Romans: Law, Obedience, and Sanctification: Holiness and Obedience

Four Great Truths - Part 1 of 2

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2021-08-17

Synopsis: In this sermon, Pastor John Weaver expounds Titus 1:1-3, focusing on the first two of four great truths. He emphasizes that God has an elect people who possess a divine, saving faith—not a dead intellectual assent or a mere demonic belief. This faith of God's elect inevitably leads to the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness, meaning a life of holiness and obedience. Weaver stresses that godliness requires spiritual exercise and diligence, and that there is no excuse for a true believer not to pursue it, as God has given all things pertaining to life and godliness through Christ.

[John Weaver] Well, let's open our Bible today to the book of Titus, chapter 1, verses 1 through 3. Titus, chapter 1, verses 1 through 3. The title of the message is Four Great Truths. However, You're only going to get two of the four today because it's going to take me another week to work this out. So look, if you would please, in Titus chapter one, beginning with verse one, and we'll read through verse three, Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledging of the truth, which is after godliness. in hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began, but hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Savior." When you stop and think about the word truth, we must admit that we not only need truth, we want truth, at least those of us who believe truth. There is that which man calls truth that in reality is a lie.

[John Weaver] The Bible speaks in Romans 1 and verse 25 of those who changed the truth of God into a lie. And the Bible also says in James 3 and verse 14 gives us the command not to lie against the truth. Now I can give you a very simple principle and that principle is this, if it is against God and His Word, it is a lie. Because God is truth, according to the Bible, and not only is God truth, that means everything else is a lie. It is God who determines truth. It is also God who determines reality. There is no reality apart from God. When man tries to make his own reality, it's a lie. The only truth there is, is God's truth. The only reality there is, is God's reality. All truth is of God, because God is truth. The Bible says in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 32 and verse 4, He is the rock, His work is perfect, for all of His ways are judgment, a God of truth, and without iniquity, just and right is He.

[John Weaver] So He is called the God of truth. And of course everyone in this room remembers John 14 and verse 6. because our Lord is truth incarnate. He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh in the Father but by me. And, of course, John 1 and verse 17, the Bible says, For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ or by Jesus Christ. And then David said it very plainly in Psalm 25 and verse 10. He said, All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth. The problem that we are facing today is the same problem that most have faced all down through the centuries, and that's very simple. Most people do not want truth. And it's easier to believe a lie than it is to believe a truth. And the truth of the matter is, many will believe a false prophet when they will not believe a true prophet. It was our Lord in John 5 and verse 43 who said this to those Pharisees, he said, I am come in my father's name, and you receive me not.

[John Weaver] If another shall come in his own name, him you shall receive. So they were ready to turn away the Lord Jesus Christ and receive anyone and anything else that came in his own name. So here's a very simple truth. It is very simple and straightforward. When anyone refuses the truth, The only thing left is a lie. Whenever you will not believe the truth, you are ultimately condemned to believe a lie, and believing a lie will condemn you and damn you. Let me show you. I want you to turn back in your Bibles just a few pages to 2 Thessalonians. So it's 1 and 2 Timothy, then 1 and 2 Thessalonians, right before you get to the book of Titus. But look in 2 Thessalonians 2, beginning there with verse 10. 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 10.

[John Weaver] The Bible says,"...and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish." Now, let's ask a question. Why are they perishing? Here's why. Because they receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved. So people perish because they do not receive the love of the truth. Now watch what happens when they do not receive the love of the truth. The Bible says in verse 11, and for this cause, because they did not receive the love of the truth, and for this cause, God shall send them a strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. So when you refuse to believe the truth, the only thing left is a lie, and a lie, of course, is going to condemn you every time.

[John Weaver] Now, someone has aptly said it like this, that truth is like a surgery. It hurts, but it cures. And then they said a lie is like a painkiller. It gives instant relief, but has side effects that last forever. So, clearly then, much rather have the truth. The Bible says in the book of Proverbs 27 and verse 6, Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. And the truth of the matter is, I'd much rather be wounded with the truth than I had be kissed with a lie. Wounds will heal, but a deceit continues."

[John Weaver] Now, there's another problem that we have with the truth, not only the fact that most people really and truly do not want it, but truth then destroys all of our illusions. It also destroys our ignorance and our error. well and consequently when people do not like what they hear if they cannot refute what they hear then they seek them to destroy the messenger who's carrying the message that is why the Apostle Paul in Galatians 4 and verse 16 asked the question to these Galatians am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth and it's astounding how many people are cut off just simply for speaking the truth. So today what I would like to share with you is the beginning of a two-part message.

[John Weaver] The second part will come next Sunday, Lord willing, on four great truths. And certainly I'm not your enemy for telling you the truth. I want you to understand that truth isn't only to be believed, but it also has to be applied in your life. So I could give a proper illustration. You could say, well, I believe a weapon will save me from an attack, whether it's by a human predator or an animal predator. You can believe that all the day long. But if that lion or tiger or mad dog jumps at you, unless you pull that weapon out and shoot, your belief that it's going to protect you is absolutely useless. So you have to make sure that you apply the truth as well. So let me give you two of the great truths today.

[John Weaver] So if you'll look in your Bibles to the book of Titus chapter 1 and verse 1, and we'll just get to this verse today. We'll take verses 2 and 3 next Sunday, Lord willing. But look at it. Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledging of the truth, which is after godliness. So here's the first great truth. The truth of God's elect. Now there are obvious truths in this first verse. The first one is that God does indeed have an elect.

[John Weaver] And the Bible teaches that over and over in the scripture. You remember when it was Elijah who said, I'm left alone and they seek my life to take it away. And God says, no, you're not left alone. I have reserved to myself 7,000 that have not bowed the knee to Baal or kissed him." And so what God is telling Elijah, I do have an elect. I do have a remnant. I've got 7,000. You may not know them, but I've got 7,000 that have not bowed the knee to Baal. So there is an elect.

[John Weaver] It was the Apostle Paul himself in 2 Timothy 2 and verse 10 said this, I endure all things for the elect's sake, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Jesus Christ unto eternal glory." So he said, I endure all things for the elect's sake. And since you are right at Titus, if you would turn right back to 1 Thessalonians, no, it's 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2 and verses 13 and 14. Look at this. 2 Thessalonians 2, verses 13 and 14. Again, here's this truth.

[John Weaver] He says, But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord. Why? Because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth. Whereunto he called you by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. But notice he said, we're bound to give thanks always unto God for you, brother and beloved of the Lord. Why? Because God hath chosen you unto salvation. So the very first truth in Titus 1 and verse 1 is that there is indeed an elect. Here's the second truth. God's elect always have faith. That faith is referred to as the faith of God's elect.

[John Weaver] So you're going to have to ask yourself this question, what does that mean? and what really and truly is the faith of God's elect. Well, first of all, let me just say in summary, it means that it is an absolutely saving faith. It is a divine faith. It is a faith that is wrought in God. When we talk about faith, we have to understand that there are errors in the minds of people concerning faith.

[John Weaver] Let me give you several illustrations. First of all, there are those who equate intellectual assent to a saving faith. And that intellectual assent is not a real saving faith. Just simply because someone believes facts about the gospel does not mean that they actually believe the gospel. Salvation is not just simply mental assent. It is not simply nodding one's head in agreement with historical facts. Salvation consists in far more than just believing in historical facts about Jesus Christ. Now, it is true that there are historical facts about Jesus Christ, but let me point out the fact, the facts are not the gospel. Jesus Christ himself is the gospel, and one may give mental assent, intellectual assent, to numerous truths and still be lost.

[John Weaver] And there are multitudes of individuals that have assented intellectually to facts that they have heard and been taught all of their life, and they genuinely believe somehow that they are saved regardless of the course of their life and regardless of how they live their life. I'm going to point out from Scripture that such a faith is known in the Bible as a dead For instance, I want you to turn over in your Bibles forward to the book of James, Hebrews James. Notice if you would, James chapter 2 and begin reading with me there at verse 14. Watch this carefully. I'm going to come back to one of these verses. Here James is talking about a dead faith. It is not a living faith. It is not a saving faith. It is nothing but a dead faith, and it's absolutely worthless. So in verse 14 he asks, What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled, notwithstanding you give not those things which are needful to the body, What doth it profit, even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone?

[John Weaver] Now, let's go back and look at verse 14. He asks this question, what doth it profit, my brethren? Though a man say he hath faith and have not works, can faith save him? Let me insert something there that'll clear this up for you. Can that kind of faith save him? Because he goes on to give us his illustration. Here's a brother or sister that has need. They're hungry, they're thirsty, they need clothes. And what does this man with a dead faith do?

[John Weaver] He just says, the Lord bless you. May the Lord feed you. May the Lord clothe you. Because I'm not, but may the Lord help you. Be ye warmed and filled. And he says, notwithstanding, he gives him not those things which are needful for the body. Then he asks, can that kind of faith save him? Because this is a faith that is a dead faith. It is one that does not work.

[John Weaver] Now let me make something clear. Our works do not save us. Faith plus our works do not save us. However, if we are genuinely saved, it is by a faith that works. It actually works. Most everyone can quote Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. But most people forget to quote verse 10. See, Ephesians 2, 8 and 9 says, For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Now verse 10, For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath ordained that we should walk therein." So God has ordained that those whom He saved walks in good works. So true saving biblical faith is not a dead faith.

[John Weaver] It is not a mere intellectual ascent to certain historical facts. Saving faith produces a life and a faith and a belief that actually moves in the direction of obedience and holiness.

[John Weaver] Now look in verse 26 in James chapter 2. He says, for as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. Obviously, if you take the breath, if you take the spirit out of a man, all you have is a dead body. And what he is saying is, if you take works away that demonstrate illustrate and exemplify a real saving faith. If there are no works, then obviously, he said, it must obviously be a dead faith. Because just like the body is dead without the spirit, so faith without works is dead also.

[John Weaver] Now, if your faith does not pray, study, obey, worship, give, praise, be thankful and appreciative, enable you to submit to the Word of God, to honor the Lord Jesus Christ, and to seek His kingdom, then probably you need to examine your faith. In fact, that is a command in 2 Corinthians chapter 13, where the Apostle Paul said, examine yourselves whether you be in the faith or not. Know you not that Jesus Christ is in you, except you be reprobates? So clearly then, there is such a thing as a dead And anyone who has a dead faith is just merely deceiving themselves. They're certainly not deceiving God. So a man who says that he has faith, but he never lives a holy life, never obeys, never does anything godly and right, God said it's a dead faith.

[John Weaver] Now, here's the second error. And I've run into this all of my life. Because I've heard people say over and over, while I must be a Christian, because I believe in God." Well now, let me tell you. It is true that Christians believe in God. And it is true that God is. And it is true that the Bible says, without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he that cometh to God must first believe that He is, and secondly that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

[John Weaver] But let me point something out. man can believe in God and be lost a man can believe in God and never ever ever Touch salvation. How can I say that? Well look in James chapter 2 and verse 19 James 2 verse 19 because there's not only such a thing as a dead faith. There's also a demons faith In verse 19, thou believest that there is one God, thou doest well. The devils also believe and tremble. They know there is a real God. They know that they're going to be judged. They know that Jesus Christ is Lord. An interesting study would be this, if you would just simply go through the New Testament and see the confessions that demons made when our Lord cast them out. Here is one that's found in Luke chapter 4. Listen to what they said when our Lord approached them.

[John Weaver] They said, Let us alone. What have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know who thou art, the Holy Son of God. You see, demons believe in God. They know that God is. They know how powerful He is. They know His position. They know that our Lord Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and God of Gods.

[John Weaver] So here's what I tell people. If you do not acknowledge the greatness and the goodness and the glory and the power and the position of the Lord Jesus Christ, and if you do not tremble before him, you don't even have the faith of demons. Because they not only believe, they tremble. So there is indeed a dead faith. There's also a demon's faith. You see, when Paul talked about the faith of God's elect. He's now talking about a third, and that is a divine faith. You see, a dead faith or demon's faith will not save anyone. But a divine faith is that which is given by God and wrought by the Spirit of God. It is a faith that obeys, that trusts, that leans upon the Lord, that suffers, that endures all things, and will never ever let go of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a faith that believes that salvation is an accomplished fact. That Jesus Christ actually propitiated the Father. He satisfied God the Father. That Jesus Christ is our substitute. That Jesus Christ is our sacrifice.

[John Weaver] It is a faith that wholly and completely entrusts in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a faith that is the gift of God the Father that is wrought in us by God the Holy Spirit and enables us to come savingly to the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of John, the fourth gospel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Look in John chapter 6, John chapter 6, and let's begin reading there with verse 44. John 6, verse 44. Look at what our Lord says. John 6, verse 44. Our Lord speaks and He declares, No man can come unto Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him.

[John Weaver] Now I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto Me.

[John Weaver] Now let me go back to verse 44. He says, No man can come to me. The term can is a term of ability. May is a term of permission. So he says, No man has the ability to come unto me except the Father who has sent me. Draw him. And by the way, it is not drag, it is draw. God draws us. How does God draw us? And the answer is found in verse 45.

[John Weaver] and that is by teaching us, enlightening our minds, releasing our wills from the bondage of sin, and enabling us to come savingly to the Lord Jesus Christ. That is why the book of Philippians chapter 2 and verse 13, the Apostle Paul said, for it is God who worketh in you both to will and to do his good pleasure. So a divine faith means that there is something that has happened in your life that would be absolutely impossible for you to accomplish yourself. A divine faith means that you have been worked in effectually by the Holy Spirit, and that you have been drawn into the fellowship of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. So, if you would turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 1, After the book of Romans, you have 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Look if you would please at verse 9. 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 9. The Bible tells us that God is faithful by whom you were called unto the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

[John Weaver] So when God calls us effectually, When God enlightens our mind, when God teaches us, when God draws us, according to 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 9, it is a call that actually ends in fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. So a divine faith is that which is absolutely impossible for man to accomplish. Why? The answer is because it's a work of God alone. I'm really genuinely convinced that the reason most professing Christians stumble, fall, fail, never ever persevere is simply because they only have a dead faith.

[John Weaver] They've given intellectual ascent to a number of historical facts and that's it. There's no power in their lives. There's no fruit in their lives. There's no devotion in their lives. A divine faith is that which has to be done by God. So, let me show you. Look in your Bibles again, if you would please, to the book of Mark, Mark 10, Matthew, Mark, second book in the New Testament. Look in Mark chapter 10, if you would.

[John Weaver] You should know this story. This is the story of the rich young ruler. The Bible tells you in this passage that there was a rich young ruler who came running to our Lord and he knelt and he asked, good master, what good thing must I do that I may inherit eternal life? And our Lord actually begins with a rebuke. He said, why call us out me good? There's none good, but one. And that's God.

[John Weaver] Literally what he was saying is this. If I'm good, then I'm God. And if I'm God, you don't come running into my presence, demanding something off me. No, no. But our Lord said, look, okay. You know the commandments. Do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, honor thy father and mother. If you want to be saved, keep these commandments. Know what the young man said?

[John Weaver] All these have I kept from my youth up, what lack I yet? Remember now, this young man not only had morals, because evidently he was pretty pure and clean, He also had manners because he knelt. He also had money, lots and lots of money. I usually think if this young man came to the average preacher today, he would have been led to the Lord in five minutes, baptized, made a member of the local church, probably promoted to a deacon at least. And of course, with the money that had been given A new wing would have been added to the church named after him or a college started after him. But our Lord said, look, here's what you need to do.

[John Weaver] You want to be saved? You give away everything that you have. You sell all that you have and give it to the poor. Take up your cross and follow me.

[John Weaver] Now, here's a good question. How many of you, when you were saved, sold everything you had and gave it to the poor? And the answer is none of you. Well, why did our Lord tell this young man that? Why did he not say like the Apostle Paul, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Why did he tell him to go and sell everything that he had and give to the poor? And the answer is, our Lord was applying the law of God. Here's a young man, said, all these things have I observed from my youth up. And our Lord is saying, uh-uh, you hadn't even kept the first commandment. Now shall I have no other gods before me, because his money was his God.

[John Weaver] And when he heard that, he went away, the Bible says, exceedingly sorrowful, for he had great riches. Look at it. Mark 10, verse 22, let's start there. And he was sad at that saying, that's the rich young ruler, and went away grieved. Why? For he had great possessions. He didn't want to give any of it away because his money was his God. His possessions were his God. Now look at verse 23.

[John Weaver] Here's what I wanted to get to. And Jesus looked round about and said unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God. And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answered again and said unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches, to enter into the kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?

[John Weaver] Now look at that question. Who then can be saved? Our Lord answers it. Look in verse 27. And Jesus looking upon them said, With men, it, that is salvation, is impossible. But not with God. For with God, all things are possible. The truth of the matter is, only God can save. Only God can give a divine faith. Only God can save us. Your baptism will not save you. Your good works will not save you. Your mental ascent will not save you. Your church membership will not save you. Your good intentions will not save you. Your relationship with true believers will not save you. You cannot save yourself. The only one who can save is the one true and the living God, who has sent his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be the propitiation for our sins.

[John Weaver] So therefore, we are required, we are obligated, to throw ourselves upon Him and to ask and beg and plead for His mercy and for His grace and for His gifts of repentance and faith. It is our duty, our responsibility, our obligation to seek Him and call upon Him and implore and beseech Him to save us. Because we cannot save ourselves. It is God that must give us the faith of His elect. The faith of God's elect is a divine faith and it is produced by God alone.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to look back in your Bibles to the book of Titus chapter 1 and verse 1 because here's the second truth that I want to tie together for you. The scripture says Paul a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness. The second point is this. The faith of God's elect always produces the truth which is after godliness. All truth which is God's truth is after godliness. Godliness is a synonym for holiness, which includes reverence, respect, fear, and piety toward God.

[John Weaver] Now, the Greek word is Eusebia, which literally is translated as godliness. It is translated in our Bibles as godliness 14 times and holiness one time. But I want you to look at verse 1 again because there is another very interesting word. The Bible says Paul is servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness. Now the word acknowledging is a very important word.

[John Weaver] It does not mean just to nod your head in agreement. It does not mean just to say with your mouth. The Greek word is epiknosis. Epi is a preposition which means upon and gnosis is knowledge. So actually what this word acknowledging means is knowledge upon knowledge. It means a full and precise knowledge. Let me go at it. Look at it. Paul, a servant of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, to the acknowledging, but to the full, precise truth which is after godliness." In other words, the word means that we know something absolutely. We know it for sure. We know it certainly. It is not just in our heads, it is in our lives. Our lives are to be lives of godliness and our lives are to be lives in pursuit of obedience and conformity to the Word of God. Now, I want to show you something. There are three important truths in relationship to the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness. I want you to think about these.

[John Weaver] First of all, there is absolutely no excuse for a real child of God not to be godly. How can I say that? I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2nd Peter. 2nd Peter. After the book of James, Hebrews, James, 1st Peter, 2nd Peter. Look in 2nd Peter chapter 1. verse 3. Here's what I mean when I say there is absolutely no excuse for a real genuine child of God not to be godly. Watch. 2 Peter 1 and verse 3, according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue. Did you see that? according as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness." If God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, there's absolutely no excuse why we should not be godly.

[John Weaver] We are alive in Him. We should be godly in Him. Wow. I'm going to hit this a little bit later. But I want you to look at it again in verse 3. According as His divine power hath given us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him that it called us to glory and virtue. So the very first truth that we must understand is there is no excuse. There is no reason for a real, genuine child of God not to be godly because God has given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. Now here's the second truth. Godliness is something that has to be added to our faith. Faith is our foundation. But that foundation does not consist of the superstructure. The foundation is there. The superstructure sits upon the foundation. We have to build upon that foundation. Let me show you. Let's begin again by reading verse 3 of 2 Peter 1. According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue, now watch, whereby are given unto us exceeding great precious promises that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature having escaped the

[John Weaver] corruption that is in the world through lust and besides this watch giving all diligence add to your faith virtue and to virtue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience and to patience godliness and to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, charity. For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." Did you see that? All of these virtues must be added to our faith. And may I point out the fact that he says giving all diligence That is, you make sure you pay attention that these graces are added to your faith. And one of those is godliness. Wow.

[John Weaver] Now, let me get to the last truth concerning godliness. The first one is there's just no excuse for the real genuine child of God not to be godly. The second one is, godliness and a lot of other graces are to be added to our faith. It's our responsibility to give all diligence to add these to our faith. But here's the third one, and it's going to be the most painful. Most people are not going to like this. Here it is. Godliness involves exercise. Godliness involves exercise. Most people do not like exercise.

[John Weaver] They'd much rather be doing something else. But I do want you to turn back to 1st Timothy. You had 1st and 2nd Timothy and then Titus. So once you find Titus, go back to 1st Timothy chapter 4. Let me show you what I'm talking about. 1 Timothy chapter 4, beginning there with verse 7. Watch carefully. The Word of God says, But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. When you look at verse 7, there's two truths here. But refuse profaning old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. Now, the Greek word for exercise is actually where we get our English word gymnastics. Gumnadzo. Gymnasticize yourself unto godliness. Now, Alice and I enjoy watching gymnastics, and the older I get, I suppose the more I enjoy it, only because it's astounding to me that anybody can be that flexible and do those things.

[John Weaver] It's kind of like when I'm teaching rifle and I have to teach squatting and kneeling and prone position, I tell people, Don't think for one minute that I cannot get into those positions. I can. I just can't get out of them. Or at least not without help sometimes. Last time Steve and I went and did some of that at Front Sight, I told Steve, I said, I'm going to do it. I said, fine, I'm not. I'm just going to help you up when you get through with it. I said, I'm too old for that. But when I look, And watch this, Simone Biles is her name, the black gymnast, the young woman, 30 years old, I think she is, an Olympian champion, a world champion.

[John Weaver] You should see that girl. It is unbelievable. It's just astounding. And yet when you see her, you think, my goodness, how can she do all of that? Well, the answer is she started probably when she was two or three years old. And she's done it all of her life. You don't get that flexible and you're not able to do those things thinking, well, I'm just going to be a gymnast. I'll start tomorrow.

[John Weaver] No, it doesn't work like that. I showed Alice a picture years ago. It was on the internet. I think the woman was either 80 or 90. I forget which one. It was a Chinese woman. She had on a pair of slacks. She was at a stop sign. She had one foot on the ground and the other foot straight up in the air right up against that stop sign. 90 years old!

[John Weaver] I thought, Lord have mercy. I have to be pulled out of my chair. But you know, probably she's done that all of her life. I've seen 70 and 80 year old ballet teachers that can do things like that. And the point I'm trying to make is they worked at being flexible, limber, loose. They exercise themselves. And here's what he's saying, we're to exercise ourselves rather into godliness. We're to gymnasticize ourselves. We're to work at being godly.

[John Weaver] Now look if you would back at verse 7. He says, but refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. Now, here's the truth. I want you to listen to me. You will never exercise yourself unto godliness until and unless you refuse profane and old wives' fables. Now, you know what a profane and old wives' fable is? It is something that you have heard all of your life. It's just not true. It's just not true.

[John Weaver] One thing that I heard that if your mother or if a pregnant woman listened to beautiful music during her pregnancy, then the child would be born musically inclined. I tell people my mother must have listened to a dying buzzard sing because I'm not musically inclined at all. That's just an old wives' fable. You know what some old wives' fables are when it comes to spiritual gymnastics? Well, all I got to do is go forward in a church service and that'll take care of it. All I got to do is kneel at an altar one time. All I've got to do is rededicate my life. That's not true. I suppose if you decide you're going to do a backflip and you do it one time, then that means you're going to be able to do it the rest of your life? I don't think so. No.

[John Weaver] You see, when we're talking about gymnasticizing ourselves unto godliness, we're talking about, we're talking about continually exercising to have Godly thoughts, a godly way of thinking, a godly way of acting, a godly way of doing things. In other words, we are doing things biblically and scripturally, and things that are righteous and holy. Those things do not come by nature. And you have to exercise your mind, you have to control your emotions, you have to control everything if you are going to be exercising yourself rather unto godliness. Now he said, bodily exercise profiteth little.

[John Weaver] Now it does profit some, not much. Do you realize the most muscle-bound man, the older he gets, the more sagging his muscles are going to get. If you don't believe that, look at Arnold Schwarzenegger today. Everything he's got sags. You know, I'm not saying don't have bodily exercise, it does profit some. But godliness is profitable in this life, he said, and the life to come as well.

[John Weaver] There is an adage that those who frequent the gym quite often use. Sometimes it's on the gym wall. It just simply says, no pain, no gain. That is not only true physically, it is also true spiritually. Because we have to fight to keep our minds holy and pure. And we have to fight to keep our lives in line with the Word of God. Okay? So, here are two great truths.

[John Weaver] Number one is the faith of God's elect. And number two, that faith of God's elect always leads to the truth of acknowledging godliness. That our lives are to be godly lives.

[John Weaver] Now, let me make some applications. Here's the first one. It is only a divine faith that will enable us to have the faith of God's elect. And it's only the faith of God's elect that will lead us to the acknowledging of the truth that is after godliness. A dead faith will not do that. A demon's faith will not do that. Only a divine faith will produce this truth in our lives. And the truth is this, if someone is unconcerned about being godly, they're unconcerned about being holy, they're unconcerned about being righteous, they have no desire to please God, they have no desire to have fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ, You need to be checking your faith, because you're probably still lost and in your sins. Because the faith of God's elect always leads us to the acknowledging of the truth, which is after godliness.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to go back to 2 Peter chapter 1. I want you to go back there and look at this. 2 Peter chapter 1. I mentioned it earlier. I'm going to mention it again, 2 Peter 1 in verse 3, and this time I really want to emphasize it. Watch this carefully. 2 Peter 1 and verse 3. Watch. According as His divine power hath given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. How do we know? Watch, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue. God in His divine power hath given us all things that pertain unto life in godliness. What is the source of that knowledge? What is the source? Through the knowledge of Him It is only in and through the Lord Jesus Christ, only in and through His Word, that we understand godliness and righteous living. And the more we learn about God, the more holy, the more godly we will become, the more obedient we will become, because His divine power is manifested in and through His Word, and that produces in our lives.

[John Weaver] So the more we know about Him, the more obedient we become. Now there's another interesting verse in Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 1. I want you to listen to this. The scripture says, Wherefore, seeing we are encompassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience. the race that is set before us. So he said, lay aside every weight. Lay aside every sin that does so easily beset us, and let us run the race with patience. So if I'm going to get ready to run in a foot race, I can assure you I'm not putting on army boots. I want to lay aside anything that's going to weight me down. I'm not going to have rocks in my pockets. I'm going to put every weight aside, any hindrance aside, and then he said, the sin that so easily beset us, whatever that is, and usually it's the flesh.

[John Weaver] You've got to remember something, folks. He said bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable unto this life and the life that is to come. And it requires spiritual exercise to live a godly life. Why must you exercise incessantly? Here's why. Because your flesh is supposed to it. Your flesh does not want you to be more holy, more godly. Your flesh cries and craves to be satisfied. I hope you remember Galatians 5 and verse 17, where the Bible says, For the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh.

[John Weaver] And they are contrary the one to the other so that you cannot do the things that you would. Now when it says, for the flesh lusteth against the spirit, it means the flesh fights against the spirit. And the spirit fights against the flesh. That's why it requires exercise. That's why it requires a constant combat mentality to be holy and to be godly and to be pure. We cannot give in to our flesh if we're going to live a godly life.

[John Weaver] If we have the faith of God's elect, it will always lead to the truth and acknowledging of that truth, which is after godliness. You'll never ever find it with a dead faith. You'll never find it with a demon's faith. It's always with the divine faith. Those whom God saves, he enables them to live a godly life. We must remember there is no excuse not to be godly. We must add all of these virtues, all of these graces to our lives, and it's going to require spiritual gymnastics, exercising ourselves unto holiness.

[John Weaver] Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. Lord, we are thankful for these two great truths today. We're thankful, Father, that there is indeed an elect and there is indeed the faith of God's elect and that there is the acknowledging of the truth, which is after godliness. Help us, Lord, to be godly, to be holy, to be obedient, to honor thee in all that we say and do. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

[John Weaver] so

Four Great Truths - Part 1 of 2

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	YbO99aPHsFo
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Law, Obedience, and Sanctification: Holiness and Obedience
Genre	Sermon
Date	2021-08-17
Dictation Name
Book	Book 178: Four Great Truths — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	66

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: The Nature and Necessity of Truth

Truth is defined by God; all else is a lie. Most people reject truth, and refusing truth leads to believing a damning lie, as seen in 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12.

Well, let's open our Bible today to the book of Titus, chapter 1, verses 1 through 3. Titus, chapter 1, verses 1 through 3. The title of the message is "Four Great Truths." However, you're only going to get two of the four today because it's going to take me another week to work this out. So look, if you would please, in Titus chapter 1, beginning with verse 1, and we'll read through verse 3:

Scripture Reading — Titus 1:1-3

"Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledging of the truth, which is after godliness; in hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; but hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour."

When you stop and think about the word truth, we must admit that we not only need truth, we want truth—at least those of us who believe truth. There is that which man calls truth that in reality is a lie.

The Bible speaks in Romans 1 and verse 25 of those

Scripture Reading — Romans 1:25

who changed the truth of God into a lie. And

the Bible also says in James 3 and verse 14 gives us the command not to lie against the truth. Now I can give you a very simple principle, and that principle is this: if it is against God and His Word, it is a lie. Because God is truth, according to the Bible, and not only is God truth, that means everything else is a lie. It is God who determines truth. It is also God who determines reality. There is no reality apart from God. When man tries to make his own reality, it's a lie. The only truth there is, is God's truth. The only reality there is, is God's reality. All truth is of God, because God is truth. The Bible says in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 32 and verse 4, "He is the rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he."

So He is called the God of truth. And of course everyone in this room remembers John 14 and verse 6, because our Lord is truth incarnate. He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." And, of course, John 1 and verse 17, the Bible says, "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." And then David said it very plainly in Psalm 25 and verse 10. He said, "All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth." The problem that we are facing today is the same problem that most have faced all down through the centuries, and that's very simple. Most people do not want truth. And it's easier to believe a lie than it is to believe a truth. And the truth of the matter is, many will believe a false prophet when they will not believe a true prophet. It was our Lord in John 5 and verse 43 who said this to those Pharisees, He said, "I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not."

"If another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive." So they were ready to turn away the Lord Jesus Christ and receive anyone and anything else that came in his own name. So here's a very simple truth. It is very simple and straightforward. When anyone refuses the truth, the only thing left is a lie. Whenever you will not believe the truth, you are ultimately condemned to believe a lie, and believing a lie will condemn you and damn you. Let me show you. I want you to turn back in your Bibles just a few pages to 2 Thessalonians. So it's 1 and 2 Timothy, then 1 and 2 Thessalonians, right before you get to the book of Titus. But look in 2 Thessalonians 2, beginning there with verse 10. 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 10.

The Bible says, "...and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish." Now, let's ask a question. Why are they perishing? Here's why. "Because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." So people perish because they do not receive the love of the truth. Now watch what happens when they do not receive the love of the truth. The Bible says in verse 11, "And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." So when you refuse to believe the truth, the only thing left is a lie, and a lie, of course, is going to condemn you every time.

Now, someone has aptly said it like this, that truth is like a surgery. It hurts, but it cures. And then they said a lie is like a painkiller. It gives instant relief, but has side effects that last forever. So, clearly then, much rather have the truth. The Bible says in the book of Proverbs 27 and verse 6, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." And the truth of the matter is, I'd much rather be wounded with the truth than I had be kissed with a lie. Wounds will heal, but a deceit continues.

Truth Must Be Applied, Not Just Believed

Believing a weapon can save is useless unless applied. Similarly, truth must be lived out, not just mentally assented to.

The second part will come next Sunday, Lord willing, on four great truths. And certainly I'm not your enemy for telling you the truth. I want you to understand that truth isn't only to be believed, but it also has to be applied in your life. So I could give a proper illustration. You could say, well, I believe a weapon will save me from an attack, whether it's by a human predator or an animal predator. You can believe that all the day long. But if that lion or tiger or mad dog jumps at you, unless you pull that weapon out and shoot, your belief that it's going to protect you is absolutely useless. So you have to make sure that you apply the truth as well. So let me give you two of the great truths today.

First Great Truth: The Truth of God's Elect

Titus 1:1 reveals that God has an elect people, as confirmed by other scriptures like 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 and the example of Elijah.

So if you'll look in your Bibles to the book of Titus chapter 1 and verse 1, and we'll just get to this verse today. We'll take verses 2 and 3 next Sunday, Lord willing. But look at it: "Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness." So here's the first great truth: the truth of God's elect. Now there are obvious truths in this first verse. The first one is that God does indeed have an elect. And the Bible teaches that over and over in the scripture. You remember when it was Elijah who said, "I am left alone, and they seek my life to take it away." And God says, "No, you're not left alone. I have reserved to myself seven thousand that have not bowed the knee to Baal or kissed him." And so what God is telling Elijah, I do have an elect. I do have a remnant. I've got seven thousand. You may not know them, but I've got seven thousand that have not bowed the knee to Baal. So there is an elect.

It was the Apostle Paul himself in 2 Timothy 2 and verse 10 said this, "I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." So he said, I endure all things for the elect's sake. And since you are right at Titus, if you would turn right back to 1 Thessalonians—no, it's 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2 and verses 13 and 14. Look at this. 2 Thessalonians 2, verses 13 and 14. Again, here's this truth. He says,

Scripture Reading — 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14

"But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord."

Why?

Scripture Reading — 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14

"Because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."

But notice he said, we're bound to give thanks always unto God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord. Why? Because God hath chosen you unto salvation. So the very first truth in Titus 1 and verse 1 is that there is indeed an elect. Here's the second truth: God's elect always have faith. That faith is referred to as "the faith of God's elect."

The Faith of God's Elect is a Divine, Saving Faith

The faith of God's elect is not mere intellectual assent (dead faith) or demonic belief, but a divine faith wrought by God that produces obedience and perseverance.

So you're going to have to ask yourself this question, what does that mean? And what really and truly is the faith of God's elect? Well, first of all, let me just say in summary, it means that it is an absolutely saving faith. It is a divine faith. It is a faith that is wrought in God. When we talk about faith, we have to understand that there are errors in the minds of people concerning faith. Let me give you several illustrations. First of all, there are those who equate intellectual assent to a saving faith. And that intellectual assent is not a real saving faith. Just simply because someone believes facts about the gospel does not mean that they actually believe the gospel. Salvation is not just simply mental assent. It is not simply nodding one's head in agreement with historical facts. Salvation consists in far more than just believing in historical facts about Jesus Christ. Now, it is true that there are historical facts about Jesus Christ, but let me point out the fact, the facts are not the gospel. Jesus Christ himself is the gospel, and one may give mental assent, intellectual assent, to numerous truths and still be lost.

And there are multitudes of individuals that have assented intellectually to facts that they have heard and been taught all of their life, and they genuinely believe somehow that they are saved regardless of the course of their life and regardless of how they live their life. I'm going to point out from Scripture that such a faith is known in the Bible as a dead faith. For instance, I want you to turn over in your Bibles forward to the book of James, Hebrews, James. Notice if you would, James chapter 2 and begin reading with me there at verse 14. Watch this carefully. I'm going to come back to one of these verses. Here James is talking about a dead faith. It is not a living faith. It is not a saving faith. It is nothing but a dead faith, and it's absolutely worthless. So in verse 14 he asks,

Scripture Reading — James 2:14-26

"What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."

Now, let's go back and look at verse 14. He asks this question, "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?" Let me insert something there that'll clear this up for you. Can that kind of faith save him? Because he goes on to give us his illustration. Here's a brother or sister that has need. They're hungry, they're thirsty, they need clothes. And what does this man with a dead faith do?

He just says, "The Lord bless you. May the Lord feed you. May the Lord clothe you. Because I'm not, but may the Lord help you. Be ye warmed and filled." And he says, "Notwithstanding, he gives him not those things which are needful for the body." Then he asks, can that kind of faith save him? Because this is a faith that is a dead faith. It is one that does not work.

Now let me make something clear. Our works do not save us. Faith plus our works do not save us. However, if we are genuinely saved, it is by a faith that works. It actually works. Most everyone can quote Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. But most people forget to quote verse 10. See, Ephesians 2, 8 and 9 says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." Now verse 10, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." So God has ordained that those whom He saved walk in good works. So true saving biblical faith is not a dead faith.

It is not a mere intellectual assent to certain historical facts. Saving faith produces a life and a faith and a belief that actually moves in the direction of obedience and holiness. Now look in verse 26 in James chapter 2. He says,

Scripture Reading — James 2:14-26

"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."

Obviously, if you take the breath, if you take the spirit out of a man, all you have is a dead body. And what he is saying is, if you take works away that demonstrate, illustrate, and exemplify a real saving faith, if there are no works, then obviously, he said, it must obviously be a dead faith. Because just like the body is dead without the spirit, so faith without works is dead also.

Now, if your faith does not pray, study, obey, worship, give, praise, be thankful and appreciative, enable you to submit to the Word of God, to honor the Lord Jesus Christ, and to seek His kingdom, then probably you need to examine your faith. In fact, that is a command in 2 Corinthians chapter 13, where the Apostle Paul said, "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" So clearly then, there is such a thing as a dead faith. And anyone who has a dead faith is just merely deceiving themselves. They're certainly not deceiving God. So a man who says that he has faith, but he never lives a holy life, never obeys, never does anything godly and right, God said it's a dead faith.

Now, here's the second error. And I've run into this all of my life. Because I've heard people say over and over, "Well, I must be a Christian, because I believe in God." Well now, let me tell you. It is true that Christians believe in God. And it is true that God is. And it is true that the Bible says, "Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

But let me point something out. A man can believe in God and be lost. A man can believe in God and never ever, ever touch salvation. How can I say that? Well look in James chapter 2 and verse 19. James 2 verse 19, because there's not only such a thing as a dead faith, there's also a demon's faith. In verse 19,

Scripture Reading — James 2:19

"Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble."

They know there is a real God. They know that they're going to be judged. They know that Jesus Christ is Lord. An interesting study would be this, if you would just simply go through the New Testament and see the confessions that demons made when our Lord cast them out. Here is one that's found in Luke chapter 4. Listen to what they said when our Lord approached them.

They said, "Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God." You see, demons believe in God. They know that God is. They know how powerful He is. They know His position. They know that our Lord Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and God of Gods.

So here's what I tell people. If you do not acknowledge the greatness and the goodness and the glory and the power and the position of the Lord Jesus Christ, and if you do not tremble before him, you don't even have the faith of demons. Because they not only believe, they tremble. So there is indeed a dead faith. There's also a demon's faith. You see, when Paul talked about the faith of God's elect, he's now talking about a third, and that is a divine faith. You see, a dead faith or demon's faith will not save anyone. But a divine faith is that which is given by God and wrought by the Spirit of God. It is a faith that obeys, that trusts, that leans upon the Lord, that suffers, that endures all things, and will never ever let go of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a faith that believes that salvation is an accomplished fact. That Jesus Christ actually propitiated the Father. He satisfied God the Father. That Jesus Christ is our substitute. That Jesus Christ is our sacrifice.

It is a faith that wholly and completely entrusts in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a faith that is the gift of God the Father that is wrought in us by God the Holy Spirit and enables us to come savingly to the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of John, the fourth gospel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Look in John chapter 6, John chapter 6, and let's begin reading there with verse 44. John 6, verse 44. Look at what our Lord says. John 6, verse 44. Our Lord speaks and He declares, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him."

"And I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me." Now let me go back to verse 44. He says, "No man can come to me." The term "can" is a term of ability. "May" is a term of permission. So he says, "No man has the ability to come unto me except the Father who has sent me draw him." And by the way, it is not drag, it is draw. God draws us. How does God draw us? And the answer is found in verse 45.

And that is by teaching us, enlightening our minds, releasing our wills from the bondage of sin, and enabling us to come savingly to the Lord Jesus Christ. That is why the book of Philippians chapter 2 and verse 13, the Apostle Paul said,

Scripture Reading — Philippians 2:13

"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."

So a divine faith means that there is something that has happened in your life that would be absolutely impossible for you to accomplish yourself. A divine faith means that you have been worked in effectually by the Holy Spirit, and that you have been drawn into the fellowship of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. So, if you would turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. After the book of Romans, you have 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Look if you would please at verse 9. 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 9. The Bible tells us that "God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord."

So when God calls us effectually, when God enlightens our mind, when God teaches us, when God draws us, according to 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 9, it is a call that actually ends in fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. So a divine faith is that which is absolutely impossible for man to accomplish. Why? The answer is because it's a work of God alone. I'm really genuinely convinced that the reason most professing Christians stumble, fall, fail, never ever persevere is simply because they only have a dead faith.

Salvation is Impossible with Men but Possible with God

Using the rich young ruler, Weaver shows that salvation is humanly impossible; only God can give the divine faith necessary for salvation.

You should know this story. This is the story of the rich young ruler. The Bible tells you in this passage that there was a rich young ruler who came running to our Lord and he knelt and he asked, "Good Master, what good thing shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" And our Lord actually begins with a rebuke. He said, "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God." Literally what he was saying is this. If I'm good, then I'm God. And if I'm God, you don't come running into my presence, demanding something off me. No, no. But our Lord said, look, okay. You know the commandments. Do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, honor thy father and mother. If you want to be saved, keep these commandments. Know what the young man said?

"All these have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?" Remember now, this young man not only had morals, because evidently he was pretty pure and clean, he also had manners because he knelt. He also had money, lots and lots of money. I usually think if this young man came to the average preacher today, he would have been led to the Lord in five minutes, baptized, made a member of the local church, probably promoted to a deacon at least. And of course, with the money that had been given, a new wing would have been added to the church named after him or a college started after him. But our Lord said, look, here's what you need to do. "You want to be saved? You give away everything that you have. You sell all that you have and give it to the poor. Take up your cross and follow me."

Now, here's a good question. How many of you, when you were saved, sold everything you had and gave it to the poor? And the answer is none of you. Well, why did our Lord tell this young man that? Why did he not say like the Apostle Paul, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved"? Why did he tell him to go and sell everything that he had and give to the poor? And the answer is, our Lord was applying the law of God. Here's a young man, said, "All these things have I observed from my youth up." And our Lord is saying, uh-uh, you hadn't even kept the first commandment. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me," because his money was his God.

And when he heard that, he went away, the Bible says, exceedingly sorrowful, for he had great riches. Look at it. Mark 10, verse 22, let's start there. "And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions." He didn't want to give any of it away because his money was his God. His possessions were his God. Now look at verse 23. Here's what I wanted to get to. "And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?"

Now look at that question. "Who then can be saved?" Our Lord answers it. Look in verse 27. "And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible." The truth of the matter is, only God can save. Only God can give a divine faith. Only God can save us. Your baptism will not save you. Your good works will not save you. Your mental assent will not save you. Your church membership will not save you. Your good intentions will not save you. Your relationship with true believers will not save you. You cannot save yourself. The only one who can save is the one true and the living God, who has sent his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be the propitiation for our sins.

So therefore, we are required, we are obligated, to throw ourselves upon Him and to ask and beg and plead for His mercy and for His grace and for His gifts of repentance and faith. It is our duty, our responsibility, our obligation to seek Him and call upon Him and implore and beseech Him to save us. Because we cannot save ourselves. It is God that must give us the faith of His elect. The faith of God's elect is a divine faith and it is produced by God alone.

Second Great Truth: The Faith of God's Elect Produces Godliness

The acknowledging of the truth (full, precise knowledge) leads to godliness. True faith always results in a life of holiness and reverence toward God.

Now, the Greek word is eusebeia, which literally is translated as godliness. It is translated in our Bibles as godliness 14 times and holiness one time. But I want you to look at verse 1 again because there is another very interesting word. The Bible says, "Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness." Now the word "acknowledging" is a very important word. It does not mean just to nod your head in agreement. It does not mean just to say with your mouth. The Greek word is epignosis. Epi is a preposition which means "upon" and gnosis is knowledge. So actually what this word "acknowledging" means is knowledge upon knowledge. It means a full and precise knowledge. Let me go at it. Look at it. "Paul, a servant of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, to the acknowledging—but to the full, precise truth which is after godliness." In other words, the word means that we know something absolutely. We know it for sure. We know it certainly. It is not just in our heads, it is in our lives. Our lives are to be lives of godliness and our lives are to be lives in pursuit of obedience and conformity to the Word of God. Now, I want to show you something. There are three important truths in relationship to the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness. I want you to think about these.

No Excuse for a Believer Not to Be Godly

2 Peter 1:3 teaches that God has given believers all things pertaining to life and godliness, so there is no excuse for ungodliness.

First of all, there is absolutely no excuse for a real child of God not to be godly. How can I say that? I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Peter. 2 Peter. After the book of James, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter. Look in 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 3. Here's what I mean when I say there is absolutely no excuse for a real genuine child of God not to be godly. Watch. 2 Peter 1 and verse 3, "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue." Did you see that? "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness." If God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, there's absolutely no excuse why we should not be godly.

We are alive in Him. We should be godly in Him. Wow. I'm going to hit this a little bit later. But I want you to look at it again in verse 3. "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue." So the very first truth that we must understand is there is no excuse. There is no reason for a real, genuine child of God not to be godly because God has given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. Now here's the second truth. Godliness is something that has to be added to our faith. Faith is our foundation. But that foundation does not consist of the superstructure. The foundation is there. The superstructure sits upon the foundation. We have to build upon that foundation. Let me show you. Let's begin again by reading verse 3 of 2 Peter 1. "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."

Godliness Requires Diligent Spiritual Exercise

Believers must add godliness to their faith through diligent exercise, refusing profane fables and continually training in holiness, as 1 Timothy 4:7-8 commands.

Now, let me get to the last truth concerning godliness. The first one is there's just no excuse for the real genuine child of God not to be godly. The second one is, godliness and a lot of other graces are to be added to our faith. It's our responsibility to give all diligence to add these to our faith. But here's the third one, and it's going to be the most painful. Most people are not going to like this. Here it is. Godliness involves exercise. Godliness involves exercise. Most people do not like exercise.

They'd much rather be doing something else. But I do want you to turn back to 1 Timothy. You had 1 and 2 Timothy and then Titus. So once you find Titus, go back to 1 Timothy chapter 4. Let me show you what I'm talking about. 1 Timothy chapter 4, beginning there with verse 7. Watch carefully. The Word of God says, "But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." When you look at verse 7, there's two truths here. "But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness." Now, the Greek word for "exercise" is actually where we get our English word "gymnastics." Gumnadzo. Gymnasticize yourself unto godliness. Now, Alice and I enjoy watching gymnastics, and the older I get, I suppose the more I enjoy it, only because it's astounding to me that anybody can be that flexible and do those things.

It's kind of like when I'm teaching rifle and I have to teach squatting and kneeling and prone position, I tell people, "Don't think for one minute that I cannot get into those positions. I can. I just can't get out of them." Or at least not without help sometimes. Last time Steve and I went and did some of that at Front Sight, I told Steve, I said, "I'm going to do it." I said, "Fine, I'm not. I'm just going to help you up when you get through with it." I said, "I'm too old for that." But when I look—and watch this, Simone Biles is her name, the black gymnast, the young woman, 30 years old, I think she is, an Olympian champion, a world champion. You should see that girl. It is unbelievable. It's just astounding. And yet when you see her, you think, my goodness, how can she do all of that? Well, the answer is she started probably when she was two or three years old. And she's done it all of her life. You don't get that flexible and you're not able to do those things thinking, "Well, I'm just going to be a gymnast. I'll start tomorrow."

No, it doesn't work like that. I showed Alice a picture years ago. It was on the internet. I think the woman was either 80 or 90. I forget which one. It was a Chinese woman. She had on a pair of slacks. She was at a stop sign. She had one foot on the ground and the other foot straight up in the air right up against that stop sign. 90 years old!

I thought, Lord have mercy. I have to be pulled out of my chair. But you know, probably she's done that all of her life. I've seen 70 and 80 year old ballet teachers that can do things like that. And the point I'm trying to make is they worked at being flexible, limber, loose. They exercise themselves. And here's what he's saying, we're to exercise ourselves rather unto godliness. We're to gymnasticize ourselves. We're to work at being godly.

Now look if you would back at verse 7. He says, "But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness." Now, here's the truth. I want you to listen to me. You will never exercise yourself unto godliness until and unless you refuse profane and old wives' fables. Now, you know what a profane and old wives' fable is? It is something that you have heard all of your life. It's just not true. It's just not true.

One thing that I heard that if your mother or if a pregnant woman listened to beautiful music during her pregnancy, then the child would be born musically inclined. I tell people my mother must have listened to a dying buzzard sing because I'm not musically inclined at all. That's just an old wives' fable. You know what some old wives' fables are when it comes to spiritual gymnastics? "Well, all I got to do is go forward in a church service and that'll take care of it. All I got to do is kneel at an altar one time. All I've got to do is rededicate my life." That's not true. I suppose if you decide you're going to do a backflip and you do it one time, then that means you're going to be able to do it the rest of your life? I don't think so. No.

You see, when we're talking about gymnasticizing ourselves unto godliness, we're talking about continually exercising to have godly thoughts, a godly way of thinking, a godly way of acting, a godly way of doing things. In other words, we are doing things biblically and scripturally, and things that are righteous and holy. Those things do not come by nature. And you have to exercise your mind, you have to control your emotions, you have to control everything if you are going to be exercising yourself rather unto godliness. Now he said, "Bodily exercise profiteth little."

Now it does profit some, not much. Do you realize the most muscle-bound man, the older he gets, the more sagging his muscles are going to get. If you don't believe that, look at Arnold Schwarzenegger today. Everything he's got sags. You know, I'm not saying don't have bodily exercise, it does profit some. But godliness is profitable in this life, he said, and the life to come as well.

Applications: Examine Your Faith and Pursue Godliness

Only divine faith leads to godliness. Those unconcerned with holiness should examine their faith. Godliness comes through knowing Christ and His Word, and requires constant spiritual combat against the flesh.

Now, let me make some applications. Here's the first one. It is only a divine faith that will enable us to have the faith of God's elect. And it's only the faith of God's elect that will lead us to the acknowledging of the truth that is after godliness. A dead faith will not do that. A demon's faith will not do that. Only a divine faith will produce this truth in our lives. And the truth is this, if someone is unconcerned about being godly, they're unconcerned about being holy, they're unconcerned about being righteous, they have no desire to please God, they have no desire to have fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ, you need to be checking your faith, because you're probably still lost and in your sins. Because the faith of God's elect always leads us to the acknowledging of the truth, which is after godliness.

Now, I want you to go back to 2 Peter chapter 1. I want you to go back there and look at this. 2 Peter chapter 1. I mentioned it earlier. I'm going to mention it again, 2 Peter 1 in verse 3, and this time I really want to emphasize it. Watch this carefully. 2 Peter 1 and verse 3. Watch. "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness." How do we know? Watch, "through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue." God in His divine power hath given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. What is the source of that knowledge? What is the source? Through the knowledge of Him. It is only in and through the Lord Jesus Christ, only in and through His Word, that we understand godliness and righteous living. And the more we learn about God, the more holy, the more godly we will become, the more obedient we will become, because His divine power is manifested in and through His Word, and that produces in our lives.

So the more we know about Him, the more obedient we become. Now there's another interesting verse in Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 1. I want you to listen to this. The scripture says, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us." So he said, lay aside every weight. Lay aside every sin that does so easily beset us, and let us run the race with patience. So if I'm going to get ready to run in a foot race, I can assure you I'm not putting on army boots. I want to lay aside anything that's going to weigh me down. I'm not going to have rocks in my pockets. I'm going to put every weight aside, any hindrance aside, and then he said, "the sin that so easily beset us," whatever that is, and usually it's the flesh.

You've got to remember something, folks. He said bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable unto this life and the life that is to come. And it requires spiritual exercise to live a godly life. Why must you exercise incessantly? Here's why. Because your flesh is opposed to it. Your flesh does not want you to be more holy, more godly. Your flesh cries and craves to be satisfied. I hope you remember Galatians 5 and verse 17, where the Bible says, "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh."

"And these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." Now when it says, "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit," it means the flesh fights against the Spirit. And the Spirit fights against the flesh. That's why it requires exercise. That's why it requires a constant combat mentality to be holy and to be godly and to be pure. We cannot give in to our flesh if we're going to live a godly life. If we have the faith of God's elect, it will always lead to the truth and acknowledging of that truth, which is after godliness. You'll never ever find it with a dead faith. You'll never find it with a demon's faith. It's always with the divine faith. Those whom God saves, he enables them to live a godly life. We must remember there is no excuse not to be godly. We must add all of these virtues, all of these graces to our lives, and it's going to require spiritual gymnastics, exercising ourselves unto holiness.

Study Guide

Major Themes

The Nature of Truth

Summary: Truth is defined by God alone; everything contrary to God and His Word is a lie. Rejecting truth leads to believing a damning lie.

Evidence: The speaker states, 'if it is against God and His Word, it is a lie. Because God is truth... The only truth there is, is God's truth.' He cites 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 to show that those who reject truth are sent strong delusion to believe a lie.

God's Elect

Summary: God has a chosen people, an elect, who are saved by His sovereign choice. This is a biblical truth seen in both Old and New Testaments.

Evidence: From Titus 1:1, 'according to the faith of God's elect,' and references to Elijah's 7,000 and 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14, the speaker argues that God has an elect people.

Divine Faith vs. Dead and Demonic Faith

Summary: True saving faith is a divine gift from God, not mere intellectual assent (dead faith) or the belief of demons. It produces works and perseverance.

Evidence: The speaker contrasts James 2:14-26 (dead faith) and James 2:19 (demons' faith) with the faith of God's elect, which is 'wrought by the Spirit of God' and 'enables us to come savingly to the Lord Jesus Christ.'

Human Inability and Divine Enablement in Salvation

Summary: Salvation is impossible with men; only God can save by granting repentance and faith. This is illustrated by the rich young ruler.

Evidence: The speaker expounds Mark 10:23-27, emphasizing Jesus' words, 'With men it is impossible, but not with God,' and concludes that 'only God can give a divine faith.'

Godliness as the Fruit of True Faith

Summary: The faith of God's elect always leads to the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness—a life of holiness, reverence, and obedience.

Evidence: From Titus 1:1, the speaker explains that 'acknowledging' (epignosis) means full, precise knowledge that results in a godly life. He ties this to 2 Peter 1:3-7 and 1 Timothy 4:7-8.

Spiritual Exercise and Diligence in Godliness

Summary: Godliness requires continual spiritual exercise, discipline, and effort, akin to physical gymnastics. Believers must actively train themselves in holiness.

Evidence: The speaker expounds 1 Timothy 4:7, 'exercise thyself rather unto godliness,' using the Greek gumnadzo (gymnastics) to illustrate the need for constant training and refusal of 'old wives' fables.'

Key Arguments

Rejecting truth leads to believing a damning lie.

Summary: When people refuse the love of the truth, God sends them strong delusion to believe a lie, resulting in damnation.

Evidence: The speaker cites 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12: 'because they received not the love of the truth... God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned.'

Intellectual assent is not saving faith.

Summary: Mere mental agreement with gospel facts does not save; such faith is dead and produces no works.

Evidence: Using James 2:14-17, the speaker argues that faith without works is dead, and asks, 'can that kind of faith save him?'

Demons have a kind of faith that does not save.

Summary: Demons believe in God and tremble, but their faith is not saving faith. A person who does not even tremble before God has less than demonic faith.

Evidence: James 2:19: 'Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.'

Salvation is a divine work, impossible for man alone.

Summary: No one can come to Christ unless the Father draws him; salvation is a work of God, not human effort.

Evidence: John 6:44: 'No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.' Also Mark 10:27: 'With men it is impossible, but not with God.'

True faith always produces godliness.

Summary: The faith of God's elect leads to a full, precise knowledge of the truth that results in a godly life; a lack of godliness indicates a dead faith.

Evidence: Titus 1:1 connects 'the faith of God's elect' with 'the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness.' The speaker argues that if someone is unconcerned about godliness, they should examine their faith.

Believers have no excuse for ungodliness.

Summary: God has given believers all things pertaining to life and godliness through the knowledge of Christ, so there is no excuse for not living a godly life.

Evidence: 2 Peter 1:3: 'According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.'

Godliness requires intentional, continual exercise.

Summary: Spiritual growth in godliness demands diligent exercise, like physical training, and the refusal of false, easy-believism notions.

Evidence: 1 Timothy 4:7: 'exercise thyself rather unto godliness.' The speaker emphasizes the Greek gumnadzo and the need to 'gymnasticize' oneself unto godliness, rejecting 'old wives' fables.'

Scripture References

Titus 1:1-3

Context: The primary text of the sermon, introducing Paul's apostleship, the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth after godliness.

Romans 1:25

Context: Cited to show that some change the truth of God into a lie.

James 3:14

Context: Command not to lie against the truth.

Deuteronomy 32:4

Context: God is called a God of truth, without iniquity.

John 14:6

Context: Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

John 1:17

Context: Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Psalm 25:10

Context: All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth.

John 5:43

Context: Jesus said He came in His Father's name and was not received, but another coming in his own name would be received.

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12

Context: Those who perish do so because they received not the love of the truth; God sends them strong delusion to believe a lie and be damned.

Proverbs 27:6

Context: Faithful are the wounds of a friend; the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Galatians 4:16

Context: Paul asks if he has become their enemy because he tells them the truth.

2 Timothy 2:10

Context: Paul endures all things for the elect's sakes, that they may obtain salvation.

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14

Context: God has from the beginning chosen believers to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.

James 2:14-26

Context: Faith without works is dead; a man is justified by works and not by faith only. Used to illustrate dead faith vs. living faith.

Ephesians 2:8-10

Context: Saved by grace through faith, not of works; but created in Christ Jesus unto good works.

2 Corinthians 13:5

Context: Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.

James 2:19

Context: Thou believest that there is one God; the devils also believe and tremble. Used to show demonic faith is not saving.

John 6:44-45

Context: No man can come to Christ except the Father draw him; they shall be all taught of God.

Philippians 2:13

Context: It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

1 Corinthians 1:9

Context: God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son.

Historical References

Elijah and the 7,000 who had not bowed to Baal

Context: Used to illustrate that God has an elect remnant even when it seems otherwise.

Simone Biles, Olympic gymnast

Context: Used as an illustration of the dedication and lifelong training required for physical gymnastics, paralleling the spiritual exercise needed for godliness.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Context: Mentioned as an example of how even the most muscular body sags with age, illustrating the limited profit of bodily exercise compared to godliness.

Important Quotes

if it is against God and His Word, it is a lie. Because God is truth, according to the Bible, and not only is God truth, that means everything else is a lie.

Significance: Establishes the absolute standard of truth as God and His Word, foundational to the sermon's argument.

When anyone refuses the truth, the only thing left is a lie. Whenever you will not believe the truth, you are ultimately condemned to believe a lie, and believing a lie will condemn you and damn you.

Significance: Warns of the inevitable consequence of rejecting truth, leading to damnation.

truth is like a surgery. It hurts, but it cures. And then they said a lie is like a painkiller. It gives instant relief, but has side effects that last forever.

Significance: Illustrates the painful but healing nature of truth versus the deceptive comfort of lies.

Salvation consists in far more than just believing in historical facts about Jesus Christ. Now, it is true that there are historical facts about Jesus Christ, but let me point out the fact, the facts are not the gospel. Jesus Christ himself is the gospel.

Significance: Distinguishes between mere intellectual assent to facts and true saving faith in the person of Christ.

if you do not acknowledge the greatness and the goodness and the glory and the power and the position of the Lord Jesus Christ, and if you do not tremble before him, you don't even have the faith of demons.

Significance: A striking statement that challenges superficial belief by comparing it to the trembling faith of demons.

With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

Significance: Quoting Jesus to emphasize that salvation is a divine work, not a human achievement.

the faith of God's elect always produces the truth which is after godliness. All truth which is God's truth is after godliness.

Significance: Core thesis of the second great truth: true faith inevitably results in a godly life.

exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

Significance: Key verse commanding spiritual discipline, with the speaker's emphasis on the Greek word for gymnastics.

Discussion Questions

How does the sermon define truth, and why is it important that truth is rooted in God rather than human opinion?

Context: The speaker argues that God is truth and everything contrary to His Word is a lie. This raises the question of how we determine truth in a relativistic culture.

What is the difference between intellectual assent, demonic faith, and the divine faith of God's elect? How can a person examine which kind of faith they have?

Context: The sermon distinguishes three types of faith using James 2 and other passages. This question encourages self-examination based on the biblical criteria given.

Why did Jesus tell the rich young ruler to sell all he had, and what does this teach us about the impossibility of self-salvation?

Context: The speaker uses Mark 10 to show that salvation is impossible with men. This question probes the purpose of the law in revealing human inability.

According to 2 Peter 1:3, God has given us all things pertaining to life and godliness. What are some of those things, and how do we access them?

Context: The sermon emphasizes that there is no excuse for ungodliness because God has provided everything needed. This question explores the resources God has given.

What does it mean to 'exercise yourself unto godliness'? What are some practical ways to engage in spiritual gymnastics?

Context: The speaker uses the Greek word gumnadzo to illustrate the need for disciplined training in godliness. This question seeks practical application.

How does the flesh war against the Spirit in the pursuit of godliness, and what strategies can believers use to overcome?

Context: Referencing Galatians 5:17, the sermon highlights the internal conflict. This question addresses the reality of spiritual warfare and victory.

The sermon states that if someone is unconcerned about being godly, they should examine their faith. Why is godliness a necessary evidence of true faith?

Context: The speaker ties the faith of God's elect directly to the acknowledging of truth after godliness. This question challenges listeners to evaluate their spiritual condition.

Applications

Examine your faith to see if it is divine, dead, or demonic.

Summary: Listeners are urged to test whether their faith produces godliness and obedience, or is merely intellectual assent or superficial belief.

Evidence: The speaker says, 'if someone is unconcerned about being godly... you need to be checking your faith, because you're probably still lost and in your sins.' He references 2 Corinthians 13:5.

Pursue godliness through spiritual exercise and discipline.

Summary: Believers must actively train themselves in holiness, refusing false ideas and continually exercising their minds and wills toward godly living.

Evidence: The speaker expounds 1 Timothy 4:7, 'exercise thyself rather unto godliness,' and emphasizes the need to 'gymnasticize' oneself, adding that it requires 'continually exercising to have godly thoughts.'

Add godliness and other virtues to your faith with all diligence.

Summary: Based on 2 Peter 1:5-7, believers are to make every effort to supplement their faith with virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love.

Evidence: The speaker says, 'giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge... and to patience godliness.' He stresses that these must be added intentionally.

Reject profane and old wives' fables that hinder godliness.

Summary: Believers must refuse false, easy-believism notions that suggest spiritual growth happens without ongoing effort and discipline.

Evidence: The speaker says, 'You will never exercise yourself unto godliness until and unless you refuse profane and old wives' fables,' giving examples like 'all I got to do is go forward in a church service.'

Lay aside every weight and sin that hinders your spiritual race.

Summary: Using Hebrews 12:1, believers are to remove anything that slows their progress in holiness, especially besetting sins.

Evidence: The speaker says, 'lay aside every weight. Lay aside every sin that does so easily beset us, and let us run the race with patience.'

Engage in constant combat against the flesh to live a godly life.

Summary: Because the flesh lusts against the Spirit, believers must maintain a combat mentality, refusing to give in to fleshly desires.

Evidence: The speaker says, 'it requires a constant combat mentality to be holy and to be godly and to be pure. We cannot give in to our flesh if we're going to live a godly life.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T14:08:59Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T02:12:18Z

Clean Transcript

Four Great Truths - Part 1 of 2

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Well, let's open our Bible today to the book of Titus, chapter 1, verses 1 through 3. Titus, chapter 1, verses 1 through 3. The title of the message is "Four Great Truths." However, you're only going to get two of the four today because it's going to take me another week to work this out. So look, if you would please, in Titus chapter 1, beginning with verse 1, and we'll read through verse 3: "Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledging of the truth, which is after godliness; in hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; but hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour." When you stop and think about the word truth, we must admit that we not only need truth, we want truth—at least those of us who believe truth. There is that which man calls truth that in reality is a lie.
#1 | 0:11 to 1:33 | cleaned
The Bible speaks in Romans 1 and verse 25 of those who changed the truth of God into a lie. And the Bible also says in James 3 and verse 14 gives us the command not to lie against the truth. Now I can give you a very simple principle, and that principle is this: if it is against God and His Word, it is a lie. Because God is truth, according to the Bible, and not only is God truth, that means everything else is a lie. It is God who determines truth. It is also God who determines reality. There is no reality apart from God. When man tries to make his own reality, it's a lie. The only truth there is, is God's truth. The only reality there is, is God's reality. All truth is of God, because God is truth. The Bible says in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 32 and verse 4, "He is the rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he."
#2 | 1:34 to 2:49 | cleaned
So He is called the God of truth. And of course everyone in this room remembers John 14 and verse 6, because our Lord is truth incarnate. He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." And, of course, John 1 and verse 17, the Bible says, "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." And then David said it very plainly in Psalm 25 and verse 10. He said, "All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth." The problem that we are facing today is the same problem that most have faced all down through the centuries, and that's very simple. Most people do not want truth. And it's easier to believe a lie than it is to believe a truth. And the truth of the matter is, many will believe a false prophet when they will not believe a true prophet. It was our Lord in John 5 and verse 43 who said this to those Pharisees, He said, "I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not."
#3 | 2:49 to 4:02 | cleaned
"If another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive." So they were ready to turn away the Lord Jesus Christ and receive anyone and anything else that came in his own name. So here's a very simple truth. It is very simple and straightforward. When anyone refuses the truth, the only thing left is a lie. Whenever you will not believe the truth, you are ultimately condemned to believe a lie, and believing a lie will condemn you and damn you. Let me show you. I want you to turn back in your Bibles just a few pages to 2 Thessalonians. So it's 1 and 2 Timothy, then 1 and 2 Thessalonians, right before you get to the book of Titus. But look in 2 Thessalonians 2, beginning there with verse 10. 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 10.
#4 | 4:03 to 5:04 | cleaned
The Bible says, "...and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish." Now, let's ask a question. Why are they perishing? Here's why. "Because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." So people perish because they do not receive the love of the truth. Now watch what happens when they do not receive the love of the truth. The Bible says in verse 11, "And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." So when you refuse to believe the truth, the only thing left is a lie, and a lie, of course, is going to condemn you every time.
#5 | 5:04 to 5:54 | cleaned
Now, someone has aptly said it like this, that truth is like a surgery. It hurts, but it cures. And then they said a lie is like a painkiller. It gives instant relief, but has side effects that last forever. So, clearly then, much rather have the truth. The Bible says in the book of Proverbs 27 and verse 6, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." And the truth of the matter is, I'd much rather be wounded with the truth than I had be kissed with a lie. Wounds will heal, but a deceit continues.
#6 | 5:55 to 6:38 | cleaned
Now, there's another problem that we have with the truth, not only the fact that most people really and truly do not want it, but truth then destroys all of our illusions. It also destroys our ignorance and our error. And consequently, when people do not like what they hear, if they cannot refute what they hear, then they seek to destroy the messenger who's carrying the message. That is why the Apostle Paul in Galatians 4 and verse 16 asked the question to these Galatians, "Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?" And it's astounding how many people are cut off just simply for speaking the truth. So today what I would like to share with you is the beginning of a two-part message.
#7 | 6:38 to 7:31 | cleaned
The second part will come next Sunday, Lord willing, on four great truths. And certainly I'm not your enemy for telling you the truth. I want you to understand that truth isn't only to be believed, but it also has to be applied in your life. So I could give a proper illustration. You could say, well, I believe a weapon will save me from an attack, whether it's by a human predator or an animal predator. You can believe that all the day long. But if that lion or tiger or mad dog jumps at you, unless you pull that weapon out and shoot, your belief that it's going to protect you is absolutely useless. So you have to make sure that you apply the truth as well. So let me give you two of the great truths today.
#8 | 7:31 to 8:23 | cleaned
So if you'll look in your Bibles to the book of Titus chapter 1 and verse 1, and we'll just get to this verse today. We'll take verses 2 and 3 next Sunday, Lord willing. But look at it: "Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness." So here's the first great truth: the truth of God's elect. Now there are obvious truths in this first verse. The first one is that God does indeed have an elect.
#9 | 8:23 to 9:04 | cleaned
And the Bible teaches that over and over in the scripture. You remember when it was Elijah who said, "I am left alone, and they seek my life to take it away." And God says, "No, you're not left alone. I have reserved to myself seven thousand that have not bowed the knee to Baal or kissed him." And so what God is telling Elijah, I do have an elect. I do have a remnant. I've got seven thousand. You may not know them, but I've got seven thousand that have not bowed the knee to Baal. So there is an elect.
#10 | 9:04 to 9:39 | cleaned
It was the Apostle Paul himself in 2 Timothy 2 and verse 10 said this, "I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." So he said, I endure all things for the elect's sake. And since you are right at Titus, if you would turn right back to 1 Thessalonians—no, it's 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2 and verses 13 and 14. Look at this. 2 Thessalonians 2, verses 13 and 14. Again, here's this truth.
#11 | 9:39 to 10:19 | cleaned
He says, "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord." Why? "Because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." But notice he said, we're bound to give thanks always unto God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord. Why? Because God hath chosen you unto salvation. So the very first truth in Titus 1 and verse 1 is that there is indeed an elect. Here's the second truth: God's elect always have faith. That faith is referred to as "the faith of God's elect."
#12 | 10:20 to 11:07 | cleaned
So you're going to have to ask yourself this question, what does that mean? And what really and truly is the faith of God's elect? Well, first of all, let me just say in summary, it means that it is an absolutely saving faith. It is a divine faith. It is a faith that is wrought in God. When we talk about faith, we have to understand that there are errors in the minds of people concerning faith.
#13 | 11:08 to 11:37 | cleaned
Let me give you several illustrations. First of all, there are those who equate intellectual assent to a saving faith. And that intellectual assent is not a real saving faith. Just simply because someone believes facts about the gospel does not mean that they actually believe the gospel. Salvation is not just simply mental assent. It is not simply nodding one's head in agreement with historical facts. Salvation consists in far more than just believing in historical facts about Jesus Christ. Now, it is true that there are historical facts about Jesus Christ, but let me point out the fact, the facts are not the gospel. Jesus Christ himself is the gospel, and one may give mental assent, intellectual assent, to numerous truths and still be lost.
#14 | 11:38 to 12:41 | cleaned
And there are multitudes of individuals that have assented intellectually to facts that they have heard and been taught all of their life, and they genuinely believe somehow that they are saved regardless of the course of their life and regardless of how they live their life. I'm going to point out from Scripture that such a faith is known in the Bible as a dead faith. For instance, I want you to turn over in your Bibles forward to the book of James, Hebrews, James. Notice if you would, James chapter 2 and begin reading with me there at verse 14. Watch this carefully. I'm going to come back to one of these verses. Here James is talking about a dead faith. It is not a living faith. It is not a saving faith. It is nothing but a dead faith, and it's absolutely worthless. So in verse 14 he asks, "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."
#15 | 12:41 to 14:17 | cleaned
Now, let's go back and look at verse 14. He asks this question, "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?" Let me insert something there that'll clear this up for you. Can that kind of faith save him? Because he goes on to give us his illustration. Here's a brother or sister that has need. They're hungry, they're thirsty, they need clothes. And what does this man with a dead faith do?
#16 | 14:18 to 14:49 | cleaned
He just says, "The Lord bless you. May the Lord feed you. May the Lord clothe you. Because I'm not, but may the Lord help you. Be ye warmed and filled." And he says, "Notwithstanding, he gives him not those things which are needful for the body." Then he asks, can that kind of faith save him? Because this is a faith that is a dead faith. It is one that does not work.
#17 | 14:49 to 15:13 | cleaned
Now let me make something clear. Our works do not save us. Faith plus our works do not save us. However, if we are genuinely saved, it is by a faith that works. It actually works. Most everyone can quote Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. But most people forget to quote verse 10. See, Ephesians 2, 8 and 9 says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." Now verse 10, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." So God has ordained that those whom He saved walk in good works. So true saving biblical faith is not a dead faith.
#18 | 15:14 to 16:11 | cleaned
It is not a mere intellectual assent to certain historical facts. Saving faith produces a life and a faith and a belief that actually moves in the direction of obedience and holiness.
#19 | 16:12 to 16:27 | cleaned
Now look in verse 26 in James chapter 2. He says, "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." Obviously, if you take the breath, if you take the spirit out of a man, all you have is a dead body. And what he is saying is, if you take works away that demonstrate, illustrate, and exemplify a real saving faith, if there are no works, then obviously, he said, it must obviously be a dead faith. Because just like the body is dead without the spirit, so faith without works is dead also.
#20 | 16:27 to 17:10 | cleaned
Now, if your faith does not pray, study, obey, worship, give, praise, be thankful and appreciative, enable you to submit to the Word of God, to honor the Lord Jesus Christ, and to seek His kingdom, then probably you need to examine your faith. In fact, that is a command in 2 Corinthians chapter 13, where the Apostle Paul said, "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" So clearly then, there is such a thing as a dead faith. And anyone who has a dead faith is just merely deceiving themselves. They're certainly not deceiving God. So a man who says that he has faith, but he never lives a holy life, never obeys, never does anything godly and right, God said it's a dead faith.
#21 | 17:11 to 18:07 | cleaned
Now, here's the second error. And I've run into this all of my life. Because I've heard people say over and over, "Well, I must be a Christian, because I believe in God." Well now, let me tell you. It is true that Christians believe in God. And it is true that God is. And it is true that the Bible says, "Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."
#22 | 18:07 to 18:44 | cleaned
But let me point something out. A man can believe in God and be lost. A man can believe in God and never ever, ever touch salvation. How can I say that? Well look in James chapter 2 and verse 19. James 2 verse 19, because there's not only such a thing as a dead faith, there's also a demon's faith. In verse 19, "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." They know there is a real God. They know that they're going to be judged. They know that Jesus Christ is Lord. An interesting study would be this, if you would just simply go through the New Testament and see the confessions that demons made when our Lord cast them out. Here is one that's found in Luke chapter 4. Listen to what they said when our Lord approached them.
#23 | 18:45 to 19:49 | cleaned
They said, "Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God." You see, demons believe in God. They know that God is. They know how powerful He is. They know His position. They know that our Lord Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and God of Gods.
#24 | 19:50 to 20:19 | cleaned
So here's what I tell people. If you do not acknowledge the greatness and the goodness and the glory and the power and the position of the Lord Jesus Christ, and if you do not tremble before him, you don't even have the faith of demons. Because they not only believe, they tremble. So there is indeed a dead faith. There's also a demon's faith. You see, when Paul talked about the faith of God's elect, he's now talking about a third, and that is a divine faith. You see, a dead faith or demon's faith will not save anyone. But a divine faith is that which is given by God and wrought by the Spirit of God. It is a faith that obeys, that trusts, that leans upon the Lord, that suffers, that endures all things, and will never ever let go of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a faith that believes that salvation is an accomplished fact. That Jesus Christ actually propitiated the Father. He satisfied God the Father. That Jesus Christ is our substitute. That Jesus Christ is our sacrifice.
#25 | 20:19 to 21:34 | cleaned
It is a faith that wholly and completely entrusts in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a faith that is the gift of God the Father that is wrought in us by God the Holy Spirit and enables us to come savingly to the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of John, the fourth gospel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Look in John chapter 6, John chapter 6, and let's begin reading there with verse 44. John 6, verse 44. Look at what our Lord says. John 6, verse 44. Our Lord speaks and He declares, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him."
#26 | 21:34 to 22:28 | cleaned
"And I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me."
#27 | 22:28 to 22:41 | cleaned
Now let me go back to verse 44. He says, "No man can come to me." The term "can" is a term of ability. "May" is a term of permission. So he says, "No man has the ability to come unto me except the Father who has sent me draw him." And by the way, it is not drag, it is draw. God draws us. How does God draw us? And the answer is found in verse 45.
#28 | 22:42 to 23:08 | cleaned
And that is by teaching us, enlightening our minds, releasing our wills from the bondage of sin, and enabling us to come savingly to the Lord Jesus Christ. That is why the book of Philippians chapter 2 and verse 13, the Apostle Paul said, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." So a divine faith means that there is something that has happened in your life that would be absolutely impossible for you to accomplish yourself. A divine faith means that you have been worked in effectually by the Holy Spirit, and that you have been drawn into the fellowship of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. So, if you would turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. After the book of Romans, you have 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Look if you would please at verse 9. 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 9. The Bible tells us that "God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord."
#29 | 23:09 to 24:30 | cleaned
So when God calls us effectually, when God enlightens our mind, when God teaches us, when God draws us, according to 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 9, it is a call that actually ends in fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. So a divine faith is that which is absolutely impossible for man to accomplish. Why? The answer is because it's a work of God alone. I'm really genuinely convinced that the reason most professing Christians stumble, fall, fail, never ever persevere is simply because they only have a dead faith.
#30 | 24:31 to 25:24 | cleaned
They've given intellectual assent to a number of historical facts and that's it. There's no power in their lives. There's no fruit in their lives. There's no devotion in their lives. A divine faith is that which has to be done by God. So, let me show you. Look in your Bibles again, if you would please, to the book of Mark, Mark 10, Matthew, Mark, second book in the New Testament. Look in Mark chapter 10, if you would.
#31 | 25:25 to 25:58 | cleaned
You should know this story. This is the story of the rich young ruler. The Bible tells you in this passage that there was a rich young ruler who came running to our Lord and he knelt and he asked, "Good Master, what good thing shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" And our Lord actually begins with a rebuke. He said, "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God."
#32 | 25:59 to 26:22 | cleaned
Literally what he was saying is this. If I'm good, then I'm God. And if I'm God, you don't come running into my presence, demanding something off me. No, no. But our Lord said, look, okay. You know the commandments. Do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, honor thy father and mother. If you want to be saved, keep these commandments. Know what the young man said?
#33 | 26:22 to 26:48 | cleaned
"All these have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?" Remember now, this young man not only had morals, because evidently he was pretty pure and clean, he also had manners because he knelt. He also had money, lots and lots of money. I usually think if this young man came to the average preacher today, he would have been led to the Lord in five minutes, baptized, made a member of the local church, probably promoted to a deacon at least. And of course, with the money that had been given, a new wing would have been added to the church named after him or a college started after him. But our Lord said, look, here's what you need to do.
#34 | 26:49 to 27:46 | cleaned
"You want to be saved? You give away everything that you have. You sell all that you have and give it to the poor. Take up your cross and follow me."
#35 | 27:47 to 27:58 | cleaned
Now, here's a good question. How many of you, when you were saved, sold everything you had and gave it to the poor? And the answer is none of you. Well, why did our Lord tell this young man that? Why did he not say like the Apostle Paul, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved"? Why did he tell him to go and sell everything that he had and give to the poor? And the answer is, our Lord was applying the law of God. Here's a young man, said, "All these things have I observed from my youth up." And our Lord is saying, uh-uh, you hadn't even kept the first commandment. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me," because his money was his God.
#36 | 28:00 to 28:46 | cleaned
And when he heard that, he went away, the Bible says, exceedingly sorrowful, for he had great riches. Look at it. Mark 10, verse 22, let's start there. "And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions." He didn't want to give any of it away because his money was his God. His possessions were his God. Now look at verse 23.
#37 | 28:47 to 29:11 | cleaned
Here's what I wanted to get to. "And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?"
#38 | 29:11 to 29:49 | cleaned
Now look at that question. "Who then can be saved?" Our Lord answers it. Look in verse 27. "And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible." The truth of the matter is, only God can save. Only God can give a divine faith. Only God can save us. Your baptism will not save you. Your good works will not save you. Your mental assent will not save you. Your church membership will not save you. Your good intentions will not save you. Your relationship with true believers will not save you. You cannot save yourself. The only one who can save is the one true and the living God, who has sent his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be the propitiation for our sins.
#39 | 29:50 to 30:55 | cleaned
So therefore, we are required, we are obligated, to throw ourselves upon Him and to ask and beg and plead for His mercy and for His grace and for His gifts of repentance and faith. It is our duty, our responsibility, our obligation to seek Him and call upon Him and implore and beseech Him to save us. Because we cannot save ourselves. It is God that must give us the faith of His elect. The faith of God's elect is a divine faith and it is produced by God alone.
#40 | 30:55 to 31:39 | cleaned
Now I want you to look back in your Bibles to the book of Titus chapter 1 and verse 1 because here's the second truth that I want to tie together for you. The scripture says, "Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness." The second point is this: the faith of God's elect always produces the truth which is after godliness. All truth which is God's truth is after godliness. Godliness is a synonym for holiness, which includes reverence, respect, fear, and piety toward God.
#41 | 31:39 to 32:37 | cleaned
Now, the Greek word is eusebeia, which literally is translated as godliness. It is translated in our Bibles as godliness 14 times and holiness one time. But I want you to look at verse 1 again because there is another very interesting word. The Bible says, "Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness." Now the word "acknowledging" is a very important word.
#42 | 32:38 to 33:18 | cleaned
It does not mean just to nod your head in agreement. It does not mean just to say with your mouth. The Greek word is epignosis. Epi is a preposition which means "upon" and gnosis is knowledge. So actually what this word "acknowledging" means is knowledge upon knowledge. It means a full and precise knowledge. Let me go at it. Look at it. "Paul, a servant of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, to the acknowledging—but to the full, precise truth which is after godliness." In other words, the word means that we know something absolutely. We know it for sure. We know it certainly. It is not just in our heads, it is in our lives. Our lives are to be lives of godliness and our lives are to be lives in pursuit of obedience and conformity to the Word of God. Now, I want to show you something. There are three important truths in relationship to the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness. I want you to think about these.
#43 | 33:20 to 34:50 | cleaned
First of all, there is absolutely no excuse for a real child of God not to be godly. How can I say that? I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Peter. 2 Peter. After the book of James, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter. Look in 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 3. Here's what I mean when I say there is absolutely no excuse for a real genuine child of God not to be godly. Watch. 2 Peter 1 and verse 3, "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue." Did you see that? "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness." If God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, there's absolutely no excuse why we should not be godly.
#44 | 34:52 to 36:09 | cleaned
We are alive in Him. We should be godly in Him. Wow. I'm going to hit this a little bit later. But I want you to look at it again in verse 3. "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue." So the very first truth that we must understand is there is no excuse. There is no reason for a real, genuine child of God not to be godly because God has given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. Now here's the second truth. Godliness is something that has to be added to our faith. Faith is our foundation. But that foundation does not consist of the superstructure. The foundation is there. The superstructure sits upon the foundation. We have to build upon that foundation. Let me show you. Let's begin again by reading verse 3 of 2 Peter 1. "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."
#45 | 36:10 to 37:57 | cleaned
"And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." Did you see that? All of these virtues must be added to our faith. And may I point out the fact that he says "giving all diligence." That is, you make sure you pay attention that these graces are added to your faith. And one of those is godliness. Wow.
#46 | 37:57 to 39:03 | cleaned
Now, let me get to the last truth concerning godliness. The first one is there's just no excuse for the real genuine child of God not to be godly. The second one is, godliness and a lot of other graces are to be added to our faith. It's our responsibility to give all diligence to add these to our faith. But here's the third one, and it's going to be the most painful. Most people are not going to like this. Here it is. Godliness involves exercise. Godliness involves exercise. Most people do not like exercise.
#47 | 39:06 to 39:59 | cleaned
They'd much rather be doing something else. But I do want you to turn back to 1 Timothy. You had 1 and 2 Timothy and then Titus. So once you find Titus, go back to 1 Timothy chapter 4. Let me show you what I'm talking about. 1 Timothy chapter 4, beginning there with verse 7. Watch carefully. The Word of God says, "But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." When you look at verse 7, there's two truths here. "But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness." Now, the Greek word for "exercise" is actually where we get our English word "gymnastics." Gumnadzo. Gymnasticize yourself unto godliness. Now, Alice and I enjoy watching gymnastics, and the older I get, I suppose the more I enjoy it, only because it's astounding to me that anybody can be that flexible and do those things.
#48 | 40:00 to 41:34 | cleaned
It's kind of like when I'm teaching rifle and I have to teach squatting and kneeling and prone position, I tell people, "Don't think for one minute that I cannot get into those positions. I can. I just can't get out of them." Or at least not without help sometimes. Last time Steve and I went and did some of that at Front Sight, I told Steve, I said, "I'm going to do it." I said, "Fine, I'm not. I'm just going to help you up when you get through with it." I said, "I'm too old for that." But when I look—and watch this, Simone Biles is her name, the black gymnast, the young woman, 30 years old, I think she is, an Olympian champion, a world champion.
#49 | 41:35 to 42:26 | cleaned
You should see that girl. It is unbelievable. It's just astounding. And yet when you see her, you think, my goodness, how can she do all of that? Well, the answer is she started probably when she was two or three years old. And she's done it all of her life. You don't get that flexible and you're not able to do those things thinking, "Well, I'm just going to be a gymnast. I'll start tomorrow."
#50 | 42:27 to 42:55 | cleaned
No, it doesn't work like that. I showed Alice a picture years ago. It was on the internet. I think the woman was either 80 or 90. I forget which one. It was a Chinese woman. She had on a pair of slacks. She was at a stop sign. She had one foot on the ground and the other foot straight up in the air right up against that stop sign. 90 years old!
#51 | 42:55 to 43:19 | cleaned
I thought, Lord have mercy. I have to be pulled out of my chair. But you know, probably she's done that all of her life. I've seen 70 and 80 year old ballet teachers that can do things like that. And the point I'm trying to make is they worked at being flexible, limber, loose. They exercise themselves. And here's what he's saying, we're to exercise ourselves rather unto godliness. We're to gymnasticize ourselves. We're to work at being godly.
#52 | 43:21 to 44:03 | cleaned
Now look if you would back at verse 7. He says, "But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness." Now, here's the truth. I want you to listen to me. You will never exercise yourself unto godliness until and unless you refuse profane and old wives' fables. Now, you know what a profane and old wives' fable is? It is something that you have heard all of your life. It's just not true. It's just not true.
#53 | 44:05 to 44:46 | cleaned
One thing that I heard that if your mother or if a pregnant woman listened to beautiful music during her pregnancy, then the child would be born musically inclined. I tell people my mother must have listened to a dying buzzard sing because I'm not musically inclined at all. That's just an old wives' fable. You know what some old wives' fables are when it comes to spiritual gymnastics? "Well, all I got to do is go forward in a church service and that'll take care of it. All I got to do is kneel at an altar one time. All I've got to do is rededicate my life." That's not true. I suppose if you decide you're going to do a backflip and you do it one time, then that means you're going to be able to do it the rest of your life? I don't think so. No.
#54 | 44:48 to 45:49 | cleaned
You see, when we're talking about gymnasticizing ourselves unto godliness, we're talking about continually exercising to have godly thoughts, a godly way of thinking, a godly way of acting, a godly way of doing things. In other words, we are doing things biblically and scripturally, and things that are righteous and holy. Those things do not come by nature. And you have to exercise your mind, you have to control your emotions, you have to control everything if you are going to be exercising yourself rather unto godliness. Now he said, "Bodily exercise profiteth little."
#55 | 45:51 to 46:37 | cleaned
Now it does profit some, not much. Do you realize the most muscle-bound man, the older he gets, the more sagging his muscles are going to get. If you don't believe that, look at Arnold Schwarzenegger today. Everything he's got sags. You know, I'm not saying don't have bodily exercise, it does profit some. But godliness is profitable in this life, he said, and the life to come as well.
#56 | 46:38 to 47:20 | cleaned
There is an adage that those who frequent the gym quite often use. Sometimes it's on the gym wall. It just simply says, "No pain, no gain." That is not only true physically, it is also true spiritually. Because we have to fight to keep our minds holy and pure. And we have to fight to keep our lives in line with the Word of God. Okay? So, here are two great truths.
#57 | 47:22 to 47:54 | cleaned
Number one is the faith of God's elect. And number two, that faith of God's elect always leads to the truth of acknowledging godliness. That our lives are to be godly lives.
#58 | 47:55 to 48:12 | cleaned
Now, let me make some applications. Here's the first one. It is only a divine faith that will enable us to have the faith of God's elect. And it's only the faith of God's elect that will lead us to the acknowledging of the truth that is after godliness. A dead faith will not do that. A demon's faith will not do that. Only a divine faith will produce this truth in our lives. And the truth is this, if someone is unconcerned about being godly, they're unconcerned about being holy, they're unconcerned about being righteous, they have no desire to please God, they have no desire to have fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ, you need to be checking your faith, because you're probably still lost and in your sins. Because the faith of God's elect always leads us to the acknowledging of the truth, which is after godliness.
#59 | 48:12 to 49:19 | cleaned
Now, I want you to go back to 2 Peter chapter 1. I want you to go back there and look at this. 2 Peter chapter 1. I mentioned it earlier. I'm going to mention it again, 2 Peter 1 in verse 3, and this time I really want to emphasize it. Watch this carefully. 2 Peter 1 and verse 3. Watch. "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness." How do we know? Watch, "through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue." God in His divine power hath given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. What is the source of that knowledge? What is the source? Through the knowledge of Him. It is only in and through the Lord Jesus Christ, only in and through His Word, that we understand godliness and righteous living. And the more we learn about God, the more holy, the more godly we will become, the more obedient we will become, because His divine power is manifested in and through His Word, and that produces in our lives.
#60 | 49:20 to 50:56 | cleaned
So the more we know about Him, the more obedient we become. Now there's another interesting verse in Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 1. I want you to listen to this. The scripture says, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us." So he said, lay aside every weight. Lay aside every sin that does so easily beset us, and let us run the race with patience. So if I'm going to get ready to run in a foot race, I can assure you I'm not putting on army boots. I want to lay aside anything that's going to weigh me down. I'm not going to have rocks in my pockets. I'm going to put every weight aside, any hindrance aside, and then he said, "the sin that so easily beset us," whatever that is, and usually it's the flesh.
#61 | 50:58 to 52:06 | cleaned
You've got to remember something, folks. He said bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable unto this life and the life that is to come. And it requires spiritual exercise to live a godly life. Why must you exercise incessantly? Here's why. Because your flesh is opposed to it. Your flesh does not want you to be more holy, more godly. Your flesh cries and craves to be satisfied. I hope you remember Galatians 5 and verse 17, where the Bible says, "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh."
#62 | 52:07 to 52:53 | cleaned
"And these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." Now when it says, "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit," it means the flesh fights against the Spirit. And the Spirit fights against the flesh. That's why it requires exercise. That's why it requires a constant combat mentality to be holy and to be godly and to be pure. We cannot give in to our flesh if we're going to live a godly life.
#63 | 52:55 to 53:23 | cleaned
If we have the faith of God's elect, it will always lead to the truth and acknowledging of that truth, which is after godliness. You'll never ever find it with a dead faith. You'll never find it with a demon's faith. It's always with the divine faith. Those whom God saves, he enables them to live a godly life. We must remember there is no excuse not to be godly. We must add all of these virtues, all of these graces to our lives, and it's going to require spiritual gymnastics, exercising ourselves unto holiness.
#64 | 53:26 to 54:20 | cleaned
Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. Lord, we are thankful for these two great truths today. We're thankful, Father, that there is indeed an elect and there is indeed the faith of God's elect and that there is the acknowledging of the truth, which is after godliness. Help us, Lord, to be godly, to be holy, to be obedient, to honor thee in all that we say and do. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.
#65 | 54:22 to 54:54 | cleaned
so
#66 | 55:24 to 55:24 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T14:08:59Z

Four Great Truths - Part 1 of 2

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this sermon, Pastor John Weaver expounds Titus 1:1-3, focusing on the first two of four great truths. He emphasizes that God has an elect people who possess a divine, saving faith—not a dead intellectual assent or a mere demonic belief. This faith of God's elect inevitably leads to the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness, meaning a life of holiness and obedience. Weaver stresses that godliness requires spiritual exercise and diligence, and that there is no excuse for a true believer not to pursue it, as God has given all things pertaining to life and godliness through Christ.

Introduction: The Nature and Necessity of Truth

Truth is defined by God; all else is a lie. Most people reject truth, and refusing truth leads to believing a damning lie, as seen in 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12.

Scripture Reading — Titus 1:1-3

"Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledging of the truth, which is after godliness; in hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; but hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour."

The Bible speaks in Romans 1 and verse 25 of those

Scripture Reading — Romans 1:25

who changed the truth of God into a lie. And

Truth Must Be Applied, Not Just Believed

Believing a weapon can save is useless unless applied. Similarly, truth must be lived out, not just mentally assented to.

First Great Truth: The Truth of God's Elect

Titus 1:1 reveals that God has an elect people, as confirmed by other scriptures like 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 and the example of Elijah.

Scripture Reading — 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14

"But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord."

Why?

Scripture Reading — 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14

"Because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."

The Faith of God's Elect is a Divine, Saving Faith

The faith of God's elect is not mere intellectual assent (dead faith) or demonic belief, but a divine faith wrought by God that produces obedience and perseverance.

Scripture Reading — James 2:14-26

"What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."

Scripture Reading — James 2:14-26

"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."

Scripture Reading — James 2:19

"Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble."

Scripture Reading — Philippians 2:13

"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."

Salvation is Impossible with Men but Possible with God

Using the rich young ruler, Weaver shows that salvation is humanly impossible; only God can give the divine faith necessary for salvation.

Second Great Truth: The Faith of God's Elect Produces Godliness

The acknowledging of the truth (full, precise knowledge) leads to godliness. True faith always results in a life of holiness and reverence toward God.

No Excuse for a Believer Not to Be Godly

2 Peter 1:3 teaches that God has given believers all things pertaining to life and godliness, so there is no excuse for ungodliness.

Godliness Requires Diligent Spiritual Exercise

Believers must add godliness to their faith through diligent exercise, refusing profane fables and continually training in holiness, as 1 Timothy 4:7-8 commands.

Applications: Examine Your Faith and Pursue Godliness

Four Great Truths - Part 1 of 2

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	YbO99aPHsFo
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Law, Obedience, and Sanctification: Holiness and Obedience
Genre	Sermon
Date	2021-08-17
Dictation Name
Book	Book 178: Four Great Truths — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	66

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Nature and Necessity of Truth: Truth is defined by God; all else is a lie. Most people reject truth, and refusing truth leads to believing a damning lie, as seen in 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12.
Truth Must Be Applied, Not Just Believed: Believing a weapon can save is useless unless applied. Similarly, truth must be lived out, not just mentally assented to.
First Great Truth: The Truth of God's Elect: Titus 1:1 reveals that God has an elect people, as confirmed by other scriptures like 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 and the example of Elijah.
The Faith of God's Elect is a Divine, Saving Faith: The faith of God's elect is not mere intellectual assent (dead faith) or demonic belief, but a divine faith wrought by God that produces obedience and perseverance.
Salvation is Impossible with Men but Possible with God: Using the rich young ruler, Weaver shows that salvation is humanly impossible; only God can give the divine faith necessary for salvation.
Second Great Truth: The Faith of God's Elect Produces Godliness: The acknowledging of the truth (full, precise knowledge) leads to godliness. True faith always results in a life of holiness and reverence toward God.
No Excuse for a Believer Not to Be Godly: 2 Peter 1:3 teaches that God has given believers all things pertaining to life and godliness, so there is no excuse for ungodliness.
Godliness Requires Diligent Spiritual Exercise: Believers must add godliness to their faith through diligent exercise, refusing profane fables and continually training in holiness, as 1 Timothy 4:7-8 commands.
Applications: Examine Your Faith and Pursue Godliness: Only divine faith leads to godliness. Those unconcerned with holiness should examine their faith. Godliness comes through knowing Christ and His Word, and requires constant spiritual combat against the flesh.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Rejecting truth leads to believing a damning lie.

When people refuse the love of the truth, God sends them strong delusion to believe a lie, resulting in damnation.

The speaker cites 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12: 'because they received not the love of the truth... God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned.'

Intellectual assent is not saving faith.

Mere mental agreement with gospel facts does not save; such faith is dead and produces no works.

Using James 2:14-17, the speaker argues that faith without works is dead, and asks, 'can that kind of faith save him?'

Demons have a kind of faith that does not save.

Demons believe in God and tremble, but their faith is not saving faith. A person who does not even tremble before God has less than demonic faith.

James 2:19: 'Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.'

Salvation is a divine work, impossible for man alone.

No one can come to Christ unless the Father draws him; salvation is a work of God, not human effort.

John 6:44: 'No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.' Also Mark 10:27: 'With men it is impossible, but not with God.'

True faith always produces godliness.

The faith of God's elect leads to a full, precise knowledge of the truth that results in a godly life; a lack of godliness indicates a dead faith.

Titus 1:1 connects 'the faith of God's elect' with 'the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness.' The speaker argues that if someone is unconcerned about godliness, they should examine their faith.

Believers have no excuse for ungodliness.

God has given believers all things pertaining to life and godliness through the knowledge of Christ, so there is no excuse for not living a godly life.

2 Peter 1:3: 'According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.'

Godliness requires intentional, continual exercise.

Spiritual growth in godliness demands diligent exercise, like physical training, and the refusal of false, easy-believism notions.

1 Timothy 4:7: 'exercise thyself rather unto godliness.' The speaker emphasizes the Greek gumnadzo and the need to 'gymnasticize' oneself unto godliness, rejecting 'old wives' fables.'

Scripture References

Titus 1:1-3: The primary text of the sermon, introducing Paul's apostleship, the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth after godliness.
Romans 1:25: Cited to show that some change the truth of God into a lie.
James 3:14: Command not to lie against the truth.
Deuteronomy 32:4: God is called a God of truth, without iniquity.
John 14:6: Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
John 1:17: Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Psalm 25:10: All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth.
John 5:43: Jesus said He came in His Father's name and was not received, but another coming in his own name would be received.
2 Thessalonians 2:10-12: Those who perish do so because they received not the love of the truth; God sends them strong delusion to believe a lie and be damned.
Proverbs 27:6: Faithful are the wounds of a friend; the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
Galatians 4:16: Paul asks if he has become their enemy because he tells them the truth.
2 Timothy 2:10: Paul endures all things for the elect's sakes, that they may obtain salvation.
2 Thessalonians 2:13-14: God has from the beginning chosen believers to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.
James 2:14-26: Faith without works is dead; a man is justified by works and not by faith only. Used to illustrate dead faith vs. living faith.
Ephesians 2:8-10: Saved by grace through faith, not of works; but created in Christ Jesus unto good works.
2 Corinthians 13:5: Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.
James 2:19: Thou believest that there is one God; the devils also believe and tremble. Used to show demonic faith is not saving.
John 6:44-45: No man can come to Christ except the Father draw him; they shall be all taught of God.
Philippians 2:13: It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
1 Corinthians 1:9: God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son.

Historical References

Elijah and the 7,000 who had not bowed to Baal: Used to illustrate that God has an elect remnant even when it seems otherwise.
Simone Biles, Olympic gymnast: Used as an illustration of the dedication and lifelong training required for physical gymnastics, paralleling the spiritual exercise needed for godliness.
Arnold Schwarzenegger: Mentioned as an example of how even the most muscular body sags with age, illustrating the limited profit of bodily exercise compared to godliness.

Important Quotes

if it is against God and His Word, it is a lie. Because God is truth, according to the Bible, and not only is God truth, that means everything else is a lie.

Establishes the absolute standard of truth as God and His Word, foundational to the sermon's argument.

When anyone refuses the truth, the only thing left is a lie. Whenever you will not believe the truth, you are ultimately condemned to believe a lie, and believing a lie will condemn you and damn you.

Warns of the inevitable consequence of rejecting truth, leading to damnation.

truth is like a surgery. It hurts, but it cures. And then they said a lie is like a painkiller. It gives instant relief, but has side effects that last forever.

Illustrates the painful but healing nature of truth versus the deceptive comfort of lies.

Salvation consists in far more than just believing in historical facts about Jesus Christ. Now, it is true that there are historical facts about Jesus Christ, but let me point out the fact, the facts are not the gospel. Jesus Christ himself is the gospel.

Distinguishes between mere intellectual assent to facts and true saving faith in the person of Christ.

if you do not acknowledge the greatness and the goodness and the glory and the power and the position of the Lord Jesus Christ, and if you do not tremble before him, you don't even have the faith of demons.

A striking statement that challenges superficial belief by comparing it to the trembling faith of demons.

With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

Quoting Jesus to emphasize that salvation is a divine work, not a human achievement.

the faith of God's elect always produces the truth which is after godliness. All truth which is God's truth is after godliness.

Core thesis of the second great truth: true faith inevitably results in a godly life.

exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

Key verse commanding spiritual discipline, with the speaker's emphasis on the Greek word for gymnastics.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does the sermon define truth, and why is it important that truth is rooted in God rather than human opinion?

[Context]

The speaker argues that God is truth and everything contrary to His Word is a lie. This raises the question of how we determine truth in a relativistic culture.

[Question]

What is the difference between intellectual assent, demonic faith, and the divine faith of God's elect? How can a person examine which kind of faith they have?

[Context]

The sermon distinguishes three types of faith using James 2 and other passages. This question encourages self-examination based on the biblical criteria given.

[Question]

Why did Jesus tell the rich young ruler to sell all he had, and what does this teach us about the impossibility of self-salvation?

[Context]

The speaker uses Mark 10 to show that salvation is impossible with men. This question probes the purpose of the law in revealing human inability.

[Question]

According to 2 Peter 1:3, God has given us all things pertaining to life and godliness. What are some of those things, and how do we access them?

[Context]

The sermon emphasizes that there is no excuse for ungodliness because God has provided everything needed. This question explores the resources God has given.

[Question]

What does it mean to 'exercise yourself unto godliness'? What are some practical ways to engage in spiritual gymnastics?

[Context]

The speaker uses the Greek word gumnadzo to illustrate the need for disciplined training in godliness. This question seeks practical application.

[Question]

How does the flesh war against the Spirit in the pursuit of godliness, and what strategies can believers use to overcome?

[Context]

Referencing Galatians 5:17, the sermon highlights the internal conflict. This question addresses the reality of spiritual warfare and victory.

[Question]

The sermon states that if someone is unconcerned about being godly, they should examine their faith. Why is godliness a necessary evidence of true faith?

[Context]

The speaker ties the faith of God's elect directly to the acknowledging of truth after godliness. This question challenges listeners to evaluate their spiritual condition.

Applications

Format deepseek deepseek-v4-pro structured study JSON | Source Commentary.net transcript enrichment

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T02:12:18Z