Good morning in your Bibles.
To the book of 2 Timothy, the second chapter. Our brother read
to us the first chapter this morning, and I wish to take my
text this morning out of the second chapter. I would like to read, beginning
with verse 15, and read down through verse 19. 2 Timothy chapter
2 verse 15 through 19. Study to show thyself approved
unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing
the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings,
for they will increase unto more ungodliness. and their word will
eat as doth a canker, of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus, who
concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection
is past already, and overthrow the faith of some. Nevertheless
the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord
knoweth them that are his, and let every one that nameth the
name of Christ depart from iniquity. I want us this morning to think
primarily about verse 19. I would give a little background
to this verse of scripture here, trusting that God has prepared
our hearts to receive something substantial, something solid
this morning from his word. Certainly the only thing that
ever does my heart any good is to be able to find something
in the Word of God that is substantial, something that will strengthen
my soul and enable me to stand. Now, I certainly know that, as
the Scripture says, we're not to boast ourselves of tomorrow,
for we know not what a day may bring forth. Nobody knows anything
about what a day might bring forth in this world. We're in
this world at a time of God's choosing. God has placed us here,
and we're in this world to honor Him and to glorify Him, and that's
not going to change with the passing days. We're here to serve
the will of God in our generation. We're here to serve the purpose
of God the best we understand it, the best that God has been
pleased to make it known to us. We being who we are, we having
the limited ability that we have, God has been pleased to make
known to us a degree of his purpose, and we want to serve that purpose.
But I was thinking primarily about the obligation that we
have upon us to worship the Lord. And certainly, this morning,
I trust that we're here for that purpose. You know, the Word of
God seems to indicate or teach that God is best worshipped.
Maybe He can only be worshipped by our telling back to Him what
He has revealed about Himself. Now, you know, that might not
sound as simple as it really is, but really it's not complicated
at all. God has revealed Himself on the
pages of this Bible. You read this Word and you fill
your soul with the Word of God, saturate your soul with the Word
of God, and then as you begin to pray, and as you begin to
attempt to worship the Lord, you just begin to tell back to
Him what He's revealed about Himself. Is the God of the Bible
a God of love? Tell him that you are grateful
for his great love wherewith he loved us that while we were
yet sinners Christ died for us Because God commendeth his love
toward us in that while we were sinners Christ died in our place
God's great love God's great mercy. He's a merciful God He's
a holy God and thank him for his holiness. Thank him for his
His kindness, His compassion, and His great grace. And tell
back to God what is revealed about Himself. God likes to hear
that. He likes to hear that. You see,
none is likened to our God. None is likened to our God. A
holy God, righteous God, almighty God. None is likened to Him. And he likes to be told the truth
about himself. And so when you worship the Lord,
don't expect sometime to find some flowery phrases and use
them to worship God. God doesn't want to hear that.
He wants to hear told back to him what he is and what he's
revealed himself to be on the pages of the Bible. And even
the youngest of God's children can do that. Taken to you words
and tell God what He has revealed about Himself. And then I think
this morning as we come to this hour, the Bible says in Psalm
11 and verse 3, it says, If the foundations be destroyed, what
shall the righteous do? If the foundations be destroyed,
what shall the righteous do? Well, we're here to worship the
Lord and to glorify his name and to honor him, but we recognize
that many, many things that we enjoy, many, many things that
we have a degree of confidence in, a measure of comfort in,
that they're things that are passing away, that they're things
that can quickly be removed from us. There are things that can
change in this world. I remembered the words of Peter
over in the book of 2 Peter. Let me just read a few of them
to you here this morning. But the day of the Lord will
come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens shall pass
away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat. The earth also and the works
that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing, then, that all these
things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to
be in all holy conversation and godliness? looking for and hastening unto
the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on
fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat. Nevertheless, we, according to
his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth
righteousness." I'm certainly not reading these verses to attempt
to frighten anyone. I read these verses because they're
in the Word of God, and certainly those of us that are God's children
are looking for the coming of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ.
We believe in His imminent return to this earth. We believe He's
coming back. We've been looking for Him. The Church has been
looking for Him for over 2,000 years, and we believe He's coming. And when that time comes, there
will be certainly a great change take place in this world. Now, we read earlier in this
same chapter that there are those scoffers that will be in the
last days walking after their own lust, that would be saying,
where is the promise of his coming? Preacher, where is the promise
of his coming? Because for since the fathers
fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning
of creation. So there are skeptics and there
are agnostics and there are those that will say, well, no need
to be concerned about it. There isn't any need to even
think about it because everything is going to continue. There's
nothing to indicate that there's going to be a worldwide a calamitous
situation occur. There's nothing to indicate that
the foundations that we know of in this world, that they're
going to be shaken. There's nothing to indicate that.
Everything just indicates that everything's going to go on just
like it always has, and that there's not going to be any change.
Well, beloved, like we said, we need to recognize that no
man, no woman, nobody knows anything about tomorrow. These things
are all with the Lord, and they're all with Him. But these, in verse
5 of 2 Peter 3, we're told that these people are willingly ignorant.
They're willingly ignorant. that by the word of God the heavens
were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water,
whereby the world that then was was overflowed with water and
perished." In other words, they're ignorant of the fact that there
was a day when God reigned out of heaven, reigned upon the earth
for 40 days and 40 nights, and that the old world was drownded,
and only eight souls were saved in that terrible, terrible flood. And so they're ignorant of that,
willingly ignorant of that. But he says, but the heavens
and the earth, which are now by the same word, are kept in
store reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and the perdition
of ungodly men. But beloved, be not ignorant
of this one thing, That one day is with the Lord is a thousand
years, and a thousand years is one day. And the Lord is not
slack concerning his promises, as some men count slackness,
but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance. God has a people that he will
save, and the only reason why that the judgment of God is not
upon this earth today is because God has a people that he will
save. The long-suffering of our God
means salvation. God is going to have his people.
He's going to have his family. And Christ is going to have his
bride, and the Holy Spirit is going to have his temple, and
God is going to have these people that he chose before the foundation
of the world. And that's why that God is withholding
the fire from heaven that will burn up this world and that will
dissolve the foundations as we know of them in this world. Now,
I have no idea as to whether anything is going to occur when
Y2K comes, when the year 2000 comes. Many people think there
are going to be some things happen, and I have no way of knowing,
neither do you. But we'll wait and see. But we're
going to trust God. And whether the foundation, if
the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? They
can look to the foundation that's not going to be destroyed. And
that's what our text is talking about in 2 Peter this morning. And so look, if you will, at
verse 19, where it says, Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth
sure, having the seal. The Lord knoweth them that are
his, and let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from
iniquity. Now, I have chosen this verse
this morning, as I said, because I need something that is secure,
and I need something that is abiding, something that I can
depend upon, something that I can trust in and rely in altogether,
and so do you. And I believe this morning if
we could get hold of this verse of scripture that it would greatly
help us in maybe the next few days of our life. Paul here speaks
of that abiding foundation. and this is the firm and this
is the substantial rock. Thank God that those that are
believers, that their feet have been placed on a rock and they're
on the firm foundation. Now, beloved, it's wonderful
to feel that there is something under your feet, something that
is substantial, something that is abiding, something that is
sure. Nevertheless, Paul tells Timothy,
the foundation of God standeth sure. Let the foundations of
the earth shake. Let things as we know them change.
Let the earth melt with fervent heat. Let the things of time
be dissolved and be no more. The foundation of God standeth
sure. Though the earth be removed,
we read in Psalm 46, and though the mountains be carried into
the midst of the sea, though the waters thereof roar and be
troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof,
yet will we not fear. We will not fear because the
foundation of God standeth sure. Well, what is this foundation
that standeth sure? Well, it's the foundation of
God. You see, we're not leaning on things of time and sense.
We're not leaning upon carnal securities. We're leaning upon
our God, and the foundation of our God standeth secure. I believe that the foundation
is the purpose of Almighty God. I certainly believe it's the
purpose of God that has sustained this world of this hour. It's
the purpose of God that runs this world. It's the purpose
of God that keeps this world going as we know it. And then
I believe also it's doctrinally, it is the truth of God, the truth
of the living God, the truth of the gospel, the message that
we have so plainly spelled out in the word of God. This foundation,
the doctrinal truth of the Bible is a stable truth and it's not
a changing truth. It will be the same later as
it is now. And I believe it also is the
people of God, because we shall see in a moment that the Lord
knoweth them that are His. The Lord knoweth them that are
His. And then I believe it's the system
of God, whereby He glorifies His grace. All these things are
wrapped up in this foundation, which is God's foundation. Now the foundation is, as we
said earlier, the divine purpose of God. Though men prove fickle
and false and feeble and wicked, God's purpose stands. Now Paul mentioned in verse 15
of 1 Timothy chapter 1, he says, This thou knowest, that all they
which are in Asia be turned away from me, of whom are Phagellus
and Hermogenes, He says, you know that everybody turned away
from me in Asia. They all turned away. They didn't
stand with me. They held views contrary to mine. Though Paul was an apostle with
authority and preached with authority and power, yet there are those
around him that held views that were contrary to the mind of
God. And then here in our chapter
this morning, or in our text, We read where that, in verse
17, their word will eat as doth gangrene, of whom is Hymenaeus
and Philetus. And then we read over in verse
8 of the third chapter, Now, as Janus and Jamborees withstood
Moses, so do these also resist the truth men of corrupt minds
reprobate concerning the faith. Now, beloved, it is not because
there has been no opposition in the world toward the truth
of God. It's not because there has never
been heretics. that's lived in the world that
the purpose of God and the truth of God has persevered. No, there's been all kinds of
heresies at all times around the Lord's people and around
the church of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in spite of the authority
and power of the apostles, those heresies did abound. And we know
the Bible says that these heresies, they're in the world, that they
which are approved may be made manifest. It is these heresies
that test and try the Lord's people. But we see in three places
here that there's a plurality of men that have espoused error
and have stood for those things. that were contrary to God's truth. They resisted the truth. And
as somebody well said, these fellows, they hunt, these dogs
hunt in pairs, and certainly the apostles and the church in
his day had to deal with these that hated the truth of God. Now, nevertheless, nevertheless,
we've got these heretics around us, and they're preaching things
that are contrary. And in our immediate text here,
Hymenaeus and Philetus, they talk concerning the resurrection
that it was passed already, meaning that they believe that the only
resurrection there is is a spiritual resurrection that takes place
when a soul is regenerated by the Spirit of God. When somebody
is born again, that's the only resurrection there is. But Paul
makes it clear that that's not the case. He makes it clear,
he says in verse 8, remember that Jesus Christ of the seed
of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel wherein
I suffer trouble as an evildoer. I'm treated like a criminal.
I'm treated like somebody that was a bad person, even to the
point where they chain me up. But he says the word of God is
not bound. He says, I endure all of this,
all of this persecution because I preach the resurrection of
our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. And we all believe in the
resurrection of Christ. We believe that the Lord Jesus
was raised on the third day. And Paul said, if Christ be not
raised, our faith is vain. Our faith is vain. And those
that have died, they perished. Those that died in the faith
of the gospel, that they've perished. Oh no, beloved, the resurrection
is not past already. But Paul said there's some out
here that's teaching that and preaching that, and they've overthrew
the faith of some. There were some that believed
what they said, and their faith was shaken by their heresies. Nevertheless, nevertheless, God's
purpose is carried out. The covenant of grace is fulfilled
and the glory of God is revealed. God has a grand design from which
he has never swerved in his purpose, not so much as by a hair's breadth. His purpose will stand. He will
do all of his pleasure. Now, there are many things in
this world that baffles us. Many things that disturbs us
in this world, matters that are beyond our control. And is it
not a blessed thing to be able to fall back upon the purpose
and providence of God Almighty and feel that though we seem
to be defeated at times, the Lord cannot be. No, his foundation
stands secure, and regardless of the heresies, regardless of
the lies that are told on God around the world, and we know
that a lie can travel three quarters of the way around the world before
the truth gets its boots on. We know that the power of lies,
and we recognize that these many things that we have to deal with
in our day, and we meet somebody every few days that is holding
to a lie. and how we would like to be able
to talk them into believing the truth, and how we'd like to be
able to get them down, put a funnel in their ear, and pour the truth
of the gospel into their very head. But we cannot do that.
We cannot do that. But it's a blessed thing to fall
back upon the purpose of God Almighty and to feel. that even
though these things are all around us, that the Lord is not defeated,
and his purpose will stand. The divine design in creation
shall be brought to pass, and in redemption and providence,
beloved, it shall be the same. Now the Lord shall be victor
all along the line. I believe that whatever happens
in the next few days, it's not going to affect the fact that
God is the ultimate victor, and that God's going to overcome,
and all of his people in him will be overcomers. Hallelujah. We'll all be overcomers. Now
the good shall glorify the Lord, and even the evil shall be compelled
to magnify the greatness of his majesty. The Lord reigneth. Let all the earth rejoice, and
can the people of his choice do less? Ah, we shall rejoice,
because the Lord reigns. The foundation of God standeth
sure. God himself, who is in very deed
the foundation of all things, standeth sure. The people of
God are not built on the sand. The people of God are built upon
the sure foundation of our God. Well, number two, the sure foundation,
I think by this he meant, as we said, the divine truth, which
is the foundation of the gospel, the very foundation of the gospel. Now, I believe that he speaks
of every doctrine, not only the doctrine of the resurrection,
which we mentioned a few minutes ago, but we have heretics in
this world who claim to have disproved every doctrine of the
gospel. Well, let them do what they will.
The doctrines of the gospel remain just as true today as they always
have been, and just as true today as they will be next week, January
the 2nd of year 2000. The foundation of God stand assured. No truth, no truth, listen to
me, has ever been destroyed by all the fires through which the
truth has passed. the burning bush. And that fire,
you remember, was hotter than any fire that any man could kindle. Yet the bush, like God's truth,
was not consumed. The bush went through the fire,
but was none the worse for going through it. Brother, sister,
the gospel is none the worse for all the opposition which
has surrounded it. Only what men have added has
been burnt out of the gospel. Everything that can be consumed
ought to be consumed, and that only which is God's truth remain. And that's exactly what has happened.
All that has happened by all the controversies of the ages
is that man's fiction has been separated from God's foundation. Man's speculation has been purged
out of God's revelation. The foundation of God's standard
is sure, and oh, the joy of this fact! to every heart that loves
the Lord. Aren't you glad that there's
a foundation that nothing can shake? Now, the third thing is
God's work. His people. His people. Now,
we're told here that the foundation of God stand assured and it has
a seal. It has a seal. Now, this seal
that the foundation has received, it is a seal that God stamps
every converted soul with. It's a two-fold seal. To speak
more actually, it's a single seal which has two faces to it. Now, as I look at this, I see
the first seal is the Lord knoweth them that are his. You see, God's
foundation stands secure because God has a people in this world. God knows who is saved and who
is not. God knows his people from the
foundation of the world. It is difficult to tell the difference
from our point of view many times in this world, that God has his
people. There are many of them that are
unknown to us. but they're known to him, unknown
on earth, but known to God. God has a people. Now, he chose
a people from before the foundation of the world. The brother read
about that, who has 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. So the foundation of God's stand
is sure. The purpose of God according
to election will stand. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, saith Christ in John 6 and 37. And in John
10, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, the Lord said. I
know them, and they follow me, and the sheep follow him, for
they know his voice. They know his voice. And a stranger
will they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know
not the voice of strangers. God has a people to whom he said,
I will be their God, and they shall be my people. So the foundation
of God stand assure having this seal, the Lord knoweth who he
is. Now, beloved, you may be here
this morning and you may be in doubt. as to whether or not you're
one of the Lord's children or not. You may be here and you
may not have any assurance in your heart as to where you stand. You may be here and you may not
be on this foundation. You may be here this morning
and you may feel very, very insecure. But there is one foundation that
has been laid, beloved, and that foundation, Paul said, no other
foundation can be laid but that which is laid, which is Jesus
Christ. He is the only foundation. Are
you on that foundation? Are you on that foundation? If
you're not, then my friend, you're not one of the Lord's people.
But if you're one of the Lord's people, then he knows you and
he knows all about you, and he has a mark on you. The Lord knoweth his people. He knoweth them that are his.
And you're here this morning, and regardless, my friend, of
whether you can explain it or not, you may be able to say,
Preacher, I just know that I'm on that foundation, and I know
that God has his hand upon me, and I know I'm his. Well, how
important that is. Now, we said that many of God's
people are unknown on earth. They never get there. They never
get their name in the newspaper. There's nothing said much about
them, and they're just unknown on earth. But God knows them. God knows them. His mark, as
we said, is upon them. I believe there's a blood mark
on every one of God's children. Christ died for all of God's
people, and I believe there's a mark of blood upon them. Now, there are three things that
I believe that our Lord teaches every one of those that He knows. Every one of them that He knew
from eternity past, there are three things that our Lord teaches
them. One is, number one, He teaches
them enough about themselves that they know that they cannot
save themselves. Now this is one of the marks
on one of the Lord's children. If you're here this morning,
you say, Preacher, there's one thing I know for certain is I
know enough about myself to know that I cannot save myself. I
know I'm a lost sinner. I know I'm undone. I know I must
perish forever. I know if God doesn't have mercy
on me, I will never experience the mercy of God. I know that
I am a sinner undone and unclean and I cannot save myself. Now if you know that, that's
one of the things that God teaches those that are His own. You will
not find any of those that belong to the Lord going around boasting
of what they are in the flesh. They're undone and they know
it. They're hell deserving and they know it. And they feel that
apart from Christ, they have no hope. And that's the second
thing that the Lord does. He teaches you the absolute helplessness
and hopelessness of your case apart from Jesus Christ, the
substitute for sinners. And unless you're in Him, unless
you know Him, and unless He is yours, and you belong to Him,
you belong to Him because of His choice of you in eternity,
but unless you get to Him, And that's the third thing. Those
that he gets, those that he knows, he brings them to his son. He
brings, he teaches them to Christ. Have you got to Christ? Or you
may say, well, Preacher, I'm still working on this thing.
I'm still working on it. Well, what are you working on?
You're trying to save yourself? You say, well, I haven't made
any profession because I don't know exactly where I stand. I
feel that there's something more I must do. My friend, those that
belong to God, the foundation of God standing sure having this
seal, the Lord knoweth them that are His, and He put a mark on
you, and that mark is that you have come to Christ in your heart. You've got to Christ. And you've
been taught to Him, and you are believing on the Son of God.
You're trusting in Him. Now my friend, if that's not
the case, if you haven't got to Christ, you have no hope for
eternity. And you're not on the foundation
that's sure, and steadfast, and is unmovable. You don't have
that anchor of the soul that is steadfast and sure, unless
you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Have you been taught
to Him? And Jesus said, all that the
Father giveth me, they come to me. They come to me in their
heart. They get to me. Well, you see, the Lord knows
those that are his. And we don't know who they are,
but he knows who they are. The Lord knoweth them that are
his. I read a story about a fella, and when he was four years old,
years ago back in the early, in the east, in the early part
of this nation, The Indians came through a community and they
were stealing children. And so they stole this little
boy. He was about four years old. And they took him away into
the wilderness. And his parents, they never saw
him again for many, many years. But before the little boy was
carried away by the Indians, he had fallen into the fire and
he had burnt his arm. And so he had a huge scar on
his arm. And many, many years later, he
met a fellow that was from the community where he had lived
as a little boy. And he talked some to this man,
and this man was acquainted. He was an older gentleman that
was acquainted with the fact that this certain family had
lost this boy, that this boy had been carried away by the
Indians. And so this young man, he was a young man at that time
in his 20s, and so he felt, well, I should go back. I should go
to that community. Maybe, maybe just possibly, there's
some of my relatives back there. Well, when he arrived, of course,
being a full-grown man at this time, why people didn't recognize
him, of course, and nobody knew him, but he found out where this
family lived that had lost a little boy. And so he went to this house,
and there was an old lady there, and it was his mother. But the
old lady, she didn't recognize him to be her son. And so he
talked to her for a while and began to question her. And after
a while, she said, let me see your wrist. And he showed her
his wrist. And there was a mark, of course,
a scar on her wrist. And she knew then that this was
her son. And I'll tell you, God knows
those that are his. He has a mark on them. He has
a mark on them. They know they can't save themselves.
They know that only Christ can save, and they know that they
must get to Him, and they have come to Him by faith, and they
know that they belong to Him. That's the mark that the Lord
has on His people, a threefold mark. Now then, He didn't say
that we would know who they are, but He said, I know my people,
and my foundation stands secure, because I got a people, and I
know who they are. God never had the problem, you
see, of figuring out who was saved and who wasn't. The inscription
on the foundation is, The Lord knoweth them that are his. Now in the 8th chapter of the
book of Romans, one of my favorite chapters in the whole Bible,
and if you have your Bible, you want to turn there quickly, and
I'll be finishing up here right away. But in the 8th chapter
of the book of Romans, I want you to see something here that
always has blessed me every time I looked at it. And in verse
29 it says, For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn
among many brethren. Now whom he did foreknow. Now
this speaks of an intimate knowledge. It is not foreknowledge, it is
foreknowing. Foreknowing. It's an intimate
knowledge that the Lord has. It has to do with the Lord's
choice of his people. It is the singling out. It's
the marking and the blessing of individuals. The Lord has
foreknowledge of his own. He is intimately acquainted with
his own. Some say that God looked down
from eternity through time and saw what men would do and chose
them on the basis of what they would do. But beloved, he predestinated
a people and he chose that people and he had a knowledge of those
people. I want you to stop and think
that how forefetched it is to believe that God looked down
through the ages and would see what men would do and thus chose
them on the basis of what they would do. Well, it implies that
God has put his approval on what man is going to do anyway, and
this is the way that man is going, this is man's choice, so I'll
just predestinate it to happen. Well, this destroys the sovereignty
of God, and the fact that God said, I will have mercy on whom
I will have mercy. And so it's God's choice. The
Lord decreed the very place, the poet said, where he would
show triumphant grace. Yea, time and place and means
and mode were all determined by our God. In every mercy, full
and free, a sovereign God I wish to see, to see how grace, free
grace, hath reigned in every blessing. that He ordained. And so these blessings are the
blessings of the Lord, that God has foreknown people. Now, the Lord knoweth them that
are His. The Lord did all of His knowing
at one time. He is not knowing anyone today.
He says in Matthew chapter 7, He said, Depart from Me, ye workers
of iniquity, I never, I never knew you. What He means is that
when I was knowing my own, I never knew you, and I want us to think
a little bit about that in our hearts, that God did all of his
knowing at one time, and the Lord knoweth them that are his. I believe in the absolute sovereignty
of Almighty God. Now according to the, Charles
Spurgeon said this, according to the free will scheme, the
Lord intends good, but he must wait like a lackey on his own
creature to know what his intentions are. God willeth good and would
do it, but he cannot because he has an unwilling man who will
not have God's good things carried into effect. What do you, sirs? You drag the eternal from his
throne. and lift up into it that fallen creature, man. For man,
according to this theory, nods, and his nod is destiny. You must
have a destiny somewhere. It must either be as God wills
it or as man wills it. If it be as God wills, then Jehovah
sits as sovereign upon his throne of glory, and all hosts obey
him. God is God, beloved in heaven
and earth, and He knows them that are His. This is the seal
on the foundation of God. It's not shaky, nothing about
it. You say, well, preacher, you know, the people that believe
And like we do, are very few and far between. Well, maybe
they are, but the Lord knoweth them that are his. The Lord knoweth
them that are his. And so be it. So be it. There
are very few, maybe of us. But I'm prepared to believe it
alone if nobody else is. Paul said that all those in Asia,
they turn from me. They all turn from me. And so,
beloved, as we stand in this day, whatever be the situation,
we will stand if we have to stand alone and believe these foundational
truths. Now, so the Lord then is not
knowing anybody now. I want us to think about this
as we go our way today, that the Lord is not knowing anybody
that knew. He knew all of them from the
foundation of the world. Now the last thing, I want to
talk just a little bit about that last part of that verse
where it says that let everyone that names the name of Christ
depart from iniquity. Let everyone who names the name
of Christ. You see, this is the opposite
side of the seal. The Lord knoweth them that are
his, And if that be true, and it is true, then the other side
of the coin is, and let everybody who names the name of Christ,
let him depart from iniquity. In other words, a change of life
is spoken of. Those that come to know His name,
those that names the name of Christ. The Bible says that the
disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. They took upon
themselves the name of Christ. And that's what that means. If
you name the name, in other words, if you say, I believe on Christ,
I worship Christ, I love Christ, I believe His gospel, the gospel
of Christ, then you're to depart from iniquity. Now this is, as
we said, the other side of the seal. And it is bound to happen
that we have a change of heart, if so be that we have experienced
the Lord's grace in our hearts. And what this means, to depart,
means to stand off from iniquity, to stand off from sin, to avoid
it, pass it by, turn from it, and pass away, and to leave sin. Now true faith, and this is something
I want you to listen to at this time, true faith throbs in a
man's pulse. It looks out of his eyes, it
lights up his countenance, it softens his touch, it mellows
his voice, it bows his head, it bends his knee, it opens his
hand, it soft-petals his tongue, it breaks his heart, it orders
his steps, and it gives him a hearing ear. He lives for Christ, and
if necessary, he would die for Christ. That's what the gospel
does in a man's heart. That's what true faith will do
in a man's heart. Beloved, it is godliness that
we want. In light of all that God has
done for us, we ought to be for everything he's for and against
everything that he's against. We need a holy fear of God. We
need a sacred sense of God. We need to delight ourselves
truly in the Lord. We want less of man and more
of God, less of the flesh and more of the spirit. I thought
about the many years that I lived in the 20th century, and I wondered
about this, about how much change there has been. in my life, in
all the years that I've known the Lord, 50 years and plus that
I've known the Lord, change, has there been any change in
my life that anybody can, any other child of God living around
me can say, You know, the Scripture says that the light of the just
shineth more and more into that perfect day. The light of the
just shines more and more. The righteous shall hold on his
way, and those that have clean hands will become stronger and
stronger. And I'm not talking about progressive
sanctification, because I know you could quit every sin that
you could even spell, and you still would be a depraved creature,
your old nature, contrary to God in every way and every respect.
But I wonder how much progression has there been from the mind
of the flesh to the mind of the spirit in our lives. Has there
been any change? Have we been ripening, as the
word might be, for eternal glory and eternal life? Let him that
names the name of Christ depart from iniquity. Those that are
Christ have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts
thereof. Those that belong to Christ, if they name his name.
You see, our Lord Jesus Christ came into this world and it's
inconsistent for a man to say, I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and then for him to hug his sins to his bosom. It is inconsistent. The Lord Jesus, the Bible says,
his name shall be called Jesus for he shall save his people
from their sins. Not in their sins, but from their
sins. And that's the purpose of God
Almighty. He intends to save his people
from their sins. Well, and as we go along, I do
not doubt that sin dwells in us all. And Paul said in Romans
7.20, If I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but
sin that dwelleth in me. But there ought to be a cry in
our hearts. A cry in our hearts against sin and corruption, against
the nature of flesh, against the bondage that one can fall
into in the flesh. We ought to reckon ourselves
to be dead and even to sin and alive in righteousness through
our Lord Jesus Christ. Iniquity, that's from everything
that is evil, from everything that is unrighteous or unholy,
if I name his name. If I name His name, I must depart
from it. So let your family life, your
personal life, your business life be as holy as Christ your
Lord would have it to be. Imitate Christ in all things. We're to depart from iniquity.
We're to lay aside the sin that doth so easily beset us. No Christian
can live to themselves and take a no-care attitude and say, you
may think what you will about me, but I will live as I please. It's my own business. Because,
beloved, it is not your own business. Because an aroma comes forth
from your life, it comes forth from every man's life, there's
an aroma that comes forth. It is either a pleasant aroma
or like the reeking of a dunghill. And if you name the name of Christ,
you're obligated, it's a given that you're going to depart from
evil, turn away from that which is contrary to God's mind. God
help us to remember our influence on others. And to be very careful
in this point, true godliness is not to say that I believe,
but it is to believe. Nor to talk of repentance, but
to repent. It is not to speak of regeneration,
but is to be born again. It is not to talk about consecration
to God, but really live. unto God. It is not to speak
about the Holy Ghost, but to have Him dwelling in you and
for you to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. The kingdom
of God is not meat and drink, but it's righteousness and joy
and peace in the Holy Ghost. The kingdom of God is not weakness,
it's power. And God's Spirit abides in these
people and will surely draw them away and turn them away. And
as you live and walk in the power of the Spirit, you will not fulfill
the lust of the flesh. Now then, it is ours to have
the truth in the inward parts, and grace in the very core of
our being. The foundation of God stand assured
having this seal, the Lord knows them that are his, and everybody
that names his name, that professes to be his, let them show, as
they live out their life in this world, that they know him by
their consecration unto Him, and their submission unto Him,
and by their turning away from that which is contrary to His
nature. Oh, my friend, we have a great obligation And I hope
that as we face the coming year, the coming new year, and the
uncertainties of that, that we'll take great courage, that our
God remains the same, that he's steadfast and sure, and that
his foundation will never crumble, it'll never crumble, it'll never
be dissolved, even when this whole world and all the elements
are being dissolved. And the truth that the Lord knoweth
them that are His will prevail. Sovereign mercy, sovereign grace
will be true in the year 2000. We have a message to preach,
a glorious hope to hang to and to cling to, that hope of the
gospel. But may the outward evidence
of these things May they be true and real in every one of our
lives. So we may show forth the glory
of our blessed Redeemer, the Lord Jesus, by our walk in this
world. Well, let us pray. Father, in
the name of Jesus, we thank Thee for that foundation which is
sure and steadfast and unmovable. And you've told us to be steadfast,
unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord for as much
as we know that our labor is not in vain in the Lord. So help
us, Lord, to stay on ye, regardless of what happens, regardless of
the changes that take place in our lives. Help us, Lord, to
lay claim to the truth and to stand by it and to be secure
in it and to have the assurance in our hearts that that truth
affords. And Lord, may there not be a
contradiction between what we say we believe and the way we
live. May our lives magnify the pure
grace of God in every way and every respect. May there be great
power in this church, overcoming power and great victory as we
move into the 21st century, into the new millennium. May your
power be upon us, great grace be upon us. Father, strengthen
and bless all of these that have gathered today, and if there
be one here that does not know that they're on the foundation,
Christ, I pray that you will teach them those three things
that we mentioned to them this morning, that your mark may be
on them. We ask it in Jesus' name, and
for his sake, amen.