2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 9. I'm taking the title from the
words found in verse 9. Let's read that verse one more
time. It's God who saved us. Saved
according to the power of God. The last part of verse 8. According
to the power of God who saved us. According to the power of
God He called us. He called us because He saved
us. And that call was a holy calling,
the call of God. And then he gives a negative,
not, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose,
his own purpose, his own purpose and grace, purpose and grace,
which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world, before
the world began. So taking the title, from those
words in verse 9, salvation by God's purpose and God's grace. He marries those two words together.
Grace and purpose. Grace and purpose. Now, I've
got a confession. I must admit and confess to you,
this verse is one of my all-time favorite verses. I think almost
every time I bring a gospel message, I quote verse 9. It's God who
saved us. God who called us. All-time favorite
verse. This scripture is like one of
my other favorite scriptures in Romans 3-24. Justified freely
by His grace through the redemption that is in the Lord Jesus Christ.
I hope you have your favorite scriptures too that you love
to think upon and meditate upon find comfort and refreshment
from the Word of God. These words here so clearly and
powerfully set forth how God saves and justifies sinners,
all of His doing, all of His choosing, all of His power. Again, this verse declares as
all the Word of God does, that salvation is of the Lord. Salvation from beginning to the
end and all the way in between. Salvation is of the Lord. Now, you remember when we finished
the book of Acts, in the last verses of Acts 28, verse 31 and
verse 32, 30, 31, 32, it said, Paul dwelt two whole years in prison They're in Rome preaching the
Gospel of the Kingdom, teaching those things which concern the
Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence. Even though he was in prison,
his confidence wasn't shaken. But we also know that those two
years the Lord gave him another ministry while he was there in
prison, two years preaching the Gospel, the Lord gave him another
ministry. You know what it was? writing
the word we are reading today. He was given those prison epistles,
Galatians, Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Timothy, and the
letter to Philemon. Now, the Lord gave him those
words by inspiration. And what a blessing we have to
have those epistles. I just love those books. Galatians,
Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 2 Timothy. Now we find the Apostle
Paul here writing to his young, he calls him my beloved son.
Now he wasn't his son naturally, but he was his son or a spiritual
father to young Timothy who learned the gospel from the Apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul writes to his
young friend, his young son Timothy, who was a preacher of the gospel,
words of encouragement in the ministry, but it's also given
to us as words of encouragement. Notice he says here in verse
5, 2 Timothy 1 verse 5, when I called remembrance, when I
think about you, when we first met, and when God granted you
faith in Christ, I called remembrance, this genuine faith. And faith
that's given of God is a perfect gift of God. It's the genuine
faith that Timothy was given that's a gift of God that is
in thee, which first dwelt in your mother, your grandmother,
and your mother. Three generations. We have that
here. We have three generations of
believers here in this congregation. And Paul gives thanks unto God
for Lois, for Eunice, and I'm also persuaded that this saving
faith was given unto thee. Verse 6, he said, wherefore I
put thee in remembrance, that ye stir up this gift of God.
This gift of God, stir it up, which is in thee by the putting
on of my hands. Not that Paul conferred anything
to him, but he's saying that I laid my hands on you, acknowledging
that God had given you these gifts. And then he says in verse
7, for God had not given us a spirit of fear, but God has given us
a spirit of power. and of love, and we know genuine
faith, and then he's given us a sound mind. He's given us a
mind to think right thoughts about God. Paul recognized that
the Lord had given special gifts to Timothy to preach the gospel,
and was encouraging him to use those gifts to the fervence of
the gospel, and to the glory of God, because God had poured
out upon him not a spirit of fear, intimidation of men. We fear God, and because we fear
God, we do not fear men, but of power. Whose power? God's
power. His sovereign power. And of love. Whose love? His love for us.
We know the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Spirit. And then he said, God has given you a sound mind. A
sound mind. That's a believing mind, isn't
it? One that believes the Word of God. That's a sound mind. And then he says in verse 8,
Be not thou therefore ashamed. of the testimony of our Lord.
Now what is the testimony of our Lord? It's the Gospel of
God. The Gospel of God concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and Him
crucified. Don't be ashamed of the Gospel
of God, nor of me, His prisoner. Prisoner. Paul was in jail because
he preached the Gospel and would not compromise, but be a partaker. be a partaker of the blessings
of the gospel, and if need be, be a partaker of the afflictions
of the gospel, the gospel according to the power of God. Now, you
remember Romans 1.16? Paul said, I'm not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ is the power of God. What kind of power is that? The
dynamite of God. The explosion of God that saves
sinners by His grace. be a partaker of the blessings
of the gospel and of the afflictions of the gospel according to this
power of God." How much power does God have? He said, all power
is given to me in heaven and earth. He has all power everywhere,
over all things, over everyone is under His dominion, His control. Now, it reminds him again in
verse 9, according to the power of God
who saved us. Who saved us. Now what does that
tell us? That tells us if you're saved,
justified, that's what the word means. If you're saved or justified,
it's because God did that by His power. I want to use what
time we have here on these words found in verse 9 basically, and
then closing with verse 10. The first thing we see here in
verse 9, that salvation is of the Lord. It is God who saved
us. It is the power of God. that
have saved us. How much power does it take to
raise a dead sinner and to make him believe the gospel, to make
him a new creature in Christ? It takes almighty power. It takes
the power of God. It takes the same power that
our Lord exercised at the grave of Lazarus when he said, Lazarus,
come forth. And he that was dead came forth. Now that's Almighty power. Who
can raise a dead man? None but God Almighty. Who can
raise a dead sinner up and give him faith and life in the Lord
Jesus Christ? It takes the power of Almighty
God. He is the author and finisher of our salvation of which he
purposed in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world.
He chose a people to salvation. We study in Ephesians 3 verse
11, according to God's eternal purpose, the eternal purpose
of God, which he purposed in Christ Jesus before the world
began. The reason of our salvation and
the reason that we are justified is found in God, not in us. Not in us. We've all sinned and
come short of the glory of God. We've all earned His wrath against
our sin. For the wage of sin is death,
right? The gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord. All that we have and all spiritual
blessings we enjoy are because the Lord Jesus Christ was pleased
to save us by His grace. He saved us. He justified us. He called us. Now, when? When
did God save us? According, the gospel according
to the power of God who saved. He saved us. When? God saved
us and justified us when he chose us in the eternal covenant of
grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. We read a moment ago, it is God
who justifies us. Moreover, whom he did predestinate,
them he also called. And whom He called, them He also
justified. And them He justified, them He
also glorified. What shall we say to these things?
Well, if God be for us, who can be against us? When did God save
us? In that eternal covenant of grace
when He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world.
That's when He saved us. That's when He justified us.
Secondly, God saved us and justified us when the Lord Jesus Christ
put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. We read in Romans
5, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from
wrath through Him. So we're justified eternally
when Christ chose us in that covenant of grace. We're justified
in time when the Lord Jesus Christ came and shed His blood to put
away our sin. And then God saved us and justified
us when we're given faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to believe
the Gospel. If you want to turn with me,
you can, but over here in Acts chapter 13, remember when Paul
was preaching there, that first sermon in Acts 13, he says in
verse 38, Acts 13, 38, Be it known unto you, therefore, men
and brethren, that through this man is preached to you the forgiveness
of sin, and by him all that believe are, what? Justified. from all
things which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
So we're justified in the eternal covenant of grace. We're justified
when the Lord Jesus Christ put away our sin by the sacrifice
of himself. And we're justified in our experience
in our heart when we're given faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ. Make no mistake here, our salvation
is all God's doing, planning, providing, and purpose and grace
given us in Christ Jesus. Now, here's the second thing.
Back to the text. 2 Timothy 1, verse 9. So, we know that God saved us. If you're saved now, who saved
you? You were lost. Who found you? You were dead. Who raised you?
The power of God. The power of God who saved us,
justified us. And then what happened? He called
us. He called us. He called us because
he saved us. Our great and sovereign God who
called us to Himself. He called us to Himself. He called
us with a, it says there, a holy calling. A holy calling. This is a holy God who called
us to Christ with a holy calling. This is what we call the irresistible
call of God. The irresistible call of the
Gospel is called an effectual calling out of darkness into
His marvelous light. God commands the light to shine
in your dark, dead heart to cause you to see the glory of God in
the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. That comes by His commandment.
He calls us. He calls us with the Gospel.
It is the calling of a sinner through the means that God has
ordained, and that is the preaching and the hearing of the Word of
Truth. That's how God calls us out. Faith comes by hearing,
hearing by the Word of Truth. It's called in Scripture a heavenly
calling, Hebrews 3.1. It's called a high calling, Philippians
3.14. And here it's called a holy calling. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of God's power. When God calls His people out
of darkness into His marvelous light, He gets the job done. It's an effectual call, an irresistible
call. He calls us to Himself. And you
know how He does it? He makes Himself altogether lovely. He shows us the beauty of His
character. He makes us to fall in love with
the Lord Jesus Christ and skedaddle to Him and to embrace Him in
saving faith. Now, so God, we're saved by the
power of God. We're called by the power of
God with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then in verse
9, here's the third thing, not. Now it's good to know what something's
not. It's not. It's not this way.
It's not this way. So we're saved not according
to our works. We're called not according to
our works, but rather according to His purpose and grace. So
we're saved by His grace. We're saved not according to
our works. Nothing in all the Scriptures
is so clearly and boldly and plainly taught that salvation
is not by our works, our deeds, our morality, or by the deeds
of the law. Grace, grace, grace. Turn a couple pages to Titus
chapter 3. Titus chapter 3. Look at verse 4. Well, notice
verse 3. Titus 3, 3. We ourselves also were sometimes
foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lust, living in
pleasure, pleasure living in malice, envy, hateful, hating
one another. But after that the kindness and
love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he
saved us by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy
Spirit which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.
that being justified by His grace, justified by His grace, we should
be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Justified
by His grace, not by works. Not of works, remember? Lest
any man should boast. All the religions of man make
salvation dependent upon some way, some thing, you must do,
some condition you must meet, the will of man, the work of
man, the morality of man. That's the works of the religious
man. All the religions of men make
salvation dependent upon them, rather than what Christ has done
for us. His will, His redemption, and
His purpose. Back to Romans. Look at Romans
chapter 9 this time. Romans 9. Romans 9. It's all His redemptive work. Romans 9. So then, verse 16. Romans 9, 16. So then, it's not
of Him that willeth, nor of Him that runneth, but of God that
showeth mercy. The election is according to
God's purpose. For the children being not yet
born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose
of God according to election might stand, not of works, but
of him that calleth. That's verse 11. Verse 16. So then it's not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.
For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose
have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, that my
name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore have
thee mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will, he will
harden." So then, it's all of God's grace. It's not of works,
lest any man should boast. Now back to the text. So, point
one, God saved us. Point two, God called us. Point
three, not according to our works. Number four is this, but, I love
that word but, don't you? But God who is rich in mercy
for his great love wherewith he loved us. But according to
his own purpose. God saves every sinner whom he
saves by purpose. purpose. We know that all things
work together for good to them who love God, to them who are
called according to his purpose. God saves sinners by his purpose
and grace. Every sinner that God saves and
calls is according to his eternal purpose. He worketh all things
after the counsel of his own will. God purposed in Christ
Jesus to elect a multitude of sinners unto salvation. We say
with Paul, we thank God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord,
because God hath from the beginning chosen you unto salvation. God's
purpose to save sinners through the blood atonement of the Lord
Jesus Christ. It pleased God to put away our
sin in the fullness of time. He redeemed us from the curse
of the law being made a curse for us. This is all according
to God's purpose. The Lord Jesus Christ died on
purpose, didn't He? Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God. Yes, you with wicked hands
have taken and slain the Lord of glory. but you only did what
God determined before to be done. So God saves according to His
purpose. His purpose. His purpose. One day in time, God crossed
your path on purpose with the Gospel and called you to Himself. It's no accident you bumped into
the Gospel. God called you because God purposed
from all eternity to save you. We read in Isaiah 14, the purpose
that is purposed upon the whole earth. This is the hand that
is stretched out among all nations. The Lord of hosts has purposed,
who shall disannul? His hand is stretched out. Who
can change the purpose of God? The purpose of God will work
God's will, God's way. Salvation by His grace. Let me
read this verse to you again. Romans 9 verse 11. For the children
being not yet born, talking about Jacob and Esau, neither having
done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said
to her, the elder shall serve the younger, as it is written,
Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated, all according to God's
sovereign purpose and His grace. He said, I've spoken it, I've
purposed it, I'll bring it to pass, I will do it. Can any poor sinner change the
eternal purpose of God? No. His purpose is unchanging
like His character. He said, I am the Lord, I change
not. Now, the next word we see in verse 9, according to His
purpose, according to His grace. His purpose and His grace. I am what I am by the grace of
God. We cannot preach too often about
the sovereign, free grace of God when we talk about salvation. This Bible, when it talks about
grace, talks about sovereign grace. Sovereign grace and grace
alone. When we talk about grace, we've
got to talk about His sovereign grace. His sovereign grace. I ran into a preacher one day,
locally, with a local pastor here, and we got into a conversation.
And he told me, you can't show me in the Bible where it says
the word sovereign grace. He said, that word sovereign
grace is not in the Bible. He said, you keep talking about
sovereign grace, sovereign grace, sovereign grace. He said, it's
not in the Bible. I said, yes it is. Here it is. Romans 5 verse 21, "...that as
sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through
righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." So
grace reigns by righteousness that the Lord Jesus Christ has
established for us. Now I love to talk about salvation
by the grace of God. That means that salvation in
no way depends upon you or me. That means salvation depends
upon the Lord Jesus Christ. That gives me comfort. That gives
me hope because I know I'm a vile, wretched, depraved sinner. Thank
God He saves sinners by His grace. Now we know His grace is redeeming
grace. Ephesians 1, 7 says, "...in whom
we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sin,
according to the riches of His grace." And we know that grace
is electing grace. It's electing grace. Let me read
this to you. Electing grace. So then, at this
present time, there's a remnant according to the election of
grace. And if it be by grace, then it's
no more works. Election is election of grace. God in that eternal covenant
chose us to salvation. And then we know this grace of
God is called fetching grace. Remember the story of Mephibosheth,
the young cripple? David said, go get him. Fetch
him. Bring him here. He's mine. I'm
going to bless him for his father's sake, for Jonathan's sake. So
we call that fetching grace. Fetching grace. And then we see
the Word of God talks about regenerating grace. Being made new creatures
in the Lord Jesus Christ. And then the Word of God talks
about His calling grace. We studied that in the book of
Galatians. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my
mother's womb and called me by His grace, To reveal His Son
in me, that I might preach Him among the heathen, immediately
I conferred not with flesh and blood." So we see that salvation
is all God's grace. He chose us by His grace. Christ
came in time and died for us according to the grace of God.
For He says in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, For you know the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your
sake He became poor, that you through His poverty might be
made rich. We know something of His redeeming grace, don't
we? I love to talk about the grace
of God. And when we talk about the grace of God, we have to
talk about the sovereign grace of God. He will have mercy upon
whom He will. He will be gracious to whom He
will. That is sovereign grace. Now,
here's the next thing. Look at verse 9 again. 2 Timothy
1.9. Which was given us in Christ Jesus. This grace of God was
given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. What did we
read a moment ago? A moment ago, for the children
were born, not having done any good or evil that the purpose
of God according to election. I like what Charles Spurgeon
said, thank God He chose me in Christ before I was born. He
never would have chosen me afterward. Unconditional electing grace,
which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. before the world began. Turn
back to the book of Titus again. Look over here in the book of
Titus, chapter 1, this time, verse 1. Paul, a servant of God
and an apostle of Jesus, cried, according to the faith of God's
elect, which acknowledges the truth, salvation by His grace
and purpose, which is after godliness, glorifies him in hope of eternal
life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world
began. You see that? But hath in due
time manifested his word through preaching. He chose us in Christ
before the foundation of the world. In Matthew 25, there's
an article on the back of the bulletin. Don't read it now,
but read it later. But there's an article on the
back of the bulletin from Matthew 25, 34. Then shall the king say
unto them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. We know the Lord Jesus Christ
is a Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If you want to,
you can turn with me to this one, find 1 Peter 1. He tells us again here, verse
18, 1 Peter 1.18. For as much as you know that
you are not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold from
your vain conversation, received by tradition of your fathers,
but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without
spot, without blemish, who was verily foreordained before the
foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times
for you, who by him do believe in God, that raised him from
the dead and gave him glory, that your faith and hope might
be in God. You see what he's saying there?
He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world.
And these blessings of the gospel were given us in Christ before
the world began. Now in closing, look at verse
10. But is now made manifest. How is it made manifest? By the
appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ. He came to accomplish everything
that God had decreed. In the fullness of time, God
sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law to redeem
them that were under the law, but is now made manifest by the
appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death
and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
Now I want you to turn and read. With me, turn to Romans 16, the
last chapter in the book of Romans. But now is made manifest by the
appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ. Romans 16 verse 25, look
at this. Now to him that is a power to
establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus
Christ according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept
secret since the world began but now it's made manifest. It
made manifest by the scriptures of the prophets according to
the commandment of the everlasting God made known to all nations
for the obedience of faith to the only wise God be glory throughout
the world, Jesus Christ be glory. through Jesus Christ forever
and ever, world without end. What God purposed in eternity,
the Lord Jesus Christ came in time and fulfilled exactly the
will of God, accomplishing our salvation. And in doing so, it
says there that He abolished something. He abolished death. He appeared once in the end of
the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And when
he put away our sin, he abolished our death. He was delivered for
our offenses and raised again for our justification. And when
God raised Him up and set Him in the heavenlies, He raised
us up also. We're seated in the heavenlies
in the Lord Jesus Christ. He hath abolished death. He said,
I'm He that liveth and was dead. Behold, I'm alive forevermore.
I have the keys of hell and death. We have in the Lord Jesus Christ
eternal life. He said, I'm come that ye might
have life and have it more abundantly. and have brought life. What kind
of life do we have? Right now we have in this life,
physically, fleshly, we have temporary life. This body is
going to die. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
give us everlasting life. He that believeth on me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. Whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. I am the resurrection. So, but
now is made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ. He
is a Savior who saves his people from their sin. What did he do?
He abolished death in that he put away sin and he brought in
life. Spiritual life, immortality,
eternal life. He said, I give my sheep eternal
life, and they shall never perish through the gospel. Through the gospel. It's all
through the gospel. It's all relative to the gospel,
which is called, what is the gospel called? Let me read this
to you. You know what it is. Romans 1. Romans 1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,
called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God. Romans
1. So the gospel there is the gospel
of God. It's called the testimony of
God. The gospel of God, separated
to the gospel of God, which He had promised before by His prophet
in the Holy Scriptures. The gospel of God is concerning
His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, made of the seed of David, according
to flesh, declared to be the Son of God with power, according
to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.
Our Lord said, because I live, you shall live also. Now, back
to the text. I want you to take this home
with you. I want you to look at this verse and think on this
verse and meditate upon this verse. The power of God who saved
us. The power of God called us. called
us to Christ in faith. The holy calling. Not according
to our works, but according to His purpose and grace. Get a
hold of those two words. Purpose and grace. Purpose and
grace. Giving us in Christ. Free gift of God. Giving us in
Christ. When? Eternally. Before the world began. That's
a blessing, isn't it? That's a blessing.