Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them.
When the Bibles teaches us that God saves to the uttermost, it basically means that He will not leave any means untried to reach the human agent. God does not give up in despair as man often does nor is His patience worn thin in a hurry. Instead, the Bible teaches us that Jesus is long-suffering, kind, and He takes no pleasure in the death of any.
God engages us in different ways to try and reach us to save us, and He employs various agencies that are set in motion to try to bring man to a realization of our need of Him. Loving-kindness and mercy are His favorite methods of reaching us, but when these fail, He is driven to employ other means that we may respond to.
Then, when all else fails He would initiate extreme measures to save, some of which He much prefers not to use, but which often become necessary, on account of the hardness and stubbornness of our hearts. And finally, if it becomes impossible to save persons, He finally throws in the towel, and leaves us to the choices we have made.
This is what became of the tribe of Ephraim, after every method was employed, with blessings, and entreaties and disciplines. Yet for all this, Ephraim would not hear, but rather entrenched himself even further in the wrong course of action he insisted on pursuing. God tried to save the tribe in every way possible, but His gracious overtures were spurned time and time again. Let’s read:
Hosea 7:8 Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.
9 Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knows it not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knows it not.
10 And the pride of Israel testifies to his face: and they do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek him for all this.
11 Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart.
Then, when every possible method God can use had been thoroughly exhausted, the solemn declaration was made. This declaration is not made hastily, nor is it ever uttered spontaneously, on the spur of the moment. It is a culmination of years of resistance to God’s grace which results in the following. Let’s read:
Hosea 4:17 Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.
Even though some may not know it, the human agent can actually choose the methods God uses to reach him or her. If we respond to His overtures via His grace and loving-kindness, then he would not be moved to take it to the next level. In fact, God much prefers that folks respond in the positive, when He speaks kindly to us in our consciences.
This method is productive of the greatest good and sets the stage for an ongoing relationship with God that is not based on fear, but on that Parent/child model that Christ often referenced in His sermons. Several passages of scripture dwell on God’s love in His dealing with us, and it would be well if we didn’t take His kindness for granted. Let’s read:
Jeremiah 31:3 The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore, with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.
Romans 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
2nd Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long—suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
However, the same hand that is often outstretched in mercy is the same hand that would finally deal to the impenitent sinner, the full measure of justice, if every method God has employed in reaching us has failed. This sacred truth is embosomed in several passages of scripture, so that we may cultivate the correct balance between justice and mercy. Let’s read:
Romans 11:21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.
Exodus 34: 6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children unto the third and fourth generation.
Jude 1:21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
22 And of some have compassion, making a difference.
23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire.
Hebrews 10:26 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins,
27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries.
Now that we have a balanced view of the goodness and the justice of God let us examine with a humble heart, the ways in which God saves to the uttermost. The following therefore are three of the primary ways God employs in His efforts to save us. Remember, God does not leave any stone unturned and He exhausts every method in trying to save us from ourselves.
[1] God saves to the uttermost by speaking to us in the language of His love, kindness, grace, and mercy.
Psalms 103:2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.
3 Who forgives all thine iniquities; who heals all thy diseases;
4 Who redeems thy life from destruction; who crowns thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies;
5 Who satisfies thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
13 Like as a father pities his children, so the Lord pities them that fear him.
17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;
18 To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
That is not to say that God deals in any different currency with those who do not keep His laws, or who may rebel against Him. God is love, and His grace and tender mercies are extended to all men, whether they keep His commandments or not. The undergirding principle in all of God’s dealings with us is always love. Always!
Now, it is true that the laws of cause and effect may often trigger adverse consequences in persons, but that does not in any way take away from the basic fact that God is good to all peoples. Those who are believers today were not always Christians and thus it is God’s goodness that has brought us to where we are. Thus, the scriptures teach us that God tries to reach all persons with His love. Let’s read:
Romans 5:7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
8 But God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Psalms 68:18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them.
19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, even the God of our salvation.
Mark 2:16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eats and drinks with publicans and sinners?
17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Genesis 4:13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that
finds me shall slay me.
15 And the Lord said to him, Therefore, whosoever slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
Let no one say or conclude that God is not merciful and kind to those who do not fear Him, for here we have someone who God knows would never repent, and yet He grants Cain special protection, to the extent that if anybody dares to slay Cain, God would personally take vengeance on that person, not once but seven times over.
[2] God saves to the uttermost by dragging some persons to repentance, for with some folks, that’s the only method that works for them.
After exhausting methods of loving-kindness, grace and entreaty, and yet persons still will not respond, then God has to move to the next level in His efforts to save to the uttermost. A firefighter pleads with someone to leave a burning building, but for some reason or another that person refuses to respond. Then, in an act of desperation, the fire fighter leaps into the building and drags the person to safety.
Thus, it has been throughout sacred history, where in some cases, God had to drag some of us to safety because entreaty failed to accomplish the work of saving to the uttermost. After repeatedly rejecting God’s gracious overtures to him, Manasseh had to be dragged to repentance.
Years of grace and mercy had been spurned and the Lord had sent various prophets and different people to speak to Manasseh about the evils he had been indulging, yet for all this he would not hear, but dug himself deeper into the pit. But there was hope for Manasseh, because some persons only respond to dragging, even though God prefers not to employ this method. Let’s read:
2nd Chronicles 33:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem.
2 But did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.
3 For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served them.
4 Also he built altars in the house of the Lord, whereof the Lord had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be forever.
5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.
6 And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.
10 And the Lord spoke to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken.
11 Wherefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
12 And when he was in affliction, he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,
13 And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God.
God also had to drag Nebuchadnezzar after Daniel had shown him the error of his ways. If the king of Babylon had responded appropriately to the dream which God had given him, within the following year, then God would not have had to take His efforts up a notch, but like so many of us, the king of Babylon did not respond to lovingkindness, and the rest is history. Let’s read:
Daniel 4:19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spoke, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies.
20 The tree that you saw, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;
21 Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation:
22 It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reaches unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.
23 And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him;
24 This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most-High, which is come upon my lord the king:
25 That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High rules in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
27 Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquility.
28 All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.
29 At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon.
30 The king spoke, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?
31 While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.
32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High rules in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
33 The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws.
34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honored him that lives forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation.
35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
36 At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honor and brightness returned unto me; and my counselors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.
37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.
God also had to drag Lot and his wife in the process of trying to save them, but the sad truth is that even dragging doesn’t work with some folks, as was seen in the untimely demise of Lot’s wife. The angels of God had pleaded multiple times with Lot and his wife to leave the doomed city, but for reasons that we will discuss later they just wouldn’t leave.
Then when entreaty and pleading had signally failed the angels, like the firefighter we spoke of earlier, had to grab them and drag them to safety, lest they be destroyed in the coming destruction. And it was only because of that last act of desperation on the part of the angels, why Lot was saved. Let’s read:
Genesis 19:12 And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:
13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it.
15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
18 And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord.
[3] God saves to the uttermost by issuing a threat or an ultimatum.
With some persons, loving-kindness does not work, and as we have seen with Mrs. Lot, even dragging failed to accomplish God’s work of saving her to the uttermost. Thus, after these two former methods have been thoroughly exhausted, then God issues a decisive threat or an ultimatum, to shake persons out of their comfort zone, if haply through fear they might repent.
God often reserves this method of salvation for the very last, for it is not His ideal will that persons turn to Him because of a threat. Yet, for all His delay in issuing them, there are times when threats do work and if that’s the only language we understand, then God will finally have to use it in a last-ditch effort to save to the uttermost.
This is what took place with the men of Nineveh who were on the brink of closing their probation, because of sins and violence that were occurring in the city. God had spoken through His providence on numerous occasions previously, but entreaty and dragging did not work. Then in a final, desperate act to save them, God issued an ominous threat, and believe it or not, it worked. Let’s read:
Jonah 3:1 And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying,
2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.
3 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey.
4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet, forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
6 For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water.
8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.
9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
Matthew 12:41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
In our current generation, God has been using His loving-kindness for a very long time. Blessings have been bestowed, opportunities given, and grace for grace has been granted through His overtures. Yet, for all His goodness, it has not worked, for we have dug in even further by throwing God’s marriage institution out the window.
Persons cannot turn on the news anymore, without seeing those advertisements of gay and alternative lifestyles being showcased to the multitudes. And as if to poke their fingers in God’s eye, more and more corporations and businesses are employing brazen examples of what God has plainly proscribed in the men of Sodom.
Thus, evil is made to strengthen in the minds of the people, the young and restless are becoming more desensitized, the lines of distinction between good and evil are becoming increasingly blurred, and the devil continues to ramp up his indoctrination of the masses in rebellion against God, through the media television, and other agencies.
In response, God had no other choice but to take it up several notches by permitting disasters, diseases and pandemics to bring us to our knees. Economies of the world were severely shaken, and the fallout has yet to be fully assessed as millions of lives are being lost, and the bleeding continues. Yet for all of this, we seem not to be getting the message.
Finally, when everything else has failed, after every means has been utterly exhausted, God will issue a decisive threat to our generation, with the intent that sincere-hearted individuals will respond in the positive. As was demonstrated before, this is not His preferred method, but it is the only one which remains in His arsenal. Let’s read:
Revelation 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
11 And the smoke of their torment ascends up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receives the mark of his name.
12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
[The Great Controversy pp 449>450] The most fearful threatening ever addressed to mortals is contained in the third angel's message. That must be a terrible sin which calls down the wrath of God unmingled with mercy.
Men are not to be left in darkness concerning this important matter; the warning against this sin is to be given to the world before the visitation of God's judgments, that all may know why they are to be inflicted, and have opportunity to escape them.
The God of heaven much prefers that folks respond to His gracious overtures, rather than employ those methods of dragging and threats we read about in the examples given. Therefore, the appeal to us is quite simple: Let it not be said of us that God had to use dragging and threats to bring us to our knees.
Instead, when Christ comes knocking on the door of our hearts, let us open up readily to Him for He isn’t coming to condemn, but to save. In harmony with His gracious purposes to save us we implore each of us to observe the closing passages of scripture and be ready and willing to follow where God leads the way. Let’s read:
Hebrews 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 15 While it is said, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Revelation 22: 17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
God Bless!