2 Thessalonians chapter 2. We already read the last few
verses, verses 13 through 17 a moment ago, so we're just going
to look at them one by one in just a moment and we won't be
long. In 1 Peter chapter 3, we read
these words, verse 15. Peter exhorted, sanctify the
Lord God in your hearts, and be ready always to give an answer
to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is
in you with meekness and fear. Our subject is a good hope, a
good hope. A reason, Peter said, of the
hope, the reason. Just about everybody you've heard
me say this many times, just about everybody we know, If I'm
lying, I'm dying, as they say. Everybody we know expresses a
hope of heaven when they leave this world. And it's amazing,
isn't it? It's amazing what flimsy, unscriptural
grounds they have for such a hope. I mean, such a momentous occasion. Nothing more important. The very
fact that every man, every woman, shall stand before a holy God
in a very short time, and ask them the reason for their hope.
I've heard some pretty wild stories about why some people think they'll
go to heaven when they die. None of them is a good hope.
None of them is a good hope. Because it's not good enough
for God Almighty. A good hope's gotta be good enough
for God. It's not whether it's good enough
for me. It doesn't take much to please me. It doesn't take
much to please this religious world, that's obvious, but God
Almighty, if I have a good hope before God, it's got to be based
on something solid. I've got to rest my hope on a
solid foundation, when we just sang about it, on Christ the
solid rock I stand. For entrance into heaven, I need
the good hope. I want to know what is a good
hope. A hope with a foundation based
on the word of God. In other words, I want a God-given
hope. Not a hope my mother talked me
into when I was little, telling me what a good little fellow
I was. Not a hope that the soul winner gave me. Not a hope that
I've deceived myself and convinced myself it will be sufficient.
But a God-given hope. Oh, that's a good hope. A hope
like those people of God we read of in his word, like David, like
David. Psalm 38 and 15, David summed
it up, he puts it all in a nutshell, as Brother Scott used to say,
God put all his eggs in one basket, ye are complete in him. David
said in Psalm 38 verse 15, for in thee, O Lord, do I hope that
we'll hear, O Lord my God, I was going to read this next one,
Bobby, at the house and pray at the bedside of your dear husband,
but he was departed when I got there. This one from Psalm 39,
verse 7. And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee. That's a
good hope. My hope is in thee. Period. Period. Not in thee plus. Not in thee and. But in the period,
now that's a good hope. Mr. Spurgeon in his Treasury
of David, his commentary on the Psalms, which is such an excellent
work, he said this on that verse, the Lord is self-existent and
true, and therefore worthy of the confidence of men. He will
live when all the creatures have died, and his fullness will abide
when all second causes are exalted. To him, therefore, let us direct
our expectation. and on him let us rest our confidence. Away from sand to rock, that
all wise builders turn themselves, for if not today, yet surely
before long, a storm will rise before which nothing will be
able to stand but that which has, except that which has the
lasting element of faith in God, the sea minute. David had but
one hope, and that hope entered within the veil, hence he brought
his vessel to safe anchorage And after a little drifting,
he was back at peace. That would be a good hope, wouldn't
it? Not a believing without evidence,
oh no. Faith is a believing on solid
evidence, the word of God. The very definition of faith
in one place, Hebrews 111. Now faith is the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. One old writer,
May this comment on that, faith demonstrates to the eye of the
mind the reality of those things that cannot be discerned by the
eye of the body. Looking not at the things that
are seen, but at the things which are not seen, are home in heaven. Now, look
again if you will in 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 13. Paul says, but we
are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren. Beloved
of the Lord, because we have good reason to give thanks because
God had from the beginning chosen you to what salvation? Complete salvation. Everlasting
salvation. Through sanctification of the
spirit and belief of the truth. This speaks of grace and eternity
past. God had from the beginning. You
mean Genesis 1 and 1 when we read in the beginning, oh no,
the beginning before that beginning. Before God ever created the heavens,
before God ever set stars in their course, or the planets,
before God ever said let there be light, he chose a people in
Jesus Christ and committed them into the hands of his only begotten
son. Oh, in the beginning, God has
chosen you. Thank God for that. Paul says
this is why we are bound. This is why we are obligated
to give God thanks. Because without election, there
would be no salvation for any sinner. Election, so to speak,
is the springboard in eternity past in which God determined
to save his people. People say some terrible things
about God's election, don't they? I've got loved ones. So do you. I've heard people say, I've heard
so-called preachers, idiots, say from pulpits, oh, election,
oh, that's wrong. That's unfair. I've heard people
say many times, and so have you, I would never worship a God that
elects his people to salvation. Anybody ever told you that? Now
that just demonstrates how ignorant folks are. No, Paul said, far
from it. We rejoice. We thank God for
it. or William Gatsby answered that
question, it's in your bulletin. This is how he concluded his
article on God's discriminating grace. After all the fuss, after
all the smoke has cleared, after all the gainsayers have had their
say, he wrote, but when they have used all their arguments
and spent all their pride and enmity against God's right to
make a choice, he still chooses as he sits on his unshakable
throne. God doesn't choose and God says, yes I do. I don't like
it, God still chooses. I won't have it, God still chooses
his people. And in his electing immortal
and everlasting love, chooses a people for himself. A people
that shall glorify him and be his portion forever. The Lord's
portion is his people and Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. The scripture speaks often of
God's election, and when it does, it is always spoken of as a matter
for great thankfulness and rejoicing. Have you ever noticed that? Believers rejoiced in God's election. Whenever it's mentioned, be it
John, be it Peter, be it Paul, it's always in the matter of
rejoicing and thankfulness. Had God cast away his people,
Paul wrote in Romans 11 and 1, God forbid, for I also am an
Israelite of the seed of Abraham of the tribe of David. God had
not cast away his people, which he foreknew. Want ye not what
the scripture saith of Elias, how he maketh intercession to
God against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets?
and dig down thine altars, and I am left alone, and they seek
my life." Oh, that Elijah complex. We all suffer from it from time
to time. I'm all alone. But what saith
the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself. This
is God's answer. I have reserved to myself 7,000
men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Paul says,
even so at this present time, also there is a remnant according
to the election of grace. Before that, in chapter 9, Paul
says again, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand not of works, but of him that calleth. It's an
election of grace. That's better than a purpose
of God according to my merit. If God based his purpose of saving
my soul on my desert, on my merit, on my will, or my worth, or my
works, there would be no reason whatsoever to have a hope. It
would be reason to have the opposite, sadness, because it would never
come to pass. There would be no rejoicing there
and nothing to give me hope. I read a good article by Brother
Bruce Crabtree, I think it was in his bulletin last Sunday. He said that he wrote on strips
of paper to remind himself to keep his eyes on Christ. Said
he just puts them everywhere and he goes through the day and
he sees them. They remind him, he said, if you look at yourself,
you'll be discouraged. You look outside, you'll be discouraged.
Oh, but if you look to Christ, if you keep your eyes on Christ,
you'll have hope. Again, in Ephesians 1, blessed
be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who had blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
And here's the first one. according as he has chosen us
in him before the foundation of the world. Oh my soul, let
the free willers gnash their teeth, let the religionists say
what they will, God has chosen his people to salvation before
the world ever began and his people rejoice that it's so.
Do they not? I share this with you. by an
old preacher many years ago named John Aerosmith. I used it in
the message last Sunday. I thought of it again when I
was preparing this one. He wrote, nothing more inflames
a Christian's love to God than a firm belief of his personal
election from eternity, after he has been enabled to evidence
the writing of his name in heaven by the experience of a heavenly
calling and of a heavenly conversation. When the spirit of God, whose
work it is to assure as it was the fathers to elect and the
sons to redeem, when the Spirit of God has written the law of
life in a Christian's heart and caused him to know assuredly
that his name is in the book of life, he cannot but melt in
sweet flames of holy affection. Amen. Is that not so? Is that
not exactly right? Oh my soul, when God in his grace
allows you to get aside in private in a quiet time and he blesses
this glorious truth to your heart once again, gives you a fresh
application of the wonder of it, God chose me. From eternity,
God loved me, Christ died for me, and the Holy Spirit called
me, and by God's grace I'll be with him in glory forever, my
soul. Yes, indeed, that will melt your
heart. Calling always follows election. There's no such thing as an election
of grace without a call by grace. Every chosen sinner, oh, don't
you like this, That's what God told Paul. I don't know what
Paul was afraid of when he was in Corinth, that wicked city.
But we're not accustomed to considering any fear in Paul at all. But
God spoke to him and said, Paul, don't be afraid. Speak. Hold
not your peace. Why? Because I have much people
in this city. Idiots say that a bleeping election
will discourage witnessing, discourage soul winning. My soul is the
very impetus of it. Go, go into all the world and
preach the gospel. I have a people. They must hear.
And them also I will call. And he'll do so effectually.
Every chosen sinner will most effectually be called in time. Next time you're talking to a
prodigal son or daughter, or grandchild or rebel, whoever,
some hard-hearted rebel or self-righteous Pharisee. And you think, oh,
there's no hope for them. Remember, remember, salvation
is not according to merit. It's according to God's eternal
saving grace and purpose in election. And you look at them and you
think, oh, you big rebel, God can bring you down just like
that. He can bring you down as easily and as quickly as he did
Saul of Tarsus. He can make you bow. He can make
you willing in the day of his power. Oh, doesn't that give
us hope? not only for ourselves but for
our children. Would the all-wise God be involved
in such nonsense as electing a people and not calling those
same people to Jesus Christ? That sounds rather foolish. That
sounds like something I would do. That would be nonsense. God's
not involved in such foolishness as that. God's calling must be
effectual, and he proves that election of grace when he does
call, and guarantees our glorification in eternity to come. And we know,
oh, we know this verse by heart, don't we? Romans 8 and 28, and
we know that all things work together for good to them that
love God, to them who are thee called according to his purpose. How do we know? Because of the
one who's doing the work, God. He works all things together.
It's not my work, it's his work. That's how we know. And Paul
went on to write, for whom he did foreknow, for love, he also
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, that's
not all, whom he did predestinate, then he also called. And whom
he called, then he also justified. And whom he justified, then he
also glorified. Those are each golden links in
the everlasting chain of God's immutable reigning grace. And
what God Almighty has joined together, no man, no man can
put asunder. No man can unsnap one of those
precious golden links of God's immutable purpose in election,
the calling, the glorification in eternity. Wherefore, holy
brethren, Hebrews 3 and 1, partakers of the heavenly calling. Consider
the apostle and high priest of our profession, Jesus Christ.
The heavenly calling is from our heavenly father. And God's
calling never fails to produce results, does it? Never, never. Blessed is the man, the psalmist
wrote. Blessed is the man. Blessed,
blessed is the man whom God gives riches to. Oh, no, no, no, no. Blessed is the man whom thou
choosest and callsest to approach unto thee. All that the Father
giveth me, the great shepherd said, shall come to me. And him
that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out. This is the
Father's will which is sent me, that all, all of it which he
hath given me shall come to me, and I should raise him up at
the last day. Everyone would seeth the Son, and believeth
on him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up to the
last day. He sounds mighty sure of himself, doesn't he? Doesn't
he? Jesus Christ sounds mighty sure
of himself. Well, why wouldn't he? He's the
mighty God. He's the everlasting Father.
When he speaks to any man or woman, any prodigal, whether
it's son or daughter, as we mentioned, any rebel, they will They will
hear. If Christ says come, they will
come. They'll come to him. And those
sheep that hear the voice of the great shepherd will each
in time hear that same voice that John heard in chapter 4. We read it, didn't we? Or no,
we didn't, in chapter 14. But in chapter 4, we read this
in verse 1. After this I looked, John said,
and behold, a door was opened in heaven, a door in heaven. A way to God, an interest in
the glory. Oh, my soul. And the first voice
which I heard was, as it were, of a trumpet talking with me
and said, Come up hither. Come up hither. That's what happened
to your dear Lester, Bobby, last Thursday afternoon. And immediately,
immediately, he was absent from the body and present with the
Lord Jesus Christ. Wow! Wow, that's what happened. That's what happened. Jesus Christ
came and said, my beloved, my redeemed, my chosen, it's time
to come home. And now if I believe the word
of God, Lester Buckner and every redeemed sinner that's died is
in the presence of Jesus Christ singing his praises forever.
Is that not true? Is that not a fact? Is that not
so? Oh, verse 14 again. whereunto he called you by our
gospel." By our gospel, the glorious gospel of the blessed God. It's
obvious, it's obvious, looking out at all these empty places,
there's not too many people that consider the gospel glorious
at all. It's not worth coming to even hear. Oh, but to those
who've had their ears open, who have heard the glorious sound
that Jesus says, it's the glorious gospel of the blessed God. and
how blessed we are to have this glorious gospel. Are we not? This good news about our good
God that gives us good hope through grace. What a privilege to have
the everlasting gospel that concerns his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, what a call by the gospel. What a great grace, what a great
savior. Again, verse 14, we might not
get past this. to the obtaining of the glory
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Did you see that? Did you hear
that? To the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's what election does, that's
what calling does, that's what grace does. To the obtaining
of a bigger reward than some inferior believer? No. Or the
obtaining of some carnal thing? Oh no. To the obtaining of the
glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. You ever heard people talk about
rewards? Degrees of rewards. That's a very key ingredient
of modern-day fundamentalism. Oh, yes, you'll be saved. You
can make a decision and then go live as a carnal Christian
giving no evidence that you know God from a billy goat. And when
you die, you'll go to heaven, but you'll just lose some of
your rewards. You won't have as many rewards
if you'd have been faithful. Poppycock. A whole lot like the
Catholic Church does, doesn't it? And purgatory and all that
stuff. What greater reward could a redeemed
sinner want? or in joy than this, they shall
see his face. My soul, what can compare to
that? To the obtaining of the glory
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Father, our great high priest
prayed that night before he went to redeem his people, he interceded
for those same people, and he said, Father, I will that they
also whom thou hast given me be with me, be with me, where I am, that they may behold
my glory. We've seen beloved husbands,
wives, children leaving this world and we pray, oh God, keep
them here with us. And Jesus Christ says, oh no,
I want them here with me. I will, I will that they be with
me where I am and if we could just see them now. Oh, if some
way we could just draw back the veil that separates the earthly
from the heavenly, the temporary from the eternal, and we could
see in the glory and see the rapture on their faces, the unspeakable
joy in their hearts. and see no sickness or no sorrow
and no more death and hear them singing in one united glorious
song, salvation to our God which saith upon the throne and to
the lamb, we would not want them back with you. Oh no, we would
not want them back. On the contrary, we would long
to be where they're at. Verse 15, therefore brethren
stand fast. Oh, in the light of what Paul
just said, the glorious gospel of God's grace, the calling,
the election, blessed salvation, wondrous redeemer, in the light
of that, brethren, quit. Give up. Throw in the towel.
Oh, no. Never. Stand fast. Stand fast. Verse 16, now our Lord Jesus
Christ himself, and even our Father, which hath loved us,
and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through
grace, now, now, Paul said in verse 16, right now, right now,
right this minute, right where you are now, now, whether sunshine
or rain, whether sickness or health, whether up or down, whether
trouble or at peace, now, Paul says, Jesus Christ himself, That's
what I need. I don't need Gabriel to come
to me. I don't need a proxy. No, I need Jesus Christ himself. And that's what Paul says, Jesus
Christ himself, the one that's the same yesterday and today
and forever, our unchanging Savior with his unchanging love, his
unchanging purpose, his unchanging grace, himself. That one who says, in your darkest
hour, on your most troubled sea, Jesus Christ himself comes to
you and says, it is I. Oh, dear child, it is I. Don't
be afraid. Jesus Christ himself says to
each of his own, let us pass over into the other side. And
Jesus Christ himself takes us across. And so we shall arrive
on the other side. If I perish, Christ will be the
greater loser, wouldn't he? Because he would lose his honor,
he would lose his glory, and that can never be. Again, verses
16, and even God, and God even our Father. Oh, our resurrected,
victorious, mighty Savior said, go tell my brethren, go to my
brethren and say to them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father
and to my God and your God. which had loved us, again verse
16, which had loved us and had given us everlasting consolation
and good hope through grace, had loved us. That's another
subject that deserves time alone in meditation with God. have loved us always,
at all times, in all circumstances, always the same, always the same,
not because of me, but in spite of me. Go tell my disciples and
Peter, tell Peter nothing's changed. Nothing's changed. I've loved
him with everlasting love and good hope through grace. If it's
a good hope through grace, then it is a good hope indeed. It's
good for me, It's good for you, it's good for all who experience
it. A good hope through grace is a sure and steadfast hope,
that's what Paul said in Hebrews 6, that entereth into the veil.
A hope that will never make us ashamed or confounded. A hope
that is a living hope. A hope that will never prove
false. A hope that we'll never regret. So the apostle can very well
make this use of all that he has said, verse 17, comfort your
hearts and establish you in every good word and work. As Jesus
Christ himself said to those confused, have you ever considered,
I'm sure you have, the night Our Lord was with his disciples
in private when he instituted the Lord's Supper, and he said,
I'm going away. I'm leaving you. And where I'm
going, you can't come. You can't come. And remember,
all this time, until after his resurrection, and he taught them
different, but all that time prior, even up to that very hour,
they were thinking that he was going to set up some earthly
kingdom, that he was going to break the yoke of Roman bondage
and give them a provident place in that kingdom, earthly kingdom.
And then he said, I'm going away. Can you imagine how confused
they were? And you can't go. Peter says, Lord, I'll go with
you. I'll go with you to death, Peter. The cock won't crow twice
before you deny me three times. And in the very same instance,
he said, but let not your heart be troubled. I'm leaving you. You'll have great sorrow. Let
not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not
so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again. I
will come again. I will come again, Jesus Christ
himself, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there
ye may be also. You give us more grace. He giveth
more grace as our burdens grow greater. He sendeth more strength
as our labors increase. To added afflictions, he addeth
his mercy. To multiplied trials, his multiplied
grace, peace. When we have exhausted our store
of endurance, when our strength has failed before the day is
half done, when we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
our Father's forgiving is only begun. Fear not that thy need
shall exceed his provision, or God ever yearns his resources
to share. Lean hard on the arm everlasting
availing, the Father both thee and thy load will upbear. His
love has no limits, his grace has no measure, his power no
boundary known unto me. For out of his infinite riches
in Jesus, he giveth and he giveth and he giveth again. Every one of us, every child
of God, are an evidence of that, aren't they? God bless you. God
bless you. Amen.