Faith in Christ, the truth concerns
his son. Christ said, I am the truth.
To believe the truth is to be given faith in the son of God. And that happens, of course,
by the gospel. And this is what Paul told Timothy
would happen or could happen in 2 Timothy 2. I believe we
read that already this morning where Paul tells Timothy to teach,
instruct, If peradventure, God will give
repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. That's our text,
belief of the truth. We're called to belief. Faith is believing God. People
talk about faith and they say that's our part in salvation.
And the scriptures clearly teach that that's part of his salvation
of us. He saves us through belief of
the truth by giving us faith in Christ. People talk about
faith as being, you know, if you just believe, believe, believe,
it'll happen. You know, it's like the power
of positive thinking or something. Faith is just believing God.
It's not believing that God's gonna do what you want him to
do. It's believing what he said. It's believing that he's who
he said he is and he'll do what he said he'll do. And that comes
by hearing and hearing by the word of God, Romans 10, 17. The gospel, our gospel, Paul
said here. It's called the gospel of the
kingdom in Matthew 4.23. The gospel of Jesus Christ, the
son of God, Mark 1.1. The gospel of the grace of God,
Acts 20, 24. The gospel of his grace, good
news that God said, I'll be gracious, to whom I'll be gracious. That's
good news. The gospel of God, Romans 1,
1. The gospel of his son, Romans 1, 9. It's God's gospel. but it concerns
God's son, it concerns God in the person of his son and what
he did for sinners. When Calvary behooved him to
be made latke, like unto his brethren, that he might be a
merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God. The high priest is the one that
offered blood for the sins of God's people. The gospel of Christ, Romans
1.16, Paul called it my gospel in Romans 2.16. The gospel of peace, Romans 10.15,
because Christ made peace by the blood of his cross, peace
with God for sinners, by the blood of his cross, that's good
news. In 2 Corinthians 4.4, it's called
the glorious gospel of Christ. In Ephesians 1.13, it's the word
of truth, the gospel of your salvation. This gospel is able to make sinners
wise unto salvation. It's the means whereby God giveth
wisdom, giveth understanding, giveth faith. It's called the mystery of the
gospel in Ephesians 6.19. It's not to be figured out by
man. Paul said, I didn't learn it
from men. It's not of men, and I didn't learn it from them,
but by the power of God. In 1 Timothy 1.11, the glorious
gospel of the blessed God. the everlasting gospel in Revelation
14, six. So Paul says in our text and
in a couple other places that this is our gospel. It's our
gospel. We preach this gospel. We believe
by God's grace this gospel. We own the good news that all
of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags We own the good news
that though we richly deserve hell, that God has mercy in his
son. We own that, it's ours, that
God gave us an understanding. When the disciples said, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. To whom shall we go? The Lord
was preaching the gospel, and many walked away. It was scandalous
to them. They said, this is a hard saying,
who can hear it? And they walked away. We're not
interested. No God for us. The fool hath
said in his heart, no God for me. Not that God. But the disciples stood their
ground. The Lord said, are you going with them? And they said,
no, where would we go? You have the words of eternal
life. In effect, they're saying, among other things, your gospel
is our gospel. It's our gospel. Now, Christ's good news is, to
some sinners, bad news. We rejoice that Christ is sovereign. Not everybody does. That's bad
news to a lot of sinners. We rejoice in his finished work.
We, by God's grace, who have received by his spirit, by his
regenerating power, we've received the love of the truth. That's
why we call it our gospel. We love it. And when we read
in the scripture that Christ accomplished exactly what he
came to accomplish, that he redeemed every sinner that he shed his
blood in order to redeem, That's delightful to us. Not everybody. That's bad news to everybody.
That means that my works are nothing. That means I'm helpless
before God. That means I'm shut up to his
mercy. That's not good news to most people. This gospel condemns all who
trust in their own works. We rejoice in the finished work
of salvation by Christ and by His grace. And by the grace of
God, we have no confidence in the flesh. Paul said when he
renounced himself and his heritage and his religion and all of his
works, he didn't have any regrets, did he? He said, I count them
but done. Not everybody is able to do that.
That's the miracle of God's grace. Not everybody can renounce themselves
like that. Not everybody can take up a cross
and follow the Lord Jesus Christ. So it's good news for sinners,
but not everyone receives it that way. Only those who are
given a love of the truth by the Lord himself. It's wonderful
news to know that Christ accomplished salvation for his people, but
to those who trust in their own works, that they are righteous,
that's not good news. It's not their gospel, in other
words. But bless God, it's our gospel.
It's our gospel. So Paul preached the gospel,
and by that word, God called his sheep to belief of the truth. He gave them repentance. That's
what we read a while ago. Peradventure, God will give them
repentance. What's gonna happen when God
changes your mind? That's what repentance means,
a change of mind. God's got to give you that. You might change
your mind about where you're gonna eat lunch this afternoon,
but even the minute details of our lives are controlled by the
Lord. But particularly when it comes
to spiritual things, particularly when it comes to that which is
contrary to our nature, we can't just decide that. You're not
just gonna wake up one morning and say, I think I'll love God
today. In scripture language, an Ethiopian's
not just gonna wake up and say, I don't wanna be black anymore. or a leopard. Decide he likes stripes better
than spots. You can't decide that. The scripture
says, when that happens, then you who are accustomed to evil
will do good. You can't do good. There is none
good, no, not one. So Paul preached and knew that peradventure, God
would give repentance so that when they heard the truth, they'd
say, that's the truth. That's the truth, truth, Lord.
And the result of that is what in our text? The obtaining of
the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. And where would you ever draw
the line with that? The attaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. We
have beheld the glory of God in his
face. We know something of the glory
of God. Moses said, show me your glory.
And God said, I'll have mercy on whom I will. God's sovereign
grace. Somebody said, and I can't disagree
with it, Christ what he did on Calvary is God's greatest display
of his glory that he's ever given God forbid that we should glory
that's a when we obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ we see
everything else as a Not that, it's not even close.
God forbid that I should glory in anything else, that anything
else should be my hope and what I boast in, what I value and adore, but the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Look at 2 Corinthians 3.18 with
regard to this thought of us obtaining the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians
3, 18. But we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the
Lord. And when he says open face there,
we need to back up a little bit. Look at verse 15. But even unto
this day, when Moses is read, when the scriptures are read,
when the gospel is set forth, the veil is upon their heart.
There's a veil. There's a separation between
God's glory, just as the veil in the temple, in the tabernacle, that's separated between the
glory of God in there on the mercy seat and sinners. And you didn't come in there
but by blood. the blood of Christ, Christ crucified. Christ sacrificed
on Calvary. And what Paul is saying here
to the church at Corinth is that the way the Jews come, the veil
isn't taken away. That veil can't be lifted unless
you come by Christ, in Christ, by His precious blood, cleansed.
And that blood is put upon the mercy seat. And so that veil
remains for them, even today. There's no hope in it for them.
The veil is upon their heart. That veil is only lifted when
an acceptable sacrifice to God is brought. And when that, the antitype,
the reality of the type in the tabernacle, took place when Christ
actually gave himself on the cross for our sins and his precious
blood redeemed us, that veil was rent from top to bottom.
So the reason the veil is still on their heart is there's no
blood, there's no belief in Christ and what he did for sinners. Nevertheless, when it shall turn
to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. When it shall turn
to Christ crucified, the veil should be taken away. Now the
Lord is that spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there
is liberty. And we all who know the Lord,
who are his, who come by faith, who bring the blood, who wouldn't
dare approach God without the blood of Christ, with open face
beholding, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, are changed
into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit
of the Lord." Now, let me just say real quick, I don't even
know what that means, but it sounds good. Changed from glory to glory.
Beholding Him. You see what our text is saying
a little bit better maybe? We obtain. When we believe on
Christ, the veil's taken away, and we obtain the glory of God.
We see Him with open face through a glass. We're still in the flesh,
but there's no veil. That veil is lifted because When
the high priest goes in there with the blood, that veil is
lifted and the glory of God is seen. And when it actually happened
on Calvary, the veil was ripped from top to bottom by God. And now we behold the glory of
God in the face of His crucified Son, of His reigning Son, of
His risen Son. Again, I don't even know what
that means, but I'm for it, aren't you? And this, of course, is
talking about future glory as well. Eternal glory. He shall change our vile bodies
that we may be fashioned, that they may be fashioned like unto
his, what kind of body? Glorious. His prayer to his father in John
17 was what? that we be with Him where He
is, that we may what? Behold His glory. To the obtaining of the glory
of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see how vital and life-changing and eternity significant this gospel is. the belief of the truth to the
obtaining of the glory. This was David's one desire,
you remember that? One thing have I desired of the
Lord and that will I seek after. Everybody's gonna seek after
whatever the desire of their heart is. What are we seeking
after? That I may dwell in the house
of the Lord all the days of my life. to behold the beauty of
the Lord and to inquire in his temple, whom our Lord Jesus Christ
foreknew, predestinated, called, and justified, he also did glorify. By God's grace and the finished
work of Christ on Calvary, we have obtained the glory of our
Lord Jesus Christ. His glory is ours in that it
is our desire now Not unto us, but unto thy name give glory.
His glory is ours in that we will be forever with him, and
his glory is ours in that we shall be like him. Verse 15 in our text. Therefore,
brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you've been
taught, whether by word or our epistle. Now this is an
exhortation that's given often to believers in the Scripture.
I believe that Ephesians 6 will shed some light on this. Stand
fast now and hold the traditions which you've been taught. Now
Paul warned against the traditions of men, but this word traditions
just simply means that which is passed on. In other words,
if somebody you know, cooks a meatloaf, and they say, where'd you get
that recipe? Well, it was passed down from my great-grandmother
to my grandmother to my mom, and now I'm cooking it the same
way. It's passed on, a tradition. The traditions of men are vain,
but the traditions of the gospel, the truth of the gospel is also
passed on. And that's what he's talking
about here. Look at Ephesians 6.13. Excuse me, Ephesians 6, 13. Wherefore take unto you, and
he's talking about standing fast in those truths that are passed
on to you. Stand fast. Wherefore take unto
you the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand
in the evil day. and having done all to stand,
stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth,
and having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet
shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above all
taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all
the fiery darts of the wicked. and take the helmet of salvation
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying
always with all prayer, supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto
with all perseverance, and supplication for all saints, and for me, that
utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly
to make known the mystery of the gospel for which I am an
ambassador in bonds. The theory, and I may speak boldly
as I ought to speak, so you see the prevalence of the gospel
there. Our stand, our stand is not maintained by our inward
qualities of our character, but by God's gospel, his salvation,
faith that he gives, his righteousness, prayer unto him. all through
that passage. The word tradition, as I said,
means to pass over or give over by word of mouth or writing.
And that's what Paul's saying here about what I've said to
you and what I've written to you. Stand fast in those things. He defines what he means by it
in the very verse in which he mentions this tradition. What
we've taught you in the preaching and by our letters, which ye
have been taught, whether by word or our epistle." Important
to understand that the efficacy of the gospel unto us doesn't
depend on our ability to stand. It doesn't depend on that, but
it causes that. The gospel causes us. Once you
know the truth, you don't want to debate it. You don't want
to argue with anybody. You don't need to be convinced
of it. You just need to hear it again and again and again
and rejoice in it. The armor that we read about,
given by God who called us, it's standing in that armor that makes
us to where we won't fall. He's able to keep us from falling
and it's by that means that he does so. Romans 14, four, let
me read some scripture to you. Or you can turn there with me
since I've got to turn anyway. Romans 14.4. Here's how we stand. Who art
thou that judgest another man's servant? To his own master he
standeth or followeth. He shall be holding up, for God
is able to make him stand. That's how we stand. We're held
up. In Psalm 73, the author of Psalm
73, let's turn over there for a minute. The author was grieved,
if you'll remember, I refer to this Psalm quite a bit. He was
grieved by the prosperity of the wicked. He was made envious.
at how it seems that those who believe God and serve God in this world seem
to suffer and seem to have the wrong end of the deal. And those
who hate God are prospering and doing great. But look at verse
16 of Psalm 73. When I thought to know this,
it was too painful for me. That's something that You might
realize it's happening and be grieved by that like this one
was. But he said this, until I went into the sanctuary of
God. You live in this world and you
work in this world and you see the injustice of it, you see
the dog eat dog nature of it. You see how it's hard for a believer
and a lot of times it's not for those that hate God. And that's
discouraging until you come hear the gospel. Until the Lord speaks
to your heart. And he said, then understood
I their end. Surely thou did set them in slippery
places. Thou castest them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation
as in a moment? They are utterly consumed with
terrors. They're not happy. They may be doing well, but they're
not happy. They have nothing real to rejoice
in. And spiritually speaking, they're
the ones that are miserable and blind and naked, as the Lord
spoke of in Revelation. And look at verse 20. As a dream
when one awaketh, so, O Lord, when Thou awakest, Thou shalt
despise their image. Those that hate God, they look
like they're doing well, but the problem with that is God
hates them too. That's not an envious position
to be in. And he realized that when he
heard the gospel. Thus was my heart grieved, not
with envy, but now with my own stupidity. Greed and I was pricked in my
reign, so foolish was I and ignorant, I was as a beast before thee.
Nevertheless, I am continually with thee. Even though I'm just
as stupid and dumb and ignorant and wretched as they are, I'm
always with you, and here's why, thou hast holden me by my right
hand. Not because I haven't let go
of him, I haven't, but the reason for that is he hasn't let go
of me. That's our text now, to stand. That's how we stand. Look at verse 16 and 17 back
in our text in 2 Thessalonians 2. Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself
and God, even our Father, which has loved us and has given us
everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your
hearts, establish you in every good word and work." Establish
you. He said, stand, stand fast. How is that gonna happen? May
God establish you. May he put your feet on the rock. There's a lot to rejoice in,
in these final thoughts of this chapter, but you know, maybe
my favorite word in those two verses is himself. Isn't that
wonderful? The Lord Jesus himself, which hath loved us, and have given us everlasting
comfort." I know that the Lord has given
us angels. We know that from the word. It seems like they're
assigned to us certain ones, doesn't it? They're angels. He
said, behold the face of my father. That's wonderful to think about. But don't ever think about it
as though Christ is delegating the care of us to others, because
that's not the message of scripture. We delegate things, you know,
because if you're in business, you have to delegate things.
You can't do everything yourself. And you delegate the things that
you have, that you deem less important. The more important
things, you have to do that yourself. things that demand your direct
attention. Don't ever think about it that
way with regard to our Lord himself. Himself. And you know the words
even and and, look at it in verse 16, that our Lord Jesus Christ
himself and God, even our father, the word and, where it says and
God, and the word even, where it says even our Father, those
are the same words. So let's see if I'm reading it
wrong if I say it like this. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself,
even God, even our Father, which hath loved
us. Don't forget his promise in John
14, 18. He said, I will not leave you
comfortless. I will come to you. Himself. Which hath loved us. He comes to us in the worship,
doesn't he? To each one of us. He knows your favorite pew. Blessed are they to whom he gives
a hunger and a thirst after righteousness for they shall be. He loved us with an everlasting
love, and therefore with loving kindness, he's drawn us. He loved us so that he gave himself for us on Calvary. Everlasting
love, amazing love, infinite love, self-giving love. And he gives us everlasting consolation. and a good hope through grace.
And we're just gonna have to talk about that next time because
there's a lot to say about that. Everlasting consolation is through
grace. People hope in all kinds of things. They're encouraged by different
things. But the only good hope is through God's grace in his
son. If God has already given us everlasting
consolation, think about this in closing. He's given us everlasting
consolation and good hope through grace. So if he's done that,
then why does Paul pray in verse 17 that he would himself comfort
our hearts? Isn't that redundant language?
We have everlasting consolation, but he gives comfort to our hearts. That's
not redundant though. And I think every believer understands
this. Christ is our rock and our salvation
so that we need not fear. He's the good shepherd. He's
given his life for the sheep and nobody's gonna touch us.
Nobody can pluck a side of his hand. We can rest in that eternally.
He's our steadfast and eternal comfort. But we need also comfort right
now, don't we? This very second. He's our good hope through all
of eternity, but then we need fresh hope all the time, don't
we? It's not that we don't have consolation
in Him that's permanent, that can't ever waver. But because of our weakness,
and the Lord knows our infirmities, we need Him to comfort us in
the moment too, don't we? We need Him to take our hearts,
direct our hearts in the eye of faith and turn them toward
that everlasting consolation that we have in Him. And my prayer today is that he
may refresh our hearts now for the day. And tonight, when we
lay down our heads, may he touch our hearts and breathe fresh
hope into our spirit. And in all of our darkest hours
say to our souls, be not afraid, it is I. We need that all the time, don't
we? It's not a one-time thing. We need that all the time. May
He be gracious in that regard.