orders. Father, humble us that we might simply be obedient, faithful children. That we would not question your ways, but we would simply do as we’ve been told. In obedience and in faith that we might receive the gift. Help us, Father, to impart your wisdom to others. Help us to be humble in our evangelism and try to help others to see your simple ways. Bless us. Help us, Father, and love us always. In Christ’s holy name we pray. Amen. We’ll now be dismissed to our classes.