Matthew 1:21

Matthew 1:21

I. Salvation from sin is the great necessity for man. This is a fact of universal observation. It is also a fact of universal consciousness. Men are so constituted that they cannot doubt that ultimate happiness is impossible unless they can be delivered from that which they know to be a great curse in this world, and which they also know will be their ultimate ruin, if persisted in.

II. Jesus has undertaken this work. "He shall save His people from their sins," therefore His name is Jesus, the name Jesus signifying a Saviour. The term salvation, as here used, means merely deliverance, or safety from some tremendous evil; it is often found in the Bible, and includes in it very generally, in addition to mere deliverance, the result of it eternal happiness and enjoyment in heaven with the people of God.

III. Why is it that so many persons fail of this salvation? (1) Many persons fail of it because they have not abandoned reliance on themselves. It is the most obvious thing in the world, that many persons are living, not to God, but to themselves. Now, wherever this principle is manifested it is certain that persons are not saved from sin; for what is sin but living to self and not to God? Self-seeking is the very essence of sin. (2) Multitudes are not saved because they seek forgiveness while they do not forsake their sins. Another reason why men are not saved from sin is that they have really come to regard justification in sin as a means to save them from it. Justification in sin is a thing impossible. A man must be in a state of obedience to the law of God before he can be justified. (3) Many make the mistake of cherishing hope rather than holiness; instead of working out their own salvation, they seek to cherish a hope that they shall be saved.

C. G. Finney, Penny Pulpit,No. 1566.

References: Matthew 1:21. Spurgeon, Sermons,vol. xxiv., No. 1434; Ibid., Morning by Morning,p. 39; Ibid., Evening by Evening,p. 39; Ibid., Homiletic Quarterly,vol. iv., p. 259; G. Brooks, Five Hundred Outlines,p. 9; Clergyman's Magazine,vol. i., p. 345; W. M. Taylor, Three Hundred Outlines of Sermons on the New Testament,p. 1; C. Kingsley, Sermons for the Times,p. 48; G. Huntington, Sermons for Holy Seasons,vol. ii., p. 45.Matthew 1:22; Matthew 1:23. H. P. Liddon, Christian World Pulpit,vol. xv., p. 1; Ibid., Expository Outlines of Sermons on the Old Testament,p. 1; Ibid., Three Hundred Outlines of Sermons on the New Testament,p. 2; J. C. Jones, Studies in St. Matthew,p. 1; J. Keble, Sermons for Christmas and Epiphany,p. 160.