It's always a pleasure to be
with you. Would you turn with me to the book of Titus? Titus chapter one. All. A servant of God and an
apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and
the acknowledging of the truth, which is after godliness in hope
of eternal life, which God that cannot lie promised before the
world began. but hath in due times manifested
his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according
to the commandment of God our Savior to Titus, mine own son,
after the common faith. Grace, mercy, and peace from
God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior. I've entitled this message, The
Common Faith. Now Paul's addressing Titus as
his own son. And he says, you're my son according
to the common faith. Now, what I love about this term
is this term tells us what all believers have in common. The common faith. Paul called it earlier, the faith
of God's elect. I love that, don't you? the faith
that every one of God's elect possesses, the acknowledging,
the embracing of the truth. That's simple enough, isn't it?
Which is after godliness. The common faith. Now, the word
common means that which is common to all as opposed to that which
is peculiar to the few. Now, if you have faith, and I
have faith, this is the faith we will possess. The common faith. Now I believe Adam was a believer.
The Bible doesn't say he was, but I believe he was. But I know
Abel was. And this is the faith Abel had. And this is the faith that you
have if you're a believer. This is the faith that every
believer to ever live has had. All of God's elect, this is something
very exciting to think about. It could be that the last of
the elect is walking the earth right now. And when he's brought to this
common faith, it'll be over. The common faith. Jude called it the faith Once
delivered to the saints. Once delivered. The faith, not
a faith, the faith. Once delivered. That means it
knows no amendments. It knows no revisions. It knows
no adaptations. It knows no changes. There are
no mutations. It is the faith once delivered
and it will never be changed in any way. This is what Paul
spoke of when he said to the Ephesians, there's one Lord,
one faith, one baptism, one God, Father of all who's above all
and in you all. Now, this is the faith that the
newborn believer possesses. He might have only been born
again for one second, but this is the faith he Possesses and
it's the faith that the man who's been a believer 50 years possesses
same faith the common faith Common to every believer to ever live
now you and I can listen to this message and we can find out From
this message if God's pleased to bless it if we have the common
faith and there's something I want you to do when you hear these
Ask yourself. Do I believe this don't? Think,
well, I'm afraid I just believe it in my head, but I don't believe
it in my heart. Do you know that that is something
that's not found in the Bible? I've heard preachers talk, there's
that 18 inch drop from the head to the heart. Well, that's not
found in the Bible. What you believe in your heart
is what you believe in your head. What you believe in your head
is what you believe in your heart. So don't listen to these and
say, well, I'm afraid I only believe in my head and I don't
believe in my heart. If you believe, if you believe
them in your head, you believe them in your heart. So you listen
very carefully to see if you can enter into this thing called
by Paul, the common faith, common to every believer to ever live. Now, this common faith comes
from the faith. The gospel is called the faith. I love that, don't you? The gospel
itself is called the faith. I love what Paul said right before
he died. He said, I fought a good fight. Well, how do you fight
a good fight, Paul? I finished my course. I endured
all the way to the end. I kept the faith. Now, that's
what it is to fight a good fight. It's to endure all the way to
the end, looking to Christ, keeping the faith. Henceforth, he said,
there's laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
the righteous judge, will give to me at His appearing, and not
to me only, but also to all them that love His appearing. Do you love His appearing? Do
you love His appearing even now, before the Father representing
you? Do you love his appearing when he appeared on earth and
worked out a perfect righteousness? Do you love his appearing as
he died on Calvary's tree and put away your sins? Do you love
his appearing when he walked out of that tomb? Every believer
has this crown of righteousness. It's the possession of all those
who, by his grace, keep the faith, the one message, the faith once
delivered. Now, this is not One message
declared to one group of people and another message declared
to another group of people. This is not one message to the
educated and another message to the uneducated. This is not
one message to the old and another message to the young. It's not
one message to the rich and another message to the poor. Everybody
gets the same message. I think the clearest demonstration
of that is when Pilate wrote over the head of the Lord in
Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. Jesus of Nazareth, King of the
Jews. Greek, the language of the common
man, the everyday man. Latin, the language of the educated. Hebrew, the language of the religious. and they were all given the same
message. Jesus of Nazareth, the King of
the Jews, and he truly is the King of the Jews. I'm not talking
about physical Jews. I'm not talking about people
who were born Jewish. I'm talking about people with
circumcised hearts. You know, when in circumcision,
something is cut off and thrown away, And in a circumcised heart,
all hopes of self-salvation, salvation by works, is cut off
and thrown away. And you look to Christ only.
That is the true Jew. We are the circumcision, which
worship God in the spirit, with that new man, the spiritual nature
given by the Holy Spirit. What's that look like? We rejoice
in Christ Jesus, only in Christ Jesus. We look nowhere else.
What's that look like? We have no confidence in the
flesh. Those things all go together. If we worship God in the spirit,
we rejoice only in Christ Jesus and we have no confidence in
the flesh. Now this common faith is the
same message for all. You know, in this common faith,
there's only one object of faith, the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, if I look to Christ
right now as all in my salvation and I look nowhere else, do you
know that's the same thing I'm going to have on my dying breath?
Looking to Christ only. That's the object of the common
faith all the time. That which is common to all as
opposed to that which is peculiar to the few. Now, while people
are different, and that's good, that's good. I think they all ought to be
like me. Well, I'm glad they're not all like me. This world would
be a boring place. This world would be, there'd
be all kinds of problems with that. I'm thankful for diversity. I'm thankful for different ethnicities. It's such a shame that we're
so sinful that we think our ethnicity is superior to some other ethnicity,
but it's not. We're all made from one blood.
We all have one common ancestor, Adam. There are not many races. There's one race, the human race.
And I'm so thankful for the ethnicity, the diversity, that is in men,
but that being said, they all have the same faith. Whatever diversity, whatever
ethnicity, if I'm a believer, if you're a believer, we have
the same faith, and there's no doubt that the scripture teaches
there's strong faith and there's weak faith, but it still has
the same faith. There's children, little children,
there's young men, and there's the fathers in Christ Jesus John
speaks of in 1 John chapter 2, but they all have the same faith,
the common faith, having been given faith as a gift of God's
grace. And I know this, every believer
knows that if they believe God gave them that faith. You didn't
believe, you didn't understand what it meant to believe, You're
confused by it, and one time you found yourself believing.
And you know that God gave you that faith. You didn't come up
with it. It's the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. And you know the origin of that
faith is not your will, but the will of God. James 1.18 says,
of his own will begat he us through the word of truth. If you have
faith it's because God willed it and God birthed it into you. Now the big question is what
is the content of this faith that all believers have? Now I'm very interested in this
because I want to know if I have this. What is the content that
every single believer walking the face of this planet has right
now and what every believer that's ever lived has had? What is the
content of this common faith? The best way to answer this question
is, what does the newborn believer believe? That's how you find out what
the common faith is. I'm talking about that one who has only been
born of God for one second. What is it that he believes?
Now, what he believes is what the older, more mature believer
believes. I realize that. But the way we
can find out what the common faith is, is what a brand new
believer believes. Now, there are so many examples
of newborn believers in the scripture. I think of Paul on the road to
Damascus. He wasn't a believer when he started that journey,
but when the Lord knocked him off his horse, appeared to him
as a great light, he found out who Jesus Christ was, and he
was now a believer. I love to think about the Roman
centurion. He woke up that morning, business
as usual. He had to preside over the crucifixion
of the enemies of Rome. He didn't have any particular
thought with regard to the Lord Jesus Christ. He woke up that
morning an unbeliever, but by the time Christ died, he said,
surely this man is the son of God. He became a believer. What about Ethiopian eunuch. He's in the chariot reading Isaiah
53 gone to Jerusalem to worship. He knew his religion was no good.
Somehow he knew the truth was in Jerusalem. He came to worship
at the Passover and he's returning to Ethiopia reading Isaiah 53
feeling just as empty as he did when he got there. And the Lord
said to Philip Go join yourself to that chariot. And he said,
do you understand what you're reading? He said, how can I? Except some man should guide
me. And Philip opened his mouth at
that same scripture and preached unto him, Jesus. I love the end of that story.
See, here's what hinders me from being baptized. If you believe
with all your heart, you may. I believe. that Jesus Christ
is the Son of God. The Philippian jailer, sirs,
what must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. He was saved that very day. But you know what example came
to my mind most powerfully? about a newborn believer, and
we're actually given more detail about what a newborn believer
believes in this example of the thief on the cross. And the thief
on the cross, when he was first nailed to that cross, he was
not a believer. Mark 15, in Mark's account, says
both of the thieves were railing on Christ, spewing out their
venom toward the Lord Jesus Christ. If you're the Christ, prove it,
save yourself and us, and come down. He had no understanding
of who Jesus Christ really was, but sometime during that time,
something happened to that man. He believed. John Calvin called this the greatest
instance of saving faith in all of Scripture. Now, I don't know
whether anybody has the ability to make that statement, but I
wouldn't deny it. He saw that one hanging on the
cross, seemingly so helpless, forsaken, And he said, you're
the Lord. He knew who he was. And isn't that what saving faith
is? It's knowing who he is. Now, faith cometh by hearing
and hearing by the word of God. There's something that thief
heard. He heard the seven sayings of the Savior from the cross.
He heard The Lord pray, Father, forgive them. They know not what
they do. And God, the Holy Spirit applied
that to him. He knew that this was not some
generic prayer, but everybody he prayed for was forgiven. He
had some understanding of that because he knew who he was. See,
it all begins with God revealed to this man who that was hanging
on the cross. And so he knew everybody he prayed
for must be forgiven. He was listening when the Lord
said to John, behold your mother. And he said to Mary, behold your
son. He heard that. He heard, I thirst. And no one can describe what
all that meant, but he heard it. He heard the words of the
Son of God. He heard the gospel. My God,
my God, why hast thou forsaken me? He heard that. He was on
the cross with him during that darkness. When the darkness covered
the earth, he was right there with him and he listened to that
and he heard that. He heard those words today. Thou shalt be with me in paradise. He heard that spoken to him.
He heard It is finished. And I don't have any doubt that
he knew exactly what the Lord was saying. You say, how did
he know? Same way you do. Same way you
do. He heard the Lord say, Father,
into thy hands I commend my spirit. Death couldn't even come and
get him until he gave it permission. He heard the words of the Lord
Jesus Christ, and he knew who he was. Now, just in the speech
of this man, we can learn exactly what it was that he believed.
Now, would you turn with me to Luke chapter 23? Luke, the 23rd chapter, and this
is where we have the account of the thief. Verse 32. And there were also two other
malefactors led with him to be put to death. And when they were
come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified
him and the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other
on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, Forgive
them, for they know not what they do. And they parted his
raiment and cast lots. The thieves were watching this.
And the people stood beholding, and the rulers also with them
derided him, saying, he saved others. Let him save himself,
if he be the Christ, the chosen of God. Now, they heard what
they were. Both of these thieves heard this.
So he claims to be the Christ, the chosen of God. And the soldiers
also mocked him, coming to him and offering vinegar and saying,
if thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. They heard this.
He claims to be the king of the Jews. And the superscripture also was
written over him in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew. This is Jesus. This is the king
of the Jews. And one of the malefactors, now,
like I said, we know from Mark's account, they both were railing
on him, but now one is railing on him, while the other has grown
strangely silent. And one of the malefactors, which
were hanging, railed on him, saying, if thou be Christ, save
thyself and us. But the other answering, rebuked
him, saying, Does not thou fear God? This man believed that that one
hanging beside him on that cross was God Almighty. Now, this is the common faith. Every believer believes that
Jesus Christ is God Almighty. Somebody says, well, wasn't he
talking about the Father? Well, I'm sure that's included.
But when he's saying this, he is saying that one hanging by
you on the cross that you're railing on, that is God Almighty. Now, every believer, here's where
we begin. Every believer believes that Jesus Christ is God Almighty,
the creator of the universe, having all the fullness of the
Godhead dwelling in his body. Now, if you would have asked
the thief on the cross, do you believe in the Trinity? I dare
say he'd say, I don't know what that is. But he believed. Jesus Christ is God Almighty,
the God of the Bible, the absolute sovereign of the universe, the
creator of the universe, the one who controls all things. He believed that Jesus Christ
is God. If he would have heard unto us
a child is born and unto us a son is given and the government shall
be upon his shoulders, his name shall be called the mighty God,
the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, he would have said,
Amen. That's who he is. Jesus Christ is God. Do you believe that? You know, that There isn't anything
I enjoy saying more than that. Jesus Christ is God. I love saying
that, love thinking about it. There's the first, you can't
go anywhere until this is settled. Jesus Christ is God Almighty. Now let's go on reading. Verse 39, and one of the male
factors, which were hanged, railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ,
save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked
him, saying, Dost thou not fear God, seeing thou art in the same
condemnation, and we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward
of our deeds? This man, and this is The next
point, this man believed in the justice of God in his own personal
condemnation. I want you to think about that.
He said, we're getting exactly what we deserve. We are receiving
the due reward of our deeds. This man believed in the absolute
justice of God in his own condemnation. Now, this understanding does
not come until you see who he is. You can hear of sinfulness and
total depravity, and you can maybe see, it seems like the
Bible says that, but you know when you believe it about yourself?
And there's a big difference between believing in the doctrine
of total depravity and believing you're totally depraved. You
see it when you see who he is. He's God. Now somebody might
be thinking, I believe that, but I don't know how much I believe
it. Believe it. God says it. That's
all that's needed. Well, I don't know if I feel
my sin that much. Well, you ought to feel your sin more. I have
no doubt about that. But believe, you deserve, I deserve to be
cut off by God. You know, when I hear people
complaining, how could God be fair to choose some and pass
by others? How could it be fair for Christ
to die only for the elect and not die for everybody? How can
a loving God let all these bad things happen to people? You
know what I know about that person? They don't really believe that
they deserve to be damned. They don't really believe that.
But everybody who believes, everybody who believes he's God, believes
that he would be just in their condemnation. Do you believe
that? Would God be just in your condemnation? Now let's go on reading verse
41, and we indeed justly for we receive the due reward of
our deeds but this man hath done nothing amiss. Now not only do we believe that
Jesus Christ is God Jesus Christ is the man Christ Jesus fully
God just as if he were not man at all fully man bone of our
bones and flesh of our flesh just as if he were not God at
all the God-man God manifest in the flesh, the Word was made
flesh and dwelt among us. Do you believe that Jesus Christ
is the man? And notice what else he says
about this man. This man hath done nothing amiss. He believed in the absolute sinlessness
of Jesus Christ. He believed Jesus Christ never
committed a sin, ever. Not in thought, not in word,
not in deed. The sinless Lord Jesus Christ. Somebody may think, well, how
did he know that? He hadn't known him. For more than a couple hours,
he was just, he'd never, maybe never even heard of him until
he was nailed to a cross. How did he know all this life
he'd never done anything amiss? Because he knew who he was. If
you know who he is, one thing you're sure of, he never sinned. You see, if he's not God, he
can't save you. If he's not sinless humanity,
He can't save you, but he is God and he is sinless humanity. You see, if he had any sin, he
couldn't die for your sins because he'd have sin of his own. But
because he had no sin, he could take the sins of God's elect
into his own body. We just read about it in first
Peter chapter two, who his own self bear our sins in his own
body on the tree. This man, as every believer does,
he believed he was God. He believed God would be just
in his condemnation. He believed Jesus Christ to be
the man, the sinless man. Now let's look in verse 42. And he said unto Jesus, Lord. Lord. He knew that that one nailed
to a cross beside Him was the Lord of glory. The Lord. He's the Lord. That means He's
in absolute control. He's the Lord of creation. He
spake the world into existence. He's the Lord of Providence.
He's the first cause behind everything, everything, everything, everything.
He's the Lord. He's the cause. And most especially,
He's the Lord of salvation. You know what that means? That means my salvation is up
to Him. If I believe He's Lord, I believe
that. My salvation is in It's not in
my hands. It's in the hands of Him who
is the Lord of glory. Now, I would say some of the
people that listen to that, calling Him Lord, I bet people are sort
of laughing. He thinks He's the Lord? He's nailed to a cross. He's so helpless you can't even
recognize His face? He's Lord? I don't think so.
The thief knew. He's Lord. And my dear friends,
if you and I have the common faith, we believe that Jesus
Christ is Lord. I have heard people talk about
the Lordship controversy. That ain't no controversy. He's
the Lord. Nothing controversial about that.
That's just the truth. He is Lord. And what does he say? Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Now, there are two or three things
I'd like to say about that. Lord, remember me when you come into
your kingdom. First, this man knew that the
only hope he had is the Lord representing him. Lord, remember
me. Remember me. My only hope is
that you stand as my representative when you come into your kingdom.
Lord, remember me. Lord, remember me when you come
into your kingdom. He knew that the Lord would be
raised from the dead. and you're not going to stay
dead. He saw him die, but he knew you're not going to stay
dead. You're going to come back as a mighty reigning king. He believed in the resurrection
of Jesus Christ. If thou shalt confess with thy
mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in thine heart that God hath
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. This is what
every believer believes. He believed in the incapability
of Christ to fail in whatever he intended to do. You're going
to come back as a mighty reigning king. Failure is impossible for
you. If you know who he is, and if
you believe who he is, it's impossible to believe that he could die
for somebody and that person could wind up in hell. It's absolutely
impossible to believe that if you believe who he is. You know that the only hope you
have is that he died for you, but you don't need anything else.
Who is he that condemneth? It's Christ that died. Yea, rather,
that's risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us." He believed in the incapability
of Jesus Christ to fail. Whatever he intended to do, that's
exactly what he did. And he had the same ground of
assurance that you and I have, the Word of Christ. Now, the amazing things we believe
is because it's in the Word. His Word. You know, the Lord
said to this man, today, you'll be with me in paradise. Now, what made him think he would
be in paradise? Because Christ said it. That's
it. Well, at least I've got faith.
At least I've turned my life around. He didn't have time for
any of that. He was nailed to a cross. But Jesus Christ gave
to him more assurance than he gave to anybody else. Today,
thou shalt be with me in paradise. What was his assurance? The word
of Christ. What makes you assured that you
stand before God without guilt? because the Bible says he was
delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification.
Now let me close with this. I'm not asking, I always want
to say this, I'm not asking you if you know you're saved. I'm
not asking you if you know for sure that Jesus Christ died for
your sins. I'm not asking you if you know
you're one of the elect. I'm not asking you if you're
sure you've been born again. I'm not asking you if you can
look at your life and find evidences that prove to you you're saved.
I am asking you this. Do you believe that Jesus Christ
is God? Do you believe that God would
be just in your condemnation? Do you believe that Jesus Christ
is the man, the sinless man? Do you believe that Jesus Christ
is Lord? Do you believe that if he died
for you, you must be saved? Do you believe him to be incapable
of failure? Do you have this one hope that
he would remember you? That's the only hope you have,
that he stands as your representative on Judgment Day. Tell the Lord,
Lord, remember me. You know, he wasn't giving him
a grant. He said, Lord, would you remember me when you come
into your kingdom? Do you believe? Within your part
of what is called the common faith. And there is no greater
blessing than that. Ananias. came to Paul on the
road to Damascus and said, Brother Saul, this is what every believer believes.