Second Timothy chapter 2. Second Timothy chapter 2. Paul has given Timothy a lot of instructions, good instructions. These instructions are for us
also. You know, the Word of God, I
was thinking of this yesterday, the Word of God is relevant to
every day. It's never outdated. It's as
if Paul's writing it to us right now, speaking to us through his
letter, the Holy Spirit speaking to us through this epistle. You know, Paul exhorted Timothy
and told him to hold fast Sound words, the gospel, that's what
he's saying, the gospel, that which we can go to the word of
God with and establish what we are saying by the word of God.
Not this is what I think, that means nothing. What this book
says means everything. What it says, that's what means
everything, is what this book says. And then Paul urged Timothy
TO BE STRONG IN THE GOSPEL OF GRACE BECAUSE IT WILL ALWAYS
BE UNDER ATTACK. THE GOSPEL OF GOD'S GRACE WILL
ALWAYS BE UNDER ATTACK BY SATAN AND BY MEN, BY THE UNBELIEVING
WORLD, ESPECIALLY THE FALSE RELIGION. IT WILL ALWAYS BE UNDER ATTACK.
AND BECAUSE OF THAT, HE EXHORTS TIMOTHY TO ENDURE HARDNESS. as
a good soldier because hardness comes with a warfare. There is
no warfare that does not bring hardness with it, suffering with
it. And then he tells Timothy to
commit the gospel to faithful men, men that it's evident God
has gifted. in the preaching and teaching
of the gospel. He said, you commit this to faithful
men. And after you're gone, they'll
carry on and they'll commit it to faithful men. That's how the
gospel continues. That's how it continues. God
raises up men and then the gospel is committed to their trust.
And then as older men die, you know, we dies and then they go
on. And then that's, uh, that's how
God promotes the gospel is committing it to faithful men. Now he says
in verse eight, he says, remember, bring, keep this in mind, Timothy,
Remember Jesus Christ, having been raised from the dead, he's
alive. I said this not too long ago,
Jesus Christ is alive and well right now, seated at God's right
hand, ruling the universe. He's running everything. It's
all a power. All authority is in the hands
of that man, the God man. to rule and reign. It's put in
his hand as a mediator. It's put into his hand. So he
says, remember Jesus Christ having been raised from the dead of
the seed of David, according to my gospel. And Paul tells
him to remember this, that Christ is raised from the dead of the
seed of David. This is the promised seed. Go
all the way back to the garden. He's the promised seed. And this
is where the gospel This is one of the areas where the gospel
is most attacked, is Christ's resurrection, Christ reigning,
Christ seated at God's right hand. You go through the book
of Acts and the theme of the book of Acts is Christ raised
from the dead. God has raised him from the dead
and he has made him both Lord and Christ, both Lord and Savior. That's who he is. And he tells
Timothy, you remember this and you stand for this. You stand
for it, don't back down. And in saying this, saying that
Jesus Christ having been raised from the dead, he's implying
that first of all, he came to this earth. You can't be raised
from the dead if you're not here. You can't be raised from the
dead if you didn't die. So he's saying that the son of God came
into this world, became a man, he became bone of our bone, flesh
of our flesh, and died. He literally died on the cross. He died. He was put to death
in the flesh, the scripture says. But on the third day, he rose
again because we are not saved by a dead Christ. We are saved
by the risen Lord. We are saved by his death. We
are saved from our sins by his death. He died in our stead.
But now he didn't stay dead. He's not like the animals that
were sacrificed all those years under the Mosaic law. All those
lambs, when they were put to death, they stayed dead. But
Christ is risen. Christ, whom John the Baptist
said, behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of
the world. He's alive. He's alive. We have a living
sacrifice before the throne of God. John said in Revelation,
he said, I saw a lamb that was standing before the throne of
God as it had been slain. There he stood in his sacrificial
character alive. He's alive. Boy, I'd love to
shout that over the world. He's alive. That's hope for us. That's hope for us. And that's
a warning to the world. He's alive. Those men who put
him to death, they didn't want that to be so. They knew if that's
so, they're in trouble. They're in trouble. But he's
alive. That's what he's saying here.
He was put to death in the flesh, but he rose again. And there
he sits at God's right hand as a king of kings, Lord of lords. There he sits as the mediator
between God and men. And there he sits ruling this
world. And this is the area, this is the foundation of faith
that Satan would like to destroy. And that's why Paul told Timothy,
he said, you remember Jesus Christ having been raised from the dead
of the seed of David, according to my gospel, my gospel. Can you say the gospel is your
gospel? It's my gospel. Paul said, it's my gospel because
God saved me by it. It's my gospel because God entrusted
it to me to preach. It's my gospel because it's different
from all the other so-called gospels being preached. You know,
Paul said there's only one gospel. There is only one gospel. There
are many gospels being preached. Paul said in Corinthians, they
will come preaching another gospel and another Jesus. There are
many Jesus is being preached today. but there's only one Lord
Jesus Christ of this Bible. And Paul says, according to my
gospel, and he could say that also because the gospel that
he preached, he received directly from the Lord Jesus Christ. He
received it from Christ. He didn't get it from anybody
else. He got it from the Lord Jesus Christ. And I also know
this, we should be identified by the gospel we believe and
preach. I don't want to be identified by anything else than the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's how I want to be identified.
Whenever I come up to die, I want to be identified with the gospel
I preached. That's how I want to be identified.
I thought it was interesting. You know, Henry fought in World
War II in the Navy. But when he died, when he went
home to be with the Lord, he did not have a military funeral.
Never had it. He loved his country. He served
his country. But he was a soldier of the cross. That's how he wanted
to be remembered, as a soldier of the cross. And he didn't have
a military funeral. But what he did have, he had
a gospel funeral. He sure had a gospel funeral. And that's the way I think every
servant of God wants to be. That's the way every servant
of God wants. You want a gospel funeral. Now the gospel, Paul was telling
Timothy, is the cause of my sufferings and imprisonment. There in verse
9, wherein I suffer trouble. You know, I heard Henry say this.
I was listening to him preach a message this morning on this.
He said, if we don't suffer any over the gospel, it's because
we don't believe it. We don't believe it. Because
Paul says here, wherein I suffer trouble. Christ said in this
world, you shall suffer persecution. You will. It's not might. You will. And Paul says, wherein
I suffer trouble as an evildoer. Even unto bonds, even unto these
chains. He was chained to two guards.
But the Word of God is not bound. Here's the good news. The Word
of God's not bound. It doesn't matter whether I'm
bound or not, you know. It doesn't matter if I'm in prison or not.
It doesn't matter if they chain me to a dungeon wall. The Word
of God cannot be bound. It cannot be chained up. Christ
said to Peter, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you.
It will not hold out the gospel. The iron curtain, it cannot hold
up the gospel. You know, we've had a few times
here, someone listening from China, you know, during service
here, they can't hold out the gospel. Can't do it. If God's
going to send the gospel somewhere, it's going, it's going and Satan
and, and all hell can't stop. Can't do it. The gospel is not
bound. He said, I'm, I suffer. I'm suffering
my, this imprisonment and afflictions because of the gospel I preach,
but the gospel I preach is not bound. It's not bound. You know, we, we learned through
the scriptures that through the suffering of the gospel, whether
it be Paul or any preacher of the gospel, the church, you know,
that becomes a means of advancing the gospel. Look over in Acts chapter 8. In Acts chapter 8. Listen to this in verse 1, 1
through 4. And Saul was consenting unto
his death, unto the death of Stephen. This is Paul. And at
that time, there was a great persecution against the church,
which was at Jerusalem, and they were all scattered abroad throughout
the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen
to his burial and made great lamentation over him. And as
for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house,
IN HAILING, MEN AND WOMEN COMMITTED THEM TO PRISON. THEREFORE THEY
THAT WERE SCATTERED ABROAD WENT EVERYWHERE PREACHING THE GOSPEL. You reckon Paul, you know Paul's
writing this letter to Timothy, he's about to be executed by
Nero. You reckon he doesn't remember
He is what he was doing against the church, consenting unto their
deaths. And I have no doubt that Paul's
like, I'm glad to do this. I'm glad to do this. He watched
others do it. He watched Stephen do it. He
watched Stephen do it, praying that the Lord wouldn't lay it
to their charge. He watched Stephen suffer and die and be stoned.
You think you think right now he was he's the least bit scared
it no No, he saw the piece that was on Stevens face And the others
that he that he committed to death It's consented to their
death No, no Someone said this persecution
over the gospel is like wind blowing over a fire It just burns
hotter and makes the gospel shine even brighter Makes it shine
even brighter. Then here's Paul's motive in
preaching the gospel. In verse 10, therefore, because
in what he's saying here, because trouble brings gain to Christ.
Because it's really gain, it's not a loss, it brings gain. Therefore,
I endure all things for the elect's sake. I'm glad to do this. I'M
GLAD TO ENDURE THIS PERSECUTION. I'M GLAD TO ENDURE THIS IMPRISONMENT. I ENDURE ALL THINGS FOR THE ELECT'S
SAKE, THAT THEY MAY ALSO OBTAIN THE SALVATION WHICH IS IN CHRIST
JESUS WITH ETERNAL GLORY. GOD THE FATHER, HE'S SAYING HERE,
HAS CHOSEN A PEOPLE. YOU CAN'T READ THE BIBLE AND
NOT SEE THAT. I mean, you have to just be willfully,
willfully blind not to see that. He's chosen those people and
he's given them to his son, Jesus Christ, to redeem. He gave them
to him to be their surety. It's a multitude of sinners,
a bunch of no good people to bring them home, pay their
sin debt. Every last one of us have a sin
debt. Every person that comes into
this world has a sin debt. It's a debt they can't pay. You
can't pay it because God's law demands absolute perfection.
You read God's law and only a fool, only a fool will say, I can do
that. I can do that. I can't do that. I thank God
he provided one who could do that and did do that. His son
in the flesh kept the law in our place. Christ became our
redeemer, our surety, our substitute, our prophet, our priest, our
king, our everything that we need to stand before God. Paul said, I endure all things
for the elect's sake. You know, our Lord said in John
17, nine, I pray for, I pray not for the world. He said this,
but for them, but for themselves giving me. And it's on account of them.
You know, it's on account of the, you who believe here, you
who believe the gospel, God's chosen you. That's why you believe.
That's why you believe. God called you by His grace.
You're born of God. The faith you have is of the
operation of the Spirit of God. And God has sent you a preacher,
pastor. He had one here before me, and
then he sent me. And he has sent me here to preach
the gospel. And one of the prayers that I
have constantly is that the Lord would bring the sheep that are
out in this community, that he would bring them into the fold.
Who knows that? Who knows? I mean, we have a
whole community full of sinners. And who knows? Who knows who's
out there yet? God knows. I don't. And that's
why we preach. That's why we preach. Paul said, here's the reason
why I endure all things. Here's the reason why God sends
preachers is God has an elect people. And they're willing,
these preachers of his that he sends are willing to give up
everything. They're willing to sell out everything. For the Alexa and for the glory
of Jesus Christ. Our goal in preaching is to glorify
Christ, and those sinners whom the Lord
has chosen will come and hear the gospel and believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and they will believe on Him. Now Paul says
here in verse 11, it's a faithful saying, and that's one of Paul's
pet sayings it's a faithful it's a true saying it's like getting
your attention it's like it'd be like me saying listen listen
to me Paul says this is a faithful saying this is a true saying
if we be dead with with him that is with Christ we shall also
live with him if we be dead with him what does he mean if we be
dead with Christ turn over to Galatians chapter 2 In Galatians chapter 2, look in verse 20. Paul said, I am crucified with
Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in
me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the
faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Now look over in Galatians chapter
6. In Galatians 6, 14, Paul says here, but God forbid
that I should glory, that is, glory in anything that I have
accomplished, anything that has to do with me. God forbid that
I should glory, save, or accept in the cross of the Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto
the world. The world's dead to me, and I'm
dead to the world. I'm dead to its principles. I
don't live by the principles of the world no more. I live
by the principles of grace. Then turn over to, and I got
this one from Henry, listening to him, Matthew chapter five. Here's the difference between
the principles of the world and the principles of grace. Henry told us in the preacher
school, he said, don't be afraid to use other men, good men, just
add what God gives you to it. Nothing's original with us. Even the sin I have, I got it
from my parents. Let me see here if I can find
it. Chapter 5. Look in verse 38. Ye have heard
that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, tooth for tooth.
That's the principle of the world. Do unto others before they do
it to you. That's the principle of the world. But here's the
principle of grace. But I say to you that you resist
not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek,
turn to him the other one also. And if any man will sue thee
at the law and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak
also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go two miles
with thee. That's grace. That's the principle
of grace. Give to him that ask thee, and
from him that would borrow of thee, turn not thou away. You
have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor
and hate thine enemy. That's the principles of the
world. Here's the principle of grace. But I say to you, love
your enemies. Bless them that curse you, do
good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully
use you and persecute you, that you may be the children of your
Father which is in heaven. For he makes his son to rise
on the evil and on the good, and he sends rain on the just
and the unjust." That's the difference between the principle of the
world and the principle of grace. We operate under the principle
of grace, not the world. That's why Paul said, the world's
crucified to me, and I'm crucified to the world. I don't, I don't, I'm not concerned
what the world thinks of me. I'm not concerned. Peer pressure. Peer pressure. Boy, I tell you, if you can just
get over peer pressure, you could save yourself a lot of heartache,
couldn't you? And then he says here, if we
suffer in verse 12, if we suffer, if we suffer, if, what he's saying
here, if we don't, if we don't recant, if we don't disown Christ
out of fear of men, If we don't disown Christ to avoid persecution,
or in order to win the favor of the world, if we don't deny
Christ, but if we suffer, we shall also reign with Him. You
know, everybody here is not that far from the end of life. I mean, from the youngest to
the oldest. What is 70 years? Seriously, what if you live a
hundred? It's nothing. Methuselah, 969
years. You know what it says about Methuselah? And he died. And he died. Adam lived around 900 something
years and he died. Go and read Genesis. These long
lives, they were living almost a millennium. But at the end
of every last one of them it says, and he died. And he died. And that'll be said of me, and
that'll be said of you. And he, and she died. But if
we are in Christ, we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, we
will not die. He that believes in me, he said,
shall not die. We're just transferring. We're not going to experience
death. The body's going to experience
dying, but my soul, which is me, I'm not going to experience
death. And you're not going to experience
it, you believe. If we suffer with him, we reign
with him. If we deny him, if we deny him in order to keep
a position, in order to keep popularity, in order to not be
persecuted, it says he'll deny us because he'll deny us because
we're not his. It's evident because we denied
him. We denied him. If we believe not, there in verse
13, if we believe not, yet He abides faithful, He cannot deny
Himself. You know, my believing not, if
I believe not, it doesn't change who Christ is, does it? Doesn't
change the covenant of grace, doesn't change those things.
The Lord Jesus Christ will abide faithful to His covenant, that's
between Him and the Father. He'll abide faithful to His word
of promise. that he has here in scripture.
John Gill said this, and this is comforting here. He said here, John Gill says
this, that he may be speaking of believers whose faith is sometimes
quite low, but Christ is faithful to his covenant engagements for
them and will not suffer them to finally fall away. Because
you know what? Sometimes we believe not. Oh,
you have little faith. He says, why do you doubt? You know doubting is believing
not. It's believing not. If he didn't remain faithful,
you and I'd be gone. Because he remains faithful to
the father, the covenant, to his promises, his word. And when
you and I believe not, We're scared and we're worried. We don't know how things are
going to turn out. That's believe not. But he remains
faithful. He doesn't cast us off. He doesn't
run us off. Isn't that good news? And last
of all, verse 14, of these things, put them in remembrance, put
them, those who preach and those who listen. You know, that's
what's happening right now, this morning. God, God Almighty, is
putting us in remembrance of these things. When we leave here,
it's like, it's like the disciples over in John chapter six, they
went down to the sea and they went out there in that water
and trouble. And that's what, you know, you're going to go
back out here, out of here. You're going to go back to your jobs
or whatever. You're going to go back out there in the world. But every Sunday and every Thursday
we come here and we are put in remembrance of these things.
Again, we are encouraged. We are encouraged. And he said,
charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words
to no profit. Well, doesn't the Bible say this?
I had a man say that to me here some time ago. I said, that's
not even in the Bible. That's not even in the Bible.
Where'd you get that? How many times have you had somebody
say that? You know, I've several times
working over the years with me in it. And especially if they
know I'm a preacher. I had one lady, one lady said
this. I don't think she'd say it now,
but she said it then. She said to her son, she goes,
you can ask him anything. He knows everything about the
Bible. No, I don't. Nobody does. God does. God does. But don't talk about things,
he says here, don't bring up, he says, words of no, useless,
useless conversation. A totally useless conversation
will lead to nothing but doubts, and Satan is in that. Satan is in this. I was watching
a debate some time ago between two men that were debating over
translations of the King James and other translations and stuff.
They were going back and forth, back and forth. As I sat there
and I listened to them, I thought, Satan's hand is in
this because at the end of it, there's a lot of confusion. There
was a lot of confusion. It's a lot of just knocking each
other, they were knocking each other down. I mean, and I just,
I turned it off. I thought, this is the word of
God, and I'm not gonna allow Satan to cast doubts in my mind
as which was which and what is what. That's debates to me, a
useless debate. It's useless, useless. that's
what it says here of these things put them in remembrance charging
them before the Lord that they strive not about words and words
to no profit but to the subverting of the hearers controversy bring
up controversy it doesn't do anything it just
upsets and it undermines the faith of God's elect that's what
it does Paul says don't Timothy don't get involved in that don't
do it There was a, when Henry was on the television years ago,
the program, they wanted to sit down and ask him questions. Just
question and answer time. He wouldn't do it. He didn't
do it.