Now there are two things that are of the greatest importance
to me and to you. The first is that a way of salvation
is open. That's the most important thing.
A way to God has been open. The second most important thing
to me is that I'm in that way. Can it be that I should gain
an interest in the Savior's blood? Now, this is the sum and substance
of true religion. There is a way open to God, and
I'm in that way. Will God forgive sin? Yes, He
will. Are my sins forgiven? Blessed
is the man, happy is the man to whom God will not charge sin. Am I that man? Are you that man?
Is there a Savior? Is there a Redeemer? There is. Do I have an interest in Him?
There is one God, there is one Mediator between God and men. It's been established that this
Mediator is Jesus Christ. Does He pray for me? Is he my
mediator? I'm going to spend my time tonight
establishing the first important thing. You'll have to establish
the second. I can certainly establish the
first. Is there a way to God? There is, beyond question. Is there a Savior? There is,
beyond question. Is there a mediator? There is,
beyond question. Do I have a part in his intercession? That's a question that you'll
have to answer. I cannot answer it. And in establishing
this first portion of my message tonight, I'm using four sayings
given by the Apostle Paul, the first of which is found in 1
Timothy 1, verse 15. And all of them All of them have
this in common, that Paul says about them, this is a faithful
saying. This is a faithful saying. That
is, this is a true statement. This is not to be questioned.
This is a certain statement. This is not to be disputed. This
is a sure statement. This is not to be doubted. That's
what Paul's saying. This is a faithful saying. It's to be believed. It's to
be believed. It's not to be argued. It's not
to be disputed. It's not to be doubted. It is
a faithful saying. Now, someone else said, Paul
uses this phrase, meaning this, that this statement that he's
about to make, this saying, is a faithful saying. That is, it's
faithful to God's character. God is holy, yet God is merciful. God is truth, and yet God is
love. God is righteous and yet God
is grace. And this statement, he says,
that I'm about to make is faithful to God's character. Much preaching
that we hear today is not at all in harmony with God's character. Much preaching that we hear today
is contrary to the character of God. And Paul said this statement
that I'm about to make is a faithful saying. It's in keeping with
the character of God. And then it's a fateful saying
because it's fateful to God's law. What I'm about to say, the
apostle is saying, will magnify the law. It will honor God's
law. Now much preaching and much so-called
gospel today does not honor God's law. It does not make it honorable,
it does not magnify the law of God, but this statement that
I'm about to make, Paul is saying, is faithful to the law of God.
It gives the law its right position. And then this statement that
I'm about to make, he says, is faithful to God's promise. God's
promise to Christ, all that the Father giveth me shall come to
me. And God's promise to the people and all that come to me
I'll in no wise cast out." And then this statement is fateful
to God's minister, for without this statement he has no good
news to deliver. He's got no message. This is
a fateful saying. It's true. It's certain. It's
sure. It's not to be discussed. It's
not to be, that is, in an argumentative way, it's not to be doubted.
It's to be believed, for it's worthy of all acceptation by
Jew and Gentile, by rich and poor, by young and old, by learned
and ignorant, by greater or lesser sinners. It's to be received,
worthy of all acceptation. It's to be received with joy
and gladness. And then it's to be delivered
from father to son, and from son to grandson and on to all
men." Now let's look at it. Here they are in order of appearance. Verse 15 of 1 Timothy 1, this
is a fateful save. That Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners of whom I am the chief. I see three things in this verse.
First of all, I see the Savior. Secondly, I see the sinner. And
thirdly, I see the salvation. Let's look at the Savior. This
is where we begin. For the Savior is the foundation
stone of our hope. The name given here, this is
a faithful saying, it's worthy of all acceptation, that Christ
Jesus, Christ Jesus, these two words mean anointed Savior, Christ
anointed, Jesus Savior. Are thou the Christ, the anointed? That's what people kept asking
Him. Are you the Christ? Are you the anointed? Are you
the one prophesied? Are you the one of whom Moses
wrote? Are you the one our forefathers preached about? Are you the one
for whom we look? Are you the Christ? The woman
at the well of Samaria ran down into the village and said, I
have found the Christ. I have found the Christ." When
John the Baptist was cast into prison and was awaiting execution,
he sent his disciples to Jesus Christ and asked him this question,
Are you the Christ? Are you the one for whom we look,
or do we look for another? Are you the Christ? The one here
that Paul is talking about is the anointed, and the word Jesus
means Joshua or Savior. thou shalt call his name Jesus,
for he shall save." He shall save his people from their sin.
Christ Jesus, also the God-man, Christ God, Jesus man. Look at the second division now,
the sinner. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save. Suppose tonight, if you can imagine
this, you've never been in a church in all your You've never seen
a Bible. You've never heard a preacher.
You realize that between you and God, there's enmity. You
are a fallen creature. You are a sinner. You've never
heard any gospel. And for the first time, you come
and sit down tonight, and I step into this pulpit, and I turn
to 1 Timothy, chapter 1, verse 15, And I say this is a faithful
saying. This is a sure, certain saying. And it's worthy of acceptation
by all men that Christ Jesus came into the world to save. And everybody would be quiet
and you'd prick up your ears and you'd listen. To save whom?
That's what's important. Jesus Christ came to save, that's
true. Jesus Christ was sent of the
Father to save, that's true. But whom did He come to save? All right, read it. Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners. Sinners, that's you, and that's
me. No glamour, no clarifying words,
just sinners. The woman at the well believed
him. Magdalena believed him. Saul
of Tarsus believed him. The thief on the cross believed
him. The anointed Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,
of whom I am the chief. Notice the third thing about
this statement. This is a true saying. This is
worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world. It doesn't say to help save sinners,
it says to save them. It doesn't say he came to make
it possible for them to save themselves. It doesn't say that
he came to make the down payment and we complete the installment. It says He came to save them,
to fully, effectually, completely, totally save them. And I do not
care who the man is, or what he has done, or what reputation
at the present time he enjoys, if he will receive Christ Jesus
as his Lord and Savior, God will redeem him forever. Now wherever you find that man
and wherever you find that woman, whether you find them in the
pulpit, there are sinners there too. Whether you find them in
the pew, there are sinners there too. Whether you find them in
the world, whether you find them in the jail, if you find me a
sinner, a bona fide, genuine, unadulterated, self-confessed
sinner, And that sinner will come to the Lord Jesus Christ
with a genuine broken heart, seeking mercy, seeking forgiveness,
believing on Christ to redeem him, our Lord will save him,
the chief of sinners. Have you consented to the death
of godly men? Oh, you say, no, I haven't gone
that far. Saul did. The man who wrote this did. Have you persecuted and laid
waste to the church of Jesus Christ?" You say, no, I haven't
gone that far. Saul did. The man who wrote this did. Have
you blasphemed and cursed and swore at the name of Jesus Christ? No, you say, I haven't done that.
Well, Saul did. The man who wrote this did. Have
you denied that Jesus Christ died on the cross as God's Savior? You say, I haven't done that.
Well, Saul did. Saul did, the man who wrote this. Have you
said that Jesus Christ was the illegitimate son of a fallen
Jewish woman? You say, I haven't done that.
This man did. Saul did, the man who wrote this. He denied that
Jesus Christ was the Son of God. He denied that Jesus Christ was
the Savior. He was the chief of sinners,
he said, and yet God brought him to saving faith in Christ. So I care not who the sinner
is, or what he's done, or what reputation at this present time
he may enjoy. If you come to Christ, you'll
be saved. This is a faithful saying, and
it's worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief. God wrote by
the prophet Isaiah, Come, let us reason together. Though your
sins be as scarlet, I'll make them as white as snow, and though
they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Now I've established
the first point. You'll have to determine the
second. There is a Savior. Is He your Savior? I don't know.
God will forgive sin. Has He forgiven yours? I don't
know. There is a Mediator. There is
an anointed Redeemer. Is He your Redeemer? Do you have
an interest in Him? You'll have to determine that
yourself. Now let's look at the second faithful saying. It's
in 1 Timothy 4. Now here is another sure and
faithful saying. Bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable unto
all things, having promise of the life that now is, and that
which is to come. This is a faithful saying, and
it's worthy of all acceptation. You know what this is saying?
Now bodily exercise here is not talking about jogging. Bodily
exercise here is not talking about playing a round of golf
for health and recreation. Bodily exercise is not talking
here about using the body in work and business. It refers
to trying to approach God Almighty through mortification of the
flesh and through play in religion during a week of Lent, and through
mistreating your body, crawling on your hands and knees, prostrating
yourself in the dust, It's saying this, formal, external religion
profits little. But spiritual worship, coming
before God with a broken heart, coming before God with a contrite
spirit, coming before God with genuine repentance in your heart,
God looks not on the outward countenance, God looks on the
heart. A man's body might be naked, prostrate on a bed of
nails, showing the world that he's repenting over his sins
while his heart is in total rebellion against God. A man might be bowing
and scraping and crossing himself and counting beads while in his
heart he's the biggest rebel that ever walked in shoe leather.
So bodily exercise doesn't profit you one thing. It's spiritual
worship that's profitable. You say, how do you get that
out of there? Well, let's go back to verse 1 of 1 Timothy 4. Now,
let's listen to it. You know, a lot of times, well,
every time, the Bible will interpret the Bible. If we'll leave a scripture
in its context, you read a verse and you say, I wonder what that
means. Well, read what's before it, and you might find out what
it means. So when you pick up this and
read bodily exercise profiteth little, go back to the preceding
verses and see what it says. Now, the Spirit speaketh expressly
that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith,
giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. Speaking
lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot
iron, forbidding to marry. Now you have seen many examples
of that, where certain preachers are forbidden to marry in order
that they might be more holy before God. Well, Paul says that's
the doctrine of the devil. That came from seducing spirits. The second thing, commanding
men to abstain from meat. You're not supposed to eat meat
on a certain day. That's supposed to recommend
you to God. But Paul says that's the doctrine of the devil. That's
trying to approach God through mortification of the flesh. Now,
I'm just reading the Bible, and God says this book will judge
you. And then, God had created these things to be received with
thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth, for every
creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused if it be
received with thanksgiving. For it's sanctified by the word
of God in prayer. Now if you put the brethren in
remembrance of these things, Timothy, you'll be a good minister
of Jesus Christ. Don't be afraid of them now.
Put it to them straight. Give them the word. Put them
in remembrance of these things. And you'll be a good minister
of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of
good doctrine whereunto thou hast attained, but refuse profane
or wise fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness,
for bodily exercise profiteth little." Trying to approach God
through the mortification of the flesh and through abstinence
from material things will profit you nothing. Now, brethren, there's
a time for fasting when our hearts are broken, when our hearts are
burdened, when God gives us a special vision, a special burden. The
things of this world, the material world, the world of food and
those things loses its attractiveness to us, and we give ourselves
to prayer, we give ourselves to meditation, we give ourselves
to calling on God, communion with God. But we're not heard
because we give up these things. We pass these things by because
we lose interest in them. That's real fasting. You don't
give these things up in order to get to God. You give them
up because you have gotten to God. That's the difference. Haven't
you been so burdened before that you just didn't have any interest
in eating? Haven't you been so concerned
about your relationship with God that you just did not have
an interest in the things that ordinarily you do have an interest
in? Well, that's a real burden, and that's real communion with
God. But for me to say now tomorrow and the next day, I'm not going
to eat any meat in order that God might listen to me. God's
not going to listen to me. All of my prostration of the
flesh and mortification of the flesh and abstinence from physical
and material things is not going to gain me acceptance with God.
I'll give up a certain thing one week out of the year in order
that God might receive me. But anybody with half sense knows
that can't be. Christ is our righteousness. Christ is our hope of life now
and life eternally. He is our wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption, and we're accepted in the Beloved. Now, that's a faithful saying.
And if you're going to make God hear you because you've been
a good boy this week, you're going to be disappointed. If
you're going to make God hear you because you've given up certain
material things, you're going to be disappointed. If you're
going to make God hear you because you didn't get married or because
you left meat off on Friday, you're going to be disappointed.
The only way God will hear you is through Christ, and the only
way God will receive you is through Christ. All right, here's the
third faithful saying now in 2 Timothy 2, chapter 2, verse
11. It is a fateful saying. Now listen,
this is beautiful. It's written like a poem. Somebody
said, these three verses are believed to be one of the earliest
Christian hymns. Now listen to it. Verse 11, For
if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him. If we suffer
We shall also reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny
us. If we believe not, yet he about
it faithful, he cannot deny himself." It would be well to memorize
that. That has the whole thing in it.
Look at the first line. If we be dead with him because
of our union with Christ, His cross is our cross. Because of
our union with Christ, His death is our death. Because of our
union with Christ, His burial is our burial. I'm crucified
with Christ. I'm buried with Christ. I'm risen
with Christ. I'm seated at the right hand
of God in Christ. We died with Him. The curse of
the law is removed from us because he paid the penalty. If we died
with him, if we be dead with him, we know we shall live with
him. That is, we live right now in
Christ a life of holiness. The Bible says that we are without
sin, that we are without fault, that we are without blame, that
we are holy, in the sight of God, that is, in Christ. We live
right now a life of communion in Christ, for we are accepted
in the Beloved, and we can come boldly before the throne of grace
knowing that we'll be heard in Christ. And we shall live a life
of glory with Christ. If we be dead with Him, we shall
live with Him. Now look at the second line. If we suffer Now, some people
think that this means suffering the full penalty of the law in
the death of Christ. And that's true. We did. We suffered
the full penalty of the law in the person of Christ. But that
can't be what this means. What this means is, if we suffer,
we shall also reign with him. That is, it refers to such a
confession of Christ on this earth. and such a relationship
and vital union with Christ on this earth that it leads us to
bear his reproach. And it leads us to bear the offense
of his cross. It leads us to be identified
with him in his shame and in his rejection. Paul speaks of
that frequently. He says, I'm not ashamed of the
cross. Brethren, when I came to you, I came not with wisdom
of words, declaring unto you the testimony of God. I determined
not to know anything but Jesus Christ and him crucified. If
I do not preach Christ and him crucified, then I am refusing
to bear the offense of the cross. And that's what it means to suffer
with him. It means to bear the offense
of the cross. And if we suffer with him, we'll
reign with him. If we go through the valley with
him, we'll sit on the throne with him. If we dare to bear
his hour of reproach, we certainly will share his hour of glory. Now the next line. If we deny
him, he will deny us. That's very plain. This we cannot
do if we know him. But should one deny the efficacy
of Christ? Should one deny the atonement
of Christ? Should one deny the sacrifice
of Christ? Well, he'll certainly deny us.
He said, if you confess me before me and I'll confess you before
the Father. You deny me before me and, well,
we'll hear him say, I never knew you. And then the last line in
this hymn says, if we believe not. If we believe not. Now one thing we know, that doesn't
mean if we have no faith, we'll be saved anyway. That's not what
he's saying. It means this, if we doubt, to believe not is to
doubt, isn't it? Thomas was guilty of this. He
said, except I see the print of the nails in his hands, I
will not believe. Believe not, I will not believe.
That doesn't mean that Thomas didn't have any faith in Christ.
Thomas was going through a period of doubt. And there's no perfect
faith, and there's not a child of God in this building, not
one, who has not, in the face of personal failure, in the face
of personal guilt, in the face of trial and sin, there isn't
a person in this building who knows God who has not in the
face of personal guilt doubted your interest in Christ. Not
one. I don't care who it is. If a
man stands up and says that he's never doubted his salvation,
then I'm here to tell him that he's either telling us a story,
or he needs to check up and make sure he's got salvation. I really
believe that. And the Scripture says here,
if we doubt, He remains faithful. He remains faithful. You see,
our salvation does not rest upon perfect faith. Our perfect faith,
it rests upon the perfect faith of Christ, the perfect faithfulness
of Christ. He says, if we doubt, yet He
remains faithful. He cannot deny Himself. You say, what's that got to do
with me? Well, He cannot deny me because I'm part of Him. He
can't deny himself. See, we're one with Christ. For
Christ to deny me would be to deny himself, because I'm part,
I'm his body. He's the head, and I'm his body.
I'm his foot, or his hand, or his little finger, or toe, or
toenail, or hair, or something, but I'm in the body of Christ.
And he cannot deny himself. That's what it's talking about.
I may doubt. I may go through periods of confusion
and doubt and fear, and I do. And I know you do. But he never changes. The soul
that on Jesus hath leaned for repose, he will not, he will
not desert to its foes. That soul, though all hell should
endeavor to shake, I'll never, never, never, never forsake. And that's what he's saying.
If we be dead with him, we live with him. If we suffer with him,
we'll reign with him. If we deny him, he'll certainly
deny us. But if we doubt, yet he about
it faithful. He cannot deny himself. Now here's
the third faithful saying in Titus. In Titus chapter 3, let's
begin with verse 5. Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us. We had a little discussion in
the study a moment ago, not by works of righteousness which
we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us by the
cleansing of the new birth, by the recreating or renewing of
a new man in the Holy Ghost. What is mercy? What is grace?
Somebody says grace is unmerited favor. Well, actually that isn't. a good definition of grace. That
is not a real good definition. Unmerited favor. Grace is more
than that. The grace of God to the guilty
is more than that. Suppose a man comes by to study
tonight. I'm sitting there. I've never
seen him before in my life. He comes by and he says, I'm
hungry. I don't have a job. I don't have
any money. Would you put me up for the night and feed me? I
say, why, yes. Well, that's grace. That's unmerited
favor. The man doesn't deserve that.
I don't owe it to him. I've never seen him before. But
God's grace is more than that. Suppose a man came by the study
and was going to murder my wife and my daughter, was going to
burn this church down. He's my enemy. He hates me. He
hates this church. He hates my family. He's going
to destroy me. And I take him in. and lodge
him for the night and give him a meal. Now that's grace. You
see? That's grace. You and I are enemies
of God. We're not just strangers who've
happened by heaven one day and God said, give that fellow something
to eat. We already had assailed the throne of God and our father
Adam tried to throw God off his throne. We already, with our
bloody, wicked hands, took his son out yonder, outside Jerusalem,
and nailed him to a cross. We did that, you and me and our
forefathers. And God, to show grace to us,
you see, it's more than unmerited favor. It's favor to not only
the undeserving, but favor to the hell-deserving. And it's
favor to the undeserving. Brother John Thornberry, I think,
gave one of the best definitions. He said, Grace is God giving
us what we don't deserve, and mercy is God not giving us what
we do deserve. I know what I deserve. Now, it's
not by works that we have been saved, it's by His mercy. By
His mercy. By His mercy. Well, read on.
"...which He shed on us Abundantly, abundantly, all that we need
through Jesus Christ. He's able to save to the uttermost
them that come to God by Him. He's shed on us abundantly, richly. All that I need is in Christ. He's made unto me all I need.
Everything. Christ does not come short of
anything that I need. God Almighty cannot be satisfied
with anything but perfection. He can't demand any more, but
he can't be satisfied with any less, and Christ abundantly,
richly supplied everything that I need. I don't need the supply
thing. I know faith without works is
dead. I know genuine faith produces
works, but works do not enter into my acceptance with God in
any way, either before or after I'm saved. I'm accepted in the
Beloved. Accepted in the Beloved. Therefore,
being justified by his grace. Justified. What does it mean
to be justified? It means to be without sin. It means just
as if I never sinned. Let me tell you something. Every
believer who stands before God justified in Jesus Christ tonight,
cleansed by his blood, accepted in the beloved, we stand before God right now
in a position of total innocence, just as if we had never sinned. Did you know that? That's what
needs to be justified. Now, a man is sent to prison
for a crime that he did not commit. This happened one time. I read
about it in the paper. They later found out who committed
the crime. And they came to him and they
said, The governor's going to pardon you. He said, No, he's
not either. I will not accept a pardon. A
pardon assumes guilt. A pardon says that I'm guilty.
I don't want a pardon. I want an apology and a complete
justification. When you open these prison doors
and I walk out, I want the public to know that I have not done
wrong. And that's what they had to give
him, complete justification and an apology. In Jesus Christ,
we have more than a pardon. We have more than forgiveness.
And you who know something about the Bible, do some checking on
this. We are justified. That is, we stand before God
as pure and as holy and without sin, as if we had never offended
God. That's what justification means.
It means more than just passing over your sin. It means to be
regarded as absolutely holy. Now, that's the reason work can't
do this job. Christ has to do it. It's impossible. Can the Ethiopian change his
skin? You say no. Can the leper change
his spots? No. Then can you do good that
are accustomed to doing evil? No. Can good be done? Christ
can. That we should be made heirs,
joint heirs with Jesus Christ according to the hope of eternal
life. Brethren, I want that more than
I want anything else. The hope of eternal life. And this is a faithful saying. What is? That we're not saved
by works, that we're saved by His mercy, which He shed on us
abundantly, richly through Christ, that being justified by His grace
we should be made heirs of eternal life. And that's a faithful saying.
Our Father, we depend on Thee to take this word and make it
effectual. Thou knowest our hearts. We're
not trying to persuade men to a form of theology. We're not
trying to persuade men to unite with us in an earthly organization. We're not trying to gain followers
or disciples. We want men and women, boys and
girls, to come to know Christ. And when they leave this place
of worship and walk the streets, they walk with Him. when they
drive their automobiles down the highway, that Christ is with
them. When they go out on the job and
have to face the trials and tribulations and problems and burdens of this
life, that Christ is with them. He lives in their heart. They
have a living, personal, vital union with Him. when they're
called upon to move out of this community and away from this
city and away from this fellowship, that they still are in Christ,
that He's their Lord and Savior. We want them to know Him. And
Thou knowest the purpose and the motive. O Lord, give us a
pure motive. Give us one desire to make Christ
known, to glorify his matchless name. And take the word that's
been preached tonight, the gospel of thy dear son, all this faithful
saying, and bring every one of us, not just prostrate in body
but in heart, Not just to rend these garments, but to tear our
hearts. Our hearts might be broken, our
spirits contract. Oh God, be merciful to me, the
sinner, the chief of sinners. Let Thy blood be perpetuation
for me. Give me a hope of eternal life.
Give me a living, vital relationship with our precious Son. Create
a new life in me. In the name of Christ we pray.
Amen.