6 of 1 Timothy, to lay hold on
eternal life. And down in verse 12, which is
our text, despite the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal
life. Paul is seeming to say to Timothy,
come to the important thing. There are those engaged in social
reform, and there are certain things to be done in this area.
They're those who are engaged in disputings and questions and
philosophies and all of these things, and there's certain things
to be done in this area. We're always to be ready to give
a reason to every man that asks us, or give a reason to every
man that asks us why we believe on Christ and what we hope to
gain in Christ, and why we believe we'll have eternal life, but
that's not the important thing. and the possessions of this world.
That's not the important thing. The important thing is to lay
hold on eternal life, to set your sights on the highest goal
and stay there. Lay hold on eternal life. Now, three points that I want
to bring out in the message today. First of all, all men are faced
with six indisputable, undeniable facts. Every one of us are faced
with six indisputable, undeniable facts. I am faced with the fact that
there is a God, that God lives. No denial of that fact is going
to alter Pharaoh might say, who is the Lord that I should serve
him? Moses came to Pharaoh and said,
God said, let my people go. And Moses said, who is God? Well,
he found out soon enough. No denial of the fact of God's
existence is going to alter it. And not by running can I remove
that fact. Jonah took a boat to Tarshish
to escape God. And not by ruling him out of
my life. David said in the Psalms, a fool
has set in his heart no God for me. No denial, not by running, not
by ruling him out of my life, can I change the fact that there's
a God with whom I have to do. I have to do. As Barney used
to say, I got God on my hands, and I can't get rid of the fact.
And the second fact that I must faith, undeniable fact, indisputable
fact, I can't get rid of the fact that a man called Jesus
Christ came into this world and lived and died. this whole Bible. Most men respect the Bible. The
Bible has been translated into nearly a thousand different languages. The Bible has lived for over
three, almost four millenniums. And from Genesis chapter 3, verse
15, the opening book of this Bible, to the last words in the
book of Revelation, the entire Bible is the story of Jesus Christ
visiting this world. That's what it's all about. That's
what it's all about. The Lord Jesus Christ came into
this world. God was made flesh and dwelt
among us. Every promise, every prophecy,
every type, every ceremony, every symbol of the Old Testament points
to Christ coming into this world. And every word from Matthew chapter
1 verse 1 to Revelation chapter 22 verse 22, every word in the
New Testament is how that Jesus Christ came into this world.
I can't get rid of that fact. He came. He came. I pick up my calendar that always
is before me on the desk. And my calendar says there were
many years B.C. before Christ, and from that
time till now, it is measured by A.D. in the year of our Lord. Our holiday, the Christmas season
is upon us. What's it all about? Jesus Christ
came into this world. All over the world, men are celebrating
a holiday called Christmas, and it begins right soon. Already
they're talking about so many days under Christmas. And then
after Christmas is over, we'll start talking about Easter. They
may be pagan holidays, they may have a pagan beginning, but I'll
tell you this. They're about Christ, and he
came into this world. The existence of the church everywhere
I drive, in every city, it doesn't matter where it is, in this country,
in Mexico, in England, France, Spain, Japan, anywhere, I see
a steeple pointing up in the air. That's a church. And that church is there because
of Jesus Christ. I don't know what you believe
about him, I don't know what you believe about his pre-existence,
or about his existence now, or about his philosophy, or teachings,
or doctrines, it doesn't matter. He lived on this earth, and he
died on the cross. And he bought this world when
he died, and there's no fact more certain than that. And you
got Jesus Christ on your hands. You're going to settle this matter
sooner or later. You're going to decide who he
was, and why he came, and what he did, and where he is now,
and what authority he has over you, and what influence he's
going to have in your life, if any. Jesus Christ came into this
world. You can't get rid of that fact.
You can call him the bastard son of a German soldier if you
want to, but he came. You can call him the immortal,
eternal, preexistent son of God who was born of the Virgin if
you want to, but he can't. You can say that he was a failure,
disappointed, disillusioned, died a defeated death if you
want to, but he can't. You can say that Jesus Christ
came on purpose to accomplish a purpose and died the appointed
Redeemer for the appointed people and was victorious in his death,
but he can't. You can say like Mohammed and
Buddha, his bones are rotting in his grave, but he came. You
can say he arose on the third day and ascended back to the
Father, and one day will return to this earth triumphant, but
he came. He came. What think ye of Christ? You can't get rid of that fact.
There was a person called Jesus Christ. Do you know who he was?
Do you know who he is? Do you know where he is? What's
the basis, the foundation, the source of your information? What
do you believe about it? I'll tell you the third fact
that you can't get rid of. And that is you can't get rid
of the fact that there's a person in this earth today called the
Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit. In John 16,
verse 7, Jesus Christ said, if I go away, The Comforter will
come. If I depart, I'll send him to
you. And when he's come, when the
Holy Spirit has come, he's going to reprove, that is,
convince this world of sin. You're here this morning because
the Holy Spirit of God brought you here. You might have gone
through a half a dozen different second, third, and fourth, and
fifth causes, but you're here because he brought you here.
The Holy Spirit of God is on this earth to call out a people
for God's glory, and he'll call them out through the preaching
of the Word of God. He's God's witness on this earth, and he's going to leave all men
without excuse. He's going to warn them by nature,
He's going to warn them by conscience, He's going to warn them by providence,
He's going to warn them by judgment, He's going to warn them by law,
He's going to warn them by the gospel. He's going to invite
sinners to repent and believe the gospel at some time, and
leave all of them without excuse. He's going to be in this world,
God said, and He's going to convince this world of sin. Now what they
do about it is something else. He's going to convince them of
righteousness. What they do about it, that's
another story. He's going to convince them of
judgment, of death, of hell. What they do about it, that's
something else too. But he's here. He is here. The Holy Spirit is here. There is a spiritual world. People
ask me about these people called mediums. and spiritualists and
folks that have ESP and things of that nature, I don't deny
it. There are evil spirits and there
are holy spirits. There is a spiritual world. I
don't know a whole lot about it. I think the best advice that
you can give anybody in reference to demons and demon spirits is
don't have too much to do with them. But don't ignore them. If you have too much to do with
them, you'll get in trouble. If you give your mind and study
to these things too much, you'll get in trouble. But if you ignore
them, you'll also get in trouble. But I cannot get rid of the fact
that the Holy Spirit is here on this earth. Sometimes he fills
me, sometimes he leaves me alone. Sometimes I preach in the power
of the Holy Spirit, and sometimes I don't. Sometimes I'm enabled
by the Holy Spirit to pray, and sometimes I just say words. But
He's here, and He's going to warn sinners. He's going to lead
men without excuse. The Holy Spirit is the gift of
God's love. And then the fourth fact, I cannot
get rid of this fact, turn back to 1 Timothy 5. 1 Timothy 5. I cannot get rid of the fact
of sin. Now, it's real. You can whitewash it, you can
cologne it, you can powder it, you can ribbon it, you can deny
it, you can do what you want to. But I cannot get rid of the
fact of my sin. S-I-N, It says here in 1 Timothy 5 verse
24, now look at it, some men's sins, some men's sins, talking
about women, children too now, some people's sins are open beforehand. What does that mean? It means
that some people's sins are evident. See a man staggering down the
street, he doesn't hardly know his name, he doesn't hardly know
where he is. He's taken the food out of the
mouths of his children to buy liquor. His sins are perfectly
evident. You see the harlot who stands
on the street corner and sells her body for $10, $20, $30. Her
sins are evident. You see the man who takes the
gun and shoots the life out of a friend. His sins are evident. You see the man who stands at
work and uses the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in vain. He
blasphemes God. He curses and swears. His sins
are evident. Some men's sins are open beforehand. They're right in front of you.
No denial of them. They're dirty, low-down, sinful,
evil, ungodly, and wicked. But look at the next statement.
Some men's sins are opened beforehand, going before the judgment, and
some men, they follow after. Some people's sins are just clear
as the noonday sun. There's no question about their
wickedness. It's wide open. You can see it
if you've got eyes. You can hear it if you've got
ears. You can smell it if you've got a nose. But the sins of all
the rest of us Secret sins. Sins hidden in the heart. Sins
of malice, lust, hatred, envy, covetousness, vanity, jealousy. All these things are hidden in
the heart. You can't see them. You can't hear them. You can't
smell them. But they're there. And Paul said they're going to
follow that fellow to the judgment. They'll be there when he gets
there. They go air mail, you know. The other fellow's sins
are evident. They're right there in front
of him. He takes them along with him. He bears the stars of his
iniquity. Everybody can see it. And he
goes to the judgment with his sins. But the rest of them, he
says, they'll be there. They'll be revealed at the judgment.
There's nothing secret that shall not be made known. There's nothing
hidden that shall not be shouted from the housetops. And they'll
be there. I can't get rid of the fact of
sin. Pilate stands there in front
of the multitude and washes his hands. He says, I'm free from
this man's blood. That's what you think, Pilate.
You can wash your hands in the rivers of hell throughout the
years of eternity, and your hands will still be dripping red with
the blood of the Son of God. You're guilty. Guilty. Guilty. You can spend your time trying
to reform this earth if you want to, but these facts here need
to be dealt with. You can spend your time arguing
about where King got his wife, or whether there was a literal
creation, or whether man came from a monkey if you want to,
but this is the important thing right here. You can spend your
time out raking and scraping, trying to make a few silver dollars
and a little bit of gold and build you a bigger house and
buy you a bigger car if you want to, but you're going to have
to do something about these facts right here. There's a God. And Jesus Christ
came down here to this earth, and he walked this earth. And
the Holy Spirit of God is here right now, and secretively, and
quietly, and in his own sovereign way. The wind bloweth where it
listeth, and you can hear the sound, but you can't tell whence
it cometh, and you don't know where he's going. He may leave
you alone. He may leave you alone after
the day. He may have already left you alone, I don't know.
But at some time or other, he's going to sometime cross your
path. and point out these things to
you. What you do with it, that's another matter, but you're going
to cross the path of the Holy Ghost. And you can't get rid
of the fact of sin. Some people's sins are evident.
Some people's sins are clear as the noonday sun, but yours
may not be, but they're there. They're there. And while that
other fellow's sins go with him to the judgment, they even go
before him to the judgment. through the tears of the hearts
he's broken, but yours will be along soon. Yours will be along
too. And then the next thing, the
fifth fact, I cannot get rid of the fact of life after death. I cannot get rid of the fact
of life after death. Job said, if a man die, shall
he live again? I've often wondered what would be my thoughts if
I knew that I had, say, another year to live. I wonder what would be your thoughts
if you knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you had six
months to live. that life on this earth is drawn
to a close, that you've got six months or a year to live on this
earth, and then you're going to spend year after year after
year after year in eternity. What would really be important? What would you be interested
in? What would you read? What would you study? Whose company
would you seek out? How much time would you give
to communion with God? What sort of life would you live
if you knew you had six months or a year to live? Well, that's
not long, but even if you've got ten years, that's not long
either. Brethren, I think we ought to number our days that
we may apply our hearts to wisdom. The rich young fool lay upon
his bed, and he said, I'm going to tear down my barns and build
bigger barns. I'm going to do this, that, and
the other. And God came to him and said, Man, you're a fool.
You're a fool. This night you're going to die. And then whose are these things
going to be that you've accumulated? All of this that you've given
your time to, you haven't had time for God, you haven't had
time for your soul, you haven't had time for your spirit, you've
only had time for your flesh. Now, who shall these things be? I'm going to live after I die.
And I may build me the finest mansion on this earth, and I
may have the finest possessions And I may have everything that
this body could possibly desire, and I may have possessions laid
up for many years, but when I die, when I die, every bit of this
stuff fades into corruption. And I stand before the living
God of glory, entering into an eternal existence. Lay not up
for yourselves treasures on this earth, where moth and rust doth
corrupt, and thieves break through and steal. Lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where moth and rust doth not corrupt, and
thieves can't get to it." I'm going to live after I die.
I can't get rid of the fact, the last thing, of eternity. Eternity. Solomon said, Man goes
to his home. Long home. The body goes back
to the dust from whence it came, and the soul goes to God who
gave it. Lay hold on eternal life. What
is, second thing, what is eternal life? What is eternal life? Paul's saying to Timothy, these
things here, they have their place, but they don't have the
most important place. These things require a certain
amount of attention, but they don't require my undivided attention. They're not my supreme aim and
goal. Not these things. This is it. Lay hold on eternal life. What
is eternal life? Well, first of all, it's the
gift of God. Romans 6.23 says the wages of sin is death, but
the gift of God is eternal life. No man can create eternal life,
either in himself or in someone else. I didn't have anything to do
with my natural life. Not a thing. I received that
from my Father. and I didn't have anything to
do with my spiritual life, I received that from my Heavenly Father.
Just as God created man and breathed into his nostrils the breath
of natural life, only God Almighty can impart to a dead sinner spiritual
life. It's the gift of God. If you're going to seek eternal
life, you'll have to seek it before the throne of God. If
you're going to lay hold on eternal life, you're going to have to
receive it from Him who is eternal life. No man has eternal life
by nature. We're dead in sin. No man can
purchase eternal life. Turn to Acts chapter 8. Look
at this verse of Scripture, verse 20, Acts 8, verse 20. Peter's
talking to Simon Magus, and Peter said to him, In Acts 8, verse
20, your money perish with you, because you thought that the
gift of God may be purchased with money. The gift of God's
eternal life, it can't be bought. It is the gift of God. Eternal
life is not only the gift of God, but eternal life is a present
possession. In John 3, verse 36, the scripture
says this, John 3, verse 36, He that believeth on the Son
hath, not shall have, not at the judgment, but right now he
has eternal life. You know, we often think of eternal
life as the glories of heaven and future glory, future bliss,
future enjoyment, but eternal life is a present possession. In the day that you were born
of the Spirit of God, in the day that Jesus Christ was revealed
to your heart as Lord and Savior, in the day that your faith lay
hold upon Christ, you laid hold right then on eternal life. This is the record. God had given
us eternal life, and this life's in His Son. And he that hath
the Son hath eternal life. now. I said on Wednesday night,
the things that we shall enjoy in glory, those who shall enjoy
them have a taste of them already. What we're going to be in glory,
those who are going to be that in glory already have the work
begun. That's right. Eternal life is already our possession. And then thirdly, eternal life
is the very life of God in the soul. There's nothing everlasting
but God. Think about that statement a
minute. There's nothing everlasting but God. Everything else was
created. Even the angels. Principalities,
powers. Stars, the universe, the earth,
the planets. There's nothing eternal but God. And therefore eternal life is
the life of God in the soul. Turn to 1 John chapter 1. Now
listen to this. 1 John chapter 1. That which
was from the beginning. There's only one that's from
the beginning, that's God. In the beginning, God. That which
was from the beginning. which we've heard, which we've
seen with our eyes, which we've looked upon, our hands have handled,
the word of life. For the life, eternal life, the
life of God, the only thing that's eternal, that life was manifested,
it was revealed. We've seen And we bear witness
and show unto you that that eternal life which was with the Father
and was manifest unto us, that which we've seen and heard declare
we unto you." Who's he talking about? He's talking about Christ. Jesus Christ is eternal. Eternal
life is a person. Eternal life is not a doctrine,
eternal life is not a way, eternal life is not a philosophy, eternal
life is not a decision, eternal life is not a moral code, eternal
life is not a law, eternal life is a person. The law was something that came
in time. Morality, decency, godliness
is something that came in time. as far as we're concerned. Life
is God. And the man that has eternal
life has God in his soul. He has the life of God in his
soul. And he that hath not Christ hath
not life. He's got existence. He's got
natural life. But he doesn't have spiritual
life. Eternal life will never end. Now how does one lay hold
on eternal life? Eternal life is the gift of God. Eternal life is a present possession. Now we see through a glass darkly,
but we see. Now we know in part, but we know. Now we love in part, but we love. Now we are sons of God. not very
pretty sometimes, but sons of God. It does not yet appear what
we shall be. You can't tell by looking at
us and listening to us what we're going to be, because we're going
to be like Him. Eternal life is God. It's Christ,
life of God in the soul. It's not a way, a philosophy,
or a doctrine, or a creed, or a ceremony, or a membership in
an organization. It's a person. Eternal life is
God in you. Paul said, I prevail till Christ
be formed in you. Christ in you. That's the hope
of glory. And when Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then shall ye appear with him in glory. That's eternal
life. It's Christ in you. Now how does one lay hold on
eternal life? Look at Romans 6.23. It says,
first of all, in Romans 6.23, the wages of sin is death, but
the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So first of all, we recognize
this, that eternal life is through Christ. in Christ, because of
Christ. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter
1. I want to show you something here, the importance of this
statement, eternal life is through Jesus Christ. In Ephesians 1
verse 3. Now watch this, stay with me.
Ephesians 1 verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. who hath blessed us with all
spiritual blessings, all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in
Christ. We receive all spiritual blessings
in Christ. Now look at verse 4. According
as he hath chosen us in Christ. So we receive all blessings in
Christ. We were chosen in Christ. In
the everlasting covenant of mercy, our place in that covenant was
because of Christ. Now look at verse 5. Having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ. I'm a child
of God. I'm a son of God. You, through
faith, are a son of God by Jesus Christ, only because of Christ.
He is the firstborn of many brethren. You're a son of God because of
Christ. Now look at verse 6, if you will.
to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he made us
accepted in Jesus Christ. Outside of Christ God doesn't
accept anything you say, do, or are. That's right, outside
of Christ God doesn't accept any human being, for in the flesh
dwelleth no good thing. In the flesh no man can please
God. We are accepted in Christ. Our
prayers this morning, our praise, our worship, our giving, our
kindness to our families, our love for one, these things are
only accepted in Christ. If it weren't for Christ, God
couldn't have anything to do with them, because the plowing
of the wicked is sin. And then in verse 7, it says,
in whom we have redemption. We have redemption in him, through
his blood. The forgiveness of sins is in
him. And then verse 10, that in the
dispensation of the fullness of time, he might gather together
in one all things in Christ. We're gathered in him. He's going
to gather them out of heaven and our earth, those things in
Christ. Out of Christ, you won't be there.
You won't be in this gathering. You won't be in this crowd, you
won't be in this family, you won't be in this group out of
Christ. God's going to gather all things
in Christ. Gather them together in Christ. And then Ephesians chapter 1
verse 11, In whom we have obtained an inheritance. Lay hold on eternal
life. Well preach, I'll come down now.
You won't lay hold on eternal life down here. Well, I'll go
in the baptismal pool. You won't lay hold on eternal
life in there either. Well, I'll get out, and I'll
work, and I'll witness, and I'll serve God. You won't find eternal
life out there either. Well, I'll come to church every
Sunday, and I'll give my tithes, and I'll teach Sunday school,
and I'll be faithful. You won't find eternal life in
their works either. It's in Him, in Him. We're chosen in him, we're blessed
in him, we're adopted in him, we're accepted in him, we're
forgiven in him, we're gathered in him, we inherit in him. He that for God so loved the
world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
in him shall not perish, but have in him eternal life. Men ask this question, do you
want to be saved? Do you know anybody who doesn't
want to be saved? Come on now, think seriously.
Do you know anybody who doesn't want to be saved? Men ask this question, do you
want to go to heaven? Seriously now, do you know anybody
that doesn't want to go to heaven? Anybody. Could you get a no to
that question from anybody? And then they ask this question.
You don't want to go to hell, do you? Do you know anybody who
wants to go to hell? You don't want to even go to
the hospital, let alone to hell. Most of you don't even want to
go to work anymore, much less to hell. I don't know anybody
who wants to go to hell. Here's what we ought to be asking. My friend, do you believe so
strongly that God's way of salvation is in and through and by and
because of the Lord Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave himself
for us, who came down to this earth in the form of sinful flesh
and who went to the cross of Calvary and died bearing our
guilt and our shame and our corruption and went to the tomb and rose
again, and he's at God's right hand as our mediator and our
advocate, interceding for us. Do you believe that? Do you believe
that so strongly that you're willing to give your life for that way, that you're willing
to be identified with him You know what religion today is?
I'll tell you what it is. I found this somewhere. And I
said, that's it. That's religion today. Religion
today is a God without wrath, delivering men and women without
sin, by Jesus without a cross, through a faith without works. That's what it is. And it's not
worth a plug nickel. A God without wrath, delivering
people without sin, by Jesus without a cross, through a faith
without works. Lay hold on eternal life. It's the gift of God. It's through
Jesus Christ our Lord. It is a present possession. Now
look at one more thing in 1 Timothy 6. Who are the people? Who are the people who are going
to lay hold on eternal life? Who are they? Well, first of all, verse 12
says, "...lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art called."
I know this. The people who are laying hold
on eternal life, who will lay hold on eternal life, are those
whom God calls. Now, he calls. We're the called
of Christ Jesus. And God'll call you. God'll call
you by his word. He'll call you by his Spirit.
He'll call. He'll make you willing in the
day of his power. And then secondly, those who
will lay hold on eternal life are not only those whom God hath
called, but it'll be those who have professed a good profession
before many witnesses. They're people who will profess
a good profession. They'll not be ashamed of the
gospel. They'll not be ashamed of Christ. They'll not be ashamed
to be identified with him. They give their lives and their
time and their home and their children and their effort and
their possessions for the kingdom and the glory of Jesus Christ.
They'll be identified with him, you'll be able to spot them,
because they witness a good profession. Just like the Lord Jesus Christ
witnessed, verse 13, before Pontius Pilate. You'll know where they
stand. I'm not ashamed of the sovereign
king. I'm not ashamed of His infallible
Word. I'm not ashamed of His blessed
people who love His Word. I'm not ashamed of His Son, though
He were crucified. I'm not ashamed of His burial
and resurrection and my confidence in His return. And on the Lord's
Day you'll find me praising His name. You'll find me associating
with and being identified with people who love his name. I'm
not going to dwell in the tents of the wicked. I'm not going
to seek my companionship among those that hate my God. You'll
witness a good profession. That's who's going to lay hold
on eternal life, those that are called and those who witness
a good profession. Our Lord has no secret disciples.
And then last of all, Those who are going to lay hold on eternal
life are those, in verse 14, who will keep this profession without spot, unrebukable, until
Jesus Christ comes back. That's right. John said they
departed from us, that it might be revealed they never were of
us. If they had been of us, they no doubt would have continued
with us. A man who departs from the faith reveals that he never
knew the faith. Men who deny Christ reveal they
never knew Christ. So those who will lay hold on
eternal life, first of all, are those who are called. God calls
them. And they hear, and they answer.
My sheep hear my voice, and I give them eternal life. Secondly,
they are those who witness a good profession. before this world,
before the people of this world. They witness a good profession.
They don't make themselves repulsive. but they witness a good profession.
And then thirdly, they'll be around when the Lord comes. They'll
be around. Our Father, take the word, anoint
it with the power of thy Holy Spirit. Get glory to thy matchless
name. and let us carry with us the
things that thou hast written that have been revealed in the
message today. O God grant that every one of
us may lay hold on eternal life. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.