Be Unashamed & Join In Suffering

Transcript

GR 1381
10/12/2008
Be Unashamed and Join in Suffering
II Timothy 1:8-9a
Gil Rugh


We're in II Timothy in our study together, II Timothy 1. As Paul writes this second letter to Timothy, which is the last letter of Paul, Timothy has been a faithful and trusted companion of the Apostle Paul in the ministry of the gospel for some 17 or 18 years by now. During this time he has had opportunity to experience the trials and difficulties and persecutions that come from being involved in a ministry of God's Word and the proclamation of His gospel. Paul is writing this letter to Timothy from a prison in Rome. And Paul is sure that his execution is in his not too distant future. As we noted in chapter 4 he indicates that the process has already begun, he has already had his preliminary trial, he is confident that his ministry is coming to a close and he will soon be executed. What he wants to do is challenge and encourages Timothy to continue to remain faithful in his ministry in spite of opposition. Paul is aware this is a difficult time for Timothy. He has looked to Paul as the leader in ministry; he has served with Paul and as Paul's representative. And it will be a great blow to Timothy to have Paul executed and thus removed from the ministry. Paul doesn't hold out any rosy picture, he doesn't try to challenge Timothy by saying, Timothy, just hang on a little longer because things will get better. I'm really hoping that your life and ministry won't be as difficult as mine has been. Nothing of that flavor at all. Just the opposite. Rather than trying to encourage Timothy by telling him he thinks things might get better, he tells Timothy they're going to get worse, Timothy. Persecution, opposition, defections from within among professing believers; that is all going to accelerate. So you're going to go from bad to worse, Timothy; I want to encourage you, be faithful. Different than we sometimes try to present the ministry and we try to look at it and tell people, I'm sure this is just a little bad time, it will get better. The reality of the Word of God is it will not get better and opposition to the Word of God, even though God in grace gives an openness and a receptiveness to His Word, sometimes in greater ways in different places, the ultimate result of faithfulness in the ministry will be opposition and suffering.

In verses 5-7 Paul encouraged Timothy by reminding him of the faith that he had in Christ and Paul encouraged him by saying, I am confident that you have a genuine faith, just like your mother and grandmother had. This is important because Paul is going to be writing about those who have departed from the faith. Some are now trying to infiltrate the church with false doctrine, as we'll see in chapter 2. Some of Paul's close companions in ministry have deserted him, abandoned him. But Paul is confident that Timothy has a genuine faith. And in light of that he encourages Timothy because he has a great gift, a gift of God's grace, and in verse 6, he is to keep that gift burning at full flame. We noted that translation in verse 6, I remind you to kindle afresh the gift. Probably not the best translation because you might get the idea that he is allowing it to die down. What he is really saying is you continue to keep it at full heat, keep it stoked at full heat. Like you have a fire burning in the fireplace and it's burning hot and you stoke it because you want to keep it at that full flame. So Timothy in the use of your gift you keep it with the same intense passion, you don't slack off, you don't back off. You continue to burn brightly. Why? Verse 7, God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, timidity, that tendency to want to shrink back, to hide, to run; to keep quiet doesn't come from the Lord. But God has given us a spirit of power, love and self-discipline.

Now with that as a background Paul moves in verse 8 to begin a series of commands and exhortations and encouragements to Timothy. This is really going to run down into chapter 2 verse 13. And remember Paul started out this letter in chapter 1 verse 1, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. And even though Timothy is a beloved son of Paul in the ministry, he is greatly loved by Paul. They've faithfully served the Lord together for some 17-18 years. Paul still will deal with him with the authority as God's Apostle. And you'll have a whole series of commands given down through the rest of chapter 1 and into chapter 2, telling Timothy what he is obligated before the God who saved him to do in carrying out His ministry.

Paul will use himself as an example through this section and through the letter. So even when he has passed off the scene, Timothy can be encouraged by being reminded and thinking the way Paul handled it, the way Paul stood up and suffered. Here he is at the end of his life; his execution is within sight, so to speak. What is Paul doing? Writing a letter to encourage Timothy and through Timothy the church, to be faithful, to stand for the truth and keep burning brightly.

We're going to pick up with verse 8 and you'll notice it begins with therefore. Building on what I've just said, I want you to do these things, Timothy, because I know you have a genuine faith, you have a gift of God's grace that you must keep burning brightly and He gives you the power and love and self-discipline. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me, his prisoner. This begins one long sentence that will run down through verse 12. So we're going to be breaking into the sentence. Not just into a paragraph, but into a sentence, we won't be able to complete it all in one time. Paul unfolds the burden of his heart for Timothy.

He starts out in verse 8, really, with two commands, two opposing commands. They are the opposite, two sides of the same coin, one is the negative and one is the positive. He is not to be ashamed but he is to join with Paul in suffering. So it starts out with that negative. Therefore, in light of what I have just said, God's work in your life, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. This is a command, it is structured a little differently than the other commands we'll be looking at. It does not imply that Timothy has been ashamed. Really what he is saying, don't let it happen. It would be a different kind of command if he wanted him to stop being ashamed. There is no indication here that Timothy has failed in any way in this matter. But he is warned, do not be ashamed.

We know what shame is, that embarrassment that we sense in a situation that fear of what will happen if I speak up. Humiliation may come to me, embarrassment. I'll go away ashamed, wishing I hadn't opened my mouth. And Paul doesn't want Timothy to be ashamed. That would cause him to back off, to look for reasons not to speak. Paul will use two examples through this, this becomes a theme through here—don't be ashamed; Timothy, don't you be ashamed. Down in verse 12 he uses himself as an example. For this reason I also suffered these things, but I am not ashamed. Then he uses the example of another man, Onesiphorus, down in verse 16. The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. Timothy, don't you be ashamed. I am not ashamed, Onesiphorus was not ashamed. I'm not asking you to do something I haven't done; I'm telling you that you can't be ashamed, you must not be ashamed. I think it's a good reminder here. Here is Timothy with all these years of faithful ministry and Paul's companion and faithful representative, but as Paul prepares to depart at this time he realizes that 17-18 years of faithful ministry does not guarantee the future. He is concerned that Timothy not stumble in this area after Paul is off the scene.

You know, we often say, finish well. That's what Timothy has to do. Keep your gift burning brightly at full heat, going full bore. You don't stop before the end, you don't shrink back, and you don't look for that “quiet resting place” to avoid the conflict, the trouble, the trial, the humiliation, the suffering. Don't be ashamed; be faithful to the end, Timothy. Paul was an example of that.

You know it was the passion of his life. When he wrote to the Romans in Romans 1:15-16 he said, I am eager to preach the gospel to you who are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. I'm ready, I'm anxious to come to Rome and preach the gospel. I'm not ashamed of the gospel. I'll come to the center of the Roman Empire; I'll come to that place where the man who rules Rome will in the not too distant future sentence me to execution. I'm not embarrassed over the gospel, I'm not ashamed of the gospel, I'm not afraid of the suffering that will come to me for it. So Timothy, don't you be ashamed of the gospel.

He says of the testimony of our Lord, is the way he puts it. Very personal. What is the gospel? It's the message concerning Jesus Christ. That's what he's talking about when he says the testimony of our Lord, the testimony concerning Christ—who He is and what He has done. That's put in a personal way here; don't be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. Isn't it sad? It's a reminder of the weakness of our flesh that we would be ashamed of the One who provided our salvation, I should be embarrassed about Christ, I should be afraid of suffering that would come if I present the truth concerning the One who loved me and died for me. But that's what Paul says. Timothy, I don't want you to ever become ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, embarrassed about Him. You know sometimes we have friends or relatives that embarrass us. Could that ever be true of Christ? Now think about that. But he has to tell Timothy. Paul knows the danger that faces us, Paul knows what it is like to have to go into an area and present the gospel and know this will only stir animosity and hatred. Don't be ashamed, don't be embarrassed.

But rather, will be the contrast. But he says one more thing before he does that. Don't be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me, his prisoner. To be ashamed of Paul would be to be ashamed of the gospel. Paul says don't be ashamed of me, the prisoner of the Lord. I mean, for Paul they go hand in hand. You're not going to be ashamed of the testimony, the truth concerning Christ. Don't be ashamed of me because I'm the prisoner of the Lord. Interestingly, several times Paul refers to the fact that he is a prisoner. Three times in his prior imprisonment in Rome, an earlier imprisonment he referred to it. The letter he wrote to the Ephesian church in chapter 3 verse 1 and in chapter 4 verse 1, he referred to himself as the prisoner of the Lord. During that same imprisonment he wrote a letter to Philemon, in verse 9 of that letter he referred to himself as the prisoner of the Lord. I'm not the prisoner of Rome; I' m not the prisoner of the emperor. I'm the prisoner of the Lord. You know why? I have these chains because I represent Him; I'm imprisoned because I present the testimony of my Lord, the truth of the gospel. So for Paul, if you are ashamed of someone who presents Jesus Christ, you're ashamed of someone who is presenting the Word of God, that's the same as being ashamed of the message. You're ashamed of the messenger. Why would you be ashamed of Paul in his imprisonment?

I read an article recently in connection with this study which appeared in a theological journal and the subject of the article was the shame and humiliation of Roman imprisonment in the first century. And to be identified with a prisoner, someone imprisoned in Rome, and the whole issue of imprisonment was considered a shameful, humiliating thing. Paul says, Timothy, don't be ashamed of me. Paul is seeing slippage, men beginning to teach other doctrines, as we'll see in chapter 2 verse 18 and the surrounding passages. Former companions who have deserted him. Chapter 4, Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world. Paul knows the pressure is on Timothy, and it will only grow. But Timothy, don't be ashamed of the Lord, the gospel, don't be ashamed of me, His prisoner.

What's the contrast? Join with me in suffering for the gospel. What an alternative. Don't be ashamed. Well, okay, I don't want to be ashamed, I don't want to be embarrassed. What's the alternative? Join with me in suffering for the gospel. Do you have a third choice? I don't want to be embarrassed over Christ, I don't want to deny Him, I don't want to be ashamed of Him, nor do I want to suffer for Him. I want a quiet middle ground. But you know what? There is no quiet middle ground for us as followers of Jesus Christ.

Join with me in suffering. Interesting word, it's a compound word, really three words put together, evidently coined by the Apostle Paul because this compound word never appears anywhere else in secular or biblical literature until Paul uses it right here. And he uses it twice, here and down in chapter 2 verse 3. So you can see the permeating ideas in this section. Don't be ashamed, Timothy. I'm not ashamed, Onesiphorus was not ashamed. Rather, Timothy, join with me in suffering. Then you get down to chapter 2 verse 3, the subject hasn't changed. Join with me in suffering, exactly the same command. It has three words—the preposition with, the word evil or bad, and the word to suffer. So to suffer bad things, evil things with me. Not suffering for doing evil, but suffering the evil and wicked things men bring upon you because of your identification with Jesus Christ and those who serve Him. Isn't it exciting to see the Apostle Paul on death row challenging Timothy, step up and join with me in suffering for the gospel? Not telling Timothy how to avoid the kind of end I have, I'm hoping for a better end for you, Timothy. I'm hoping you never end up in a Roman dungeon like me. I hope you never have to experience the misery, physical suffering and pain that I've had to endure. Hope you never have to sit in a damp and dark dungeon, abandoned by your friends, waiting for your head to be cut off. That's not what Paul says. He says, Timothy, you join with me in suffering. Now that's a great bright future. Paul, you know where you are, you know you have no future. But I do. We get to the future in chapter 4—henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness. So Timothy, you join with me in suffering for the gospel.

Strong command here. This is something that is required of Timothy, just like it is required of him that he never be ashamed of his Lord or of those who serve the Lord. So he is to join with Paul in suffering for the gospel. That suffering for the gospel becomes a theme for this letter. In fact verse 8 becomes, if you would, the key verse, the theme verse of this letter—not being ashamed, but suffering for the gospel.

You'll note Paul did not see his suffering as unique. It's not, I'm an apostle, I've been called to a unique ministry and my ministry involves suffering. But you can expect at least better things. Suffering, but not as bad. You understand Paul never saw himself as unique in that sense. He saw it as the normal Christian life for anyone who faithfully follows Christ. It will be a life of difficulty and suffering. Later in the epistle he'll say everyone who lives godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

Back up to John 15. If we're honest we all like to think that if we are really faithful to the Lord and we maintain the right lifestyle and aren't too aggressive with the gospel, we can have a nice quiet, relatively easy Christian life. And there won't be much hostility because our neighbors will appreciate we're good neighbors, our fellow workers will appreciate we're good workers, people will see us as good citizens. And we just make our way through life, knowing we're on our way to heaven and having as little trouble and trial as we can possibly have.

In John 15 Jesus is preparing His disciples for His impending crucifixion. He will soon be betrayed and crucified. This is His last night with His disciples. Down in verse 13 He says, greater love has no one than this that one lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. Verse 16, you did not choose Me, but I chose you. We're going to get to that doctrine of election in the next verse in II Timothy 1. You did not choose Me, I chose you. Jump down to verse 18; if the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. Note this, if you are of the world, the world would love its own, but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. The foundational reason for the world's animosity toward believers in Jesus Christ is not what they say, not what they do. It's who they are, they belong to Jesus Christ. He chose us out of the world; therefore, the world hates you. Now the danger for us as Christians is we try to go in disguise. You know what happens? The more open we are with our testimony for Jesus Christ, the more open we are in telling the gospel of Jesus Christ, the more intense is the opposition. So the danger of being ashamed of the testimony of Christ and of believers who are open with their testimony is clear. The animosity is there. I want to keep it down. How do I keep it down? I don't bring it up, I don't talk about my identification with Jesus Christ, I don't present the testimony concerning Jesus Christ, I don't become too closely identified with people who are too open with the Word of God.

Have you ever been in a situation where someone asks you a question, where do you go to church? Well, I've visited Indian Hills. Indian Hills? Isn't that the church out there that hates homosexuals and hates women and does all these strange things? Well, I don't go there every Sunday. I mean, there is a sense, isn't there, we sort of cringe and say, why does everybody have a negative attitude toward us. Well, we don't want to do things just to stir animosity, but by the same token I want to be careful I don't avoid the animosity because I don't want to avoid being identified with my Savior. Jesus said I chose you out of the world. Aren't you glad He did? It's because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, a slave is not greater than his master. He is the Master, we are the slaves. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. Here is the standard, I present the Word of God. Those who won't accept the Word of God won't like me, but they will hate me. So you understand the way I become ashamed of the Word is I avoid presenting it. There is no other way to put it. If you stop and reflect on your life, it does become embarrassing how often we are ashamed of Christ, have acted to avoid any open identification because we are afraid of the hostility that might come, the attitude that we might have to experience. With Paul this is the Christian life. Timothy, I don't expect anything better for you. I expect you to be out there burning at full flame, with the result of that being you join with me in suffering. You are proclaiming the gospel and you identify yourself with others who do the same.

Come back to II Timothy. Join with me in suffering for the gospel. What Paul is talking about here is our suffering for the gospel. He's not talking about the general sufferings that come in the course of life. Believers and unbelievers alike get sick, believers and unbelievers alike lose money in the stock market; believers and unbelievers alike have troubles and difficulties. He's talking about suffering for the gospel. God's grace is sufficient for everything that comes into our lives; He is our strength and enablement. But what Paul is talking about here is stepping up and being identified in an open and clear way with the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ and being associated with someone like Paul who proclaims that message.

Join with me in suffering. How do you do this? You do it according to the power of God. This is not something natural. You know, some have it, some don't; some just have that courage and boldness, I don't. I'm a timid retiring person. But God is not talking about what you do in your own strength. He's talking about what you do in His strength, what the Spirit of God provides is the power to endure the stress, the trials, the tribulation, the hardship that will come as a result of faithful ministry with the Word of God. This is the power that Paul talks about in verse 7; God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power.

Back up to his letter to the Ephesians. Paul wrote a letter to the church at Ephesus where Timothy is when he writes to him now. He wrote this letter to the Ephesians when he was imprisoned at an earlier date, remember. Ephesians 3:13, he's praying to the Father for them and what is he praying? Look at verse 16, that He would grant you according to the riches of His glory to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man. Sounds like what he told Timothy. God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power, love and self-discipline. That God would grant you according to the riches of His glory to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man. Look down at verse 20, now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond. It's like Paul doesn't know how to express this, it is so over-the-top. To Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us. Awesome and remarkable.

If God brings that power on me, I'm willing to step up and witness for Him. As we've talked before, this isn't like superman, all of a sudden you have power to do something and we're just waiting until the Lord gives me that courage and I'll do it. You know what it is? God gives you the command to do it, you step out and do it and you know where the power and enablement comes from? Him. That's it. We've talked about this and we've talked about God giving us the spirit of power. Paul is writing and giving Timothy a command, don't be ashamed, join with me in suffering. That's something Timothy is required as the slave of the living God to do. And you do it; the enabling power comes from God. God is not asking us, not commanding us to do in our own strength and power the ministry He has given us. He is commanding us to do what only can be done with His supernatural strength. And you know what he says? He is able to do far more abundantly beyond. Tragedy that we want to avoid is standing before Christ on the day when He judges, find out we just used a little bit, we just hardly tapped the potential that was there. He was ready to do far more abundantly beyond what we were willing to trust Him to do. Think about it. What if I had shared the gospel with twenty people this week? Is it possible in the power of God He might have even used that testimony to bring three, four, five people to the Lord. I don't know, but I know twenty more people would have heard the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ than hear if I don't say. I don't know what God would do with my testimony if I never give my testimony. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ, Romans 10 tells us. If I never speak for Him I don't know whether God would use me as the spokesman in bringing the gospel and bringing people to Christ or not. I don't know. It's just not me, I'm not that kind of person; I can't talk to people.

But you know we had a football game yesterday. I hear people going down the hall talking about it, just comes natural. You go to the restaurant, say to the person next to you, what did you think of the game last night? I'm not embarrassed, I'm not ashamed. They say, I didn't see it. Oh, are you from out of town? Something wrong? It just comes natural. Lean over and say, did you know that God loves you so much that He had His Son come and die for you even though He says you're His enemy? All of a sudden, I don't think I'm going to say that. Why? I wasn't embarrassed to ask them about the game even though our team lost. That's all right; I can still talk about it. What am I embarrassed about Christ? Well he may not like it. You know, he's dying and going to hell and God could do far more abundantly beyond all that we could ask or think according to His power that works within us. And I'm sitting there as though I can't do it. No you can't, but is there anything His power is not able to do? And He wants to do it over flowingly abundantly.

All right, you know where Paul is going now? One of the fullest, most complete and yet most concise presentations of the gospel you have anywhere in the Bible. Back in II Timothy 1:9-10, and it's so full we won't even get through it today. Verse 9, he's going to focus on the salvation God has provided for us in His work in eternity past, before the ages. And then in verse 10 he'll talk about the revealing of that salvation with the coming of Christ. So in a very concise way he wants to draw Timothy's attention to the working of God's power, it's that power that works in Timothy. It's the gospel which is the power of God so that I go forth and trust God for the strength to face the stress, the trials, and the opposition that will come as I present the gospel. In His power I am turning loose the gospel which is His power for salvation to everyone who believes. So he moves from the power of God in this continuing sentence to verse 9. Join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, and it's the God who saved us and called us with a holy calling. Two aorist participles, the normal way to speak of something in the past. This is what He did for us, He saved us and He called us with a holy calling. But then I want to remind you, I'm talking about your representing Jesus Christ, presenting the gospel of Jesus Christ, operating in the power of God. I'm telling you this is the God who saved us that we're suffering together and representing. He saved us and He calls us with a holy calling. Saved us, that presents what He has done. He called us, the effectual call of God. He adds that here because he wants to bring out we have been called with a holy calling. The God who is holy has called us, and when the God who is holy calls us, He calls us to Himself and to holiness. So He saved us and He called us with a holy calling. It's just not a call, stop. It's a call that is a holy calling; it's a calling to a holy life.

Turn over to I Peter 1:14, as obedient children do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in ignorance, the ignorance you had of God, of His salvation when you lived your life in sin. But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves in all your behavior because it is written, you shall be holy from I am holy, quoting from the book of Leviticus. You see the Holy God calls us to Himself, to His salvation, to a holy life, the children of God now manifesting the character of the God who has saved them.

Come back to Ephesians 1, and you remember this verse, I'll be repeating it again in a moment as we move on in Timothy. Verse 4, just as He chose in Him before the foundation of the world. This sovereign action of God in choosing us occurs before the foundation of the world. What does it involve? That we would be holy and blameless before Him, holiness, blamelessness. I realize we can talk about our positional holiness in Christ, but you understand the Bible does not make a radical break there. The fact that indeed in Christ we are holy before God, we have been cleansed and made pure, we have been given the righteousness of Christ, we are blameless as we are seen through the finished work of Christ. But you understand what that means, now, for our practice. Be holy in all your behavior. We should be holy because He is holy. So those who have experienced holiness in Christ now manifest it with holiness in life and Paul is reminding Timothy of that very connection. That's why the scripture presents the opposite side of this. Those who do not practice holiness will have no part in the kingdom that God will establish on this earth.

Back up to I Corinthians 6:9, or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God, the coming kingdom toward which all believers are ultimately moving. Do not be deceived, important here that you not be confused on this matter. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. Could it be any clearer? Some of you may be here, you are practicing immorality, you are embezzling, you are cheating, whatever. You understand what it says here. Don't deceive yourselves and think, I'm a Christian, but I just have sin in my life. What God says here is very serious. Holiness is not just expected, it is required. Now it's not by your works that you are saved, you are saved by faith in Christ, but when you come into a relationship with the living God who is holy, holy, holy, He makes you a new creature in Christ and produces the beauty of His character in your life. And now we are progressively being transformed into conformity with the images of His glory, II Corinthians 3:18 tells us. So he goes on in verse 11, such were some of you, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. A holy calling, you know that word translated sanctified here is the same basic Greek word as the one translated holy. It is the same one that is translated saints. We are often called saints in the New Testament. Why? We are holy ones, we are sanctified ones, we are those set apart from sin to God. God is perfectly holy because He is completely set apart from sin and all defilement.

Turn over to Revelation 21. Now we have moved to that kingdom of God where believers will enjoy God's presence for eternity. We are in the eternal phase of that kingdom in chapter 21, but there are some people who can't be part of the New Jerusalem and this kingdom. Look at verse 8, but for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. Could God be any clearer? Now again, we say we're going to get works in a moment. But God's salvation changes a life. Not saying we're perfect, that we never sin, but the characteristic of a life of a child of God, I John 3, by this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious. Those who practice sin belong to the devil; those who practice righteousness belong to God. That's what he is saying.

So we are called with a holy calling, come back to I Timothy 1. We have to look a little further into this verse. He has called us with a holy calling; He has saved us and called us with a holy calling in verse 9, not according to our works. The problem comes when we get confused on where works fit in. You are not saved by believing in Christ plus doing good works. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Nothing else added. That's what Martin Luther was protesting against in the Protestant Reformation. And that has not changed. The major difference between us as Bible believing Christians and Roman Catholics, for example, is they believe that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ, but not alone. That marks us off from run-of-the-mill Protestants, average Protestants who have come to believe they can be saved by their works. Of course we've believed in Christ and we're doing our best and trying to keep the Ten Commandments. You are not saved by your works. God didn't call you on the basis of your works.

Look how this goes on, but according to His own purpose and grace. If it's not on the basis of my works, what was it? Now you'll note, this has to do with could God look ahead in the future and see what I would do and thus on that basis choose me. Still on the basis of works, isn't it? No, He didn't save you, didn't call you on the basis of your works. Not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace. He purposed within Himself to show grace to us. Now as soon as we bring the word grace into it, as soon as we bring the word saved into it, we are dealing with sinful people. If you are not a sinner you don't need saving, if you're not a sinner you don't need God's grace. Grace by definition is something undeserved, unmerited, unearned. So we're dealing with sinful people here. I'm saying this because people get concerned about the doctrine of election. Election is simply the translation of the Greek word we've translated choose or chose in our Bible. We read it in Ephesians 1. Some people say, I don't believe in election. Well if you believe the Bible, you believe in election. Now you may want to clarify what you believe about election or how you understand it, but the word election, elektos and various forms of the word, we've just carried over into English. We translate it in English to choose. So every Bible-believing Christian believes in election, not every Bible-believing Christian believes in election the same way. It's according to God's purpose, His salvation, His choosing, not according to our works, according to His own purpose and grace. He purposed to save certain sinners and they would be the recipients of His saving grace. Not obligated to save anyone, but He will manifest that saving grace.

Go back to Ephesians 1 and let me read verse 4 again because that will be the end of our verse and we're going to break off here quickly, so we'll be picking up here. Verse 4, He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. Down in verse 11, also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose. Same words we have in our passage in II Timothy, according to His own purpose. Having been predestined according to His purpose, who works all things after the counsel of His will. You know what the Bible does? It takes us back and says, you know what the answer to this is? God counseled with Himself and purposed what He would do. Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three persons comprising the one true and living God, they counseled among themselves and determined before they ever created the world that they would save sinful beings by having the second Person of the triune God come to this earth and suffer and die on the cross and be raised from the dead. And then in mercy and grace give that salvation to certain ones that God called for Himself.

Look at Ephesians 2, and we will have to stop here just reading the last statement in II Timothy. Note how chapter 2 starts out, you were dead in your trespasses and sins, your formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we, too, all formerly lived in the lusts of the flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, were by nature children of wrath. Beginning point, until you come under the conviction of the Holy Spirit who convicts you of sin, righteousness and judgment, you cannot be saved. This is what we all are. That's what the Spirit does as you hear the gospel, He opens your eyes and you see yourself as a defiled, guilty sinner. But God being rich in mercy, because of His great love, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ. Note this: by grace you have been saved. Why did He save us? So that in ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. You know what? In a hundred billion years the angels will be able to point to you and say, we have a gracious God. He even saved sinners. There is one of them, a trophy of His grace for eternity. There will be no saved angels there, you understand, because there was no salvation provided for angels who sinned. There will be angels there, but angels who never sinned, who were never defiled by sin. But you and I will be there and down through the ages of eternity, the endless expanse of eternity, He'll show the surpassing riches, the overflowing riches of His grace that was shown to us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. That salvation is not of yourselves, it is a gift of God. It's not a result of works. That no one should boast. For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works. The good works come as a result of your being saved, you are created in Christ Jesus as a new creation to do good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. That's why He called us with a holy calling, because inherent in that calling to salvation in Christ is holiness. And He has prepared beforehand the walk that we should have, the works that should characterize us.

To wrap up, and this is where we will pick up next week, back in II Timothy 1:9. This grace was granted to us, given to us in Christ Jesus from all eternity. You know what the amazing thing is? Before the time of the ages, before Genesis 1:1 God has laid it all out. That's His eternal plan. How could we be ashamed or afraid to step up and suffer for the gospel of Jesus Christ when this is what the sovereign eternal God has done for us? He planned it before the creation of the world and now as we'll see in the next verse in our next study; it has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus.

Do you know the Savior? Maybe you attend here and you've been trusting your good works. Salvation comes when you understand you are a sinner and can't be saved by your works. But Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died to pay the penalty for your sin, was raised from the dead, and now you can have salvation as a free gift from God by believing in Him. May God give us boldness to spread that message.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for what you have done for us in Christ. Lord, matters that go beyond the finite mind that we wrestle with this material, that you, the eternal God, planned our eternal salvation before you brought creation into existence. Then in time you saved us. Lord, how privileged we are to know you, to belong to you, to have been called by a holy God to a holy life, a life enabled by your divine power. Lord, I pray that the day before us, the week before us we would not be ashamed of Christ, the testimony concerning Him or of believers who are faithful to You. May we count it a privilege to join together with others in suffering for the gospel, knowing that it is your sovereign purpose that in our identification with Christ we share in His sufferings as well. Thank you for the power of the gospel that saves those who believe. We praise you in Christ's name, amen.