Turn with me to Titus chapter
one. Our text will be the first part
of verse four, but let's begin reading in verse one. Call a servant of God and an
apostle of Jesus Christ according to the faith of God's elect and
the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness in hope
of eternal life which God that cannot lie promised before the
world began. But hath in due times manifested
his word through preaching which is committed unto me according
to the commandment of God our Savior to Titus, mine own son,
after the common faith. That's our subject matter. The
title of this message is The Common Faith. A common faith. That's what God's people share. They share a common faith. They don't share that faith with
the world. I want to start by making this
very, very clear. God's people do not share this
faith with the world. It's not common among every human
being in the world. Concerning salvation, this issue
of salvation, there are many different thoughts and opinions
and beliefs throughout the world. Many of them. But there is only
one thought. This is so. There is only one
belief. There is only one faith among
God's chosen people. Our brother just read for our
scripture reading Ephesians 4. Turn over there with me to Ephesians
4. Ephesians 4 verse 1 says, I therefore,
the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the
vocation wherewith you are called, with all lowliness and meekness,
with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring
to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Verse 4
says, there is one body and one spirit, even as you are called
in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who
is above all And through all and in you all. In you all. Does that mean every
soul on this earth? No, it means every soul in this
one body. Every soul in this one spirit,
God's one spirit called into this one hope of this one Lord
and one faith. Every chosen, redeemed, purposed
to salvation child of God shares this oneness. This common ground. Paul called it the common faith. The common faith. And he said
this common faith comes by this common message. Same message
that's preached to all of God's people. Look right here at verse
11. He gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists
and some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints,
that means the maturing of the saints, for the work of the ministry,
for the edifying of the body of Christ till we all come in
the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. unto a perfect man, that means
a mature man, mature woman, unto the measure of the stature of
the fullness of Christ. The unity of the faith, this
common faith that's among all of God's people, comes by way
of this one common message that is preached to all of God's people,
the message of Christ. The message of Christ, the knowledge
of Christ, Now, the scripture tells us that this faith is not
of ourselves, it's the gift of God. And the scripture calls this
particular faith the faith of Christ. It's not our faith. It's given to us to own it and
to possess it, but it's Christ's faith. It's his faith that he
puts in and he works in and he finishes in every single one
of his people to the point that when it comes
to this spiritual issue of salvation, all of God's people believe the
exact same thing. Turn with me, if you would, to
John chapter three. John chapter 3 verse 16 says, For God so loved the Jews. Is that what that says? God so loved Abraham and his
sons through the line of Isaac, not through Ishmael or his sons.
God loved the seed of Abraham through Isaac and then Jacob,
not Esau or any of his children. God loved Abraham, Isaac, Jacob
and his children ish. Namely, those through his son
Judah. The Jews, is that what that says? Is that what that says? No. For God so loved the world. Now, we are the world. All right? We are. That means
Gentiles. That's what it means. Gentiles. God so loved the Gentiles right
along with the Jews. For God's love was not confined
to this one little people. It was extended to the world. Not the entire world? That's
not saying that God loved the entire world, meaning every soul
on this earth. Hold your place right here in
John 3 and turn with me to John 17. Verse 1 says, These words spake
Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father,
the hour is come. Glorify thy son, that thy son
also may glorify thee. Verse 2 says, As thou hast given
him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given him. That's who the love of God was
extended to, as many as God the Father gave to Christ. Verse
six, he said, I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou
gavest me out of the world. Verse nine, he said, I pray for
them, I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast
given me, for they are thine. Revelation 5 verse 9 says, Thou
art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof, for
thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of
every kindred and tongue and people and nation. Out of. Not
every soul in every kindred, tongue, and people and nation,
but the souls God elected, the souls that God chose out of every
kindred, tongue, people, and nation. They're the ones who
will receive this common faith. Now, what is the common faith?
All right, what is it? Look back at John 3. Verse 16 says, For God so loved
the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. That's
the common faith. Whosoever believeth in him, whosoever
believeth in the Son of God, that's the common faith. And
I want to point out, this is a little side note, but I want
to point out that it's not whosoever believes in Jesus. I just really
want to make this clear. That's not it. That's not it
at all. Believing in Jesus is no There's no promise in that. There's
no assurance in that. I've been saying this for years
and the Lord willing, I will continue and. I'll try to expound
on it here in a second, but a lot of people are going to say I
literally have no idea what you're talking about and all I can say
is ask the Lord to reveal it to you. It's important. It's
important. This is not a splitting hairs
of names, it's it has something to do with the heart. And a lot
of people believe in Jesus. But what this is talking about
is whoever believes in the Son of God. I mean the Son of God. Now that's
the common faith. That's the common faith. Alright,
what does that mean? What does it mean to truly believe
in the Son of God? You know, in Acts chapter 8,
Philip preached to an Ethiopian eunuch. And that eunuch said,
after he preached Isaiah 53 to him, he said, what does hinder
me to be baptized? And Philip said, if you believe
with all your heart, you may. And that eunuch said, I believe
that Jesus Christ is the son of God. And Philip said, yeah, that's
the common faith. Come on. Now. What does this mean? What does that mean? What does
it mean to believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God? What exactly is this common faith? On this particular subject matter,
a fellow pastor used this example to explain it. And when I heard
this, I thought, I don't know if I've ever heard a more clear
definition. I don't know if I've ever seen
a clearer picture or a better example of what the common faith
that God's people share really is. I think this is outstanding. And I want to show it to you.
Turn with me to Luke 23. Luke 23, verse 33 says, and when they were come to the
place which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, our
Lord, and the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other
on the left, the two thieves. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive
them, for they know not what they do. Aren't you so thankful
that's written? Aren't you so glad he said that?
And they parted his raiment and cast lots, and the people stood
beholding, and the rulers also with them derided him, saying,
he saved others, let him save himself, if he be Christ, the
chosen of God. And the soldiers also mocked
him, coming to him and offering him vinegar, and saying, if thou
be the king of the Jews, save thyself. And a superscription
also was written over him in letters of Greek and Latin and
Hebrew, this is the king of the Jews. And one of the malefactors
which were hanged railed on him, saying, if thou be Christ, save
thyself and us. But the other answered him, answering,
rebuked him saying now what's about to come out of this other
thief's mouth which is evident in evidencing what was in this
other thief's heart. This is the common faith. All right, this is the common
belief that all of God's people share. Every child of God that
hears this will say amen. Every child of God will say amen.
Verse 40, but the other answering rebuked him saying, does not
thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? Here's
the first thing that all of God's people will believe together
in absolute oneness and unity. This man, Jesus Christ, is God. God. The common faith of God's
elect does not bring him down in his humanity and his humility. Let me say that again. The common
faith of God's elect does not bring him down. Now he brought
himself down for us, but we don't bring him down. We don't bring
him down in his humanity and in his humility. And I'll say
this is why I just want to encourage us to be very careful in referring
to him as just Jesus. I understand that's his name.
Call his name Jesus. And this word, I'm about to read
his name as Jesus. This is gonna speak of him on
the cross. This is gonna speak of him in his humility and his
humanity. But we need to be very careful
in referring to him as Jesus And I'm not a judge of any man's
heart or any woman's heart, but I just want to point out that
it's very difficult for us to not bring him down in our minds
and in our hearts when we refer to him that way. It's very difficult. I'm not saying it can't be done.
But when we only, it's to bring down a reverence. My father's
name is Marvin. I don't call him that. It is
his name. Many have referred to him, his
father referred to him by that name. But I thought about this,
I'd have to look it up, but I don't know if the heavenly father ever
referred to him by Jesus. This is my son. I could be wrong
on that, but it's difficult to not bring him down in our minds
and our hearts. Jesus is his name of humility
and humanity. It's the name that brought him
down to us where we are. And he did that of his own accord. He came down to live down among
us, to live down as us. But He doesn't live that way
anymore. He doesn't live that way anymore. He did that. He
accomplished that. But He does not live that way
anymore. He is now high and lifted up. High and lifted up. The fact
that He is the Son of God, it does not mean He is God's offspring. It means He is God's image. That's what it means. He is God's
image. He is the only begotten bodily
image of the Father. The only way you're ever going
to see the Father is by looking at Him, the Eternal One, the
Creator of all things. He is the only begotten bodily
image of the Father and the Spirit. If you've seen him, you've seen
the Father. All the fullness of the Godhead
dwells in that man, dwells in that body. So if we would never
dream of bringing down the Father in our minds and in our hearts,
lowering him from his highness, your highness, If we would never
dream of bringing down the Father, we should never dream of bringing
down the Son. In our minds and in our hearts,
they are one God. They are one God, and He is worthy. of his office. He's worthy of
his place. He's worthy of where he sits
and where he reigns and rules. Jesus Christ of Calvary is the
greatest, highest God that there is. Nothing and no one is higher
than him. In one common belief, all of
God's elect will say amen to that. They will. Luke 23 verse
40. It says, But the other answering
rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art
in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we
receive the due reward of our deeds. This is what every child
of God believes. I deserve to die in my sins. This is what every child of God
believes. God would be just in judging
me for my sin. He would be just and holy and
right. I deserve condemnation. I deserve
his wrath. All I've ever done in my life
is sin against him. and sin against everybody. All
I've ever done is sin against Him and sin against you and sin
against me. Sin against my own body, my own
flesh. That's all I've ever done. I'm an undeserving, unworthy
sinner. I'm telling you, all of God's
people will say this. Verse 40, the other answering
rebuked him saying, does not thou fear God? Seeing thou art
in the same condemnation, and we indeed justly, for we receive
the due reward of our deeds, but this man hath done nothing
amiss. Every child of God believes that
the God-man God manifest in the flesh, Jesus of Nazareth, the
Christ, the Messiah, is absolutely sinless. Perfectly spotless,
completely pure, altogether lovely. The Holy Lamb of God. The spotless Lamb of God, the
only acceptable sacrifice for sin, that there is. He's the
only acceptable sacrifice. Leviticus 22 says the sacrifice
that's offered to God for sin must be perfect to be accepted. There shall be no blemish therein. Well, that's Christ. That's Christ. It must be said,
I find no fault in Him. Every child of God will say,
that's Jesus Christ. Amen. He's the only one. He's
God, I'm a worm. He's holy, I'm sin. Verse 40. The other answering rebuked him,
saying, Does not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
And we indeed justly, for we receive the due rewards of our
deeds, but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto
Jesus, Jesus, do you see what I mean? That's
not what he said to him. He said, Lord, The name Lord means sovereign. That's what it means. When you
look up the definition, the translation of the word Lord, it means sovereign.
Every child of God will share the common belief that Jesus
Christ is the absolute sovereign over all things. All things. Lord means sovereign. Sovereign
means ruler, controller, the one who holds all the power. A true sovereign holds all the
power. The common faith of God's elect
believes that all power is in his hands. He does what he wants
with whom he wants. He reigns in the army of heaven
and among the inhabitants of men and none can stay his hand
or say unto him, what doest thou? His will is the only will that's
done. His work is the only work that
will stand. We're completely, totally at
His mercy. We're just beggars. We're beggars
of Him. That's what we are. We don't
make Him Lord. He already is Lord. We just go
begging to the Lord. Every child of God believes that.
He said, you call me Master and Lord, and you say, well, for
so I am. Lord, Lord, verse 40, the other
answering rebuked him, saying, does not thou fear God, seeing
thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we
receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man hath done
nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord,
remember me. Do this for me. Include me. Every child of God believes that
his or her only hope before the judgment of God is that Christ
had his affection set on him or her when he died on that cross
and laid in that tomb. And they don't assume on it.
They don't say, well, I know where I'm going. They say, oh,
Lord, remember me. Pass me not. Please remember me. Our only hope is that he included
us in that death. That's our only hope. It's that
he chose to include us. That when he accomplished redemption
for his people, he remembered us in that number. That's my
only hope. Verse 42, he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me
when thou comest into thy kingdom. Now, our Lord is hanging there,
dying. Very soon, our Lord was the first
one to die between the three of them. He's about to literally
watch Jesus Christ crucified. You know what that man believed?
You're going to rise again. Would you remember me when you
come into your kingdom? You will rise again. You're going
to conquer this. He believed Jesus Christ was
going to rise, ascend back to glory and sit down on his throne
as king of kings. The common faith of every child
of God is that not only is Jesus Christ the king seated on the
throne, not only is he the risen king, not only is Jesus Christ
the victorious king and the glorious king, but he's the good king. He's the kind and loving and
generous king who has chosen to include a sinful people like
us with him in his kingdom. to live forever with him in his
kingdom. Verse 40 says, the other answering
rebuked him, saying, does not thou fear God, seeing thou art
in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we
receive the due reward of our deeds. But this man hath done
nothing amiss, and he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when
thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily,
verily, verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in
paradise. That thief believed that he was
going to make it all the way to glory with Christ, by Christ. You say, how do you know that? Based on what's written right
here. How do you know that? How do
you know he believed that? There was no more comment from
him. That's the last you heard of him. That was enough. The Lord said it. That was enough. The common faith of every child
of God believes God's word. Every word that proceeds out
of the mouth of God. Every commandment. Every condemnation. Every comfort, every promise,
if God said it, if God has promised it, the common faith of God's
elect rests in it, believes it, rests in it. We don't question
it. You know what he didn't say?
But now hold on now, Lord. Now, but, but wait a minute.
Hold on. We don't question it. We believe it. We hope in it,
we trust in it, we rest in it. And I'll just leave you with
this, okay? This is it. But this is good. Go back to Titus 1. I'm done
in 30 seconds, I think, 45 seconds. Titus 1. This is so good. What does this,
what's the end result of this common faith that God gives to
all of his people? What does it do for us? What
is the end result? Verse four says to Titus, my
own son, after the common faith, I tell you what it does. It makes
us family. This common faith. Makes God's
people to be family. We are family. You say I don't
even know you that well. I know. We're blood. We're blood-connected family. It's true. It's true. It's the
love of family, the unity of brothers and sisters. Lord, give
us this faith. Lord, give us this faith. To
Him be all the glory. Amen.