Let's look together this morning
at 2 Timothy chapter 1. 2 Timothy chapter 1. It's really good to be here with group
A this morning. Seems like it's been so long
since I've seen many of you. It's a blessing to be able to
worship with you today. 2 Timothy chapter one. Let's read
the first 12 verses and then I want to go back and make a
few comments along the way from this passage of scripture. Verse
number one, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of
God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus. To Timothy, my dearly beloved
son, grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ
Jesus our Lord. I thank God whom I serve from
my forefathers with pure conscience that without ceasing I have remembrance
of thee in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see
thee being mindful of thy tears that I may be filled with joy.
When I call to remembrance the unfamed faith that is in thee,
which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice, and
I'm persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore, I put thee in remembrance
that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee by the putting
on of my hands. For God hath not given us the
spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be
thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the
power of God, who has saved us and called us with an 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, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior,
Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death and hath brought life and
immortality to life through the gospel, whereunto I am appointed
a preacher and an apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles, For
the witch calls, I also suffer these things. Nevertheless, I'm
not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed. And I'm persuaded
that he's able to keep that which I have committed unto him against
that day." I thought it such a blessing that
Kevin chose Sing that special that he sang this morning. We
didn't coordinate with one another. Believe the Lord laid it upon
his heart to sing. Sing that song, it's right in
alignment, isn't it, with this passage of scripture here. Notice here in verse one, Paul,
an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. Paul was now
at the end of his life. But he never forgot that he was
a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ only by the grace of God, by
the will of God. It was God's mercy and grace
that called him and put him into the ministry. You remember he
had been known as Saul of Tarsus. And as Saul of Tarsus, he was
doing everything that he possibly could to stamp out the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, he was out putting people
in prison who confessed that the Lord Jesus had not only died
upon the cross, but had come forth victorious out of the grave.
He was doing everything he could to stamp out the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ. But the Lord Jesus Christ, you
remember, knocked him off his horse. He called him there right
outside of Damascus, and he changed Saul of Tarsus to the Apostle
Paul. And the Lord told Ananias, he
said, he is a chosen vessel unto me. What a choice. Here's Paul, Saul of Tarsus,
out there trying to kill Christians. And the Lord told Ananias, he
is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles
and kings and the children of Israel. And Paul never, and God
help us, he never got over the grace of God. Amazing grace,
how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was
lost, but now I'm found. Was blind, but now I see. That
was Paul's testimony. That song had not been written
yet, but I'm sure he sang some variation of it. He never got
over the fact that it was God's mercy and grace and will that
called him and put him into the ministry. He said, I'm not meet
to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God,
but by the grace of God, I am what I am. And his grace, which
was bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly
than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with
me. And friends, believers, we can
all say the same thing this morning as the apostle. that it's only
by the will of God and by the grace of God. If we make any
attempt in this world to live for the Lord Jesus Christ and
to serve him, it's only by the will of God and by the grace
of God. And we give him all the praise and glory. Now notice
going on here in verse one, he said, Paul, an apostle of Jesus
Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which
is in Christ Jesus. This is really just a different
way of saying according to the gospel, according to the promise
of life which is in Christ Jesus. The word gospel, you all know
it means good news, doesn't it? Good message, happy message,
gospel. And truly, there is no better
news, there's no better message for any child of Adam, for any
of us, than the truth that God has promised life in his son,
the Lord Jesus Christ. There's no, what news could be
greater? What news could be happier? What
could be a better message than that, that God has promised everlasting
life, eternal life in his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's pledged
eternal life for all who are in his son, Jesus Christ. There could be no better news,
could there? We all see our life just like a fog, don't we? that
comes up in the morning, we wake up and there's fog outside and
by noon it's burned off. It's fleeting, isn't it? It goes
away and that's how our life is. Even if we live a long life,
it's very short. But the gospel comes to us through
the grace of God and tells us that God has pledged, he has
promised eternal life in his son, Jesus Christ. The gospel
is the promise of life in Christ Jesus. That is the gospel, the
promise of life in the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. The
Lord Jesus is the way to life and He's the only way that we
may have everlasting life. You remember Martha. Her brother
Lazarus had died. And the Lord Jesus came to Bethany
where they lived. And the Lord Jesus said to Martha,
your son, I mean your brother, Lazarus, he's gonna rise again. And you remember what Martha
said. She said, I know that Lazarus shall rise again in the resurrection
of the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the
resurrection and the life. He that believes in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. And whoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. Do you believe this, Martha?
That's the question to us this morning. Do we believe the Lord
Jesus Christ? Do we believe him? I like the
translation of the NIV on this verse. Listen to how it reads
in the NIV. I am the resurrection and the
life. Whoever believes in me, though
he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and believes
in me shall never die. Do you believe this? What a gospel. See, he speaks of two resurrections
there, doesn't he? He speaks of the new birth, the
resurrection, when God comes to us in mercy and grace, dead
in trespasses and sins, no interest in the Lord Jesus Christ and
no love or interest in God, enemies of God. And he comes to us and
he, by the Holy Spirit, he gives us life, new life. He raises
us from the dead. And at that moment, he gives
us eternal life. Eternal life for the believer.
That's not something we're going to get sometime in the future.
That's something that we have today. Everlasting life. That's the message of the gospel.
The Lord Jesus gives us everlasting life. But he also, there's another
resurrection coming, isn't there? That's the one Martha said, I
know that Lazarus, my brother, he's gonna rise again at the
last day. That is true. And the Lord Jesus, when he comes
again with the shout of the archangel, he's going to raise up all his
people. He's gonna resurrect us in our
bodies to eternal life. Believe us out of this? If you believe that this morning,
praise God. Because it's only revealed, it's
not revealed by flesh and blood. It's only revealed by God through
his spirit. The word of God teaches that
before God ever created the world and mankind in eternity, he promised
to himself. Who else could he promise to?
Nothing else had been created. God promised to himself that
some, that many, would have eternal life. That's what we read in
Titus, in hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised
before the world began. What a gospel. That's the gospel
Paul was called to be an apostle of and to preach. God's promises
to sinful men and women, God's promises to us, are only found
in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what he says, the promise
of life which is in Christ Jesus. This promise of life isn't found
anywhere else. All the promises of God are yea
and amen in Jesus Christ. But all His promises to sinners
are found in His Son. The promise to be forgiven of
all our sins and offenses, that's only found in the Lord Jesus
Christ. The promise to not only be forgiven,
but to be justified, to be made just as if we had never sinned. That's only found in the Lord
Jesus Christ. To have eternal everlasting life. And listen, we're not talking
about just existence. All men and women have an eternal
existence. The soul of all shall never die.
We're talking about everlasting life. not everlasting existence. We're talking about righteous
life. We're talking about being made like the Lord Jesus Christ
and being in the presence of God and actually being able to
enjoy Him, to be able to love Him and worship Him because we're
made like Him. That's what an everlasting life,
eternal life, being raised like the Lord Jesus Christ. The psalmist,
I think, put it so well. He said, thou wilt show me the
path of life. Has God shown you the path of
life? That path of life is the Lord
Jesus. He said, I am the way, the truth,
and the life. No man comes to the Father but
by me. Thou wilt show me the path of
life. In thy presence is fullness of
joy. Don't you desire fullness of
joy? I don't know about you. I don't
have fullness of joy in this life. I do know about you. None
of us have fullness of joy in this life. But in the presence
of God, there's fullness of joy. At thy right hand, there are
pleasures forevermore. What a gospel. This promise of life is in Christ
Jesus. It's in Him. You may be thinking,
well, I really like what you're saying. I really like what you're
saying this morning. I want that everlasting life,
but is it for me? Can that be for me, I who am
such a sinner? I who day after day sin against
God, I who fail God day after day after day, can this promise
be for me? Remember what Peter told those
who had crucified the Lord Jesus Christ? I'm talking about the
ones who had cried out, crucify him. Do you remember what Peter
preached to them? He said, repent and be baptized
every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission
of sins, for the forgiveness of sins. And you shall receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost for the promise is unto you and unto
your children and to all that are far off, even as many as
our Lord shall call. That's the question. Is this
message for you? Is God calling you? As you hear
the gospel this morning and you hear of the Lord Jesus Christ,
is God calling you? Is there something in your heart
that says, oh, that I may have him, the Lord Jesus, that I may
be found in him? That's God's call. Is he calling
you? If he is, this gospel's for you.
Yes, you have failed. Yes, I have failed. Yes, we are
sinners. but it's God calling us. The
gospel is for sinners. Who else would need the gospel
but sinners? So I've taken way, way too much
time on verse one. So I'm definitely gonna have
to pick up my pace here, but it's hard to, you don't wanna
rush through that. The promise of life, promise
of everlasting life, Notice verse two. To Timothy, my dearly beloved
son, grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ
Jesus our Lord. You know, we can desire no greater
blessing for anyone than the blessing that Paul has for Timothy
here. That is grace. We need grace,
don't we? Unmerited favor. Grace to help
us in our time of need. We need God's mercy. His mercy. Brother Streeter said we are
a needy people. We need God's mercy. Mercy to forgive us our
sins. Mercy to help us through this
life. Our lot in life for all mankind. Anyone that lives on this world
long enough is trouble. We will all suffer trouble, trials,
tribulations, and we need God's mercy, his mercy to keep his
arm around us, to comfort and strengthen us. Thank God for
his mercy and peace. Oh, what a blessing to know that
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. That God
is not angry with us. That the thrice holy God can
look upon us, believers, and say that he's well pleased in
us through his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Peace with God.
And peace with one another. What a blessing to have peace
with one another. I do know about you, believer. God's people are peacemakers,
and it grieves us to see all the strife, doesn't it? It grieves
the heart of a believer to see all the trouble and all the strife.
Oh, we need the grace and mercy and peace of God in this time.
May God be merciful to us and to our nation and to our families
and to our friends and to our enemies. May God be merciful
to us. Now notice verse three through
eight. I thank God. whom I serve for my forefathers
with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of
thee in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see
thee, being mindful of your tears that I may be filled with joy.
When I call to remembrance the unfamed faith that is in thee,
which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice, and
I'm persuaded that is in thee also. Wherefore, I put thee in
remembrance, that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in
thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given
us the spirit of fear. but of power and of love and
of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be
thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the
power of God. Timothy, if God should call upon
you to suffer for the preaching of the gospel, bear those afflictions
in the power of God and through the power of the Holy Spirit
who dwells in you. For God has not given you the
spirit of fear. That word fear means of timidity. God has not given us the spirit
of fear, but of power that is of miraculous power and might
and of love, love to God. Love for the gospel, love for
sinners who need to hear the gospel. And of a sound mind. You know, that verse, a lot of
people, you know, the Lord speaks to us different ways, different
times from the scripture, but here the sound mind really means
of self-control, of a sound mind, of self-control. That's what
it literally is, the translation here. Now notice verse nine. I want to make sure that I don't
run out of time before we get to these last few verses. Who
hath saved us? Who has saved us? It's God who
has saved us. It's He who's delivered us from
the state of spiritual death. Do you have an interest this
morning in the Lord Jesus Christ? It's God that has saved you.
Who has saved us? It's He who's translated us. from the kingdom of darkness
into the kingdom of light. You read in Colossians, Paul
wrote to them, he said, giving thanks unto the Father. Why? Why should we thank the Father?
Because he's made us meet. He's qualified us to be partakers
of the inheritance of the saints in light, who's delivered us
from the power of darkness He's delivered us from the power
of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear
Son, in whom we have redemption. That is, in whom we've been ransomed
in full through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins. Who
has saved us? He's not talking about something
in the future. He was giving thanks for something
that was true in the present. Oh, that we in our hearts may
give thanks this morning to our God for what's true of us today
in the presence, believers. We're no longer in the kingdom
of darkness. God has translated us out of
the kingdom of darkness into his kingdom of light, into the
kingdom of his dear son. The Lord Jesus said, this is
my blood of the new covenant of the New Testament, which is
shed for many for the remission of sins. After he arose, he said,
thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer
and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance
and remission of sins should be preached in his name among
all nations beginning at Jerusalem. That's the message I bring to
you this morning, the message of forgiveness of sins, forgiveness
of sins of the Lord Jesus Christ, who has saved, And now notice
the emphasis on the word us. Who has saved us? Believers,
us. Who has saved us? Sinners, lost,
undone, worthy of the wrath of God, and yet he has saved us. Our salvation must be all of
God and it must be all of grace because it was given to us in
Christ Jesus before the world began. Before we had ever come
into being, God had already saved us in eternity past when he gave
us to the Lord Jesus Christ. But in time, he calls us out
of darkness into his kingdom. the kingdom of His dear Son.
Notice verse 9, who saved us and He called us with an 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. You see, we were given unto His
Son an eternal election, and therefore in time we are called. We're called because God, we
love him because he first loved us. We're called because he chose
us and gave us to his son in eternity before the world began,
before we were ever created, before we'd done any good or
evil. God chose us and gave us unto
his son. But notice, how do we know? How do we know
that God chose us in eternity? How do we know that God chose
a people in eternity? And how can we know that? That's what verse 10 tells us
here. Notice. I'll start in verse 9
because of the context. "...who has saved us and called
us with an 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, but is now made manifest by the
appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and hath brought life
and immortality to life through the gospel." You see, how do
we know that God chose the people? Because the Lord Jesus, the Son
of God, the eternal Son of God, became man, the God-man, because
he came into this world by his appearing. Why else would he
come? Why else would the eternal Son
of God come into this world? Why else would he appear if it
were not to save sinners, to seek and to save that which was
lost? And notice what he accomplished. Who hath abolished death? The Lord Jesus Christ, by his
life and death, he abolished death for us believers. That
word abolish, it means to make death of no effect. To make death
of no effect for the believer, he abolished death. He broke
the power of death over the believer. How did he do that? By taking
away, by putting away our sins. You see, by taking away our sins,
he abolished death. The actual translation is, he
rendered death useless. Can you imagine? The Lord Jesus,
for us, rendered death useless. How did he do that? The sting
of death is sin. Why is death something to fear? Because we have within our conscience,
we know that there is a God and we know we've offended God. We
know that we've sinned against God. And sin is the sting of
death. Sin is what makes death a scary
thing. But praise God, the Lord Jesus
abolished death. How did he do that? On the cross,
he bore our sins in his own body to the tree, and he put them
away. He put our sins away. He's abolished death for us.
Paul, in his discourse on the resurrection, you see the boldness,
the boldness of the apostle Paul when he says, oh, death, as though
he challenged death, O death, where is thy sting? O grave,
where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and
the strength of sin is the law, but thanks be to God which giveth
us the victory through the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus
abolished death. Take that believer by faith this
morning. Receive that message by faith.
God has saved you, he's called you, and he's abolished death
for you. If the Lord Jesus Christ doesn't
return before it's time for us to leave this world, this body
will die, but we have everlasting life. Our souls shall never die. We'll be absent from this body,
but present with the Lord. And death is no more for the
believer than a gate. It's a beautiful gate, the gate
that opens the door for the child of God into the eternal presence
of God, uninterrupted presence of God. To be with the Lord Jesus Christ
and to see him and to love him fully and to honor God and worship
God as we should. That's what death is for the
believer. Why? Because the Lord Jesus Christ
is victorious. He has the victory over death,
and he won the victory for us over death. And believer, we
are to take that by faith and rejoice in it this morning. That's
the gospel, the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus. In
the close here, Notice verse 11 and 12. Paul said he's appointed,
he was appointed a preacher of this great gospel and an apostle
and a teacher of the Gentiles. For the which cause I also suffer
these things. Nevertheless, I'm not ashamed.
For I know whom I have believed and I'm persuaded that he is
able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that
day. Believer, do you know whom you
have to leave? Are you persuaded that he is
able? The only thing I know for sure
is that I'm not able. I do know that, but I'm persuaded
that he is able to keep that which I've committed. What do
we commit unto him? We commit to him our soul. The
everlasting keeping and saving of our soul. I know whom I have
believed and I'm persuaded that he is able to keep that which
I've committed unto him against that day. Senator, have you committed
your soul to the Lord Jesus Christ for saving and for keeping? If not, why not? Why not? Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ
and you will be saved. That's the promise of the gospel.
That's the promise of eternal life, which is in Christ Jesus.
May the Lord bless his word. Brother Bill, would you lead
us in a song of dismissal, please?