In this episode of the International Gospel Hour, we delve into mankind’s greatest need: salvation through Christ. Jeff Archie takes us on a journey through scriptural insights, exploring the fundamental reasons why man requires salvation. From understanding sin’s impact to recognizing Jesus Christ as the ultimate source of redemption, this lesson is a poignant reminder of the enduring relevance of the Bible’s teachings.
Mankind has a lot of needs, but the greatest need is salvation in Christ. That’s our study today, just ahead on the International Gospel Hour. Please stay with us.
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Hi, this is Jay Webb for International Gospel Hour. Welcome to our broadcast today. For over 90 years, Churches of Christ have proclaimed God’s Word through our broadcasts. Just ahead is another Bible-based lesson with Jeff Archie of International Gospel Hour. Let’s begin.
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Bound for the promised land.
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Well, thank you to our J-Web for his kind words. And greetings and hello, everyone. Always good having you with us for our studies today. You know, in Psalm 100, verse 5, the Bible says, For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. how thankful we are for God’s mercy and truth. For man needs salvation, and through God, every generation can have that need filled. When you think about it, think about man’s need of salvation. Well, man needs salvation because of sin. From Genesis chapter 3, when sin entered into the world, and we think of Romans 3 and verse 23, how the wages of sin is death. But the free gift of eternal life is through Jesus Christ. Actually, that’s Romans 6 and verse 23. Romans 3, 23, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Therefore, that’s why we need Jesus Christ. 1 John 1 and verse 10 reminds us that if we deny we have sin, we make Him a liar and His truth is not in us. Sin that separated Israel from God in Isaiah 59 and verse 2. We think of Ezekiel 18 and verse 20 and how sin does come between God and man. And how in Galatians 6, 7, and 8 we can sow sin and reap sin. We sow to the Spirit, we reap of the Spirit. But if we sow to the flesh, we reap of the flesh. By all the scriptures that see what sin does to man and why man indeed needs salvation. I want you to consider also that man needs salvation because he is a man. He’s not an animal. Friends, no animal needs salvation. And second, man is physical and spiritual. We note that from Genesis 35 and verse 18. Second Corinthians 4 and verse 16. The outward man perishes, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. And how the spirit will return unto God who gave it when one dies. Ecclesiastes 12, 7. And you know there’s a part of man that cannot be satisfied with bread alone, Matthew 4 and verse 4. And when we think about the parable of the rich farmer, how foolish he was in making the mistake of thinking that his soul could live on material things, Luke 12, 15 through 21. You see, man needs salvation from God. Consider with me a third reason why man needs salvation. The history of the world is but a history of man’s need of salvation. Why take back to Genesis 3 the downfall of man, of Adam and Eve, how they were sent forth from the garden, and how man would need salvation, and how the promise of salvation was through Christ, as stated in the seed promise there in Genesis chapter 3. How about the separation of a race, or Abraham’s descendants? Well, consider Galatians 3, 16-19. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He does not say, and to seeds, as of many, but as of one, and to your seed, who is Christ. And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise, but God gave it to Abraham by promise. What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made. And it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. Well, that seed, as we note back in verse 16, is Christ. And so we see that through the promise of Abraham, man needed salvation. when we go back to the Old Testament of how animal sacrifices testified to that need, a remembrance of sins year by year as the Hebrew writer described in Hebrews 10, 1-4. Even the birth of Christ, the beauty of that birth, Matthew 1, verse 21, shall call His name Emmanuel and to be interpreted that He is God with us. but how He would also save man from his sins. When Christ died on the cross, we note that His death is burial in resurrection. That’s the wonderful gospel message that we proclaim, 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 3. And we note that he was delivered up because of our offenses and was raised because of our justification, Romans 4 and verse 25. Friends, we simply have taken a very quick view of the need of the salvation of man as we’ve looked throughout the Bible. I would also add another one here. What about Stephen’s lesson in Acts the 7th chapter? As he stood before that council and he declared unto them all the things that they knew from the Old Testament and how it would come to Christ, the very one that he was proclaiming. It lost Stephen’s life. It cost him, rather, his life. But yet the truth stands forth that redeems mankind. So we do see man needs salvation. You know, man also needs salvation because, well, let’s face it, folks, man needs help now. He needs guidance. You know, in Jeremiah 10 and verse 23, it is stated that it is not unto man who walks to direct his steps. So many times we deceive ourselves thinking that we have to straighten everything out when we should humble ourselves unto God and make the decision to allow Him to help us straighten out our lives. I’ve had individuals tell me that I need to address this and address this first. Well, you got yourself into that mess, and if you turned unto God, He will help you get out of that mess. Man needs happiness, true happiness, that is true obedience unto Christ. As the psalmist declared in Psalm 144, verse 15, And in Acts 8 and verse 39, when the eunuch, when he came up out of that water from baptism, the Bible says how he went on his way rejoicing. We think about the example of Christ before us in 1 Peter 2 and verse 21, that we should follow in his steps and what he has left for us. There is a story about Hawthorns, or the story called The Great Stone Face. And on the side of the mountain there was a clear-cut face, and it was said that someday a man resembling the stone face would come to the village. He would be the people’s greatest friend. And a boy studied the face of every stranger to see if he might be the one. Well, the years passed, and the boy held the hope that some day the man with the stone face would come. As the thought lingered in the boy’s mind, he was led to idealize the character of the man who should come. He would be lofty in thoughts, strong in faith, gentle in manners, pure in character, and brave in convictions. And the years continued to go by. His hair whitened, and his face took on more and more the expressions of his idea. Then the people came to realize that he was the benefactor and counselor of them all, the very image of the stone face. What an interesting, interesting story. Well, friends, when we think about it, we are to become like the one that we should obey, and that is Christ. Man needs help now. In Romans 12 and verse 2, Be not conformed to this world… but be transformed by the renewing of our minds, that you may prove that it is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. As this young boy thought more about that and continued to age of the great stone face, he became more like that. And the teaching there is we become more like God when we follow after Him. I don’t know that I’d call that the greatest illustration in the world, but I hope it brings us to think further that we look and we respond of how we think and renew our minds in the image of God. How about man needs salvation because as a rational being, he must account himself to God. This we learn from such text as 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 10, Romans 2 and verse 6. We also think about Matthew 25, 32. how man should prepare himself to meet God as exhorted in the long ago in Amos 4 and verse 12. And man needs salvation because he must spend eternity somewhere. It’s going to be in either heaven, a place prepared for us, John 14, 1-4, or Revelation 21, or it will be in hell, where death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire, that being the second death. And anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20, 14 and 15. Man has a need of salvation. And friends, today we want to help you in your salvation. I’m going to pause now for our J-Web with our offer that we place each broadcast, our Bible study offer. Here is our J-Web with those details.
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An additional Bible study by mail is now available from International Gospel Hour. It’s titled, God and Man, How to be Saved from Sin. This study booklet addresses a number of questions about the salvation from God to man. And friends, like all materials, it’s free. Call us toll free at 855-444-6988 and leave your name, address, and just say, God and Man. Or you can go to our website at internationalgospelhour.com, click on the Contact tab, and leave us the same information, name, address, and type God and man in the message box. Another Bible study that is free from IGH. And our friends at godandman.com. That’s god-and-man.com. And, you know, since you can’t see it, let me just spell that out for you. G-O-D-A-N-D-M-A-N.com We’d love to hear from you.
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And friends, we want to send the God and Man study to you right away, so let us hear from you. Thank you, Jay. And based upon the lesson, Man’s Need of Salvation, that is our study today from a wonderful faithful servant of days gone by, Brother Leroy Brownlow. a man that lived on this earth and passed in 2002, how thankful we are for his good work and how we can share it today. We’ll continue our studies together at another time, and thank you for joining me today on the International Gospel Hour broadcast. I’m Jeff Archie, and friends, as always, keep listening.
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God be with you till we meet again.
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Thank you for listening to our broadcast today, and we hope you continue onward with your search and study of God’s Word. Please join us next time and visit our website at internationalgospelhour.com God be with you till we meet again.
