Are You Glad You Are Saved?

Temple Baptist Church - 2-6-2013

Colossians 1:12-14

Introduction:

A. At the moment of our salvation, a myriad of different things happened and all of them good. Aren’t you glad that salvation is positive in every aspect? With so many things, like taking medicines, you have good things and bad things that happen at the same time. With meds, almost all of them have the possibility of bad side effects, with the PROBABILITY that you will have one of them happen to you!

B. Nothing bad happened when you gave your heart and life to Christ! Much of what happened is beyond our comprehension but I assure you that it was all perfectly good. I will not take time to deal with all that I know but want to confine the message to the verses for tonight.

C. Paul listed several things here in these verses that happened to the Colossian believers and also happened to you and me.

1. God made us “meet.” Ephesians 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. (Sinners became saints; ungodly became godly; unrighteous became righteous; dead became alive; aliens became children. “Meet” means to qualify. Accepted (as sinful and undesirable as we are) into the beloved. We have been gloriously placed into the most wonderful family on earth.)

2. God made us “partakers.” 2 Peter 1:3-4 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: (4) Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (We are partakers of the divine nature of Christ. Whereas we were natural men and women by nature of a sinful birth, we are now a spiritual people with spiritual desires through the new birth. Truly we are “new creatures.”)

Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: (17) And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. (We are also partakers of a heavenly promise. This world is not our home though we live here. We are in the world but not of the world and one day, but the grace of God, we will step on shore and find it heaven, finally home. We who deserve nothing are heirs to all things. All of heaven, all of earth, all of the universe belongs to us. )

3. God placed us in the “light.” 1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

a. The light of salvation - Genesis 1:3-4 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. (4) And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. (The light of God’s’ salvation divides us from the darkness of this present evil world.)

b. The light of knowledge of God - 2 Corinthians 4:5-6 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. (6) For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (Understand just who Jesus Christ is. The world has a worldly perspective of Jesus Christ while you and I understand His lordship.)

c. The light of the knowledge of scripture - 1 Corinthians 2:13-14 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. (14) But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (The natural man does not understand spiritual truth because it is spiritually discerned. I have the Author living within me.)

4. Delivered us from the power of darkness. John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

John 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Romans 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

Romans 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. (Free, praise the Lord, free at last! Sin no longer has dominion over us.)

5. Forgave us of all our sins. Romans 4:6-8 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, (7) Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. (8) Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. (You ask me why I’m happy so I’ll just tell you why: because my sins are gone!)

Conclusion: We who walked in the darkness of sin and unbelief now walk in the light of holiness and faith. Our past is forgiven and our future is secure and heaven is our home. I would not trade this hope for anything!