If you'd like to follow along,
I'm gonna be in 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy chapter two. And I wanna begin reading in
verse 16. This is a good verse to start with.
But shun, shun profane and vain babblings. for they will increase
unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat as doth
a canker of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus, who concerning
the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past
already, and overthrow the faith of some. Nevertheless, nevertheless. The foundation of God standeth
sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his. And let everyone that nameth
the name of Christ depart from iniquity. Now, before I get started,
let me, this is a quote I want to read you from John Bunyan.
Now, y'all might know John Bunyan. He wrote Pilgrim's Progress.
I remember reading Pilgrim's Progress and thinking, wow, this
is good. It's an allegory about the life
of a Christian. And when I read it, I was a young
Christian at that time, a young believer. And it really affected
me. I really thought it was great.
I talked to a gentleman who was also a lawyer, and he said, I
had to read that in college, because I had a copy of it on
the desk. I was at work. He said, I had to read that in
college, he said, his dry as dust. And I said, well, maybe to you.
But it wasn't to me, and it wasn't to me. But here's, this is a
quote he wrote. Grace, grace can pardon our ungodliness
and justify us with Christ's righteousness. It can put the
spirit of Jesus Christ within us It can help us when we are
down. It can heal us when we are wounded. It can multiply pardons as we,
through frailty, multiply transgressions. Now, John Bunyan evidently says
he was a Puritan. I may not agree with a lot of
the actions of the Puritans. I don't know that I want to live
in that time, Mac. They were a bit stricter than
I would want to be under or around. However, some of their words
are just spot on because the grace of God does everything
for us. A man or a woman needs the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ, and here's the thing, every day,
every day. And by that I mean every day,
all day long. All we are capable of ourselves
is to multiply transgressions. But thank God for the perfect
redemption, the perfect righteousness, the perfect sanctification, and
the perfect pardon of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Now here
in 2 Timothy 2, we will see some of Christ's perfections. Now,
I'm just gonna say a little bit about verse 18, not a whole lot,
but just for the basis, because basically verse 19 is where I'm
gonna preach. Who concerning the truth have
erred, saying the resurrection is past already, and overthrow
the faith of some? I'm not gonna spend a lot of
time on Hymenaeus and Philetus, but here's the gist of it from
Apostle Paul. They were wrong. They were dead
wrong. They were very wrong. They were
completely wrong. The resurrection had not passed. That's all you can say about
it. And what did he say? And this is the way he put it.
Concerning the truth, they have erred. They have erred. They
erred concerning the truth. And they were an example given
by the Apostle Paul of what he called profane and vain babblings. And he tells us to shun them. Okay, shun them. What does profane
and vain babblings mean? Well, it means they were an example
of heathen, fruitless discussion. That's what it means. There's
no fruit in this discussion. Why? They were wrong. They were
wrong. They said that the resurrection
had happened and the resurrection had not happened. Now, if anyone tells you the day of the resurrection or
the day of the battle of Armageddon, they're wrong. That's all I can
tell you about that. Trust me, there have been many,
quote, false prophets. Why? Because they made false
prophecies. And I don't care who it is. Joseph
Smith predicted the last day two or three times Jack Van Impey prophesied of the end time coming.
And it didn't happen. And you wanna know why? Because
they were false prophets. I mean, that's all there is to
it. They erred concerning the truth. The people from the Jehovah
Witnesses, J.F. Rutherford, and there was another
one, and I forget his name, they had all predicted the end of
the world. It hasn't happened yet. It is going to happen. But
I can tell you this, Christ said, no man knows the day or the hour. So if any man tells you the day
or the hour, they're wrong. Nobody knows except the Father.
And we'll know when he comes. We'll know. Anyhow, but these
two cause trouble in the assembly with profane and vain babbling,
but Here's the thing. Paul goes from this to this next
word, which I dearly love, nevertheless. Nevertheless. I love that word.
I'll say it. I've said it and I'll still say
it. It's one of my favorite words in the Bible. I know a lot of
times when I read this word, nevertheless, sometimes something
really glorious is coming. And that's true here. But I'll
give you a couple of examples in the Old Testament. Psalm 73
and 22 and 23. You don't have to turn there.
But he starts with this. So foolish was I and ignorant. I was as a beast before thee.
Then comes that word. Nevertheless, nevertheless, I
am continually with thee. Oh, I like that. Thou hast holden
me by my right hand. And Psalm 106 says this. Verse
six of Psalm 106 says this. We have sinned with our fathers.
We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedly. Our fathers
understood not the wonders in Egypt. They remembered not the
multitude of thy mercies. but provoked him at the Red Sea. At the sea, even at the Red Sea,
at their moment of deliverance. Stand still and see the salvation
of the Lord. So I mean, you've got, we've
sinned with our fathers, we've committed iniquity, we've done
wickedly. Our fathers didn't understand what happened in Egypt.
Oh, and they did not remember the mercies, and they provoked
God at the Red Sea. Nevertheless, verse eight, he
saved them. Why? For his name's sake, that
he might make his mighty power to be known. So I like the word
nevertheless. I like that word, and that's
what Paul uses here. Nevertheless, nevertheless, because
here's the thing. No matter how bad things seem,
and they may be bad, okay? No matter your circumstances,
and I'm not gonna make light of your circumstances, because
they can be awful, they can be horrible, they can be anything
from illness to old age to financial problems to the whole gamut.
We are not unaffected by the world. We are in the world. We're not of it, but we are in
this world. And we have to have our next
meal. and we have to have clothes, we have to have this, but our
father knows, but that's the thing, no matter the circumstances,
as trying as they may be, no matter how unclean, how mean,
or how sinful you feel, there is always, always, and nevertheless,
from Christ to his people, I guarantee it. Jesus Christ always has a
nevertheless for his chosen people. I'll give you one more from Paul
in Hebrews. Now no chastening for the present
seems to be joyous, but grievous, grievous nevertheless, nevertheless. Afterward, it yieldeth the peaceable
fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. You understand, even being chastised
by God, it's good for you. It's not pleasant, it is grievous,
but nevertheless, it yields. Doesn't say it's gonna try to.
It yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness. Not your righteousness,
his, but it's still there. So what am I saying? Nevertheless,
all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them that are called according to his purpose. And after what
Paul tells us in verses 16 to 18 here, in 2 Timothy, he gives
us the good news. And that's what he starts with,
nevertheless. And then he says these words,
the foundation of God. That's good news. That's good
news, okay? This word, foundation, means
substructure or foundation. That's what it actually means,
okay? This is the base on which everything is built, okay? If there is no foundation, all
that's left, according to the song and according to the scriptures,
is sinking sand. Oh. Let's be clear, because here
it is, the foundation of God, the foundation of God is not
you. You, you, or me. The foundation of God is Jesus
Christ. The scripture is clear. The scripture
is clear. All of God's people are built
upon thee. Rock, the Rock, and the Rock
Christ Jesus. Now, there's a song, I may not exactly
agree with all the words on it, but I do agree with the chorus. I hold not the rock, the rock
holds me. That's what I want. I hold not
the rock, the rock holds me, the rock holds me. I'm resting
on the rock of God. He is the foundation of God. There is no other foundation. And praise God for our foundation
sure. Praise God for our salvation
sure. He is both, he is all, because
there is no other foundation that can be laid. Then that is
laid, Christ Jesus. No other foundation can be laid,
can no man lay than that is laid, which is Christ Jesus. That's 1 Corinthians 3 and verse
11. There is only one foundation,
and Paul writes it here, it's the foundation of God. The foundation of God. He is
our foundation, and he stands sure. which we're gonna get to
in just a minute. He's our foundation, he's our
message, he's our gospel. He's the good news. Oh, I like
that. He is our salvation. Jesus Christ
is. And what did Paul say about that
in Galatians 1? What? Though we, or an angel
from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which
we have preached unto you, Let him be accursed. Let him be accursed. And then he said it again. As
we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any
other gospel, if any man preach any other foundation, if any
man preach any other salvation than Jesus Christ, right? If
any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received,
let him be accursed. And that's a curse of God. He said one time, somebody needs
to be anathema maranatha. And that's a curse when Christ
comes. Paul was serious about this. The foundation of God is what
he's writing about. And what does he say about this
foundation? What? Nevertheless, the foundation
of God Standeth sure. That's good news too. The foundation
of God stands sure. There's another verse in there
that says, praise God for his foundation sure. The rock, Christ
Jesus. Oh, I like that. Mr. Woost put this verse this way. However, the immovable foundation
of God has stood and at present stands. Having this seal, the
Lord knows those who are his and let those who name the name
of the Lord depart from every wickedness. The foundation of God stands
sure. Now listen folks, the foundation
doesn't need your help. The foundation doesn't need you.
You need the foundation. And that's just the truth of
the matter. And it's the foundation that stands sure. It's not you
standing sure, even on the foundation. Although, you will stand sure
if you're on that foundation. And we'll mention that here in
just a minute. But what is it? It's like the
sure mercies of David. The Lord hath made with me an
everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and what? Sure. You know why? Because David was
on God's foundation. The foundation of God. And God's
foundation is sure. God's foundation is sure. That's
actually my title, Paul, if you ever get this far. God's foundation
is sure, like the sure mercies of David, his foundation stands
ever, forever. The foundation of God, Jesus
Christ, stands sure, he is our foundation, he is our rock, he
is the chief, precious cornerstone. What's that? That's a foundation
stone, the cornerstone is. the foundation stone, the cornerstone. Everyone, and this is the point
here, everyone that is placed upon this foundation is surely
safe and secure and saved, saved, because he is our rock. He stands
sure and we stand on him by the workings of his mighty power. Oh, I like that. Because here
it is. If he, Christ Jesus, stands,
and he does, we stand. Because our foundation is sure.
God's foundation is sure. Psalms 40 and verse two put it
this way. He brought me up also out of
an horrible pit, out of the miry clay. But he just didn't leave
you there. And set my feet upon a rock. God's foundation is sure. And
he didn't stop there either. You understand? He took you out
of the horrible pit, took your feet out of the miry clay, he
set your feet on a rock. And then what's he say? and established
my goings. Oh yeah. If you're on that rock,
you're going somewhere. But here's the thing. Think about
this. He put my feet on a rock and
he established my going. David also wrote a psalm that
says, where can I go to get away from you? If I ascend up into
the heavens, thou art there. If I go down into the deeps,
thou art there. If I'm on the earth, thou art
there. You know why? Because God's foundation
is sure. He put his feet on a rock. They're
not coming off that rock. Now you may go here, you may
go there, but wherever you go, the old saying goes, wherever
you go, there you are. And if he's put your feet on
a rock, that rock's with you. You're with him. It's sure, he
is sure. Our foundation, the foundation
of God, Jesus Christ, stands sure, and we stand in him. In him. Oh, I like that, I do. You know? And then he says this,
and I love this part. Having this seal. Oh, I like that. I like it when
things are sealed. I like it when God seals things. Because you understand, when
God seals something, it's sealed. It's sealed. Oh, I like that. I have to expound on this. I
shouldn't have to. I really shouldn't have to, but
I'm going to because I want to. But here's the thing. This foundation of God Paul is
writing of here is the salvation of God also, that Paul is writing
of here, and it stands sure, he stands sure, because he is
our foundation, he is our salvation. But here's the thing, it has
this seal. If you know anything about God,
I want you to know one thing. Whatever, whenever, but whatever
God does, it's forever. It's forever. And what'd he say? In Isaiah, I think. Nothing can
be put to it. He don't need your help. He doesn't
need my help. He'll do the work. He's done
the work, and he's doing the work, and he shall do the work.
Nothing can be put to it, and here's the other glorious thing,
nothing can be taken from it. And that means including you,
and including you. Oh, I hold not the rock, but
the rock holds me. I like that part, I do. And he
said, the rock holds me, the rock holds me. I like it, because
that's what I need. Because if it was up to me, I'd
walk right off the rock. But it's not gonna happen, it
has a seal. If anything, anything God does
is forever. Listen, and here it is. The Lord knoweth them that are
his. I like that, that's your seal.
Remember that fellow that was a comedian, used to go around,
here's your sign. Well, here's his seal. This is his seal. The Lord knoweth them that are
his. Oh, I like that. I don't know,
you don't know, but he knows. He knows them that are his. I want to reference back to verse
18. I didn't speak about it, and
this is why, because I wanted to get to this part here, where
it says the Lord knoweth them that are his. In verse 18, some
people worry about who concerning the truth have erred, saying
the resurrection is past already, and overthrow the faith of some.
Now there are those who will use this to teach that you can
lose your salvation. Nevertheless, nevertheless. And I like what Gil wrote about
this. Talking about those who overthrow the faith of some.
Gil says here plainly, that is of nominal professors of religion,
not of true believers. For true faith cannot be overthrown. This is his seal. The Lord knoweth
them that are his. The Lord knoweth them that are
his. John wrote that, that the true faith of Jesus Christ never
fails. And God's foundations stand sure. But he also wrote this. They
went out from us, but they were not of us. What do you mean by
that, John? Well, for if they had been of
us, they would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out. It's plain. Why? That they might be made
manifest that they were not all of us. God's foundation is sure,
and it has this seal. The Lord knows them that are
his. The Lord knows them that are his. You and I may not know. There are some I have a good
hope of, you know? You be around some people 20,
30 years, you get to have a little bit, you know, good feeling about
them. That they might actually know the same God that you know.
They might actually know this God. whose foundation is sure,
and it has this seal, that the Lord knoweth them that are his.
What's he do? He keeps and he preserves his
people. We are kept by the power of God
through faith. Not of yourselves, lest any man
should boast. It's the gift of God. He keeps
and preserves his people. Why? Because God's foundation
is sure. God's foundation is sure. He
knows them that are his. And of his kingdom, there is
no end. Ah, what God does is forever. We sang that song. The church's
one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord. And that foundation
stands sure. That foundation stands sure.
Of his kingdom there is no end. And then Paul didn't stop there,
he said this word, and, and. Nevertheless, nevertheless, the
foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth
them that are his. And, what? Let everyone that
nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. Learn the truth of God in the
gospel of his son. Do not depart from the truth. They erred in the truth. Hymenaeus and Philetus. They
erred in the truth. Learn from the chastening of
God and hold fast the profession of faith. Not the profession
of your faith. Hold fast the profession of faith.
What? Stand on the foundation. Stand
on Jesus Christ. Hold fast to him. Him. Hold fast to him who is our salvation,
who is our foundation, who is the author and the finisher of
faith. And the giver of faith. I like
that because Where he says it, let everyone
that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity, erring
in the truth is iniquity. That's what he says, that's what
he says, it is. What's that mean? Well it means
lying about God is a sin. Now regardless that it's done
in pulpits all around us and everywhere throughout the world, throughout the continental United
States, and other places, because lying about God has become a
profession. That's not the one you're supposed
to hold fast to. No, erring in the truth is iniquity. Adding anything to the foundation
of God is iniquity. Trying to take anything away
from the foundation of God that stands sure is iniquity, is iniquity. and his foundation stands sure
without any help from us right now, and it always has. His foundation is sure. Here's
another quote from John Bunyan, and I really do like this one
too. And indeed, indeed, this is one of the greatest mysteries
in the world, namely, that a righteousness that resides in heaven should
justify me, a sinner, on the earth. You know what? God's foundation
is sure. God's foundation is sure. Having
this seal. Oh, I like that. Our God is in
the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath
pleased. and the Lord knoweth them that
are his. God's foundation was sure, is
sure, and always shall be sure. It stands sure. Stands sure,
I like that. Now, let's back up just a little
bit in 2 Timothy after reading this and talking about this.
Look at verse 11. It is a faithful saying, for
if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him. If we suffer,
we shall also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will
deny us. Here we go. If we believe not,
yet he abideth faithful. He cannot deny himself. Oh, you know why the Lord knoweth
them that are his? They're in his son. He can't
deny himself. And I do, I remember Walter talking
about this. If I lose my mind and I don't even know my name,
he never will abandon me. No, not if you're his. The Lord
knoweth them that are his. God's foundation is sure, and
it's standing sure, and it's standing complete. in Christ. Oh, I like that. He cannot deny
himself. You know why? Because God's foundation
stands sure. God's foundation is sure. The
Lord knoweth them that are his. Here's your seal. God knows what
he's doing. You understand? People who want
to help God don't know God. Now, serving God is not helping
God. That's your reasonable service.
The people wanna help God do something, help God preach a
message, do something. No, no, no. God doesn't need
any of your help. You need his. We need his foundation. Now, he will work in you both
to will and to do of his good pleasure. But that ain't because
of you, that's because of him. That's part of his foundation. You didn't lift your feet out
of the pit. You didn't lift your feet out of the clay. And you
did not set your feet on the rock. He did all of that. And you can't establish your
goings. He has to establish your goings.
And he will, because he's promised. and his foundation stands sure
having this seal. The Lord knoweth them that are
his. Our Heavenly Father, thank you,
Lord, for the blessings, all the many blessings we don't even
know that you've given to us in your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. You have given us all things,
all good things, all things working together for good to them that
love God, to those that are called according to his purpose. Lord,
you've given us life and peace and reconciliation and righteousness
and redemption. And Lord, you've given us hope. because you are our hope. Thank
you, Lord. Be with Walter and Paul as they
preach the gospel in different places. For other members of
the family, Lord, help us as we walk away from here to remember
your word and your will as we go forth in this world that we're
in. And remember that your foundation
stands sure. We ask in Christ's name, amen.