2 Timothy chapter 2, let me read
our text. Verse 19, as I told you earlier,
nevertheless, nevertheless, the foundation of God. Now, whose
foundation is it? The foundation that God has laid. And this foundation of God standeth,
standeth, always, forever, eternally standeth sure, certain, it abides
forever. Having this seal, this sign,
this stamp, remember we used to have good housekeeping, they
put their stamp of approval on it. Well, we have the stamp of
God's approval upon this foundation. The Lord, the Lord now, the Lord
knows them, Them, His people, His sheep. He laid down His life
for the sheep. He knows them that are His. They're
His people. He bought them. He chose them.
He died for them. Now, obviously, I'm taking the
title from the words found in verse 19. The foundation of God stands
sure. The foundation of God stands
sure. Now, you remember this scripture,
Isaiah 28, 16. I've preached from it here many
times. Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation
of stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth on him shall
not make haste." We'll never be forced off. We'll never be
forced to flee. We'll never be ashamed. We'll
never be confounded. Now, I'm sure you're just like
I am. I like things that are certain
and sure, don't you? I like things that are certain
and sure. Every promise of God given to
us in the Bible, we call the Word of God, the Holy Scripture,
every promise of God is certain and sure. It will come to pass. 2 Peter 1.19 says this, we have
also a more sure word of prophecy. I looked up in the New Testament
every time that word sure is used. And it's through the Scripture. Another promise we have, 2 Corinthians
1.20, for all the promises of God in Him, in Christ, are yes. And they're in Him. Amen. and always work to this end to
the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Whereby are given to us exceeding
great and precious promises, that by these ye might be partakers
of a divine nature. We have many exceeding great
and precious promises, and they are all what? Sure. They all
rest upon one foundation. That foundation is Christ. He's
a rock of ages. Now while Paul sits in prison,
in Rome, waiting to be executed, waiting to be executed for the
Gospel, just like John the Baptist was beheaded, just like the brother
of John, James, remember, was beheaded. The Apostle Paul sits
on death row, waiting and knowing what's going to happen. If you
look just across the page, he talks about in chapter 4, 2 Timothy
chapter 4, he said, now I'm ready to ready to be offered. The time
of my departure is at hand. I fought a good fight. I finished
my course. I've kept the faith. Henceforth,
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
the righteous judge, shall give me at that day, not to me only,
but unto all them also that love his appearing." He knows what's
going to happen. He knows soon he's going to depart.
And he said, to be absent from this body is to be present with
the Lord. He writes by words of inspiration
of God unto this young preacher Timothy, and he tells him in
verse 1 of chapter 2, Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace
that is in the Lord Jesus Christ." All Scripture, he says over here
in chapter 3, verse 16, all Scripture is given of God, inspiration
of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness, Christ our righteousness. So be strong in the Lord. There
were many that Paul had preached to who said they believed his
message, who later departed from the gospel. He mentions several. Notice back in chapter one. You
remember this verse from last week? This thou knowest that
all they which are in Asia be turned away from me, of whom
is Phagellus and Amargenes. And then he mentioned these other
men also. If you look over here, In chapter
2, verse 17, he said in verse 16, "...shun profane and vain
babbling, for they will increase unto more ungodliness, and their
word will eat at death a canker of whom is Ammonaeus and Philetus."
And then he mentions another man in chapter 4, talking about
those who have departed from the gospel. You see chapter 4,
verse 10, where Demas, Hath forsaken me, having loved this world,
is departed unto Thessalonica." And then again, he mentions another
man in chapter 4, verse 14. Six men he mentions here. Alexander
the coppersmith did me much evil. Well, the Lord will reward him
according to what he has done. Now, remember, Nevertheless,
even though some have departed from the faith, nevertheless,
some have gone over and given themselves unto heresies and
lies, nevertheless, it doesn't change the truth. Nevertheless,
the foundation of God is not shaken. The foundation of God
stands, stands, it stands sure. Remember when the Lord It's recorded
in John chapter 6, "...had strongly preached the gospel. He said,
No man can come to Me except the Father which sent Me. Draw
him. And a multitude, many of them, walked away in unbelief.
And the Lord said to His disciples, Will you also go away? And Peter
said, Lord, to whom shall we go? We believe and we are sure,
Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God." True saving
faith will persevere. Nevertheless, he said, the foundation
of God stands sure. In spite of all false preachers
and false professors, the assault of Satan and wicked men, the
foundation of God cannot be moved. It cannot be moved. It cannot
change. Remember Matthew 16? Our Lord
said, upon this rock, I will build my church, and the gates
of hell shall not prevail against that rock. Again, we studied
in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 11, For other foundations can no
man lay, remember? And that which is laid, What
is that foundation? The Lord Jesus Christ. Neither
is there salvation in any other. There's no other name under heaven
given among men, whereby we must be saved. That rock. If you'll
turn with me, hold your place there, and let's turn to Acts
chapter 4. Acts chapter 4, when Peter and
John were before that Sanhedrin council being questioned upon
the salvation of a sinner. He says in Acts chapter 4 verse
10, Be it known unto you all, all the people of Israel, that
by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified,
whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand
here before you whole. This is that stone, that rock,
that foundation, which was set at naught of you builders, It's
become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in
any other, for there is no other name, none other name under heaven,
given among men, whereby we must, we must be saved. Salvation's
found upon that rock, that foundation. And that foundation, that rock,
is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Now,
let me just read this one to you, because it's very familiar
with you. very familiar to you, and you're
familiar with it. He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not
be moved. In God is my salvation, my glory, the rock of my strength,
and my refuge is in God, and I trust in him. At all times,
ye people, pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge for
us. He only is my rock. He only is
my salvation. The wise man built his house
upon that rock, and when the storm came, and judgment came,
and wrath came, it stood because it was founded upon that foundation
that God had laid. The foolish man built his house
upon the sand. No foundation. And when the storm
came, the trials came, and the judgment came, the house fell. And great was the fall thereof. Now, verse 19, 2 Timothy 2, Nevertheless,
the foundation of God stands sure. Now I'll give you four
reasons why the foundation abides, continues, certain, steady, and
sure, Because, number one, because of God's divine and eternal purpose,
which he purposed in the Lord Jesus Christ before the foundation
of the world. God had determined all of salvation
to rest upon the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, who
worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. The purpose which he purposed
in the Lord Jesus Christ was purpose from all eternity. He
said, I've spoken it. I purposed it. I'll bring it
to pass. I will do it. You remember in
chapter 1, 2 Timothy chapter 1, you remember verse 9? This has got to be one of my
favorite verses. 2 Timothy 1, 9. It's God who
saved us. We're saved according to the
power of God. The power of God who saved us and called us with
a holy calling, not according to our work, but according to
his own purpose. Get a hold of that word, underscore
purpose. Purpose and grace, given us in
Christ before the foundation of the world. God saves every
sinner whom he saved. by his purpose. God never saves
a sinner by accident. Every sinner he saves, he saves
on purpose. We know all things work together
for good to them who love God, to them who are called according
to his, what? His purpose. His purpose. His
purpose, his will, his decrees must be done, must be accomplished,
must be fulfilled because our God cannot fail. The foundation of God standeth
sure because of the eternal counsel and purpose of God. Secondly,
the foundation of God stands certain and sure because of that
eternal covenant of grace that is ordered in all things and
is sure. Now that reminds you of another
scripture, doesn't it? You remember the last words of
David in 2 Samuel 23, verse 5? It said, these be the last words
of David. David said, although it be not
so with my house, God hath made with me an everlasting covenant,
ordered in all things, and this is sure, this all my hope and
all my salvation, God's covenant mercies. The Lord Jesus Christ
is that covenant sacrifice slain from the foundation of the world. We read about it in Hebrews 13.
where the apostle there writes, the God of peace that brought
again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of
the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant. Upon that covenant we have the
sure mercies of David given unto us. Listen to this promise, Isaiah
54 verse 10. He said, the mountains shall
depart and the hills will be removed. but my kindness shall
not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace
be removed, saith the Lord." This foundation is based upon
God's purpose and upon God's covenant of grace in the Lord
Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world. Third reason is
this, the foundation of God stands certain and sure and continue
steadfast forever because of the redeeming blood sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He obtained for us eternal redemption
with His own blood. That's why the foundation of
God stands sure. It's ratified with the blood
atonement of Christ. The success of the gospel is
based upon the performance of our Savior, our surety, our sacrifice,
our Redeemer, not ours. It's not about our performance,
but upon His obedience, His faithfulness. Our salvation is based entirely
upon what Christ has done for us. That's why salvation stands
certain and sure. No sinner will perish who's resting
on Christ. That foundation is the power
of God unto salvation to everyone that believes. The gospel of
Christ is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. And we believe only according
to the working of His mighty power. Listen to this promise.
I looked up everywhere in Scripture in the New Testament where that
word, sure, is used. Old and new, really. In Romans
4, 16, Therefore it is of faith that it might be by grace, to
the end the promise might be sure to all the seed of God. We had it on the radio program
this morning. This is a faithful saying and
word of all acceptation. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
save sinners and Paul said, I am the chief. I am the chief. Now, I don't know why, I've never
thought about this before, but when I was re-listening to that
message this morning, when it was aired at 8.30 this morning,
the thought came to me, Paul said that he was the chief of
sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ is called the chief shepherd. the Great Shepherd, the Good
Shepherd, the Chief Shepherd who saves the sheep. He shall
call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sin. The chief of sinners is saved
by the Chief and Great Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I've
been looking at this thing for 40 years. I've never put those
two together. You probably have. I never have. I remember it now,
maybe. I'll probably forget it tomorrow. We have this treasure in an earthen
vessel. We read in the Gospel of Matthew
9, the Lord Jesus Christ didn't come to call the righteous. He
came to call sinners. He came to seek and to save the
lost. The Lord Jesus Christ, when we were yet without strength,
the Lord Jesus Christ died for the ungodly. If I can find a
sinner, a lost man, an ungodly man, I've got good news. Salvation
based upon the foundation of Christ and Him crucified. He
died for sinners to put away their sin. And here's the fourth
reason. The foundation of God stands
certain and sure and eternal because it says there in the
text, the Lord knoweth them that are His. The Lord knoweth them
that are His. We studied this morning Galatians
chapter 4, but now after you have known God, or rather are
known of God, the Lord knows those that are His. Having this
seal, this stamp, this approval, the Lord knows those that are
His. Now, how long has the Lord known
His sheep? How long has the Lord known His
sheep? Well, let's see if we can answer
that question. Jeremiah 31 says this, verse 3, The Lord hath
appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an
everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. The Lord hath known His people
from all eternity. He says to Jeremiah, Before I
formed thee in the womb, I knew you. I loved you. Before we ever knew Him, He knew
us. He chose us. He loved us with
an unchanging, dying love. He said, I am the good shepherd,
I know my sheep, and am known of mine. My sheep hear my voice,
I know them, they follow me, and I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall, well, they could perish. They might perish. No, he said, I give unto them
eternal life and they shall never perish. None for whom the Lord
Jesus Christ died will perish. He put away their sin. He established
and brought in everlasting righteousness. Our Lord said to those in the
judgment who bragged on what they had done, the self-righteous
Jews and Pharisees said, Lord, We have preached in your name,
and in thy name we have cast out devils, and in thy name we
have done many wonderful works. Then, he said, I will profess
unto them, I never knew you. He never loved those people.
He loved his people, his sheep, with an everlasting love. That's
why the foundation of God stands sure. The Lord knoweth them that
are, watch this, the Lord knoweth them that are His, His people. We are His because He elected
them from eternity unto salvation. We are bound to give thanks to
God for you, brethren, because God hath from the beginning chosen
you unto salvation, chosen unto salvation. Now don't turn because
you're familiar with this verse, but let me just read it to you.
God has blessed us, Ephesians 1, with all spiritual blessings
and heavenlies in Christ, according as he has chosen us in him before
the foundation of the world, that we should be holy without
blame before him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption
of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good
pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace,
wherein he hath made us. accepted in the Beloved. It's not, will you accept Jesus?
That's not the issue. The issue is, will He accept
you? We're accepted in the Beloved. Accepted in the Beloved, the
Lord Jesus Christ. So we're His because He elected
us unto salvation. Secondly, we're His Because He
bought us. He bought us. He chose us. He
came for us. He redeemed us with His own blood. They are redeemed and bought
with His precious blood. You remember from our study in
the book of Acts, Paul's last message to those elders at Ephesus,
he said, you feed the church of God which He purchased with
His own blood. You're no more your own. You're
bought with a price. What is that price? His blood. We're His because He chose us
in Christ. We're His because He bought us.
He redeemed us. He paid our debt. He owns us. He bought us. Thirdly, God's
elect are His. He knoweth them that are His.
They're His because He calls them out of darkness into His
marvelous light. The sheep, they know the voice
of the Master when He calls. They follow them. They are His
because He calls them out of darkness into His marvelous light
that they should show forth the praises of Him who called us. We're His. And because we're
His, He chose us, He redeemed us, and then what does He do?
He calls us. He calls us to Himself. They
are His, fourthly, because He gives them faith to believe the
Gospel. He grants us faith to believe
the Gospel. As many as were ordained to eternal
life, you remember Acts 13, verse 48? As many as were ordained
to eternal life, what happened? They believed the Gospel. They
believed the Gospel. Now in closing, let's look at
the last part of verse 19. Nevertheless, despite heresies,
apostasies, and everything else. The foundation of God stands
sure, steady, certain, having this stamp, this seal, the Lord
knoweth them that are his. Now, and that being so, let everyone
that nameth the name of Christ, everyone that owns him as everything
in salvation, let those who name the name of Christ depart from
something. Depart from sin. Now, what is
this about? What's he talking about here?
We know that the Lord has loved us and elected us unto salvation
and called us out of darkness. Let us who name the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ, who love his person, trust his grace, and
look to him for salvation, let us depart from this iniquity. I'll tell you what he's talking
about here. He's talking about repentance. In the same chapter, look at
chapter 2, 2 Timothy 2, beginning at verse 23, But foolish and unlearned questions
avoid, knowing that they do gender strife. And the servant of the
Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, able to
teach, patient in meekness, instructing those that oppose themselves,
if God, perventure, will give them repentance to acknowledging
the truth. That's what departing from iniquity
is. It departed from that which is
false and contrary to the truth of the gospel, and embracing
the Lord Jesus Christ, acknowledging that God is true. Now let me
show you an example of it. Turn back a couple pages to 1
Thessalonians chapter 1. 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. Repentance toward God and faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ is the only real evidence of our salvation
that He works in us. You remember the Apostle Paul
said, I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but
I've showed you and I've taught you publicly from house to house,
testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance
toward God. and faith toward our Lord Jesus
Christ. Both faith and repentance acknowledge
that salvation is of the Lord. Both faith and repentance, as
given of God, acknowledge that there's just one foundation,
and that foundation is Christ the Lord. Now let me give an
example of it. Turn over here to 1 Thessalonians,
chapter 1, look at verse 3. Remembering without ceasing,
Remember without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love,
patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of
God and our Father, knowing, brethren, beloved, your election
of God. Now, how do you know anything
about your election of God? For our gospel came not unto
you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost,
and in much assurance, as you know what manner of men we were
among you for your sake, and you became followers of us and
of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction with
joy of the Holy Spirit, so that ye were a pattern, an example
to all them that believe, Macedonia and Achaia. For from you sounded
out the word of the Lord, not only at Macedonia and Achaia,
but also in every place. Your faith to God's word is spread
abroad, so that ye need not speak anything." Now, I read all that
to get to verse 9, 1 Thessalonians 1, 9. For they themselves show
of us what manner of entering in we have into you, how you
turn to God." Departing from iniquity. How you turn to God,
now watch it, from idols. to serve the living and true
God. Now that's faith and repentance. That's faith and repentance.
Now notice how this is written. How you turn to God, or you were
turned to Him, and in turning to Him, you departed from your
idols. Departing from iniquity. That's
repentance. That's repentance. You turn to
God. Now it doesn't say you turn from
your idols, although that is implied here. You turn to God,
and then turning to God, you departed from iniquity. And looking
to Him. You departed from your idols.
And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the
dead, even Jesus, which delivered us, He delivered us from the
wrath to come. That's faith and repentance.
Waiting upon Him. Looking unto Him. The Lord Jesus
Christ. Are you resting on the rock? Are you resting on the rock of
ages, the Lord Jesus Christ? Are you resting upon this foundation
that God has laid in Zion? That's the wise man who built
his house upon that rock, that foundation that God has laid. Everything else is sinking sand. Everything else is sinking sand. You're either resting on the
rock, Christ the solid rock, or upon the sinking sand of works. And we know the Scriptures teach,
it's not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according
to His mercy He saved us. Now look at that verse again.
Back to the bookmark. And take this with you this week.
Nevertheless, the foundation of God stands sure. Having this
stamp, this seal. The Lord knows those that are
His. And everyone who names that name
of Christ, let us depart from idolatry, from falsehood and
lies, and let's look to the Lord Jesus Christ. Look to the Lord
Jesus Christ. Look and live.