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I. The meaning of being saved:
А. Man is sinful and dead.
B. To be saved is to be forgiven of sins and receive God’s life.
C. To be saved also means to be delivered from sins, the world, and death.
II. The importance of being saved:
А. Man is under condemnation.
B. There is the possibility that a man could perish at any time, because there is the possibility that he could encounter death at any time.
C. These two points show that man is already under condemnation. Before man’s death, however, God still gives man opportunities to be saved from perishing eternally.
III. Salvation is related to time:
А. Time provides opportunities for people to be saved. Time is the opportunity. All opportunities are in time. Losing time is losing the opportunity. This is why men always try to make use of time in whatever they are doing.
B. When time has passed, there will be no more opportunity. This point should be stressed. Here, apply Jeremiah 8:20: “The harvest has passed, the summer has ended, / And we are not saved.” The time for harvest has passed, the summer has ended, but we are not yet saved; nevertheless, there is still time, still an opportunity left — now. If we let it go by, no one can say whether this opportunity will come again.
C. It should be concluded that salvation must be in time. To be saved is not in eternity, although it is for eternity. Salvation must be in time. This time is this present life. This present life may be finished at any time. Give some examples and stories. Some who heard the gospel but did not believe it right away were killed in car accidents on their way home. Use some examples to prove that man’s life may be finished at any time in this world. When time has passed, eternity will come. Therefore, you must believe Him today. Sing stanza 3 of Hymns, #1043.
IV. Grasp this opportunity:
А. Emphasize that the opportunity is now. After this moment there may be no more opportunities.
B. To grasp the opportunity is to grasp this moment. Those who want to grasp the opportunity must grasp this moment right now.
C. Ask those who want to grasp this opportunity right now to please stand up. Sing the chorus of Hymns, #1042, “Why not now? Why not now?”
Scripture: Jer. 13:23
I. The explanation of man’s nature — good or evil:
А. Through the generations there have been two schools of thought concerning man’s nature. Some say that man’s nature is good (Mencius’s school), but some say that it is evil (Shun’s school).
B. The self-evidence of man’s nature.
We must ask ourselves whether our own nature is good or evil.
C. From our own nature we can see that although we sometimes have the desire and intention to do good, most of the time our desire to do evil is much stronger.
D. Man’s good intentions come from God’s creation. Man’s evil nature comes from Satan’s corruption. Here we have to expound man’s fall. Many famous scholars in past history found that man’s nature consists of both good and evil. The reason is that by God’s creation, man has a good element within, and through man’s fall and corruption, man has an evil element within.
II. Man’s actual condition:
А. Although man’s nature contains both a good and an evil element, the good has been corrupted by the evil; thus, the evil element has become dominant.
B. Therefore, man’s actual condition is that the evil nature overcomes the good nature. It does not mean that man does not have a good nature but that his good nature is a defeated one. Give some facts to prove this. For example: in your heart you have a desire to respect your parents, yet you scold them; you have a desire to be honest, yet you cheat; deep inside you do not want to gamble, but you still go on gambling; you want to break your ties with your evil friends, but you still live a life of sin with them. This is man’s actual condition.
III. Can the evil nature be changed?
А. This point speaks of man’s way.
B. All people in past generations, whether they regarded man’s nature as good or as evil, insisted upon changing men. Islam, Buddhism, Chinese philosophy, Confucianism, and those Christians who do not really know the way of the Lord, all insisted upon changing men.
C. Actually, man’s evil nature cannot be changed. Man can change the outward behavior, but he cannot change the nature. Man can change the deed, but he cannot change the disposition. If the change of behavior is not false, it is at best only superficial. Only the change in nature is a real change. But the evil nature can never be changed, so man has never had a real and thorough change.
D. Conclusion: it is impossible for man to change his nature.
IV. God’s saving way:
А. God’s way to save is not to change but to replace. It is not to change the old but to replace it with the new; it is not to change the old nature but to replace it with a new nature.
B. God’s saving way is by regeneration. Regeneration gives you God’s life.
V. The way to be regenerated:
А. Acknowledge that you have an evil nature that is stronger than your good intentions.
B. Acknowledge that you cannot change your evil nature.
C. Receive the Lord Jesus as the Savior of life. The Lord Jesus is the incarnation of God Himself. God’s life is in Him. To receive Him is to receive God’s life.
Scripture: Jer. 17:9-10
I. The source of deceit:
А. At the beginning the heart was not deceitful but honest and good, because it was made by God.
B. The heart became deceitful later on.
C. Because of man’s contact with Satan, the heart became deceitful. Hence, the source of man’s deceit is Satan. “When he speaks the lie, he speaks it out of his own possessions; for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44). To lie is to be deceitful.
II. The condition of deceit:
А. Man’s deceit is from deep inside the heart.
B. Man was born with deceit; there is no need to learn to be deceitful.
C. Use some practical examples of man’s deceitfulness to describe man’s actual condition: how people deceive their parents, wives, children, teachers, classmates, colleagues, and friends, etc.
This is the most important section of this subject.
III. The extent of deceit:
А. The heart is more deceitful than anything else. Among all things the heart is the most deceitful. All other things added together cannot be compared with the deceitfulness of man’s heart.
B. The heart is exceedingly corrupt. In the original, the word incurable means that the heart is so deceitful that it is beyond remedy and can never be cured. It is like a bad potato that begins rotting from the center until it reaches the outside and is beyond remedy.
C. The heart is so corrupt that you cannot know it yourself. Only God knows it.
IV. The result of deceit:
А. Every deceitful man is recompensed according to his deceit. The Bible says that God will deal perversely with the perverse. The one who deceives others eventually hurts himself. The result of being deceitful is to be recompensed with deceit. No one who has succeeded through deceit can last long; rather, the deceit will only destroy that one’s business and family.
B. Deceit causes man to perish. The recompense of deceit is in this present age, whereas perishing is eternal. Revelation 21:8 says that all liars will have their part in the lake of fire.
Points such as this should be repeated.
V. How to put off deceit:
А. Good intentions are useless. It is useless to decide not to deceive.
B. Self-improvement is useless. Trying to change yourself so that you are not deceitful is useless.
C. Your life must be changed and replaced with a non-deceiving life.
VI. How to receive this non-deceiving life:
Point to the way of salvation.
А. The non-deceiving life is God’s life.
B. To receive God’s life, you need to confess your sins, especially the sin of deceit, and repent.
C. Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and receive Him as your Savior, because God’s life is in Him.
Scripture: Jer. 21:8
I. Man’s opportunity:
А. Man’s opportunity comes from God.
B. God has set two ways before man: the way of life and the way of death.
C. In the beginning, after God made man, He put man in front of life (the tree of life) and death (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil).
D. God let man choose life or death. Both ways are opportunities given by God. The choice and the decision are up to man.
II. Man’s free will to choose:
А. God set two ways before man because God gave man a free will.
B. The fact that man is given a free will is a proof that God honors man and also that man is the highest creature.
C. God let man choose either life or death according to man’s free will.
III. The results of these two ways:
А. The way of life leads to eternal life, which includes God’s life, the eternal peace and blessing, and the heavenly joy.
B. The way of death leads to eternal death, which includes the elements of Satan, eternal suffering, and punishment in the lake of fire.
IV. How to choose the way of life:
А. Acknowledge that you are already on the way of death — the way you have been treading is a way of death.
B. Turn from the way of death.
C. Repent and confess your sins.
D. Believe that Christ is the life and the way. Only He can give man life, and only He can lead man to the way of life.
Scripture: Jer. 23:5-6
I. God came as a man:
А. Point out that the “righteous Shoot” mentioned in Jeremiah 23:5-6 signifies the Lord Jesus incarnated in the flesh to be the Son of Man.
B. This Shoot of David is Jesus Christ, who is God coming as a man.
II. The only righteous man:
А. All of Adam’s descendants are unrighteous. Neither Adam nor any of his descendants are in one accord with God.
B. Only the Shoot of David is called a righteous Shoot by God. In the New Testament He is called “the Righteous” (1 John 2:1). Only Jesus Christ is righteous among men and before God. His nature and His behavior are in one accord with God.
III. The union of Christ and man:
А. Christ is the very God become flesh to unite with man. He put on human nature and became one with man.
B. He was made sin on man’s behalf on the cross. Man is unrighteous. Man is sinful. When He became one with man, He was made sin, and as sin, He was judged on the cross.
C. He resurrected from the dead and released His life to man so that man can be one with Him.
IV. Christ has become the righteousness of man:
А. Before God, man is sinful and Christ is righteous.
B. Christ resurrected that man might have His life, which is just Christ Himself.
C. Christ Himself is righteousness. Hence, if a man receives Christ, he receives Christ as his righteousness. The one who receives Him receives righteousness, and this righteousness is Christ Himself.
D. Christ becomes man’s righteousness not only that man may be justified but also that man may become righteous. Justification is a matter of outward position. Righteousness is a matter of inward reality.
E. To receive Christ as our life is to let Christ become our righteousness. Hence, this righteousness is something living. It not only gives us the position of being justified but also implants within us a righteous life to live out righteousness.
V. How to receive Christ as righteousness:
А. Confess that you yourself are unrighteous.
B. Receive Christ as the Savior of righteousness. He is the One without sin. He bears our sin and enters into us to become our righteousness.
Scripture: Ezek. 33:11
I. Man is on the pathway of death:
А. The fall of the first ancestor of mankind brought man to the way of death. Since that time the entire human race has been on the pathway of death.
B. As soon as a man is born, he is on the way of death. Hence, man’s life, from beginning to end, is on the pathway of death.
C. Death means to depart from God, turn your back on God, be inclined to sin and evildoing, and yet have no feeling. Even if there is some feeling, it will be too feeble to stop you from what you are doing. This is the meaning of death, and these are also the conditions of death.
D. Give practical examples to prove that man has forsaken God, has been committing sins, and how he is walking on the pathway of death.
II. The result of walking on the way of death:
А. Death comes from sin. Death also leads to judgment and hell. These four things are mutually related: sin, death, judgment, and hell. Sin brings in death, and death brings in judgment and hell. If a man is walking on the pathway of death, he will eventually be led to judgment and hell.
B. There is a death waiting for everyone who is walking on the pathway of death, and this death will be a final verdict, forever.
III. The call of God’s love:
А. God loves man. Repeat this point.
Although man is not thinking about God, God is thinking of man. Man forgets God, but God remembers man.
B. God’s love causes Him to call those who are walking on the pathway of death. You have totally forgotten about God, but today He is calling you: “Turn away, turn away; why will you die?” I believe the gospel that I am preaching today is God’s calling of love. Maybe you have heard it and still do not want to turn; nevertheless, it will stay in your ears. When you are walking in darkness, doing evil things, dancing, playing cards, or even trying to commit suicide, He will be calling you: “Turn away, turn away; why will you die?”
C. This calling will continue throughout your lifetime, until you receive Him. Maybe at the time you are about to die, He will still be calling you: “Turn away, turn away; why will you die?” He may call you for ten or twenty years. If you still do not receive Him, even at the time you are about to die, He will be calling: “Turn away, turn away; why will you die?” No one can estimate the result of gospel preaching. You and I are just sowing the seeds. Only God knows its result. While you are getting married or celebrating your birthday, He will be calling you: “Turn away, turn away; why will you die?” Gospel preaching should not be too gentle. The more you are released, the easier it will be for the Holy Spirit to work. If you are nice and gentle, no one will be saved.
IV. How to turn:
А. Receive God’s call of love.
B. Repent and confess your sins.
C. Pray right now. Those who want to pray, stand up right now.
D. When you pray, receive Jesus as your Savior.
These points are the strategy and the tactic to defeat Satan. This point is the dividing line between heaven and hell. In preaching the gospel, just as in cooking, you must be skillful. Many who have heard have become indifferent, because you have spoiled them. Please take note that it is easier for those who are hearing the gospel for the first time to be saved.
Scripture: Ezek. 36:25-28
I. Cleansing — to solve the problem of our deeds:
А. Man became filthy because of sin. There are two aspects of man’s sin: the shortage of morality toward man, which is the filthiness of our conduct, and the shortage of worship toward God, which is the filthiness of idol worship. Since man’s conduct is filthy, it needs to be cleansed.
B. God caused the Lord Jesus to shed His blood on the cross to cleanse away the sins of those who believe into Him.
C. When we believe into the Lord, God will use the blood of the Lord Jesus to cleanse away all our filthiness. Stress strongly that when we believe into the Lord, God uses the blood of the Lord Jesus to cleanse away the filthiness of our conscience.
II. Renewing — to solve the problem of our nature:
А. Because of sin our hearts became corrupted and our spirits became deadened. The heart and the spirit are important elements of man’s being. Once sin entered into man, man’s nature was corrupted, and his spirit was deadened. The preceding point speaks of man’s conduct, which is filthy and needs to be cleansed. This point speaks of man’s nature, which is corrupted and deadened and needs to be renewed. Renewing is for resolving the corruption of man’s nature, and cleansing is for resolving the filthiness of his conduct.
B. When we believe into Him, God renews our corrupted heart and makes it a new heart. Man’s corrupted heart is evil. Worse than that, it is hardened toward God. As to morality, it is evil; as to God, it is hardened. Hence, it says in Ezekiel that our heart was a heart of stone, as hard as a rock. When God saves us, He softens our heart of stone and thus renews our heart.
C. When we believe into the Lord, God not only renews our heart but also renews our spirit. The religions of the world and the philosophy of men can never cleanse the conduct, much less renew the disposition. The heart is man’s loving organ. Man’s likes, his delights, and his willingness are functions of the heart. Because of the fall our heart was hardened toward God. It did not love God, did not want God, and had no delight in God; on the contrary, it was full of hatred and rebellion toward God, and it turned away from God and rejected Him. When God saved us, He softened our heart of stone and caused us to turn back to Him. Nevertheless, the heart does not have the ability to have fellowship with God, although it may have the desire to do so. The spirit is the organ for fellowship with God. It is the spirit that can contact God and have fellowship with Him. So when God saved us, He not only renewed our heart but also renewed our spirit. The renewed heart enables us to desire God, love Him, and have delight in Him. The renewed spirit enables us to be near Him and contact Him. The renewed spirit is a spirit which has been made alive. Because of the fall our spirit was deadened toward God and lost its function toward God. When God renewed our spirit, He made our spirit alive again and restored its function. Our heart used to be hardened toward God, but the renewed heart softened us so that we could turn toward God. This is like the blind eyes and the deaf ears. Because they have lost their functions, they are deadened. However, if the eyes are opened and the ears can hear again, they are renewed.
III. The giving of the Spirit:
А. Although we have covered the matter of our conduct being cleansed and our disposition being renewed, we have not yet covered the matter of receiving God’s life.
B. When God saves us, He not only cleanses our conduct and renews our disposition but also gives us His own Spirit. He puts the Spirit inside of us so that we may contact Him and be mingled with Him. Formerly, God and man were not mingled together and could not make contact. But now man can contact God and be mingled with Him.
C. God’s Spirit is God’s life. Once God’s Spirit gets in, His life also gets in, and we are regenerated. Regeneration is to be born again, to be born of God, to receive another life besides man’s natural life. Once we are regenerated, we have God’s disposition, and we become the children of God. When God’s life, which is God Himself, gets into us, God and man are mingled together.
IV. The result:
А. Our conduct is cleansed. Our disposition is renewed. We have God’s life and God’s disposition. God Himself also lives in our spirit.
B. Therefore, we can be God’s children, and God can be our God. This means that we can serve God. He cleanses our filthiness so that we may be justified and accepted by God. He renews our disposition and softens our hearts so that we may turn to God and love God. At the same time God’s Spirit also lives in us to enable us to know God and contact Him. Hence, we can be God’s children, and God can be our God.
Scripture: Dan. 5:27
I. It is not man’s responsibility to evaluate himself:
А. Everyone has his own evaluation of himself. King Belshazzar had his own evaluation of himself; likewise, we each have such an evaluation of ourselves.
B. Man’s own evaluations are too high. King Belshazzar evaluated himself as a high and honorable king. Many people consider themselves better than others. Everyone considers himself a fine gentleman. There is not one who is not self-righteous and self-justifying.
C. Man’s evaluation of himself is inaccurate. King Belshazzar rated himself as an honorable king, but God said, “You have been weighed in the scales and found to be lacking” (Dan. 5:27). King Belshazzar was short of something. You may consider yourself a fine gentleman, but you may actually be quite poor.
D. Man is not qualified to evaluate himself, because man is not Lord of the universe. The Lord of the universe is God. When a citizen who is accused of some wrongdoing claims that he is innocent, it means nothing unless he is acquitted by the court. Likewise, it is not up to man to evaluate himself.
II. Man’s evaluation is up to God:
А. God is the Lord of the universe. God is the ruler of the universe.
B. God rules the universe according to His laws, not allowing things to happen in a random way in the universe. Give examples to prove this point.
C. God evaluates man according to His laws, which are the scales.
D. The scales are made up of the Ten Commandments.
E. There is no need to talk about all of the Ten Commandments. Just choose three or four to weigh them, and that will be sufficient. If you are put on the scales, you are immediately exposed. Some examples are: (1) dishonoring your parents, (2) committing fornication, (3) stealing, and (4) lying. “You have been weighed in the scales and found to be lacking.”
F. Man’s conscience is also a scale. You may claim that you are a certain kind of person, but you are only pretending; your conscience protests within you.
G. Furthermore, the coming judgment will be a real scale. In the gospel today we are putting forth the scale. If you do not take heed, even if you ignore the condemnation of your conscience, there will be no escape for you when the final scale, the judgment, comes.
III. The result of God’s evaluation:
А. The result of God’s evaluation is that all men are condemned. There is not one weighed in God’s scales who is not found guilty.
B. Following the condemnation will be perishing, which includes death and hell.
IV. How to meet God’s evaluation:
А. By his own conduct no one can be justified by God. This is to say that no one’s conduct can measure up to God’s standard. Once you have been evaluated by God, you are through. Once you have been weighed in His scales, you are completely finished.
B. This is why God sent the Lord Jesus to accomplish redemption and to bear our sins.
C. To meet God’s evaluation, we must confess our shortages before God. Do not be self-righteous any more.
D. Receive the Lord Jesus and His redemption so that you may obtain God’s justification.
Scripture: Amos 4:12
I. The relationship between God and man:
А. God is the creator of man, and God is man’s ruler.
B. We live and move in God, and we shall be judged by Him. This point is to show that our living is related to God.
II. Man will meet God:
А. Today man does not feel that he is related to God. You should portray man’s condition of dumbness and dullness toward God. Man is insensitive to God and does not care for God.
B. Each one will have to leave this world one day. When a man dies, his present life is finished, and eternity begins. When a man enters eternity, he shall meet God.
III. God’s judgment:
А. When a man meets God, he will be judged by God.
B. God’s judgment is according to a man’s work.
C. No man’s work can meet the standard of God’s judgment.
D. Hence, the result of God’s judgment is that man will be condemned to perish.
IV. How to prepare to meet God:
А. Repent and turn to God.
B. Confess and forsake your sins.
C. Believe and receive Christ and His redemption.
D. Serve God.
Scripture: Zech. 13:1
I. Man’s sins:
А. From the time of Adam’s fall until now, the human race has been in sins and evildoings.
B. Point out the fact that man is born in iniquity. Give examples to prove that man is born in sin. There is no need to teach a person to commit sin, because sin grows out of man’s corrupt nature.
C. Also point out in a solid way the fact that man commits sins. Bring out a few things to prove the point, such as lying, stealing, covetousness, and craftiness.
II. God’s righteousness:
А. God’s righteousness causes Him to judge the sin of man.
B. According to God’s righteousness, all men are under God’s condemnation, and all should perish in the lake of fire.
III. God’s love:
А. God’s righteousness causes Him to condemn men, but God’s love causes Him to come to save men.
B. God’s love prepares the way of salvation for men. Expound these two points.
IV. God’s saving way:
А. God is both righteous and loving. These two aspects caused God to accomplish a saving way for us. This saving way not only fulfills the purpose of His love but also meets His righteous requirements.
B. God caused the Lord Jesus to shed His blood on the cross in order that He might redeem us from our sins. Such a redemption shows God’s love on one hand and God’s righteousness on the other. Because God loves us, He gave His Son for us. Because God is righteous, He required the sacrifice of His Son in our stead.
C. The Son of God shed His blood on the cross for our redemption. This blood became the fountain of cleansing. This blood not only cleanses away our sins and evildoings according to God’s righteousness, but it also causes us to realize God’s love so that we will no longer partake of such evildoings.
Repeat this point.
V. How to be cleansed from sins:
А. Confess that you are sinful.
B. Receive the Lord Jesus and the redemption of His cross.
