Topic presentation by: Rev. Hans Kalkman

Thank you to our breakfast volunteers: Laura de Haas, Heather de Haas, and Annette Muis

Introduction

We all probably know what it means to take something for granted. Most of the time it is not a good thing to do. But, just to make sure, what is taking something for granted?

1. To presume, or believe something to be true in the absence of proof.
2. Taking extraordinary blessings as normal things.

Do you think that it is possible to take your salvation for granted? You see for a lot of people this seems very easy to do; at least a lot of people seem to be doing it all the time. They say that they are saved, because they are good honest people (they say), or because they are baptized, or they go to church all the time, or they have Christian parents, or the minister in the church always calls them the “Lord's people.”

When we speak about our salvation, then we are speaking about being Saved, being born again.

What would you say, if I asked you, and I will ask you, “Do you believe that you will go to be with the Lord in heaven after you die?”

What would you say, if I asked you, “Are you saved?" or in another way, “Are you born again?"

Now it is of course very wrong to take such an important thing as your eternal salvation for granted. Just imagine taking for granted that you will just be okay after you die. How often do you think about eternity?

I want to look at a few men in the Bible who took their salvation for granted. The first one is the rich young man (Luke 18: 18), the second one is the rich fool (Luke 12: 13), the third one is the praying Pharisee in the temple, (Luke 18: 9) and the last one is Nicodemus (John 3). Can you think of 1 or 2 people in the Bible who did not take their salvation for granted?

• David (Psalm 51 & Psalm 139)
• Solomon in Eccl. 11: 9 and 12: 1
• Simeon in Luke 2: 25 - 35
• And then there were many at once in Acts 2: 39

Now what is the best antidote, the best medicine or cure for taking your Salvation for granted? It is to really know and believe three things. What three things do you think they are?

• Misery
• Redemption
• Thankfulness

We can also say the same thing with questions:

1. From what are we saved?
2. By Who are we saved?
3. For what are we saved?

The first question is, from what are we saved?

Are we saved from our sin? Yes (Matthew 1: 21). But we still commit sin.

Are we saved (set free) from the Devil? Yes. But he continues to attack (tempt) us.

Are we saved from the world? Yes (Hebrews 11: 13-16). We are "strangers in the world", but the world still attracts us.

Are we saved from our own old self, our sinful nature that lives in enmity with God? Yes (Romans 7: 13-25). But we still struggle with our sinful nature. We are supposed to be saved from all those things, so why are they still there? We are being saved.

When we are asked from what we are saved we have to know that first and foremost we are saved from God. We are saved from God's wrath (see Romans 1:18; Zephaniah 1: 14-18). God's wrath comes to full expression in hell. In the words of Jonathan Edwards, hell is a place of everlasting torment without any hope of relief (Isaiah 66: 24).

Now, just imagine that someone who is saved from all this takes it for granted. That is unbelievably ungrateful don’t you think? Even worse is it that we would take being saved for granted in the sense that we just assume that we are okay because we happen to be good reformed people, we live a lot better than unbelievers do and deep in our hearts we cannot believe that the Lord would throw us in hell. And so we live on without ever asking ourselves and examining ourselves if we really love the Lord.

What about our children? Are we going to take for granted that our children are saved? Yes they are in the Covenant with all the privileges, but so were Nicodemus and the rich young man.

What counted for Nicodemus counts for each one of us and our children: “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Are you born again? Do you love the Lord? More than yourself? Do you hate it when you sin? Can you not go to sleep before you know that your heavenly Father has forgiven your sins of the day? Or do you still think, “Oh I will be okay, I go to church, I don’t live like so many unbelievers do. Not everything in this world can be wrong. We need to have fun too. Sooner or later God and I will work things out together”?

Without being born again are still under God's wrath and the most stupid thing that you can do is to take for granted that it all will pan out in the end, and the most ungrateful thing you can do is take for granted that you are saved without showing any gratitude for it.

The second question is, “By Who are we saved?”

Now you may find this question easy to answer. Who saved us? Easy: our Lord Jesus Christ of course! Yes, but, this is actually exactly what I mean. It is so easy to take that for granted. We see all kinds of stickers, like “Jesus Saves”, “I love Jesus”, “Jesus is my co-pilot”. People say, “I have accepted Jesus into my life.” People speak about Jesus as if He is the good guy in the store on the corner.

Yes, Jesus is indeed so easily taken for granted. (Can you gave some examples of ways in which people speak about Jesus in a very casual, sloppy manner?)

But who is Jesus? Look up:

• Luke 1:31-33 (the angel Gabriel addressing Mary)
• Matthew 1: 20-23 (the angel addressing Joseph)
• Revelation 1:13-17 ("the First and the Last")
• Rev. 5:6 (a lamb, looking as though it had been slain)
• Rev. 6:15-17 ("Hide us from the wrath of... the Lamb")
• Rev. 19:11-16 ("A white horse, whose Rider is named Faithful and True... He will rule them with an iron scepter")

Jesus is God Almighty.

Jesus is the Son of God.

Jesus is the only begotten Son of God who became man. To save us, he humbled himself "unto death". He went from glory to death - then back to glory again.

Jesus is the Son of God who now sits at God's right hand.John knew Jesus when he was on earth. But when he saw the glorified Jesus, he fell as though dead at his feet.

Jesus is the Son of God who will return one day soon.

Let us never take Him for granted!

Now the last question: For what are we saved?

To be with Him forever John 14: 2-3. "I go to prepare a place for you." Why is he preparing a place? "That where I am, you may be also." He wants us to be with him. We will share in his glory.

How shall this be? I John 3: 1-3. "Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us..."

We shall be like Him I Corinthians 2: 9. We can't even imagine it.

Where shall we be? Rev. 21: 1-7, 22-27. "I will make all things new..."

What will we be doing? Rev. 22: 3. "His servants will serve him."

May God forbid that any one of us would ever make light of, undervalue, or take for granted such their salvation. "How shall we escape if we neglect [take for granted] such a great salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3).