So with that place of scripture
in mind, 2 Timothy 2, chapter 2, the first 10 verses, and you'll
notice that the 10th verse principally gives us our text and our subject
of the morning. Here we go. Thou therefore, my
son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have
heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful
men who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure
hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth
entangleth himself with the affairs of life, that he may please him
that hath chosen him to be a soldier. And if a man also strive for
mastery, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. The husbandman that labors must
first be partaker of the fruits. Consider what I say, and the
Lord give thee understanding in all things." Now, watch verse
8, 9, and 10. Remember that Jesus Christ, of
the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my
gospel. wherein I suffer trouble as an
evildoer, even unto bonds. But the word of God is not bound."
And here's our text, therefore, I endure all things for the elect's
sake, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ
Jesus with eternal glory." Now that part there that said, I
endure all things for the elect's sake, and to a certain end, that
they might obtain the great salvation that is in Christ. Now, a little
background and introduction to get us on our way. Our text today
finds us in one of the three books that we call Pastorial
Epistle in our New Testament. There were two of them to Timothy
and another of them unto Titus. Now, there are two things to
remember to help us get our contextual bearings in regard to this second
epistle that was written unto young Timothy. Number one, we
ever find in the scripture that he had a very special place in
the heart of the Apostle Paul. He was deeply embedded in the
affection of the great apostle, even though he was young, a young
man as to age. But Paul calls Timothy in 1 Timothy
1 and verse 2, my own son in the faith. In 2 Timothy 1 and
verse 2, my dearly beloved son. And back in 1 Corinthians 4 and
verse 17, my own beloved son and faithful in the Lord. I'll not take time to read it,
but you can see in Philippians 2 19-23, that Paul took a special delight
and had a deep trust in Timothy. That he was like-minded with
me, he said. The only one that I have that
is so like-minded unto me. You will remember that Paul took
him in Acts chapter 16 to be under his wing and to be a part
of the ministry of the gospel. Now the second thing that we
remember about all of this is that at the time of the writing
of this epistle, Paul was in custody in Rome. That is, he was in jail or prison,
and while there, he wrote to Timothy, who was residing and
ministering in the town of Ephesus. Paul was now an elderly man,
And it seems he had resigned himself to the fact that he would
likely not be set free ever again, and that he faced death. You
can see that in 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 6 through verse 8. Now Paul writes this epistle
to his young protege, and here is a partial quote from the writings
or commentary of John Gill of his introduction to the epistle
of 2nd Timothy. Quote, the design of it is to
stir up Timothy as a minister of the gospel. and to abide constantly
in the truths in it and to animate him to suffer patiently for the
sake of the gospel." And we add, to preach the gospel that he
learned at the feet of the Apostle Paul. Thus, here in chapter 2,
Paul uses, and we read them, we look at them again quickly,
but here in the second chapter, Paul uses three, let us call
them metaphors, as he instructs Timothy how he ought to serve
in the gospel. In verse 3 and verse 4, that
of a soldier. That a soldier is totally, wholly
dedicated to the army, to the general, and unto the fight. Second, in the fifth verse we
notice, that of an athlete competing in the Olympic Games, that he
trains, and that he is diligent, and that he does not do it haphazardly,
but in order that he might gain or win the prize. And then thirdly,
in the sixth verse, he uses that of a husbandman. Now here is
the significance of those three metaphors. The soldier is completely
dedicated to warfare. the athlete must strive, strive
every day to attain the crown. And the husbandman exerts much
labor in order that he might receive the fruits of the harvest. Then moving along, in verse 7
and in verse 8, Paul, or rather Timothy, was to take to heart
what Paul had committed unto him. He was to remember how the
Lord Jesus Christ had, as it were, crowned his earthly work
with the resurrection from the dead. The gospel being the central
message of our preaching and of our declaration. Paul calling
it my gospel. He does so again in Romans 2
and verse 16. For it was committed to him.
Galatians 2 and verse 7. He received it by revelation. Galatians 1 and verse 12. And therefore was committed to
my trust. 2 Corinthians 1 and verse 11. So he in truth says, my gospel. But then coming to verse 9 and
verse 10, having mentioned the gospel back in verse 8, Paul
reminds Timothy that his imprisonment neither made the apostle a criminal,
nor did it bind up the Word of God. The Word of God is not bound. True, he suffered. True, he was
in bonds. True, he was in custody as a
malfactor, numbered among the vermin there in Caesar's prison. And yet he was there, not for
any wrongdoing. He was there for the gospel. He was there because of the gospel. Because he had faithfully preached
the gospel in the face of opposition and of danger. And so here he
is in prison, and we find that he said in bonds or in another
place he mentions chains, guarded by a soldier, Acts 28 and verse
16, wearing a chain. Acts 28 and verse 20, an ambassador
in bonds, he calls himself, in Ephesians chapter 6 and verse
20. Still, in spite of his bonds,
the Word of God had free course. For the Word of God could not
be bound. The Word of God had free course
upon two accounts. Number one, Paul, even while
in custody, was allowed to have his own hired house and to preach
the gospel to those that came to hear him. Acts 28, 17 through
31. And for two years, Paul exercised a ministry in
his hired house, guarded, kept on a chain unto a soldier. Secondly, the Word of God is
not bound on this account, and that is that Paul wrote some
of his great epistles while he were here in prison. For example,
he wrote the epistle to the Ephesians. He wrote Philemon, sending him
back to his master. And he wrote 2 Timothy, chapter
2, while he were there in prison. Now, coming to verse 10, our
principal text, the first half being sort of a culmination of
some things that have been said or written before. Timothy was
to endure hardship, back in verse 3. He was to suffer ills on account
of the gospel. And Paul, verse 9, suffered as
if he had been an evildoer himself. And then in verse 10, he speaks
more particularly of his suffering, telling us two things here that
are vital. Number one, he tells us for whose
sake, in whose stead, for what cause he suffered these things
at that time. And that is for the elect. Our text said, I endure all things
for the elect's sake. Secondly, for what end He endured
all things in their behalf, what good He intended unto the elect
from them, which was in order that they might obtain the great
salvation with glory that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, let's begin with Paul's
suffering. He said, I suffer, I endure,
I bear all of these things for a particular end. And he identifies
them as the elect. Now, Paul does not mean that
his own personal sufferings were in any way vicarious to put away
the sin of others. Some have taught that Paul's
suffering had a vicarious endowment unto others, not so. Not that
his personal suffering had any value against their sin, nor
did his suffering have any value to save the soul of others, even
the ill at. Rather, he means what things
he endured as a minister of the gospel for the preaching of Jesus
Christ the Lord, the persecution that he met with from the Jews,
his own countrymen, and from other enemies of the gospel,
he tells Timothy that what persecution he suffered, he suffered simply
for preaching the gospel and for the sake of the elect. He had been obedient to the call
of God. Now this should come as no surprise
to us concerning Paul when we remember what we read in Acts
9 and verse 16. God said, or Christ said to him,
I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's
sake. That was Paul's calling. I will
show him how many things he must suffer for my cause. Maybe this is backpedaling, but
it won't take very long. We must remember how much suffering
Paul, also known as Saul, before his conversion, we must remember
before that how much suffering he had inflicted on believers
prior to his conversion to Christianity. In Acts 9.13, how much evil he
had done to your saints at Jerusalem, both how many and how great were
the evils that he did inflict upon those who followed Christ. In Acts 8 and 3, as for Saul,
he made havoc. He began to destroy. He began
to ravage because the Greek word here is a very strong one. It goes beyond just harassment. It is the destruction that is
meant. Dragging away believers violently
and casting them in prison and even consenting unto the death
of Stephen, a follower of Christ. Acts 8 and verse 1. Galatians 1.13, he writes confessionally,
you have heard of my conduct in the Jewish religion. how that
beyond measure I persecuted the church and wasted it. As James Alexander said on that
passage in Acts 9 and verse 16, the persecuting days of Saul
now are over and the tables are turned and the persecutor becomes
the persecuted. He that caused so much suffering
to others on account of the gospel henceforth will be himself a
sufferer for the cause of Christ and the Word of God. Let's take
a minute to reckon up how great was the suffering of the Apostle. We are instructed in the Scripture. He listed suffering in a couple
of places. In 2 Corinthians 6, verse 4,
and verse 5. Again, 2 Corinthians 11. Verse 23 through verse 29. Here is an account of some of
the suffering that Paul writes up in the Scripture. Five times
he was flogged by the Jew. Five times he received beatings
at the hand of the Jew. Three times he was beaten with
rods. Once he was stoned. At Lystra,
in Acts 14 and verse 19, the apostle was dragged away, he
was stoned, he was dragged outside of the city and left there for
dead. At Philippi, In Acts 16, he was
beaten and cast down into the lower prison. At Thessalonica,
in Acts chapter 17, an angry mob assaulted the house of Paul's
host. In Jerusalem, in Acts chapter
21, the Jews beat him, intending to kill him. In verse 31, all
because he preached up Christ as the Jewish Messiah, and the
only Jewish Messiah. Paul suffered greatly for the
sake of the gospel. But now coming back to our text,
2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 10, and the words of Paul, all
this I endure for thee it lack say. Now compare 2 Corinthians
12 and 15, I will very gladly spend and be spent for you. Philippians 2, 17, if I be offered
or poured out as a sacrifice and service of your faith, I
rejoice. Colossians 1 verse 24, I now
rejoice in my suffering for you. But here in verse 10 of our text
he tells us in whose behalf he did endure the various afflictions,
persecutions, miseries, troubles, and punishment that he encountered
in the exercise of the gospel ministry. And it's summed up
in these words, for the elect's sake. For their sake I do suffer. All these things I endure. I do it with regard to God's
chosen ones, to the elect, that a benefit therefore might redound
unto them." Now it might be worth our time if we should notice
that Paul uses a different word here than he had used back in
verse 3 in exhorting Timothy to endure hardness, which means
to undergo hardship, to undergo those hard things that come upon
you. But here in verse 10, it is more
of a compound word, hupo, meaning below, and the word meno, meaning
to stay or to abide or to remain under or in a given place or
a given state. And it can also have the meaning
of to stand abide, continue, dwell, and he says, I endure,
I do that for the sake of the elect. Then we come to consider
the one in whose behalf Paul willingly gave himself up under
such suffering, and it is the elect. for the elexic, and it
might be rendered the chosen, eclektos, the word elektos meaning
to pick out from among a number, to choose, to select, and it
will serve the meaning if we say the chosen. I endure all
of this for the chosen. Then we ask ourselves, who are
these chosen ones that Paul is speaking about? First, let's
use the process of elimination in arriving at who are the elect. First of all, it is not national,
physical Israel. Or perhaps it would be best to
say, it is not fleshly Israel that Paul has in mind. Though
they were a chosen nation and a peculiar people, yet not all
of them were spiritually elect. There was an Israel within Israel,
an elect within an elect. Not all of Abraham's seed are
the children of God, we learn in Acts chapter 9. Secondly,
Paul is not referring to Christ when he uses the phrase, the
elect. For the elect is a name that
is also ascribed unto Christ in the Scripture. Isaiah 42 verse
1. I think Peter has this in mind. In 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse
6. Mine elect in whom my soul delighted. Christ cannot be the elect that
Paul has in mind for he has no need to obtain salvation with
great glory. Thirdly, neither is it a reference
to the elect angels. 1 Timothy 5 verse 21, we read
of elect angel, but they too have no need of salvation having
never fallen into sin. Fourthly, neither is Paul talking
about everyone without exception. Some contend that everyone is
an elect, that every single member of the race is in some way an
elect chosen to be saved by the death of our Christ. Not all are elect, however, because
the very word itself means to pick out from among a number,
to choose from many, to choose out from a greater number. So the question is, who are the
elect and how did they get to be God's elect? Who are they
and how do they come to be God's elect? Well, this doctrine is
one of the most blessed in the Bible. in the Old Testament too,
but more particularly in the New Testament. Who are they?
Ephesians 1 and verse 4. The elect are those chosen in
Christ before the foundation of the world. 2 Thessalonians
2 and verse 13, the ones chosen from the beginning to salvation
through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth. In Acts 13 and 48 we read, as
many as were ordained to eternal life. We have an example in Jeremiah
1 and verse 5, God said this, Before I formed you in the belly,
I knew you. And before you came forth out
of the womb, I sanctified you and I ordained you a prophet
unto the nation." Paul puts himself among that. Galatians 1 and verse
15, he said, God who separated me from my mother's womb and
called me by His grace. Now, not only were they chosen
in Christ before the foundation of the world, but in Ephesians
1 and 5, they were also foreordained or marked out to the adoption
of children. In Ephesians 1, 11, to an inheritance. Romans 8, 28 through 30. is very
clear about the process. Those he did foreknow, he also
did foreordain, to be conformed to the image of his Son, and
these he also called. Elisha Coles. I have a great
book by a man of old named Elisha Cole. He titled it simply, God's
Sovereignty, and he summed up the election with this proposition. Quote, there is a peculiar people
who were personally chosen of God in Christ according to his
own good pleasure and ordained to eternal life before the world
ever began. Now, of course, most claim to
believe in election. You can ask almost anybody who
goes to church or claims to be a Christian or a follower of
Christ and almost everyone will confess some measure of election. But then, most of them turn around
and cast a dead fly in this precious box of divine ointment by making
election to depend or turn on foreseen faith or free will or
merit or the acts of man or something of that. Where on the other hand,
election is purely an act of sovereign grace according to
God's own good pleasure. Nothing in the person, either
actual or foreseen, is the cause of their election. In his book,
Elisha Cole sums up election under six heads. I'll give them
a running and then we'll go on. Number one there is an election
of persons unto salvation. Number two, this election is
from eternity. Number three, this election is
in Christ, chosen in Him. Number four, this election is
personal of individual. Number five, this election is
absolute. It stands sure and immutable. Number six, this election is
founded upon the grace of God. Therefore, election is at the
very heart and core of the gospel. And Paul tells Timothy, my ministry
is exercise to that end in their behavior. My sufferings are endured
in regard to election. He had in his eye those chosen
in Christ, whom He took to the cross with Him. His hope of seeing
sinners saved. Listen to this. His hope of seeing
sinners saved rested in the fact that God had chosen some to salvation
in Jesus Christ. That the foundation of God stands
sure. He knows them that are His 2
Timothy 2 and verse 19, that he might go preach in a certain
city. God says to him, or gives him
this assurance, I have much people in this city. Don't hold back. Don't be afraid of their faces.
Go and preach, for God said, Acts 18 and 10, I have much people
in this city. By the way, that city was Corinth,
and it was one of the most wicked cities in that day and in that
time. Deeply entrenched in sin was
so many in Corinth, and yet God said, I have many in this city. We notice that Paul does not
say, I endure these things for the sake of the whole world,
nor neither does he say for some. But he is very specific. For the elect's sake, or the
chosen's sake. God's elect, as they are called
in Romans 8.33, and his own elect. in Luke 18 and 7, that cry unto
Him day and night. Remember, it was not Paul's sufferings
per se. They were not to be the end in
themselves. But they endured these things
in order that He might hold forth the Word of life, the gospel,
the good news of Jesus Christ, which is the gospel of their
salvation. Paul writes to the Ephesians
chapter 1 and verse 13, he says, you trusted after you heard the
word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Notice how personal
that is. You believed after you heard
the gospel of your salvation. Now, this faith This faith that
Paul is talking about, the faith of God's elect. Paul writes in
1 Corinthians 4 and verse 15 something, I have begotten you
through the gospel. And we need to look at that very
carefully because this is a proof text for some that hold to gospel
regeneration. That it is the preached word
or the preached gospel that is the initial instrument of regeneration. I heard one preacher say, and
excuse me if it sounds crude, but he said it and I heard it,
the Word of God is the semen, said this Baptist preacher. This
does not seem a good text to me in support of gospel regeneration
when we take in consideration the comparison that Paul is making. It is in
light of their division over their minister. He tells them
some things that were applicable and unique to the Corinthian
church, that even if they had 10,000 instructors in Christ. Yet the relation he sustained
to them was not as a mere tutor, teacher, or instructor. It was that of a spiritual father. I have begotten you in the gospel. Hence the exhortation in verse
16, to follow him, to imitate him, because he had begotten
them through the gospel. And as Gil wrote, Paul speaks
of himself as an instrument by which God made use of to bring
them to faith, to belief, and to trust in Christ. He had brought
them the gospel. He it was that brought the message
of Christ among them. And He alone had begotten them
in Christ. He had founded the Corinthian
church. He had come there, preached the
gospel, believers were made, and founded the church at Corinth. He had said the same thing earlier. using a different set of metaphors
in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 6 through verse 12. Number one, I planted
Apollos watered. I planted, Apollos watered. Number two, I laid the foundation,
others built their own. Consider 1 Thessalonians, if
we just back up a book or two, 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, and
verses 4 and 5, here's a wonderful thing that fits with our message
today. Look what he tells them at Thessalonica. 1 Thessalonians 1, 4 and 5. Knowing, brethren, beloved, your
election of God. Knowing you to be beloved of
God and elect of God. What was he based that on? Well,
look at verse 5. For our gospel came not unto
you in word only, but also in the power and the Holy Spirit,
and in much assurance, as you know what manner of men we were
among you for your sake. Now here is another connection
between the gospel and election. that though the gospel comes
to some, even many, in word only, they hear the sound thereof,
but they cannot discern the meaning. To the elect it comes in power
and the Holy Spirit. Paul takes this as an evidence
of their election. He does not claim to be privy
to the eternal counsels of God or have seen the book of life. Instead, he bases that conviction
of his on their experience with the gospel affecting them and
their changed character and the Christian graces that began to
be manifested by them. Like Lydia, the Lord opened her
heart that she attended to the things that Paul spoke, so the
Lord opens the heart of the elect to the message of Christ. Some
are the gospel to some is like water falling upon a rock when
they hear the gospel. But they elect, or quickened,
and given an ear to hear. And then it works effectually,
being mixed with faith in them that hear. It becomes the power
of God unto salvation. It fell not just upon their ear,
but also into their heart. as to Paul, it marked them as
the elect. Knowing your election in the
way that the gospel came to you. Now the silly Arminian is fond
of saying such things and arguing against this in this fashion.
Oh, we don't know who the elect are and therefore we have to
preach to everybody. I've heard them say they don't
come with a big E stamped on their forehead, and I've heard
them say, the Lord will forgive us if we get one of the non-elect
saved. But Paul said, their election
is evident when the gospel comes unto them in power and in demonstration. Also consider again, from 2 Thessalonians
2 and the 14th verse, after saying, we're thankful to God for you,
brethren, for God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation
through belief of the Word and sanctification of the Spirit. Then Paul says, he called you
by our gospel, which harmonizes with the last act of our text
today in verse 10, that they also, the elect, may, as we have,
obtain the salvation which is in Jesus Christ with eternal
glory. He has in mind some not yet called. He has in mind some not yet converted
or quickened or called by the gospel. He has in mind those
that were chosen in Christ but not yet are believers. It does not yet appear who they
are or what they are, but their election will become evident
when they are called and converted when they believe to the saving
of their soul. For neither their election or
their calling can be divorced from Christ or from the preaching
of the gospel." And I just close by saying what a debt of gratitude
does Christianity owe to the Apostle Paul. What a debt. are the churches in Dete-de-Paul
who endured multiple miseries. in order that he might be faithful
to proclaim the gospel of our Christ, that those of his day
might hear, those of other days also might hear. He said to the
Corinthians, 2 Corinthians 12 and verse 15 again, I will gladly
spend and be spent for you. I will do without. I will forgo,
rather, any support, I will spend and be spent for you." He said
again, I become all things to all men. I have made myself a
servant unto all. 1 Corinthians 9 and 23. And this
I do for the elect's sake. that they also may obtain the
salvation with eternal glory. Thank God for raising up a man
like Paul who had such an influence on early Christianity and is
yet bearing fruit by the inspired epistles by which we may learn
and preach the gospel of our Lord. I endure all things for
the elect's sake. To this end, that they may also
obtain salvation with great glory.