YOUR OWN SALVATION – Charles Spurgeon
YOUR OWN SALVATION
“Your own Salvation.” Philippians 2:12
Introduction: The Importance of Salvation
We select the words, “your own Salvation,” as our text this morning, not out of any desire for singularity, or to surprise you with the brevity of the text, but because this subject will be made clearer if we focus solely on these three words. Had I taken the entire verse, I could not have expounded it without diverting your attention from the central topic that weighs heavily upon my heart today. Oh, may the Divine Spirit bring home to each one of you the unspeakable importance of “your own Salvation!”
It has been said by some hearers that they come to listen to a sermon on topics in which they have no interest. You will not be able to make this complaint today, for we shall speak only of “your own Salvation,” and nothing could concern you more. It has also been said that preachers often select unpractical themes, but no such objection can be raised today, for nothing is more practical than urging you to consider “your own Salvation.” Ministers have sometimes been criticized for delighting in difficult, paradoxical doctrines, but today, I promise you no such complications. We will keep to plain sailing, addressing a very homely and simple topic, but one that is weightier than any other—“your own Salvation.”
I ask you all, as reasonable men and women who would not harm or neglect yourselves, to give me your most serious attention. Chase away the distractions of the world, and let each one of you focus on this one matter—“your own Salvation.” May the Spirit of God set each of you apart in a mental solitude, compelling you to face the truth of God about your own state—your own soul’s condition!
I. The Matter Under Consideration: Salvation
Salvation! A great word, often misunderstood, often narrowed, and sometimes its very essence overlooked. Salvation! This concerns every single person here. We all fell in our first parent; we have all personally sinned, and we shall all perish unless we find Salvation.
The word Salvation encompasses deliverance from the guilt of past sins. Each of us has broken God’s law, some more flagrantly than others; we have all wandered down the wrong path, though each in our own way. Salvation brings to us the blotting out of transgressions, acquittal from criminality, and purging from all guilt, so that we may stand accepted before the great Judge. What person, in their right mind, will deny that forgiveness is an incredibly precious blessing?
But Salvation means more than that—it includes deliverance from the power of sin. Naturally, we are all drawn to evil, and we pursue it eagerly. We are slaves to iniquity, and we love our bondage. This, the power of sin, is the worst aspect of the situation. But when Salvation comes, it frees us from sin’s grip. We begin to see sin for what it truly is: something to be loathed. We turn our backs on it, and, through the power of God’s Spirit, we rise to the liberty of the children of God!
Alas, many do not care for this aspect of Salvation. They love their sins and find joy in following their own corrupt hearts. But hear me well: this liberation from bad habits, from unholy desires, from carnal passions, is at the heart of Salvation. Without it, Salvation in any other form is not and cannot be fully enjoyed.
Dear hearer, do you possess this Salvation from sin? Have you escaped the corruption in this world through lust? If not, what do you have to do with Salvation? To anyone of sound mind, deliverance from evil desires and principles is regarded as the greatest blessing. What do you think of it?
Salvation from the Wrath of God
Salvation also includes deliverance from the present wrath of God, which hangs over the unsaved person every moment of their life. Every unforgiven person is the object of God’s wrath. “God is angry with the wicked every day; if they turn not, He will whet His sword.” “He who believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
I often hear it said that this life is a state of probation, but this is a grave misunderstanding. Our probation passed long ago. Sinners have been tried and found wanting; they have been “weighed in the balances, and found wanting.” If you have not believed in Jesus, condemnation already rests upon you. Your reprieve is temporary, but your condemnation is recorded. Salvation brings you from under this cloud of divine wrath, revealing to you God’s love. When you receive Salvation, you can then say, “O God, I will praise You; though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.”
It is not just the fear of Hell in the afterlife that should concern you; it is the wrath of God that rests upon you right now. To be unreconciled to God, to be under His wrath at this very moment, is a terrifying reality. Even though His arrow may not yet have been released, it is aimed directly at you. This should make you tremble in fear to learn that you are the target of Jehovah’s wrath. “He has bent His bow, and made it ready.” Every soul unreconciled to God by the blood of Jesus is in the gall of bitterness. Salvation frees us from this state of danger and alienation, transforming us from “children of wrath” into “children of God.”
Salvation from the Future Wrath of God
Finally, Salvation delivers us from the future wrath of God. This is what many people ignorantly ignore or diminish. To die without Salvation is to face damnation. When death finds us, God’s judgment will locate us, and it will be unyielding and eternal. Salvation delivers the soul from Hell, from the eternal punishment that will descend upon those who die in their sins. Through justification, we are no longer liable for punishment because we are no longer charged with guilt. Christ bore the wrath of God on our behalf, so we need never experience it.
What a magnificent word “Salvation” is! It is a deliverance from the guilt, power, curse, punishment, and even the memory of sin. Salvation is the death of sin, its burial, and its annihilation! As God declares, “Their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”
II. Whose Matter Is It?
Now that we’ve seen what Salvation is, let us consider whose matter it is. “Your own Salvation.” At this very hour, nothing else should occupy your thoughts but this intensely personal matter. I ask the Holy Spirit to hold your minds captive to this one point. If you are saved, it will be “your own Salvation,” and you will enjoy it. If you are not saved, the sin you commit is your own sin; the guilt you bear is your own guilt. The condemnation under which you live, whether it causes you disquiet or hardens you in neglect, is your own—yours alone.
You may share in the sins of others, and others may share in yours, but the burden lies squarely on your own shoulders, and no one else can bear it for you. There is a page in God’s book where your sins are recorded, and only you can account for them. You must obtain forgiveness for these sins personally or face eternal ruin. No one can be washed in Christ’s blood on your behalf; no one can believe and let their faith stand for your faith. The very concept of human sponsorship in salvation is absurd!
Personal Responsibility in Salvation
You must personally repent, personally believe, and personally be washed in the blood of Christ. Salvation is personal—it must be “your own Salvation,” or it will result in your own eternal damnation. Reflect on this: you must die, and no one can die for you. You must pass through that iron gate alone, and in that moment, you will either find comfort or despair.
When death passes, Salvation will still be “your own Salvation.” It is not a collective matter; each one must face it individually. If you are saved, you will behold God in His glory, with your own eyes, and your own soul will rejoice in Him. But if you are lost, there will be no one else to bear your guilt. You will stand before God alone, and you will bear your own punishment.
The Urgency of Salvation
It is easy to forget about your own Salvation, especially when distracted by the concerns of others. We tend to look around and forget to examine ourselves. I urge you today to reverse this process—begin at home, and see to “your own Salvation.” Perhaps you live among Christians, and you’ve been tempted to focus on their shortcomings. But, I ask, should it not be your business to see to “your own Salvation”? If you live among the saints, make sure that you are truly one of them—written not just in a church book but engraved upon the hands of Christ Himself.
Conclusion: The Call to Action
If you live among ungodly men, the influence may lead you to trivialize your Salvation. Do not let it be so! Say, “O God, though I am among these people, do not gather my soul with sinners. Save me from their transgressions.”
Perhaps you’ve lost loved ones recently, or you’ve heard of others who lived in sin and died in blasphemy. Take this as a warning! The Savior says, “Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish.”
Everything in Heaven, on earth, and in Hell, calls upon you to seek “your own Salvation.” Nothing is more important than this. Take care of your body and health, but remember, what does it matter to have a healthy body if your soul is perishing? Seek Salvation above all else!
May we each realize the unutterable value of Salvation and seek it until we possess it in its fullness.
See to “your own Salvation,” you wise men in the letter, who have not the Spirit. Likewise, there are those who are always given to curious speculations and need to be reminded. When they read the Bible, it is not to find whether they are saved or not, but to discover whether we are under the third or fourth vial, when the millennium is coming, or what the Battle of Armageddon means. Ah, Sir, search out all these things if you have time and skill, but see to your own Salvation first! The book of Revelation—blessed is he who understands it, but not unless, first and foremost, he understands this: “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved.” The greatest scholar in the symbols and mysteries of the Apocalypse will be as surely cast away as the most ignorant, unless he has come to Christ and rested his soul on the Atoning Work of our great Substitute.
I know some who greatly need to look to their own Salvation. I refer to those who are always criticizing others. They can hardly attend a service without observing their neighbor’s dress or conduct. No one is safe from their remarks—they are keen judges and make shrewd observations. You fault-finders and talebearers, look to “your own Salvation!” You condemned a minister the other day for a supposed fault, yet he is a dear servant of God who lives near his Master. Who are you, Sir, to use your tongue against such a one as he? The other day, a humble Christian was the object of your gossip and slander, to the wounding of her heart. Oh, see to yourself! If those eyes, which look outward so piercingly, would sometimes look inward, they might see a sight that would blind them with horror! Blessed horror, if it led them to turn to the Savior, who would open their eyes afresh, and grant them to see His Salvation!
The Need to Look to Your Own Salvation
I might also address those who have espoused certain great public causes. I trust I am as ardent a Protestant as any man, but I know many who are red-hot Protestants, yet little better than Romanists. Although the Romanists of old might have burned them, they would certainly withhold toleration from Romanists today if they could, and therein I see no difference between the two bigots. zealous Protestants, I agree with you, but I warn you that your zeal in this matter will not save you, nor will it stand in the place of personal godliness. Many an orthodox Protestant will be found at the left hand of the Great Judge. You, who are forever agitating public matters, I would say to you, “Leave politics alone until your own inward politics are settled on a good foundation.” You are a Radical Reformer! You could show us a system of political economy that would right all our wrongs and give every man his due. But I pray you, right your own wrongs first, reform yourself, yield yourself to the Love of Jesus Christ, or what will it mean to you, though you know how to balance the affairs of nations and regulate the arrangement of society, if you yourself shall be blown away like chaff before the winnowing fan of the Lord?
God grant us grace, then, whatever else we take up with, to keep it in its proper place and make our “calling and election sure.”
Answering Objections to Salvation
Now, thirdly, and oh, for grace to speak aright, I will try to answer certain objections. I think I hear somebody say, “Well, don’t you believe in Predestination? What have we to do with looking to our own Salvation? Isn’t it all fixed?” You fool! I can scarcely answer you until I have given you your right title! Was it not fixed whether you should get wet or not in coming to this place? Why, then, did you bring your umbrella? Is it not fixed whether you shall be nourished with food today or shall go hungry? Why, then, will you go home and eat your dinner? Is it not fixed whether you shall live or not tomorrow? Will you, therefore, cut your throat? No, you do not reason so wickedly, so foolishly, in reference to anything but “your own Salvation!” And you know it is not reasoning, it is just mere talk. Here is all the answer I will give you, and all you deserve.
Another person says, “I have a difficulty about this looking to our own Salvation. Do you not believe in full Assurance? Are there not some who know that they are saved beyond all doubt?” Yes, blessed be God, I hope there are many such present! But let me tell you who these are not! These are not persons who are afraid to examine themselves. If I meet a man who says, “I have no need to examine myself; I know I am saved, and therefore have no need to take any further care,” I would venture to say to him, “Sir, you are lost already! This strong delusion of yours has led you to believe a lie.” There are none so cautious as those who possess full assurance. They are the ones who have the most holy fear of sinning against God and who walk tenderly and carefully. Presumption is not Assurance, though many think so. No fully assured believer will ever object to being reminded of the importance of his own Salvation.
A third objection arises: “This is very selfish,” says one. “You have been exhorting us to look to ourselves, and that is sheer selfishness.” Yes, so you say, but let me tell you it is a kind of selfishness that is absolutely necessary before you can be unselfish! A part of Salvation is to be delivered from selfishness, and I am selfish enough to desire to be delivered from selfishness. How can you be of any service to others if you are not saved yourself? A man is drowning; I am on London Bridge. If I spring from the parapet and can swim, I can save him. But suppose I cannot swim—can I render any service by leaping into sudden and certain death with the sinking man? I am disqualified from helping him until I have the ability to do so. There is a school over yonder; the first inquiry of the teacher must be, “Do I know myself, that which I profess to teach?” Do you call that inquiry selfish? Surely, it is a most unselfish selfishness, grounded upon common sense! Indeed, the man who is not selfish enough to ask, “Am I qualified to act as a teacher?” would be guilty of gross selfishness in putting himself into an office which he was not qualified to fill!
I will suppose an illiterate person going into the school and saying, “I will be the master here, and take the pay,” and yet he cannot teach the children to read or write. Would he not be very selfish in not seeing to his own fitness? But surely it is not selfishness that would make a man stand back and say, “No, I must first go to school myself; otherwise, it is but a mockery of the children for me to attempt to teach them anything.” This is not selfishness, then, when looked at aright, which makes us see to our own Salvation, for it is the basis from which we operate for the good of others.
Assistance for Those Seeking Salvation
Having answered these objections, I will for a moment attempt to render some assistance to those who would gladly be right in the best things. Has the Holy Spirit been pleased to make anyone here earnest about his own Salvation? Friend, I will help you to answer two questions. Ask yourself first, “Am I saved?” I would help you to reply to that very quickly. If you are saved this morning, you are the subject of a work within you, as the text says, “Work out your own Salvation, for it is God which works in you.” You cannot work it in, but when God works it in you, work it out! Have you a work of the Holy Spirit in your soul? Do you feel something more than unaided human nature can attain to? Have you a change worked in you from above? If so, you are saved!
Again, does your Salvation rest wholly upon Christ? He who hangs anywhere but upon the Cross hangs upon something that will deceive him. If you stand upon Christ, you are on a rock; but if you trust in the merits of Christ in part and your own merits in part, then you have one foot on a rock but another on the quicksand! And you might as well have both feet on the quicksand—for the result will be the same. “None but Jesus, none but Jesus can do helpless sinners good!”
You are not saved unless Christ is all in all in your soul—Alpha and Omega, beginning and ending, first and last. Judge by this again—if you are saved, you have turned your back on sin; you have not left off sinning—would to God we could do so—but you have left off loving sin. You sin not willfully, but from infirmity, and you are earnestly seeking after God and Holiness. You have respect to God, you desire to be like Him, and you are longing to be with Him. Your face is towards Heaven. You are like a man journeying toward the Equator, feeling more and more the warm influence of heavenly heat and light. If such is your course of life, that you walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit, and bring forth the fruits of Holiness, then you are saved!
May your answer to that question be given in great honesty and candor to your soul; be not too partial a judge; conclude not that all is right because outward appearances are fair. Deliberate before you return a favorable verdict; judge yourselves that you be not judged. It would be better to condemn yourself and be accepted by God than to acquit yourself and find your mistake at the last.
But suppose that question must be answered by any here in the negative (and I am afraid it must be). Then let those who confess that they are not saved hear the answer to another inquiry—“How can I be saved?”
The Simplicity of Salvation
Ah, dear hearer, I have not to bring a huge volume or a whole armful of books to you. The way is plain, the method simple! You shall be saved in the next moment if you believe! God’s work of Salvation is, as far as its commencement and essence is concerned, instantaneous! If you believe “that Jesus is the Christ,” you are born of God now! If you stand in spirit at the foot of the Cross, view the Incarnate God suffering, bleeding, and dying there, and if as you look at Him, your soul consents to have Him as your Savior, casting yourself wholly on Him—you are saved!
How vividly there comes before my memory this morning the moment when I first believed in Jesus! It was the simplest act my mind ever performed, and yet the most wonderful—for the Holy Spirit worked it in me! It was, by His grace, simply to have done with reliance upon myself; to have done with confidence in all but Jesus, and to rest alone my undivided confidence in Him and in what He had done. My sin was forgiven in that moment, and I was saved!
May it be so with you, my friends, if you also trust the Lord Jesus! “Your own Salvation” shall be secured by that one simple act of faith, and from now on, kept by the power of God through faith unto Salvation, you shall walk the path of Holiness until you are with Jesus in everlasting bliss!
Conclusion: The Urgency of Salvation
I urge each person here to see to this matter of his own Salvation. Do it earnestly, for no one can do it for you. I have asked God for your soul, my hearer, and I pray I may have an answer of peace concerning you. But unless you also pray, vain are my prayers.
You remember your mother’s tears? You have crossed the ocean since those days and gone into the deeps of sin! But you remember when you used to pray at her knee, and she would lovingly say “Amen,” kiss her boy, and bless him, praying that he might know his mother’s God. Those prayers are ringing in the ears of God for you, but it is impossible that you can ever be saved unless it is said of you, “Behold, he prays!”
Your mother’s holiness will rise up in judgment to condemn your willful wickedness unless you imitate it. Your father’s earnest exhortations will but confirm the just sentence of the Judge unless you hearken to them, and yourselves consider and put your trust in Jesus.
I charge you before the living God, see to your own Salvation! This is the one fight in your life, and if it is lost, it is lost forever! God help you to seek Him until you know, by the witness of the Spirit, that you have indeed passed from death unto life.
NOW! NOW! NOW!
This very day, the voice of warning comes to some of you with special emphasis because you need it greatly—for your time is short. How many have passed into Eternity this week? You may yourself be gone before next Sunday. Your life is a single fight, and if it is lost, it is lost forever. See to it now. Prepare to meet your God.
Portion of Scripture Read Before Sermon—Hebrews 10:23-39.