Philippians chapter 1. I'd like
for us to look at verse 6. The title of the message is a
well-grounded confidence. You that are parents will identify
with this. When my children were very young,
when they, as the old saying is, got stepped on your feet
before they got older and stepped on your heart, I would catch
them, rather, sometimes doing something they shouldn't and
ask them why. I mean, catch them red-handed,
as we say. Why did you do that? And you
know what their answer would be? Look up at me and say, just
because. Just because? That doesn't make
any sense at all. But that was their answer, just
because. Paul, here in verse 6 of Philippians
1, gives us an answer, a well-grounded answer, concerning the certainty
of God's work. Look at it again with me. He
says, I'm confident. I'm not there with you. Paul
was in prison, had been in prison for a while. But he says, being
confident of this very thing, trust this, rest on this, find
comfort in this, that he, that is the triune God, which hath
begun a good work in you, will perform it, that is, continue
it on until the day of Jesus Christ. The certainty that Paul
expresses for the church at Philippi and for you and I, for every
believer, no matter where they are or when they lived, this
certainty that Paul expresses concerns their everlasting salvation. Is anything more important than
that? Is anything more important than
the salvation of your immortal soul? And Paul says he's confident
that the triune God, what he had begun, he will carry on until
the day of Jesus Christ, until it's perfected, until it's completed. How could Paul be so sure of
that? Because it wasn't based, this
work of grace, salvation, in its entirety. All of salvation
is of the Lord. It's not based upon anything
they did or were doing, but upon this. Paul tells us in the text,
it's God's work. Salvation is God's work. Salvation
is not something the sinner does for God. It's something God does
for and in the sinner. Salvation is not a compromise. of man's work and God's work. Salvation in every aspect is
all of the Lord. In Hebrews chapter 2, Paul said,
referred to it rather as a great salvation. He asked the question,
how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It's
great because it's performed, it's begun, as Paul tells us
here in our text, it's carried on, and it will be finished by
God. It's performed by the great God
and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. It's great, too, because it's
for great sinners. For great sinners. God only saves
great sinners. Those that are beyond the help
of anyone else. Those who can't save themselves. The salvation that the Bible
proclaims is salvation for great sinners alone. Those that can
help themselves, they don't need this great salvation. All but
for sinners. Genuine sinners. Bonafide sinners. Those who are beyond the reach
of helping themselves or are beyond the reach of any mortal
man helping them, oh, they need a great Savior. And you know
what? They know it too. Lord, they won't argue about
it. They've been taught of God. They've been stripped. in order
that they might be clothed. They've been brought down by
the work of God's grace that they might be lifted up. Sinners
that are so far fallen that they cannot lift themselves up to
God. Sinners that are so corrupt that
they cannot change their nature. Nicodemus, our Lord, said to
that religious leader, that teacher of others, you must be born again. And as my friend Donny Bell would
express it, Nicodemus looked at our Lord like a calf looking
at a new gate. He didn't have a clue what he
was talking about. You must be born again unless
you are. Now notice what our Lord told
Nicodemus in John 3. He didn't say this is something
that you can do for yourself, Nicodemus, but he did say it's
something that must be done if it's not done. If you're not
born again, if God Almighty is not pleased by the power of His
Spirit to come to where you are and breathe spiritual life into
your soul, you'll remain dead. And if you remain spiritually
dead, you cannot see the kingdom of God. You must be born again. Men that are so blind that they
cannot see need this great salvation. Men that are so entirely dead
in sin that they can do nothing toward their own deliverance.
Will anyone, if that's the condition of the sinner by nature, will
anyone else be able to save such sinners as that except the mighty
God? Is your condition such that nothing
else will help you except the grace of the everlasting God,
salvation? That's a big word, isn't it?
Salvation. From the depths of sin, from
the depths of sin, from utter depravity to the heights of glory,
from spiritual darkness, from my lostness to this, seeing His
face. Salvation to the very uttermost
is of the Lord. Whatever is required to bring
sinners to heaven, Paul tells us here, God will do. David expressed it this way.
When he was fleeing from Saul who was seeking his life, hiding
out in a cave when he wrote this psalm, David said, I will cry
unto God most high, unto God that performeth all things for
me. God that does it all. And so it is concerning the salvation
of a sinner. This is exactly what Paul says
here. He that's begun a good work in
you will perform it, will carry it on, will continue it until
the day of Jesus Christ. Do you hear that, child of God?
Isn't that good news? I don't know what you faced this
past week. I don't know what trial, what
burden you may be carrying right now as you sit here. But isn't
this good news? The God that began this good
work in you. this work of grace. Is there
a better work than that? He'll perfect it. He'll carry
it on until the day of Jesus Christ. God will finish what
he started. Listen to what the wise man said
in Ecclesiastes chapter 3. Verse 14 we read, I know that
whatsoever God doeth it shall be forever. Forever. God's never started nothing He
didn't finish. I know that whatever God doeth,
it shall be forever. Nothing can be put to it, nor
anything taken from it. And God doeth it that men should
fear before Him. He does it for His own glory. He does it for His own honor.
That men should fear before Him. That is, that they should stand
in holy wonder before Him. That they might be brought like
the Apostle Paul, considering the greatness of God, the majesty
of God, what effect did it have upon the Apostle. He bowed down
in adoration of such a great God, and He exclaimed with a
heart full of wonder, and true worship of Him and through Him
and back to Him are all things to whom be glory forever and
ever. There's not a God like unto our
God." Is that the effect your concept of God has on you? The old hymn writer expressed
it this way. When I think that God, His Son
not sparing, sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in. That
on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died. He bled and died. He suffered. He was made sin. He was forsaken
by God. God's wrath was poured out upon
him. He took the cup of holy justice
and he drank it dry. And what was the effects of all
that? What was the outcome of all that? Glory to His name.
He took away my sin. It's gone. It'll be searched
for in that day and it shall not be found. Paul doesn't tell
them. in our text that his competence
wasn't based upon the fact that they wouldn't suffer persecution,
that wouldn't be so. Or that he was confident that
they wouldn't be tempted and tried, that wouldn't be so. That's contrary to the teaching
of this word. That's contrary to the teaching
of Christ when he told his disciples, in the world ye shall have tribulation. But Paul does tell them this.
He tells them that the work that God begins, He'll carry on to
completion. As the psalmist put it, God will
give grace and glory. Grace and glory. Every sinner
called by God's grace will be preserved by God's grace, will
be kept by God's grace. And every sinner kept by God's
grace will be brought before the throne of everlasting glory
in eternity. He'll save them to the very uttermost. He will give grace and glory. Grace is something that's given.
Given. Do you hear that? Grace is something
given. That is, it's not merited. You
can do nothing to merit God's grace. If you could, it would
cease to be grace. It can't be earned. No, salvation
by grace means simply this. It's free. God's grace is free. Absolutely without cause in us. In other words, is anybody thirsty? Is anybody thirsty? Turn, if
you will, to John's Gospel, chapter 7. Our Lord had gone up to the
Feast of Tabernacles. If I'm not mistaken, this Feast
of the Jews lasted seven to eight days. And our Lord went up to
it. And after spending days watching
them go through empty rituals, just carrying on traditions,
No heartfelt need. None whatsoever. They just came
in, sat down, got up, went out. Our Lord observed all this. He
observed this religious going on. This effort of self-righteousness. And then as if he could not contain
himself any longer, in verse 37 of John 7 we read this, in
the last day, after watching this for seven or eight days,
in the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and
cried saying, if any man thirsts, if any man thirsts, are you tired
of this? Have you had enough of this?
Are you sick of religion? Are you sick of trying to establish
your own righteousness before God? Are you sick of just going
through the motions? Are you tired of it? Have you
had enough of it? He said, Oh, if any man's thirsty,
if any man really wants to know God, Does anybody really thirst
after God's righteousness, after forgiveness? Does anybody really
want to be reconciled to God? Are you tired of all this?" He
said. If any man thirsts, how can it
be quenched? Let him come unto me. Oh, unto
me, the fountain of living waters. Come unto me and drink. He that
believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall
flow rivers of living water. Does this remind you of what
the prophet said in Isaiah 55? Oh, what a gracious proclamation
this is. Am I speaking to anyone in this
class? Does anyone fit this description?
Is anybody thirsty? Is anybody thirsty? Does anyone
want God's grace? Want to experience God's mercy
and grace? There's only one place. Christ
says, come to me. Remember what He told the woman
at the well. You drink of this water, you
drink of this well, and you'll thirst again. And that's true
of religion. Drink of it. Drink of it as deeply
as you can. As long as you can. But the result
will always be this. It will never satisfy the soul. You'll thirst again. But, oh but, thank God for that. There's an exception. There's
a way that a thirsty soul can be satisfied. Christ says, are
you thirsty? Come to me. Come to me, drink
of the water that I shall give you, he told that poor woman,
and you'll never thirst again. And every child of God here this
morning will testify to the truth of those words. Isaiah 55, ho,
everyone that thirsteth, Oh, what a free, gracious proclamation. Listen to this. Everyone that
thirsteth, come to the waters. He that hath no money, come,
yea, buy and eat. Yea, come buy wine and milk without
money and without price. What do I bring? Nothing. What
do I need? Nothing. What can I do to earn
it? Nothing. It's free. The only question is this. Are
you thirsty? Are you thirsty? And our Lord
says, come and drink. Come and drink. The last book
of the Bible closes with that glorious invitation. The Spirit
and the bride say, come. and let him that heareth say,
Come. And whosoever will, let him come and take the water of
life." What's the word? Freely. This is what we preach. Free grace. Free salvation. Free mercy. And it's all in the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ. If I have Him, If I have Christ,
I have everything that the holy God requires. I have all that
God can give. If I have His Son, I have everything. Paul in writing in Galatians
said, Christ is all. He's everything. Have you ever
had the unfortunate experience in dealing with some of these
holier-than-thou people? Descendants of the Pharisees.
I have more. I have more, I've been told that.
Oh yes, you've gone so far, you have salvation, but there's more. How can there be more of Christ?
How can there be more of Him? Paul said, Christ is all. All the wisdom of God, all the
righteousness of God, all the sanctification, all the grace,
all the mercy, all the glory is in the person of His darling
Son. And if I have Him, I'm complete. I'm complete in Him. Oh, come,
come, drink of the water of life and live forever. The Lord shall
give grace and glory. Grace first, and then glory to
follow. Glory to follow. That's what
Paul tells us in the text. Whatever he started, he'll complete. And both are given by God alone. Grace. Grace. Someone once described
it this way. Grace is God's riches at Christ's
expense. The old hymn writer said it like
this, Jesus paid it all. He paid it all, Louie. He paid
it all. Whatever this sinner owed, Whatever
claims God's holy justice had on me, Jesus paid the debt. He paid it all. And God Almighty
says in the light of our Lord's finished work, I will be gracious. I will have mercy. God Almighty says that. Not this
pygmy God. That fellow's an imposter. This God that we hear so much
about that's trying to do something, He wants to do something, but
He's frustrated so many times. Most of the time He's frustrated
because the sinner just won't allow Him. Just won't let Him. So God Almighty, the God of glory,
wills and purposes and desires the salvation of sinners, but
it won't be realized because the sinner just won't cooperate. Oh no, no, no. No. The God of
glory, the God that always has His way, has His way in the whirlwind,
and the clouds are but the dust of His feet. The God of all grace
that sits upon a throne of sovereign majesty, He always has His way. And He says this, I will be gracious. I will have mercy. That makes
it certain. That makes it certain. Turn,
if you will, to Romans chapter 9. Romans chapter 9. Some sinners,
there are some sinners in this world that are going to experience
God's mercy and grace. God's willed it, God's purposed
it. In Romans chapter 9, did I say
chapter 6? Romans chapter 9 verse 16, Paul
writing, speaking of God's salvation. And he says in verse 15, for
he saith unto Moses, that is God said to Moses, I will have
mercy. I will have mercy. Oh, I'm so thankful for that.
I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. It's my mercy. Nobody's earned it. I'm not obligated to give it
to anyone. It's my mercy. And I'll give
it to whom I will. I'm not going to bestow it on
everybody, but I'm going to bestow it on some. Some will experience
my mercy. I will have mercy on whom I will
have mercy. And I will have compassion on
whom I will have compassion. So then what? What now? If that be true then, and if
a sinner is saved, how does it come to pass? He does his part,
and then God does His part? Oh, no. The sinner takes the
first step, and then God takes the step? You know, it's sort
of a game, a checker. God moves, and then I move. A
checker playing God. No, no, no. No, it's all of grace. Thank God it's all of grace.
And look what He says then. Paul concludes this in verse
16, So then, so then, If what he said in verse 15 is true,
so then, it's not of him that willeth. That's not the reason
a man is saved. Well, is he saved against his
will? Certainly not. No man's ever
been saved against their will. But no man is willing until God,
by His mighty grace, drops the word of grace in his heart, and
he becomes willing in the day of God's power. So then it's
not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God
that showeth mercy. But of God that showeth mercy. Election, redemption, they're
a part of salvation. But Paul speaks of this work
in our text as being in you. in you. Salvation is not only
what God does for us in choosing us, Christ in redeeming us, but
it's what He does in us. And that's just as necessary
as what He does for us. We won't be saved otherwise.
As a matter of fact, what Paul speaks of here, this good work
in us, is proof. It's proof that we've been chosen. It's proof that we've been redeemed
by the precious blood of Christ. There's no way I can know that
otherwise. There's no way. How do I know
I'm elect? How do I know God's chosen me
as an object of His mercy? How do I know when Jesus Christ
died that I was included in that? How do I know that my sins He
bore in His own body on the tree? How can I know that? The only
way I can know is when God's Holy Spirit comes to me, as Paul
says here, does His good work in me, and I believe. I believe. I trust God's Son. I believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's the proof. When He's called
me out of darkness, that's the proof. He redeemed me at Calvary. And God chose me before the foundation
of the world. Paul calls this a good work. It's a good work, yes. Salvation's
a work. It's a work. There's no question
about that. But whose work is it? That's
the question. Whose work is it? Who wears the
crown? Who gets the glory? Is it man's
work or God's work? Consider what's required. By
nature, we're dead in trespasses and sins. In Romans chapter 5,
we're told in Adam, all die without exception. Our Lord asked Ezekiel,
when he took him to that valley of dead dry bones, can these
bones live? Only if God comes to them. Religion
tells us it's easy. It's easy. I was told that all
my life. It's easy. Salvation is easy. Will you just make a decision? Just sign right here on the dotted
line. It's easy as pie. It's so easy. All you got to
do is walk forward and say a little prayer. If you're not willing
to do that, just repeat the words after me. I'll tell you what
to say. It's all up to you. It's easy. Our Lord said that's
a lie. He said, that's not true. It's
not easy. As a matter of fact, it's impossible
with man. Could words be plain? With man
it's impossible, but he said, not with God. The new birth is
not produced by walking in hell or repeating a prayer. Salvation
is described as a resurrection, a creation. Can a man do that? Is that easy? Ask Lazarus. Was it easy? And we by nature
are just as dead as Lazarus was, so were we spiritually. And our
only hope is that the same Lord Jesus Christ, listen, this is
what's required. This is what's involved. If this
doesn't take place, I remain dead in sin. Christ by His Holy
Spirit. He who said, I'm the resurrection
and the life. He who said, the hour is coming. The hour is coming. Wouldn't
it be something that this very hour He would come to the tomb
of some dead, corrupt, helpless sinner and say, live? Wouldn't that be something? He
said, I can do it. I'm the resurrection and the
life, and the hour is coming. And he said, now is. That the
dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and what will
happen? They'll live. They'll live. They'll arise to walk in newness
of life. This is the good work that Paul
speaks of. When Christ comes and gives life
in order that men may believe and may repent, they can't do
it otherwise. They can't do it before this
and then are made willing to come to Him. This requires a
divine hand. This is a miracle that only God
can perform. Ask Jonah. Jonah, someone said,
when he was in whale belly seminary, learned this, salvation is of
the Lord. I remember hearing Brother Jack
Shanks one time preach, and he was preaching about Jonah in
the belly of the whale. And he said, some preacher got
in a rowboat and rowed out to where Jonah was and shouted,
Jonah, why don't you wheel yourself out of that well's belly? And
Jonah shouted back, my will's what got me in here, but it's
going to be God's mighty will that brings me out. And this
is what Paul speaks of. It's God's will and God's work
and God's mercy and God's grace. Is anybody thirsty? Anybody just
tired of playing religion? Going through the motions? Just
acting religious? I remember Brother Henry preaching
one time. And he got a letter from a lady.
And this lady said, my pastor, my preacher is always telling
me to get my act together. To get our act together. She
said, Brother Henry, that's all he tells us. You need to get
your act together. She said, Henry, I don't even
know what my act is supposed to be. I don't know what that means.
Oh, the Word of God? It doesn't say that. It doesn't
say that. It says, look sinner. Look and
live. It says, if you're thirsty, if
you're thirsty, oh Jesus Christ says, come to me and drink. Come
and drink and live forever. This good work begins with God
and it must be continued, performed, carried on to perfection by that
same mighty God. You're kept by the power of God,
Peter wrote, until salvation. Do you think salvation is forever?
It depends on who does the saving. If it's up to man, no, no, it
won't be forever. Oh, but if it's up to God, yes,
it'll be forever. The life of every believer is
a continuous series of miracles. That's exactly right. It's not
only a miracle of God's grace that calls us out of darkness,
that raises us from the dead, but that same mighty grace must
keep us. Must keep us. It must preserve
us. It must give us grace to persevere
and bring us to the very throne of God Himself. The work which
God's 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 nor above
can make him his purpose forgo or sever my soul from his love. Paul's confidence was not in
them but in their God. This is the same thing. But he
told the Athesian elders in Acts chapter 20, he met with them.
And he said, you'll never see my face again. And they wept. They wept. Paul said, I'm going
up to Jerusalem. And I don't know the particulars
as to what awaits me there except the Holy Spirit's told me that
bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move
me," he said, that I might finish my course with joy to testify
the gospel of the grace of God. And I won't see you again. But
he said, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace.
That's my confidence for you. That's my trust, not in yourselves,
but in the God of all grace, that He that's begun a good work
in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. And Paul calls it a good work. In Genesis, in the account of
creation, after every creative act we read, God saw that it
was good. He pronounced it good. And in
comparison to this work that Paul speaks of, this new creation,
when God the Holy Spirit creates men new in the image of his Son,
it's a good work. It's a great work. It's a gracious
work. What a great and good work it
is that grace produces in its planning, in the purchase, in
the performance, in the preservation, and in the perfection. When we
shall see him as he is, and we shall be like him. And last of
all, notice what Paul says, being confident of this very thing,
that he which had begun a good work in, Now we're going to get
down to where the rubber meets the road, as they say. A good
work in you. The salvation that Paul speaks
of here is an inward work. Religion deals with the outward
things. Religion says, get your act together. Reform. Religion says, don't
go there. And don't dare touch that. Don't taste that. And don't wear
that. And don't be seen at that place.
Touch not, and taste not, and handle not. It's all fig leaf
religion. Paul says this is an inward work. It's a work in you. It's not
rituals. It's not traditions. Oh, what's
needed is an inward work of grace. Because that's where the problem
is. That my problem is within. I need a new nature. The old nature, it's wrong. That's
why the Lord said, you must be born again. And the remedy, God's
remedy, goes to the source of the problem. It treats the disease,
not just the symptom. Paul said, it's Christ in you.
It's Christ in you. It's not where you are, it's
where Christ is. Christ in you is the hope of
glory, he told the Pharisees. You clean up the outside, like
this glass. You clean the outside. He said,
this is what your religion's like. You wipe the dirt on the
outside, you wipe all that off, that you might appear righteous
before men, but God knows your heart. The problem's inside.
You're filthy on the inside. And all your outward works of
religion cannot wipe that away. Only God's grace can. Paul called
it will-worship, glorying in the flesh. The root of the problem
is deeper. It's the heart. I think the old
public had a clue about that, don't you? When he went to the
temple and stood afar off, and that Pharisee stood there in
his robe of self-righteousness and said, I'm glad I'm not like
other men. And looked down his nose and
said, they're like that publican down there. I'm glad I'm not
like him. And the publican? He wouldn't
even lift up his head. He was so beat down with the
sense of his worthlessness, his sin, that he wouldn't even lift
up his head. But he knew where his problem
was. He knew where the problem lay and the only remedy that
could be for him was God's mercy and grace. He snowed on the source
of the problem. I need a new heart. God be merciful
to me. I'm the sinner. There's not another
sinner like me in the world. And you know what King Jesus
said? He said, I say unto you, this is what I want, Carlos.
What good would it do for a preacher to tell me, or the soul winner
to tell me, or me to try to convince myself? But the Lord Jesus Christ
says, I say unto you that that man's going home justified. I'm telling you, not guilty.
He's not guilty in the sight of a holy God and never will
be. That's what the work that Paul
speaks of here is. It requires God's mighty arm. An operation of God's grace. In chapter 2 of Philippians,
Paul says, Because it is God that worketh in you both the
will and the do of His good pleasure, will anything less than the touch
of the great physician help? The poor woman with the issue
of blood, could she help herself? Could anybody else help her?
She'd been to doctors. And all they relieved her of
was her bank account. They drained that, but they didn't
do anything else for her. But one day, one day, she heard
that Jesus of Nazareth was coming by. And she said, I've got to
get to Him. It's a matter of life and death.
I've got to get to Him. Can you see her? Can you picture
her? Did she get down on her hands and knees? I don't know.
But she did whatever was necessary to get through that crowd and
reach out. Reach out that pale, dying, trembling
hand and she touched the hem of his garment and we're told
immediately. Oh, glory to His name. Immediately,
she was healed of that plague. That's grace that reaches deeper
than the stain has gone. That's grace that goes to the
very root of the problem. It gives man what he needs, a
new heart. That's amazing grace. And that's
the only grace that'll help a sinner like me. What about you? Oh,
can anything less than that help that poor demoniac? They had
dealt with the outwards, the symptoms, they bound him with
chains, but he just plucked them asunder. But we read in Mark
5 when our Lord said, we must pass over to the other side,
see the great shepherd of the sheep. He crosses over on purpose. Isn't that amazing? God saves
people on purpose. It's not an accident. It's on
purpose. And we read in Mark 5, but when
he saw Jesus, when he saw Jesus and our Lord said, come out of
the man, that's the problem. come out. And the next picture
we see of that poor demoniac, he's setting and clothed and
in his right mind. Something happened and now I
know. He touched me and he made me
whole. Glory to his name. Would you
be made whole? A new creature in Christ Jesus?
Would you like to have a clean slate, start all over? Would you like that? What would
you give for that? Well, it's free. Like on the
computer, if I'm working on something and on the page I'm working on
there's already something that I don't want to be there, there's
a button. I can just highlight all that,
what I want to to go away, I can just highlight it all, and I
hit a little button that says delete. It's gone. It's gone. My sins were transferred to Jesus
Christ and He bore them away. They're deleted. They're gone.
They're all gone. And there's another thing there
you can do. If you want to put something in the place of that,
you just highlight what you want to go there, or where it had
been deleted, You just bring it to there and you hit paste
and poof, it pops up. There it is. God made him to
be sin for me that I might be made the very righteousness of
God in him. In him. He that had begun a good
work in you will perform it into the day of the Lord Jesus Christ."
Does this text speak of you? Are you a partaker of this work
of grace? Does what you profess, did it
require a miracle of God's doing? of God's mighty arm, our Lord
Jesus Christ said, this is life eternal, that they might know
Thee. This is what it all boils down
to. Nothing else really matters. Not really. That they might know
Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou didst
send. Do you know Him? Nothing else
matters. Oh, that I might know Him. Amen. Amen. God bless you.