Who Can Be Saved?

Luke 18:18-27

¹⁸ And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
¹⁹ And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.
²⁰ Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.
²¹ And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
²² Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
²³ And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.
²⁴ And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
²⁵ For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
²⁶ And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?
²⁷ And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

 

1 Corinthians 1:21-28

²¹ For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God,
it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
²² For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
²³ But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
²⁴ But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
²⁵ Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
²⁶ For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
²⁷ But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
²⁸ And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

 

Luke 13:22-28

²² And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.
²³ Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,
²⁴ Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
²⁵ When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
²⁶ Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.
²⁷ But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.
²⁸ There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

 

Matthew 7:13-14

¹³ Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
¹⁴ Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

 

 

Jesus made it very clear – and Paul confirmed it….

Relatively speaking, ONLY A FEW

(as opposed to MANY)

will be saved!

 

THE QUESTION REMAINS

Who, then, can be saved?

Jesus said….

Mark 2:17

When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them,
They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick:
I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

 

Matthew 21:31

… Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.

 

 

Notice the kinds of people to whom Jesus ministered….

“Sick” and “Sinners”

 

• A woman possessed by 7 demons

Mary Magdalene

Luke 8:1-3

¹ And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him,
² And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,
³ And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.

 

• A man so thoroughly demon-possessed that he lived in the tombs

Mark 5 – country of the Gadarenes

 

• A Sinner Woman

Luke 7

³⁶ And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat.
³⁷ And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,
³⁸ And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.
³⁹ Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.
⁴⁰ And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.
⁴¹ There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.
⁴² And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?
⁴³ Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.
⁴⁴ And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.
⁴⁵ Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
⁴⁶ My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.
⁴⁷ Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
⁴⁸ And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.
⁴⁹ And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?
⁵⁰ And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

 

 

• Woman at the Well

John 4 – she had had 5 husbands….

and the one she was living with was not her husband

 

• An adulterous woman

John 8 – caught in the very act!

… but Jesus said, “neither do I condemn thee…. Go and sin no more!”

 

• A Publican/Tax-collector with questionable business practices

Luke 19 – Zacchaeus …

… and he was rich….

But he was lost! (v.10 … “come to seek and to save the lost”)

Yet, notice the final outcome:

Jesus said, “This day is salvation come to your house!”

 

• Social outcasts – 10 lepers

Luke 17:12-19

Only one was made whole … because he returned to give Glory to God.

“Your faith has made you whole.”

 

 

The NT Church was born on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2!

We are the Body of Jesus Christ,

And we continue to minister and reach out

To those who are ‘socially undesirable’

just as Jesus did!

 

• The very ones who crucified Jesus and persecuted the Church, the Body of Christ

Peter preached in Acts 2 addressing the Jews,

the very ones who were guilty of crucifying our Lord

“This same Jesus whom you have crucified….”

When they heard this they were cut in their heart….

What shall we do?

Acts 2:38!

Peter preached to Cornelius (Gentiles) in Acts 10

He was a Roman Centurion,

The very class of people who were literally the ones responsible

for physically nailing Jesus to the cross!

Saul (Acts 9) was persecuting the Church – Jesus Christ!

“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

1 Timothy 1:13

Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

Regardless of your past/present condition,

YOU can be saved today!!

-the same way the Jews were in Acts 2

and the Samaritans were in Acts 8

and Saul was in Acts 9

and the Gentiles were in Acts 10

and the Philippians were in Acts 16

and the Ephesians were in Acts 19….

 

Acts 2:38-39

Repent

and be baptized every one of you
in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins

and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost!

For the Promise

(“you shall receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost”)

Is unto YOU

And YOUR CHILDREN

And ALL WHO ARE FAR OFF

Even AS MANY as the Lord our God shall call!

 

Remember Luke 18:27!

The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

 

You may be facing IMPOSSIBLE challenges in your life….

Addictions

Diseases

Financial ruin

Marital distress

Mental/emotional disorders

But WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!

 

1 Cor. 6:9-12

“such WERE some of you”

the unrighteous….
fornicators
idolaters
adulterers
effeminate [sissy men]
abusers of themselves with mankind [homosexuals]
thieves
covetous
drunkards
revilers
extortioners

 

Wherever you are right now,

If you will reach out to Jesus

He’s reaching out to you!

You can be saved today!

 

Pastor Tim D. Cormier
Apostolic Faith Tabernacle
08/02/2015

 

When Is The Blood Applied?

There is an ongoing debate among some apostolics concerning the question of when the blood is applied to a believer. Many assert that the blood is applied solely at water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ. Careful study of the scripture, however, reveals that while baptism represents the initial natural or physical application of the blood, it is not the only application of the blood. For if anything at all is certain about the lesson of Old Testament typology it is that the blood is applied to the believer in atonement just as surely as it is applied in redemption.

When the Children of Israel were in Egypt, the blood of the Passover lamb was applied to the doorposts and lintel of each of their houses. This was the act of divine redemption, whereby the people of God were redeemed out of the bondage of Egypt. Notice that before the blood of the lamb could be applied it had to be shed – i.e., the lamb had to be slain. It should also be noted that the work was not finished simply by applying the blood to the doorposts and lintel of the house. The completion of the natural application (man’s job) merely set the stage for the spiritual application (God’s job), in which the Spirit of God worked actively “passing over” every blood-marked dwelling to deliver the house from the avenging work of the Death Angel – thereby causing it to avoid the house and not destroy its firstborn occupant.

After leaving Egypt, the Children of Israel were then a redeemed people, even though they did not immediately take possession of the Promised Land (as a result of their unbelief). However, God made a covenant with them and gave to them His Laws, which made provision for a structured place of worship and sacrifice (the Tabernacle) as well as a ministry to oversee and serve in it (the Priesthood). All these provisions were made for a redeemed people partly so that when they were estranged from God because of their sins they could once again be brought back into oneness with him through the atoning work of the blood of the covenant, which ultimately was to be sprinkled upon the lid of the Ark of the Covenant – the Mercy Seat – in the Holy of Holies by the High Priest once a year every year on the Day of Atonement.

Christ was our Passover—“Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world!” As sinners, we were redeemed out of the world by His blood when we repented (crucified with Christ), were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins (buried with Christ), and received the gift of the Holy Ghost (risen with Christ). This is the awesome process of New Testament redemption: the innocent Lamb shed its blood, dying at the hands of those whose own sins had condemned them to death; the blood of the slain Lamb is applied to the house of the condemned; and in glorious victory the risen Lamb frees the house from the looming threat of imminent death and destruction.

However, Christ’s blood also answers to the blood of atonement, and furthermore, He who was the Lamb of God is also now our High Priest, ever living to make intercession for the redeemed saints with His own blood. Indeed, John tells us that the blood of Jesus “cleanseth” us from our sin in a continual and perpetual work of atonement.

So we see that as sinners, the blood of redemption was initially applied when we were converted or born again of the water and the spirit – per Acts 2:38. As saints, the blood of atonement (“blood of sprinkling”) is subsequently applied continually to us as members of the Body of Christ by our fellowship (“communion”) with the saints walking in the light (which represents the Truth preached from the blood-sprinkled Word of God) – per 1 John 1:7.

 

 

Pastor Tim D. Cormier
18 August, 2004

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