Thank you. Good morning. Happy New Year.
Let's all stand together. We'll sing hymn number 296. 296. All the way my Savior leads me,
what have I to ask beside? Can I doubt His tender mercy,
who through life has been my guide? Heavenly peace, divinest
comfort, ? Here my faith in Him to dwell ? For I know what e'er
befall me ? Jesus, through with all things well ? For I know
what e'er befall me ? Jesus, through with all things well
? All the way my Savior leads me ? ? Cheers each winding path
I tread ? ? Gives me grace for every trial ? ? Feeds me with
the living bread ? ? Though my weary steps may falter ? ? And
my soul ? Gushing from the rock before
me ? Oh, a spring of joy I see ? Gushing from the rock before
me ? Oh, a spring of joy I see ? All the way my Savior leads
me ? Though the fullness of His blood ? Perfect rest to me is
promised ? In my Father's house above ? When my spirit, cold,
immortal ? Wings its flight to realms of death Be seated. We'll sing hymn number 511. 511. You. Face to face with Christ my Savior
Face to face what will it be When with rapture I behold Him
Jesus Christ who died for me Face to face I shall behold Him
Far beyond the starry sky Face to face in all His glory I shall
seek Him Only faintly now I see Him In
the darkling veil between But a blessed day is coming When
this glory shall be seen Face to face I shall behold Him,
far beyond the starry sky. I shall see Him by and by What
rejoicing in His presence When our banished grief and pain When
the crooked ways are straightened, And the dark things shall be
plain, Face to face I shall behold Him, Far beyond the starry sky. Face to face in all His glory,
I shall see Him by and by. Face to face, O blissful moment,
Face to face to see and know Face to face with my Redeemer
Jesus Christ who loves me so Face to face I shall behold Him
Far beyond the starry sky Face to face in all His glory I shall
see Him by and by If you have your Bibles with
you this morning, if you would, open up with me to the book of
Psalms. I'd like to read Psalm 100. Psalm
100. Psalm 100, make a joyful noise
unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before his presence with
singing. Know ye that the Lord, he God,
he hath made us and not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep
of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,
and into his courts with praise. Be thankful unto him, and bless
his name. For the Lord is good, his mercy
everlasting, and his truth endureth to all generations. Let's have
a word of prayer. Our most high and heavenly precious
Father, Lord God Almighty, We bow before you once more this
morning. We want to bow before you in
thanksgiving. We want to praise your holy name. Lord, we're so thankful for such
a blessed gospel, for such a salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ. Free, pure, rich, and unboundless. for each of your sheep. Lord, we thank you for this new
year, this new day in this new year. Lord, as we sung praises to your
name just moments ago, all the way you have led us and all the
way you will lead us till we get to meet you face to face. I pray that you would continue
to keep us, lead us, and guide us this year. It's my hope and prayer, Lord,
that you will cause the gospel to be proclaimed here, as well
in all of the buildings where your saints gather. Have your word to be preached
freely and boldly. Lord, have mercy on your people,
wherever they may be. We ask for the sick among us,
those who are not with us. Lord, be our strength
and our stay. Be our all in all. Let us not look to this world
for what we think we might need. Lord, we know that all of our
need, all of our supplication is in thee. Lord, let us not
forget. I ask that you would cause us
to grow in faith, give us grace, cause our love to grow for one
another and for our Savior, that you would teach us your way and
keep us from this world. Lord, we ask that you would meet
with us this morning, be with our brother as he stands before
us, and give him the words to speak freely to us. Lord, we ask for blessings through
him, Lord, and that you would bless him. We pray that thy will be done,
Lord, for Christ's sake, to your honor and to thy glory. We ask
these things in his name, amen. Hymn number 355 in our hymnals.
355. From every stormy wind that blows, from every swell There is a calm, a sure retreat, Dispound
beneath the mercy light. There is a place where Jesus
sheds the oil of gladness on earth. ? Besides poor sweet ? ? It is
the blood ? ? But mercy's seed ? ? There is a scene ? By faith they meet Around one
common birth ? Mercy seen ? ? All men are goodly ? ? Flee for
aid ? ? In tempted desolate despair ? O'er the hills of Meldefeuil
and suffering St. Snowbird. A bear on eagle wings, he soared,
and sinned, and sinned small as a moor. And then comes down
our souls to greet While glory crowns the mercy seat. We'll all stand together and
sing the hymn of the day in the bulletin. Father, we, thy children, bless
thee, for thy love to us bestow. As our father, we address thee,
called to be the sons of God. Jesus bore our sins to die, wondrous
was His grace in leaving for our sakes His home on high. Now the sprinkled blood has freed
us, ? On we go toward our rest ? ? Through the desert, thou
dost lead us ? ? With thy constant favor blest ? ? By thy truth
and spirit guiding ? ? Earnest ye of joys to come ? And with
daily food providing, help us lead thy children home. Though our pilgrimage be dreary,
this is not Be seated. We're pleased, honored,
blessed to have Brother Aaron Greenleaf with us once again. It's been a pleasure to have
you. I feel like we've had you more
in the last few months than we have in the last few years. And
I'm glad for it. It's good to get to see you and
hear you proclaim the gospel as you come and bring us what
you have prepared. Hit the red button on your bed.
Yes, sir. Morning, everybody. It's good
to see you all again. If you'd like, turn over to 2
Peter, chapter 1. 2 Peter 1. As always, bring with
me all the well wishes, good thoughts from everybody in Lexington.
Everybody told me to tell you hi, so it'd be good to my word,
tell you all hi from them. Hope everybody enjoyed their
holidays, Christmas. Today is January 1, 2023. This
is New Year's Day. Start of a brand new year. This
is a time where everybody makes New Year's resolutions, right?
I was talking to my wife about this the other day. I don't know
that I've never made a New Year's resolution. I don't know that
I've ever actually done it, and it's probably for a good reason.
I know myself just enough to know that I wouldn't keep it anyways,
so it's just better off that way. But many of you may, you
may have some New Year's resolutions. New year, clean slate, we're
gonna do something new, we're gonna get in the gym more, save
some more money, spend more time with family, whatever it may
be, those are all good things. This is the scripture I thought
of though. What is to be sought? Diligently, what goal should
be pursued? Look down at verse 10, 2 Peter
chapter one. Peter says, wherefore the rather,
the first, brethren, give diligence, make this your aim, put your
heart into this, to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you
shall never fall, for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you
abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ. Now there was a time where I
would read that. Diligently make your calling and election sure
and I would stumble with that verse. It would give me a whole
lot of trouble. How do I do that? What am I being
commanded to do here? Make your calling and election
sure and be diligent about this. Make this your aim. How do I
do that? What do you mean by that? Isn't
it already? What have I missed along the
way? Is there something I'm missing? Or worse yet, is this something
that's to be earned? Because that's how the world would describe
it. Make your calling and election sure. If you do the thing you're
supposed to do, God will choose you. He'll elect you. And after
that, he'll give you a calling. He'll offer you this invitation.
And you can either accept the invitation or you can reject
it. Salvation by works all day long. What does this mean? Make
your calling and election sure. Is this something to be earned?
Is there something I'm supposed to do here? Absolutely not. I think it's interesting two
words are used here, make your calling and your election sure. And the hallmark of both those
things, they have absolutely nothing to do with us. We have
absolutely no influence over those things. These are the things
of God and they display the sovereignty of God and salvation so powerfully. Let's deal with those two things
for a moment, your calling and your election. Let's deal with
election first. Turn over to Romans chapter nine. Now most of y'all are probably
very familiar with this chapter. Paul uses this chapter to expound
on the sovereignty of God and salvation, probably more here
than anywhere else in scripture. But in here, he's going to talk
about election. He's going to give an illustration of it. And he uses two boys,
two brothers, Jacob and Esau. That's his illustration, the
children of Rebekah and Isaac. Look at what he says in verse
10. He says, and not only this, But when Rebecca also had conceived
by one, even by our father Isaac, listen, considering these boys,
Jacob and Esau, for the children, these two boys, being not yet
born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose
of God, according to election, might stand of what? Not of works. But of him that calleth, it was
said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger, as it is written,
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Now my question
is this, when and why? When? God loved one of these
boys. He loved a boy named Jacob. And
he chose Jacob because he loved him unto salvation. That means
Jacob could never be lost, that his salvation was eternally secure
because it was backed by the surety ship of Jesus Christ.
When did that happen? Before they were ever born. Absolutely not according to their
works in any way, shape, or form. God loved one of these boys.
One of these boys was in Christ. He was elected unto salvation.
He hated another one of these boys. In that hatred, he passed
him by. He left him to himself. When? Before the world was ever
formed. That's when God loved a people,
and that's when he elected a people. Now, when? When and why? Why did he love Jacob? Why did
he choose Jacob? I'm going to give you three things
on this. This is what the scripture says. Ephesians 1, 4 says, according
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. You see, the elect were chosen
in a man, in a person, and that before the foundation of the
world in Christ. Christ is the father's first elect. That was
the first one he chose. He says, this is my darling son.
This is my elect right here. And every member of the elect,
everybody God loves, and I don't understand this. This is just
the way it is. They share an eternal union with Jesus Christ.
Right now, if you're a believer, understand this. You have always
been a part of the body of Jesus Christ. Always been. one with
him. You were chosen because the father
chose Christ and it was a package deal. He got all the elect right
along with him because he chose his son. That's why he chose
Jacob. That's why he loved Jacob because
Jacob was in Christ. That's where all God's love is
stored up. Here's a second reason. This is 1 Samuel 12, 22. It says,
for the Lord will not forsake his people for his great namesake,
because it has pleased the Lord to make you his people. Why did
he choose Jacob? Why did he love Jacob? Because
he was pleased to. We could just stop there, couldn't
we? It pleased the Lord to do this, this one who can do no
wrong. This one, it's right whatever he does. It pleased the Lord
to choose Jacob and to love Jacob. That's all the reason you need
it right there. I love what he says there. He goes, he's not
gonna forsake his people. Why not? Why will he never forsake
his people? Because of his great namesake.
Because if he did, if he turned his back on the people, after
making this great promise, I will never leave you, I will never
forsake you, you will never see death, if he was to turn his
back on his people for any way, he would cease to be God. His
name would be sullied. No, he won't turn his back on
his people for his great namesake, that his glorified name would
remain glorified. Here's what our text says, though.
Why? that the purpose of God according to election might stand,
not of works, but of him that calleth. Why did he love Jacob? Why did he choose Jacob? Why
did he elect a people that the purpose of God? What is the purpose
of God? What's God's purpose, His ultimate
purpose? It's very simply this. It is to glorify the Godhead
in the person of the Son, Jesus Christ the Savior, through the
complete salvation of His people. And for that to be accomplished,
for that purpose to come about, God sovereignly had to elect
the people and keep those people in Christ eternally secure. Because
you take away the sovereignty of God from salvation. If you
take away election from salvation, all that ensures is that no one
will be saved. Men hate election. The natural
man hates the sovereignty of God in salvation. And yet, it
is the one thing that is responsible for the salvation. Now I want
you to consider this for a second. Esau. God hated Esau. He passed by Esau. Somebody says
that doesn't sound real fair. Let me ask this question. If
Esau would have bowed the knee to Christ, and he would have
come to Christ for mercy, and he would have believed on the
Lord Jesus Christ, would that man have been saved? He absolutely
would have been saved. And I'll give you the scripture
here. It's this. Revelation 22, 17, and the spirit
and the bride say, come, and let him that heareth say, come,
and let him that is a thirst come, and whosoever will, let
him take the water of life freely. You can't take that too far.
Any willing whosoever. Are you willing to be saved by
this Christ? This one who will have all the glory for himself,
it's all going to go to him. He's going to do all the work
and you will simply be an object of his power and his grace. If
you are willing to be saved under those circumstances, this is
for you. The call is for you. If Esau would have came, would
he have been received? Absolutely he would have. The
question is, did he? No. Why? Because he couldn't. He was born the exact same way
every man is born, dead in trespasses and sins. No acts of spiritual
life could be performed. He could not believe God. But
here's the kicker, he didn't want to. He had absolutely no
interest in Christ. He had no interest in the glory
of God. He had no interest in the salvation of his soul. Absolutely
no interest. And this is what happens when
there is no sovereignty of God and salvation. If there is no
election, this is what the natural man does, he will not come. You
take away election, you take away the sovereignty of God and
salvation, all it ensures is that no one will be saved. Election is not responsible for
Esau's damnation. You know who's responsible for
Esau's damnation? Esau. But the sovereignty of God and
God's election is 100% responsible for Jacob's salvation. The only
reason that man ever came to Christ. The only reason he ever
believed him and believed on him is for this reason. Because
God loved him before the foundations of the world were ever built.
He elected him. He was in Christ. Christ died
for him. The Holy Spirit gave him life and drew him to Christ
and preserved him all the way to the end of his days. That's
the only reason the love of God and the sovereignty of God and
salvation. Not to be blamed, but to be gloried in. This is
wonderful. This is beautiful. God has elected a people. But
do we have any influence in that? No, this is something that took
place before the worlds ever began. What about calling? It
says, make your calling and election sure. Turn over here to 1 Corinthians
1. 1 Corinthians 1, look at verse
26. Paul says, for you see your calling,
brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many
mighty, not many noble are called, but God hath chosen. the foolish things of the world
to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of
the world to confound the things which are mighty, and base things
of the world, and things which are despised, God hath chosen."
That's the third time we read in these verses of scriptures,
God hath chosen and base things of the world,
and things which are despised God hath chosen, yea, and things
which are not, to bring to naught things that are, that no flesh
should glory in his presence." This thing of being called of
God, called from death unto life, called from unbelief to faith
in Christ. How much influence do we have
in that? God hath chosen, he chooses who this call goes to.
Everybody loved and everybody he elected, that's who it goes
to right there. Any influence in this thing of
this calling whatsoever? No, none whatsoever. So what
does he mean? What does Peter mean diligently? Make your calling and election
sure. He's not saying you gotta earn
it, because these things are outside our influence. These
are things that took place before the world ever began. Then what
does he mean? I give you a commentary on this.
This is something that Paul said, and it summarizes what Peter
is saying here. I'll read this to you. It's 2 Corinthians 13
5. Paul says, examine yourselves whether you be in the faith. Prove your own selves. Now that's
exactly what Peter is talking about. Peter says, diligently,
make your calling and election. Sure, Paul tells us what that
is. Examine yourselves if you be in the faith. What is the evidence of my election? I don't have access to Lamb's
Book of Life. I can't open those golden pages and see my name
written there. I cannot see that. Calling, I don't have a golden
invitation sitting on my coffee table. It says come to Christ.
None of those things. How do I know? What is the evidence
of my calling and my election? Hebrews 11 one. Now faith is
the substance of things hoped for. The evidence of things not
seen. And Paul says there's only one.
If you be in the faith. You see, everybody who has this
God-given faith, it's always the same faith. It's the faith
that the Father had in the Son, the same faith that the Son had
in the Father. It's the faith that every believer
has always had in Christ. It is a singular God-given faith. How can I know if I have been
elected and I have been called? Make it sure, diligently. How
could I possibly know that? Am I in this faith, this God-given
faith? I think we should find out. Now
go back to your text in 2 Peter 1. He talks about faith in the
first four verses, and he has some amazing things to say. Pick up in verse one there. Simon Peter, a servant and apostle
of Jesus Christ to them who have obtained like precious faith
with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior, Jesus
Christ. Now he addresses his audience
here. Those who have obtained like precious faith. You know that word obtained,
you know what it means? Received by divine allotment. You see,
everybody who's supposed to have faith, they all have faith because
it's God-given faith. They get their allotment. Everybody
God loved, everybody Christ died for, everybody the Father elected,
they all have a portion of this faith. They get it by divine
allotment. This faith comes from God. It can't be mustered. I
can't come up with faith on my own. You can't come up with faith
on your own. It could only be God given this
like. It's all like. It's always the
same faith and it's precious because if a man has this faith,
he has salvation. Now look at verse two. He says, grace and peace be multiplied
unto you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
according as his divine power hath given unto us all things
that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of him
that have called us to glory and virtue. Everybody who has
been given this like precious faith, you know what that's an
evidence of? They have all things, all things that pertain to life
and godliness. If you have this faith, you know
what that means? You are complete before the Father. Every demand
he has of you has been achieved in the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and you lack absolutely nothing before him. All things
for life and godliness have already been taken care of. It's done,
it's a done deal. Nothing left for you to do. And he goes on
with this, look at verse four. whereby are given unto us exceeding
great and precious promises, that by these you might be partakers
of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is
in the world through lust." Everybody who has this like precious faith,
all the promises of the gospel, they're for you. They all pertain
to you and is the evidence you have a divine nature. There is
a holy man residing in you and he is without corruption. You
have no sin because Jesus Christ has actually put away your sin.
You have none before the Father. This is the implications of having
this like precious faith. Do I have this faith? Look at
verse five. And beside this, Giving all diligence,
add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge
temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness,
and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity,
for if these things be in you and abound, they make you that
you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, all these things, he mentions
seven things here, six really, because two are combined, but
these seven things, I want to say this carefully, I want all
these things. First thing he talks about is virtue, growing
in this grace of having an honorable character. I want to have an
honorable character. Say why? Because it's right. Because it's good. I want to
be an honorable individual. I don't want to bring any shame
upon my Savior's name. I don't want to bring any shame
upon his gospel. A virtuous man. I want to have
an honorable character. I want to grow in that grace.
Second thing he talks about is knowledge. Growing grace and
the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I want
to grow in that grace. Next thing he says is temperance,
self-denial. I don't want to be tossed about
with every lust of this flesh. I don't want to give in constantly
to those lusts and live in that manner, a temperate man. Talks
about this patience, not always tossed about with every happening,
every trial, actually waiting on the Lord. What a grace. He
talks about godliness, reverence for the Lord's character, growing
in that fear. I want to do that. And brotherly kindness and charity,
growing in love for you, for my brethren, for my God. I want
all those things, but I want to say this. There is a deeper
meaning to these seven things that he gives us here. Go back
up to verse five. And besides this, giving all
diligence, add to your faith. Now you see that word add? That
doesn't mean in addition. You have this, add that to it. What that actually means is furnish
it, supply it. You could actually say these
things that Peter lines out here, these seven things, you could
say this is the stuff of faith. Now, faith is a storehouse, a
barn. What's in the storehouse? What
are the supplies of faith? This list of things he gives
us here, you could say this is the stuff of faith. What do I mean by that? Let's
talk about it for a second. The first word he uses here is
virtue. It means an honorable character.
It means to be morally upright. Now, what's the truth? What is
the God's honest truth as we sit here right now? The honest
truth is this, that for me to be accepted by the Father, I
must be a truly honorable man, truly virtuous, truly morally
upright. I have to be a righteous man.
I have to be a man to where the law looks me over and says he
has done absolutely nothing wrong ever. And he has always kept
me, always done that which is right. That is God's standard
and he's not gonna accept anybody who does not meet that standard.
Where do I look for my virtue? Where does faith look for that
virtue? It looks to Christ alone. I want to give you an example
of this. It's what I thought of. You remember that woman with
the issue of blood, 12 years. Spent all her living on remedies
that wouldn't work and physicians that wouldn't take away that
disease. But she got near the master and he was being thronged
by that crowd and she crawled on her hands and knees back behind
him and she touched the bottom edge of his garment. And what
happened? You remember? That disease immediately left
her and his virtue entered her. He said, somebody hath touched
me. I perceive that virtue has left
me. That is my hope of salvation,
folks. That's where I look to for my virtue. This is my hope,
that there's a connection between Christ and me, this union that
is so strong and it is so real, so much so that he took my sin.
and my sin was taken out of me and it was put into him. And
he bore that sin on the cross, the wrath of it, the shame of
it, every bit of it, and he died, and when he did, he put away
my sin, and as much as my sin exited me and went into him,
his virtue, his righteousness went into me, and I actually
have the very righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. My faith is looking for one place
for virtue, and that is to Christ in him crucified alone. That's
where faith looks. It looks to Christ and what he
has done. Now, second word here, knowledge. Faith isn't blind and it's not
ignorant and it's not dumb. Faith has knowledge. Faith knows
some things, but they're not things. Faith knows a person. Faith knows Christ. Now, what do I mean by that?
Paul said this, He said, for I know whom, faith rest in a
person, whom I have believed. And I am persuaded, this is what
I know about him, that he is able to keep that which I have
committed unto him against that day. Where was Paul looking?
Was he looking at a doctrine or a set of circumstances or
a set of facts? And I'm thankful for doctrine.
Don't misunderstand me. Christ cannot be known apart
from his doctrine. But I don't look to doctrine. My faith doesn't
look to doctrine. It looks to Christ. He is the
one who is able. Our faith rests in a man, the
man Christ Jesus. Paul would go on later to say
this, that I may know what? Him. that I may know him and
the power of his resurrection. What is the power of his resurrection?
That's the sign. It tells us this one thing. Everybody
Christ died for, they've been redeemed. He actually put away
the sins of his people and made them acceptable to God. And the
resurrection of Jesus Christ is the evidence of that. He was
raised again for or because of our justification, that I may
know him Now, with faith there is always knowledge
of Christ. But faith comes in measure, and
so does knowledge. But there is common knowledge.
There is knowledge of Christ that every believer knows. Say, where do you get that? I
thought of the thief on the cross. Remember that thief that's crucified
next to the master? I don't know, maybe this is the
case, but he seems to be the man in scripture that was converted
the shortest amount of time before he was brought into glory and
died. What did that man know? Because it seems like he knew
Christ, at least in a spiritual sense, a very short amount of
time before he died. What did that man know? I'm gonna
give you four things he knew, and every believer knows this.
Number one, he knew that that one being crucified next to him
was God, was Lord, and was king. Here's what he said from the
cross. Speaking to the other malefactor, he looked at him
and said, don't you fear God, recognizing we are in the same
condemnation. This man, this one who is being
crucified next to us is God. There is a God. There is a creator. There is one who made all this.
There is a supreme being, and I know exactly who he is. His
name is Jesus of Nazareth. And that thief knew that. This
is God Almighty. And later he would say, Lord,
Remember me when you come into your kingdom. You see, you're
a king. This is Lord and King. This is the sovereign. This is
the one that we are all responsible and accountable to. This is the
one who holds my salvation in his hands and is completely and
utterly up to him. He's the Lord, he is God, and
he is king. Everybody who the Lord has saved
know that, that he is in fact the king, the king of kings and
the Lord of lords. He's the sovereign of the universe.
You know what else that thief knew? He knew that he was a sinner. He said this, Speaking to the
other malefactor, he said, and we indeed justly, for we receive
the due reward of our deeds. Now he's talking in a temporal
sense there as well. He's saying we're dying on these
crosses, we're getting exactly what we deserve. We committed
the crimes, the punishment always fits the crime. But he's talking
about spiritual things as well. Just a minute, just a little
time after this time, we're gonna stand before God in judgment,
and he's gonna render a judgment. And if he sends us to hell, you
know what he is? He's right and he's just and he's fair. We indeed
justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds. Whatever
God does with us is right because we have sinned against God. And
everybody who knows Christ knows that my sin is against him. I'm
a sinner against him and he doesn't owe me a thing. How did he know
that though? How did he know that he was a
sinner before God? Did he come to some natural understanding
of what he was? Now, he said this about Christ,
he said, but this man hath done nothing amiss. He knew something
of the righteousness and the holiness and the infallibility
of Jesus Christ. And every believer knows that,
that he's righteous and he's holy and he is separate from
sinners. He is the spotless lamb, but it's only in standing in
the light of his countenance, in seeing him for who he is,
that's when we see what we are. Now man doesn't come to a natural
understanding of his sinfulness before God. He comes from getting
a glimpse of Christ. You see him in his righteousness,
in his holiness, and seeing that's his standard, that is God's standard,
is perfect righteousness. All we can do is say this, woe
unto me, I am undone, I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell
amongst a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the King,
Lord of hosts, and take our place in the dust. Finally this, he
knew that if the Lord Jesus Christ just willed his salvation, he
would be saved. Lord, remember me when you come
into your kingdom. And I'm not so sure he had a
good understanding of the means the Lord would use that. And
I don't think this man could talk very intelligently about
imputation and things like that. All this man knew was this. This
is God sitting next to me here. And all he has to do is will
my salvation. And if he wills it, it will be.
This man can't fail. You know that? I know that, I
know that about this man, Jesus Christ. If he wills my salvation,
saved I must be because this man can't fail. He is impossible,
it is impossible for him to fail. That's knowledge. Faith is always
accompanied by knowledge. The third word is this, it's
temperance. It speaks of self-denial. Now,
faith is one side of a two-sided coin. I'm gonna read you this.
This is Hebrews 6, verse one. It says, therefore, leaving the
principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection,
not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works.
That's one side of the coin. And faith toward God. That's
the other side of the coin. Wherever there is faith toward
God, there is this as well. Repentance from dead works. Now the word is temperance, self-denial. What is the natural inclination
of man? The natural inclination of man is this, is to try to
justify myself by my works before God. You know what? I deny that.
I deny that in any way, shape, or form. I don't want anything
to do with God judging me based on my works. I repent of those
dead works. Wherever there is true faith
toward God, there is repentance from dead works. Everything I've
done, it hasn't amounted to a hill of beans. There's nothing I've
done that can stand before God. Nothing I've done. He can look
at me and say, yes, that is in fact good. I'll receive you.
Absolutely nothing. I repent of all those dead works. I've got one hope and it is in
Christ alone. I deny all that that I used to
believe and I used to think. My only hope is that I will be
brought into the presence of the Father in Jesus Christ. And when he looks at me, he will
see nothing but his darling son. My work's completely and utterly
put away and excluded. That's it. Wherever there's faith,
there's repentance from dead works, self-denial. Fourth word
is this, it's patience. Patience. Just waiting on the
Lord. And this is the activity of faith. Faith is not idle. Faith is very
active, but this is what faith does. It rests and it trusts
Jesus Christ. Now, I'm gonna have you look
at a scripture here. Turn over to Luke 21. This was a blessing
to me to read. You may enjoy it. Look at verse 10 of Luke 21.
The Lord is speaking about things to come. Verse 10, he says, then
said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom. And great earthquakes shall be
in diverse places, and famines, and pestilences, and fearful
sites. And great signs shall there be from heaven. But before
all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you,
delivering you up to the synagogues and to their prisons, being brought
before kings and rulers for my namesake. And it shall turn to
you for a testimony. They're going to ask you about
these things. You're going to have to say some things. Settle it therefore
in your hearts not to meditate before what you shall answer.
For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries
shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. And ye shall be betrayed
both by parents and brethren and kinsfolks and friends. And
some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall
be hated of all men for my namesake." But look at this promise. but
there shall not a hair of your head perish. Even though all
this is gonna go on, all these trials and tribulations I'm telling
you all about, not a hair of your head is gonna perish, not
eternally. Look at verse 19. In your patience,
possess ye your souls. He's telling these men, all these
terrible things are going to happen to you. but not one hair
of your head eternally is going to perish. And you know what
they did? They believed him. in your patience possess ye your
souls. They simply patiently waited
on the Lord, and they believed what he said. And you know what? Everybody's got this God-given
faith. We believe what he says. Now, I believe in him. I believe
that Jesus Christ is exactly who he says he is in this book.
He is God himself, the sovereign of the universe, the omniscient
one, the omnipotent one, that one who cannot fail. He is exactly
who he says he is in this book. I believe that. I believe in
him, and I believe on him. My hope of salvation rests in
Him and what He has done. I am clinging to a man, the man
Christ Jesus. But I believe Him. I believe
everything He has said in this book. You believe it perfectly?
No. I believe, help thou my unbelief. But I believe what He says in
this book. and these precious promises, I take these home.
This is my favorite one though. We're talking about a promise,
I believe this. Everybody who has this God-given faith believes
this. 1 Timothy 1.15, this is a faithful saying. You can rely
on this. You can hang your hat on this.
And worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners of whom I am chief. Now that is a promise I take
home. I believe that. I rest in that. I need nothing
else than that promise right there. This man, Christ Jesus,
who cannot fail, just told me that he is the savior of sinful
men. I am a sinful man. Therefore,
I conclude, this man saved me. And you know what? I rest, and
I trust in that right there. I need absolutely nothing else.
I find all my hope and my comfort in that. I can patiently wait
right there on the Lord because of what he said, that he is the
savior of sinners. That means the deal is done,
and there's nothing left for me to do, and it's all good news
for me. Next word is godliness. That
word is generally translated holiness. What's false religion
say? You gotta grow in it, get holier,
get better all the time. Where does a believer look for
his holiness? My sanctification, where we wanna find full, true
sanctification that can stand before God, Hebrews 2.11, for
both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all
of one for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. There is one place I look for
my holiness and my sanctification, look for Christ alone. My hope
is that I have such a tight-knit relationship with him, that union
is so real that as he is, so am I right now in this world. That's where we look for holiness.
Everybody who has this God-given, like, precious faith, they look
to Christ for their holiness. And finally, this. This sixth
phrase talks about brotherly kindness and charity, which is
love. Now, I want to grow in this grace.
I very much do, but hear me out on this. What is brotherly kindness? It is kindness that is shown
for a reason that is outside of the object. Now, I'm commanded
to love you, my brethren, and you are commanded to love me.
Why should I do that? Because you are my brother. That's
the reason. The reason is not found in you.
And here's the thing, if you wanna love me, and you go start
digging deep enough, for every reason you find to love me, you'll
find three not to. And it's the same with you. The
reason for love is found outside the object. Love him because
he's your brother in Christ. That's why you should do it.
Everybody who has this God-given faith, they know this. I have
the love of God, I believe that. He told me I do. but he didn't
show me that love because of some reason in me. He didn't
find something lovable about me to show that love. He found
the reason outside of me. He found it in himself. The father
loved me, not because there was anything naturally lovable about
me, because of who I was in. That's who the elect are in.
It's in Christ. All the father's love is in Christ.
When he loved Christ, he loved us. Christ, not that there was
anything lovable about me. All we ever do is rebel against
him to this very day. And at the end of the day, his
love for us does not move. Where is it found? It's outside
of us. He finds it in himself. When
a man loves his wife, he is loving himself. When Christ loves his
church, he is loving himself. He can't show himself love without
loving the elect just as well. Everybody who has this God-given
faith knows this, that love we have of God, where salvation
began and where it ends, wasn't for a reason in us. He found
the reason in himself. What a glorious thought. If the
reason is not in me, if he finds the reason in himself, that means
I can't send this away. What I do, it's not gonna reject
or get his love away from me. I will always have his love because
he finds the reason outside of me, he finds it in himself. Now,
go back to your text, look at verse nine. But he that lacketh these things
is blind and cannot see afar off and hath forgotten that he
is purged from his old sins. Now this is talking about a believer.
We know that because he says he's been purged of his old sins.
And this is something you would call spiritually nearsighted.
He can't see afar off. He's looking close. What happens
when we take our eyes off Christ? And we start looking in ourselves
for some evidence of salvation, for some hope, and some peace.
You lose all assurance. You lose all assurance, as we
rightly should, because we've taken our eyes off of the object
of salvation. And we put it where it's not,
right here in ourselves. And we forget that we've been
purged of our old sins. If you want to have no assurance,
you want to find no comfort, no peace, look inside here for
all these things. Look inside here for evidence
of salvation, for hope of salvation. If you want to be discouraged,
this is where you look. That's nearsightedness right
here. You look afar off, and this is my point in saying this,
faith has absolutely nothing to do with what you think about
yourself. Absolutely nothing to do. Faith has everything to
do with what you think about Christ. We find all these things,
all these things in salvation. We look to one man for these
things. We look to him, those who have this God-given faith.
That's where that faith looks. Now, I'll wrap this up. Peter said this, he said, wherefore
the rabid brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election
sure. Now, how do I do that? Do I have
this like precious faith? And it's real simple. This faith
looks to the Lord Jesus Christ for everything in salvation,
and it's got nowhere else to look. And if you are in that
boat, why don't you recognize something? That is the very evidence
that you are elected God. You have been called of God and
your salvation is eternally secure. You belong to Him. Safest place
you could possibly be. I'm going to leave you there.
It's been a blessing being with you this morning.