The prophet Isaiah was commanded
by God to comfort ye, comfort ye my people, sayeth your God. Tell her, tell my people, tell
the church that her warfare is accomplished. Who did that? Her glorious God and Savior.
Remember what he said on the cross, those sweet words, it's
finished. Her warfare is accomplished.
All of her sins have been put away. What a comforting thought
that is, to know that. Believers in this world are not
exempt from trouble and trials. Indeed, we have more than the
lost man. We have that warfare within that
John spoke about in his lesson also this morning. where the
flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh.
And it makes us cry out. We can identify with the Apostle
Paul when he cried out, O wretched man that I am. But we have this
blessed, blessed word of promise from our God that what he began,
that work of grace begun in the heart of every child of God will
never cease. It will be brought to perfection.
It will be carried on until the day of Christ. This is what we
read of here in Philippians. Let's read the first 10 verses.
Philippians chapter 1. Paul and Timotheus, the servants
of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus, which are at
Philippi with the bishops and deacons, grace be unto you and
peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, I
thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer
of mine for you all, making requests with joy, for your fellowship
in the gospel from the first day into now, being confident
of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you
will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ, even as it is
meet, or fit, or proper, for me to thank this of y'all, because
I have you in my heart, and as much as both in my bonds, Paul
was in prison when he wrote this. And in the defense and confirmation
of the gospel, ye are all partakers of my grace. For God is my record,
how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love
may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment.
that ye may approve things that are excellent, that ye may be
sincere and without offense unto the day of Christ, being filled
with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ unto
the glory and praise of God." The basis, the grounds, the reason
of Paul's confidence for those believers that he wrote to, the
church at Philippi, rested on a solid foundation. It could
not be more solid. Therefore, that very fact alone
should tell us it wasn't resting upon the believers there, was
it? Paul's confidence, Paul's assurance
that he spoke of, of their complete eternal salvation could not rest
upon themselves. Because as the old hymn writer
said, if ever it should come to pass, do you ever feel this?
Do you feel this, child of God? I know that you do. If ever it
should come to pass that sheep of Christ should fall away, my
fickle, feeble soul at last would fall a thousand times a day. That was true of them that Paul
wrote to. And that's true of you and me.
Here is a believer's ground for hope, for assurance, for confidence. Look again at verse 6. Here's
the ground of Paul's confidence. Being confident, assured of this
very thing, that he, that is God, would have begun a good
work. Salvation is a good work, isn't
it? A good work, the work of grace. A good work, it's in you. It's in you. Salvation is in
you. The work of grace is something
God does within a sinner. A good work in you will perform
it until the day of Jesus Christ, even as it is meek for me to
thank this of you all, because I have you in my heart, and as
much as both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation
of the gospel, you're all partakers of my grace. Partakers of my
grace. You've experienced the same grace,
Paul says, that I've experienced. God saves sinners all alike. He saves them all by His mighty
grace. And His grace, as Paul wrote
in 1 Corinthians 15, the grace of God that's in Christ Jesus. The true grace of God is never
in vain. It never fails. It always accomplishes
its purpose. Turn back, if you will. I know
you're familiar with these verses, but turn back to 1 Corinthians
chapter 15. Read what the apostle writes
here concerning himself. He makes mention, as he often
did, of what he was before God's grace found him. He never denied
that. He never tried to make it less
than it was. The chief of sinners, he said
he was. Blind, lost, religious though. Very religious, but lost all
the while. But he said, when the grace of
God came, I didn't remain in that state. God's grace makes
a difference. Here in 1 Corinthians chapter
15, verse 9, I'm the least of the apostles. that am not meet
to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God,
but, but, this makes the difference. This makes the difference. This
is the only thing that'll make any difference in the heart of
every sinner that experiences it. But by the grace of God,
That free, sovereign, reigning grace that came to the apostle
made a difference, made him a new creature. Paul said, I'm not
what I used to be. And bless his name, I'll never
be what I once was again. His grace makes the difference.
But by the grace of God, I am what I am. And his grace, which
was bestowed upon me, was not in vain. It wasn't futile. But I labored more abundantly
than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God, which was in
me. John read this verse to us in
Acts chapter 15 this morning, that conference at Jerusalem.
Peter said, But we believe, by the grace of God, we shall be
saved, even as they. Jew, Gentile, it makes no difference. Everyone that experiences this
grace of God in Christ Jesus shall be saved. I've heard from
time to time. People talk about falling from
grace. Falling from grace. They say
that a man can truly be saved. Can be saved today and yet lost
tomorrow. He can experience the true grace
of God and yet be lost. Really? Really, Mike? My soul, that's miserable news. Oh, I'm so thankful that that's
not so, and yet they call that good news. Oh, no, no, no. Paul didn't know anything about
that, did he? When he wrote to these believers
of the church at Philippi and to you and I, he didn't say,
well, you may be saved today and lost tomorrow. That would
give him no confidence. Oh no, he said, I'm confident.
This is God's grace that the grace that begins that good work
in you will be carried on. Believers, a true child of God,
shall never fall from grace. People may fall from their profession
of faith. I've seen that happen. They may
fall from their religion. Oh, but the grace of God Never,
never. You know why? Because God won't
allow it. He just won't allow it. My sheep,
our Lord said, shall never perish. I preached at a church for a
few months. Why they wanted me, I don't know. Especially after they heard me.
There were these old gentlemen sat on the front pew just listening
very closely to every word. And then after I would preach,
they would go through the congregation contradicting everything I said. They said, that man's preaching
that what God does is forever. Oh no, we just can't have that.
And yet when we preach such hymns as Amazing Grace, they would
stand and sing louder than anybody else. So one day, after the service,
I told them, you men shouldn't be singing that hymn. Why? I said, because you don't believe
it. They said, oh, how dare you say we don't believe it. I said,
one verse says it's grace that's brought me safe thus far and
grace shall lead me home. You don't believe that. You believe
a child of God can actually fall from grace. That a sinner can
be born again and again and again and again. Oh, no, the grounds
of Paul's confidence in God's grace was this, that whatever
God begins, he'll carry on. Look again, if you will, at verse
2 here in Philippians 1. Paul says, Grace be unto you
and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. You'll find those exact words
as Paul's salutation in his epistle to the church at Rome in 1 and
2 Corinthians. Galatians and Athenians. Same words. No peace. There's no peace with God. No
peace with God without the experience of the grace of God. Any peace apart from the grace
of God in Christ is a false peace. It's a deception. Oh, grace brings
peace. Grace brings peace. Oh, the sweetness. Brother, Lord, the sweetness.
Can a man or a woman derive any greater comfort? Have any real
inner peace in this life? More than the peace of God that
comes to his heart when he experiences that grace that brings salvation. Is there any greater joy than
to know? Paul says, I know this about
you. I'm confident and I want you
to be confident too, he said. To know that I am his. I'm His. I belong to God. And He belongs to me. I am His
and He is mine, not for a day, not for a year, but forever. Oh, this was the hope that Paul
had for them. And the origin of this grace
is God the Father. And the channel from which it
flows is through Jesus Christ himself. God has blessed you
with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus. Paul wanted them and us to know
that. A good hope through grace is
a good hope indeed, isn't it? That's a good hope indeed. That's
the only hope. That's the only hope. God's grace
is the only thing that can give a sinner a good hope of acceptance
before a just and holy God. Only grace can do that. Nothing
else can. Look, if you will, at verse 9
again. Paul says, I pray that your love may abound yet more
and more in knowledge and in all judgment. The word there,
judgment, is sensible perception, discernment. Paul says, I want
you to know this and have this sweet assurance of the grace
of God. Now look again at verse 6 and
consider this. Consider this. From start to
finish. That's the title of my message. From start to finish, salvation
is of the Lord. He that hath begun a good work
in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. There's the foundation that we
rest upon. Salvation is God's work. It's God's work, Joe. Not speaking of them, but God
when he speaks of this good work begun. Salvation is not what
sinners do for themselves, but what God does for sinners. Turn back, if you will, to the
book of Exodus chapter 14. Again, familiar scriptures. But here in Exodus 14, Moses
has brought the children of Israel to the Red Sea. The Red Sea before
them, mountains on their left and right, and Pharaoh and his
army coming up behind them. Oh, Moses, we knew this would
happen. We should have never listened
to you. We'd have been better off in Egypt. Look at what Moses
says in verse 13. And Moses said unto the people,
fear ye not, fear ye not, stand still. My, that's strange language. What sort of instruction is this?
Pharaoh coming up behind them to kill them, slaughter them,
and Moses tells us to stand still, stand still and see the salvation
of the Lord. which he will show to you today,
for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall see them
again no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you,
and ye shall hold your peace." What happened? What happened?
Exactly what Moses said would happen. Look at the end of the
chapter, Exodus 14, verse 30. Thus, this is how it is. This is how it happened. The
Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians.
And Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore. And Israel
saw that great work, that great work, which the Lord did upon
the Egyptians. And the people feared the Lord.
And they believed the Lord and his servant Moses. Stand still,
Moses said. Religion says, Work. Do. Do. Do. But God says stand still. God says look unto me. Look unto me and be ye saved. No question about that. No question
about that. Every sinner Every sinner who
has ever looked to Christ for salvation, found salvation. Every sinner that ever came to
Him, ceasing from their own works and their own labor, as Joe read
to us this morning to begin our service, when they had nothing
to pay, as long as a sinner thinks he has something to pay, He won't
find mercy. He won't find grace. As long
as he has one fig leaf of self-righteousness to which he clings, he'll never
be robed in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ, all but glorious
gospel. Good news, when they had nothing
to pay, he freely He freely forgave them both. Look unto me, and
be ye safe, for I am God, and there is none else. In Philippians
2, look at verse 13. We often hear people speak of
verse 12 and quote it. But they shouldn't stop there.
Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Aha, they
say. See, their salvation is man's work. Man does have a part. Well, let's read the rest. For
it is God, it is God that worketh in you both the will and the
do of his good pleasure. Our Lord said, it is the spirit
that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth, Nothing. Someone, I think I've
told you this before, asked Brother Henry Mahan one time, do you
believe that salvation is forever? Do you think when God saves a
sinner that that sinner shall be saved forever? And Henry said,
well, it depends on who does the saving. Who does the saving? Is that not so? Is that not so?
If it's man, if man has any part of it, If it depends upon man
to call himself, to keep himself, to persevere all the way to glory,
then the answer is no. No sinner has a hope. Oh, but
if salvation is in its entirety all of the Lord, then yes. Bless his name, yes, we have
a good hope. Verse 14. of Ecclesiastes 3,
let me read this to you. I know whatsoever God doeth,
this is what Paul said, I know that whatsoever God doeth, it
shall be forever. It shall be forever. Nothing
can be put to it, you can't add anything to it, nor anything
taken from it, and God does it that men should fear before Him. In Genesis 1 we read that in
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and the
earth was without form. The word is, the earth became
without form. Something, perhaps the fall of
Satan, I really don't know, we're not told. But the earth became
without void. and without forming void, rather,
in a state of chaos. And darkness was upon the face
of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the
waters. And God said, and God said, let
there be light. That's a picture of salvation.
We sat in darkness. We sat in darkness. Oh, but God
who commanded the light to shine out of darkness have shined into
our hearts. He turned the light on. He exposed
us to what we really are. He showed us what we were. Who He is. He convinced us that
we were lost. He turned the light on. God who
commanded the light to shine out of darkness. has shined in
our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Salvation begins with God. It's
carried on by God. And it will be completed by God. And I have nothing. And this
gives me great joy. I have nothing to do with any
part of it. Aren't you glad that's so? John,
you can't mess it up. You can't mess it up. If you
could, you would. But bless God, you can't mess
up God's mighty grace. Brother Bruce Crabtree in one
of his bulletins here a few weeks ago had an article along this
very line. I thought it was good, so I made
a copy of it. Let me share it with you. He
said he was in a discussion with a friend concerning the blessed
gospel of God's grace. And Bruce wrote, I don't remember
the exact details, but I'm sure we talked about electing love
and redeeming grace and how the Lord in tender mercy called us
out of darkness with a call we could not resist and has kept
us till this very day and refuses to let us go. When saints get
to talking about spiritual things, they often talk about such subjects
as these. When our discussion was almost
over, my friend put the icing on the cake when he said, and
one of the best things about it is, I can't mess it up. And Bruce went on to write, Jesus
has finished the work. It is already done, so I can't
mess it up. My sins have already been punished
and atoned for, and I can't mess it up. I'm accepted. in Christ incomplete and sealed
unto the day of redemption in Christ now and in Christ forever
and I can't mess it up. I feel like I have messed up
everything else but thanks be unto God I can't mess this up. It's un-messed-up-able," Bruce
wrote, and I'm so thankful that that's true. Oh, Mr. Toplady wrote in his hymn, A
Debtor to Mercy Alone, The work which his goodness began, the
arm of his strength will complete. His promise is yea and amen and
never was forfeited yet. Things future or things that
are now, not all things below or above can make him his purpose
forego or sever my soul from his love. This good work of God's
unfailing grace in a sinner involves a faithfulness, God's own faithfulness
that will never fail. It involves a life that will
never end. Because I live, our Savior said,
ye shall live also. A spring of water that will never
dry up. A gift that will never be lost.
A hand from which will never be snatched. A love from which
will never be separated. A foundation that will never
be destroyed. An inheritance that will never
fade away. No wonder the hymn writer said
grace is a charming sound. God's glory, think of it in this
light. If a child of God, someone that
has experienced God's grace, this good work within, should
fall away and be lost, God's glory would be forfeited. If he doesn't perfect this good
work of grace, his purpose in election, an election of sinners
to salvation, would fail. That just can't be. That just
can't be. Speaking of a God who can fail,
that just can't be. That's not the God of this book.
I shall not fail, God says. I shall do all my purpose, he
said. What he has purposed, he's able
also to perform. Oh, if this good work of grace
should cease, then Christ's purpose in redemption would prove a failure. Can you imagine? Can you imagine? Someone who sins, Christ bore
his own body on the tree. Sins for which he suffered. Christ was made sin for anyone
who at last perishes in hell? Where's the justice of God in
that? How can God demand payment at
the hands of Christ, then turn around and demand payment at
the hands of the sinner? That can never, never be. If so, He ceases to be God. And that can never be. No, Christ
finished the work, put away sin, comfort my people, saith the
Lord. Tell them their warfare is accomplished,
their sin, all the bliss of this glorious thought. My sin, not
in part, All of it was nailed to His cross and bless His name. I don't bear it anymore. I don't
carry it anymore. It's dishonoring to my God to
attempt to do so. It's an insult to my Redeemer
to think so. Oh no. My sin has all been It's
all gone. Like old Bunyan's pilgrim, when
he came up to the cross with that burden on his back. Do you
remember that? Do you remember that? That burden, I can't get it off. Just like pilgrim, I couldn't
shake it off. Until that day, I came up to
the cross and the burden on my back fell off and began to tumble
and it fell into a sepulcher and I saw it no more forever. Glory to His name. Oh yes, grace is a charming sound. God's grace is reigning grace. That means this. It gets the
job done. It just gets the job done. Grace
fetches sinners to Christ. In time, Christ said, they'll
come to me. And they'll just keep coming.
And they'll just keep coming. Some through the water, some
through the flood. Some through the fire, some through
great heartache, some through great trial. Oh, but tell, by
God's grace, they'll just keep coming until they come to be
with me forever in glory. They follow the Lamb wheresoever
he goeth. Grace fetches sinners to Christ. That's what David said concerning
Mephibosheth, didn't he? Go fetch him. Go fetch him. That's what grace
does. It fetches sinners. It doesn't
say, will you pretty please open your heart and let me do something
for you. Oh no. God in Christ by his mighty grace
opens the heart. He has the keys. He has the keys. Yes, he stands at the door and
knocks, but he has a way of reaching in and opening the door, and
we willingly come. Come, Lord Jesus, and have mercy
on me. Sinner saved. All sell the glory
in the same vessel, don't they? The ship of grace. And the captain
of their salvation says, let us pass over unto the other side. is that glory and that captain
of our salvation. That glorious one is himself
that one who has his way in the world wind and the storm and
the clouds are the dust of his feet. Listen to what he says
to you and I this morning, child of God. Turn back, if you will,
to Isaiah chapter 43. Brother John read A verse or two of these, but
it won't hurt to hear them again, to read them again. Isaiah chapter
43. Look at verse 1. But now thus
saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee,
O Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called
thee by thy name, thou art mine. When you pass through the water,
I will be with thee. And through the rivers, they
shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shall not be burned. Neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee. Look down at verse 11. I, even I, am the Lord, and beside
me there is no Savior. I have declared and have saved
and I have showed. When there was no strange God
among you, Therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that
I am God. Yea, before the day was, I am
he. And there is none that can deliver
out of my hand. I will work, and who shall let
it? Who shall hinder it? Who shall
stop it? Turn over a page or two here
in Isaiah to chapter 46. Isaiah chapter 46. I think this is what John read
to us this morning. Verses 9 and 10. 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 will do all my pleasure. One more, Isaiah chapter 51.
Chapter 51, verse 11. Therefore, the redeemed of the
Lord shall... I love the Lord's shalls, don't
you? I mean, that makes it so. That
makes it certain. Therefore, the redeemed of the
Lord shall return and come with singing unto Zion, and everlasting
joy shall be upon their head. They shall obtain gladness and
joy, and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. I, even I, am
he that comforteth you, who art thou that thou shouldest be afraid
of a man that shall die, and of the Son of man which shall
be made as grass, and forgetest the Lord thy Maker. O no, he that's begun a good
work in you will perform it, carry it on until the day of
Jesus Christ. Salvation is a work, a mighty
work, and it's God's work. Only God can accomplish it. Only
God can do what's necessary to be done. Ezekiel, God asked concerning
that valley of dry, dead bones, can these bones live? How in
the world can a sinner dead in sin live? Who shall do it? Who shall accomplish it? Our
Lord said, with men it's impossible. The flesh profits nothing. Oh,
let's ask someone who was taught the answer to that question.
Can these bones live? This work of salvation? Jonah
is in the belly of the whale. Truly, he could say with the
psalmist, out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. Jonah,
I remember hearing him years ago, Brother Jack Shanks preaching
in Danville. And he said, can you just imagine?
Can you just imagine some free-wheel preacher getting in a boat, rowing
out to where Jonah was and saying, Jonah, Jonah. Why don't you just
wheel yourself out of there? Why don't you exercise your will,
Jonah, and come on out? Jack said, I imagine Jonah would
say something like this, man, my will is what got me in here,
but it will take God's will and God's power and God's grace to
bring me out. because it's not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy."
And Jonah said, salvation is of the Lord. And that whale must
have been an Arminian because that left a bad taste in his
mouth and he spit Jonah out. Salvation is all of the Lord.
When a sinner, when a sinner by God's mighty grace is brought
down, down so far that he can't lift himself up, He's brought
so low to see himself as he really is. A helpless, guilty sinner. A dead dog sinner. That's what
Mephibosheth said to David. How is this that you should look
on such a one, such a dead dog as I? This is remarkable. Remarkable. And so is God's mighty
grace. And to see God as he is and realize
he's not like I thought. Then he'll be taught of God to
cry with Jonah, salvation is of the Lord. If I should never preach another
message here again, if God should call me home before we meet here
again, let me close by saying this. This sinner standing before
you this morning has no other hope. I don't have one ounce
of hope in anything I've ever done. You mean before you were
saved? No, I mean after I was saved. My hope is built on nothing
less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. My hope is resting upon him,
the eternal rock of ages. Salvation is altogether God's
work. It's not mine. I can't mess it
up. Thank God I can't mess it up
and that's good news to this sinner. From first to last, salvation
is of the Lord. My confidence, my hope comes
from that blessed truth. Paul in verse 7 here again in
Philippians 7 spoke of them being partakers of his grace, that
same grace that saved Paul saved them. Are you a partaker of this
grace? Then know this. Rejoice in this. What God began, God will complete. God will carry on. And where
God gives grace, His word, His promise to you is this, that
He will give glory. Again, reading Top Lady's Old
Hymn, a debtor to mercy alone of covenant mercy I sing, nor
fear with his righteousness on my person and offering to bring.
The terrors of law and of God with me can have nothing to do.
My Savior's obedience and blood hide all my transgressions from
view. My name, from the palms of his
hands, eternity will not erase. Impressed on his heart it remains
in marks of indelible grace. Yes, I to the end shall endure,
as sure as the earnest is given, more happy but not more secure
than glorified spirits in heaven. God that began a good work in
you will perform it until the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank God for such grace as that. Amen. God bless you.