Philippians chapter 1. Our text
is verse 6. Pray that God will be pleased
to bless it to our hearts. It's full of comfort, full of
comfort. Paul says in verse 6 concerning
the church at Philippi and concerning every true believer, confident,
being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun
a good work in you We'll perform it. We'll carry it on. We'll continue it until perfection,
until the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. The title of my message
is, From Beginning to End. From Beginning to End. Salvation
is not just the beginning. It's not simply making a start.
Just about everybody I know, the majority at least, have done
that, made a start. But it's a continuation in believing. It's a perseverance in faith.
It's a daily taking up the cross and following the Great Shepherd.
This is what he himself taught in John chapter 8. Listen to
these words in John's Gospel chapter 8, verse 30. As he spake
these words, Many believed on him. How about that? Many believed on him. Verse 31,
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If you
contend you, it's not enough just to make a profession. Now
in our day, we're told that that is enough. That's enough. It
happens everywhere. Make a profession and that's
it. You're signed up, you're ready, you'll be delivered. But
Christ says, no, it's not enough. He's talking to people who've
made a profession. He said, if you continue in my
word, then are you my disciples indeed. Your continuance, your
perseverance is evidence, is fruit that your profession is
genuine. Verse 32, and ye shall know the
truth, and the truth shall make you free. You have the same subject
in Hebrews chapter 3, verses 13 and 14. But exhort one another
daily while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through
the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of
Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto
the end. But here's the good news. Paul
tells us in our text here that it is God that begins this great
work. It's God that's done it, this
work of salvation, and it's God Almighty that must carry it on. And He will. He will. His glory is at stake. The Word
of God teaches that true believers in Jesus Christ, and what I mean
by that, not those like those our Lord spoke to John 8, not
those that have simply made a start or made a profession, but those
a believer, a real Christian, is somebody that's been quickened
by God's Holy Spirit. A real believer is somebody that's
the product of God's grace and not his own workmanship. We're
God's workmanship. A believer is someone that's
been quickened, made alive by God's Holy Spirit. Those who
have been brought, they couldn't come on their own. They've been
brought to repentance and genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They shall continue in that.
They'll continue in repentance and continue in the faith of
Christ all their lives. And then, then, our text tells
us they'll be perfectly conformed to the image of God's Son. Our
Lord put it this way, concerning His true sheep, And he was speaking
to some Pharisees on this occasion in John 10. We're told he knew
those that believed and those that believed not. He said, and
you believe not because you're not my sheep. Ouch, ouch. Well, I declare, how plain. You're not my sheep, but he said,
this doesn't make void. Your unbelief doesn't make void
this. My sheep hear my voice and they
prove that they've heard my voice by following me. And I give them
eternal life. My sheep, my sheep, all those
that the father gave me, I give them eternal life and they shall
never perish. They'll never be lost. Once in
Christ, His sheep will always be in Christ. Isn't that encouraging? Isn't it good to know that your
salvation is not determined by, not dependent upon you in the
least? Never, never. Salvation is in
its entirety from beginning to end. is of the Lord. Isn't that
comforting? Because you know, child of God,
you know what you are. You know, as we sometimes sing,
that within you, even as a believer, you have to confess there is
a heart that's prone to wonder, prone to leave the God I love.
And you know that you would leave Him, except for this, He that's
begun the good work in you. He won't stop. He won't stop.
Once in Christ, we'll always be in Christ. Once we're children
of God, we'll always be children of God. Once we've been quickened
by the Holy Spirit and endued with the Spirit of Grace, we'll
always be endued with the Spirit of Grace. Once forgiven. Oh,
what a sweet, sweet word that is. Once forgiven. Our Lord said
to that Lady in the house of Simon, that Pharisee that didn't
need forgiveness, didn't need the righteousness of Christ.
Oh, but that woman did. That woman who knew she was a
sinner. We read there in Luke 7 that
Simon said to himself, that this woman is a sinner. She knew it
better than he did. She wouldn't argue with him.
And our Lord said to her, thy sins, thy sins are all forgiven. Hmm, sweet, sweet forgiveness. When justice called for payment,
God's justice, it was more than I could give. Oh, I had nothing
to pay. Oh, but mercy smiled upon me,
saying, I forgive. Once in Christ, we're always
in Christ. Once forgiven, pardoned, justified,
we shall always be pardoned and justified. Isn't this what Paul
said in Romans 8? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who
is he that condemneth? Christ has died. Yea, rather,
is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who maketh
intercession for us. And he doesn't plead our merits,
our deserts, our worth, our work. He pleads himself. Christ now
appears in the presence of God. He represents us, my soul. Talk about an advocate with the
Father. Talk about an effectual intercessor. Talk about someone
that God will accept, that God will forgive all of His people
in Christ for Christ's sake. What will God Almighty not do?
What will He not do? What will He not give for Christ's
sake? Once we're joined to Christ,
Jesus the Lord, that union shall never be broken. What God has
put together, none can put asunder. The ungodly, the unbeliever,
have no part in this promise. Christ said, I'm talking to my
sheep. My sheep shall never perish. I know them. I know them. It
doesn't belong to that vast multitude, that vast multitude of individuals
that have no interest in Christ, no real interest in his gospel,
they could really care less, no interest in the things of
God, and no true faith in the Son of God. It doesn't belong
to the vast majority of professors only. Those people have no part
in this promise. Christ described them, didn't
he? He said, you call me Lord. And he was talking to the religious
folks again, the Pharisees. You call me Lord with your lips,
but your heart. And that's where the issue is,
the heart. Your heart's far from me. He said, this promise doesn't
belong to you. You may clean the outside of
the cup while inside it's full of extortion and excess. It doesn't
belong to those who have walked an aisle and shook the preacher's
hand and made a decision for Jesus, said the sinner's prayer.
That's not who the promise is to. That doesn't require a work
of God's grace. There's nothing supernatural
about that. There's nothing divine about that. There's nothing miraculous
about that. Man can do all those things,
but man cannot give himself a new heart. And that's what's necessary.
Man cannot make himself a new creation in Christ Jesus. And
that's what's necessary. Man cannot give himself spiritual
life. And that's what's necessary.
The promises to those who've heard his voice. Heard his voice. Oh my soul, remember, remember.
Perhaps you've heard the gospel again and again and again and
it didn't mean nothing to you. Like as they say, water rolling
off a duck's back. And one day, one day, oh my soul,
he's talking to me. Saul, I'm talking to you. The soldiers just heard some
gibberish. Oh, but Saul heard his name.
He heard the Lord Jesus Christ calling his name particularly. Nicodemus, Zacchaeus, come down. Matthew, Follow me. The promises
are to those who've heard His voice, received His word, and
believed His gospel, and embraced His Son. They'll never perish. That's the good work. Oh, it's
the promise of our Lord to His redeemed, to His sheep, those
who follow Him. He says, know this. Wrap up in
this. Find comfort in this. This is
the promise of your redeemer. This is the word of the great
shepherd and everyone in his sheep. He says, I'm telling you
this. You can count on it. You can bank on it. You can fall
down on it. Anything else you can think of
to describe it. Christ says, I tell you this.
You'll never perish. And Paul repeats it here, doesn't
he? He that's begun a good work in
you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ, those who've
been born of God, born from above, who've received Christ as their
prophet, their priest, their king, as we sang a moment ago. To those who are of a broken
heart and a contrite spirit, Christ said, I save such as those,
such as those. He says, they shall never be
plucked out of my hand. To the elect of God, who've heard
the gospel, Paul said, not in word only, Remember, that's what
he said to the church at Thessalonica, didn't he? He told them, I know
you're elect. Now how did Paul know that? How
can you know somebody's elect? Paul told them, I know you're
elect. And he told them how he knew.
Because when our gospel came to you, when the gospel was preached
to you, You received it not like most people do, just through
one ear and out the other. No, no, you didn't receive it
that way. You received it not in word only,
but in the power of the Holy Ghost and in much assurance. And you became followers of us
and of the Lord. To those who have passed from
death into life, who love the brethren, they'll never perish. I know I've told you this before.
You've heard it before I ever told you. Somebody asked Brother
Henry Mahan years ago, Brother Henry, do you think when God
saves a sinner that it's forever? Do you think salvation is eternal? And Henry said, well it depends
on who does the same. Is that the truth? It depends
on who does the saving. If salvation is dependent upon
man, if it's a cooperative effort between God and the sinner, then
the answer is no. There's no hope of any sinner
ever entering glory, all but if, as the scriptures teach.
And as this text tells us plainly, if salvation is of the Lord,
if it's all His work, if it's all His doing, then yes, bless
His name, it's gonna be forever. It's going to be forever. On
page 219 of our hymn book, there's an old hymn by Doddridge and
Toplady that expresses it very well. Grace is a charming sound. I heard nothing better. Harmonious
to the ear, heaven with its echo shall resound, and all the earth
shall hear. Grace first inscribed to my name,
In God's eternal book, it was grace that gave me to the Lamb,
who all my sorrows took. Imagine that. Imagine that. God gave me to His Son. Before He said, let there be
light, before He created the heavens and the earth, in that
everlasting covenant of God's grace, He entered into agreement
with His Son. and gave his chosen to his son. And his son, oh my soul, his
son agreed in the fullness of time to come to be made like
unto his brethren and do everything, everything. to leave nothing
undone, to finish the work, to accomplish, to obtain the eternal
redemption of all those that God Almighty entrusted, put into
His hands. Father, You gave them to me,
and I've kept them, and none of them is lost. It was grace
that gave me to the land where all my sorrows took. Grace taught
my soul to pray. This is what the Lord told Simon,
didn't He? Told him, you go down, find Saul
of Tarsus. Behold, he prayeth. What's so
unusual about that? Paul had never prayed in his
life. No, he never prayed in his life.
His prayer was just like that Pharisee our Lord talked about
in Luke 18. He stood and prayed thus with himself. I thank you,
I'm not like the other men. Oh, but now something's different.
Oh, he's been conquered. He's been conquered. He's a trophy
of my grace. I've brought him down. He's been
made willing now in the day of my power. Behold! Behold! Here's
the evidence of it. He prayeth. He's bowed to the
Son of God. Grace taught my soul to pray
and pardoning love to know. It was grace that's kept me to
this day and will not let me go. That's what our text says
from beginning to end. That good work of grace will
never cease. Grace all the works you'll crown
through everlasting days. It lays in heaven the topmost
stone and well deserves the praise." So you see, Paul had good reason,
good grounds, a good foundation for his confidence, didn't he?
It wasn't in them. It wasn't anything they'd done,
but what God Almighty had done for them and had done in The
foundation of Paul's confidence was here. He that hath begun
a good work in you. Now who could that be? This marvelous
work. This marvelous work of grace. Now who could that be? Remembering
what this good work is answers the question as to who started
it. Who else could start it? But God Almighty. Salvation is
the giving of spiritual life. Now who can do that except God?
Who can give a sinner life but God? There's only one voice at
the tomb of Lazarus that day with power to raise Lazarus from
the dead. And that's a picture of salvation.
That's a picture as to what God does for sinners. It wasn't the
voice of a Pharisee or a priest. Again, you've probably heard
the tale, a fable. concerning the Catholic Church.
The story said, the fable goes that there was a certain Saint
Dennis, and he was beheaded. And a great miracle occurred.
After being beheaded, the man picked up his head, tucked it
under his arm, and walked 1,000 miles to St. Peter's Square.
Some fellow was sitting by and heard the story, and he said,
well, there's nothing remarkable about him walking 1,000 miles.
It's remarkable that he could take the first step. Lazarus can't take the first
step. If he can take the first step
out of that tomb, he can take them all. And if a sinner, dead
in sin, can take the first step to God, then he can take them
all. Oh, but he can't. He can't. It was the voice of
that man who is himself God. It's the voice of that one, the
same voice that was in the beginning with God, by which all things
were created. He himself said, Verily, verily,
I say unto you, this is true, truthfully, truthfully I say
to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear
the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live,
shall live. That's what happened to you.
If you're a believer, God made you a believer. If you have life,
Christ gave you life. Lazarus heard his voice, and
hearing his voice, this is what happened. And when he had thus
spoken, that is the Lord Jesus Christ, he cried with a loud
voice, Lazarus, come forth. Lazarus, come forth. And he that
was dead came forth. bound hand and foot with grave
cloths, and his face was bound about with a napkin, Jesus said
unto them, Loose him, and let him go." That's a type, that's
a picture of the resurrection of dead sinners to life by the
same glorious power of the risen Lord. By His word, He says the
dead souls live. Live. God Almighty doesn't offer
life. He gives life. He creates life. This is what we read in Ezekiel
16. I love this chapter. This is
God speaking. When I passed by thee and saw
thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee, when you were
in your own blood, live, live. Yea, I said unto thee, when thou
wast in thine own blood, live. The spirit of life from God entered
into those dead, dry bones that Ezekiel saw, he prophesied of,
or two, rather, in chapter 37 of Ezekiel. At God's command,
Ezekiel said, I prophesied as He commanded me. And a breath
came into them, Christ in you, the hope of glory. And they lived
and stood up on their feet, an exceeding great army. Christ
at the tomb of Lazarus, Ezekiel at that valley of dead, dry bones
is a picture of this. This is what that is a type of,
right here. And you had he quickened. Why
are you a believer? God gave you life. Why do you
believe? God gave you the gift of faith.
Why were you willing to come to Christ? Because God made you
willing to come to Christ. He gave you a new heart. People
all over this land think you believe and you're born again.
That's the exact opposite of the truth. The truth is you're
born again in order to believe. The new birth, life must come
first. Life must come first. There cannot
be faith before there's life. You had he quicken, who were
dead in trespasses and sins. In times past you walked according
to the course of this world. Among whom also we had our conversation
in times past, in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of
wrath, just like everybody else." Just like everybody else. No
different. No different. Who made you the
different? But God. There's the answer. But God,
but God, I like that. But God would not let me go. God would not take no for an
answer. God broke my stubborn will. God
brought me down to the foot of his son and made me cry for mercy. God got me lost, even when I
was dead in sin. But God, who is rich in mercy,
for his great love whereith he loved us, Even when we were dead
in sins, have quickened us together with Christ. By grace are ye
saved." Salvation, you see, as our text tells us, is a divine
work. It's a divine work. It's a work
that only God can do. I was no more consulted about
or had no more part in my spiritual birth than I did my natural birth. It's an eternal work, isn't it?
Who has begun a good work, notice it again, in you. In you. This is the vital, indispensable
sequel to what Christ did for us. God works in us. I need a new nature, a new heart.
Now where is the preacher, where is the soul winner that can do
that for me? I must be born again before I
can savingly believe. and obtain, experience God's
forgiveness. And this good work is right in
the heart. It is no mere making clean the
outside of the planet. Oh no, this radical change, this
radical change is affected by the supernatural operations of
God. Spiritual life is the implanting
of a new nature, an incorruptible seed. John chapter 1 verse 13,
Concerning those who received Christ, those who believed, we're
told why. Which were born, verse 13, not
of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of
man, but of God. James chapter 1, verse 18. Of
His own will, that is God, of His own will beget us, He, with
the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His
creatures. 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 23. being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth
and abideth forever. Yes, if salvation's of the Lord,
it's forever. And look in chapter 2 here of
Philippians, chapter 2, verse 12 and 13. Wherefore, my beloved,
as ye have always obeyed, not as in my absence only, but now
much more in my in my presence only, but now much more in my
absence. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for
because it is God which worketh in you both the will and the
do of His good pleasure. Not only is it a divine work,
a miraculous work, it's a sovereign work. What did our Lord say to
Nicodemus? Marvel not that I say to you,
you must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth,
that is where it wills, And you hear the sound thereof, but you
can't tell where it came from or where it's going. So is everyone
that is born of the Spirit. By nature, there is no man that
seeks after God. If asked why God favors some
with his mercy and grace rather than others, we can only say
with Jesus Christ, even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy
sight. And as the good work of grace
Had its beginning with God, God must carry it on. God must complete
it. And that's exactly what this
text tells us. It's an absolute and unconditional
promises. No contingency here. Nothing
dependent for its success on you or I. It's the promise made
good by God's pure grace. notwithstanding all our faults,
all of our failures, all of our sins. In himself, the believer,
the true believer knows, in himself, he's unworthy, just as unworthy
at the end of his journey as he was at the beginning. Oh,
but it's grace from beginning to end, from first to last. The promise is one which issues
from the eternal and immutable love of God. God doesn't love
me today and then cast me off into hell tomorrow. What kind of God saved me from
such a love as that? And this promise is secured by
the divine, omnipotent arm of God himself, that despite indwelling
sin, despite a hostile world, an opposing devil, Paul says,
I am yet confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun
a good work in you will perform it in the day of Jesus Christ. Oh, what thanks and praise are
due to Him who enables the believer to say, the Lord will perfect
that which concerns me. Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever. And remember too, salvation is
not only a resurrection, spiritual resurrection, but it's a creation. Who can create but God? Paul in 2 Corinthians Corinthians
5 verse 17 said this, Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is
a new creature. Creation, old things are passed
away. Behold, all things are become
new. In Genesis, we read in the first
few chapters that after each creative act, God pronounced
that it was good. It was good. How good is the
good work of grace that God begins in the heart of a man. It will
go on until that man enters heaven. God will continue to carry it
on to perfection. That's good. That's good. What a good work. What a mighty
work. Romans 8 and 28. And we know. We know that all
things work together for good to them that love God. To them
who are be called according to his purpose. Because it's God
that's doing the work. For whom He did foreknow, He
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that
He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
He did predestinate, them He also called. And whom He called,
them He also justified. And whom He justified, them He
also glorified. The wise man said, I know that
whatsoever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be put
to Him, nor anything taken from Him. And God does it that all
men should fear before Him. Consider the reverse of this,
just for a moment. Consider what a reflection would
be on the triune God if He didn't continue the work of grace that
He begins in all of His own. If Christ should lose one of
His sheep, it would prove Him to be a failure. That's exactly
right. If Christ should lose one of
his sheep, the fault would not lie with the sheep, but with
the shepherd. He's responsible. Christ is responsible. Christ
has to answer for me. Christ has to answer to God for
me. He's my surety. He's responsible
for me. And he shall not fail. Oh, I
like that, don't you? He shall not fail. Fail is all
I do. Ask my wife. Oh, but Jesus Christ,
He shall not fail. If God doesn't finish the good
work of grace in you, how that would reflect on every attribute
of our God? God's wisdom. What would reflect
on His wisdom if He begins something that He knew He couldn't finish?
What about His power? Who or what could prevent God?
If so, he's not omnipotent, but he says he is. Not unto us, O
Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy
and for thy truth's sake. Our God is in the heavens. He
hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. God's purpose fail? That's nonsense. That's not possible. Listen to the words of your God.
To whom then will ye liken me? Or shall I be equal, saith the
Lord? Lift up your eyes on high, and behold, who hath created
these things, that bringeth out their hosts by number? He calleth
them all by names, by the greatness of his might. For he that is
strong in power, not one faileth. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and
speakest, O Israel, my way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment
is passed over from God? Hast thou not known? Oh, here's
a sweet, gentle reminder. Hast thou not known? Hast thou
not heard? that the everlasting God, the
Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither
is weary. There is no searching of his
understanding. And then in Isaiah 46, verse
9, remember the former things of old. For I am God, and there
is none else. I am God, and there is none like
me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times
the things that are not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand,
and I shall do all my pleasure. Fear not, little flock, it is
your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Yea, I
have spoken it, I also will bring it to pass. I have purposed it,
and I will also do it. Christ's death, his atonement,
his sheep should perish, means that he died in vain. Absurd. Absurd. Impossible. You believe not because you're
not my sheep again, he said. Oh, but my sheep, They're different. They're in my hand. They follow
me. I give them eternal life, and
they shall never perish. This doctrine is important because
it gives comfort to every believer, does it not? Brothers and sisters
in Christ, I don't need to tell you. You know by your own experience
daily that the way to glory is not an easy road. It's not an
easy road. God is not always promised. One
wrote, God has not always promised skies always blue, flowers strewn,
pathways all the light through. We have within us a heart that's
weak when it ought to be strong. It's cold when it ought to be
warm. It's a heart that's sinful when it ought to be holy. We're
surrounded by a world that doesn't love Christ, doesn't love his
people, doesn't love his gospel, doesn't love his church, an unfriendly,
hostile world. We're surrounded by blasphemers,
but Christ said, I'm with you. I'm with you, Billy. Though my
father and mother forsake me, Christ will take me up. And then
there are the cares of life and the cares for our children and
business and money and sickness and sorrow and constant temptation. And then there's the valley of
death. Is there any wonder that a child of God can get depressed?
He's flesh. Oh, but I love Don's quote in
our book that heads your bulletin today. I love this. Don said,
the very glory of the triune God is wrapped up in the salvation
of his people. He will either save every one
of the chosen seed, all who are called by his name, and save
them from all evil, or he will lose his glory. And that cannot
be. Again, Isaiah 41. The Lord speaking
to his children, fear thou not, for I am with thee. Child of
God, you're not alone. You are not alone. Be not dismayed,
for I am thy God. I will strengthen you. I will
help you. I will uphold you with the right
hand of my righteousness. For I, the Lord thy God, will
hold thy hand, saying unto thee, fear not, fear not. I'll help
you. I'll hold to your hand. What
a mercy. It is, Mr. Spurgeon wrote, what
a mercy it is that it's not your hold on Christ that saves you,
but his hold on you. What a sweet fact that it is
not his hand, but his grasp of yours that saves you. Salvation
is God's work. That's what Jonah learned, isn't
it? The theology Jonah learned, he
learned in Fish College, in the University of the Deep. He was
schooled. and made to know the boundless
of his own heart, and confessed from first to last that salvation
is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God that
shows mercy. And I thank God every day that
that's true. Don't you? I thank God every
moment of every day that the salvation of this sinner is determined
by, dependent on, and carried on by him who does all things
well. along the road from here to heaven
from the first leaving of the pig pen of sin right up to the
joyful entrance into the eternal banquet where they'll be singing
and praising of God every step we take we're enabled to do by
God's grace alone. Every good thing that's in a
Christian not merely begins but progresses and is consummated
by the constant supply of grace through Jesus Christ, a constant,
ever-flowing supply. Spurgeon said this, he said,
if my finger were on the golden latch of paradise and my foot
were on its jasper threshold, I should not take a last step
so as to enter heaven unless the grace which brought me thus
far should enable me fully and fairly to complete my pilgrimage. That's what old Newton said then.
It's grace that's brought me safe thus far. There's no question
about that. And there's no question about
this. And that same grace, that same grace will lead me home. Thank God for this sweet promise
to each of his people. To you who are weary, troubled,
hurting, hear it one more time. One more time. And I pray that
God write it on our hearts. Being confident of this very
thing. That he which hath begun a good
work in you, will perform until the day of Jesus Christ. Old John Newton wrote many, many
hymns. The most famous, of course, is
Amazing Grace. He wrote another one titled Reigning
Grace. A few verses of it go like this. Grace reigns to pardon crimson
sins, to melt the hardest hearts. And from the work it once began,
it never once departs. The world and Satan strive in
vain against the chosen few, Secured by grace's conquering
reign, they all shall conquer too. It was grace that called
our souls at first, by grace thus far we've come, and grace
will help us through the worst and lead us safely home. Amen. Thank God for his amazing
grace. God bless you.