OceanSide church of Christ
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SAVED BY THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD
Victor M.
Eskew
INTRODUCTION
A. When
this speaker hears the word “providence” several things immediately come to mind from the Biblical text.
1.
The life of Joseph (Gen. 37-50).
2.
The books of Esther and Philemon.
3.
Two specific passages:
a.
Genesis 22:8
And Abraham
said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them
together.
b.
Romans
8:28
And we know that
all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called
according to his purpose.
B.
However, I have never intentionally associated the word “providence” with
salvation. Yet, it is so true that
each one of us is “Saved by the Providence of God.”
I. THE
REALM OF
A.
The root word of
“providence” is “provide.”
1.
2.
In our study, we are going
to look at God’s provisions for man’s salvation.
3.
Unless God had provided a
means for man to be saved, man would be lost and without hope in the
hereafter.
a.
All have sinned (Rom. 3:23).
b.
The soul that sinneth it shall die (Ezek. 18:20).
c.
Man cannot direct his steps (Jer. 10:23).
d.
All we, like sheep, have gone astray (Isa. 53:6).
e.
All our righteousness is as filthy rages (Isa.
64:6).
f.
All we can do it to cry out as did Paul: O wretched man that
I am! Who shall deliver from the
body of this death? (Rom. 7:24).
B. The
ways of viewing God’s providence.
1.
a.
Miracles are acts of God that conform to divine law, but that suspend or
supersede the natural laws of the universe.
b.
Example: The land promise
made to Abraham.
1)
The promise (Gen. 13:14-15).
2)
3)
God brought
And the Lord
brought us forth out of
2.
a.
This is a very unique ability.
1)
No miracles are performed.
2)
God works within the counsels and actions of man.
3)
God works within the talents and abilities of man.
4)
God works without interfering with man’s free-moral
agency.
b.
Example: The salvation of
the Jews through Queen Esther.
1)
God’s name is not found in the book.
2)
The events seem like fortunate circumstances.
3)
The Jews are delivered from destruction and Haman is hanged upon his own
gallows.
4.
God’s providential power can be felt throughout the book (Esther
4:13-14).
Then Mordecai
commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the
king’s house, more than all the Jews.
For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there
enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and
thy father’s house shall be destroyed:
and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as
this?
II. GOD’S TANGILBE
PROVISIONS FOR OUR SALVATION
A.
The blood of Jesus
Christ
1.
The sentence God pronounced
upon sin is death, a bloody, violent, physical death (Gen. 2:16-17; Ezek. 18:20;
Rom. 6:23).
2.
The only way to circumvent
this sentence was by means of a vicarious death, a sacrifice of one, the
innocent, on behalf of another, the guilty (Heb. 9:22).
a.
Animals would not do (Heb. 10:4).
b.
Tainted, sinful human sacrifices would not do (Mal.
1:7-8).
3.
God provided a perfect sacrifice in His Son Jesus
Christ.
a.
Isaiah 53:10a
Yet it pleased
the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an
offering for sin…
b.
John
1:29b
c.
…Behold the Lamb
of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
d.
This death would do two
things: satisfy the demands of
divine justice and save the souls of lost humanity (Rom.
3:21-26).
But now the
righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law
and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus
Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned and come short of
the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus: whom God
hath set forth to be the propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his
righteousness for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of
God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier
of him which believeth in Jesus.
B.
The Word of
God.
1.
Little would be know of the
sacrificial death of Christ unless it had been revealed to
mankind.
2.
God’s Word is the account of
this good news, the gospel.
a.
It has been revealed by the Holy Spirit (II Tim. 3:16-17; II Pet.
1:20-21).
b.
It has been endued with power (Heb. 4:12; Rom.
1:16).
c.
It can prick the heart (Acts 2:37) and save the souls of the lost (James
1:21).
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of
naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save
your souls.
C.
The church, the fellowship of believers
1.
Having redeemed man by the blood of Christ, God, then,
places him into a fellowship apart from the world (I Cor. 1:9; Col. 1:13).
2.
This fellowship is the church.
a. Acts
2:47; I Corinthians 12:13
b.
NOTE:
The word “church” literally means “the called out ones.”
3. This
fellowship was not a temporary expedient in the plan of God. No, it was part of
the eternal purpose of God (Eph. 3:10-11).
To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in
heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
III. GOD PROVIDES THE MOTIVATION
FOR MAN’S SALVATION
A.
God’s love
1.
Romans 5:8; John 3:16
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we
were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
2.
It is the manifestation of God’s love that causes us to love
Him in return.
a. I
John 4:19
We love him, because he first loved us.
b.
II Corinthians 5:14
For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus
judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead.
B.
The reward of heaven (I Pet. 1:3-5)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope
by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance
incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for
you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be
revealed in the last time.
C.
The fear of hell
1.
Hell is just as real as heaven. Jesus spoke of it
often (Matt. 10:28).
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to
kill the soul:
but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in
hell.
2.
Paul noted that it was by the “terror of the Lord” that he
persuaded men (II Cor. 5:11).
IV. A
GLIMPSE OF GOD’S
A.
The greatest provision given to man by God with regard to
salvation is found in His Son Jesus Christ. Let’s take a few minutes and look at the
providence of God at work in man’s salvation in the life of Jesus Christ.
B.
God was made flesh.
1.
To become the perfect sacrifice, Jesus had to become a
man.
2.
Two verses:
a. John
1:14
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we
beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of
grace and truth.
b.
Hebrews 10:5
Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice
and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me.
3.
This provision in man’s salvation was accomplished through a
miraculous act, the virgin birth (Luke 1:26-35, esp. vs. 34-35).
Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I
know not a man?
And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon
thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that
holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
C.
The arrival of the Son of God had been predicted by the Old
Testament prophets (John 5:39). It was essential for Jesus to fulfill all that
had been spoken of Him (Matt. 5:17-18). It is interesting to see God’s providence at
work in bringing the prophecies to pass.
1.
Jesus’ birth
a. It
was prophesied that Jesus would be born in
b.
Joseph and Mary, however, were residents of
c. By
decree of Caesar Augustus, all the world was to be taxed (Luke 2:1).
1) Each
one had to go to his city of origin to be taxed (Luke 2:3).
2) This
brought Joseph and Mary to
3. Luke
2:6-7
And it was so, while they were there, the days were
accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and
wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no
room for them in the inn.
2.
Jesus in the
a.
Jesus, like
b. The
events that took Jesus to
1)
Herod had been mocked by the wise men at Jesus’ birth (Matt.
2:12-16).
2) In
his wrath, Herod decreed that all the males from two years old and under were to
be slain in
c. An
angel warned Joseph of Herod’s evil intentions and sent him into
And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord
appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his
mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek
the young child to destroy him.
3.
Jesus’ bones were not broken during the crucifixion.
a. The
types and shadows of the Old Testament were also predictive in nature.
b. One
of the sacrifices of the Old Testament was the Passover lamb. A stipulation
regarding the lamb was that no bone could be broken (Exo. 12:46).
c.
Jesus was the ante-type of the Paschal lamb (I Cor. 5:7).
d. When
Jesus was crucified not a bone was broken.
1)
Jesus was crucified Friday morning.
2) At
6:00 p.m., the Jewish Sabbath would begin.
3) No
one hanging of a cross was to remain there into the Sabbath (Deut.
21:22-23).
4) To
hasten the death of those crucified, the Roman soldiers would break the legs of
the one crucified (John 19:31).
5) When
the Roman soldiers came to Jesus, they did not have to break His legs for He was
dead already (John 19:33, 36).
But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead
already, they brake not his legs…For these things were done, that the scripture
should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.
D.
The death of Jesus
1.
The evil desires of the Jewish leaders.
2.
The betrayal of the Son of God by Judas.
3.
Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent and still turned Jesus
over to the Jewish mob.
4.
The atrocities of the Roman soldiers.
5.
The means of death, crucifixion.
6.
Hebrews 2:9
But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the
angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the
grace of God should taste death for every man.
CONCLUSION
A. God has
provided much in order to save the souls of men.
B. God worked
long and hard to secure man’s salvation. He paid the ultimate price in sending His Son
to die for us.
C. Man should
not reject these provisions. Instead, he should avail himself of the grace
(II Tim. 2:1) and the salvation (II Tim. 2:10) that are in Christ Jesus. He can do this by
obeying the gospel of Jesus Christ (Heb. 5:8-9; Matt. 7:21; Gal. 3:26-27).
SAVED BY THE
Victor M. Eskew
INTRODUCTION
A.
When this speaker hears the word “providence” several things immediately
to mind from the Biblical text.
1.
The life of Joseph (Gen. 37-50).
2.
The books of Esther and Philemon.
3.
Two specific passages (Gen. 22:8; Rom. 8:28).
B.
However, I have never intentionally associated the word “providence” with
salvation. Yet,
it is so true that each one of us is “Saved by the Providence of God.”
I.
THE REALM OF
B.
The root
word of “providence” is “provide.”
1.
2.
In our study, we are going to look at God’s provisions for man’s
salvation.
3.
Unless God had provided a means for man to be saved, man would be lost
and without hope in the hereafter (Rom. 3:23; Ezek. 18:20; Jer. 10:23; Isa.
53:6; Isa. 64:6; Rom. 7:24).
B.
The ways of viewing God’s providence.
1.
a.
Miracles are acts of God that conform to divine law, but that suspend or
supersede the natural laws.
b.
Example:
The land promise made to Abraham.
1)
The promise (Gen. 13:14-15).
2)
3)
God brought
3.
a.
This is a very unique ability.
1)
No miracles are performed.
2)
God works within the counsels and actions of man.
3)
God works within the talents and abilities of man.
4)
God works without interfering with man’s free-moral agency.
b.
Example:
The salvation of the Jews through Queen Esther (Esther 4:13-14)
II.
A GLIMPSE OF GOD’S
E.
The
greatest provision given to man by God with regard to salvation is found in His
Son Jesus Christ.
Let’s take a few minutes and look at the providence of God at work in
man’s salvation in the life of Jesus Christ.
F.
God was
made flesh.
1.
To become
the perfect sacrifice, Jesus had to become a man.
2.
Two verses
(John 1:14; Heb. 10:5)
3.
This
provision of salvation was accomplished through a miraculous act, the virgin
birth (Luke 1:26-35, esp. vs. 34-35).
G.
The
arrival of the Son of God had been predicted by the OT prophets (John
5:39). It was
essential for Jesus to fulfill all that had been spoken of Him (Matt.
5:17-18). It is
interesting to see God’s providence at work in fulfilling the prophecies.
1.
Jesus’
birth
a.
It was prophesied that Jesus would be born in
b.
Joseph and Mary, however, were residents of
c.
By decree of Caesar Augustus, all the world was to be taxed (Luke
2:1).
1)
Each one had to go to his city of origin to be taxed (Luke 2:3).
2)
This brought Joseph and Mary to
3.
Luke 2:6-7
2.
Jesus in
the
a.
Jesus, like
b.
The events that took Jesus to
1)
Herod had been mocked by the wise men at Jesus’ birth (Matt.
2:12-16).
2)
In his wrath, Herod decreed that all the males from two years old and
under were to be slain in
c.
An angel warned Joseph of Herod’s evil intentions and sent him into
3.
Jesus’
bones were not broken during the crucifixion.
a.
The types and shadows of the Old Testament were also predictive in
nature.
b.
One of the sacrifices of the Old Testament was the Passover lamb. A stipulation
regarding the lamb was that no bone could be broken (Exo. 12:46).
c.
Jesus was the ante-type of the Paschal lamb (I Cor. 5:7).
d.
When Jesus was crucified not a bone was broken.
1)
Jesus was crucified Friday morning. At 6:00 p.m., the Jewish Sabbath would
begin.
3)
No one hanging of a cross was to remain there into the Sabbath (Deut.
21:22-23).
4)
To hasten the death of those crucified, the Roman soldiers would break
the legs of the one crucified (John 19:31).
5)
They, however, did not have to break His legs for He was dead already
(John 19:33, 36).
H.
The death
of Jesus
1.
The evil
desires of the Jewish leaders.
2.
The
betrayal of the Son of God by Judas.
3.
Pilate
knew that Jesus was innocent and still turned Jesus over to the Jewish mob.
4.
The
atrocities of the Roman soldiers.
5.
The means
of death, crucifixion.
6.
Hebrews
2:9
CONCLUSION
A.
God has provided much in order to save the souls of men.
B.
God worked long and hard to secure man’s salvation. He paid the ultimate
price in sending His Son to die for us.
C.
Man should not reject these provisions. Instead, he should avail himself of the grace
(II Tim. 2:1) and the salvation (II Tim. 2:10) that are in Christ Jesus. He can do this by
obeying the gospel of Jesus Christ (Heb. 5:8-9; Matt. 7:21; Gal. 3:26-27).
SAVED BY THE
Victor M. Eskew
INTRODUCTION
A.
When this speaker hears the word “providence” several things immediately
come to mind from the Biblical text.
1.
The life of ____________________ (Gen. 37-50).
2.
The books of _____________________ and ________________________..
3.
Two specific passages (Gen. 22:8; Rom. 8:28).
B.
However, I have never intentionally associated the word “providence” with
______________.
Yet, it is so true that each one of us is “Saved by the Providence of
God.”
I.
THE REALM OF
C.
The root
word of “providence” is “____________________.”
1.
2.
In our study, we are going to look at God’s provisions for man’s
salvation.
3.
Unless God had provided a means for man to be saved, man would be
______________ and without _____________ in the hereafter (Rom. 3:23; Ezek.
18:20; Jer. 10:23; Isa. 53:6; Isa. 64:6; Rom. 7:24).
B.
The ways of viewing God’s providence.
1.
a.
Miracles are acts of God that conform to ____________ law, but that
suspend or supersede the ________ laws.
b.
Example:
The land promise made to Abraham.
1)
The promise (Gen. 13:14-15).
2)
3)
God brought
4.
a.
This is a very unique ability.
1)
No __________________ are performed.
2)
God works within the counsels and __________________ of man.
3)
God works within the talents and abilities of man.
4)
God works without interfering with man’s ____________-_____________
agency.
b.
Example:
The salvation of the Jews through Queen Esther (Esther 4:13-14)
II.
A GLIMPSE OF GOD’S
I.
The
greatest provision given to man by God with regard to salvation is found in His
Son Jesus Christ.
Let’s take a few minutes and look at the providence of God at work in
man’s salvation in the life of Jesus Christ.
J.
God was
made ______________________.
1.
To become
the perfect sacrifice, Jesus had to become a ______________.
2.
Two verses
(John 1:14; Heb. 10:5)
3.
This
provision of salvation was accomplished through a miraculous act, the ________
birth (Luke 1:26-35, esp. vs. 34-35).
K.
The
arrival of the Son of God had been predicted by the OT _______________ (John
5:39). It was
essential for Jesus to fulfill _________ that had been spoken of Him (Matt.
5:17-18). It is
interesting to see God’s providence at work in fulfilling the prophecies.
1.
Jesus’
birth
a.
It was prophesied that Jesus would be born in ____________________ (Mic.
5:2).
b.
Joseph and Mary, however, were residents of _____________________ in
c.
By decree of Caesar Augustus, all the world was to be taxed (Luke
2:1).
1)
Each one had to go to his city of ____________ to be taxed (Luke
2:3).
2)
This brought Joseph and Mary to
3.
Luke 2:6-7
2.
Jesus in
the
a.
Jesus, like
b.
The events that took Jesus to
1)
Herod had been mocked by the ______________ men at Jesus’ birth (Matt.
2:12-16).
2)
In his wrath, Herod decreed that all the ________________ from two years
old and under were to be slain in
c.
An angel warned Joseph of Herod’s evil intentions and sent him into
3.
Jesus’
bones were not ____________________ during the crucifixion.
a.
The types and shadows of the Old Testament were also predictive in
nature.
b.
One of the sacrifices of the Old Testament was the _________________
lamb. A
stipulation regarding the lamb was that no bone could be broken (Exo.
12:46).
c.
Jesus was the ante-type of the Paschal lamb (I Cor. 5:7).
d.
When Jesus was crucified not a bone was broken.
1)
Jesus was crucified Friday morning. At 6:00 p.m., the Jewish Sabbath would
begin.
3)
No one hanging of a cross was to remain there into the _________________
(Deut. 21:22-23).
4)
To hasten the death of those crucified, the Roman soldiers would break
the legs of the one crucified (John 19:31).
5)
They, however, did not have to break His legs for He was ___________
already (John 19:33, 36).
L.
The death
of Jesus
1.
The evil
desires of the Jewish leaders.
2.
The
betrayal of the Son of God by Judas.
3.
Pilate
knew that Jesus was innocent and still turned Jesus over to the Jewish mob.
4.
The
atrocities of the Roman soldiers.
5.
The means
of death, crucifixion.
6.
______________________ 2:9
CONCLUSION
A.
God has provided much in order to save the souls of men.
B.
God worked long and hard to secure man’s salvation. He paid the
______________
_____________ in sending His Son to die for us.
C.
Man should not _____________ these provisions. Instead, he should
avail himself of the grace (II Tim. 2:1) and the salvation (II Tim. 2:10) that
are in Christ Jesus.
He can do this by ______________ the gospel of Jesus Christ (Heb. 5:8-9;
Matt. 7:21; Gal. 3:26-27).