Welcome to Reign of Grace. This
program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries,
an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany,
Georgia. It is our pleasure and privilege
to present to you the gospel message of the sovereign grace
and glory of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today's program
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now for today's program. welcome to our program now today
i'm going to be preaching from the book of second timothy chapter
two if you'd like to follow along in your bibles second timothy
chapter two and the title of the message is this for the elect's
sakes for the elect's sakes Now I took that title from verse
10 of 2 Timothy chapter 2 where the Apostle Paul writing to young
Timothy he says, Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes,
that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ
Jesus with eternal glory. For the elect's sakes. Now when
you hear that term elect or when you hear the term election, what
do you think about? Now many people have ways of
dealing with these scriptural terms and the scriptural truths
that come from these terms. Many people have ways of dealing
with them that are negative and end up even denying the scriptures
and what the scripture teaches. When you think about elect, God's
elect people, that's what it's talking about. When you think
about election, many people say, well, that's only talking about
the Jews. Well, there were Jews who were
God's elect. The Bible teaches that it was
always a remnant of the Jews, a small piece, a small part.
Isaiah spoke of that back in chapter 1 of the book of Isaiah.
And he said in his prophecy, as God prophesied through Isaiah,
that the whole nation, every individual without exception
in that whole nation, would have perished in unbelief except the
Lord had a remnant of His people who came to believe the gospel
of God's grace in Christ Jesus. and there were God's elect among
the Jews but there's also God's elect among the Gentiles and
that's mainly who Paul's talking about. He's talking about elect
Jew and Gentile. Paul speaking of enduring the
sufferings that he went through as a minister of the gospel.
And he was writing here from prison. And he said, I endure
all these things for one purpose, for the elect's sake. God has
a people, and he's going to get the gospel to them, and he's
going to save them, and they're going to come to faith in Christ.
And he was mainly the apostle to the Gentiles, so you can't
just relegate it to the Jews. And I know people, when they
hear the doctrine of election or the term elect, they think,
well, doesn't God give everybody a chance to be saved? Is that
what the Scripture teaches? Well, here's the point, and here's
what you have to understand. Whatever God's Word says, it
says, and we're to believe it, and we're to bow to it. Now,
there are many things in the Bible that we as mere humans
in our finite, limited minds cannot grasp and cannot understand
about God's sovereign purpose, God's sovereign will and God's
sovereign ways, and man's responsibility and accountability to God. But
we know this, Whatever God does, in whatever way he does it, is
a right way, it's a just way, it's a fair way? Romans chapter
nine answers those questions very plainly. Is God unrighteous? Does God save everybody? The
answer's no. Man is a free agent in that sense. He'll save any sinner who wants
to be saved his way. Now that's the key, understand
that now. Somebody said, well, anybody
who wants to be saved can be saved. Now listen to me. You've
got to be careful with that. Because everybody, in some sense,
wants to be saved. I'll give you an example of it.
Think back in Genesis chapter 4. You have two brothers. One's name was Cain. One's name
was Abel. Both Cain and Abel wanted to
be saved. Both Cain and Abel wanted to
please God. Both Cain and Abel wanted to
worship God and desired to be accepted of God. But Cain didn't
get what he wanted. Abel did. Now what's the difference? Cain wanted salvation on his
own terms, his own works. That's why he brought the works
of his hands to God. God had already told Cain. Now
listen to me. Now Cain was not one of God's
elect. And you say, well, preacher,
that's not fair. Now listen, God told Cain, he says, why are
you angry? He says, I've told you the right
way. If you would do well, you'd be
accepted. Now, what was it to do well?
It was to come like Abel came through the blood of the lamb,
the blood of sacrifice. Cain heard the same gospel that
Abel heard, but Cain did not want it. Cain did not desire. He wanted salvation on his own
terms. He wanted salvation in a way
that would exalt Cain. You see, if you come to God seeking
salvation by your works, and God would receive that, then
you have room to boast. You can elevate and exalt yourself.
But now Abel, Cain, as a sinner, seeking mercy and grace from
God signified by his offering, the blood of an animal, which
typified God's way of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, here's the thing that people can't get and what we by nature
don't understand until God reveals it. Abel was not coming to God,
God's way, through his own free will because he was better than
Cain. No, sir. Abel was a ruined, fallen,
dead sinner just like Cain. But God chose Abel and gave him
spiritual life and brought him that way. Now why didn't he bring
Cain that way? I don't know. Christ answered
the question in the only way the Bible answers it in Matthew
chapter 11 when he said, So whatever God does is right.
Was God unfair to Cain? No. He gave Cain exactly what
Cain wanted. He wanted salvation by works.
He didn't get salvation. What does the Bible say? By deeds
of law shall no flesh be justified in his sight. Salvation is not
of works, lest any man should boast. can't refuse to come to
god and i'm telling you right now listen to me and over the
airways if you refuse to come to god his way as a sinner seeking
mercy a center who doesn't hurt who cannot earn salvation and
who doesn't deserve salvation coming to god pleading the blood
and the righteousness of the lord jesus christ alone you will
be damned forever." Now that's so. That's so. Well, who are
God's elect? They are all who come to God
through Christ, just like Abel. Now let's go back and look at
some passages here in 2 Timothy. chapter two to see where Paul
goes with this, how he comes to this. He had talked to Timothy
about the ministry, the foundation of the ministry, which is the
grace of God, the message of the ministry, which is the gospel
of Christ. He talked about the dedication
as a soldier in the army of Christ, the discipline like an athlete,
training to be a master in the scriptures. Here's what he's
talking about, the diligence of a farmer sowing the seed.
And then he said in verse seven, consider what I say. and the
Lord give thee understanding in all things." Now, you consider
these things, think about these things, and he prayed the Lord
would give him understanding in all things. Now, God gives
understanding to his people. The Bible says, "...the natural
man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, neither
can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned." But God
gives His elect spiritual understanding. And if you have spiritual understanding,
you'll know, you'll know that God is sovereign, that He's holy
and just. He must punish sin. And yet He's
a Savior. He's a merciful and gracious
and loving God. But He cannot show mercy. and
he cannot show love and compassion and grace apart from his justice
being satisfied. And the greatest proof of that
is the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why Christ had
to come into this world. This is the gospel issue now.
How can God save a sinner like me, one who's been ruined in
the fall, One who's born dead in trespasses and sins. One who
is by nature a rebel against God's way of salvation. That's
what I am by nature. How can God save a sinner like
me who deserves wrath and who's earned wrath? How can he do that
and still be just and holy and righteous and true to himself?
There's only one way, and it's God's way, and that's through
the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why Christ came and shed
his precious blood and died on that cross under the penalty
of the sins of God's elect, Christ's sheep, his church. The Bible
talks about the church which he purchased with his own blood.
That's redemption. And all who are in Christ are
justified before God, declared not guilty and made righteous
before God through the blood and righteousness of Christ.
A righteousness not their own, but His. It's ours by imputation. God accounted it to us, just
like God accounted the sins of His sheep, Christ's sheep, to
Him. And so, you see, this is the
issue of election. It's not, listen, God chose a
people. I'll show you that in the Scriptures.
You cannot deny that. The Bible teaches that. And let
me tell you something, it's not that God looked down through
a telescope of time and foresaw who would receive him. Now a
lot of people say that. That is not scriptural. Let me
tell you what that is. That's salvation by works. If
God looked down through a telescope of time and foresaw what would
happen, I've got several questions for you on that. Number one,
who determined what would happen? Is it some kind of a fate? Or
some kind of a force? Or some kind of a cosmic spirit?
No, sir. God, the Bible says God is the
first cause of all things and he works all things after the
counsel of his own will. The Bible says that God is in
control. I don't care what anybody else
tells you, you read this book. And then if God looked down through
a telescope of time and foresaw who would believe and who wouldn't,
and then made his choice based on that, then that's salvation
by works. That's the same thing as, well,
I'm going to save those who are better than others. That's not
grace, my friend. Besides, the Bible doesn't teach
that. The Bible doesn't. You say, well, preacher, I can't
grasp and wrap my mind around all that. Well, I can't either.
I'm just telling you what God's Word says. now listen you're
about a god's word you're responsible about a god's word you you're
not to sit around and say well i wonder if i'm elect i wonder
who's elect or whatever no no the gospel mandate the gospel
command to you is believe on the lord jesus christ and you
shall be saved anybody who believes on the lord jesus christ shall
be saved and you know who they are they're his elect they're
his church they're his sheep Christ in John chapter 10, he
said this, he said, I laid down my life for the sheep. Same thing as God's elect. He
said, I have other sheep that are not of this fold, the Jewish
fold, them also I must bring, you see. And he said, my sheep
hear my voice and they know me. Do you hear his voice in the
preaching of the gospel? Are you going to come like Abel,
pleading the blood of the Savior, pleading his righteousness alone,
or are you going to come like Cain, pleading your words? And
so Paul says the Lord give the understanding in these things.
He says in verse eight, remember that Jesus Christ of the seed
of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel.
Now he speaks here of both the humanity of Christ and the resurrection
of Christ. Back over in Romans chapter 1,
when Paul was defining the gospel in its very basics, he talked
about how the gospel is the gospel of God, which reveals the person
of Christ, who was made of the seed of David according to the
flesh, that was his sinless humanity, and who was declared to be the
son of god with power that's his deity christ is both god
and man in one person he's the god man and so he says he was
raised from the dead now what does that mean that means on
the cross when he died he finished the redemption of his people
The Bible says that His name shall be called Jesus, for He
shall save His people from their sins. Who are His people? All who come to faith in Him
by the power of the Spirit in the new birth. The Bible says
in John 3.16 that God so loved the world, that's the cosmos,
that's humanity now, that's not every individual without exception.
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that
whosoever what believeth in Him. should not perish but have everlasting
life." Do you believe in Him, you see? Do you believe that
He and His death alone saves you, keeps you, and entitles
you to glory? His righteousness alone. And
Paul said in verse 9, he says, wherein I suffer trouble as an
evildoer, even unto bonds. What Paul's telling Timothy is
this, I suffer trouble from the opposition. from unbelievers,
because I preach this gospel. I preach the grace of God. I
suffer trouble. They treat me like I'm an evildoer.
Paul was not an evildoer in preaching the gospel. That was the best
thing he could do for anybody. That was the greatest show of
love that he could do. But they looked upon him as an
evildoer because the gospel that Paul preached exposed them for
what they are. The Bible says in John chapter
3 and verse 19 that light has come into the world and men loved
darkness and hated the light because their deeds were evil.
You take a person who is trying to be saved by their works, doing
their dead level best to be obedient to the law, thinking that God
would save them and bless them and reward them because of their
efforts to keep the law. Here comes a minister of the
gospel like Paul or like Timothy or like me or whoever. and preaches
that there's only one way that a sinner can be saved and blessed
and rewarded and it's not by your efforts to keep the law,
that'll damn you. It's by the work, the finished
work, the blood, the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ alone.
And any sinner who comes any other way but through Christ
is an evil doer in the sight of God. Now that made them mad. That made the opposition mad
and they went after Paul. And here he says, even unto bonds,
I'm in jail, he said, because of this. But listen to what he
says in verse nine. He says, but the word of God
is not bound. They can put me in prison, but
they can't put the word of God in prison. That word, listen,
that word is gonna go forth to everywhere God wants it to go.
you say well if and what if a person is over on some island in remote
island on the other side of the world and they never hear the
gospel let me tell you something if if upper anybody whom god
has chosen whom christ redeemed who's justified in christ god's
gonna get in the word he's powerful enough to do that he's gonna
send it in the power of the spirit and bring them to faith in christ
the word of god is not bad so he says in verse 10 therefore
for that reason I endure all things all these sufferings all
these oppositions all this hatred for the elect's sake why that
they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with
eternal glory God has a people you see the fact of the matter
here is this if God had not chosen his people None of us would have
chosen Him. That's exactly right. If left
to ourselves, we would never choose God. That's what the Bible
teaches. That's why He said in John 6, verse 44, No man can
come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him.
Literally, drag him. But He said before that, in John
6, verse 37, He said, All that the Father giveth Me shall come
to Me. and him that cometh to me, I
will in no wise cast out." Don't ever think that the doctrine
of election teaches that sinners will want to be saved God's way,
but God wouldn't let them. No sir. Anybody any of you listening
to my voice if you desire to come to God through Christ God's
way by his grace begging for mercy Knowing that if God gave
you what you've earned and deserved you'd get you get eternal damnation
But if you come to God pleading the blood and righteousness of
Christ you shall be saved That's exactly right look over in the
book of sec uh... well let's look first of all
at uh... romans chapter eleven we could look at so many passages
on this but here's listen what he's saying here he's talking
about he he he refers back to the time of the prophet elijah
and elijah at one time he felt like that all of israel was against
him he felt like this he felt like he was the only one who
was saved but god revealed to him he said he said now elijah
don't think that he said i've got seven thousand who bowed
the need to bail to an idol and then paul uses that to show this
he says in verse five he says even so then at this present
time in paul's day also there is a remnant now he's talking
about the jews here In other words, there's a remnant. It
looked like all the whole nation of Israel, the Jews, had rejected
Jesus Christ. But he said, no, there's a remnant.
And what is that remnant? How is that remnant described
here? He says, a remnant according to the election of grace. they're elected not because god
looked down to a telescope of time and foresaw what they would
do or what they would believe but it's election of grace and
listen what he says in verse six and if by grace then is it
no more of works he says but if and otherwise grace is no
more grace but if it be of works then it is it then is it no more
grace otherwise work is no more work verse seven what then israel
hath not obtained that which he seeketh for. But the election
hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded." Now listen to
that verse. He said, Israel hath not obtained
that which he seeketh for. Now what did Israel seek for?
And listen, as I say that, think about yourself. What are you
seeking for? Now let me show you what Israel
sought for. Over here in Romans chapter 9,
he says in verse 31, he said, But Israel, which followed after
the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.
Now, Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for. What
were they seeking? They were seeking righteousness
by the law and they didn't obtain it. Verse 32 of Romans 9, why
didn't they obtain it? Because they sought it not by
faith, but as it were by the works of the law. They didn't
seek it by faith. Now ask yourself this question,
what is it to seek righteousness by faith? That's a very important
issue now for this message, for any message. We're talking about
for the elect's sake now. Paul said, I'm enduring all these
things for the elect's sake. Now here's Israel, the nation
Israel. They didn't obtain what they were seeking for. There
was a remnant now, a small piece, they're called the election of
grace. God elected them in grace. and
they obtained it. But now Israel as a nation didn't.
Why? They sought it not by faith,
but as it were by works of the law. What is it to seek righteousness
by faith? Now listen to me very carefully
here. To seek righteousness by faith is not to seek righteousness
in faith. You say, well, you're splitting
hairs there. No, I'm not. Now listen to me. If you're seeking
righteousness in your believing, in the fact that you've made
a choice, you're gonna fail too, just like Israel. That's the
same thing as works. What is it to seek righteousness
by faith? Well, let me show you right here
in Romans 9. Look at verse 32 again. Now why
didn't Israel obtain what they were seeking for? Because they
sought it not by faith but as it were by the works of the law.
Now listen to the next thing. For they stumbled at that stumbling
stone. Now what is that stumbling stone?
Well that's a prophecy. It's from Isaiah chapter 8 and
it's also from Isaiah chapter 28 and he goes on, verse 33 of
Romans 9, as it is written, behold I lay in Zion Now Zion was a
mount in Jerusalem, outside of Jerusalem, but it's a picture
of the church. It's a picture of God's elect.
It's a picture of Christ's sheep. And he says, Behold I lay in
Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense and whosoever believeth
on him. You see that there in Romans
9.33? That stumbling stone is not an
it. It's a hymn. He says, "...and whosoever believeth
on him shall not be ashamed." So to seek righteousness by faith
is to seek righteousness in a person. Now who is that person? We'll
look at Romans 10 in verse 1. Brethren, my heart's desire and
prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. For I bear
them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to
knowledge. There's a knowledge they're missing. Verse 3, for
they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about
to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves
unto the righteousness of God. Now verse 4 is key. For Christ
is the end. That word end means the finishing,
the completing. of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believes." Do you see that? Christ is the end
of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes. That
stumbling stone is Christ. And all who are seeking salvation
by their works will stumble over Him because He will not accept
that. He doesn't preach that. He doesn't
represent that. To seek righteousness by faith
is to seek righteousness in Christ. And that's what Paul was doing
in preaching the gospel for the very elect's sake. The elect
are going to come to know that. Over in 2 Thessalonians chapter
2 and verse 13, Paul writes this, he says, but we are bound to
give thanks always to God for you brethren, beloved of the
Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation
through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth,
whereunto he called you by our gospel to the obtaining of the
glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." What is he saying there? He's
saying that all whom God loves, all whom God chose in Christ,
will be born again by the Spirit. That's what sanctification of
the Spirit and belief of the truth is. That's the new birth.
regeneration by the spirit so back in second timothy two paul
writes he says therefore i endure all things for the elect's sake
that they may have to also obtain the salvation which is in christ
jesus with eternal glory now what is paul doing he's a missionary
He's evangelizing. You know, I've heard people say,
well, if I believed in election, I wouldn't go preach. I wouldn't
go to missions or evangelize. Paul said, that's the reason
I'm doing it. You see how skewed men's reasoning are? They look
at the doctrines of grace in the scripture, and then they
determine, well, man's not responsible. He's not accountable. Doesn't
matter what we do. Oh, no. Paul says the word of
God's not bound. I'm going out and preaching,
I'm suffering these things for the very elect's sake that they
may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with
eternal glory. You see, election is not a deterrent
to evangelism and witnessing. Election to Paul and to all of
God's people is the very reason we're evangelizing. and we send
out missionaries and we preach to them. That's why I'm preaching
to God. I want to see sinners come to salvation. I don't know
who they are. Somebody said, well, if I believe
the election, I just preach to only the elect. You don't know
who the elect are. But brother, God does, and we
preach the gospel. Well, I hope this message has
helped you to understand these scriptures and this truth. If
you would like to have a copy of this message, listen to the
announcer as he gives you the details. The title of this message
is For the Elect's Sakes. And I hope you'll join us next
week for another message from God's Word. We are glad you could join us
for another edition of Reign of Grace. This program is brought
to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry
of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. To receive
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today and may the Lord be with you.