I invite you this morning to
turn back with me to 2 Timothy chapter 1. My text will be found in verse
12, but I want to go over some things before we come to the
text. It was my joy and privilege after
the service last Sunday up in Ozark, Missouri, to baptize five
precious souls. I've been thinking about it ever
since, how it encouraged me. I've been in this thing a long
time. And I've sat under some great
men, Brother Mahan and some of these men who were just probably
at the top of the preachers, of God's preachers in our whole
generation. And I don't ever remember five
people being baptized on any day in any of those times. And what an encouragement that
was to me. All of them there to confess
Christ in baptism. And having talked to them, I
believe it was, as the Scriptures say, an answer of a good conscience
toward God. They were not persuaded or coerced
into it by any kind of clever schemes or religious duties,
but simply submissive to Christ. That's what I want. That's why
I rarely preach on baptism or any of these things. I want this
to be the result of that work of Christ, that work of the Holy
Spirit done in you. And when he does this work, as
I tell you often, it's a real work. It's a real work. It results in real submission.
It results in a real appetite. You're hungry this morning here,
aren't you? And they, in submission to Christ,
desiring to be publicly identified with him, they asked me to baptize
them. And most of these that I baptized
grew up in the Reformed religion. They were sprinkled when they
were babies. They say that's like when Israel went through
the sea. God buried them in that sea.
They took that verse over from Peter and tried to make it say
that. They were buried, even though they weren't all believers.
But they went across with the covenant people. And so as children,
they baptized them. And you look at it and you say,
wow, I don't really see anything wrong with that. It doesn't have
any basis in the scriptures. That's my problem with it. And
this is what well-meaning but ignorant men do. They sit around
and make up things for you to do and adopt them into the church
and make them duties in the church and something they practice in
their religion. But they have no scriptural basis. And there was a lot of other
things that they grew up in that they were pressured to do and
to feel and experience. And again, with no scriptural
basis. things added to the gospel of Christ. So that in the end,
though it was Calvinistic in doctrine, I could preach to them
the father man, and they'd amen every word of it. I could preach to them the irresistible
grace of God, and they'd amen on every word of it. But in the end, though it was
Calvinistic in its doctrine, it was after all a system of
works and a system of legalism and a system of duties and a
ceremonial type religion. Why am I telling you all these
things? Because the same gospel I preach to you every week is
the gospel I preach to them, the same gospel. And the same
gospel that I preach to you every week is effectual to the saving
of souls by the Spirit of God. They were set free from that
religion and set free from all those duties. I was talking to
one of our visitors here this morning and she was telling me
she grew up and one of her parents was Seventh-day Adventist, and
the other was Church of Christ. Well, I grew up in the Nazarene
religion. There's not a spitting difference
between that and the Church of Christ. I grew up in those things,
and I'll never forget when I heard this gospel how it set me free. It set me free. Let's look here in 2 Timothy
1. And you're going to have to take
those things just like Paul did. All those things of his upbringing,
all those things that he'd come to see were just false and no
value in them whatsoever. You have to take them out and
put them on the dung heap. That's what you have to do with
them. And people who see this don't have a bit of problem doing
that. They take it out, throw it on the dung heap. Now, in
2 Timothy 1, 9 through 13, he tells us something of what true
saving faith is. And there's four things here
in these verses which I believe, when understood, yield to the
believer assurance of his salvation. I want that, don't you? I'm tired
of playing religious games. I want something real. I want
some real assurance of God. And I'm way closer to that grave
now than I was back in the beginning. I'm tired of playing games. These
verses, if understood, they'll yield to the believer assurance
of his salvation. It'll also yield peace in your
heart. Peace. Comfort. It'll yield comfort
throughout all your days, no matter what comes your way. Can
you imagine having to face what you're facing right now without
this? I can't even. I don't know how people do it.
I don't know how they do it. All right. Here's the first thing
I want you to see. The eternal, unchangeable purpose
of God in Christ Jesus. Now, Paul's building this. He's building one block at a
time in this before he gets up here to this verse that I'm going
to speak to you on. He says here in 2 Timothy 1.9
who, referring back to the verse before it, so let's read it that
way, God hath saved us. and called us with a holy calling,
not according to our works, but according to His own purpose
and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began." Oh, but preacher, I was born just 40 miles from a grace
church. Didn't know it. Didn't know it. Actually, I was born in the town
where the grace church was. Didn't know it. Lived out all
my days. Didn't know it. Didn't know it. I was in my 20s before I ever
heard it the first time. Raised in religion. What if you
were born in an idolatrous nation, raised as a heathen? Listen to this. not according
to their works. I've been down to Yucatan, Mexico,
out in the jungles, in the mine jungles, and I've seen people
who still live in thatched huts and go out and and hunt for meat
and grow a little bit of corn and just struggle to live down
there, raised in rank idolatry. You think Catholicism is something
here, you ought to see it down there. Carrying glass coffins
from village to village and chanting and all this kind of nonsense. What if you were born in an idolatrous
nation, raised among heathens, didn't know anything else? Not according to their works.
None of these Gentiles Paul preached to had ever heard anything like
this. They worshipped Diana and they worshipped all these gods. What if they were raised as Jews
and steeped in legalism and self-righteousness? Not according to their works. Or what if they lived a life
of wickedness and vile affections and lived out all their days
in open hostility to God? Not according to their works. That malefactor on the cross
was a rebel all his days. And God opened his eyes and saved
him. But here, Paul said, he saved
us way back yonder. Way back yonder. My friend, God
saved all His elect when He chose them in His Son and appointed
Him to the necessary offices to carry out that salvation. No matter what. No matter what. But how can that
be? How could all their circumstances
and cultures and influences and all of these things be foreseen
by God? Because he's God. Huh? Because he's God. How could God
overcome all these obstacles? Because he's God, and as God,
worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. That's why this world was given
its being, why man was put in a garden, and why he wasn't destroyed
when he fell. What's the reason for it? The
purpose of God. God said that creation was made
subject. It didn't happen accidentally. It wasn't an unforeseen event. It was made subject to vanity,
not willingly, but by reason of Him who subjected the same
in hope. And the same thing concerning
its preservation. Paul said in Romans 8 again,
creation waiteth. for the manifestation of the
sons of God. And they can fly around in planes
in the Arctic and talk about the ice melting and the world
flooding and all they want to. I'm telling you this, this creation
is going nowhere until the last one of God's elect is called.
And then it's not going to drown, it's going to be burnt to cinders.
Huh? That's true. It waiteth for the
manifestation of the sons of God. There's a purpose behind
creation, and Colossians 1.16 tells us what it is. All things
were made by Him and for Him, and He is before all things,
and by Him all things have their continuance. They have a continuance. They continue to be. Until His
work's done, they're going to continue to be. How do I know
that? Because he's sitting at the right
hand of God with all power and he's preserving this world himself
until that day. And all of that, Paul said, all
of that because he's the head of the body, the church, who
is the beginning. All of that. This is the purpose
of God in Christ. God has saved us. When did He
save? He saved us when He chose us
in Christ before the foundation of the world. Appointed Christ
to all those offices, necessary offices for the salvation of
our soul. Decreed from everlasting, decreed
the means, the methods, the places, the people, the preaching of
the gospel, all of those things way back yonder. Now, he said through his prophet
Isaiah way back in ancient times, he said, I am God, and beside
me there is none other. I declare the end from the beginning,
and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying,
my counsel. What's that? That's his purpose.
That's his will. My counsel shall stand, and I'll
do all my pleasure. There is a purpose behind creation.
And here again, He's the beginning. He's the firstborn from the dead.
Now listen to this. For it pleased the Father that
in Him should all fullness dwell. If salvation is of a man, it's
by chance, it has no purpose, and it has no future. But if
it be of God, then it's eternal. It's born in infinite wisdom,
infinite love, and brought to pass by infinite power. Everything
that is decreed to be done is going to be done. That's just
so. And though our race was condemned
by the fall, yet before the fall another race was chosen and another
head appointed, and the foundation of an everlasting salvation laid. What if you've been listening to somebody who only talks about
God assisting and God wanting to do and can't do and God waiting
upon men. I'd run out of that place as
fast as my feet could carry me. I'd get out there. They don't
know God. They don't know God. So here's the first thing. The
eternal, unchangeable. God's not going to change His
mind somewhere down The line, every good gift, every perfect
gift cometh down from above. It comes down from the Father
of lights with whom is no variableness, neither shadow or turning. It's
unchangeable. All right, here's the next thing.
The manifestation of Him in whose hands all these things have been
clustered. Look at this next verse, verse
10. But is now made manifest. by the appearing of our Savior,
Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality
to light through the gospel. God purposed him to do that before
he ever made the world, before man ever fell, before man ever
existed, before the sun was ever set in the sky. God purposed
that his son should do this. 2016 years ago, he did it. Isn't that what that's saying? Now made manifest by the appearing
of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who abolished death and brought
life and immortality to light through the gospel. Everything
God purposed to do in eternity, He trusted into the hands of
His well-beloved Son. It is God who's first trusted
in Christ. And then he goes on to tell us
there in Ephesians chapter 1, in whom you also trusted after
you heard. I tell you, he persuaded me.
When I found out God could trust him with all things, surely I
can trust him with all things. Because my all things are nowhere
near what his all things were. John 6, 38, I came down from
heaven. Not to do my own will, but the
will of Him that sent me. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter
1. Let me show you something over here. Ephesians chapter
1 and verse 8, wherein, that's in the reaches of His
grace, wherein, He hath abounded toward us. in all wisdom and
prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of his will, his
purpose, his counsels, according to his good pleasure which he
hath purposed in himself, that in the stewardship or dispensation
of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things
in Christ, both which are in heaven, which are on earth, even
in him, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being
predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all
things after the counsel of his own will. And he did that that
we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in
Christ. Jesus Christ is the Son of God
and the Son of Man and the one eternal mediator of the redemptive
purpose of God. Just one mediator. He's the Messiah,
He's the Christ, He's the Root of Jesse, the Righteous Branch,
Jehovah-Jireh. The Scripture said, the Lord
will provide. Jehovah-Raper, the Lord which
healeth thee. He is Jehovah-Nissi, the Lord
our Banner. Jehovah-Rayer, the Lord our Shepherd. Jehovah-Hasenu, the Lord our
Maker. And He's Jehovah Shalom, the
Lord our peace. Jehovah Sikhanou, the Lord our
righteousness. Jehovah Shema, the Lord has appeared. He's appeared. Isn't that what
that scripture is saying? Manifested. God's eternal purpose
of grace has been manifest by the appearing of our Savior,
Jesus Christ, who has abolished death. He that believeth on me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. Mourned over old Lazarus laying
in that tomb. And he said, take away the stone. And they said, oh, don't do that.
Don't do that. By now, he began to corrupt and
rot. Oh, don't roll that. Come out of there. Loose him
and let him go. Abolished. He's abolished then. and brought life and immortality
to life through the gospel. Do you believe that? Huh? Do you believe that? I tell you,
if you did, you'd embrace him right now, and you'd never let
him go. You believe that that tiny babe
laid in that manger in Bethlehem stable was our eternal covenant
head and surety? Sent to accomplish the will of
God in the volume of the book, it's written of me, I come to
do thy will, O God. By the which will, he has sanctified
us once for all through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ. Do you believe that? Sent to save his people from
their sins, to provide for them a perfect righteousness, Reconciling
them to God in the body of His flesh through death to present
us without fault, unblameable, unreprovable in His sight. You believe He was delivered
for our offences and raised again for our justification? You believe
that God received Him up into glory, having made us accepted
in the blood? When He welcomed him into glory
and offered him the seat at His right hand, do you believe that
He received us with Him? Because that's what the Scriptures
say. You got some hope of being received of God or accepted of
God outside of Christ? If you do, you got a false hope. My own mother told me, way up
in years, Trying to get her to come and hear Henry preach. And
she wouldn't do it. She said, I'm as good as anybody
down at that church. I said, you may be better. You
may be better than everybody in that church. But that's not the basis of your
acceptance with God. You believe that His seat, His
sitting right now in heaven, He sat down. Having done the
will of God, it says he sat down. He's not worried. He's not anxious. He's not pacing. He's not wringing
his hands. He's not crying his eyes out.
He's seated at the right hand of God expecting till his enemies
be made his footstool. He's our guarantor. He's our
intercessor. He's our Lord. And he himself
came into this world to save sinners. Paul said, of whom I
am chief, and I believe He can do it. I believe He can do it. There is no excuse for our unbelief,
no reason for our rebellion against Him except the sinfulness of
our fallen nature. Did you know when the Holy Spirit
comes and convicts a man of sin, He convicts him because he believes
not on the Lord Jesus Christ? If there's anything that manifests
the sin of your nature, it is your rebellion against a perfect
Savior. This is sin against perfect love. This is sin against perfect wisdom. This is ignorance in the light
of divine wisdom. That's unbelief. That's sin.
That's your nature. You won't bow to him in whose
hands is all power. No excuse for our unbelief. No
reason for our rebellion against Him. He's come. He's abolished death. He brought
life and immortality to life. And men, just like you and I,
men walked out there and watched Him step on a cloud and watched
the angels take Him into glory. It's been manifest. Alright,
here's the next thing. The means given to His elect
to bring them to faith in Christ. 2 Timothy 1, verse 11. Whereunto I am appointed a preacher. Huh? I tell you, if you can't
say this, whereunto, concerning these things, these eternal matters,
this manifestation of grace, if you can't say that, you're
no preacher. You take your ordination papers and go set them on fire
somewhere, you're not a preacher. You're not called of God to preach,
I can tell you that. Whereunto I am appointed a preacher,
and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. The gospel of
Jesus Christ, my friend, is the seed of regeneration. This Word, Peter said, this incorruptible
Word which of this seed we're born, he said, This Word is the
Word we preached unto you. Now, I tell you, I read the Bible
all my life. I read about the history of Israel,
and I read the stories of Samson, and the stories of David, and
Goliath, and all of those. I read all those things. And
I'll be honest with you, other than the little moral applications
they had, it didn't make any sense to me whatsoever. And then one day somebody told
me to him, give all the prophets witness. Somebody told me these
things are pictures of the gospel of God's saving grace in Christ.
These are beautiful pictures. These are types. This priesthood
was a type. Israel was a type. You look at
those sacrifices and look at that tabernacle and look at that
altar and look at those sacrifices. John didn't say when he saw Christ
coming down the path, behold the Christ. He said, behold the
Lamb. This Lamb that we've been looking
at, this Lamb that's been prominent in our worship, this Lamb that's
been prominent in all of our feast days and all of these things,
there He is. There He is. Wait a minute, preacher. You're going too far. Paul didn't think so. He said,
I have begotten you through the gospel. You think Paul believed
that he really had the power to regenerate? No. No, he didn't. But he believed the gospel God
gave him. under the power of the Holy Spirit
was able to raise the dead, quick and dead sinners. Well, preacher, you don't believe
that somebody can read the Bible? You don't think that's what that's
talking about? A man just picking up the Bible and reading it?
No. No, I don't. Those Jews knew this Bible inside
out. They knew it 10 times better
than any theologian in our day. They could tell you if a comma
was out of place. They could tell you if you put
a period in and a comma should have been put. They knew this
book forward and backward. He said, you search the Scriptures,
for in them you think you have eternal life. And they are they
that testify of me, but you won't come to me. That's what the preaching
of the gospel for, is to take the Word of God and point Christ
to you. Begging you to come to Him. This
is the testimony, this is the reason for the Word. You're not
going to read the history of Israel and be born again. You're
not going to read the law of Moses and be born again. You'll
be born again when God reveals Christ to your heart. And when
he does, he'll do it through this book. He'll show you that
that's the message of this book. Paul went to Antioch. He preached
to the Jews and the Jewish proselytes who were well acquainted with
the Old Testament scriptures. And here's what he said. Be it
known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this
man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. And by him
all that believe are justified from all things from which he
could not be justified by the law of Moses. So we talked about God's everlasting
purpose of grace, trusted into the Savior's hands before the
foundation of the world. Talked about Him who in the fullness
of time was manifest. All of these things were manifest
in Christ, manifest in this world as a man and accomplishing the
redemptive will of God, this man Jesus Christ. And before
he ascended back into glory, he revealed the means ordained
to God to call out and sustain his sheep. Those were his ascension
gifts according to Ephesians chapter 4, the preaching of the
gospel. And then here's the last thing
in my text. What happens in the heart of chosen sinners when
they're given ears to hear this gospel? What happens? 2 Timothy
1.12, for the which cause, that is, the preaching of the gospel,
he said, I also suffer these things, imprisonment, defamation
of character, false accusations, beatings, scourgings, and so
on. I suffer these things. Nevertheless,
I'm not ashamed, for I know, now listen, whom I believe. I had a man tell me one time,
he said, are you familiar with all the
old church covenants? And I said, most of them. He said, here's what I believe.
And he went back and got me a copy of a church covenant. That's
not what Paul said. What did he say? I know whom. I'm going to tell you something. When you know Him, all these
other things will fall right in place. They'll fall right
in place. Is that your experience? You've
been here a long time. They'll fall right in place if
you know Him. Paul said, I know whom I have believed. And I'm
persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed
unto him against that day. What did Paul commit to him?
Everything. Everything. You're going to come
to Christ, you better bring it all with you. Unconditional surrender. Unconditional
surrender. You commit it all to him. And
I tell you, if you ever come to know what a lousy job you've
done with it, you'll be glad to turn it over to Him. All those who believe God's testimony
concerning His Son, bow down before Him and surrender themselves
to Him and commit the keeping of their souls to Him. Why? Why? Because He's worthy. Let me tell you something. I
don't know. You look at these things on this side of glory,
and you see through a glass dimly. But let's look through the eyes
of them on the other side. They're standing in His presence
in that great day. They're standing in His presence.
They're gathered around Him. What are they singing? Worthy
is the Lamb. Isn't that what? Oh, they sang
a new song, Worthy is the Lamb. Worthy is the Lamb. He is worthy to take the book,
that eternal book of the redemptive will of God and redemptive purpose
of God, and to open the seals. For He was slain and hath redeemed
us to God by His blood out of every kindred, tongue, people,
and nation. And then again He said, Thou
art worthy, O God, to receive glory and honor and power, for
Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are
and were created. He's worthy. Secondly, because
His grace is sufficient. All-sufficient grace. Boy, there's
no other kind, is there? All-sufficient grace. Grace promised by the prophets,
manifested in Him, preached to all generations, revealed in
the hearts of chosen sinners. And this grace shall be shown
in our final resurrection. Oh, what grace. Thirdly, because
His work's finished. It's done. His last words from the cross,
it is finished. It's finished. The great transaction's
done. And I'll tell you this, He has
absolutely and forever put away the sins of all His elect and
made them righteous in Himself. And then fourthly, because the
Holy Spirit of God through the gospel has convinced them, persuaded
them, and that He alone is able to save them, to save them to
the uttermost, all those who come unto God by Him. I'm convinced
He is. The gospel of Christ is all the
revelation you're ever going to get concerning the living
God and His Son, Jesus Christ. You don't hear the gospel and
then say, well, I hope God gives me a revelation someday. That
is the revelation. I'm giving to you this morning,
declaring unto you this morning the revelation. And my prayer
is that God will quicken your heart, give you a new heart to
receive it. We don't wait. We don't wait
on a vision. We're not waiting on a feeling.
We're not waiting on an experience. The gospel, he that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be
damned. Paul didn't say, having preached,
if God's revelation doesn't come, he said, if our gospel be hid,
it's hid to the lost. The revelation is here. You've
heard it this morning. Whether or not you have eyes
to see is another question. But I can tell you this, if it's
hid from you, it's hid from the lost, in whom the God of this
world has blinded their minds, lest they should see the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ, that glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. You young adults and children,
What I'm preaching to you this morning is the revelation of
God. It's the glory of God in the
face of Jesus Christ, God's testimony concerning His Son. And the reality
of this thing is you either believe it or you don't. That's how it
is. You either believe it or you
don't. You either reject it or embrace
it. You either receive the things
of the Spirit of God or do despite under the Spirit of grace. You say, preacher, I believe
what you're preaching. Then you, by the commandment
of our Lord and Savior, need to confess your faith in baptism.
Isn't that what he says? I absolutely marvel in our day
how people who are professed believers are so indifferent
to the commandments of Christ. I just marvel. I just marvel
at how a man can know so much and know so little.