If you'd like to follow along,
I'm gonna be in 2 Timothy, chapter one. And I wanna begin reading
in verse eight. Be not thou therefore ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner. But be thou partakers of the
affliction of the gospel according to the power of God. who hath
saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to
our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which
was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is
now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ,
who hath abolished death and hath brought life and immortality
to light through the gospel. Whereunto I am appointed a preacher
and an apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles. For the which
cause I also suffer these things, nevertheless I am not ashamed. For I know whom I have believed
and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed
unto him against that day. I'm just gonna stop right there. I was reminded of this quote
when I was doing this message. The Old Testament is the New
Testament, concealed. And the New Testament is the
Old Testament, revealed. Now, I thought Earl said that.
He did, he did say it. But it turns out the quote is
attributed to Augustine. And I'm gonna tell you this,
that's a true statement. That's a true statement. Because
our Lord Jesus Christ himself said that very thing. I'm gonna
go ahead and quote it here. Well. My little kiddie bookmark's coming
apart. There, I stole those from Debbie. In Luke 24 and verse 44, you
don't have to turn there. These are the words of Christ,
and he said unto them, these are the words which I spake unto
you while I was with you, that all things must be fulfilled. which were written in the law
of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning
me. Then, then, he opened, opened
he, their understanding that they might understand the scriptures,
and said unto them, thus it is written, and thus it behooved
Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead, the third day,
and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in
his name among all nations beginning at Jerusalem, and ye are witnesses
of these things. And we are witnesses of these
things through his word. You understand? The New Testament
is not only the Old Testament revealed, the New Testament is
the Old Testament fulfilled. Fulfilled. Oh, I like that. Not
all of it, there's still prophecies yet to come, but everything prophesied
in the Old Testament concerning his first coming, he fulfilled. He fulfilled. Everything. His life, sinless life, his sacrificial
substitutionary death, His resurrection and ascension are all made known
in the New Testament, and all fulfilled from the Old Testament. And there's more to come, there's
more to come. But here, in 2 Timothy, Paul
makes a grand and gracious statement of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm
just gonna begin in verse one. Who has saved us. and called
us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according
to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ
Jesus before the world began. Now, let me say first thing,
I'm not gonna keep you too long, but let me say this in passing
before I get to where I'm headed. Paul did not write this out of
order. He wrote it in the exact order
he meant it. Jesus Christ, God himself, manifest
in the flesh, hath saved us and called us. Now he is writing
to Timothy, a believer. He is writing about all believers. These are those that have been
brought out and he brought to himself. They are believers. They have been saved. And then
they've been called. And that's the order. no matter
what anyone says. He saved us and he called us. Now what's the big deal about
that? There shouldn't be one. Because you understand, nobody
has a problem, okay, think about this, nobody has a problem with
Enoch or Noah, or Moses, or Joshua, or Job, or Samuel, or David,
or Isaiah being saved before Christ died, before he actually
came, but they were saved. They were saved. They don't have
a problem with that. They were saved before Jesus
Christ died on the cross, rose again from the dead, and offered
that perfect sacrifice and offering to the Father. He purchased us 2,000 years ago. They were looking forward to
that same event. And yes, they were saved. And yes, we are saved the exact
same way. He saved us and he called us. I like that. Then Paul tells
us this wonderful statement. Think about this. What? What? Let me read it. But according
to his own purpose and grace. Now everybody likes purpose,
everybody likes grace. But look at the rest of it. Which
was given us, given us before the world began. What's that
mean? If you got a problem with the
election of grace happening before the foundation of the world,
it's your problem. It's not the problem of the scripture.
The scripture is always clear. It's men that have the problem.
Now people don't like it, people don't want it, and that's their
problem. But me, I happen to love it.
I do. Why? Because it's his election.
It's his purpose, it's his grace, and it's his love wherein he
chose us before the world began. And matter of fact, his purpose
and grace were given to us. before we ever existed. Oh, what's
that mean? He's the guarantee that it's
gonna happen. He's the surety. He's the surety. If he's given you grace before
the world began, he's gonna give it to you in time. Why? Who has saved us? and called
us, oh, with a holy calling. And listen, folks, the reason
there's a holy calling, because he that calls is holy. It's not
you, it's him. Oh, I have a holy, no, you were
called with a holy calling. Yes, he is holy. Yes, he is holy. And it is his holy calling in
time, in time. Oh, I like that, I do. Now, verse 10, all of this is
now made manifest, and that's what it says, but is now made
manifest by the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who's
abolished death. None of Jesus Christ's people
are going to die. Not the way the unbeliever dies. You're gonna leave this mortal
coil, as they say. You wanna wax poetic. You're gonna leave this earth.
You're gonna die. This body may go in the ground.
If Christ doesn't come first, that's what's gonna happen to
all of us. Oh, but precious in the sight of the Lord is the
death of his saints. Oh, I like this. But this is
made manifest, made known by Jesus Christ through his gospel. That's what it tells us. He's
abolished death and he's brought life and immortality, both are
in him, okay? That's, you know, if it's in
you, it's because it's in him. He brought life and immortality
to light through the gospel. That's the good news. That's
the good news. There is life, eternal life,
everlasting life, and there is immortality in Jesus Christ. Oh, and that's his gospel. That's
his gospel. Because understand, right now,
also, his saving and his calling is made known unto us through
his gospel. It's being made known unto us.
Salvation by Jesus Christ is now made known and is to be proclaimed,
declared, and preached wherever his people are gathered. Oh,
I like that. He has saved us, and he's called
us, and he's calling his people to himself right now. Paul's
talking and wrote to these who believe. But there are those
now today that don't believe, but they may believe tomorrow.
His calling's not done. Oh, I like that. Ephesians 1
and 13 put it this way. In whom ye also trusted, after
that, what? Ye heard the word of truth. I
love this statement, I remember when Tim James pointed this out
a long time ago. The gospel of your salvation. You understand,
it's not the gospel of your salvation until you've heard the word of
truth. Personally, personally. It's not the gospel. What it
says, in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed. What? With that Holy Spirit of
promise. Oh, I like that. And yes, that's
what it says. After you believe, you're sealed
by the Holy Spirit. And that's the only qualifications
that Paul gives us. Anybody wants to add something
to it, like a second work of grace, as they call it, or whatever,
read the scripture and believe it. Read Ephesians 1 and 13.
Because here's the point, and this is my title, Paul. This
is my point today. He is able. He is able. Because that's how
all of this, light and immortality, just brought to light through
the gospel. But life, light and immortality given by the Lord
Jesus Christ, who has saved us and called us. And all of that
is because he is able. That's verse 12, for the which
cause I also suffer these things, nevertheless I am not ashamed,
for I know whom I have believed. And am persuaded, what? That
he is able. He is able to keep that which
I've committed unto him against that day. Now, where he says,
for this cause I also suffer, he says in the scripture I read,
I'm a prisoner. This is when Paul was in jail
at Rome. He's writing this letter to Timothy. He says, I suffer nevertheless. I like that word, nevertheless.
Whatever's going on, I like a nevertheless. I'm not shamed. I suffer, I'm
not shamed. Nevertheless, I like that word,
I do. I know whom I believe. Oh, now this is not because Paul
was so holy or so good. I'm not ashamed because I know
him whom I believed. I know him, Jesus Christ the
righteous. I know him, what? That saved
me and called me by his grace. By his purpose and grace that
he gave me before the world began. That's the one Paul knows. That's
the one I wanna know. I know, and this is the beauty
of it, I know he's able. I know he's able. Oh, I like
that. My salvation, well, first. My calling before that, my salvation,
my calling, my believing, all of it is because he is able. Oh, I like that, that's a good
thought. He is able, my salvation, the gospel of your salvation
is a person. I know whom I believe. I know whom I have believed.
John Gill wrote this, and I like this part. A spiritual knowledge
of Christ is necessary to faith in him. An unknown Christ cannot be the
object of faith. That's what Romans 10 says. An
unknown Christ cannot be the object of faith. Although here,
though an unseen Christ as to bodily sight may be and is in
believers. Knowledge and faith go together
and they both come from him. They that truly know Christ believe
in him. And the more they know him, the
more strongly they do believe in him, in him. I like that. Paul knew that by divine revelation.
You understand, Paul was called, Jesus Christ appeared to Paul
on the road to Damascus and knocked him into dust. And Paul said,
I'm sorry, Jesus said to him, Paul, or Saul, Saul, why persecutest
thou me? And here is the one in the dust,
Saul of Tarsus at that time, in the dust, just got knocked
down into the dirt. And he says, who are you, Lord?
I'm Jesus, whom thou persecutest. And you know what Paul said?
He said, uh-oh. That's what he said, uh-oh. I
bet you he's thinking like Isaiah, I'm a man of unclean lips. Oh my, yeah, but that's all right. Jesus got him up, blinded him,
but got him up and got him somebody to guide him into where he needed
to be. My calling was not exactly like
that, but in some ways it was exactly like that, to where it
came to me inside. I didn't care who Jesus Christ
was. I really didn't. But one day I started. And at
first, I didn't know why. I do now, because I know whom
I believe. But you understand, and I do
understand what Ralph Barnes used to say, if my voice is the
only voice you hear, nothing of any eternal value is going
to be determined today. you have to hear the voice of
the great shepherd of the sheep, the good shepherd. And him, you'll
follow. Those that hear, they follow.
Oh, I like that. But here it is. Paul knew him
by divine revelation and was called by Jesus Christ himself
and so is every believer. Because here it is, every believer,
true believer, has been, is born of God. Born again, born from
above. We hear him and we believe him. In his scripture and in his gospel,
both. And I can tell you this, the
more I know him, the more I am not ashamed to know him. The
more I know him, the more I love his gospel. Because here it is. I want to say this and I want
you to be able to say this. I want you to say this. I know
whom I have believed. And he is able. He is able. He is able. Here it is because
here's my point. I'm not able. Now here's your
point. You're not able either. But he
is. He is able. Oh, I like that.
Paul the apostle wasn't able. But he is able. Jesus Christ
is able. The one I know, the one whom
I have believed, has accomplished everything for my salvation. He has accomplished everything
for the salvation of every one of his people. He is able. Oh, because the one I know is
my salvation. He is my salvation. And I want
to tell you what he has done to show forth that he is able,
showing forth, showing to us his ability to save. And I'm
going to do that from the Old Testament. Now this is a great
and gracious, glorious Old Testament verse. It's in Daniel chapter
nine. Because this Old Testament passage
prophesied what our Lord Jesus Christ came to do. And we're
gonna tell you today that this is what Jesus Christ did. Just exactly as it was prophesied.
Daniel chapter nine, verse 24. 70 weeks are determined upon
thy people and upon thy holy city. Now, I'm not gonna go into
the 70 weeks. Some people have done that, and
I'm not gonna do any math today, but it is talking about 70 times
seven is 490, and it's talking about years, and you can add
it up and all that stuff. That's not my point today. But
it's still true. And it's the context, but here's
the deal. 70 weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy
holy city. What? To finish the transgression. And, not done yet, make an end
of sins. Still not done. And to make reconciliation
for iniquity. Now you understand, we've got
what? Transgression. We've got sins. and we've got iniquity. Folks,
that's everything. That's everything. There's nothing
left out bad that doesn't fit in one of those three categories
if not two of the three or three of the three. You understand?
He says to finish the transgression and make an end of sins and to
make reconciliation for iniquity. That's a lot. That's a lot. And I'm gonna tell you something,
that is what we need. Because we have transgressions,
we have sins, and we are iniquity. Oh my, these are the words of
the angel Gabriel in verse 21, it tells you, to Daniel, interpreting
the vision because it was given to Daniel to understand this
matter and consider this vision. And that's what we're doing here
today. I don't have to interpret a vision, I got one. There's
one right here. Oh, I like that. This is what
the angel told Daniel of what the Messiah would do when he
came. And he was coming, he was coming.
This is all future tense here. This is all looking forward,
it's a prophecy. First thing, like I said, to
finish the transgression and make an end of sins and make
reconciliation for iniquity. Oh my. From our viewpoint, this
is what Christ has done. He did it 2,000 years ago. He's
done it. It's done. The great transaction's
done. What? He has saved us and he
has called us. This is the saved part. This
is the saved part. the end of transgressions, the
end of sins, and the end of iniquity. And I need all of that, and you
know what? He is able. He is able. Oh, I like that. And he did it. I like that even better. He did
it. He did it. He took away all my
sins, transgressions, and iniquities, and I'm blessed. I am blessed. Psalms 32 and verses
one and two says this, blessed is he whose transgression is
forgiven and whose sin is covered. And verse two says this, blessed
is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. Oh, and whose spirit there is
no guile. You understand what we have there?
Transgression, sin, and iniquity. And if you don't have it, blessed
are you. You're blessed of God. You've
been blessed by Jesus Christ because he is able to, what? Forgive transgression, to cover
your sins and not impute your iniquity unto you. Oh, I like
that. David wrote it. In Psalm 32,
Paul quoted it in Romans, what, four, verses seven and eight. Ah, blessed is that man. Why? Because Jesus Christ is
able. He is able. He is able. And there's
more. Because understand, now, transgressions
being gone, sins being gone, and iniquity being gone, that's
good. That's very, very good. and it's
necessary and it's needful, but that's not all. That's not all. Matter of fact, if I can say
it this way, and please bear with me, I'll explain it if you
have a problem with it, that's not enough. It's not enough. Oh, what do you mean? Well, I
want you to comprehend this. Kind of lay a hold of it if you
can. Being sinless is not enough. Now that sounds like a very strange
thing to say. But I do have a point here, I
really do. You understand, the Lord Jesus
Christ did not stop with removing our sins, iniquities, and transgressions. He did not. People have this
funny idea, and I know where they get it from. They get it
from their parents and they get it from preachers. If I could just stop
doing something, sinning, If I could stop going to the movies,
or drinking beer, or if I could stop going to the beer joint,
things would be okay. If I could stop sinning, things
would be okay. It's not enough, folks, it's
not enough. And it never has been, never has been, no. Oh my, refraining from evil,
I do wanna be clear about this. Refraining from evil is good,
it is very good, okay? And I wish I could. But it's
this, it's not enough. And Jesus Christ did not stop
with that. Yes, yes, he did make, what,
an end to transgression, an end to sins, and an end to iniquity,
but look at that little conjunction here, where it says, to finish
the transgression, and, to make end of sins, and, to make reconciliation
for iniquity, and, and, and, what's that mean? All of these
go together. You gotta have it all, folks. You gotta have it
all. But, he's able to give it to you. He's able to give it
all to you. But what is it? And, after transgression's
gone, sin's gone, iniquity's gone, and to bring in your everlasting
righteousness. That's what I need. That's what
I need. I mean, I need forgiveness of
sin, iniquities, transgressions, but I need righteousness. You
understand? To stand before a holy God, there's
gotta be righteousness. It's gotta be as good as God
righteousness. Oh, but he brought it in. Oh,
I like that. And to bring in everlasting righteousness. We didn't have it before. We
never had it before. Our father Adam didn't have everlasting
righteousness. It's kind of evident by the fact
it didn't last. Whatever he had, okay? but I
need everlasting righteousness. Oh, but he is able and he brought
it in. I like that. Everlasting righteousness. What? Imparted and the same everlasting
righteousness imputed. Oh, we get both. We get both. Why? He's able. He's able. Oh, I like that. I have no righteousness
of my own of any eternal value. Now I've got righteousness of
filthy rags out the, you know, from ever, forever. That's all
I've got. And that's all you got. That's
all you got. Oh, that's not the righteousness
I need. That's the one I got. I need
his righteousness. He has given us his everlasting
righteousness. I like that. And you know what? In his everlasting righteousness,
Putting on the garments of salvation. Now you don't put them on, he
puts them on you. And he puts on you the robe of righteousness. You can stand before the thrice
holy God. and not tremble in Christ. He's able, he's able. I'm not
able, but he's able, and he will, promise, he will present you
faultless, faultless before the throne of God. Now, let's talk
about grace. That's grace, folks. And you
understand, that being grace, that was given to you before
the foundation of the world, before the beginning of the world.
Oh, but he brings it about in time. And one day we are going
to stand there in his righteousness and still be able to stand and
not die. Oh, I like that, I do. He's gonna give us his everlasting
righteousness, because that's what I need, because this is
who I need. I know whom I have believed,
and he is able, he is able. Oh, I like that. And then it
says, and to seal up the vision and prophecy. Now, that sounds
like a strange phrase to us. You're not sealing it up and
putting it away. You're not saving it up and hiding
it, okay? No, this is setting his seal
that this is true. It's to put his seal to it as
to the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ. And here it is, he's
able. He's able. Oh, I like that. Because
the Lord Jesus Christ has fulfilled this vision, this prophecy. He
did this 2,000 years ago. Oh, I like that. He has finished
the transgression, he has made an end of sins, and he's made
reconciliation for iniquity. And he has brought in everlasting
righteousness. He's done it. Now what? Be ye
reconciled to God. Be ye reconciled to God. He is
able. And this is his prophecy, Daniel. You seal it, it's true. You put
the seal to it, it's true. And then it says, and to anoint
the most holy. To declare the most holy. That's what they did with the
high priest. They anointed him with oil, saying hey, this is the
high priest. It was an announcement. It was a proclamation that this
is the man you have to deal with. This is the man who's going before
the holy of holies. They anointed him with oil. And
he'd go in, what? By himself. By himself, he didn't
have an assistant high priest. There was one high priest, and
we have the great high priest. Oh, I like that. To anoint the
most holy, to declare the most holy. How do you declare? I know
whom I believe. And he's able to keep everything
he wants to keep. And everyone he wants to keep. To anoint the most holy is to
declare and proclaim and to preach that he is able. He is able. Because the Lord Jesus Christ
is the anointed one. He is the anointed one. He is,
what? The most holy. The most holy. You know, that's a title some
people use to call the Pope sometimes. Ain't so. It ain't so. Matter
of fact, it's not even close. There's only one most holy. And
he's the one that went into the holy of holies, the true one,
not made with hands, not the tabernacle, not on this earth,
for God the Father. He is the most holy. Never doubt
that he is able. Never doubt that he is able.
You can doubt yourself, you can doubt your works, you can doubt
your words. Sometimes you should. But never
doubt him. He is able. He is able. And here's the thing, still,
right now, with his everlasting righteousness, with the end of
transgression, the ends of sin, the end of iniquities, still,
right now, we're not able. You're not able, I'm not able.
He is, he is. Oh, because here's the thing,
we have never been able We will never be able, but he is always
able. Matter of fact, he's so able,
we don't understand how able he is. We can't comprehend how
able our Lord is. We don't know the half of what
he does for us. Understand this, this is what
I'm saying. He keeps us in ways we don't get. We don't know what
we've avoided or what he avoided for us. And there are some times
where people meant evil towards you. Maybe a little mischief,
maybe really evil. Either way, he meant it for good. If it happened, he meant it for
good. And he wasn't unmindful of it. No, no, he's very mindful
of it. It's in his heart all the time.
he ever liveth to make intercession for us. For us. The same us, what? That he saved
and he called. The very same people. He makes
intercession and he intercedes constantly whether we know it
or not. Mm. He has given us so much according
to his purpose and his grace that we don't know the half of
it. I wanna know more. I wanna know more. Jesus Christ
knows us and loves us. He is able to love us as his
own brethren. He's not ashamed to call us brethren. He's able. He's able. Oh, but
here's the beautiful thing. We know him. I know whom I believe. I don't know him as well as he
knows me, but I do know him. And I do know that he is able
to keep that which I've committed to him against that day. And I also know this, he has
promised that everyone that cometh to God by him, he's going to
raise up at that last day. Wow, in his everlasting righteousness. Oh, good stuff, good stuff. Because here's the thing, we
know things the world would love to know. I thought about this,
Walter. Dev's been watching some of the
science shows on TV, and I watch them, I like them sometimes.
But sometimes I get tickled, you know? Because scientists
would love to know how the universe was made. Believers do. God spoke the worlds into being.
God spoke the universe into being. And it's doing exactly what he
designed it to do. And it works, just like almost
everything else, in mysterious ways. And they don't get it. I don't get it either. but I know who did it. You understand? And it's gonna keep right on
working until he's ready to wrap it up. But scientists would love
to know how the universe was made. Scientists would love to
know how the universe works. Believers know. He's able. He's able. Here's how it works.
He made it for himself, and by him, it consists. It consists. That's how the universe works. He is able in all things. Romans 8, 28. All things work
together for good to them that love God, to them that are the
called according to what? That purpose and grace that he
gave us before the world began. All things, all things. What is it he tells us to do? Paul writing, verse 13. Hold
fast the form of sound words. I'm gonna give you those three
sound words. He is able, he is able. Which thou has heard of
me in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That's what we're to do. Know
whom you have believed and know that he is able. to keep that
which you've committed unto him. He is able to keep us, but forever. He's given us an everlasting
righteousness. He's given us everlasting life. Those are his words, not mine.
How long do you think it's gonna last? I think it's gonna last
forever. Forever. Everlasting righteousness. He is able. Our Heavenly Father,
we're thankful again this time, this place. Most of all, Lord,
thank you for your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom you have
given us all things, by whom you've given us all things. And
Lord, thank you for all that we have and all that you are
going to give and all that you are going to do all that you're
doing today. Be with those who couldn't be
here. Be with those with the health
issues. Mack and Sandy and Deborah and others. Lord, be with them
and bless them with your presence, with your holiness, your righteousness. Stay with them and stay with
us as we go out from this place. Be with Walter and Paul as they
come forth to preach your gospel. Give us the words we need to
hear and give us the hearing to understand. In Christ's name
we pray, amen.