God’s Eternal Plan of Salvation

Transcript

GR 1382
10/18/2008
God's Eternal Plan of Salvation
II Timothy 1:9b-11
Gil Rugh


We're in II Timothy 1. This letter is written by Paul, as you remember, as he is imprisoned in Rome, awaiting execution. And as he writes this letter Christianity as a whole, the church, is going through an especially difficult time. The church is about 35 years old at this point, a little older perhaps. There has always been persecution of the church. The Jews have always been opposed to the ministry of Christ, from the days of His earthly ministry the Jewish leaders opposed Him and led the way in having Him crucified by the Romans. When the church is established in Acts 2 the focus of the establishing of the church is the proclaiming of the gospel; the message of Jesus Christ as the Savior. The opposition of the Jews continues and we read through the book of Acts how that opposition keeps resurfacing from place to place. And during this time the Romans have been relatively indifferent to this new religion, as they would view it, the followers of Christ. But the Romans had a pantheon of gods; they had no problem with another god, another worship system, another religion. As long as it did not unsettle things in the empire, as long as it does not become a trouble center then things can go on.

What has changed as Paul writes this letter is that Rome has been burned, Nero is the emperor. And he has blamed the Christians. And on that basis a mass persecution of believers has been undertaken, Christianity has been declared an illegal religion. Before, through the book of Acts you could find Paul even using his Roman citizenship to avoid some of the persecution from the Jews. But now being a Christian is contrary to being a Roman because Christianity is illegal. So we have this intense persecution, not from the Jews who continue their opposition and persecution, but now official persecution from the Romans. And many believers will be martyred for their testimony for Christ during this time. And as a follow through on that, the church is going through a major transition. Up to this time the leadership of the church has been in the apostles, most of them, all of them except for Paul were part of Christ's ministry while He was on earth. All of them including Paul had been specifically appointed by Christ to their ministry. But now they are passing off the scene, not from old age, not because they are retiring, but because they are being martyred.

Around 66 A.D. the Apostle Peter writes his second letter, II Peter, and in the first chapter of that letter he said he is writing knowing that the time of the laying aside of my earthly dwelling, my physical body is imminent, as the Lord Jesus Christ has already made clear to me. In other words Peter is saying Christ Himself has revealed to me that I soon will be martyred. Paul writes II Timothy and in chapter 4 he says that the time of my departure has come. You go through the book of Acts, who are the two key individuals? Peter and Paul. Now they along with others are being martyred. So you have a serious time, a time of transition is always a time of adjustment. But this transition is being brought about by persecution, by martyrdom. And that turns up the pressure on believers. And Paul is writing out of this context.

You know if you put yourself back there, in times of difficulty you look to leaders that God gives. And the church would have been looking to men like Paul and Peter and the other apostles still surviving. It would seem like they are irreplaceable. What will be the future of the church without Paul, without Peter? It's one thing to be persecuted when you have a strong leader who has been demonstrating his commitment over time, but now Paul won't be there. And it's not a smooth transition; he's going to be beheaded. Peter won't be there, it's not a smooth transition. He's going to be crucified upside down, tradition says. This is having an impact on the believers of the time. And for some believers the pressure is getting too much.

Paul will say down in verse 15, you are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. There is slippage. People who had been following along, had been supporting the ministry, had been part of the ministry are beginning to fall off. They don't want to end up like Paul, they don't want to end up like Peter, and they don't want to end up fighting lions in the coliseum, being burned as torches. This is a time of intense difficulty, and as Paul faces his soon death he looks around and sees those he thought he could depend upon just disappearing into the woodwork, pulling back. In chapter 4 he'll have to talk about how Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world. Paul mentions two people in chapter 1 verse 15, Phygelus and Hermogenes; they must have been prominent enough to be well known. It's not enough to say that all who are in Asia turned away from me. That includes Phygelus and Hermogenes. I can see Timothy reading this—not Phygelus, not Hermogenes. Yes, they, too.

Now it's in this context Paul is telling Timothy, I want you to step up, verse 8, and join with me in suffering for the gospel. Here are serious days. Paul doesn't paint a rosy picture as we have noted. I'm not saying it's going to get any better, Timothy; I want you to join with me in suffering. You have to pick up and carry on. You know Timothy may not have been the most likely candidate to entrust the future of the ministry, and not just him but others. But Paul is focusing on Timothy here.

Back up to I Timothy 5:23, just to remind you of a few things. Paul says to Timothy, no longer drink water exclusively but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. Now we sometimes get caught up in this verse, we want to talk about alcoholic beverages and Paul telling Timothy to drink a little wine. But I want to draw your attention to the fact; you do this for your stomach's sake. I mean, of all people you're going to pass on the ministry to a man who already has stomach trouble. And now you're going to tell him, step up and join with me in suffering. I mean, Timothy has been with Paul for some 18 years, he knows what the battle is like. But it's one thing to be there with Paul, now to be there without Paul, to be there without Peter. You're just putting the pressure on and I already have stomach trouble, Paul. And that's not all, I have frequent ailments. Paul says you have frequent ailments. Seems like a little bit of a weak instrument to be passing on such an important ministry. But that's all right because this is a ministry that will not depend upon Timothy's physical strength; it will depend upon God's power. Remember II Timothy 1:8, God gives us a spirit of power and love and self-discipline.

As we move down through he'll talk about the Holy Spirit in verse 14 being the enabler for Timothy to do what he is commanded to do. Sometimes we think our physical ailments, our physical problems, those kinds of situations hinder us from ministry. But you understand God is not looking for those of physical might and strength but spiritual might and strength. So Paul is passing on to Timothy a ministry that is to be the ministry of the gospel.

Servants come and go. Peter will pass off the scene, Paul will pass off the scene, heaven and earth will pass away, Jesus said, but My word will not pass away. The gospel of Jesus Christ continues on and we're here as testimony to that. The greatest men in the history of the church have come and gone but 2000 years after Peter and Paul and others are executed we are here proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's what gets passed on. And what Paul is doing is drawing Timothy's attention that your ministry centers in the message. Timothy's weaknesses; take care of yourself Timothy, as he told him in chapter 5 of his first letter. And Timothy you understand this will take the power of God. And your ministry is the message of the gospel.

So what Paul is doing is unfolding that gospel. In verse 8 he had told him to join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God. I know you have stomach trouble, I know your stomach is churning at night; I know it's bothering you. Take a little wine for your stomach's sake and then step up and suffer with me for the gospel. And you do it according to the power of God. Where am I going to get the strength for this? Paul, I don't think my physical constitution is made for this. Paul could say, I don't think it is either, but the power of God is made for this. So you join with me in suffering according to the power of God. And this is the God who has saved us.

And what he does in verse 9 is draw Timothy's attention to this gospel. It has been the plan of God from eternal time, from before the creation. The gospel was God's plan for salvation. It’s important for Timothy to understand this. These are times of transition, these are times of difficulty, and these are times of pain. You lose those who are so close to you see them die horrible deaths, but you understand some things don't change. Our God doesn't change, His Word doesn't change. This plan for our salvation was settled in the purposes of God in eternity past. He determined that by grace apart from works through the death of His Son, He would provide salvation for sinful human beings. That's what he has made clear in verse 9. He saved us and called us with a holy calling, a calling that is a calling to holiness because He is holy. Not according to our works, but according to His own purpose. Why did God do it this way? I don't know. He decided within Himself to do it this way. It was His purpose and grace. It was grace that would bring this purpose to us. Not according to our works but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us, given us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.

I hope this gets fixed in our minds. We hear so often, we live in a different day, people aren't open to preaching, people aren't open to being told the Word of God is authoritative. God's plan doesn't change. This was settled in eternity, this is the way it is. Paul is driving this home to Timothy even though for the last 18 years, approximately, Timothy has been a vital part of Paul's ministry. You can't forget this. Even in these difficult times, even in these times of major transition where I am leaving the scene, Peter is leaving the scene, and other apostles are being martyred. Nothing changes because God's plan was established in eternity. So that was verse 9, this is an eternal plan.

And now in verse 10 he is going to talk about the fact that what God planned in eternity was revealed in its fullness with the coming of Christ and His work on the cross. And then he'll tell him in verse 11, that's what my ministry has been all about. And he'll tell Timothy, now this is what your ministry is to be all about. Nothing changes. One slave dies, another slave picks up the ministry. Nothing changes. Will Timothy be as good at this as Paul? Nothing changes. It's the message, not the man. The man is the slave. Timothy's responsibility as the man entrusted with the message is to be faithful. We need to understand, we get so focused. What do we do, how am I going to go on without Paul? I mean, Lord, you can spare him, why don't you spare him? We have to have Paul. What will happen to the church? Who is the head of the church? Paul? No. Christ. Paul wrote the Ephesians on that very matter at the end of the first chapter of the letter to the Ephesians, they need to get fixed on the message. And that's what he is doing with Timothy.

So you'll note verse 10, we're breaking into this because we have one long sentence going here and we cover all of it at one time. So verse 10 begins, but now. And the contrast is what was done in eternity was given to us, a sovereign gift of God. In Romans 3 Paul writes, the gift of His grace. It was given us, granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, before time eternal, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus. That's the contrast. What was in the mind of God when He purposed and planned and determined to save fallen sinful human beings by grace, not by works, was settled in eternity. This could only be accomplished through the death of His Son. That was the plan in eternity. But now it has been revealed, it has been unveiled; it has been made known by the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus. With the coming of Christ the plan of God for our redemption now reaches full light.

In John 1 we are told that the law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Christ Jesus. Weren't people saved by grace through faith in the Old Testament? Doesn't Genesis 15 tell us that Abraham believed God and God credited it to him as righteousness? Isn't he the example of salvation by grace through faith in Romans 4? Yes he is. But you know the full understanding of how Abraham could be saved by grace through faith awaits the coming of the Son of God. We know God did it, but the understanding of the fullness of His grace and how He would accomplish salvation for sinful human beings was not unfolded with clarity until the coming of Christ. Old Testament people offered animal sacrifices, but the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin. You see the plan of God focused in the death of His Son on the cross. Now it has been revealed with the coming of Christ to earth, His suffering and dying on the cross and being raised from the dead.

Turn over to Titus. Paul begins his letter to Titus the same way he begins the letter to Timothy, emphasizing the same kind of material in a more condensed way. Look how the opening verses begin. Paul, a bond servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God. We talked about that in II Timothy 1:9, what was given to us in Christ in eternal times. For the faith of those chosen of God, the elect of God, if you will. And the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness. Remember we were called with a holy calling. The knowledge of the truth is according to godliness. A person who comes to believe in Christ is not only forgiven his sins, he is made a new creature, and now is to be holy as the God who called him is holy. Now is to live a life that is consistent with the character of God, according to godliness. In the hope of eternal life, which God who cannot lie promised long ages ago. There we are, before time is eternal. In eternity past God promised, He determined He would provide eternal life. These promises have come down through the prophets of the Old Testament how it would all be worked out. It would be with the coming of the Son of God.

So it was promised long ages ago before in eternity past. But at the proper time was manifested. There is the same kind of situation. What happened in eternity is now made known. But at the proper time manifested, even His word in the proclamation with which I was entrusted, according to the commandment of God our Savior. This is what Paul will talk about in II Timothy 1:11. This is what my life and ministry have been all about—the Word of God. You'll note, it was manifested, His word. Well, we don't want to elevate the Word above Christ. That is a silly nonsensical distinction. I was reading an article this week and the man was saying, we put too much emphasis on the written Word of God and not enough emphasis on Jesus. What in the world do you know about Jesus that you don't find in this Book? This is the Word of God, this is the revelation. I know the gospel because I have the record of it here that tells me about His Son and His death on the cross. So what was manifested? His Word, His plan. Here it is. And I was entrusted with this ministry.

Turn over to Titus 2:11. And he tells them, the end of verse 10, they are to adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect. The same idea of holiness, godliness. You adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect. For the grace of God has appeared. There it is again. The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness, worldly desires, and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age. So you see that plan of God, the grace of God has appeared. Now we have unfolded in the fullness of God's plan what was in the mind of God and revealed only in shadowy ways until Christ came. Now we understand the beauty of God's plan of redemption—salvation by grace through the death of His Son.

Come back to II Timothy1. It has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus. That's what He is, a Savior. Remember when the angel announced the coming birth of Christ he said, unto you this day in the city of David has been born a Savior? He announced the birth of Christ at Bethlehem. When His birth was announced before His birth, you shall call His name Jesus for it is He who will save His people from their sins. He is the Savior, Christ Jesus.

What did He do? He abolished death. This is the issue. The wages of sin is death. Death is the inevitable result of sin. He abolished death; He did what no one else could do. You know our great enemy is death. It's worse than anything else. Some of you know what it's like. You lose someone you love to death, a child of yours dies. There is no pain like it. You say, my child died but that's all right, I made money in the stock market. No. It's not comparable, is it? Of course not. My husband or my wife dies, it's such a piercing pain. I mean, what do I compare it to? The loss in death, the reality of death is the worst. There is no recovery, its death, they are gone. The wealthiest person dies, they leave it all. They can be worth billions but they can't buy another 50 years. Death is the worst enemy; there is a finality about it that brings an end to our physical existence and all that is dear to us here. And how many of you have experienced with the loss of a loved one, I would have given anything. But you can't. It's death. He abolished death. What a remarkable statement.

Come back to Romans 5. You know some things never change. We say we live in a different day; we have to present the message differently. You know what? People today die just like they did 2000 years ago. The issue has not changed. Understand that. The basic issue of life is death. We keep talking about our healthcare costs. Why? Death. That's where it ultimately goes. We try to pretend it's not so bad, it's not there. Sometimes I'll scan over the obituary page. But I look to see if perhaps there are people there we've known over the years that have passed away, sometimes you do. And I've noticed over the years the change in the focus in obituaries. Now they are celebrations of life. One recently they were going to all be meeting at the bar and celebrating the life of this person. And you're supposed to dress a certain way, we're going to come and they say something like, they'll be there with us. Lie. And they know it. They like to pretend they'll be there, but they're not going to be there, they'll never be there. You can go back there every night for the next ten years, they won't be there. We pretend they are there, I talked to them. But you understand you're talking to the ceiling. They are not there, they are dead, they are gone. They are not part of this physical world anymore. Death has intervened. We try to disguise it, we try to play it down, and we try to have people die in isolation. I don't want to have to be around it, I don't want to have to know about it. But it's real. Sometimes it comes so close to home we can't avoid dealing with it.

Romans 5:12, therefore just as through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, so death spread to all men because all sinned. This is the problem that goes back to the Garden of Eden when God told Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and he did. God said to him, warned him, the day you eat of that tree you will surely die. The Bible talks about death, it's talking about physical, spiritual and eternal death as you are aware. We often think of physical death and physical death is the separation of a person from his body. James 2:26 says, the body without the spirit is dead. What happens when a person dies? Their true person, the spirit within them moves out of that physical body. II Corinthians 5 says this physical body is like a tent, at death it is folded up, the person has moved on to another place. Separation, physical death. Spiritual death is separation of a person from God. The moment Adam ate of that fruit from that tree he died spiritually. What happens? God comes to talk with him and Adam is hiding in the Garden. The relationship has been broken. And eternal death, what Revelation 20 calls the second death, is separation from God in hell for eternity. Now through one man death entered the world, Romans 5:12 says, because of sin. And death spread to all men because all have sinned. Nothing has changed. Spiritual death happens immediately. We were all dead; we were dead in our trespasses and sins, Ephesians 2:1 says. And you know what? The process of physical death began at that moment in Adam and Eve's life. It was only a matter of time until they got overtaken by physical death. And without the intervention of God in grace to bring redemption, they would experience the second death—eternal separation from God. That's the issue. Nothing has changed. We act like people are different today. People aren't different today. You want to know the proof? They die. Somebody wants to tell you, things are different today, people are different today. You say, no, we haven't changed one bit since we were created, since Adam sinned in the Garden at the beginning. You know you're no different than people were 3000 years ago, 4000 years ago. I do know that that's true, I can prove it. How can you prove it? People die. When you get the paper look on the front page, obituaries, and turn there. Same thing happens. Turn on the history channel and they'll show you the mummy of a person who died 1000 years ago, thousands of years ago. Nothing has changed. Why? Sin, and with sin comes the penalty.

Turn over to Romans 6:23, the wages of sin is death. Every single person is a sinner, every single person who has ever lived is a sinner, has been a sinner, and continues down. We are sinners; we are in the process of dying. I see it in my body as I've aged; you see it in my body as I've aged. I grew a beard a few years ago; I can't tell you the number of people who have reminded me you look so old with that beard. We're in the process. The wages of sin is death.

You say, this is a discouraging sermon. I didn't get up, get all dressed, and come out here to be depressed. Its reality, isn't it? But it's not depressing. You know what we just read? Come back to II Timothy 1, in case you've forgotten. When Christ came He abolished death. That would be the most thrilling statement to us who are dying. What a place to engage people, friends, neighbors. We talk about people dying and we talk about how long they think they'll live. What do you think about death? Did you ever think about your own death? You know you're going to die. I'm going to die. But we don't have to. God said He has made provision by abolishing death. I don't have to die, some kind of joke? Isn't that the message? Christ abolished death. I take it that death there includes everything—physical death, spiritual death, eternal death. We were dead in our trespasses and sins but we were made alive together in Christ, Ephesians 2 tells us. Spiritual death was dealt with the moment I believed. And so was the second death, eternal death. Because when I was made alive spiritually now I have no fear of the second death because I am destined for glory and not death, not destruction in hell.

But what about physical death? That was taken care of, too. He abolished death. Won't you die physically, didn't Paul die physically? Isn't it interesting, the man who was awaiting execution writes to tell Timothy that Christ has abolished death? You say, Paul, you are losing it. If He has abolished death, why are you going to be executed? Well the power of death has been broken. Paul may have to experience physical death and he did, but you know what? He's the victor because even physical death is going to be overcome because his body is going to be raised from the dead. It's like you put your child to bed at night but he doesn't want to go to bed. He has a lot of things he wants to do—I want to stay up and play, I want to do this, I want to do that. You say what? You go to sleep and when you get up in the morning you can do that. You know what happens when a believer dies? That's all God is saying, go to sleep and when you get up in the morning you can do that. Isn't that what the Bible says? Believers who have died are those who have fallen asleep in Christ. I'm not talking about soul sleep, but this body is asleep, it's not being used right now, it's not doing things. But there will come a day when it will be resurrected.

Remember this word abolished its katargeo. That's the Greek word behind it. I want to look at a couple of passages with you. Come back to I Corinthians 15. This is the great chapter on bodily resurrection; we studied it in some detail when we studied I Corinthians. Good chapter for you to go over repeatedly. A great chapter of blessing for us. Verse 20 tells us, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. And since by man came death, by man came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, in Christ all will be made alive. So that's the counteraction, that's what we talked about in Romans 5.

Come down to verse 26, the last enemy that will be abolished, there is our word, is death. The word abolish means to render inoperative, render powerless, to do away with something. It doesn't necessarily mean annihilation, but it can in certain contexts. When something is rendered inoperative, powerless, and not operative anymore, it may not exist anymore. Or it may exist but is not functioning. Death has been overcome, its power has been broken, and its authority over me has been ended. Now I may die physically, but that will only be temporary. You go for an operation, they put you to sleep. That's all right, it's temporary. You will then wake up. I may die physically, but you understand it's temporary. The last enemy that will be abolished and rendered totally inoperative is physical death. It will be totally removed and not functioning with authority over us at the conclusion of the millennium, the first phase of Christ's eternal kingdom, as we saw. So that is yet to be done.

Turn over to Hebrews 2:14. And he started out this chapter in verse 3 about how should we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, the salvation provided in Christ? There is no other hope, no other way of deliverance. The end of verse 9 told us, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. You see God's plan of salvation in bestowing His grace on us necessitated the death of His Son so that He could give us as a gift His salvation. Come down to verse 14, therefore since the children share in flesh and blood He Himself likewise also partook of the same. He became a human being to redeem human beings. That through death He might render powerless, there's our word katargeo, and He might render powerless him who had the power of death that is the devil. And might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. The devil has the power of death. You say, I thought Christ had the power of life and death. But because of sin Satan now has control of those who are condemned by their sin. Remember Jesus said in John 8, you are of our father the devil and you always do his desire. The devil rules over those enslaved to sin and enslaved to him by virtue of their sin. So he has the power of death because he reigns over those condemned by their sin. Christ set them free, those who had been subject to the fear of death, the slavery all their lives.

The process of dying can be intimidating, but we don't have to fear death. We have the victory. When I go to sleep at night I don't say, I'm afraid to go to sleep. I go to sleep, think about what I'll do in the morning. When I confront physical death I can think about what I'll do in the morning. And I have peace because I know that at physical death I will leave this body and go into the presence of the Lord, because to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord for a believer. And then this physical body will be resurrected and I'll move back in at a future date. So God's plan is complete.
So He has abolished death because He has abolished the power of the devil

Turn back to Romans 6:5. This great unfolding of God's applying the work of Christ to us. Verse 5, if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we will be in the likeness of His resurrection. Knowing this our old self, our old man was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, katargeo, abolished, its power broken so that we would no longer be slaves to sin. For he who has died is freed from sin. So you see we've been freed from the power of sin over us to enslave us and control us, the power of the devil to rule us and control us, the power of death to bind us in fear. All have been broken. The devil hasn't gone away but his authority and power over me has been broken, rendered inoperative. Sin hasn't gone away, doesn't cease to exist, but its power and authority over me to enslave me, I've been set free. Death hasn't ceased, but its power and authority over me has been broken. Christ came to abolish death.

Come back to II Timothy 1. The other side of that is He brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Life, eternal life, that's where we started this letter in II Timothy 1:1. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus, eternal life, life without end, the life Jesus talked about in John 11. He that believes in Me, even though he dies he will live, and he that believes in Me will never die. Eternal life, a relationship with God that goes on for eternity, in contrast to the second death which is an eternal death, separation from God for eternity in hell.

He brought life and immortality that means the life is eternal, immortal, and not corruptible, not subject to corruption and decay. This is eternal life. This physical body is deteriorating. Paul wrote to the Corinthians in II Corinthians 4 and referred to the fact that even though this earthly body is decaying. And it is, we are getting old, we are declining, our physical powers break down and we age. The process of decay, when they put this body in the grave that process will continue. They try to retard it by mummifying bodies and we dig up the mummy’s years later. Would you want to be married to one of those? We make horror movies about the mummy who came to life. I wouldn't want to wake up in bed with one of those. Why? Even though they preserve and retard some of the decay you look at it and you know it's a dead body. You see some features but it's not like a living body, it's decayed. This is immortal, not corruptible, life, eternal life.

You'll note this eternal life was brought to light through the gospel. It's the gospel that enables man to know God's eternal plan of redemption. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, in order that whosoever believes in Him might not perish but have eternal life. He that has the Son has life; he that does not have the Son of God does not have life. That's the contrast. He abolished death but He brought to light life and immortality through the gospel.

Come back to II Corinthians 4. Crucial section in understanding what Paul is writing to Timothy. There is repeat going on. I am amazed at how many times God repeats Himself in His Word. Sometimes people say, I've been coming here long enough, I think I've heard it all. Well you have. That doesn't mean we know it all, we're all growing. But you know everything God has to say to us is contained between the covers of this book. And here we have Him repeating and repeating. He talks about the ministry we have which is a ministry of the gospel, coming out of chapter 3 and chapter 4 begins on this. How do you carry out this ministry? We've renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the Word of God, but by the manifestation of the truth. Come down to verse 3, even if our gospel is veiled. This comes out of the analogy in verse 3, those who can't see the gospel and don't understand it, it's like they have a veil over their eyes. They are living in darkness, they can't see. If our gospel is veiled it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world, Satan, has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. The god of this world is the god of this age, this time where Satan rules over fallen beings. At one time, Ephesians 2 says, we, too, walked according to the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience. If people don't see and understand the gospel, it's because they live in spiritual blindness, darkness. And Satan has blinded their eyes. Now note the wording here. Blinded the minds of the unbelieving so they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. Paul wrote in II Timothy, He has brought to light life and immortality through the gospel. The light.

We don't have windows here in this auditorium so when we turn out the lights it gets very dark. Now we don't see anything. If you had been led in here blindfolded, never been in this room and all the lights are out and its pitch black, you wouldn't know what it looks like. You would be veiled. If we had a veil or bag over your head you couldn't see, you wouldn't know. You would be in darkness. The gospel is God's light for salvation. This is what reveals and makes known God's plan of salvation by grace for sinful human beings. Some things don't change. That's God's eternal plan for salvation. Satan's opposition to the plan of God does not change. His goal is to keep people in spiritual darkness.

Remember the parable of the soils in Matthew 13? The word of Christ is sown, some of it falls on hard ground, doesn't penetrate the heart and Satan comes and snatches it away, fills the minds of people who come. The Word of God is presented but they are thinking of other things, they are thinking about sporting events, they are thinking about dinner, they are thinking about how I wish I were anywhere but here. And the Word of God does not penetrate and Satan is there to snatch it away, there to distract them. You see he blinds the minds, he is a powerful being. Doesn't want the gospel to shine in their lives, doesn't want someone to turn on the light so they can see, understand and believe the truth. Now you understand Satan’s intention is to keep people in darkness. When that person has been exposed to the light of the gospel, then he has to work to keep it from becoming an internal light, if you will, and opposing the work of God. But you understand one of his very effective ways; keep people from ever hearing the gospel in the first place. That's what Timothy has to be careful of. God hasn't given us a spirit of cowardice; join with me in suffering for the gospel. We have the light. It's like you're sitting in this dark room and I'm sitting by the light switch. I know I can turn it on but I don't, you're left in darkness. You sit with an unbeliever and you're talking with an unbeliever, you don't tell him the gospel, you leave him in darkness. I can't guarantee his salvation, but I can turn on the light by presenting the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. You see the battle, it is a spiritual battle. We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenlies. Is it any wonder there is an intimidation that comes when we're going to present the gospel, the devil is fighting; the forces of demonic beings are fighting to intimidate you, to keep you from presenting it. That's the most effective way, to have people never be exposed to the light. Once the gospel is presented, now he has to battle in the mind of that person to keep them hardened, distracted, filled with the cares of this life so that the Word of God does not bear any fruit.

This is what Paul is talking about. Christ has abolished death, brought to light life and immortality. But you understand the devil is at war with the gospel and with those who would present the gospel. Why, as we talked about, do I get tongue tied? Why do I have that sense of foreboding, that sense of fear, that knot in my stomach when all I'm going to tell them is the simple message that a six-year-old can tell someone. That Christ died on the cross for your sins, if you believe in Him He'll save you. I just get knots in my stomach, I don't know for sure what to say, I know the words, so why? We have a spiritual battle going on. The devil wants to keep his people in spiritual darkness. This is why Paul is writing to Timothy to challenge him to join with me in suffering for the gospel. It's all about the gospel.

Come back to II Timothy, just a comment or two about the next verse and then we'll close with a passage. Paul says, for which, verse 11, I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. However you want to talk about my ministry, Timothy, as a preacher, a kerux, a herald, one who gives a message and proclaims it out; an apostle, one given special authority and revelation from God; or a teacher, one explaining the truth of God. However you describe my ministry, it's all about the gospel, and it’s that gospel for which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, a teacher. No matter what your role it's the same message—the gospel.

Come to Romans 10 and we'll conclude with reading this passage. Verse 8, Paul talks about the word of faith which we are preaching, the message you are saved by faith. Verse 9, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. It's about God's eternal plan of salvation and the revealing of His grace through the death and resurrection of His Son. Believe in Him and you'll be saved. Verse 11, whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed. Verse 13, for whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? How will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things. Verse 17, so faith comes from hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ.

Paul is going to die, Peter is going to die, the other apostles are going to die, and the message is passed on. Nothing changes. Two thousand years later nothing changes. The plan was set in eternity. We have one message—you are a sinner doomed to death and all that that death entails. God has a plan of grace to deliver you, set you free. That plan is His Son. It's a plan that He has to accomplish and carry out. You can't work, you can't earn it, you can only come to grips with the fact you are a sinner without hope in the world, condemned to hell. But God in love, mercy and grace has had His Son come and suffer and die to pay the penalty for sin, which is death. Believe in Him and you will be saved. If you don't believe in Him, you will perish for eternity. That's the simple message. Believe in Christ to be saved, have life eternal; do not believe in Him and perish. That's the battle, that's the responsibility Timothy has. Timothy, don't be intimidated, don't back down, don't run and hide, don't be afraid of the consequences. Shine the light; get out the gospel because faith comes from hearing and hearing from the Word of Christ.

Let's pray together. Father, thank you for the revelation of your plan, a plan that you purposed before the creation that you would redeem the creation that rebelled against you, those who have become your enemies, those who serve the devil and the flesh and the world, those who were condemned to death, but Christ abolished death and brought life, immortality to light through the gospel. Thank you, Lord, for bringing that light of the gospel to our lives. Thank you for those who were the instruments to bring the light of the gospel to us. Lord, may we be bold in being instruments to bring the light of the gospel to others as well. May we count it a privilege to join with others in suffering for the gospel, that you might use the gospel to accomplish your eternal purposes and the salvation of the elect. We pray in Christ's name, amen.