I'd like for you to turn with
me this morning to 2 Timothy 1. My text is in verse 12. Faith is the gift of God. Isn't that what the Scripture
says? By grace are you saved through faith, and that, that
faith, not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. It is a work in men. Men believe. God doesn't believe
for you. Men believe. But that work is
God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good
pleasure. It is the work of God and it
is the gift of God. It's given unto us. Given unto
us. Our Lord said to His disciples,
and I talked to you about this the other day for a little while,
He said, It's not given unto them, it's given unto you to
understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. It's given to
you. Blessed are your ears for they
hear. Every ear don't hear. In fact,
I find that different ears hear different things. It's amazing
how I can say one thing from the pulpit and be heard with
three different versions. I find that absolutely amazing. Faith is the gift of God. And
the way of grace is the way of faith. It's the way of faith. That faith
which God gives is effectual. It's effectual. It's the Word of God which effectually,
II Thessalonians 2.13, which effectually worketh also in you
that believe. What does that mean? When we talk about the Word of
God working effectually in a man, what does that mean? We're prone
to grab religious phrases and things, even scriptural phrases,
and hold them in our mind and go away and not understand one
thing about what that actually means or says. What does that
mean? Well, it means that the truth
of the gospel that these men heard there in Thessalonica was
willingly and lovingly received. God sent them a preacher, and
he preached to them the gospel of God's sovereign grace in Christ. And they received it willingly,
even though that man who stood before them was persecuted, hounded,
and his reputation torn to pieces by all those religious men and
women around him. And yet he came to this place
and he stood before these people who really didn't know him. Paul
was a missionary and he stood here in Thessalonica and he preached
the gospel and the power of God's Holy Spirit. And God made them
to understand that this was his servant. How does he do that?
I don't know. I can't explain it. I can't explain
it. But I'll tell you this, the first
time I heard Henry Mahan preach, I knew he was a servant of God,
and I didn't know him from man in a month. How do you know that? Huh? It means that the truth of the
gospel they heard was willingly and lovingly received, even with
all that was going on around them. It means it came in conquering
power to overcome their doubts, to overcome their suspicions
and their false conceptions of God. They heard a message totally
contrary to anything they'd ever heard. Some of you were raised in a
great church. Some of us weren't. And I'm telling
you, the first time I heard the Gospel, it was totally contrary
to anything and everything I'd ever heard in my life. Totally
contrary. All I'd ever heard is about a
man making a decision. All I ever heard was about experiences. All I ever heard was about men
in a closet, in the darkness, crying unto God, and all these
kinds of things. I'd heard all of those things
all my life. didn't understand one thing about
the living God, didn't understand one thing about the Holy Spirit
of God or the gospel of God's sovereign grace in Christ. This gospel came to them. It
was effectual in them in conquering power to overcome the doubts
and suspicions and their false concepts of God. Paul told the
church at Corinth, he said, the weapons of our warfare are not
carnal. We didn't come in here and, like
those old gamblers when they played poker, took that six gun
out and laid her up on the table and said, now we'll talk about
it. Well, no, preachers don't come
that way. They don't come that way. I've
got the presence and power of the Holy Spirit of God and his
message, and that's enough. I don't need a gun. I don't need
a sword. I don't need to try to lord things over people. He
said our warfare, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal.
They're not dependent upon the masses for their influence. They're not dependent upon great
finances to buy more spaces and and more time slots on the TV,
not dependent upon natural wisdom and gifts, not dependent upon
great buildings or great denominational influence. Our weapons are not
carnal, but they're mighty through God. Mighty through God to the
pulling down of strongholds. casting down imaginations and
every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge
of God, and bringing into captivity every thought, every thought
to the obedience of Christ. You can't do that with a sword. It's been tried. They couldn't
do it. It's effectual to convince men
of the truth about sin. Some of you tried it. Were you
successful? No. Sit and talk all night trying
to convince somebody they're a sinner. You haven't convinced them of
anything except that maybe you know a lot more scripture than
they do. I'm telling you, you can exhaust
yourself trying to teach men the way of grace until God convinces
him of sin. It ain't going to happen. I'll give you one Scripture that
ought to settle this thing of working your way to heaven and
producing a righteousness to gain God's favor forever. Romans
chapter 3 and verse 23. For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. Now you can just take your works
and throw them out the yard. That's what Paul did with his.
There was no dung heap out there. That's where the scraps went
after you ate. They went on the dung heap. That's
where, when they cleaned the stall out, where all the manure
went, on the dung heap. Everything that they didn't want,
all that waste, went on the dung heap. It wasn't good for anything
except to fertilize with. And Paul said he took his righteousness
out there and put it on the dung heap. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. And I don't care how many good
deeds you've done, it's not enough to blot out even one of your
sins. Natural man is a sinner. He's
born in sin. Job said man is born unto trouble. Well, you mean he didn't get
in trouble in time? Oh yeah, he does get in trouble
in time, but he gets in trouble in time because he was born in
trouble. He was born unto trouble as the
sparks fly upward. David said we come forth from
the womb speaking lies. We're born in sin. And it is
by nature, Paul asked, He's a child of wrath. He lives in a world
that's under the wrath of God. He don't know it. Men don't know
they're under the wrath of God. They'd be crying for the rocks
and the hills to hide them from the face of Him with whom they
had to do if they knew they were under the wrath of God. If they
knew they were under the wrath of God, you couldn't fit the
people along this highway that'd be here today trying to hear
from God. They don't know they're under
the wrath of God. Well, where is that wrath? I
don't see any fire falling from heaven. I don't see any catastrophic
things happening. I don't see the ground splitting
open and swallowing up people. What do you mean we're under
the wrath of God? He that believeth not the Son,
the wrath of God abideth on him. I'm telling you, you don't have
to go far, about a quarter of a mile down the road. Go in that
assembly and sit down and listen to that man. It won't take you
long, if you know the truth, to know that they're under the
wrath of God. He said, those who would receive
not the love of the truth, He said, I'll send them strong delusion
to believe a lie and be damned. That's what it means to be under
the wrath of God. Satisfied. Satisfied to live
your life the way you want to live it. Satisfied out here to
go into any old church and sit down and listen to the babblings
of a man who don't know God. That's living under the wrath
of God. Being satisfied every Sunday
to drag out the boat and go out on the lake and say, way with
it, way with it, no point in going down there. I learned just
as much sitting out on the lake under the wrath of God. Dead in trespasses and sins,
walking the course of this world according to the prince of the
power of the air, living out their days in a false sense of
security only to awake in hell. His mind, natural man, his mind
is enmity against God. Preacher, I'm not angry at God.
My mind's not hatred and rebellious to God. Then answer me this. Why is it you only get angry
at the truth? Tell me that. You wouldn't be angry this morning
if I had the oldest and the youngest mother come up here and honor
them. You wouldn't be a bit mad about that. You wouldn't be a
bit angry this morning if I said, well, we're not going to have
no preaching this morning. We're going to take up an offering.
And we're going to go down here, and I know some folks who are
in bad need. And we're going to go down there
and give them. You wouldn't be angry at me about that. Why is it you
only get angry at the truth? You don't get angry at church
traditions. You don't get angry at false religion. You don't
get angry at them. Why are you so angry? You're
angry at the truth. You know why? Because your mind
is enmity against God. It's not subject to the law of
God, neither indeed can be. All of the religions of this
world together don't make you angry, but hear a message on
the free grace of God in Christ, and you're ready to run to preach
you out of town. Awfulest letter I ever read in
my life came from a man who heard me one time. The best letter
I ever received from a man I heard from the same message. One sat
here and one sat there. Heard the same message. Here's condemnation. Here's the
curse. Here's the wrath of God on man.
Light came into the world. And men, just like you, and just
like me, love darkness rather than light. Can you put yourself in the shoes
of those Jews who cried, crucify, crucify? You will if you ever
understand your sin. If God ever convinces you of
your sin, you'll put yourself in the mob. God-given faith convinces men
and women of sin, its origin, its cause, its character, and
its end. And then secondly, true faith
is effectual in its revelation of God. When a man has true faith,
he understands who God is. That scripture I read to you
in 1 John chapter 5, we know that the Son of God hath come
and given us an understanding that we may know Him that is
true. We know who God is. We know He is Almighty. Don't
talk to me about God being defeated and God being resisted. We're talking about Him who commanded
and it was done. It was done. He spoke and it
was done. He commanded and it stood fast. Almighty. Unchangeable. I am the Lord.
I change not. The God of this generation changes
like like the wind. God's holy, righteous, and just,
showing mercy to thousands, forgiving transgression and sins, but will
by no means clear the guilty. God is uncompromising in His
character. And again, I'll give you one
scripture that ought to settle that issue forever. He spared
not his own son. I don't know what kind of salvation
you're holding on to, but whatever it is, if it does not include
a perfect righteousness and a full satisfaction of God's justice,
it's a false hope. God cannot and will not excuse
sin. God cannot and will not overlook
sin. Every transgression must and
shall receive a due recompense of reward. The soul that sinneth,
the Scripture said, shall surely die. God is almighty and He cannot
be resisted. God is all-knowing. Nothing takes
Him by surprise. God is sovereign. He worketh
all things after the counsel of His own will. And God is just
and righteous with no ifs, ands, and buts. This effectual faith
convinces men of sin, and secondly, it reveals to men the true character
of God. And then thirdly, this effectual
gospel reveals Christ as the only way of salvation. I get this remark all the time.
You need to quit preaching so dogmatic. What would be the point to preach if you have nothing certain to
say? Our Lord said if that trumpet don't make a certain sound, the
army is just going to stand there looking at each other. They don't
know what's that noise. And that's the way men are. If you don't
have a message, don't preach. But if you have one, preach it. Preach it. Folks tell me you need to broaden
your horizons a little bit, widen your views of Christianity a
little bit. You're too narrow in your views,
too either-or in your preaching. Let me ask you something. Does
Ephesians chapter 4 say there is one body? Does it say there is just one
spirit? Does it or does it not say we are called in one hope
of our calling? Does it not say that there is
one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who
is above all, through all, now listen, and in you all? Then where does the differences
come from? Huh? If there's one faith, then
there's just one doctrine of faith. Is that right? If there's just one body, then
there's just one church. I don't see where there's any
reason for any differences among believers in the faith of God's
elect or in how God saves sinners. You reckon that the Spirit of
God teaches one believer one thing and another believer something
else? That's the most ridiculous thing
I ever heard. And if so, how could Peter call
this faith like precious faith? And I'm going to tell you this,
Satan doesn't need a need. He doesn't need a foundation
for what he teaches. He'll use anything. He'll use
feelings, experiences, tragedy, emotional appeal, anything. God's
preachers have one foundation. One foundation. And that is the
Word of God, and in particular, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the way of salvation. He's the stone that the builders,
the elders, the priests and Pharisees set it not. But God made Him
the head of the corner. And He tells us in Acts 4, verse
12, neither is there salvation in any other. For there's none other name under
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." God gives
faith to men. And when He gives it to them,
He gives them that one faith. And that faith understands. That
faith commits. That faith receives. And that
faith obeys. And that faith perseveres. Him give all the prophets witness. And then in Acts 13, 38, Paul
said, Be it known therefore unto you, men and brethren, that through
this man that we set before you, this Jesus of Nazareth, through
this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. Through this man we have been
chosen unto salvation. That's right. According as He
hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world.
Through this man we are predestinated unto sonship. Adopted. Adopted in Him. Through this
man we have headship that predates the fall of Adam and overrules
all that Adam did. Through this man, we have a high
priest who can save to the uttermost those who come unto God by him. Through this man, we have a righteousness
equal to God and called, in fact, the righteousness of God. Through
this man, we have a substitute, a sin-bearer, one to die in our
stead. Through this man, we have one
seated at the right hand of God who has won the victory and now
reigns as our surety and guarantor. Through this man, we have the
divine gift of the Holy Ghost and pastors and missionaries
and evangelists and, in fact, the church in this world, the
pillar and ground of the truth. Through this man is preached
unto you the forgiveness of sins. And by Him, it says, verse 39,
Acts chapter 13, all that believe. Do you? Can you? All that believe by Him are justified. from all things from which you
could not be justified by the law of Moses. Romans 5, verse
1, what a blessed verse of Scripture. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Saving faith is effectual to
apply that justification through Christ. to the heart and conscience
of all that believe. It says, being justified freely
by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom
God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood to
declare His righteousness for the remission of sins, that He
might be both just and justifier of all them that believe. This
gospel by which true saving faith is born is effectual to convince
the sinner of his sin, to teach him the true character of God.
It teaches him that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation.
No man, he said, cometh unto the Father but by me. And then
fourthly, true saving faith, that which is given of God, born
of the Spirit, and effectual in the hearts of chosen sinners,
brings about a change in all those who truly believe. Turn
with me to Titus chapter 2. I'm going to tell you something.
I hope you'll hear me. The grace of God will never serve
as an excuse for your sin and rebellion. It's not going to
happen. Paul said, shall we continue
in sin that grace may abound? God forbid! How shall we that
are dead to sin live any longer therein? And that man who has
truly been convinced of sin is repulsed by it. He's repulsed
by it. Paul said, it's a shame for us
to even mention those things which are done by them. Let me
ask you something. Just hold your place there in
time. You reckon that old filthy leper that the Lord cleansed
went away and then sat under the tree somewhere and reminisced
about the good old days in the leper colony? Huh? You can't even get that picture
in your head, can you? But boy, we will. Huh? We will. We'll reminisce
about the good old days. Paul said, that man saved by
the grace of God don't see them as good old days. You reckon
that prodigal who rooted around in that filthy mud down in the
hog pen who was so hungry that he looked at those husks that
the hogs had already chewed on and they began to look appetizing
to him. You reckon when he got home in
his father's house with that ring on and that robe, you reckon
he reminisced about the good old days in the hog pen? I don't
think so. Listen to Titus 2, verse 11. For the grace of God that bringeth
salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that denying
ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously,
and godly in this present world. looking for that blessed hope
and that glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior,
Jesus Christ. Well, what are you saying, preacher?
I'm saying that true saving faith is a new creation, and it has
a profound effect upon the way we think, upon the way we act,
and upon the way we live in this world. And if it don't, you don't
have true saving faith. The tenor of that man's life
is to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.
Yes, but in what way? Well, Paul gives five things
in general in Titus in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. He tells us first of all in verse
6, this is that grace. This is that grace that's effectual,
that marks out God's elect. He told those folks, I know your
election of God. He talked about that gospel He
preached coming in power. He goes on to tell you in chapter
2 that that same message that they heard from Him, they heard
it as it was in truth, the very Word of God, which effectually
worked in them. And then He tells you, how this
effectual work is being accomplished. He tells us here, first of all,
in verse 6, you become followers of us and the Lord. You quit
kicking. You quit fighting. You begin to listen. You begin to look. You begin
to consider. You begin to weigh the things
of God and His Word. You begin to have some confidence
in that man as God's ambassador to you. You become followers
of us and the Lord. It takes the sovereign grace
of God for a man or a woman to be brought into subjection to
the Lord and His ministry. And then look at this here in
verse 7. You were examples to all that believe. Every believer
is. Every believer is a pattern. set forth before men
of how God saves sinners. Look down at verse 8. From you
sounded out the Word of the Lord. They all got involved in the
ministry. They gave to it. They attended it with conviction.
Identified themselves with it publicly. They bore some persecution
for the truth. Verse 9. You turn to God from
your idols. You unplug from that mess. You
just unplug. One father said, I know you can't
tell me what to do, but what would you do if you was in my
place? I said, unplug. Pull the plug. Just pull the
plug. Get out. Get out. What is an idol? It's something
we worship in the place of God or along with God. It's something
that occupies the chief place in your heart and in your life.
And it can be anything or anybody. Actually, even gain can be an
idol. Paul talked about covetousness,
he said, which is idolatry. True, effectual, saving faith
turns us to God from our idols, and then fifthly, verse 10, to
wait for His Son from heaven. Believers are shut up to Christ
and they look to Him for all things, especially for that day
when these bodies shall be raised incorruptible and stand with
Him before a world turned into hell. Why do believers wait on
the Lord? Because everything God has for
sinners is in Him. Because we've been made one with
Him by an eternal union and by the union of faith and by that
union of the Spirit of the living God. We're one with Him. We wait
on Him. We wait on Him because we have
confidence in Him. We have wisdom in Him. We have
mercy in Him. We have grace in Him. And we
wait on Him. because he is the source. And
that's what Paul's saying in my text. I know whom I have believed. I know him. I know who he is. I know what the Christ is. I
know what he came to do. I know what he did. And I know
where he's at. I know whom I have believed. And I'm persuaded in that knowing
that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him
against that day. True saving faith. It's to know whom you have believed. Our Father, we thank You this
morning for this opportunity one more time to stand before
a congregation of eternity-bound sinners and tell them the truth. God, make it plain to their hearts
and minds. Overcome their doubts and suspicions. Overcome the difficulties. And
press it deep upon their heart by your Spirit. We ask it for
Christ's sake. Amen.