If you're following along, turn
to 1 Timothy chapter 1. And for the sake of time, I'll
just refer to more verses than I'm going to read, but I'll read
verses 8 through 11. 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 8.
Paul says, that the law is good if a man
use it lawfully, knowing this, that the law is not made for
a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for
the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers
of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers,
for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men-stealers,
for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing
that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel
of the blessed God which was committed to my trust." Now,
two weeks ago I spoke about the glory of God. Last week I spoke
about the praise of the glory of God's grace. Today I want
to try to deal with the glorious gospel of the blessed God. Now, I will have limited contextual
order here. What I want to try to, the question
I want to ask is why the Spirit inspired Paul to write this phrase,
the glorious The gospel of the blessed God. Or the Greek wording is a little
different. Some try to make much of it,
but I don't think it really changes anything. But the Greek reads
it this way. The gospel of the glory of the
blessed God. But it's still the same truth. Because the gospel is a message
about God. The gospel is not a message about
men Within the truth of God there is a message about men and the
message is this for all Have sinned and come short of the
glory of God That's the message of the scripture concerning man,
but the gospel the gospel message is about God Now listen The gospel
is not an abstract. When I say that, I mean this.
The gospel is not a generalization. The gospel is particular and
specific. In other words, the gospel, the
good news. And it's really that simple. Gospel means the good news. The
good news, the gospel, is not there is hope for sinners, Thus,
whatever a sinner hopes in is the gospel. But that's kind of what is taught
today. Just preach hope to sinners, and if you just preach hope to
sinners, then that's the gospel. I mean, it's even so denigrated
today that someone says, I love chocolate, and that's the gospel
truth. It's got nothing to do with the
gospel truth. Men think because they give state some fact, that
that makes it the gospel, and they'll call it the gospel truth.
But the gospel is, again, it's not an abstract. It's not a generalization. The gospel is particular and
specific. So just giving hope to sinners. There were those who preached
the law. They didn't even know what they
were talking about. Paul puts it this way. Verse 7, desiring
to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor whereof
they affirm. They don't know what they're
talking about, but yet they were presenting the law as hope to sinners. The keeping of the law. Do the
law. And men still do that today. They present the Ten Commandments
and the keeping of the Ten Commandments as hope to sinners. And thus
they call it the gospel. That's abstract. That's religion. That's pseudo-Christianity. No, the gospel is concrete. That's
a metaphor. The gospel is concrete. Again,
I say it's particular. It's specific. The good news
is about the glory of the blessed God. In the context, Paul is
clear. There is hope. You see it, verse
one, I didn't read that, but look at it. Chapter one, verse
one, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of
God our Savior, and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope. You see
it? Our hope, there's where hope's
at. There's hope for sinners in this person, Jesus Christ. That's where hope's at. That's
where it's at. There is hope, and God saves
sinners. I didn't read that part either,
but look at it, verse 15 of chapter 1. This is a faithful saying.
And worthy of all acceptation. We don't debate this. There may
be some things we debate. We say, I see this this way,
I see that that way. But we don't debate this. We
don't argue this with men and women. This is a faithful saying
and worthy of all acceptation. That Christ Jesus came into the
world to save what? Sinners. You see it? Sinners. That Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners. So there is hope. And God does
save sinners. As a matter of fact, from the
context, I could say God has saved sinners. Because Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners. He's not in the
world anymore. In that sense, He's back at the
right hand of God the Father. So did He do what He came to
do? Because He came into the world to save sinners. Thus we
can say that judicially, sinners have been saved. All of the righteous
demands of God and even His holy law have been satisfied by Jesus
Christ. Both positively and negatively. So there is hope. God does save
sinners, but according to the context, the law affords no hope
for sinners. Do you see it? Look at it. Let's read it again.
Let's just read, let's get the context here. Verse 6, from which
some having swerved, that's, swerved from what? What he's
talking about in verse 5. Joe, that's what you were talking
about. They don't go forward, they're going over here to the right
or to the left or going backward or whatever. from which some,
having swerved, have turned aside unto vain jangling, just like
this ringing a bell, you know, just vain jangling, desiring
to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor whereof
they affirm. In other words, they don't know
where they're coming from. That's the way we put it today.
They don't know where they're coming from. Knowing this, Knowing
this, I'm sorry, verse 8, but we know that the law is good.
The problem is not the law. The problem is man's misuse of
the law. The law has a proper use. The
law is there for a reason. It's not an extra just tacked
on. It's not a first way compared to Jesus Christ the second way.
I remember Chris Cunningham saying that there are those who preach
Jesus Christ as just a second shot. You know? The first shot
was the law. That didn't work too well. So
now Christ is presented as a second shot. Here He is. Accept Him. Now you've got a second shot.
Men don't know what they're talking about there. Paul says we know
that the law is good if a man use it, what? Lawfully. Knowing
this, that the law is not made for a righteous man. Now, I don't
want to spend too much time here, but I want us to harvest from
this field and now not turn to gleaning in the corners. Okay? Don't turn to the corner and
try to find some gleanings here. Well, who is a righteous man?
It means exactly what the context is talking about. A righteous
man. The law is not for a righteous man. But I'm here to tell you
that ain't me. And I'm here to tell you that
ain't you. What about believers? That's not what he's talking
about here. The law's not for a righteous man, but here's what
the law's for. Here's who the law's for, and he gives the list,
right? Knowing this, the law is not
made for a righteous man. There's only been, there's ever
been only one righteous man. That's Jesus Christ the Lord.
As a matter of fact, even Adam is said to have been created
upright. But it doesn't say he was created righteous. He was
created upright and he failed. He had at best, Mason, immutable
righteousness. This ain't talking about immutable
righteousness. Immutable righteousness will
not stand. It will be just like Adam. It will fall eventually.
It'll fall. It's made to fall. I know some
disagree with that, but be that as it may, God didn't warn Adam
if you eat of the fruit of the tree. He didn't say that. He
says when you eat. In the day that you eat thereof.
He told him he would, but he commanded him not to. In the
day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt, in that day, thou
shalt surely die. But we know this, the law is
not made for a righteous man. But for the lawless, disobedient,
ungodly, and for, and then he uses the very word, what? For
sinners. You see it? So can I say, there
is hope. And God saves sinners. But the
law, the law affords no hope for sinners. Is the law the gospel? No. No. So keep the law? Even Paul said he hadn't. I didn't
read it, but look, verse 13, who was before a blasphemer. You see that? Now he says, when
he gives this list of who the law is for, he says, it's not
an exhaustive list, remember. He said, and if there be any
other thing that's contrary to sound doctrine. I say this, a little common sense
goes a long way. Our problem by nature is we don't
have any. That's our problem. We don't have any. But the law
lays it right out. The law is there to define, to
indict us concerning, to define and indict us concerning our
corruption. And it lays it out. This is wrong,
God says. And if you do it, you're wrong.
This is right, God says. And if you don't do it, that
is wrong. That's what the law says It's for murderers for sinners
for unholy and profane for murders of fathers murders of mothers
manslayers whoremongers for them that defile themselves with mancabit
Paul said I was before a blasphemer and a persecutor and Indra's
you see it so the law is not the gospel and Keeping the law
is not the gospel. I Paul makes it quite clear. Is anybody really any better
than anybody else? Is the Jew better than the Gentile?
Romans 3, verse 9. No. We've proved before that
both Jew and Gentile, that they are all what? Under sin. Under sin. And he goes through
that great indictment and then states these words. And I want
to get it just right. Romans chapter 3. Verse 20, Romans
3. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law, there shall no flesh be justified in his, that is, in
God's sight. For by the law is what? The knowledge
of sin. But there's a problem. By nature,
we don't even get that. So much so that in Romans 7,
Paul actually teaches that it takes the work of God for any
individual to ever even really comprehend the law's reason,
the law's purpose, why the law was made, why the law was given.
And it was given to show me how dead I am before God. But that takes the work of grace.
It takes grace to even understand what the law is. It doesn't take
the law to understand what the law is because we think we can
keep it. Or we at least like to think
God will accept our best shot. But even Isaiah way back yonder
said that our righteousnesses are as filthy rags in God's sight. The Lord of Glory, when He come
along, He told the disciples, He said, even when you've done
all that's your duty to be done, what are we still to say about
ourselves? We're still unprofitable servants. At best, still unprofitable
servants. So the law's not the gospel.
And I say this with all due reverence and respect to God and His law.
Quit trying to keep the law if you're trying to keep the law. Joe, the law shows us the mountains
on either side, the Egyptians behind us, and the Red Sea in
full force in front of us. The law shuts us in. That's what it does. It shuts
us in, it shuts us down, it shuts us up, if you really see it. If you really see it. As long
as we're, and I like what Joe said, running about and shouting
and screaming. You know, this is what religion
does. I'm doing this. At least I'm
trying my best. God don't accept your best. He only accepts perfection. So the law is not the gospel. But, is the gospel against the
law? No. No. As a matter of fact, in our context,
there's a lot more we can say about that. Paul in Galatians,
remember, says, is the law then against the promises of God?
God forbid. The law is not against the promise. The law is there for a reason,
a sound reason, a good reason. It's good when it's used lawfully
to show men how bad they really are. But again, it takes the
work of God. But even in our context, Paul
says both of these things, that is law and the gospel, express
sound doctrine. Because look at it, four, and
he gives that list, right? You know, four, verse 10. And
he says, and if there be any other thing that is contrary
to sound doctrine, according to. You see that? He links now the two together,
though. This is not even a different
sentence. This is the same thought process. That's why I read just
that sentence, verse 8 down through 11. And if there be any other
thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, and he didn't say according
to the law, no, but even what? According to the glorious gospel
of the blessed God. The gospel is not opposed to
the law. The gospel is not even opposed
to the commandments of the law. The gospel is the declaration
of God who is the only one that can solve the dilemma of the
law and my breaking of it. So is the gospel against the
law? No, because both the law and the gospel express the same
sound doctrine. It's an according to, not a but. See, it's not in anything, in
any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, but there
is the gospel. He's talking about the same thought
process, the same truth here. In other words, the gospel is a declaration,
not that God frees me to do whatever I want to do. The gospel is a
declaration that God Almighty frees me from what I have already
done. And what I cannot help myself
from doing. Paul said in Romans 7, to will
is present with me. Talking about the law and its
commands which are wholly just and good. And I would keep them,
the will's present with me. But how to perform that which
is good, I can't find it. That's not people say, well there's
will, that's not free will. He had the will, but not the
ability. And that's what the law does. The law says, shut
up. Therefore, let me go back and
read it again. Let's go back to Romans 3. Now listen. Let me find it. Look at verse
19, right before verse 20. Now we know that what things
soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under law, that
every mouth may be stopped. In other words, the law says
shut up about how good you are. Shut up about every mouth may
be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God. The gospel is the only answer
to that dilemma. So, what is the gospel? what is the glory, and specifically
in the context. Since the gospel is this, the
glorious gospel of the blessed God, I could start now from this
time preaching to you every Sunday, and if I lived another 50 years,
I could not exhaust the subject of the gospel. You understand
what I'm saying? Because the gospel is concerning
God. It's the gospel, the glorious
gospel of the blessed God. Now what is the gospel? What
is the glory, we might say, especially from the context? Two things.
The first one I will be very brief. According to the glorious gospel
of, and here's the first one, the blessed God. The blessed
God. I thought about that. And I wish
my abilities were more than my ability to express it. I just,
you know, I just wish I could express it better, but I'll try
to, I'll take a stab at it. God equals blesser. That's true, right? God equals
blesser. He does the blessing, but that's
not what this says. It says, according to the glorious
gospel of the blessed God, Sure, God is a blesser, but this says
God blessed. Now, who blessed God? No one could bless God, right? God is intrinsic blessing in
Himself. God blessed forever, Scripture
says. In other words, and this is why
I wish I had it In other words, there's no lack here in God's
ability. Since He is God, or the blessed
God, then where can any blessing, if there is any blessing to flow
from Him, where must it come? From Him. If there's any blessing
that even flows through an instrumentality, Where must it have its source
at? The source must be in God. He is the blessed God. Therefore, any blessing, whether
it's directly from Him, or indirectly through some instrumentality,
or Mason, a combination of both, it still has God as its source. Because He is the blessed God. Now that's simple enough, but
yet to me, so profound. That's number one the gospel
is this the glorious gospel of the blessed God So anything that
you need in God's sight Where is it going to have to come from?
It's that simple. It's got to come from God You
and I are never the source Never the source That kicks free
will and everything else, self-righteousness. It kicks it all, not just in
the head, but kicks it to the ground and grinds it into dust. He is the blessed God. But here's the second thing.
The gospel is this. Here's the glory. God does the
work. Now I could just say, listen
to Joe's message again, and we're done. There it is. God does the
work. In other words, as Joe said,
fear not, stand still, and see God work. You see it? Not see yourselves work, but
see God work. Now once God does that work he's
pleased to do, there's going to be some movement on your part. He says go forward. That's right,
Joe. But first of all, first and foremost, God does the work. One, in the context, he counts
faithful. Mason, you and I talked a little
bit about this, not even from this passage, but about God doesn't
look and see if that person would be faithful if, and then provide
things so that they will come to their potential. No, he says,
look, According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which
was committed to my trust And I think Christ Jesus our Lord
who hath enabled me. Yes, that's true, too That's
the second thing here under God does the work he enables, but
he does something else first Who hath enabled me for that
he counted me faithful? See in other words God don't
look and see what our potential is God Almighty decreed the potential
yes In Himself. Yes. In Himself. He counted me. That means this. He, by His own
deeming, commanded me faithful. That's right. He decreed it would
be. Amen. The word means to be counted. It means to be in charge. Yes
sir. He counted me faithful. He didn't
look and see I'd be faithful. He counted me faithful. What
did He do? Then He enabled me to be faithful. And what? Put
me in the ministry. Amen. And somebody says, why
is Paul calling to preach? Paul was called to preach the
day God saved him. Immediately, see, I conferred
not with flesh and blood. It was just a few days later,
he was in one of the synagogues, I think, if memory serves me
right, preaching Christ. Wasn't he? He didn't have to
go to preacher school or none of that. Why? Because all he
had to do was preach what had happened to him. Preach the one
who had conquered him. Preach the one who had knocked
him off his mule or donkey, horse, whatever it was, on that road
to Damascus. And let me tell you something.
Every person God saves, immediately God puts them in the body in
their specific place in the ministry as it pleases Him. That at the
very same time. Because even Paul says, I am
a pattern. A pattern. In other words, everybody
God saves, God saves them just like He saved me. Everybody. Now you don't have to be on a
horse, you don't have to be going to Damascus, but you're going.
You're going to have an encounter with Jesus Christ and He will
conquer your heart, mind, and soul in love and faith that's
in Him. That's what's going to happen.
So God does the work. He counts faithful. He enables.
But also this in the context. He is exceeding abundant with
faith and love in Christ by grace. Do you see it? Look at verse
14. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant. Why? Because He wants you to know
there's no lack in God. He's the blessed God. He's not
depending on you and I for anything. Because look, who was before
a blasphemer, here's the context, and a persecutor, and injurious,
but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
That's not the reason why God gave him mercy, but Paul is stating
the fact that he was fit for mercy. He needed mercy. A righteous
man don't need mercy. All a righteous man needs is
his just reward. Right? If you're really righteous in
God's sight, God owes you that reward. Does he not? Shall not the judge of all the
earth do right? But see, there's none righteous. No, not one. So I obtained mercy because I
did it ignorantly in unbelief and the grace of our Lord was
exceeding abundant with the very thing I needed, faith and love.
You see, He gave it to me. Paul wasn't seeking for it. He
was trying to wipe the very name of Jesus Christ off the face
of the earth. He considered Jesus of Nazareth
to be an imposter, to be a false messiah, to be a liar. But that Jesus Christ said that
you will go no further than right here. And he stopped, saw of
Tarsus in his tracks, and he gave. The grace of the Lord was
exceeding abundant with faith and love. God does the work,
doesn't he? And that to sinners. And that
to sinners. The very same sinners that the
law shows how corrupt they really are. Again, who was before a
blasphemer. and a persecutor and injurious.
But I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly and unbelief.
The grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love
which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners of whom I used to be chief. No. Of whom even
right now today, Paul says, I am chief. Hmm, how be it? How be it for this cause I obtain
mercy that in me first Jesus Christ might shoo forth all long-suffering
How long-suffering was he with Saul of Tarsus all long-suffering? Jesus Christ Joe could have wiped
that man off the face of the earth, strangled the breath out
of His being and sent His soul to hell. And Jesus Christ would
have been absolutely righteous in doing so. But He says, might
show forth all longsuffering for a pattern to them which should
hereafter believe. And it's amazing that Greek word.
It's not just something, it's like those who are approaching
Those are coming up on it. Because Paul knew there were
going to be some people coming up on it. They're going to be
coming up. Why? Because God does the work. It doesn't depend upon them. It depends upon God. It was the
sinners. Remember who was before. Paul said, I still am a sinner.
I'm still a sinner. Isn't that what he says? Right
here. While he was writing it he said, of whom I am chief. Concretely, particularly, specifically,
it is this order. It is according to the gospel,
according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God. What is that
gospel? What is that glory? Salvation
comes only after grace. You don't get saved to get grace.
You are saved because He gave you grace. And as a matter of
fact, Paul told this very Timothy in the second epistle, when did
He first give us grace? Even before the world began.
So here's the order. It's only after grace. It's only
after God's work. This is the order. It's only
after the gospel. And you can't mix that order
up. Because you can hear the gospel from now till doomsday
as we say and it will profit you nothing if God don't do a
work in your heart and soul first. Well what if I'm one of the elect?
Election don't prepare you. Election is God merely chose
to do something for you. That's what it is. It's only
after grace. It's only after God's work. It's
only after the gospel. But all three of those are still
there. All three of those. You can't say, well, I got grace
before the world began. It don't matter about anything
else. The other two must follow. The other two will follow. After grace. It's only after
grace. It's only after God's work. It's only after the gospel.
And then comes what? Belief on Christ to everlasting
life. Didn't he say it? even to a pattern
to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting."
In other words, God has to give you life before you can ever
even experience life. That may seem a tad redundant,
but it's the truth nonetheless. What's the proof of this? Paul
said, the way God saved me. That's the proof of all of it.
He wasn't looking for it. He wasn't willing it. He wasn't
desiring it. As a matter of fact, it was exactly
the opposite. And that's the way it is with
everybody. Before there's ever a desire,
before there's ever a will to, before there's ever a whosoever
will, God Almighty has to will and to do. There must be the
work of God and there shall be. There shall be. Father, help
us to rejoice in this. Help us to be comforted in this.
As Joe exhorted us, Lord, help us to fear not, to stand still,
and to see the salvation of you, your salvation, which you will
show us. And Lord, then and then only, move us forward. Move us forward
by your grace. I thank you in Christ's name.
Amen. Before you cut this off, right?
Yeah.