The Gospel For All (1 Tim 2:3-7) Jeff Smith

Can prayer really transform society and advance God's plan for salvation? Discover the profound impact of prayer on the life of the church as we explore 1st Timothy, chapter 2. Paul urges that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for all people, especially for those in authority. We emphasize the importance of adhering to biblical directives in worship and conduct, underscoring that prayer should be the cornerstone of the church’s priorities and practices.

Gain insights into the purpose of prayer in evangelism and how it can create a peaceful society conducive to spreading the gospel. We discuss the doctrines of grace, unconditional election, and particular redemption, aligning these principles with scriptural teachings about God's sovereign plan for salvation. With relatable examples, we illustrate the distinction between immediate and ultimate goals, emphasizing Paul's call to pray for all men to achieve a harmonious social environment that fosters the advancement of God's salvation plan.

Explore the sincerity of God's offer of salvation and the earnestness of His invitations. We delve into the preaching methods of the apostles, the nature of God's will, and the importance of self-appropriating faith. Drawing from historic Calvinist documents and teachings of the Puritans, we affirm that God sincerely invites all to salvation. Join us as we emphasize the church's mission to uphold and proclaim the gospel, stressing the singularity of truth and the universal promise of redemption through Jesus Christ.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Let's take our Bibles today and we'll turn again this Lord's Day to 1st Timothy, chapter 2. 1st Timothy, chapter 2. And I'll read for us again the first seven verses of this second chapter of 1st Timothy, of this second chapter Of first Timothy. Paul writes therefore, I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks Be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God, our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men the man, christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. Let's pray, our Father. We thank you for all that. We have heard and read and sung in your praise today and now, as we come to the Holy Scriptures, to seek to open them up, to understand them and their relevance and practical application to our lives and their relevance and practical application to our lives. We cry to you once again for the ministry and presence and power of your Holy Spirit. Lord, we confess our hearts are often so dull and hard that we do not understand as we should and we do not feel the power of the truth on our hearts as we ought. And so we ask, o Father, that you would help us in our weakness by your spirit, and we pray also for those who are outside of Christ, that you would have mercy upon them even this day and open their eyes to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And it's in his name we pray, amen.

Speaker 1: 2:30

I think all of us here today would agree that we are living in very desperate times. There is so much confusion in the minds of our fellow men and in our country and among our neighbors, even sometimes about the most basic things. Indeed in our society. It's become so confused we can't acknowledge even or recognize the difference between a man and a woman. Things as basic as that are denied by many. It seems as though the foundations of our society are crumbling underneath us, and I think there's a fear in many of us that it will soon come crashing down. But what is even more troubling than that is the state of the churches. There is so much confusion in the churches even about the most basic questions, questions like what is the church, what is the purpose of the church, what is the function or functions, or what are the functions of the church and society, what is the message of the church to our lost world? Excuse me Well, as we return this morning to our study of Paul's first epistle to Timothy, which we've been in now for some time.

Speaker 1: 3:47

This is an epistle that answers for us these very important questions. Paul is giving instruction to Timothy regarding the supervision, you'll remember, of the church in Ephesus and, as we come to the second chapter, he is beginning to urge upon Timothy various important guidelines regarding the worship of the church and the regulation of the church's priorities and practices, and a key text we pointed this out last week, but a key text, I think, for understanding the context. Here is what Paul says just over in chapter 3, verses 14 to 15. He says to Timothy these things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly, but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself. And, as I mentioned last week, there's no pronoun in the Greek text. It could more literally be translated how it is necessary to behave, or we could translate it how one or how people ought to conduct themselves, how it is necessary to behave in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of the truth. And that phrase, these things I write to you. It refers all the way back to the beginning of this second chapter that we began looking at last week, all the way through to the end of that chapter and all the way up to that point in chapter 3. And also a strong case can be made that this is really the theme and looks ahead even to everything else that follows in this letter to Timothy.

Speaker 1: 5:23

So there is this concern about the way things are done in the church, the priorities of the church, the function of the church, the message of the church he's going to address the roles of men and women in the church, the officers of the church, the worship of the church and so on. And this is what we're going to continue to see in this letter. You know, sometimes it seems like it's never occurred to some Christians and to some church leaders that the church is not free to define itself or to determine for itself what it should be doing and focusing on or how it should be doing it. The church is to be subject to the word of God and in all of our worship and practice we are to be guided by those directives that Christ, the head of the church, has given to us. And he's not silent when it comes to how the church and church life are to be conducted. He's spoken about these things often and with great clarity, including what we find here in this first epistle to Timothy.

Speaker 1: 6:29

Now, as we saw last week, the first thing that Paul mentions is the prayers of the church. This is first, chronologically, in his treatment of these matters, but also included is this idea of being first of all, being first in importance. Prayer is something that's to be of first importance in the life of the church, and last week our focus was on Paul's exhortation for the church to pray, verse 1 and 2,. Therefore, I exhort, first of all, we consider the kinds of prayer we are to engage in supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks for whom we are to pray. He says we are to pray for all men, our public prayers in the church are not to be restricted to me and mine. They're to be expansive and universal in their scope. They're to take in all kinds, all classes, all categories, all. Paul goes on to underscore kings and all who are in authority. We are to pray for our government and for our civil officials, and then the immediate goal of our prayers for our civil officials is that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. So this is what we saw in the first two verses of this chapter, and this brings us to where we take off. Take up, take off, but take up, I guess, is a better way to say it. Maybe we'll take off too. We'll see this morning.

Speaker 1: 8:09

After giving this exhortation to prayer, paul follows now by giving us an explanation of this exhortation. He gives the basis of this exhortation or the reasons for it. You see, there are what we might call the proximate or the immediate goal of such prayers, but then there are also higher goals for such prayers, or more ultimate goals. Now, do you know the difference between an immediate goal and an ultimate goal, or an immediate concern and an ultimate concern? Well, let me illustrate. Let's think about you guys who are studying in Reformed Baptist Seminary. When you study for an exam, your immediate goal is to make or I hope it is is to make a good grade, right, to make a good grade on the exam. But above that is the higher goal of getting your Master of Divinity degree or your Master of Arts degree. But then, above that and the reason you're studying for your degree is that you might be prepared to be an able minister of the gospel. And then, above that, is the goal of bringing glory to God in your life and whatever ministry God gives to you.

Speaker 1: 9:16

Or let's imagine that my wife wants to cook me a steak dinner and I've used this illustration several times. It's kind of a hint, you know, but anyway. Let's imagine my wife. She wants to cook me a steak dinner, and so her immediate goal in driving to the supermarket is to get there before the store closes. And above that then is the goal after arriving to buy some steaks. But then her above that is the goal after buying them to make it home right, and then, above that, is the higher goal of the ultimate goal of cooking the steak dinner. So you see these different types of purposes and goals that can be operative at the same time.

Speaker 1: 10:01

Well, the immediate goal here in praying for all men, and particularly for those in authority, is that the church might function without disturbance in a stable and peaceful society verse 2b. But there's a higher goal that becomes evident as we read through the rest of this passage. It's very clear in the verses that follow that these prayers are to be driven by an evangelistic concern. We are to pray for all men and we are to pray that the civil authorities will establish and maintain peaceful and stable societies within which the church may function, because higher goal of God's plan of salvation for the world. You'll notice that this emphasis on all men runs right through this entire passage. We are to pray for all men, including those in authority, that we may lead quiet and peaceful lives in godliness and reverence.

Speaker 1: 11:04

And now Paul goes on to tell us that there are even higher reasons that we are to pray like this Verse 4, because God desires all men to be saved. And because, verse 5, for all men, there is only one God and one mediator between God and men, jesus Christ. And because, verse 6, christ has given himself as a ransom for sin and there's only one ransom for all men. And then this is keeping. This is in keeping with the universal scope of the gospel ministry that was entrusted to Paul and, by implication, to the church throughout the ages Verse 7, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle, not only for the Jews, but a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

Speaker 1: 11:50

So let's begin now to look at Paul's explanation. Now for this exhortation that he has given to us, for us to pray for all men. And first of all, paul writes in verses 3 to 4, and this is as far as we're going to get this morning For this, this praying for all men and also praying for those in authority and for those reasons that he gave, this is good and acceptable in the sight of God, our Savior. Why, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth? So the first reason, the first block in the foundation undergirding this exhortation to pray, is that God desires all men to be saved and, of course, for this to happen, they must come to the knowledge of the truth, the truth of the gospel. This is what the church is about. Proclaiming the truth. The church is the pillar and ground of the truth. Proclaiming the truth of the gospel in order that people might know it and believe it and be saved. And, of course, that task is most easily carried out by the church within a social context of peace and stability, as opposed to war or social upheaval, civil strife. So let's consider this. Paul writes God desires all men, or all people, to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Speaker 1: 13:26

Now, do you believe that? Do you really believe that God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth? Now, as most of you know, this is a reformed church and though I hate to use labels, you know people are often confused about what they mean and they have an idea of what that label stands for. That's not what you're talking about. But though I hate to use them, I am a Calvinist.

Speaker 1: 13:58

I believe in what is called the doctrines of grace. I most definitely and unashamedly believe in the doctrines of unconditional election and particular redemption, or definite atonement, because I'm convinced the scriptures teach them. In other words, I believe that God, from eternity, has chosen those who will be saved purely by his grace, not on the basis of any foreseen action or merit in them, and I also believe that in eternity past. In the covenant of redemption, those elected by the Father were given to the Son, god the Son to redeem, and that Jesus came, as he repeatedly said, with a commission and with a specific purpose to effectually redeem and to save those the Father had given to him. He came to redeem by his blood those same persons the Father had chosen to save by divine election. In other words, I believe what the scriptures tell us, such passages as Ephesians 1, 4,. Just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, he chose us in him before the foundation of the world. What Jesus said in John 10, 15, I lay down my life for the sheep. And these are doctrines that I find in scripture, and they're woven into the overall framework and body of what the Bible teaches about our great salvation.

Speaker 1: 15:23

So then, what do we do with a text like this? Does the Bible contradict itself? Now, obviously, this text, as is true of every text of Scripture, is not to be interpreted excuse me, just a moment, this shirt's too tight, I think. It's not to be interpreted independently. It's not to be interpreted independently. It's not to be interpreted independently. It has to be understood in a manner that's consistent with the teaching of the Bible as a whole. All of that's true, of course, and yet I'm afraid that some brothers, in the interest of maintaining a system of thought that meets up to their own definition of logical consistency, have become so tripped up and tongue-tied and tentative in their preaching, and their particularism has been distorted and their hearts narrowed by a presumptuous desire to have every loose end tied up and every mystery concerning the nature of God solved. And they have a God who is so domesticated he's only allowed to do and to be and to desire what their puny minds can somehow comprehend, and therefore they're not willing to allow the scriptures to speak for themselves. They're not willing to allow the Scriptures to speak for themselves. They're unwilling to accept that there are certain tensions and mysteries that the Scriptures themselves present to us.

Speaker 1: 16:55

Our text, in very plain manner here, speaks very plainly. For God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. But as Spurgeon, in his kind of humorous way, as he once commented, referring to this text, he says I was reading just now the exposition of a very able doctor who explains the text. To explain it away, he applies grammatical gunpowder to it and explodes it by way of expounding it. I thought when I read his exposition that it would have been a very capital comment, actually a very proper comment on the text, if the text had read who will not have all men to be saved, nor come to the knowledge of the truth. Had such been the inspired language, every remark of the learned doctor would have been exactly in keeping. But as it happens, to say who will have all men to be saved, his observations are more than a little out of place.

Speaker 1: 17:57

Spurgeon goes on to say my love of consistency with my own doctrinal views is not great enough to allow me knowingly to alter a single text of scripture. I have great respect for orthodoxy, but my reverence for inspiration is far greater. You say well then, pastor, how do you understand this text? Well, I believe what it clearly says that God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Also, at the same time, I also believe that God, from eternity, in terms of his eternal decree, has not elected to save all men. I believe both those truths because they're both taught in Scripture.

Speaker 1: 18:39

And you say well, how can that be? If God desires all men to be saved, why did he not decree the salvation of every single human being upon the face of the earth? Well, all I can say to you, there is what Paul says in Romans 9, chapter 30, to the same type of question who are you, oh man, to reply against God? God has his reasons, he has his purposes, all of which are are related, first and foremost, to the glorifying of his own name. And there are mysteries here. There's, but it's true nonetheless that both of these things are true.

Speaker 1: 19:15

Isn't it very important that we understand this? This is critical to our commitment to preaching the free offer of the gospel To all men. Does God freely and sincerely offer Christ and salvation to all men in the gospel? Well, I hope to show in the time remaining this morning that the answer to that question is yes. I'll also comment on a very important distinction that we see in Scripture the distinction between what's called God's will of decree and God's will of desire, if I might call it that, or's will of decree and God's will of desire, if I might call it that, or his will of precept. And I want to consider this by asking and seeking to answer two simple questions Did the apostles preach the free offer of the gospel to all? And then a second question Is the free offer of the gospel An expression Of God's sincere desire that men would accept that offer and be saved? Is it a sincere and well-meant offer? So, first of all, did the apostles preach the free offer of the gospel?

Speaker 1: 20:20

Well, you turn to the book of Acts. You look at the examples that we have there of the apostles preaching, and they never stop merely at proclaiming the content of the gospel message. Now, that's absolutely necessary. As our text indicates, men must come to a knowledge, a knowledge of the truth, in order to be saved. So our preaching and our evangelistic witnessing is not to be nothing more than never-ending exhortations and appeals with and high-pressured invitations, with no explanation of the gospel message itself. But at the same time, it's not to be explanations of the gospel message with no appeals to respond to the message either. You go to the book of Acts and we see that proclamation is always followed by universal, direct and personal appeals and by the promise of salvation to all and any who will believe Go back to the first sermon under the auspices of the Christian church.

Speaker 1: 21:20

And how does Peter conclude his message? He says repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Every one of you Again. Acts 3.26. God having raised up his servant, jesus sent him to bless you, to bless you in turning every one of you from your iniquities. Listen to Peter as he preaches Christ to the Gentiles. They're gathered in the home of Cornelius in Acts, chapter 10, and he declares the person of Christ, the curse-bearing death of Christ. The resurrection of Christ is coming again to judge the world. And he then applies his message in Acts 10.43. He says to him Whoever believes in him will receive remission of sins. Whoever the promise of the gospel is for all, it doesn't matter where you're from, it doesn't matter what you've done, it doesn't matter how far down in the gutter of sin you may have gone. Whoever believes in him will receive remission of sins Old, young, middle-aged. Whoever believes in him Red, yellow, black and white, whoever believes in him Open sinners, secret sinners, young sinners, old sinners, outwardly moral sinners, shamefully scandalous sinners whoever that believes in him shall receive remission of sins.

Speaker 1: 22:53

Listen to Paul in Acts, chapter 13, verses 38 to 39. Therefore he says let it be known to you that through this man is preached to the elect, is preached to you, to you personally, to you, specifically, to you, indiscriminately. Through this man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins, and by him, every one of you who believes is justified from all things which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. There are no limitations, no qualifications, no restrictions. None are excluded, but those who exclude themselves by refusing to entrust themselves to the Savior.

Speaker 1: 23:39

Listen to the way the Apostle Paul describes his own preaching to the Gentiles In 2 Corinthians 5.20,. He says Now, then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us. We implore you, on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. You may want to turn over there because I want to point out something else about that. So that this is the first question did the apostles preach the free offer of the gospel? And the answer is yes. But then the second question. This is another question. There are people who will agree with that, but they won't agree with what I'm about to talk about right now. Second question is the free offer of the gospel to all an expression of God's sincere desire that men would accept it and be saved.

Speaker 1: 24:35

Well, think again to the text I just quoted from 2 Corinthians 5.20. If you look there, paul, the context. Paul has been speaking of how God has given to him and his companions the ministry of reconciliation, and in verse 19, he tells us it's the God against whom we have sinned who has provided and accomplished reconciliation through his son, and it is God himself who has established the ministry of reconciliation by which this good news is to be proclaimed to the world. But then Paul goes on to tell us that it's even God himself who is speaking through his servants in the gospel invitation, verse 20,. Now, then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us.

Speaker 1: 25:25

Now, really, the translation as though God were pleading through us is not strong enough. We have a Greek construction here, and it's one that may be used to represent a supposition that is either correct or it's an incorrect supposition, and Paul is certainly not arguing that this is incorrect and that this is not the case, but that it is the case. The ESV therefore captures the actual thought here much better. We are ambassadors for Christ, god making his appeal through us, or God pleading through us. In other words, it is indeed God Himself who is making His appeal. It is God who is pleading with you in the gospel invitation.

Speaker 1: 26:18

And notice this entreaty comes with earnest, passionate sincerity. These words are very strong words, even shocking words. God is pleading through us. The word translated, pleading, means to urge, to exhort. And the second word is even stronger we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. And that word is a form of the word, sometimes translated, beg in the New Testament to beg in the New Testament. We beg you on Christ's behalf. Now just think of it. The glorious, eternal God, the holy, majestic, creator of the entire universe, pleads with sinners to be reconciled to him. He pleads with sinners to avail themselves of this reconciliation that he has accomplished and provided in the death of Jesus Christ by pouring out upon him the wrath and the punishment that sinners deserve as the sinner's substitute.

Speaker 1: 27:16

And here is where some reformed preachers struggle and hesitate and, I believe, are greatly, greatly, greatly lacking in their preaching, greatly lacking in their preaching. Here is where some of God's people can be hamstrung in their evangelistic spirit and efforts. But wait a minute. We believe in the doctrine of election? Of course we do Peter and Paul did as well Just read their epistles. Yes, we do believe in the doctrine of election and also the doctrine of definite atonement, and rightly so, because the Bible teaches them.

Speaker 1: 27:53

But we may be tempted to think that if God is already, in his secret decree, determined from all eternity who will be saved, and if Christ specifically came to redeem those the Father has purpose to save, then it's not proper to invite all and any to come to Christ and to offer salvation in Christ to all. Or if we do, we may have a hard time accepting that those invitations are an expression of God's sincere desire for their salvation. But, my dear friends, god is bigger and more glorious than the little boxes that we seek to confine him to, and there are indeed mysteries to his ways that are beyond us. Not that they're irrational, but they are super rational. You remember the quote I've I've said it so many times. You probably haven't memorized. One of the puritans put it this way faith must swim where reason can only wade. And whatever we may think, the Bible is very clear that God is sincere in his offer of mercy to lost sinners and he truly extends his love in the gospel to sinners as such, and he truly desires their salvation.

Speaker 1: 29:09

Granted, there's an element of mystery here. There is a tension that the Bible itself presents, that my puny brain may struggle to reconcile, and it's a tension between two dimensions of the one and perfect will of God. It's the only way I know to say it. There is his will of purpose. It's the only way I know to say it. There is his will of purpose. What's that? Well, god's will of purpose is that which he has eternally purpose to do, and he will do.

Speaker 1: 29:41

Ephesians 1.12,. God works all things according to the counsel of his will, his will of purpose. This is also called God his will of purpose. This is also called God's will of decree. For example, when God decreed, when he willed, to create the world, the world was created. When God decreed the salvation of the elect, it is certain that they will all be saved at the appointed time.

Speaker 1: 30:10

But when we say that God desires that all men be saved or wills that all men be saved, we're not speaking of God's will in that same manner and we're not to think of it that way. If our text was referring to God's will of purpose, then all men will be saved, but we know from scripture. That will not be the case. All men will not be saved. But you see, there is another dimension of god's one and perfect will that the scriptures speak about what is often described as god's will of precept or his will of command or desire. His will of purpose is what god has purposed and determined to do, and this is very often secret to us and hidden from us. But God's will of precept is what he seriously and sincerely commands and desires and calls upon men to do.

Speaker 1: 31:03

Give an example when God tells us to keep the 10 commandments, does he mean that? Does he sincerely want you to keep the commandments? Is it his will that you obey his commands? Of course it is. Has God decreed from eternity that every one of you will perfectly obey his commands? No, he has not. There's God's will of decree. There's God's will of command or desire, precept, and this is true when it comes to this matter we're talking about this morning. But it should not surprise us, when we're talking about a glorious, eternal and infinite God, that there are mysteries of his being and his acts that are beyond our finite capacity to fully comprehend.

Speaker 1: 31:52

And the same Bible that teaches the doctrine of election and the doctrine of particular indefinite atonement, also teaches that God sincerely invites and urges all men to come to Christ and to be reconciled to him, and he sincerely desires that they would accept his offer of mercy and be saved. Indeed, an offer that's not sincere and well-meant is not an offer at all. Quoting from Sam Waldron, offer contains in it the notion of a proposal presented to someone which the one presenting it desires that person to accept. Listen when I preach the gospel to sinners and when you and I witness to sinners, is it proper for us to tell them that, in Christ, god is stretching out his hand to you in love and compassion and he sincerely desires your salvation? Is it proper for me to tell them that, indeed, god himself is pleading with you, through me, to be reconciled to God? The answer of the Bible is yes.

Speaker 1: 33:14

Now, it's true, there's a special and eternal love that God has for his elect and for his people, but that does not mean that God has no love of any kind for mankind in general, or that the gospel doesn't mean that in the gospel, or does it mean? Does it mean this? Does it mean, then, that in the gospel, his saving love is not sincerely extended to them in Jesus Christ. Well, I can tell you this John Calvin himself certainly did believe that. It didn't mean that I think the best expert on Calvinism is probably John Calvin. Maybe John Calvin didn't believe. What did John Calvin say? He writes even though there is nothing in the world worthy of God's favor. He shows himself gracious toward the whole world and he invites all men, without exception, to faith in Christ. Commenting on Ezekiel 18, 23, calvin says this that God desires nothing more earnestly than that those who are perishing and rushing to destruction should return to the way of safety. And for this reason, not only is the gospel spread abroad in the world, but God wished to bear witness throughout all ages how inclined he is to pity.

Speaker 1: 34:36

There's an interesting passage in Luke, chapter 7. And in that passage Jesus is contrasting there the response of the tax collectors and sinners to John the Baptist preaching. He's contrasting that with the response of most of the Pharisees and he says the tax collectors believed John and repented. But how did the Pharisees and lawyers respond? Jesus says, quoting him but the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves. Notice God's will for them, his will of precept for them. His desire for them was that they would repent and be saved. But they rejected the will of God for themselves. Not talking about God's will of decree, but it is talking about God's will of desire or his will of precept. Ezekiel 33, 11,.

Speaker 1: 35:40

God swears by his own self-existence that he has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but sincerely desires that they repent and live as I live, says the Lord God. I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but here's what I have pleasure in that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn. He pleads, he begins to plead with them. Turn, turn. For why will you die? Turn from your evil ways that I might have mercy upon you. It is God who says, oh, that there were such a heart in them that they would fear me and keep my commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever.

Speaker 1: 36:25

Deuteronomy 5.29. Does that sound like a God who's not sincere? See him in the person of his son, the God-man, weeping over Jerusalem. Oh, jerusalem, jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing. Luke 13, 34. I was willing, he says, but you were not willing.

Speaker 1: 37:09

Brothers and sisters, we are called to be like Christ and surely none of us would question that. Well, to be like Christ includes being burdened for the salvation of sinners and feeling compassion for sinners. Luke 19, we read that when he drew near to Jerusalem, jesus saw the city and he wept over it. And he said if you had known, even you, especially in this, your day, the things that make for your peace, but now they are hidden from your eyes. And he wept over the city. And 1 John 2, 6 tells us that he who says he abides in him ought himself also to walk just as he walked.

Speaker 1: 37:54

And we need to be convinced that God is sincere in the invitations of the gospel to sinners. If we're not, our preaching and our evangelism will lack urgency and passion and pleading. And when I see that guy out on the street somewhere who's destroyed his life with sin and evil, and I look at that man, am I going to look at him and say, oh well, you know, maybe he's not elect, maybe that's the problem. Or can I look at that man and say God desires that that man might be saved? We should be able to look at sinners that way. We also need to make this clear to those we preach to and witness to that God the God against whom they have sinned desires that they might be saved.

Speaker 1: 38:51

For how can a man believe the gospel and trust in Christ with a self-appropriating faith? What do I mean by self-appropriating a faith? Well, it's not saving faith just to say, yeah, I believe Jesus died for sinners and he's going to save his elect. That's not saving faith. It's like Luther said. That's not saving faith. It's like Luther said there's a lot of theology in pronouns.

Speaker 1: 39:13

The pronoun like me. He's talking about the fact that faith personally appropriates the gospel to oneself, that Christ is freely offered to me, that God has given me permission and warrant to lay hold of Christ and all the benefits of what he's accomplished for his death. He's given warrant for me that God desires that I would be saved and I'm not imposing upon God. When I come to Jesus Christ, he freely extends the offer of mercy and Christ to me. And how can a man believe the gospel and trust in Christ with self-appropriating faith if he's not convinced that the promises and invitations of the gospel are for him, that he's included, he's sincerely invited, an urge to believe the good news that Christ, clothed in all of his saving accomplishment, is freely given to him by God to be his Savior and stands ready and willing to save him. And if we're not telling sinners that we're not preaching the gospel and let me just say we're not preaching like gospel and let me just say we're not preaching like a true Calvinist either it's a distortion of historic Calvinism that cannot or will not tell sinners that the reality of the well-meant offer is in fact embodied in the historic documents of mainstream Reformed faith.

Speaker 1: 40:51

Take, for example, the Canons of Dort. What is that? Well, written back during the Armenian controversy, you had the Diet that met together to examine the scriptures and to address that shortly after the Reformation. And the Canons of Dort were written for the express purpose of defending the doctrines of Calvinism against the threat of Arminianism. Yes, but they also contain a clear affirmation of the sincerity of God's offer of salvation to all.

Speaker 1: 41:27

Under the third and fourth heads of doctrine, article 8, it reads as many as are called by the gospel are unfeignedly called. What does that mean? It means they are sincerely called For. God hath most earnestly and truly declared in his word what will be acceptable to him, namely that all who are called should comply with the invitation. What about the Puritans?

Speaker 1: 42:00

John Owen wrote Wrote love towards all mankind in general is enforced upon us by the example of Christ's own love and goodness, which are extended unto all All. Hey, that's John Owen. He's got pretty good pedigree as a Reformed theologian, doesn't he Listen to Puritan Joseph Eileen, from his alarm to the unconverted, the God that made you most graciously invites you. His most sweet and merciful nature invites you. Oh, the kindness of God, his boundless compassion, his tender mercies. God, his boundless compassion, his tender mercies.

Speaker 1: 42:51

So, my dear brothers and sisters, if you ask what does Paul mean when he says that God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, well, here's my answer he means that God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. The knowledge of what? The truth, the knowledge of the truth. And going back to the introduction and talking about the theme of this letter, brothers and sisters, this is the great mission of the church. It's about the theme of this letter, brothers and sisters, this is the great mission of the church. It's about the truth, the truth of the gospel. As Paul declares later in chapter 3, verse 14, the church is the pillar and the ground of the truth. That's what the church is. It's that entity God has established in the world to uphold and to preach and to teach and to make known and to defend the truth.

Speaker 1: 43:53

The church is not a political organization. Its purpose is not to provide people with entertainment. We don't do that very well, the churches don't. I mean, if you want to get good entertainment, the world does it a lot better than churches do. And you go into these churches that are trying to entertain everybody and you're like. It always makes me think about when I was a kid, you know, I grew up in a context where, you know, to ever drink any kind of alcohol at all was viewed as a sin, and so there was this stuff called near beer. If y'all remember that, the near beer is not nearly as good as the real beer. It's like why would you want to drink the near beer? Well, you know you go to churches and the whole thing. I'm not trying to tell people to drink beer, but anyway, it's an illustration, all right. But you go to churches and the whole thing is geared around entertainment and for me. You walk out and you say well, you know, the world does this a lot better than you do. That's not what the church is about. We're not a political organization. We're not to provide people with entertainment or merely to give them helpful tips for enjoying your best life.

Speaker 1: 45:16

Now. No, the church is the pillar and ground of the truth. God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. And notice, here there's such a thing as truth, true truth, the truth. There aren't different ways to heaven. There are different ways to be saved, different truths, your truth, my truth, somebody else truth, we all have our own truth. Live up to your truth. Whatever your truth, that's okay.

Speaker 1: 45:55

No, when it comes to the salvation of sinners, there's only one truth, the truth. Whereas Paul goes on to say as we'll consider in more detail next time there's only one, god, not many, only one, and he goes on. And there's only one mediator between God and man, the man, the God-man, christ Jesus. There's only one Savior who bridges the gap, as the mediator to bring God and sinful man together. Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me. And there's only one ransom, as he goes on to tell us, that has been paid for sin, by which sins are atoned for and can be forgiven. One ransom that has been paid for sinners that is sufficient for all and to be offered to all. You see, the truth is not just about Christ's incarnation as the God-man, as the only mediator between God and man. It's about Jesus Christ and Him crucified, the Christ who paid the debt of sin. It's about Jesus Christ and him crucified, the Christ who paid the debt of sin.

Speaker 1: 47:12

2 Corinthians 5.21,. For God made him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. 1 Peter 2.4,. Who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness. Galatians 3, 13,. Christ redeems us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us in the sinner's place, paying the debt that is owed to the justice of God by his sufferings and his death on the cross and then being raised from the dead, god demonstrating that his sacrifice was accepted and sufficient for all who will put their trust in him and that all who trust in him will be raised Also. They will be raised to new life and, on the last day, be raised to eternal happiness in the world to come First. Peter 318, for Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust. That he might bring us to God. Praise his holy name. This is our message as a church. This is our calling. We are to take this message to all men, indeed to all nations and peoples, for God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Speaker 1: 48:47

My friend, what about you this morning? Are you saved? Are you saved? Do you have confidence this morning that all of your sins have been forgiven, that you've been reconciled to God and that you have eternal life? Have you experienced this great salvation that not only cancels our bad record in heaven, in the courtroom of heaven, but it also changes our bad hearts here on earth and causes us to love Jesus Christ and the desire to live lives of glad devotion to him? Well, if not, my friend Christ, and this salvation that he has accomplished for sinners is freely offered to you this morning in the gospel. God is willing to receive you and to save you. He extends his love to you Even now, this morning, in the person of Jesus Christ. Christ has accomplished everything that is necessary for your salvation. He is the only mediator between God and men and he says come to me. Come to me and find rest for your soul. And that invitation is sent out to you from the very heart of the God of heaven, and he is sincere, and his offer of mercy to you this morning Indeed. It is God who is pleading with you, through me, to be reconciled to him by putting your faith in Jesus Christ and what he has done for sinners.

Speaker 1: 50:38

My friend, listen, if you are lost and you are damned to hell, it will not be because the Savior was not provided for you and that he was not sincerely offered to you by God. It will be your own fault, because you would not have him but rejected him. Isaiah 55, 1 and 2, ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and you who have no money, come buy. And 2, ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. And you who have no money, come buy and eat. Yes, come buy wine and milk, without money and without price. Why do you spend money for that which is not bread and your wages for that which does not satisfy.

Speaker 1: 51:20

Come and entrust your soul and your entire life to Jesus Christ, who died for sinners, and he will save you. You don't have to prepare yourself first. You don't need to bring anything of your own. Everything that you need for the salvation of your soul for time and eternity has already been accomplished and provided in Jesus Christ and the message of the gospel is come and you will not be cast out. He will receive you. Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Come, you sinners, wash away your sins this day In the blood of Jesus Christ. Come In all your filth and nakedness To be clothed in his perfect righteousness. Reckon to your account, come and be united to him by faith sanctified by his spirit, preserved by his power, until he brings you safely all the way to glory.

Speaker 1: 52:41

What a wonderful gospel that we have to preach to this lost and dying world and, brothers and sisters, we must tell them about it. They must come to the knowledge of the truth and we must pray, church. We must pray as Paul exhorts us to pray here in this passage, praying for all men and for those in authority, my dear brothers and sisters, praying that we might be spared from wars, that we might be spared from social upheaval here in our own country and civil strife that would hinder the proclamation of the gospel in our great land and in other lands that so desperately need the gospel, praying as we're exhorted to pray here, knowing that we are praying according to God's will, because he has commanded us to pray like this and therefore he is ready to hear and to answer such prayers, for our God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Amen, let's pray together.

Speaker 1: 53:55

Our Lord, we thank you today for your holy word. We pray you would help us to be humble Christians who bow before your word, who love it, who believe everything that you say, who embrace it from the heart and act upon it. And we pray for those in our midst who are outside of Christ. Lord, there is a great banquet, as Jesus describes it in the parable of the great banquet. Father, they're here and the banquet table is spread, and over the door it says whosoever will may come. Oh, father, awaken them to the folly and the stupidity of remaining outside. But we pray, even this day you would draw them to the Savior, and we ask it in Jesus' name, amen.