Turn with me, if you would, to
2 Peter 3. 2 Peter 3. This is not our text. But I want to begin here. And
I want to start this Bible study with a little illustration to
set up what we're going to look at. By the Lord's gift, a child is
born into this world. Children come into this world.
And that child can't walk, that child can't talk. He or she can
just lay there. That's all they can do. They
can't do anything. And then one day the child sits
up. And then the child crawls. And then the child steps. And then the child walks. And then the child goes off to
school and learns. And then the child drives a car. And then the child goes off to
college. And the day that child goes off to college, He or she
is not one speck more alive than the day he was born. Does that
make sense? After all that, after all that,
after all that stuff, that child is not one ounce more alive than
the day he was born. But he has grown. He or she has grown. All right. The scriptures do not teach two
methods for salvation. Salvation freely given and salvation
earned. The scriptures do not teach that.
This word plainly declares that life is freely given by the grace
of God. Just like when a child is born,
when life is conceived, that is freely given by the grace
of God. And it's the same thing spiritually
by grace. You are saved, but with that
life. God freely gives life. How does
life come? God freely gives it. But with
that life, with that grace that is given to a sinner comes the
command to grow in that grace. Grow in it. That doesn't mean
become more alive. Grow in it. Grow in the life
that has been given to us. Look with me right here at 2
Peter 3. This is how Peter ended his entire
letter. He ended with this exhortation. 2 Peter 3 verse 18. He said,
but grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ, To Him be glory, both now and forever. Amen. That's a wonderful verse of scripture. Grow in grace and grow in the
knowledge of this wonderful Savior. To Him be glory, now and forever. Amen. As God has given us this
life in Christ, our life is in Christ. And as God has given
us life in Christ, may he enable us to grow in this life. I want to grow in grace. I really do. I want to grow. I want to be gracious. I want to grow in love. I want to be loving. I really
do. I want to grow in faith. I want to trust God. I want to grow in obedience. As we deny the law for salvation,
As much as I absolutely deny the works of the law for salvation
with that same fervent heart, I want to cling to the commandments
of my Lord because I love him and believe him. I want to grow
in obedience. Not so I can be more alive just
because I want to grow. I want to grow. I want to grow
in diligence. I want to grow in a concern for
men's souls. I believe that our Lord was telling
us the truth when he said, if you ask, you'll receive. I believe
him when he said, if you ask any good thing in my name, you'll
receive it. Lord, I'd like a new car. That's
not a good thing. That is not a good thing. He
may give me that, and it'll be the worst lemon I've ever owned,
and it'll cost me all kinds of money, and he'll prove to me,
don't ask for things that are not good. Lord, would you please
save their souls? This soul, those souls, these
souls, and those souls. That's a good thing. That is
a good thing. If the Lord would give us a true,
fervent heart to beg him for the salvation of men's souls,
I believe with all my heart he'll answer our prayer. I really do. We have example after example
after example of men who loved God and bowed to God and they
begged God on the behalf of their cities. Look at Jonah went crying
to Nineveh. Abraham begged God for despair. You know that city. Lot was in
it. Sodom. Right? And he said, I'm going
to pull out my own before it's destroyed. And God will pull
out his own. All of these cities are going
to be destroyed. But if we have this fervent heart and God gives
it, I believe with all our heart that he will save men's souls. I believe he gives the heart
when he has purposed to save the souls. So Lord, please cause
us to grow in that, cause us to really grow and have a fervent
heart for it. And Lord, would you give us a
fervent heart for this ministry? A fervent, fervent heart for
everything that's involved in this ministry. Now that's what
the Apostle Paul is talking about in our text. I said all that
to set up what he is saying in our text. Go with me now over
to 2 Corinthians 6. 2nd Corinthians 6 verse 1 says,
we then as workers together with him beseech you also that you
receive not the grace of God in vain. We beseech you that
you receive not the grace of God in vain. He said, we then as workers together,
if you'll notice with him is in italics. We then as workers together,
we who have been called to the work of the ministry, we who
are workers together in the ministry, we beseech you also that you
receive not the grace of God in vain. Let's not receive the grace of
God in vain. Now this right here is extremely
important. No sinner has ever received the grace of God in
vain. Not one sinner. Not one sinner. Never. Never has a sinner ever
received the grace of God in vain. If it is received in vain,
then it was never truly received at all. It was only heard with
the ear and not with the heart. God never ever sends his free
gift, this free grace, he never sends That free gift to a heart
of a sinner without that free gift accomplishing the purpose
for which it was sent. Always. If God purposes to save
a sinner by freely giving the blood of Jesus Christ to that
sinner, then that blood is going to save that sinner. And it's done. If God saves us,
we're saved. We're saved. The gift of God's
grace cannot be lost. Oh, well, you received it in
vain. You had it, but you lost it. It cannot be lost. The gift of God's grace cannot
be rejected. And that's wonderful. It's irresistible. It cannot
be rejected. The gift of God's grace cannot
be taken back. The gifts and calling of God
are without repentance. God's grace has never been and
God's grace never will be received in vain. What he's talking about
is growth in that grace. Growth in the grace. He's saying
let's not receive the gift of God's grace and then not grow
in it. And we'll see what he means in
just a minute. Verse 2 says, For he saith, I have heard thee
in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored
thee. He's quoting Isaiah 49. Turn
with me over there to Isaiah chapter 49. This is God the Father speaking
to God the Son. Isaiah 49 verse 7 says, Thus
saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and His Holy One,
to Him whom man despiseth, to Him whom the nation abhorreth,
to a servant of rulers, kings shall see and arise, princes
also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful and
the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee. This is what
God the Father says to God the Son. I choose thee. Verse eight,
thus saith the Lord, in an acceptable time have I heard thee. God the Father said to Christ,
I have heard you. He heard him before the foundation
of the world. Our Lord said, I will be the
lamb slain. God said, I heard you. He heard
him in John 17. He prayed what, what we call
his high priestly prayer. He's our sacrifice. He's the
priest who offered the sacrifice. And he said in John 17, in his
priestly prayer on our behalf, he said, I pray for them. And the father said, I've heard
you. He went to Gethsemane, and the father heard him in the garden
of Gethsemane. He said, if it be possible, let
this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, thine
be done. Father said, I heard you. The
father heard him as he hung on the cross. He said, father, forgive
them. They know not what they do. He
said, I've heard you. The father heard him every single
day. It says our Lord is daily making
intercession for us. And the father says, I've heard
you. I've heard you. Verse eight, thus sayeth the
Lord in an acceptable time. Have I heard thee? And in a day
of salvation, have I helped thee? And I will preserve thee and
give thee for a covenant of the people to establish the earth
and to cause to inherit the desolate heritages that thou mayest say
to the prisoners, go forth and to them that are in darkness,
show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways and
their pasture shall be in all high places. That's the gospel. In an acceptable time, God the
Father heard the intercession of our substitute. And the Apostle
Paul said, behold, right now is that acceptable time. Right
now. God will show mercy right now. If we'll enter into this, it's
an amazing thought. God will show mercy right now. There's going to come a day really
soon when it cannot be said, God will show mercy today. In
that day, we won't be able to say it. Right now, today, God
is showing grace right now. God is showing mercy right now. Today is the day of salvation. Today is. The Apostle Paul said,
God has called us to the work of the ministry, the work of
declaring today is the day. Today is the good news. He's
called us to declare that to every man. So we said, let's
not receive this gift of the work in vain. Let's put all importance
on it. And this is what I say to myself.
And this is what I say to us. Let's put all importance on it. The work of this declaration,
we are all working together. Let's put all importance on it. The ministry of the gospel, the
declaration of the gospel, make it number one in life. Let's not allow our lives to
revolve around our worship and the declaration of the gospel.
I said that wrong. Let's let our lives revolve around
our worship. I'm glad I said it wrong. It
makes us think about it. Let's let our lives revolve around
our worship and the declaration of the gospel, not let our worship
and the declaration of the gospel revolve around our lives. All
importance, all importance, all diligence, let's guard it. Let's
guard it. Lord, keep a fervent heart for
it. Don't let us grow stale. Don't
let us veer off. Don't let us slip away. Let's
guard it. Let's protect it. Let's pray
for it. Let's beg for it. This is the only hope we have.
This is the only hope men and women have. It does not matter. I'm speaking to myself. I have
loved ones who do not know this gospel. It doesn't matter what
they do in this life. It doesn't matter what they accomplish
in this life. It does not matter. Nothing matters. There's one hope. There's one
hope. There's one hope. Go with me
back to our text. Verse 2 says, For he saith, I
have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have
I succored thee. Behold, now is the acceptable
time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. We must preach this gospel right
now. I'm so grateful for all of the
avenues the Lord has provided for us to spread the gospel.
We must preach it right now. It must go out right now. I don't
know how many more days we have. I don't know how much longer
the earth is going to exist. We must preach it right now.
Men and women must hear it right now. And if we get to it, we're
going to see we must do it in love. We must do it in patience.
But we must do it. We must do it. Do you see how
verse two is in parentheses? You see that the whole verse
is in parentheses. That is an inserted thought. All right, let's read verses
one and three together. We then as workers together with
him beseech you also that you receive not the grace of God
in vain. Giving no offense in anything
that the ministry be not blamed. Giving no offense in anything
that the ministry be not blamed in every way that we conduct
ourselves. In every way. Let's have this
question in the front of our minds, and this needs to start
with me. We all represent the ministry,
I more so than anybody. But we all represent this ministry. We all represent what is preached
here. We all represent the God who
is preached here. And in every single way that
we conduct ourselves, let's have this question in the front of
our minds. How is it going to affect the ministry? How is it
going to affect the ministering of this gospel of life? How will
it be affected by whatever it is I'm doing? He said, don't
give an offense in anything that the ministry be not blamed. When a Groover said to us, I
actually called on the phone right after Cody had died. She
was calling the churches to update them on some things and she told
me that the one thing that was so important to her and Cody,
the one thing they begged the Lord for was come the end of
their time in the ministry, that the Lord would allow it to be
so that the ministry would not be blamed. for their conduct. And she said, I believe the Lord
answered our prayer. And the Lord took Cody at a time
when the Lord was using him. Oh, I pray the same thing. I
pray the same thing for myself. I pray the same thing for us.
Don't give an offense in anything that the ministry be not blamed.
The preaching of the cross is offense enough. It is an offense. I want to tell this. You're going
to have opportunities to talk to people about this. You tell
man he doesn't have any part in salvation. And you tell man
all of these truths about God being God, and that's an offense. You tell man what he truly is
by nature in his flesh, it's all an offense. And that's an
offense enough. I don't need to add my offense
to it. Not at all. Go with me over to
1 Corinthians 10. 1 Corinthians 10 verse 31 says,
whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, Do
all to the glory of God. Give none offense, neither to
the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God, even
as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit,
but the profit of many, that they may be saved. He said, for
the sake of the gospel being preached and being heard without
hindrance, Don't offend the religious. Now again, I want to say, as
you preach God's word, it is an offense. It's going to offend,
but let God's word be the offense. He's saying in our own selves
and our conduct, don't offend the Jews. They're all religious
with their ceremonies and this and that. Don't offend the Jews.
Don't offend the religious. Don't just be just an arrogant,
you know, just because you can be and I have the truth. Don't
offend the Jews. He said don't offend the Gentiles,
those who are not religious, those who don't know anything
about religion. And don't offend the church of God. Don't offend
anybody. Don't offend anybody with nothing but the word. The word is offense enough. You
quote a verse of scripture, that's offense enough. Do it with love. Go with me back over to the text
now. Verse three, giving no offense
in anything that the ministry be not blamed. But in all things,
approving ourselves or proving ourselves as the ministers of
God. And this definitely applies to
preachers, but all believers are ministers of God. All of
us, we're all working together in the ministry of the gospel.
Verse four in all things, approving ourselves as the ministers of
God in much patience. Much patience. That's the first
thing he mentions. And I'm going to quickly go down
through these things that he that he mentions right here.
I'm running out of time. But the first thing he mentions is much
patience. How can we not be an offense?
Lord, give us much patience. Give us much patience, patience
with each other, patience with all men. Lord, give us patience. Give us patience. As we go through
these, these are exhortations to us. There's no doubt about
it, but this is Christ in verse four alone. He said, patience,
afflictions, necessities, distresses. That's Christ. The long suffering
of the Lord, the patience of the Lord. That's our salvation.
He's the one who is patients. He said, I'm the man that has
seen affliction. All of this is Christ, every
bit of it. But he's our example in what it means to be given
to the ministry and not be an offense for the ministry. Number one, he said, have patience.
He's had so much patience with us. Prove the ministry. by showing
that Christ is all I need. He's made to be all I need. Prove it with much patience.
Verse four, he said, in afflictions, endure afflictions with patience.
They're going to come. He said, just be patient. Wait
on the Lord. In distress, distress of the body, the mind, the soul,
Lord, give me patience. Verse 5, He said in stripes,
in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings,
whatever's going on on the outside of this body. Let's look to Christ. That's always the answer. Look
to Christ, wait on the Lord, ask him to give us a good confession
of the hope that's in us. Same thing applies to the things
that are going on inside the body. Verse six, he said, by
pureness, by knowledge, by long suffering, by kindness, by the
Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned. Pureness. Are we pure? In Christ, yes. In this flesh,
no. He's saying, let's lean toward
though. Let's desire and strive to be
the way we are in Christ. Well, you'll never attain it
to the fullness of Christ. I know, but I can still strive
for it. You'll never save yourself that
way. I know, but I can still strive to be like him. Put on
the new man. And I'm not going to go over
there, we were going to go to Ephesians 4 and it talks about putting
off the old man and putting on the new man and being done with
these things. Let anger go, let malice go,
let fornication go, let all of these things go. Uncleanness,
just let it go. It's an offense. Blasphemy. I'll
say this, let's guard against blasphemy. Taking our Lord's
name in vain. Let's guard against that. That's
something that nobody considers anymore. Nobody considers it.
The next time we hear a shocking statement, let's not respond
to that by taking our Lord's name in vain. And I don't even
like saying it, but I'm going to do it for illustration. Somebody
says something shocking, the first thing you hear is, Jesus! Let's not do that. It's an offense. The point of this is, let's not
be offensive. It's an offense to God Almighty. It's an offense
to His people. The next time somebody says something
that's absolutely ridiculous, let's not say, Lord! Oh, don't do that. Oh my God. People, you know,
I ought to have the kids in here. I want to teach those kids, don't
text OMG. Don't text that. It's an offense. It's an offense. Let's let's
not give an offense. All of those things that he mentioned,
verse seven, he said, by the word of truth over in Colossians
three, it says, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. This is how we cannot give an
offense. Let this word of truth dwell in us richly. Verse seven,
by the power of God, what is the power of God? I'm not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ. It's the power of God unto salvation.
Let's dwell on the gospel. Stay right there. Verse 7, the
armor of righteousness on the right hand, on the left. Ephesians
6 talks about the whole armor of God, our loins being girt
with truth, the breastplate of righteousness, our feet shot
with the gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation,
the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. If we want
the gospel to be the offense and not us, then just stand in
that, just stand in that, stand in his word. Verse 8, whether
men see it to be honor or dishonor, whether they believe it's an
evil report or a good report. You preach this gospel, tell
this truth, stay right there. Whether they believe you're a
deceiver or telling the truth. Verse 9, preach it as an unknown
and yet well-known. Preach it in humility. And at
the same point in time, preach it as the oracles of God. Verse
9, preach it as dying and behold we live. And that's how we preach
this gospel. We preach it as dying men and
women, two dying men and women, but behold we live. Preach it,
verse 9, as chastened and not killed. Chastened but not destroyed. Verse 10, he said, as sorrowful
yet always rejoicing, As poor yet making many rich is having
nothing and yet possessing all things. He said, stay right there. Stay right there. Stay on the
gospel and you won't give an offense. Just stay on the gospel.
And the ministry won't be blamed. I beg him to let that be us. Let's stay on the gospel. Let's
stay on the word of God. Let's stay on the words of Christ.
Whether we eat, drink, talk, walk, breathe, whatever it is
we do. Lord, would you keep us? Allow
us to do everything we do for the glory of God. Everything
that the ministry of this good news might not be blamed. May
the Lord help us to do that. You dismissed.