Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church,
located at 905 Yadkin Street in Kingsport, Tennessee, would
like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace
by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. And now, Pastor Gabe Stoniker. Our message today is going to
come from 1 Timothy chapter 2, if you would like to read along.
It will be 1 Timothy 2. And the title of this message
is a question. It is a very critical question. A very, very important question. I will give you that title in
just a moment. Let's begin by reading the first
seven verses here in 1 Timothy 2. Verse one says, I exhort,
therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions,
and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and for
all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable
life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable
in the sight of God our Savior. who will have all men to be saved
and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one
God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time. whereunto I am ordained a preacher
and an apostle. I speak the truth in Christ and
lie not, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. Now, did any of those statements
stand out to you? Any of the statements that the
apostle Paul made right there, did any of that grab your attention?
In verse four, he said, who will have all men to be saved and
to come unto a knowledge of the truth. Think about that, who
will have all men to be saved and to come unto a knowledge
of the truth. And then in verse six, he said, speaking of Christ,
he said, who gave himself a ransom for all. Now here's the title of our message
this morning. Does God want everybody to be
saved? That's an important question.
That is a very important question. Does God want everybody to be
saved? Does God want everybody to be
saved? I'm sure at some point you have
heard someone say, well, now, you know, God wants everybody
to be saved. I'm sure you've heard that. Somebody
has said that. Maybe you have said that. Well,
now God wants everybody to be saved. Let's ask this question
right here. Does he just because a man or
a woman says that Does that mean God truly does want that? Does
He want everybody to be saved? If He is God, if He is actually the Almighty
God, I'm sure you've also heard people refer to Him as God Almighty. Almighty. If He wants everybody
to be saved, And if he's God almighty, wouldn't we think everybody
would be saved? That's what he wanted. If he is the all powerful one, if nothing can overpower him,
nothing, nothing. If nothing can overpower or overturn
his will, or his work, if everyone and everything must bow to the
way that he says it's going to be. And if he says, if the God
of heaven, God almighty, if he says, my desire is for everybody
to be saved, wouldn't we think everybody would
be saved? Wouldn't that just be the way it is? We have a little bit of a dilemma
here that we need to consider. If there is a place of destruction,
if there is a place of torment, a place of damnation, and there is, there is, there
is a place called hell. I don't even enjoy saying that
word, but there is. And there are people in it. We
know that there are based on the scripture. We know that there
are, there are people in it. Our Lord has referred to it as
outer darkness. He has referred to it as the
lake of fire. So if not all souls are saved
and they're not, not all souls are saved. If not all souls are saved, then
here's our dilemma. It means one of two things. It
has to mean one of these two things. Number one, it either
means God is not really God. Not really. Or it means God has not purposed
for all men and women to be saved. It has to mean one of those two
things. If there are lost people, people who end up being lost
and there are, then it has to mean one of these two things.
Either God is not really God. This God that we talk about and
this God that we pray to and God that we preach, either he's
not really God after all, or He has not purposed for all men
and women to be saved. Now, we can establish this first
and foremost, God really is God. God truly is God. If that'll help us at all with
our dilemma, we can go ahead and get that one settled. God
really is God. Almighty God. If you look at
1 Timothy 1 verse 17, it says, now unto the King eternal, immortal,
invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and
ever. Amen. The only wise God. He said in Isaiah 45, I am God, and there is none else. He said
in Isaiah 43, I will work and who shall let it? Who will stop
me? Who will I have to ask permission
from? He said in Isaiah 46, my counsel shall stand and I will
do all my pleasure. What he's saying is I'll do whatever
I want to do. I'm God. David said in Psalm
115, our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath
placed. So clearly there's really no
dilemma at all. None whatsoever. If every soul
is not saved, then it means God has not purposed for every soul
to be saved. We see that in so many places
in the scripture. Here are a few, just a few that
stand out. Esau. God said, Jacob have I loved,
Esau have I hated. I have purpose to save Jacob. I have not purpose to save Esau. That's what God said. Pharaoh. The Pharaoh of Egypt. God said,
For this same purpose have I raised you up that I might show my power
in you. He said, I raised you up to tear
you down. That's what he said to Pharaoh. The same thing can be said about
Judas, his own disciple, his own follower. The Lord called
him the son of perdition. Perdition means utter destruction. It means ruin, it means loss. The Lord said he was lost according
to purpose, according to the scriptures, according to the
command. And if you look at chapter one
again, verse 18, it says, this charge I commit unto thee, son
Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that
thou by them mightest war a good warfare, holding faith in a good
conscience, which some having put away concerning faith have
made shipwreck, of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered
unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. That's an on
purpose announcement. He said they were delivered unto
the adversary that they might learn not to blaspheme. They
were delivered on purpose to the adversary. So clearly we
can see that God has not purposed for all men to be saved. All right. Then here's, here's
the question. Why does chapter two verse four
say who will have all men to be saved? Well, let's look at that in the
context that it was written. Chapter 2, verse 1 says, I exhort,
therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions,
and giving of thanks be made for all men. Well, why would
we do that? Why would we make supplications? That means begging in a humble
way, begging for something. PRAYER MEANS SPECIFICALLY TO
GOD, PRAYING TO GOD. INTERCESSION MEANS ON BEHALF
OF SOMEONE ELSE. IT'S VERY NATURAL TO BEG AND
PRAY TO GOD ON BEHALF OF OURSELVES, BUT WHY WOULD WE DO THAT ON BEHALF
OF SOMEBODY ELSE? VERSE 1, I EXHORT THEREFORE THAT
FIRST OF ALL SUPPLICATIONS, PRAYERS, INTERCESSIONS, GIVING OF THANKS
BE MADE FOR ALL MEN. If we know that God is absolutely
sovereign in all things and He has purposed a particular people
to be saved and they're going to be saved. If only God's elect are going
to be saved, then why would we do that? Why would we pray for
all men? Here's a good illustration of why this is a very good illustration
of why. Someone asked a man named Charles
Spurgeon, an old preacher of the gospel back in the late 1800s,
they asked him, if you believe that only God's elect will be
saved, they said, then why don't you just preach to God's elect?
He said, I would if they had a big E on their forehead, but
they don't. And I don't know who they are.
So I preach to all men and women. I preach to all men and women.
Who knows whether they may be one of the ones who were chosen
to salvation. God is going to save a people,
he said, out of every tribe, nation, kindred, and tongue on
this earth. out of every tribe, nation, kindred,
and tongue. Psalm 100 says, His mercy is
everlasting, and His truth endureth to all generations. I'm so glad
for that. He is gonna save from every nationality
of people. He is gonna save from every generation
of people. He is gonna save from every class
of people, kings all the way down to paupers. and many more
paupers than kings. Scripture says not many noble,
but the point is he's gonna save all types of people, all kinds
of people, all manner of men from all over the world, not
just Jews, but Gentiles too, thank God. If you look with me
at Acts chapter 11, It says in Acts chapter 11, this
is where the Lord came to Peter in a vision. And he said, I want
you to go preach the gospel to the Gentiles. And this was confusing
to Peter, very confusing because he thought that the promises
of God were only to God's chosen people. That's what Peter thought.
He said, I thought the promises of your word were just to your
chosen people. And so did the rest of the Jews.
They all thought that. And they are. The promises of
God are only to God's particular people, God's chosen people.
But here was the problem. Peter and the rest of the Jews
didn't know who God's people were. Romans 2 says, he is not a Jew,
which is one outwardly. Just because a man is born into
the nation of Israel, That's not what makes him a child of
God. He's not a Jew, which is one outwardly, but he's a Jew,
which is one inwardly. Circumcision is of the heart.
God said it's in the spirit. It's whoever God makes to be
one of his people, calls to himself. But the Jews didn't know this
yet. So when they found out that Peter went and preached the gospel
to the Gentiles, they said, why did you do that? What was the
purpose in that? Peter told him how God commanded
him to do so. And then after he did, after
he obeyed the word and went and preached to him, he told him
how God's Holy Spirit came to those Gentiles and brought faith
to those Gentiles, the faith of Christ that God gives to his
people. And he told them how God caused
those Gentiles to believe the message that was preached. He
said, I preached God's sovereignty to them and God's absolute power
and purpose in salvation. I preached God did the work alone
and they believed it. They believed the word. And if
you look right here in Acts chapter 11, verse 15, Peter said, as
I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them as on us at the
beginning. He's telling the Jews this. Verse
16, then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said,
John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with
the Holy Ghost. For as much then as God gave
them the light gift as he did unto us, who believed on the
Lord Jesus Christ, what was I that I could withstand God? When they
heard these things, the other Jews, when they heard these things,
they held their peace and glorified God saying, then hath God also
to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. At that moment, they
realized God's salvation is not limited to just that little nation
of Israel. It's gonna go to the whole world.
It's gonna circle the whole world. He is gonna have mercy on and
he is going to save men and women from all over the world. How
thankful we are as we sit right here, how thankful we are. It
doesn't matter whether a person is Jew, Gentile, male, female,
barbarian, Scythian, bond or free. God will have mercy on
whom he will have mercy. And it's all manner of men. So
if you look with me back at first Timothy chapter two, that's why
Paul said we need to be praying for everybody. PRAY FOR THEM. PRAY FOR THEM. WE NEED TO BE
PREACHING TO EVERYBODY. ALL MEN. ALL MEN. VERSE 1, I
EXHORT THEREFORE THAT FIRST OF ALL SUPPLICATIONS, PRAYERS, INTERCESSIONS,
AND GIVING OF THANKS BE MADE FOR ALL MEN. HE'S GONNA HAVE
MERCY ON ALL KINDS OF MEN. WHETHER THEY SEEM TO BE TOO SINFUL
OR TOO SELF-RIGHTEOUS. WHETHER THEY SEEM TO BE TOO IGNORANT
or too wise in their own eyes. God, in His mercy and in His
kindness and in His grace, in His love, He will have all men,
all kinds of men to be saved. Verse two says, for kings and
for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and
peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good
and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. We pray for the
salvation of all men. whoever God might be willing
to save, and we pray for God's control and restraint over all
men, that He might lead those who are in authority, that all
of God's people might lead a quiet and peaceable life, and He's
going to do that. God is in control. God is absolutely
sovereign over all men, and He will restrain and He will do
according to His will. Proverbs 21 verse 1 says, The
king's heart is in his hands, Christ's hands, the hand of the
Lord himself. As the rivers of water, he turneth
it whithersoever he will. One man is in control. His name
is the Lord Jesus Christ. The lot may be cast into men's
lap. The lot may be cast into our
lap on whatever the subject may be, but the scripture says the
whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. So Paul said, we pray
to the Lord concerning all men. Verse three, this is good and
acceptable in the sight of God, our Savior, who will have all
men to be saved. All manner of men, from all over
this world, He is able to save to the uttermost, no matter where
you are, physically, emotionally, mentally, He's able to save to
the uttermost and He will, He will. Verse four says, He will
have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of
the truth. Now, Every soul that he saves
will come to a knowledge of the truth. Every soul that he saves that
he purposes to save will come to a knowledge of the truth.
That is an evidence of who he saves. That's an evidence. He has not purposed to save all
men. He has not, but he has purposed
to save some out of all men. And the souls that he has purposed
to save, they are evidenced in this way. This is how you know
who he has purposed to say. He brings every single one of
them to a knowledge of the truth. If you look with me at John chapter
six, in John chapter six, verse 44, it says, no man can come
to me, this is Christ speaking, no man can come to me except
the father which hath sent me draw him and I will raise him
up at the last day. Verse 45 says, it is written
in the prophets and they shall be all taught of God. Every man, therefore, that hath
heard and hath learned of the Father cometh to me." Every one
of them. Every man that hath heard and
learned of the Father cometh to me. They shall all be taught
of God. All of my saved people, he's
saying, they're all gonna be taught of God. What are they
gonna be taught? Well, number one, they're gonna
be taught that no man can come to Christ except the Father who
sent Christ draw that center to Christ. They're gonna be taught
that. They're gonna learn the truth
about how high and holy God is. No man can approach unto Him
unless God makes that man acceptable to approach unto Him. They're
gonna learn the truth about how low and sinful they are. They're gonna get a true understanding
of the depth of their depravity and their wickedness before God.
They're gonna realize, I'm not as good as I thought I was. I'm
a sinner against God. Oh, I'm a sinner. They're gonna
learn the truth about salvation. They're gonna realize my works
won't do me any good because they're all filthy rags. They're
all tainted with sin. It's gonna take the work of Christ
alone. It's gonna take the blood of
Christ alone without me adding anything to it. They're gonna
come to know the truth. They are going to come to know
a person. the truth himself. He said, I
am the truth. I'm the truth. Man tries to satisfy
the law, obey the word of God. Once he sees the person, the
truth, Christ, he will see the law is satisfied in him. Man
tries to make all these sacrifices to God. He gives up all these
things and makes all these sacrifices. But once a man sees the truth,
Christ himself, HE WILL REALIZE THE SACRIFICE HAS ALREADY BEEN
MADE. IT'S SETTLED. GOD IS SATISFIED. NOTHING ELSE
HAS TO BE DONE. IT'S ALL FINISHED. OVER IN JOHN CHAPTER 8, VERSE
32, OUR LORD SAID, YOU SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH AND THE TRUTH
SHALL MAKE YOU FREE. MAKE YOU FREE. FREE FROM TRYING
TO SECURE A SALVATION. that Christ has already secured
for you. All of God's saved people, every soul he purposed to save
will be brought to a knowledge of Christ the truth. So God has
purposed in his heart to save a particular people. He has purposed
to draw those people to himself and His purpose to reveal the
truth to them. That's how we know. Now back
in 1 Timothy 2, verse four said, who will have all men to be saved
and to come unto the knowledge of the truth for there's one
God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. That's what God's people come
to know. One God and I'm not it, He is. and only one mediator
between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus, my Lord. He's my
only hope. I cannot mediate for myself.
Verse six says, who gave himself a ransom for all, all that the
father gave to him. That's what Christ said. John
17, he said, I pray not for the world, meaning every soul in
the world, but for them which thou hast given me out of the
world." He said, that's who I'm praying for. That's who I'm gonna
save. That's who I'm gonna save. He
told Nicodemus, you hear verses like John 3, 16. God so loved
the world, he gave his only begotten son, whosoever believes on him
might be saved. Well, the Lord said, you must
be born again by the Spirit of God. Whoever God sends that Spirit
to will believe on Him. I pray that's you and me. I pray
God will send His Spirit to us, cause us to see Christ, and bow
the knee to Him, that will be our evidence. May God save our
souls. Till next week, may the Lord
bless His word to our hearts. You have been listening to a
message by Gabe Stoniker, pastor of Kingsport Sovereign Grace
Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like a copy of this
message or to hear other messages of sovereign grace, log on to
our website at ksgctn.org. If you would like to come and
worship with us, our service times are Sunday morning Bible
study at 10 o'clock a.m., worship at 10.45 a.m., and 6 o'clock
p.m., Wednesday evening at 7.30 p.m. Please tune in next week
for another message of God's free and sovereign grace.