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MARK 10: 26, 27

"WHO CAN BE SAVED?"

I. WHAT DO WE MEAN BY SAVED?
        A. From a negative standpoint.
        1. The power of sin, "Who all of their lifetime were subject to
                       ."
                a. The power of sin to enslave a person, by whatsoever a
                   man is overcome by the same is he brought into        !
                        1. Big men can be enslaved by such small
                           things -- Phil  Harris, "Smoke, smoke..."
                        2. Men overcome by greed.
                        3. Men overcome by lust.
                        4. Men overcome by alcohol.
        2. The guilt of my past sins.
                a. Most psychologists agree that the majority of neurosis
                   come from guilt.
                b. Man's conscience is God's built-in restrictor.
                        1. Think what it would be like to try to live in a
                           society where no one had a conscience.
                c. It would be correct to say that many people have been
                   driven crazy by their conscience.
        3. The judgment due me for my sins.
                a. "The wages of sin is death."
                b. "It is appointed unto man once to die."
                c. Saved from the wrath to come.
        B. From the positive side.
                1. He is saving me for an eternal place of joy in His
                   kingdom.
                        a. "In His presence is fullness of joy and at His
                           right hand pleasures forever more."
                        b. "That in the ages to come..."
                2. Saved to a life of freedom and true liberty.
                        a. So many look at Christianity as a restricting
                           experience.
                        b. Not so, it is the most liberating experience in
                           the world.

II. WHAT CAN BE SAVED? "WITH MAN IT IS IMPOSSIBLE."
        A. No man can save himself from the slavery to his own fleshly
           desires.
                1. "That which is born of flesh is flesh."
        B. No man can fully atone for his past guilt.
                1. You cannot undo the past.
                2. Sins are like nails driven into a board, you may remove
                   the nail but the mark still remains.
        C. No man can escape death.
                1. Run as hard and as fast as you can, it will still catch
                   up with you.
        D. No man can climb into heaven on his own.
                1. Jesus said, "I am the door for the sheep."

III. WHO THEN CAN BE SAVED? "WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE."
        A. Many have been discouraged with Christianity because they have
           sought to master its principles and follow its precepts without
           knowing its power.
                1. Salvation is a miracle.
                a. You don't need to get up tight if someone says to
                        you, "It would take a miracle to save you.
                b. It took a miracle to save each one of us.
        B. I am glad that God is a God of miracles and He is able to save
           to the uttermost all who will come to Him through His Son
           Jesus Christ. Just believing in Jesus.