Romans: Assurance, Providence, and Life in the Spirit: Walking With God

Four Great Truths - Part 2 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 continues his exposition of Titus 1:1-3, focusing on the third and fourth 'great truths': the hope of eternal life promised by God before the world began, and the manifestation of truth through preaching. He explains that biblical hope is a confident expectation, not a contingency, anchored in the eternal covenant among the persons of the Trinity. He then emphasizes that God has ordained preaching as the primary means to reveal and apply these truths, and that faithful attendance to preaching is essential for spiritual growth and maturity.

[John Weaver] All right, if you'll open your Bibles to the book of Titus, chapter 1, again, verses 1 through 3. You remember last week I began a message titled, Four Great Truths, and we only got two of them last week. So, Lord willing, this week we're going to nail the next two and share them with you from the Word of God. So Titus chapter 1, beginning there with verse 1, 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, 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 he hath committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Savior." You remember I began the message last week by talking about truth. And certainly the Word of God is truth and our Lord Jesus Christ is truth.

[John Weaver] But I pointed out how many people really and truly do not want truth. I referred you to Romans 1 and verse 25 where some change the truth of God into a lie. and where we're commanded not to lie against the truth. But over and over, we find that people had much rather have a lie than they had the truth. Because truth will dispel not only errors and heresies, it will also dispel illusions as well. And most people would rather live in their own dream world, a world of illusions, rather than live in the world of reality.

[John Weaver] And of course, we begin looking at the truths that are presented us in Titus 1 verses 1 through 3, and the very first truth we saw was the truth of the faith of God's elect. And I pointed out how that this faith of God's elect was indeed a divine faith. It's a faith that is bestowed by God in His grace, mercy, and power. It is not a dead faith. And I pointed out, many today have just simply a mere intellectual assent to truth, or they mentally assent to historical facts. And then they equate that with a saving faith when in reality it's not. And when you look in James chapter 2, he talks about a dead faith. He said that kind of faith cannot save anyone. And then he pointed out in verse 26 how as the body without the spirit is dead, so likewise faith without works is dead.

[John Weaver] So whenever someone has a profession, And yet they do not have works that evidence and manifest the fact that they are real, genuine Christians. It is indeed nothing more than a dead faith. In fact, a lot of people are like that in our modern-day churches. I think of the book of Titus, chapter 1, and look in verse 16, if you would. Here's a verse that really and truly points it out very clearly.

[John Weaver] The Bible says, they profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient unto every good work reprobate." So notice they profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him. That is nothing more than a dead faith. And then, of course, there is, as I pointed out in James 2 and verse 19, there's the demon's faith. A lot of people think they're saved just simply because they believe in God. And yet the Bible says in the book of James 2 and verse 19, thou believest that there is one God, thou doest well. The devils also believe and tremble. And interestingly enough, those who profess to believe in God usually do not tremble before Him, and therefore their faith is not even the faith of a demon, because at least the demons tremble. But obviously and clearly, although the demons believe in God, they certainly are not repentant. They're certainly not in any way honoring or glorifying Him, but yet they do believe in Him. So there is this faith of God's elect, and that faith is a divine faith.

[John Weaver] And it differs very greatly from a dead faith and also a demon's faith. And then the second truth I pointed out is in verse 1, and that is the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness. And I said last week that there is absolutely no excuse for us to live an ungodly life, because the Bible says in 2 Peter 1 in verse 3 that God has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. The second thing I pointed out was this, that godliness is something that must be added to our faith. Faith is the foundation. But when you read 2 Peter 1, verses 3, right on down, he says, and besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith, virtue, and to virtue, knowledge, and to knowledge, patience, and to patience, godliness, and to godliness, brotherly love, and he goes right on down. So all of these things have to be added. And then, of course, the third truth that I pointed out was that godliness can only be accomplished by just pure exercise.

[John Weaver] The Bible says in 1 Timothy 4, verses 7 and 8, But refuse profane and old wives' fables, but rather 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." And I remind you that the word exercise is the Greek word gumenadzo, from which we derive our words gymnastics and gymnasium. So actually he is saying, gymnasticize yourself rather unto godliness. And it is true that it takes godly exercise to make sure that our thoughts are biblical and scriptural, that our emotions are controlled and brought in line with the Word of God, in fact, the entirety of our lives. And so he is saying that it must be indeed godly exercise in order for us to attain maturity in the faith.

[John Weaver] So the first two great truths were, number one, the truth of God's elect, the faith of God's elect, and then, secondly, the acknowledging the truth which is after holiness. Now, or godliness, and I pointed out that they are synonymous. When you look at verses 1 through 3 of Titus chapter 1, the truth is that the apostle is setting down in these three verses, in actuality, the sum of the gospel, because he is really dealing with justification, sanctification, the hope of salvation, and the ministry of the Word. And all of this comes, he says, through the acknowledging of the truth.

[John Weaver] Now, let me make a statement, and I want you to think about this. Those who despise truth will never, ever be converted, as long as they continue to despise truth. Remember, Jesus Christ is truth incarnate. And so when you despise truth, you despise Jesus Christ. And when you despise truth, you despise the Word of God, for the Word of God is truth. And you cannot be converted apart from the Word of God and apart from the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] We had a lady years ago, there was a friend of ours, who was dying of cancer. And the interesting thing is this lady, the world would have considered her uneducated, ignorant, and worthless because she only went to the fourth grade. And certainly, she would certainly qualify as an uneducated person. But she certainly knew more of scripture than a lot of the PhDs. And I remember I was in her room and I was praying for her because very obviously she was close to the end.

[John Weaver] And I was holding her hand and as I prayed for her, she had a daughter and she had a son. Now the daughter attended church with us. But the sun never, ever darkened their way of the church, period. And so after I prayed for her, I prayed for the daughter, and then I started praying for the son. And this lady jerked her hand out of mine, caught me around the wrist, and said, no preacher, no.

[John Weaver] She said, you're wasting your breath to pray for Johnny. He refuses. to hear the Word of God, there is no hope for him. I thought to myself, this woman knows more theology than most preachers and that's true. You will never be converted if you do not bow to truth and certainly the Word of God is truth.

[John Weaver] Now today I want to let's continue and let me share with you the other two great truths. The first one is found in verse 2. Look at it carefully. In hope eternal life which God that cannot lie promised before the world began."

[John Weaver] Now, an obvious question should arise in your minds when you read this verse. Look at it again, in hope of eternal life which God that cannot lie promised before the world began. So that logical question would be this, To whom did God promise eternal life before the world began? Because very clearly, you and I were not born then, no one was born then, because it was indeed before the world began. So you have to ask yourself, to whom then did He promise eternal life?

[John Weaver] Now there is a similar passage in 2 Timothy chapter 2. So if you look back just a page or two, 2 Timothy chapter 2, And notice, if you would please, verses 8 and 9. Verses 8 and 9, 2 Timothy, chapter 1, verse 8. Paul writes Timothy, and he says, Be not thou therefore shamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me as prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God. Now watch carefully.

[John Weaver] Who hath saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." Note, if you would, He gave us grace in Christ Jesus before the world began. So, eternal life was indeed promised to us before the world began, but it was promised to us only in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Lord Jesus Christ was given to us by virtue of the eternal or everlasting covenant.

[John Weaver] Now, let me explain that. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, chapter 13, and look, if you would, please, at verses 20 and 21, right before the book of James, Hebrews, chapter 13, verses 20 and 21. Watch this.

[John Weaver] Now, the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Now note, if you would, verse 20 talks about the everlasting or the eternal covenant. So here is a covenant that was made in eternity past. With whom then was this covenant made? Well, the only ones that existed then were God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. We only existed in the purpose and counsel of God. So here is basically a summary of this eternal covenant. In the eternal or everlasting covenant, God the Father gave to God the Son a people. He gave Him an elect. He gave Him a herd of sheep. Whatever you want to call them, God the Father gave to God the Son an elect. God the Son, in this eternal covenant, agreed then to become their substitute, their sacrifice, their propitiation and to be their Redeemer and their Reconciler.

[John Weaver] And then God the Holy Spirit agreed to regenerate and convict and convert all those that the Father had given to Jesus Christ and all of those for whom Jesus Christ had died. This basically is that everlasting or the eternal covenant.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn back in your Bibles to the book of Titus chapter 1 because I have to emphasize one word and you have to understand the eternal covenant in one sense of the word to grasp the significance of this. So in Titus 1 in verse 2 the Bible says this, in hope of eternal life which God that cannot lie promised before the world began. Now I explain the eternal covenant in order that I might point out the word hope. In hope of eternal life. Now the word hope in the Bible is used differently from the way that we use the word hope today.

[John Weaver] I've heard professors in Jesus Christ make statements like this. I hope I'm saved. I hope I make it to heaven. And they use the word hope in a similar vein that I would use it when I say, I hope to go to town tomorrow. Now, when I gave you that illustration, when I say I hope to go to town tomorrow, I don't know whether or not I'm going to go to town tomorrow or not. I would like to, I would hope to, but it is a hope that is based on a contingency. In other words, I hope to go to town tomorrow, whether permitting. If it's raining and storming, obviously I'm not going. I would hope to go health permitting. That is, if I'm sick, I'm not going. I would hope to go mechanically permitting. That is, if my automobile works, it may not work, and I'm not going to walk 10 miles to town. So I'm just simply pointing out the fact every time we use the word hope, we use it based on a contingency.

[John Weaver] I hope to go to town tomorrow if I feel like it, if I have enough money. That's our kind of hope. But that is not the way the word is used in the Bible. In fact, the Greek word elpis simply means an expectation, but more than that, it means a joyful and a confident expectation. It is a joyful and confident expectation that's centered upon the person work of Jesus Christ that was given to us in that great eternal covenant before the world began. Let me show you. He said in verse 2, in hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie promised before the world began.

[John Weaver] Now, I'm going to come back to that. But look, if you would, in Titus chapter 3, beginning there with verse 3. Titus 3 and verse 3. Note, he says this, for we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers' lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. That's a pretty good description of what we were before we were converted. He says in verse four, but after that, the kindness and love of God, our savior toward man appeared, which would be Jesus Christ, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us. by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He has shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, watch, that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." Now, I hope you notice that in this passage you have the work of God the Father, the work of God the Son, and the work of God the Holy Spirit.

[John Weaver] So here's a good question. Do the works of God the Father, God the Holy Son, and God the Holy Spirit produce a maybe-so salvation or a no-so salvation? Well, clearly it's got to be a no-so salvation. It is not something that is based upon a contingency. Is there some remote possibility that God has not considered that we might not be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life?

[John Weaver] And the answer is absolutely not. The answer is no. If we have been given a divine faith, which leads us to a sanctifying faith, which means that we walk obediently and are pleasing unto the Lord, obviously then we have a sure hope of eternal life, which God promised to us in Jesus Christ before the world ever began.

[John Weaver] Now let me show you even more confirmation. Look in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Hebrews chapter 6. Hebrews chapter 6, and let's begin reading there with verse 13. Hebrews chapter 6 and verse 13. Watch carefully. For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself, saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. So after that he patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater, and an oath of confirmation is for them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise," that's already been mentioned, the heirs of promise, the heirs of promise, the immutability, the unchangeableness of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath.

[John Weaver] that by two immutable things, the oath and it is impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil. Whether the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus made a high priest forever after the order Melchizedek. Now notice, if you would, he talks about having an anchor. Wow. The anchor is sure and steadfast. Verse 19, which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast.

[John Weaver] Now the Greek word for sure is the word asphalos, which literally means that which is certain and that which is sure, that which is firm, that which is confirmed. And the word for steadfast is the Greek word bebeos, which literally means firm, sure, stable, trustworthy, and steadfast. So look at verse 19 again. Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both confirmed, absolutely certain, absolutely sure, and standing absolutely not failing whatsoever. No. He says it is an anchor, and he refers to it as a hope. So our hope then in Jesus Christ is something that is solid.

[John Weaver] He is our forerunner who has entered into heaven, into the presence of God the Father, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father on our behalf. Consequently, there is no doubt as to whether or not we have a solid hope. May I point something else out? The Word of God also refers to Jesus Christ as our head. He is our head, we are his body. If his head is already in the presence of God the Father, for sure his body will be there shortly thereafter as well. So our hope then is sure instead fast.

[John Weaver] Now, if you would turn over a few pages, Hebrews, James, and go to 1 Peter. And look, if you would, please, beginning there with verse 3, 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 3. Let me show you something else about this hope. To show you that it is not a dead hope, it is not something based upon a contingency that God has not foreseen. No. Look what he says, 1 Peter 1 verse 3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. which, according to His abundant mercy, hath begotten us again into a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept," note, who are kept by the power of God through faith, unto salvation,

[John Weaver] ready to be revealed in the last time. Now, the Bible tells you in verse 3 that we've been begotten again into a lively hope. The Greek word refers to that which is living, that which is alive. It is not a dead hope. No, it is something that has breath and life. And notice, if you would please, He has begotten us again into a living hope, how? By the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] What has He purchased for us? Verse 4, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you. How do we know that we will make it? Here is how, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. Obviously, this is no dead hope. This is something God has given us as an anchor of our soul both sure and steadfast is a solid living hope now Remember if you would go back Because he not only says this in Hebrews 6, but I want you to go back to Titus chapter 1 and verse Verse 2 look what he says in hope of eternal life which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began. You remember the Bible says, in Hebrews 6, by two immutable things, and one of those immutable things was it is impossible for God to lie. Now I want you to listen carefully, because I want to give you a quote by Charles Haddon Spurgeon, and he's speaking about this, the fact that God cannot lie.

[John Weaver] Here's what he said. The word lie here includes, beyond its ordinary meaning, the thought of change. So that when we read that God cannot lie, we understand by it not only that he cannot say that which is untrue, but that having said something which is true, he never changes from it and does not by any possibility, after his purpose, retract his word. This is very consolatory to the Christian, that whatever God has said in the divine purpose is never changed. The decrees of God were not written upon sand, but upon the eternal brass of his unchangeable nature. We may truly say of the sealed book of his decrees, hath he said and shall he not do it? Hath he purposed it and shall it not come to pass? So he's saying that it's not that God cannot just utter and untruth. Whatever God says is truth and He will never change from it. He will never retract it. He will never take it back. So just as surely as God is true, so our hope is in Jesus Christ and He cannot fail.

[John Weaver] He will not change and He certainly will not deny Himself. Now just as the faith of God's elect leads to the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness, The acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness then leads to an hope of eternal life which God, that cannot lie, has promised before the world began. So, let me ask you this question. Now, we understand, based upon verse 1, the faith of God's elect. We know that it's not a dead faith, it's not a demon's faith, it's a divine faith. We also understand now the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness. We also now understand in hope of eternal life which God that cannot lie has promised before the world began. So here is my question. How do we know the truth of these doctrines?

[John Weaver] How did this come to our knowledge? understanding. Well look in verse 3, because here's the fourth great truth. But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Savior. So here is the fourth great truth, and that great truth is a manifestation of the truth through preaching. Now, I want you to look at verse 3 again. He said, But half in due times manifested his word through preaching.

[John Weaver] I suppose that everyone knows that between the Old Testament and the New Testament, you had 400 years of silence. God did not speak. They had the truth of the Old Covenant, but there was no truth of the New Covenant until the appointed time came. So when you look at verse 3, and he says, but hath in due times manifested, the phrase due times then refers to the proper time or the appointed time or the season of which God has eternally purposed and has seen good to the divine wisdom.

[John Weaver] Now, we understand this in light of other passages. May I remind you of the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. So I could ask you this question, when was Jesus Christ born? And the answer is, exactly when God the Father ordained Him to be born into this world. That's why the Bible says in Galatians 4 verses 4 and 5, but when the fullness of time has come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. But listen now, but when the fullness of times." Or we could say, when due time came. In other words, Jesus Christ came exactly at the appointed day and hour. May I also point out this, the same truth is found in Acts chapter 2 and verse 1. Because the Bible says there, when the day of Pentecost was fully come. What does that mean, when the day of Pentecost was fully come? It means it came at the exact day and hour that God had ordained it.

[John Weaver] Yes, it came from the pictures of the Old Testament types. It came because of the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Yes, but it came fully. when God had ordained it, when God had appointed it, in due time. It did not come too early. It did not come too late. Jesus Christ did not come too early. He did not come too late. Everything was right on time. And by the way, you know, our Lord basically started His ministry, and it is recorded in Mark chapter 1 and verse 15, where the Word of God says this, and saying, the time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand.

[John Weaver] Repent ye and believe the gospel. The time is fulfilled." What's he saying? The appointed time has come. The due time is here. The season is absolutely now. So, Jesus Christ is saying, here is the good news. And may I remind you that Jesus Christ himself is the good news. The gospel is not facts about Jesus Christ. The gospel is Jesus Christ. Look back in verse two of Titus, or verse three in Titus chapter one. He said, but hath in due times manifested his word through preaching. So here's the good question that I posed earlier.

[John Weaver] How do I learn about the faith of God's elect? How do I learn about the acknowledging the truth, which is after Godliness? How do I learn about the hope of eternal life? I could ask these questions another way. How do I learn about justification, sanctification, election, predestination? How do I learn about glorification? How do I learn about any doctrine in the Word of God? And the answer is found in verse 3, but hath in due times manifested His Word through preaching. Now listen to me.

[John Weaver] I want to make a statement and I want you to think about this one. There are truths in the Bible that you will never understand except through preaching. How can I say that? Does that mean you cannot read your Bible? Of course not. You must read your Bible. You need to read your Bible every day. I encourage you. Does it mean you cannot study? Of course you can study. And you must study. I encourage that. You need to know how to use lexicons, concordances, commentaries, maps. I encourage all of that. But the truth of the matter is this, there are some things that you are never ever going to learn except through the preaching of the Word of God. How can I say that?

[John Weaver] For instance, he said, but hath in due times manifested His Word And the word manifested is the Greek word phanerao, which means to reveal, to make known, to make known that which before was unknown or unseen or not understood. It is basically a teaching of the Word of God.

[John Weaver] Now, listen to me very carefully. When you study the Scriptures, you're going to find three great truths. Number one, God the Father ordained the preaching of the Gospel. Number two, God the Son Himself engaged in the preaching of the gospel. And number three, over and over in scripture, we are told that the Holy Spirit of God is covenantally engaged to honor the preaching of the gospel. You remember that passage in Isaiah 55, where God said, My word shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that whereinto I send it, and that whereinto I purpose it. So God the Father then has set up the ordinance of the preaching and proclaiming of His word Those that were sent by him listen to verse 3 again, but half in due times Manifested his word through the preaching which is committed unto me said Paul According to the commandment of God our Savior

[John Weaver] now I want you to turn in your Bibles back to the book of Ephesians Galatians Ephesians Ephesians chapter 4 and let's begin reading at verse 11 and let me show you something Ephesians 4 verse 11 Here's what the scripture says and he that is the Lord Jesus Christ because he's the one that Has ascended on high and the Bible says in verse 8 that he gave gifts unto men now watch verse 11 here's some of those gifts and he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastor teachers patch early pastor teachers are one and But notice he gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastor teachers. So the question has to be asked, why did he give these gifts?

[John Weaver] Well, look in verse 12, for the perfecting of the saints, that is the maturing of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying, that is the building up and the strengthening of the body of Christ. How long will this preaching continue, these gifts continue? till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect or mature man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

[John Weaver] Now watch, that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, and by the slight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head even Christ. from whom the whole body fitly joined together, and compacted by that which every joint sublime, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, making increase of the body unto the edifying, or the building up, and the strengthening of itself in love."

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you a question. Why in the world did God give pastor teachers? Why did He give apostles? And the answer is, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Jesus Christ." In other words, it takes preaching and teaching for the saints of God to be mature, to be built up, to be strengthened in the faith. It takes preaching for them to grow up in Christ. It takes preaching for them to cease being children and to be able to withstand the deceivers who are ready to deceive them on every hand.

[John Weaver] And so let me put it to you very plainly. You will never be the Christian that you should be without the preaching of the Word of God. God gives His men, His preachers, that which His people need. He leads, He guides, He directs, He prepares the hearts and minds of His servants to feed His sheep. That's why in the book of Amos, chapter 3 and verse 7, the Word of God says this, Surely the Lord God will do nothing but He revealed this secret unto his servants the prophets." In other words, God says, I will put in their mouth what they must say and I will tell the people through them. That's exactly what he's saying. Now, when you stop and think about these men that God gave gifts to, this is why I said earlier there are some things you'll never learn except through preaching.

[John Weaver] We have some individuals in our church that are now retired. Dr. Bowen is a retired OBGYN. I have no idea how many babies he's delivered, but that's what he did all of his life. I have never, ever delivered a baby. I haven't even been around a baby when he's been born. So now if there's an emergency, and here is a pregnant mother-to-be, about to have her child, and she's not around her own doctor, and she has to choose between me and Dr. Bowen, I wonder who she'd choose. If she has any sense, she's going to choose Dr. Bowen, because that was his life. He's bound to know more about delivering babies than me.

[John Weaver] You follow what I'm saying? Dr. Holmes in our church is a retired veterinarian. Have I doctored animals? Yes. Have I sewed up and stitched up animals? Yes. I'm sure my stitches were not nearly as neat as Dr. Holmes, but I have done it. But if you have an animal that you love, and that animal needs help, had you rather call on me or Dr. Holmes, who's done this all of his life. Now, the point I'm trying to make is this. If I want to know something about delivering babies, I'm going to ask Dr. Bowen. Because that's what he's given his life for. He's done it all of his life. If I want to know something about animal husbandry and dealing with animals, I'm going to ask Dr. Holmes. Because that's been his life. The point I'm trying to make is this. Yes, you may read your Bible. Yes, you may study.

[John Weaver] But do you realize the men that God calls and the men that God sends have spent their entire lives studying so that they can teach what God gives them to teach. All I'm trying to say is this. Have you considered the fact that each Lord's day God, through his preachers, is setting out a meal for you. It's a meal that you're going to need through the week, maybe through the month, maybe even sometimes in the future. It's a truth that God has ordained for you to hear, that you may learn, that you may apply to your life and the lives of others. And if you are not present when that meal is put out, you will go hungry. Here's a good illustration.

[John Weaver] I've talked to people in times past that had some severe problems. I've also talked to people who had some very serious questions and were needing some answers. And so what I would do is I would go and I would study and I would research and I would come up with a message that would give them the answers that they wanted, not just to their questions, but to those who had the severe problems. And I would study and I'd prepare and I'd go there to church so that they could receive the answer and they were not there that day.

[John Weaver] You see what I'm saying? You cannot miss and continue to grow. Let me show you what I'm talking about. I want you to look in your Bibles to 2 Timothy chapter 2. I couldn't quote this, but I do want you to see this. Let me make a statement. God has never called me and He's never called any man to chase people down and cram truth down their throats. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 2 and verse 2, Paul tells Timothy, and the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to fateful men who shall be able to teach others also. Fateful men are men that are present, eager, willing, and ready to receive truth. They're not men that are lackadaisical, slothful, off and on, up and down, and undependable. In other words, Paul said, whatever I taught you, Timothy, you teach faithful men. What are faithful men? They're men that are dependable, men that you can count on, men that are going to be there when they need to be there.

[John Weaver] So it's not my responsibility to chase people down and cram truth down their throat. It's their responsibility to be faithful to the preaching and teaching of the Word of God.

[John Weaver] Now let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles. to the book of Colossians chapter 1 and look at verse 28. Here are three things that are absolutely necessary for maturity in the faith. You will never ever be mature without these three things. Look what he said. Colossians 1 and verse 28. Paul says, whom we preach, talking about Jesus Christ, we preach Christ, whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect or mature in Christ Jesus. Now, if you want to be presented mature in Christ Jesus, here are three things that are absolutely necessary in your life. Preaching, warning, or nutheteo, nuthetic confrontation, and teaching. Teaching in wisdom, God's Word.

[John Weaver] Isn't it strange, since I talked about truth, how most people do not want truth. When we talk about preaching, the next thing is warning every man, that is, newthetic confrontation. What is newthetic confrontation? The word is used a number of times in the Bible. A newthetic confrontation is like if Gary's doing something wrong. And when I say wrong, I mean contrary to the Word of God. I could come to him and say, now, brother, you ought not to be doing this. Here is what God says. Here is something to avoid. And here is something you can do and replace of it that would be pleasing in the Lord. You know, that is an euthetic confrontation. And we're to speak the truth in love. But you know, you try to rebuke in love, which the Bible says we're to do as well, admonish, which the Bible says we're to do as well, And by the way, the word admonish, the word confront, or warn here, it's all nuthetic confrontation. But when you try to confront someone, usually, even a professing Christian, you know what attitude they take?

[John Weaver] Who are you to talk to me like that? Who are you to tell me what's right and what's wrong? Well, my answer is I'm a representative of the Most High God. I'm an ambassador of Jesus Christ. Yes, I have the right to tell you that. Because the Bible tells me to exhort, rebuke, with all longsuffering and doctrine. Well, that's it. But I'm just simply saying, every Christian has that responsibility. But when you refuse to hear preaching, when you refuse to be euthetically confronted, when you refuse to be taught, you're never going to be mature in Jesus Christ. You're never.

[John Weaver] And these three things are absolutely necessary. Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to First Thessalonians, Chapter 2, because I'm going to be preaching on this verse in the not too distant future. But notice, if you would, 1 Thessalonians 2, look in verse 13. Here is where we need to be. 1 Thessalonians 2, verse 13. Look what the scripture says. Paul wrote, For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because when you receive the word of God which you heard of us, you received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth. The Word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." So here's what Paul is telling those Thessalonians. When you receive the Word which we preach, you didn't say, that's Paul's opinion. That opinion belongs to Timothy, or that opinion belongs to Silas, or that opinion belongs to Barnabas.

[John Weaver] No, no, no, no, no. They said, when we preach, you received it as it was in truth, the Word of God. Not as the Word of man. So let me put it to you like this. Do I have opinions? Yes. Do I know everything? No. But, if I expound a scripture and explain a scripture and apply the scripture, that is not my opinion. That is the Word of God. That is the truth of God and that is how that is to be received not as, well, that's just what Brother Weaver thinks. No, no, no. If it's from the scripture, it is what God says and not what I think. So here he is telling us very clearly that we have this great truth, and that is the manifestation of the truth through preaching.

[John Weaver] Now, let me try to tie some things together and make some applications, and I want you to think with me. The first one is this. Your attitude toward the preaching of the Word of God reveals your attitude toward God. You know, our Lord said over and over through the Scripture, He that has ears to hear, let him hear. So if you're unwilling to hear the Word of God, you're unwilling to hear God. If you're unwilling to receive the truth of Jesus Christ, you're unwilling to receive Jesus Christ. And interestingly, if you would read Acts chapter 13, when you get home, there are different responses to preaching. If you read acts 13, you'll see that some got mad at Paul's preaching. And then some got glad than the Gentiles were glad when they said, low, we turned to the Gentiles. Yeah. So your attitude toward the preaching and teaching the word of God reveals your attitude toward God. And our Lord himself tied these two things together in John 12 and verse 48 when he said this, He that rejecteth me, since he's the living word, and receiveth not my word, that is the written word, the same hath one that judges him in the last day, even the word which I've spoken.

[John Weaver] So very clearly then, your attitude toward the preaching and teaching of the word of God revealed your attitude toward God and toward his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Here's the second application. It is a serious matter to be unfaithful to the preaching of the Word of God. Once a meal is missed, the meal is missed. That's all there is to it. The truth that is brought on one Sunday may not be brought again for a long time, maybe a year, maybe two years.

[John Weaver] In fact, I was talking to people this week twice and explained a message to them that I probably preached 40 years ago, and I had not even thought about it until they asked me a question. But you see, just like physical growth requires consistent, constant nourishment, likewise spiritual growth requires consistent, constant nourishment. And you start missing meals, you're going to get anemic. You start missing preaching, where the Word of God is preached, you're going to get spiritually anemic.

[John Weaver] This is one reason we have so many, as one fellow says, Baptist and Midget Methodist and puny Presbyterians. Because they've missed so many meals, they have no idea. You remember that passage in Hebrews chapter 5, where the apostle said, I wanted to give you some meat, but now I've got to feed you with milk. In other words, instead of progressing, you regress. You start missing the preaching of the Word of God. You're going to start going backwards. I've observed this for years. People start getting upset with the preacher or upset with some doctrine or upset with somebody.

[John Weaver] They may be in the front pew or in the front few pews. Next thing you know, they're in the middle pew. And the next thing you know, they're on the last pew. And then after that, they're out the door and they don't come back. When folks start sitting on that last pew, when they're used to sitting up front and up close, better look out. Because they're going to be easing out. Why? Because they are upset with the preaching and teaching of the Word of God and they're going to be missing meals and they are going to be Midgets that is for sure now. I want you to turn to one last passage I want you to turn to the book of Jeremiah chapter 3 Jeremiah chapter 3 Because this is not only a warning to the children of God a warning to Christians It's also in one sense the word a very real warning to pastors and preachers Because God has ordained pastors and preachers, teachers, to feed his sheep. Read John 21.

[John Weaver] What did he tell Peter? If you love me, feed my sheep. So every pastor, every teacher is going to give an account to the great shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. There are so many preachers in the world today, and even so many pastors. So the question you have to ask is this, how can I tell whether or not a pastor is really called of God and sin of God. It's really very simple, it's really very easy.

[John Weaver] I know that there are a multitude of men that have entered the ministry just simply as a vocation. They consider it an easy job. It's not, I can assure you, but maybe it is the way they do it or the way they don't do it, I don't know. I've told you before, when I was a boy, I wanted to be a preacher. But the only reason I wanted to be a preacher is because they only had to work on Sunday and Wednesday and you could play the rest of the week. But I found out it's not like that, you know.

[John Weaver] So anyhow, but here's how you can tell. Look in Jeremiah chapter 3 and verse 15. Look what the Bible says. How can you tell whether a man's called of God or not? Verse 15. God said, and I will give you pastors. Watch, according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding." God's preachers feed His sheep, and they do so with knowledge and understanding, and that is the knowledge of the Word of God and the understanding of the Word of God. Not their knowledge and not their understanding, but they feed the sheep of God.

[John Weaver] So here are four great truths. There's the truth of God's elect, the faith of God's elect, that truth. There's an acknowledging of the truth, which is after godliness. There is the truth of the hope of eternal life. And there's the truth of the manifestation of truth through the preaching of the word of God. We need to learn to value each one of these truths and to hold them close to our hearts. because these are absolutely foundational and fundamental truths.

[John Weaver] Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee. We thank you for your word. We thank you for the truths that you have given us in your word. And we ask, Father, that you would teach us, build us up in the most holy faith, make us holy, make us godly, make us obedient, and enable us, Lord, to embrace that sure, steadfast, solid, living hope that we have in Jesus Christ, our Lord, and whose name we pray. Amen.

[John Weaver] so so

Four Great Truths - Part 2 of 2

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	aMsV2M7RdmE
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Assurance, Providence, and Life in the Spirit: Walking With God
Genre	Sermon
Date	2021-08-17
Dictation Name
Book	Book 178: Four Great Truths — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	70

Formatted Transcript

Review of the First Two Great Truths

Weaver recaps the first two truths from Titus 1:1: the faith of God's elect (a divine faith, not dead or demonic) and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness (requiring exercise and addition to faith).

All right, if you'll open your Bibles to the book of Titus, chapter 1, again, verses 1 through 3. You remember last week I began a message titled, "Four Great Truths," and we only got two of them last week. So, Lord willing, this week we're going to nail the next two and share them with you from the Word of God. So Titus chapter 1, beginning there with verse 1, the Bible says,

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 he hath committed unto me according to the commandment of God our

Savior." You remember I began the message last week by talking about truth. And certainly the Word of God is truth and our Lord Jesus Christ is truth.

But I pointed out how many people really and truly do not want truth. I referred you to Romans 1 and verse 25 where some change the truth of God into a lie, and where we're commanded not to lie against the truth. But over and over, we find that people had much rather have a lie than they had the truth. Because truth will dispel not only errors and heresies, it will also dispel illusions as well. And most people would rather live in their own dream world, a world of illusions, rather than live in the world of reality. And of course, we begin looking at the truths that are presented us in Titus 1 verses 1 through 3, and the very first truth we saw was the truth of the faith of God's elect. And I pointed out how that this faith of God's elect was indeed a divine faith. It's a faith that is bestowed by God in His grace, mercy, and power. It is not a dead faith. And I pointed out, many today have just simply a mere intellectual assent to truth, or they mentally assent to historical facts. And then they equate that with a saving faith when in reality it's not. And when you look in James chapter 2, he talks about a dead faith. He said that kind of faith cannot save anyone. And then he pointed out in verse 26 how as the body without the spirit is dead, so likewise faith without works is dead.

So whenever someone has a profession, and yet they do not have works that evidence and manifest the fact that they are real, genuine Christians, it is indeed nothing more than a dead faith. In fact, a lot of people are like that in our modern-day churches. I think of the book of Titus, chapter 1, and look in verse 16, if you would. Here's a verse that really and truly points it out very clearly. The Bible says, "They profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient unto every good work reprobate." So notice they profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him. That is nothing more than a dead faith. And then, of course, there is, as I pointed out in James 2 and verse 19, there's the demon's faith. A lot of people think they're saved just simply because they believe in God. And yet the Bible says in the book of James 2 and verse 19,

Scripture Reading — James 2:19, 26

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

And interestingly enough, those who profess to believe in God usually do not tremble before Him, and therefore their faith is not even the faith of a demon, because at least the demons tremble. But obviously and clearly, although the demons believe in God, they certainly are not repentant. They're certainly not in any way honoring or glorifying Him, but yet they do believe in Him. So there is this faith of God's elect, and that faith is a divine faith.

And it differs very greatly from a dead faith and also a demon's faith. And then the second truth I pointed out is in verse 1, and that is the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness. And I said last week that there is absolutely no excuse for us to live an ungodly life, because the Bible says in 2 Peter 1 in verse 3 that God has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. The second thing I pointed out was this, that godliness is something that must be added to our faith. Faith is the foundation. But when you read 2 Peter 1, verses 3, right on down, he says,

Scripture Reading — 2 Peter 1:3-7

"And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith, virtue, and to virtue, knowledge, and to knowledge, patience, and to patience, godliness, and to godliness, brotherly love,"

and he goes right on down. So all of these things have to be added. And then, of course, the third truth that I pointed out was that godliness can only be accomplished by just pure exercise.

The Bible says in 1 Timothy 4, verses 7 and 8,

Scripture Reading — 1 Timothy 4:7-8

"But refuse profane and old wives' fables, but rather 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."

And I remind you that the word exercise is the Greek word gumenadzo, from which we derive our words gymnastics and gymnasium. So actually he is saying, "gymnasticize yourself rather unto godliness." And it is true that it takes godly exercise to make sure that our thoughts are biblical and scriptural, that our emotions are controlled and brought in line with the Word of God, in fact, the entirety of our lives. And so he is saying that it must be indeed godly exercise in order for us to attain maturity in the faith.

Introduction to the Third Great Truth: The Hope of Eternal Life

Reading Titus 1:2, Weaver introduces the hope of eternal life promised by God before the world began, raising the question of to whom it was promised.

Now today I want to let's continue and let me share with you the other two great truths. The first one is found in verse 2. Look at it carefully. "In hope of eternal life which God that cannot lie promised before the world began."

Now, an obvious question should arise in your minds when you read this verse. Look at it again, "in hope of eternal life which God that cannot lie promised before the world began." So that logical question would be this, "To whom did God promise eternal life before the world began?" Because very clearly, you and I were not born then, no one was born then, because it was indeed before the world began. So you have to ask yourself, to whom then did He promise eternal life? Now there is a similar passage in 2 Timothy chapter 2. So if you look back just a page or two, 2 Timothy chapter 2, and notice, if you would please, verses 8 and 9. Verses 8 and 9, 2 Timothy, chapter 1, verse 8. Paul writes Timothy, and he says, "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me as prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God." Now watch carefully.

The Eternal Covenant and the Nature of Biblical Hope

Weaver explains that the promise was made in the eternal covenant among the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He distinguishes biblical hope (a joyful, confident expectation) from modern contingent hope.

"Who hath saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." Note, if you would, He gave us grace in Christ Jesus before the world began. So, eternal life was indeed promised to us before the world began, but it was promised to us only in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Lord Jesus Christ was given to us by virtue of the eternal or everlasting covenant. Now, let me explain that. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, chapter 13, and look, if you would, please, at verses 20 and 21, right before the book of James, Hebrews, chapter 13, verses 20 and 21. Watch this.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 13:20-21

"Now, the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."

Now note, if you would, verse 20 talks about the everlasting or the eternal covenant. So here is a covenant that was made in eternity past. With whom then was this covenant made? Well, the only ones that existed then were God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. We only existed in the purpose and counsel of God. So here is basically a summary of this eternal covenant. In the eternal or everlasting covenant, God the Father gave to God the Son a people. He gave Him an elect. He gave Him a herd of sheep. Whatever you want to call them, God the Father gave to God the Son an elect. God the Son, in this eternal covenant, agreed then to become their substitute, their sacrifice, their propitiation and to be their Redeemer and their Reconciler.

And then God the Holy Spirit agreed to regenerate and convict and convert all those that the Father had given to Jesus Christ and all of those for whom Jesus Christ had died. This basically is that everlasting or the eternal covenant. Now, I want you to turn back in your Bibles to the book of Titus chapter 1 because I have to emphasize one word and you have to understand the eternal covenant in one sense of the word to grasp the significance of this. So in Titus 1 in verse 2 the Bible says this, "in hope of eternal life which God that cannot lie promised before the world began." Now I explain the eternal covenant in order that I might point out the word hope. "In hope of eternal life." Now the word hope in the Bible is used differently from the way that we use the word hope today.

I've heard professors in Jesus Christ make statements like this. "I hope I'm saved. I hope I make it to heaven." And they use the word hope in a similar vein that I would use it when I say, "I hope to go to town tomorrow." Now, when I gave you that illustration, when I say I hope to go to town tomorrow, I don't know whether or not I'm going to go to town tomorrow or not. I would like to, I would hope to, but it is a hope that is based on a contingency. In other words, I hope to go to town tomorrow, weather permitting. If it's raining and storming, obviously I'm not going. I would hope to go health permitting. That is, if I'm sick, I'm not going. I would hope to go mechanically permitting. That is, if my automobile works, it may not work, and I'm not going to walk 10 miles to town. So I'm just simply pointing out the fact every time we use the word hope, we use it based on a contingency.

I hope to go to town tomorrow if I feel like it, if I have enough money. That's our kind of hope. But that is not the way the word is used in the Bible. In fact, the Greek word elpis simply means an expectation, but more than that, it means a joyful and a confident expectation. It is a joyful and confident expectation that's centered upon the person work of Jesus Christ that was given to us in that great eternal covenant before the world began. Let me show you. He said in verse 2, "in hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie promised before the world began."

Now, I'm going to come back to that. But look, if you would, in Titus chapter 3, beginning there with verse 3. Titus 3 and verse 3. Note, he says this,

Scripture Reading — Titus 3:3-7

"For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers' lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another."

That's a pretty good description of what we were before we were converted. He says in verse four,

Scripture Reading — Titus 3:3-7

"But after that, the kindness and love of God, our Savior toward man appeared,"

which would be Jesus Christ,

Scripture Reading — Titus 3:3-7

"not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He has shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,"

watch,

Scripture Reading — Titus 3:3-7

"that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

Now, I hope you notice that in this passage you have the work of God the Father, the work of God the Son, and the work of God the Holy Spirit.

The Certainty of the Believer's Hope

Using Hebrews 6 and 1 Peter 1, Weaver demonstrates that the believer's hope is sure, steadfast, and living, anchored in God's unchangeable promise and Christ's resurrection.

So here's a good question. Do the works of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit produce a maybe-so salvation or a know-so salvation? Well, clearly it's got to be a know-so salvation. It is not something that is based upon a contingency. Is there some remote possibility that God has not considered that we might not be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life? And the answer is absolutely not. The answer is no. If we have been given a divine faith, which leads us to a sanctifying faith, which means that we walk obediently and are pleasing unto the Lord, obviously then we have a sure hope of eternal life, which God promised to us in Jesus Christ before the world ever began.

Now let me show you even more confirmation. Look in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Hebrews chapter 6. Hebrews chapter 6, and let's begin reading there with verse 13. Hebrews chapter 6 and verse 13. Watch carefully. "For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself, saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. So after that he patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater, and an oath of confirmation is for them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise," that's already been mentioned, the heirs of promise, "the immutability, the unchangeableness of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath."

"That by two immutable things, the oath and it is impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil. Whether the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus made a high priest forever after the order Melchizedek." Now notice, if you would, he talks about having an anchor. Wow. The anchor is sure and steadfast. Verse 19, "which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast."

Now the Greek word for sure is the word asphalos, which literally means that which is certain and that which is sure, that which is firm, that which is confirmed. And the word for steadfast is the Greek word bebeos, which literally means firm, sure, stable, trustworthy, and steadfast. So look at verse 19 again. "Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both confirmed, absolutely certain, absolutely sure, and standing absolutely not failing whatsoever." No. He says it is an anchor, and he refers to it as a hope. So our hope then in Jesus Christ is something that is solid. He is our forerunner who has entered into heaven, into the presence of God the Father, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father on our behalf. Consequently, there is no doubt as to whether or not we have a solid hope. May I point something else out? The Word of God also refers to Jesus Christ as our head. He is our head, we are his body. If his head is already in the presence of God the Father, for sure his body will be there shortly thereafter as well. So our hope then is sure and steadfast.

Now, if you would turn over a few pages, Hebrews, James, and go to 1 Peter. And look, if you would, please, beginning there with verse 3, 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 3. Let me show you something else about this hope. To show you that it is not a dead hope, it is not something based upon a contingency that God has not foreseen. No. Look what he says, 1 Peter 1 verse 3, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to His abundant mercy, hath begotten us again into a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept," note, "who are kept by the power of God through faith, unto salvation," "ready to be revealed in the last time." Now, the Bible tells you in verse 3 that we've been begotten again into a lively hope. The Greek word refers to that which is living, that which is alive. It is not a dead hope. No, it is something that has breath and life. And notice, if you would please, He has begotten us again into a living hope, how? By the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

What has He purchased for us? Verse 4,

Scripture Reading — 1 Peter 1:3-5

"to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you."

How do we know that we will make it? Here is how,

Scripture Reading — 1 Peter 1:3-5

"who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time."

Obviously, this is no dead hope. This is something God has given us as an anchor of our soul both sure and steadfast, a solid living hope. Now remember, if you would go back, because he not only says this in Hebrews 6, but I want you to go back to Titus chapter 1 and verse 2. Look what he says, "in hope of eternal life which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began." You remember the Bible says, in Hebrews 6, by two immutable things, and one of those immutable things was it is impossible for God to lie. Now I want you to listen carefully, because I want to give you a quote by Charles Haddon Spurgeon, and he's speaking about this, the fact that God cannot lie.

God's Immutability and the Security of Hope

Citing Spurgeon, Weaver emphasizes that God cannot lie or change His purpose, making the hope of eternal life absolutely certain for those with divine faith.

Here's what he said. "The word lie here includes, beyond its ordinary meaning, the thought of change. So that when we read that God cannot lie, we understand by it not only that he cannot say that which is untrue, but that having said something which is true, he never changes from it and does not by any possibility, after his purpose, retract his word. This is very consolatory to the Christian, that whatever God has said in the divine purpose is never changed. The decrees of God were not written upon sand, but upon the eternal brass of his unchangeable nature. We may truly say of the sealed book of his decrees, hath he said and shall he not do it? Hath he purposed it and shall it not come to pass?" So he's saying that it's not that God cannot just utter an untruth. Whatever God says is truth and He will never change from it. He will never retract it. He will never take it back. So just as surely as God is true, so our hope is in Jesus Christ and He cannot fail.

He will not change and He certainly will not deny Himself. Now just as the faith of God's elect leads to the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness, the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness then leads to an hope of eternal life which God, that cannot lie, has promised before the world began. So, let me ask you this question. Now, we understand, based upon verse 1, the faith of God's elect. We know that it's not a dead faith, it's not a demon's faith, it's a divine faith. We also understand now the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness. We also now understand in hope of eternal life which God that cannot lie has promised before the world began. So here is my question. How do we know the truth of these doctrines?

The Fourth Great Truth: Manifestation Through Preaching

Weaver introduces Titus 1:3, explaining that God manifests His word through preaching at the appointed time, and that preaching is the divinely ordained means to reveal these truths.

How did this come to our knowledge and understanding? Well look in verse 3, because here's the fourth great truth. "But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Savior." So here is the fourth great truth, and that great truth is a manifestation of the truth through preaching. Now, I want you to look at verse 3 again. He said, "But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching." I suppose that everyone knows that between the Old Testament and the New Testament, you had 400 years of silence. God did not speak. They had the truth of the Old Covenant, but there was no truth of the New Covenant until the appointed time came. So when you look at verse 3, and he says, "but hath in due times manifested," the phrase "due times" then refers to the proper time or the appointed time or the season of which God has eternally purposed and has seen good to the divine wisdom.

Now, we understand this in light of other passages. May I remind you of the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. So I could ask you this question, when was Jesus Christ born? And the answer is, exactly when God the Father ordained Him to be born into this world. That's why the Bible says in Galatians 4 verses 4 and 5,

Scripture Reading — Galatians 4:4-5

"But when the fullness of time has come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons."

But listen now, "but when the fullness of times." Or we could say, when due time came. In other words, Jesus Christ came exactly at the appointed day and hour. May I also point out this, the same truth is found in Acts chapter 2 and verse 1. Because the Bible says there, "when the day of Pentecost was fully come." What does that mean, when the day of Pentecost was fully come? It means it came at the exact day and hour that God had ordained it.

The Necessity of Preaching for Spiritual Maturity

Using Ephesians 4 and Colossians 1, Weaver argues that preaching, warning, and teaching are essential for believers to grow, be edified, and avoid deception.

Now I want you to turn in your Bibles back to the book of Ephesians, Galatians, Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 4, and let's begin reading at verse 11 and let me show you something. Ephesians 4 verse 11. Here's what the scripture says, "And he," that is the Lord Jesus Christ, because he's the one that has ascended on high and the Bible says in verse 8 that he gave gifts unto men. Now watch verse 11, here's some of those gifts, "and he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastor teachers.

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 4:11-16

" Actually pastor teachers are one and the same. But notice he gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastor teachers. So the question has to be asked, why did he give these gifts? Well, look in verse 12, "

for the perfecting of the saints," that is the maturing of the saints, "for the work of the ministry, for the edifying,

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 4:11-16

" that is the building up and the strengthening of the body of Christ. How long will this preaching continue, these gifts continue? "

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect or mature man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."

Now watch, "that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, and by the slight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head even Christ. From whom the whole body fitly joined together, and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, making increase of the body unto the edifying," or the building up, "and the strengthening of itself in love." Now, let me ask you a question. Why in the world did God give pastor teachers? Why did He give apostles? And the answer is, "for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Jesus Christ." In other words, it takes preaching and teaching for the saints of God to be mature, to be built up, to be strengthened in the faith. It takes preaching for them to grow up in Christ. It takes preaching for them to cease being children and to be able to withstand the deceivers who are ready to deceive them on every hand.

And so let me put it to you very plainly. You will never be the Christian that you should be without the preaching of the Word of God. God gives His men, His preachers, that which His people need. He leads, He guides, He directs, He prepares the hearts and minds of His servants to feed His sheep. That's why in the book of Amos, chapter 3 and verse 7, the Word of God says this, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing but He revealed this secret unto his servants the prophets." In other words, God says, I will put in their mouth what they must say and I will tell the people through them. That's exactly what he's saying. Now, when you stop and think about these men that God gave gifts to, this is why I said earlier there are some things you'll never learn except through preaching.

Applications: Attitude Toward Preaching and Faithfulness

Weaver applies the truths by stating that one's attitude toward preaching reveals one's attitude toward God, and that missing preaching leads to spiritual anemia and regression.

Now, let me try to tie some things together and make some applications, and I want you to think with me. The first one is this. Your attitude toward the preaching of the Word of God reveals your attitude toward God. You know, our Lord said over and over through the Scripture, "He that has ears to hear, let him hear." So if you're unwilling to hear the Word of God, you're unwilling to hear God. If you're unwilling to receive the truth of Jesus Christ, you're unwilling to receive Jesus Christ. And interestingly, if you would read Acts chapter 13, when you get home, there are different responses to preaching. If you read Acts 13, you'll see that some got mad at Paul's preaching. And then some got glad, and the Gentiles were glad when they said, "Lo, we turn to the Gentiles." Yeah. So your attitude toward the preaching and teaching the word of God reveals your attitude toward God. And our Lord himself tied these two things together in John 12 and verse 48 when he said this, "He that rejecteth me," since he's the living word, "and receiveth not my word," that is the written word, "the same hath one that judges him in the last day, even the word which I've spoken."

So very clearly then, your attitude toward the preaching and teaching of the word of God reveals your attitude toward God and toward his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Here's the second application. It is a serious matter to be unfaithful to the preaching of the Word of God. Once a meal is missed, the meal is missed. That's all there is to it. The truth that is brought on one Sunday may not be brought again for a long time, maybe a year, maybe two years. In fact, I was talking to people this week twice and explained a message to them that I probably preached 40 years ago, and I had not even thought about it until they asked me a question. But you see, just like physical growth requires consistent, constant nourishment, likewise spiritual growth requires consistent, constant nourishment. And you start missing meals, you're going to get anemic. You start missing preaching, where the Word of God is preached, you're going to get spiritually anemic.

This is one reason we have so many, as one fellow says, "Baptist midgets, Methodist midgets, and puny Presbyterians." Because they've missed so many meals, they have no idea. You remember that passage in Hebrews chapter 5, where the apostle said, "I wanted to give you some meat, but now I've got to feed you with milk." In other words, instead of progressing, you regress. You start missing the preaching of the Word of God. You're going to start going backwards. I've observed this for years. People start getting upset with the preacher or upset with some doctrine or upset with somebody. They may be in the front pew or in the front few pews. Next thing you know, they're in the middle pew. And the next thing you know, they're on the last pew. And then after that, they're out the door and they don't come back. When folks start sitting on that last pew, when they're used to sitting up front and up close, better look out. Because they're going to be easing out. Why? Because they are upset with the preaching and teaching of the Word of God and they're going to be missing meals and they are going to be midgets, that is for sure. Now, I want you to turn to one last passage. I want you to turn to the book of Jeremiah chapter 3. Jeremiah chapter 3. Because this is not only a warning to the children of God, a warning to Christians, it's also in one sense the word a very real warning to pastors and preachers. Because God has ordained pastors and preachers, teachers, to feed his sheep. Read John 21.

Identifying God-Called Pastors

From Jeremiah 3:15, Weaver teaches that true pastors feed God's sheep with knowledge and understanding of the Word, not their own opinions.

They may be in the front pew or in the front few pews. Next thing you know, they're in the middle pew. And the next thing you know, they're on the last pew. And then after that, they're out the door and they don't come back. When folks start sitting on that last pew, when they're used to sitting up front and up close, better look out. Because they're going to be easing out. Why? Because they are upset with the preaching and teaching of the Word of God and they're going to be missing meals and they are going to be midgets, that is for sure. Now, I want you to turn to one last passage. I want you to turn to the book of Jeremiah chapter 3. Jeremiah chapter 3. Because this is not only a warning to the children of God, a warning to Christians, it's also in one sense the word a very real warning to pastors and preachers. Because God has ordained pastors and preachers, teachers, to feed his sheep. Read John 21.

What did he tell Peter? "If you love me, feed my sheep." So every pastor, every teacher is going to give an account to the great shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. There are so many preachers in the world today, and even so many pastors. So the question you have to ask is this, how can I tell whether or not a pastor is really called of God and sent of God. It's really very simple, it's really very easy. I know that there are a multitude of men that have entered the ministry just simply as a vocation. They consider it an easy job. It's not, I can assure you, but maybe it is the way they do it or the way they don't do it, I don't know. I've told you before, when I was a boy, I wanted to be a preacher. But the only reason I wanted to be a preacher is because they only had to work on Sunday and Wednesday and you could play the rest of the week. But I found out it's not like that, you know.

So anyhow, but here's how you can tell. Look in Jeremiah chapter 3 and verse 15. Look what the Bible says. How can you tell whether a man's called of God or not? Verse 15. God said,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 3:15

"And I will give you pastors."

Watch,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 3:15

"according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding."

God's preachers feed His sheep, and they do so with knowledge and understanding, and that is the knowledge of the Word of God and the understanding of the Word of God. Not their knowledge and not their understanding, but they feed the sheep of God.

So here are four great truths. There's the truth of God's elect, the faith of God's elect, that truth. There's an acknowledging of the truth, which is after godliness. There is the truth of the hope of eternal life. And there's the truth of the manifestation of truth through the preaching of the word of God. We need to learn to value each one of these truths and to hold them close to our hearts, because these are absolutely foundational and fundamental truths.

Study Guide

Major Themes

The Nature of Biblical Hope

Summary: Biblical hope is not a wishful contingency but a joyful, confident expectation based on God's unchangeable promise and the finished work of Christ.

Evidence: Weaver contrasts modern usage of 'hope' with the Greek elpis, meaning a confident expectation, and ties it to the eternal covenant and God's inability to lie.

The Eternal Covenant

Summary: Before creation, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit made a covenant in which the Father gave an elect people to the Son, who agreed to redeem them, and the Spirit agreed to apply that redemption.

Evidence: Weaver explains the covenant using Hebrews 13:20-21 and 2 Timothy 1:8-9, describing the roles of each Person of the Trinity.

The Primacy of Preaching

Summary: God has ordained preaching as the primary means to manifest His truth, edify the church, and bring believers to maturity; some truths are only learned through preaching.

Evidence: Weaver expounds Titus 1:3, Ephesians 4:11-16, and Colossians 1:28, emphasizing that preaching, warning, and teaching are necessary for growth.

Spiritual Growth Requires Faithful Hearing

Summary: Just as physical growth requires consistent nourishment, spiritual growth requires regular attendance to the preaching of God's Word; missing meals leads to spiritual anemia.

Evidence: Weaver uses the analogy of missing meals and references Hebrews 5 to warn against regression, and 2 Timothy 2:2 to stress faithfulness.

Attitude Toward Preaching Reflects Attitude Toward God

Summary: Rejecting or despising the preached Word is equivalent to rejecting God and Christ, as Jesus is the living Word and Scripture is the written Word.

Evidence: Weaver cites John 12:48 and Acts 13 to show that responses to preaching reveal one's heart toward God.

Key Arguments

The hope of eternal life is not a maybe-so salvation but a know-so salvation.

Summary: Because the works of the Father, Son, and Spirit are perfect and God cannot lie, the hope given in the eternal covenant is absolutely certain for those with divine faith.

Evidence: Weaver argues from Titus 3:3-7 that the triune work produces a sure hope, and from Hebrews 6:13-20 that God's oath and immutability make hope an anchor sure and steadfast.

Preaching is the divinely appointed means to reveal and apply the truths of the gospel.

Summary: Titus 1:3 states that God manifests His word through preaching; this is not optional but commanded, and through it believers learn doctrines like election, sanctification, and glorification.

Evidence: Weaver points to the phrase 'in due times manifested his word through preaching' and connects it to God's timing in Galatians 4:4-5 and Acts 2:1.

Without preaching, warning, and teaching, believers cannot reach maturity.

Summary: Colossians 1:28 lists preaching, warning (nuthetic confrontation), and teaching as essential to present every man perfect in Christ; rejecting these stunts growth.

Evidence: Weaver exegetes Colossians 1:28 and explains nuthetic confrontation, arguing that refusal to hear these leads to perpetual immaturity.

Faithfulness to preaching is a mark of a true disciple.

Summary: 2 Timothy 2:2 instructs Timothy to commit truth to faithful men; faithful men are dependable, present, and eager to receive truth, not sporadic or slothful.

Evidence: Weaver contrasts faithful men with those who are lackadaisical and undependable, emphasizing that God does not call preachers to chase down the unfaithful.

Scripture References

Titus 1:1-3

Context: The primary text of the sermon, containing the four great truths: faith of God's elect, acknowledging truth after godliness, hope of eternal life, and manifestation through preaching.

Romans 1:25

Context: Referenced to show that some change the truth of God into a lie, illustrating that many prefer lies over truth.

James 2:19, 26

Context: Used to describe dead faith and demonic faith, contrasting them with the divine faith of God's elect.

Titus 1:16

Context: Cited to show that some profess to know God but deny Him by their works, exemplifying dead faith.

2 Peter 1:3-7

Context: Referenced to show that godliness must be added to faith and that God has given all things for life and godliness.

1 Timothy 4:7-8

Context: Used to explain that godliness requires exercise (gymnasticize), just as physical exercise profits little but godliness profits all things.

2 Timothy 1:8-9

Context: Shows that grace was given in Christ Jesus before the world began, supporting the eternal covenant.

Hebrews 13:20-21

Context: Mentions the blood of the everlasting covenant, confirming the eternal covenant made in eternity past.

Titus 3:3-7

Context: Demonstrates the triune work of salvation leading to the hope of eternal life, a know-so salvation.

Hebrews 6:13-20

Context: Explains that God's oath and immutability make the believer's hope an anchor sure and steadfast.

1 Peter 1:3-5

Context: Describes the living hope through Christ's resurrection and the inheritance kept by God's power.

Galatians 4:4-5

Context: Used to illustrate that Christ came in the fullness of time, paralleling the 'due times' of Titus 1:3.

Acts 2:1

Context: Referenced to show that Pentecost came at the exact appointed time, supporting the concept of 'due times'.

Mark 1:15

Context: Jesus declared the time is fulfilled, indicating the appointed time for the gospel.

Ephesians 4:11-16

Context: Explains that Christ gave pastor-teachers for the perfecting of the saints and edifying of the body until we reach unity and maturity.

Colossians 1:28

Context: States that preaching, warning, and teaching are necessary to present every man perfect in Christ.

1 Thessalonians 2:13

Context: Shows that the Thessalonians received the preached word not as man's word but as God's Word, which works in believers.

John 12:48

Context: Jesus ties rejection of His words to rejection of Himself, showing that attitude toward preaching reflects attitude toward God.

Jeremiah 3:15

Context: God promises to give pastors according to His heart who feed with knowledge and understanding, a test of true calling.

Amos 3:7

Context: Cited to show that God reveals His secrets to His servants the prophets, supporting the role of preaching.

Historical References

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Context: Weaver quotes Spurgeon on God's inability to lie, emphasizing that God never changes His purpose or retracts His word.

Important Quotes

Those who despise truth will never, ever be converted, as long as they continue to despise truth.

Significance: Emphasizes the absolute necessity of embracing truth (Christ and Scripture) for salvation.

In hope of eternal life which God that cannot lie promised before the world began.

Significance: The key verse introducing the third great truth, highlighting God's veracity and the pre-temporal promise.

The word hope in the Bible is used differently from the way that we use the word hope today.

Significance: Clarifies the biblical definition of hope as confident expectation versus modern contingent hope.

Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast.

Significance: Quotes Hebrews 6:19 to illustrate the certainty and stability of the believer's hope.

But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Savior.

Significance: The verse introducing the fourth great truth, establishing preaching as God's ordained method of revelation.

You will never be the Christian that you should be without the preaching of the Word of God.

Significance: A strong assertion of the necessity of preaching for spiritual growth and maturity.

When you receive the word of God which you heard of us, you received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth. The Word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

Significance: Quotes 1 Thessalonians 2:13 to show the proper reception of preaching as God's authoritative Word.

Your attitude toward the preaching of the Word of God reveals your attitude toward God.

Significance: A key application linking one's response to preaching with one's relationship to God.

Discussion Questions

How does the biblical definition of hope differ from the common modern usage, and why is this distinction important for assurance of salvation?

Context: Weaver contrasts contingent hope with the confident expectation based on God's promise.

What is the eternal covenant, and how does it provide a foundation for the certainty of our hope?

Context: Weaver explains the covenant among the Trinity before the world began.

Why does Weaver insist that some truths can only be learned through preaching, and how does this challenge the idea that personal Bible study alone is sufficient?

Context: Weaver argues from Titus 1:3 and Ephesians 4 that preaching is a divinely ordained means of revelation and edification.

In what ways does missing the preaching of God's Word lead to spiritual anemia and regression, according to the sermon?

Context: Weaver uses the analogy of missing meals and references Hebrews 5 to warn against backsliding.

How can we discern whether a pastor is truly called by God, based on Jeremiah 3:15 and the sermon's teaching?

Context: Weaver states that God-called pastors feed the sheep with knowledge and understanding of the Word.

What does it mean to receive preaching 'not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God,' and how should this affect our listening?

Context: Weaver expounds 1 Thessalonians 2:13, emphasizing that scriptural preaching carries divine authority.

Applications

Examine your hope

Summary: Evaluate whether your hope of eternal life is a biblical, confident expectation rooted in God's promise, or a mere wishful thinking based on contingencies.

Evidence: Weaver contrasts the two types of hope and urges believers to embrace the sure hope anchored in Christ.

Prioritize faithful attendance to preaching

Summary: Recognize that spiritual growth requires consistent nourishment from the preached Word; make it a priority to be present and attentive when God's Word is proclaimed.

Evidence: Weaver warns that missing preaching leads to spiritual anemia and uses the analogy of missing meals.

Receive preaching as God's Word

Summary: When a preacher expounds Scripture, receive it not as human opinion but as the authoritative Word of God, allowing it to work effectually in your life.

Evidence: Weaver cites 1 Thessalonians 2:13 and emphasizes that scriptural preaching is God's truth, not man's.

Submit to nuthetic confrontation

Summary: Be willing to receive warning and admonishment from Scripture and from fellow believers, as this is essential for maturity in Christ.

Evidence: Weaver explains Colossians 1:28 and the necessity of warning (nuthetic confrontation) alongside preaching and teaching.

Test teachers by their feeding

Summary: Evaluate pastors and teachers by whether they feed the flock with knowledge and understanding of God's Word, not by entertainment or personal charisma.

Evidence: Weaver points to Jeremiah 3:15 as the biblical standard for God-called pastors.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T19:01:49Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T12:14:50Z

Clean Transcript

Four Great Truths - Part 2 of 2

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

All right, if you'll open your Bibles to the book of Titus, chapter 1, again, verses 1 through 3. You remember last week I began a message titled, "Four Great Truths," and we only got two of them last week. So, Lord willing, this week we're going to nail the next two and share them with you from the Word of God. So Titus chapter 1, beginning there with verse 1, 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, 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 he hath committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Savior." You remember I began the message last week by talking about truth. And certainly the Word of God is truth and our Lord Jesus Christ is truth.
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But I pointed out how many people really and truly do not want truth. I referred you to Romans 1 and verse 25 where some change the truth of God into a lie, and where we're commanded not to lie against the truth. But over and over, we find that people had much rather have a lie than they had the truth. Because truth will dispel not only errors and heresies, it will also dispel illusions as well. And most people would rather live in their own dream world, a world of illusions, rather than live in the world of reality.
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And of course, we begin looking at the truths that are presented us in Titus 1 verses 1 through 3, and the very first truth we saw was the truth of the faith of God's elect. And I pointed out how that this faith of God's elect was indeed a divine faith. It's a faith that is bestowed by God in His grace, mercy, and power. It is not a dead faith. And I pointed out, many today have just simply a mere intellectual assent to truth, or they mentally assent to historical facts. And then they equate that with a saving faith when in reality it's not. And when you look in James chapter 2, he talks about a dead faith. He said that kind of faith cannot save anyone. And then he pointed out in verse 26 how as the body without the spirit is dead, so likewise faith without works is dead.
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So whenever someone has a profession, and yet they do not have works that evidence and manifest the fact that they are real, genuine Christians, it is indeed nothing more than a dead faith. In fact, a lot of people are like that in our modern-day churches. I think of the book of Titus, chapter 1, and look in verse 16, if you would. Here's a verse that really and truly points it out very clearly.
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The Bible says, "They profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient unto every good work reprobate." So notice they profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him. That is nothing more than a dead faith. And then, of course, there is, as I pointed out in James 2 and verse 19, there's the demon's faith. A lot of people think they're saved just simply because they believe in God. And yet the Bible says in the book of James 2 and verse 19, "Thou believest that there is one God, thou doest well. The devils also believe and tremble." And interestingly enough, those who profess to believe in God usually do not tremble before Him, and therefore their faith is not even the faith of a demon, because at least the demons tremble. But obviously and clearly, although the demons believe in God, they certainly are not repentant. They're certainly not in any way honoring or glorifying Him, but yet they do believe in Him. So there is this faith of God's elect, and that faith is a divine faith.
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And it differs very greatly from a dead faith and also a demon's faith. And then the second truth I pointed out is in verse 1, and that is the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness. And I said last week that there is absolutely no excuse for us to live an ungodly life, because the Bible says in 2 Peter 1 in verse 3 that God has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. The second thing I pointed out was this, that godliness is something that must be added to our faith. Faith is the foundation. But when you read 2 Peter 1, verses 3, right on down, he says, "And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith, virtue, and to virtue, knowledge, and to knowledge, patience, and to patience, godliness, and to godliness, brotherly love," and he goes right on down. So all of these things have to be added. And then, of course, the third truth that I pointed out was that godliness can only be accomplished by just pure exercise.
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The Bible says in 1 Timothy 4, verses 7 and 8, "But refuse profane and old wives' fables, but rather 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." And I remind you that the word exercise is the Greek word gumenadzo, from which we derive our words gymnastics and gymnasium. So actually he is saying, "gymnasticize yourself rather unto godliness." And it is true that it takes godly exercise to make sure that our thoughts are biblical and scriptural, that our emotions are controlled and brought in line with the Word of God, in fact, the entirety of our lives. And so he is saying that it must be indeed godly exercise in order for us to attain maturity in the faith.
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So the first two great truths were, number one, the truth of God's elect, the faith of God's elect, and then, secondly, the acknowledging the truth which is after holiness. Now, or godliness, and I pointed out that they are synonymous. When you look at verses 1 through 3 of Titus chapter 1, the truth is that the apostle is setting down in these three verses, in actuality, the sum of the gospel, because he is really dealing with justification, sanctification, the hope of salvation, and the ministry of the Word. And all of this comes, he says, through the acknowledging of the truth.
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Now, let me make a statement, and I want you to think about this. Those who despise truth will never, ever be converted, as long as they continue to despise truth. Remember, Jesus Christ is truth incarnate. And so when you despise truth, you despise Jesus Christ. And when you despise truth, you despise the Word of God, for the Word of God is truth. And you cannot be converted apart from the Word of God and apart from the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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We had a lady years ago, there was a friend of ours, who was dying of cancer. And the interesting thing is this lady, the world would have considered her uneducated, ignorant, and worthless because she only went to the fourth grade. And certainly, she would certainly qualify as an uneducated person. But she certainly knew more of scripture than a lot of the PhDs. And I remember I was in her room and I was praying for her because very obviously she was close to the end.
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And I was holding her hand and as I prayed for her, she had a daughter and she had a son. Now the daughter attended church with us. But the son never, ever darkened the door of the church, period. And so after I prayed for her, I prayed for the daughter, and then I started praying for the son. And this lady jerked her hand out of mine, caught me around the wrist, and said, "No preacher, no."
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She said, "You're wasting your breath to pray for Johnny. He refuses to hear the Word of God, there is no hope for him." I thought to myself, this woman knows more theology than most preachers and that's true. You will never be converted if you do not bow to truth and certainly the Word of God is truth.
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Now today I want to let's continue and let me share with you the other two great truths. The first one is found in verse 2. Look at it carefully. "In hope of eternal life which God that cannot lie promised before the world began."
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Now, an obvious question should arise in your minds when you read this verse. Look at it again, "in hope of eternal life which God that cannot lie promised before the world began." So that logical question would be this, "To whom did God promise eternal life before the world began?" Because very clearly, you and I were not born then, no one was born then, because it was indeed before the world began. So you have to ask yourself, to whom then did He promise eternal life?
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Now there is a similar passage in 2 Timothy chapter 2. So if you look back just a page or two, 2 Timothy chapter 2, and notice, if you would please, verses 8 and 9. Verses 8 and 9, 2 Timothy, chapter 1, verse 8. Paul writes Timothy, and he says, "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me as prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God." Now watch carefully.
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"Who hath saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." Note, if you would, He gave us grace in Christ Jesus before the world began. So, eternal life was indeed promised to us before the world began, but it was promised to us only in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Lord Jesus Christ was given to us by virtue of the eternal or everlasting covenant.
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Now, let me explain that. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, chapter 13, and look, if you would, please, at verses 20 and 21, right before the book of James, Hebrews, chapter 13, verses 20 and 21. Watch this.
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"Now, the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." Now note, if you would, verse 20 talks about the everlasting or the eternal covenant. So here is a covenant that was made in eternity past. With whom then was this covenant made? Well, the only ones that existed then were God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. We only existed in the purpose and counsel of God. So here is basically a summary of this eternal covenant. In the eternal or everlasting covenant, God the Father gave to God the Son a people. He gave Him an elect. He gave Him a herd of sheep. Whatever you want to call them, God the Father gave to God the Son an elect. God the Son, in this eternal covenant, agreed then to become their substitute, their sacrifice, their propitiation and to be their Redeemer and their Reconciler.
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And then God the Holy Spirit agreed to regenerate and convict and convert all those that the Father had given to Jesus Christ and all of those for whom Jesus Christ had died. This basically is that everlasting or the eternal covenant.
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Now, I want you to turn back in your Bibles to the book of Titus chapter 1 because I have to emphasize one word and you have to understand the eternal covenant in one sense of the word to grasp the significance of this. So in Titus 1 in verse 2 the Bible says this, "in hope of eternal life which God that cannot lie promised before the world began." Now I explain the eternal covenant in order that I might point out the word hope. "In hope of eternal life." Now the word hope in the Bible is used differently from the way that we use the word hope today.
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I've heard professors in Jesus Christ make statements like this. "I hope I'm saved. I hope I make it to heaven." And they use the word hope in a similar vein that I would use it when I say, "I hope to go to town tomorrow." Now, when I gave you that illustration, when I say I hope to go to town tomorrow, I don't know whether or not I'm going to go to town tomorrow or not. I would like to, I would hope to, but it is a hope that is based on a contingency. In other words, I hope to go to town tomorrow, weather permitting. If it's raining and storming, obviously I'm not going. I would hope to go health permitting. That is, if I'm sick, I'm not going. I would hope to go mechanically permitting. That is, if my automobile works, it may not work, and I'm not going to walk 10 miles to town. So I'm just simply pointing out the fact every time we use the word hope, we use it based on a contingency.
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I hope to go to town tomorrow if I feel like it, if I have enough money. That's our kind of hope. But that is not the way the word is used in the Bible. In fact, the Greek word elpis simply means an expectation, but more than that, it means a joyful and a confident expectation. It is a joyful and confident expectation that's centered upon the person work of Jesus Christ that was given to us in that great eternal covenant before the world began. Let me show you. He said in verse 2, "in hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie promised before the world began."
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Now, I'm going to come back to that. But look, if you would, in Titus chapter 3, beginning there with verse 3. Titus 3 and verse 3. Note, he says this, "For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers' lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another." That's a pretty good description of what we were before we were converted. He says in verse four, "But after that, the kindness and love of God, our Savior toward man appeared," which would be Jesus Christ, "not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He has shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior," watch, "that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." Now, I hope you notice that in this passage you have the work of God the Father, the work of God the Son, and the work of God the Holy Spirit.
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So here's a good question. Do the works of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit produce a maybe-so salvation or a know-so salvation? Well, clearly it's got to be a know-so salvation. It is not something that is based upon a contingency. Is there some remote possibility that God has not considered that we might not be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life?
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And the answer is absolutely not. The answer is no. If we have been given a divine faith, which leads us to a sanctifying faith, which means that we walk obediently and are pleasing unto the Lord, obviously then we have a sure hope of eternal life, which God promised to us in Jesus Christ before the world ever began.
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Now let me show you even more confirmation. Look in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Hebrews chapter 6. Hebrews chapter 6, and let's begin reading there with verse 13. Hebrews chapter 6 and verse 13. Watch carefully. "For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself, saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. So after that he patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater, and an oath of confirmation is for them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise," that's already been mentioned, the heirs of promise, "the immutability, the unchangeableness of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath."
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"That by two immutable things, the oath and it is impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil. Whether the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus made a high priest forever after the order Melchizedek." Now notice, if you would, he talks about having an anchor. Wow. The anchor is sure and steadfast. Verse 19, "which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast."
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Now the Greek word for sure is the word asphalos, which literally means that which is certain and that which is sure, that which is firm, that which is confirmed. And the word for steadfast is the Greek word bebeos, which literally means firm, sure, stable, trustworthy, and steadfast. So look at verse 19 again. "Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both confirmed, absolutely certain, absolutely sure, and standing absolutely not failing whatsoever." No. He says it is an anchor, and he refers to it as a hope. So our hope then in Jesus Christ is something that is solid.
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He is our forerunner who has entered into heaven, into the presence of God the Father, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father on our behalf. Consequently, there is no doubt as to whether or not we have a solid hope. May I point something else out? The Word of God also refers to Jesus Christ as our head. He is our head, we are his body. If his head is already in the presence of God the Father, for sure his body will be there shortly thereafter as well. So our hope then is sure and steadfast.
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Now, if you would turn over a few pages, Hebrews, James, and go to 1 Peter. And look, if you would, please, beginning there with verse 3, 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 3. Let me show you something else about this hope. To show you that it is not a dead hope, it is not something based upon a contingency that God has not foreseen. No. Look what he says, 1 Peter 1 verse 3, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to His abundant mercy, hath begotten us again into a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept," note, "who are kept by the power of God through faith, unto salvation,"
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"ready to be revealed in the last time." Now, the Bible tells you in verse 3 that we've been begotten again into a lively hope. The Greek word refers to that which is living, that which is alive. It is not a dead hope. No, it is something that has breath and life. And notice, if you would please, He has begotten us again into a living hope, how? By the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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What has He purchased for us? Verse 4, "to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you." How do we know that we will make it? Here is how, "who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time." Obviously, this is no dead hope. This is something God has given us as an anchor of our soul both sure and steadfast, a solid living hope. Now remember, if you would go back, because he not only says this in Hebrews 6, but I want you to go back to Titus chapter 1 and verse 2. Look what he says, "in hope of eternal life which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began." You remember the Bible says, in Hebrews 6, by two immutable things, and one of those immutable things was it is impossible for God to lie. Now I want you to listen carefully, because I want to give you a quote by Charles Haddon Spurgeon, and he's speaking about this, the fact that God cannot lie.
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Here's what he said. "The word lie here includes, beyond its ordinary meaning, the thought of change. So that when we read that God cannot lie, we understand by it not only that he cannot say that which is untrue, but that having said something which is true, he never changes from it and does not by any possibility, after his purpose, retract his word. This is very consolatory to the Christian, that whatever God has said in the divine purpose is never changed. The decrees of God were not written upon sand, but upon the eternal brass of his unchangeable nature. We may truly say of the sealed book of his decrees, hath he said and shall he not do it? Hath he purposed it and shall it not come to pass?" So he's saying that it's not that God cannot just utter an untruth. Whatever God says is truth and He will never change from it. He will never retract it. He will never take it back. So just as surely as God is true, so our hope is in Jesus Christ and He cannot fail.
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He will not change and He certainly will not deny Himself. Now just as the faith of God's elect leads to the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness, the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness then leads to an hope of eternal life which God, that cannot lie, has promised before the world began. So, let me ask you this question. Now, we understand, based upon verse 1, the faith of God's elect. We know that it's not a dead faith, it's not a demon's faith, it's a divine faith. We also understand now the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness. We also now understand in hope of eternal life which God that cannot lie has promised before the world began. So here is my question. How do we know the truth of these doctrines?
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How did this come to our knowledge and understanding? Well look in verse 3, because here's the fourth great truth. "But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Savior." So here is the fourth great truth, and that great truth is a manifestation of the truth through preaching. Now, I want you to look at verse 3 again. He said, "But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching."
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I suppose that everyone knows that between the Old Testament and the New Testament, you had 400 years of silence. God did not speak. They had the truth of the Old Covenant, but there was no truth of the New Covenant until the appointed time came. So when you look at verse 3, and he says, "but hath in due times manifested," the phrase "due times" then refers to the proper time or the appointed time or the season of which God has eternally purposed and has seen good to the divine wisdom.
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Now, we understand this in light of other passages. May I remind you of the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. So I could ask you this question, when was Jesus Christ born? And the answer is, exactly when God the Father ordained Him to be born into this world. That's why the Bible says in Galatians 4 verses 4 and 5, "But when the fullness of time has come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." But listen now, "but when the fullness of times." Or we could say, when due time came. In other words, Jesus Christ came exactly at the appointed day and hour. May I also point out this, the same truth is found in Acts chapter 2 and verse 1. Because the Bible says there, "when the day of Pentecost was fully come." What does that mean, when the day of Pentecost was fully come? It means it came at the exact day and hour that God had ordained it.
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Yes, it came from the pictures of the Old Testament types. It came because of the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Yes, but it came fully when God had ordained it, when God had appointed it, in due time. It did not come too early. It did not come too late. Jesus Christ did not come too early. He did not come too late. Everything was right on time. And by the way, you know, our Lord basically started His ministry, and it is recorded in Mark chapter 1 and verse 15, where the Word of God says this, "and saying, The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand."
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"Repent ye and believe the gospel. The time is fulfilled." What's he saying? The appointed time has come. The due time is here. The season is absolutely now. So, Jesus Christ is saying, here is the good news. And may I remind you that Jesus Christ himself is the good news. The gospel is not facts about Jesus Christ. The gospel is Jesus Christ. Look back in verse two of Titus, or verse three in Titus chapter one. He said, "but hath in due times manifested his word through preaching." So here's the good question that I posed earlier.
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How do I learn about the faith of God's elect? How do I learn about the acknowledging the truth, which is after godliness? How do I learn about the hope of eternal life? I could ask these questions another way. How do I learn about justification, sanctification, election, predestination? How do I learn about glorification? How do I learn about any doctrine in the Word of God? And the answer is found in verse 3, "but hath in due times manifested His Word through preaching." Now listen to me.
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I want to make a statement and I want you to think about this one. There are truths in the Bible that you will never understand except through preaching. How can I say that? Does that mean you cannot read your Bible? Of course not. You must read your Bible. You need to read your Bible every day. I encourage you. Does it mean you cannot study? Of course you can study. And you must study. I encourage that. You need to know how to use lexicons, concordances, commentaries, maps. I encourage all of that. But the truth of the matter is this, there are some things that you are never ever going to learn except through the preaching of the Word of God. How can I say that?
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For instance, he said, "but hath in due times manifested His Word." And the word manifested is the Greek word phanerao, which means to reveal, to make known, to make known that which before was unknown or unseen or not understood. It is basically a teaching of the Word of God.
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Now, listen to me very carefully. When you study the Scriptures, you're going to find three great truths. Number one, God the Father ordained the preaching of the Gospel. Number two, God the Son Himself engaged in the preaching of the gospel. And number three, over and over in scripture, we are told that the Holy Spirit of God is covenantally engaged to honor the preaching of the gospel. You remember that passage in Isaiah 55, where God said, "My word shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that whereinto I send it, and that whereinto I purpose it." So God the Father then has set up the ordinance of the preaching and proclaiming of His word. Those that were sent by him, listen to verse 3 again, "but hath in due times manifested his word through the preaching which is committed unto me," said Paul, "according to the commandment of God our Savior."
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Now I want you to turn in your Bibles back to the book of Ephesians, Galatians, Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 4, and let's begin reading at verse 11 and let me show you something. Ephesians 4 verse 11. Here's what the scripture says, "And he," that is the Lord Jesus Christ, because he's the one that has ascended on high and the Bible says in verse 8 that he gave gifts unto men. Now watch verse 11, here's some of those gifts, "and he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastor teachers." Actually pastor teachers are one and the same. But notice he gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastor teachers. So the question has to be asked, why did he give these gifts?
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Well, look in verse 12, "for the perfecting of the saints," that is the maturing of the saints, "for the work of the ministry, for the edifying," that is the building up and the strengthening of the body of Christ. How long will this preaching continue, these gifts continue? "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect or mature man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."
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Now watch, "that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, and by the slight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head even Christ. From whom the whole body fitly joined together, and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, making increase of the body unto the edifying," or the building up, "and the strengthening of itself in love."
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Now, let me ask you a question. Why in the world did God give pastor teachers? Why did He give apostles? And the answer is, "for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Jesus Christ." In other words, it takes preaching and teaching for the saints of God to be mature, to be built up, to be strengthened in the faith. It takes preaching for them to grow up in Christ. It takes preaching for them to cease being children and to be able to withstand the deceivers who are ready to deceive them on every hand.
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And so let me put it to you very plainly. You will never be the Christian that you should be without the preaching of the Word of God. God gives His men, His preachers, that which His people need. He leads, He guides, He directs, He prepares the hearts and minds of His servants to feed His sheep. That's why in the book of Amos, chapter 3 and verse 7, the Word of God says this, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing but He revealed this secret unto his servants the prophets." In other words, God says, I will put in their mouth what they must say and I will tell the people through them. That's exactly what he's saying. Now, when you stop and think about these men that God gave gifts to, this is why I said earlier there are some things you'll never learn except through preaching.
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We have some individuals in our church that are now retired. Dr. Bowen is a retired OBGYN. I have no idea how many babies he's delivered, but that's what he did all of his life. I have never, ever delivered a baby. I haven't even been around a baby when he's been born. So now if there's an emergency, and here is a pregnant mother-to-be, about to have her child, and she's not around her own doctor, and she has to choose between me and Dr. Bowen, I wonder who she'd choose. If she has any sense, she's going to choose Dr. Bowen, because that was his life. He's bound to know more about delivering babies than me.
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You follow what I'm saying? Dr. Holmes in our church is a retired veterinarian. Have I doctored animals? Yes. Have I sewed up and stitched up animals? Yes. I'm sure my stitches were not nearly as neat as Dr. Holmes, but I have done it. But if you have an animal that you love, and that animal needs help, had you rather call on me or Dr. Holmes, who's done this all of his life. Now, the point I'm trying to make is this. If I want to know something about delivering babies, I'm going to ask Dr. Bowen. Because that's what he's given his life for. He's done it all of his life. If I want to know something about animal husbandry and dealing with animals, I'm going to ask Dr. Holmes. Because that's been his life. The point I'm trying to make is this. Yes, you may read your Bible. Yes, you may study.
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But do you realize the men that God calls and the men that God sends have spent their entire lives studying so that they can teach what God gives them to teach. All I'm trying to say is this. Have you considered the fact that each Lord's day God, through his preachers, is setting out a meal for you. It's a meal that you're going to need through the week, maybe through the month, maybe even sometimes in the future. It's a truth that God has ordained for you to hear, that you may learn, that you may apply to your life and the lives of others. And if you are not present when that meal is put out, you will go hungry. Here's a good illustration.
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I've talked to people in times past that had some severe problems. I've also talked to people who had some very serious questions and were needing some answers. And so what I would do is I would go and I would study and I would research and I would come up with a message that would give them the answers that they wanted, not just to their questions, but to those who had the severe problems. And I would study and I'd prepare and I'd go there to church so that they could receive the answer and they were not there that day.
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You see what I'm saying? You cannot miss and continue to grow. Let me show you what I'm talking about. I want you to look in your Bibles to 2 Timothy chapter 2. I couldn't quote this, but I do want you to see this. Let me make a statement. God has never called me and He's never called any man to chase people down and cram truth down their throats. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 2 and verse 2, Paul tells Timothy, "And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also." Faithful men are men that are present, eager, willing, and ready to receive truth. They're not men that are lackadaisical, slothful, off and on, up and down, and undependable. In other words, Paul said, whatever I taught you, Timothy, you teach faithful men. What are faithful men? They're men that are dependable, men that you can count on, men that are going to be there when they need to be there.
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So it's not my responsibility to chase people down and cram truth down their throat. It's their responsibility to be faithful to the preaching and teaching of the Word of God.
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Now let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Colossians chapter 1 and look at verse 28. Here are three things that are absolutely necessary for maturity in the faith. You will never ever be mature without these three things. Look what he said. Colossians 1 and verse 28. Paul says, "whom we preach," talking about Jesus Christ, we preach Christ, "whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect or mature in Christ Jesus." Now, if you want to be presented mature in Christ Jesus, here are three things that are absolutely necessary in your life. Preaching, warning, or nutheteo, nuthetic confrontation, and teaching. Teaching in wisdom, God's Word.
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Isn't it strange, since I talked about truth, how most people do not want truth. When we talk about preaching, the next thing is warning every man, that is, nuthetic confrontation. What is nuthetic confrontation? The word is used a number of times in the Bible. A nuthetic confrontation is like if Gary's doing something wrong. And when I say wrong, I mean contrary to the Word of God. I could come to him and say, "Now, brother, you ought not to be doing this. Here is what God says. Here is something to avoid. And here is something you can do in place of it that would be pleasing in the Lord." You know, that is a nuthetic confrontation. And we're to speak the truth in love. But you know, you try to rebuke in love, which the Bible says we're to do as well, admonish, which the Bible says we're to do as well. And by the way, the word admonish, the word confront, or warn here, it's all nuthetic confrontation. But when you try to confront someone, usually, even a professing Christian, you know what attitude they take?
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"Who are you to talk to me like that? Who are you to tell me what's right and what's wrong?" Well, my answer is I'm a representative of the Most High God. I'm an ambassador of Jesus Christ. Yes, I have the right to tell you that. Because the Bible tells me to exhort, rebuke, with all longsuffering and doctrine. Well, that's it. But I'm just simply saying, every Christian has that responsibility. But when you refuse to hear preaching, when you refuse to be nuthetically confronted, when you refuse to be taught, you're never going to be mature in Jesus Christ. You're never.
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And these three things are absolutely necessary. Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to First Thessalonians, Chapter 2, because I'm going to be preaching on this verse in the not too distant future. But notice, if you would, 1 Thessalonians 2, look in verse 13. Here is where we need to be. 1 Thessalonians 2, verse 13. Look what the scripture says. Paul wrote, "For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because when you receive the word of God which you heard of us, you received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth. The Word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." So here's what Paul is telling those Thessalonians. When you receive the Word which we preach, you didn't say, "that's Paul's opinion. That opinion belongs to Timothy, or that opinion belongs to Silas, or that opinion belongs to Barnabas."
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No, no, no, no, no. They said, when we preach, you received it as it was in truth, the Word of God. Not as the Word of man. So let me put it to you like this. Do I have opinions? Yes. Do I know everything? No. But, if I expound a scripture and explain a scripture and apply the scripture, that is not my opinion. That is the Word of God. That is the truth of God and that is how that is to be received not as, "well, that's just what Brother Weaver thinks." No, no, no. If it's from the scripture, it is what God says and not what I think. So here he is telling us very clearly that we have this great truth, and that is the manifestation of the truth through preaching.
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Now, let me try to tie some things together and make some applications, and I want you to think with me. The first one is this. Your attitude toward the preaching of the Word of God reveals your attitude toward God. You know, our Lord said over and over through the Scripture, "He that has ears to hear, let him hear." So if you're unwilling to hear the Word of God, you're unwilling to hear God. If you're unwilling to receive the truth of Jesus Christ, you're unwilling to receive Jesus Christ. And interestingly, if you would read Acts chapter 13, when you get home, there are different responses to preaching. If you read Acts 13, you'll see that some got mad at Paul's preaching. And then some got glad, and the Gentiles were glad when they said, "Lo, we turn to the Gentiles." Yeah. So your attitude toward the preaching and teaching the word of God reveals your attitude toward God. And our Lord himself tied these two things together in John 12 and verse 48 when he said this, "He that rejecteth me," since he's the living word, "and receiveth not my word," that is the written word, "the same hath one that judges him in the last day, even the word which I've spoken."
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So very clearly then, your attitude toward the preaching and teaching of the word of God reveals your attitude toward God and toward his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Here's the second application. It is a serious matter to be unfaithful to the preaching of the Word of God. Once a meal is missed, the meal is missed. That's all there is to it. The truth that is brought on one Sunday may not be brought again for a long time, maybe a year, maybe two years.
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In fact, I was talking to people this week twice and explained a message to them that I probably preached 40 years ago, and I had not even thought about it until they asked me a question. But you see, just like physical growth requires consistent, constant nourishment, likewise spiritual growth requires consistent, constant nourishment. And you start missing meals, you're going to get anemic. You start missing preaching, where the Word of God is preached, you're going to get spiritually anemic.
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This is one reason we have so many, as one fellow says, "Baptist midgets, Methodist midgets, and puny Presbyterians." Because they've missed so many meals, they have no idea. You remember that passage in Hebrews chapter 5, where the apostle said, "I wanted to give you some meat, but now I've got to feed you with milk." In other words, instead of progressing, you regress. You start missing the preaching of the Word of God. You're going to start going backwards. I've observed this for years. People start getting upset with the preacher or upset with some doctrine or upset with somebody.
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They may be in the front pew or in the front few pews. Next thing you know, they're in the middle pew. And the next thing you know, they're on the last pew. And then after that, they're out the door and they don't come back. When folks start sitting on that last pew, when they're used to sitting up front and up close, better look out. Because they're going to be easing out. Why? Because they are upset with the preaching and teaching of the Word of God and they're going to be missing meals and they are going to be midgets, that is for sure. Now, I want you to turn to one last passage. I want you to turn to the book of Jeremiah chapter 3. Jeremiah chapter 3. Because this is not only a warning to the children of God, a warning to Christians, it's also in one sense the word a very real warning to pastors and preachers. Because God has ordained pastors and preachers, teachers, to feed his sheep. Read John 21.
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What did he tell Peter? "If you love me, feed my sheep." So every pastor, every teacher is going to give an account to the great shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. There are so many preachers in the world today, and even so many pastors. So the question you have to ask is this, how can I tell whether or not a pastor is really called of God and sent of God. It's really very simple, it's really very easy.
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I know that there are a multitude of men that have entered the ministry just simply as a vocation. They consider it an easy job. It's not, I can assure you, but maybe it is the way they do it or the way they don't do it, I don't know. I've told you before, when I was a boy, I wanted to be a preacher. But the only reason I wanted to be a preacher is because they only had to work on Sunday and Wednesday and you could play the rest of the week. But I found out it's not like that, you know.
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So anyhow, but here's how you can tell. Look in Jeremiah chapter 3 and verse 15. Look what the Bible says. How can you tell whether a man's called of God or not? Verse 15. God said, "And I will give you pastors." Watch, "according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding." God's preachers feed His sheep, and they do so with knowledge and understanding, and that is the knowledge of the Word of God and the understanding of the Word of God. Not their knowledge and not their understanding, but they feed the sheep of God.
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So here are four great truths. There's the truth of God's elect, the faith of God's elect, that truth. There's an acknowledging of the truth, which is after godliness. There is the truth of the hope of eternal life. And there's the truth of the manifestation of truth through the preaching of the word of God. We need to learn to value each one of these truths and to hold them close to our hearts, because these are absolutely foundational and fundamental truths.
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Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee. We thank you for your word. We thank you for the truths that you have given us in your word. And we ask, Father, that you would teach us, build us up in the most holy faith, make us holy, make us godly, make us obedient, and enable us, Lord, to embrace that sure, steadfast, solid, living hope that we have in Jesus Christ, our Lord, and whose name we pray. Amen.
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so so
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T19:01:49Z

Four Great Truths - Part 2 of 2

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this sermon, Pastor John Weaver continues his exposition of Titus 1:1-3, focusing on the third and fourth 'great truths': the hope of eternal life promised by God before the world began, and the manifestation of truth through preaching. He explains that biblical hope is a confident expectation, not a contingency, anchored in the eternal covenant among the persons of the Trinity. He then emphasizes that God has ordained preaching as the primary means to reveal and apply these truths, and that faithful attendance to preaching is essential for spiritual growth and maturity.

Review of the First Two Great Truths

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 he hath committed unto me according to the commandment of God our

Savior." You remember I began the message last week by talking about truth. And certainly the Word of God is truth and our Lord Jesus Christ is truth.

Scripture Reading — James 2:19, 26

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

Scripture Reading — 2 Peter 1:3-7

"And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith, virtue, and to virtue, knowledge, and to knowledge, patience, and to patience, godliness, and to godliness, brotherly love,"

and he goes right on down. So all of these things have to be added. And then, of course, the third truth that I pointed out was that godliness can only be accomplished by just pure exercise.

The Bible says in 1 Timothy 4, verses 7 and 8,

Scripture Reading — 1 Timothy 4:7-8

"But refuse profane and old wives' fables, but rather 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."

Introduction to the Third Great Truth: The Hope of Eternal Life

Reading Titus 1:2, Weaver introduces the hope of eternal life promised by God before the world began, raising the question of to whom it was promised.

The Eternal Covenant and the Nature of Biblical Hope

Weaver explains that the promise was made in the eternal covenant among the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He distinguishes biblical hope (a joyful, confident expectation) from modern contingent hope.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 13:20-21

"Now, the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."

Now, I'm going to come back to that. But look, if you would, in Titus chapter 3, beginning there with verse 3. Titus 3 and verse 3. Note, he says this,

Scripture Reading — Titus 3:3-7

"For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers' lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another."

That's a pretty good description of what we were before we were converted. He says in verse four,

Scripture Reading — Titus 3:3-7

"But after that, the kindness and love of God, our Savior toward man appeared,"

which would be Jesus Christ,

Scripture Reading — Titus 3:3-7

"not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He has shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,"

watch,

Scripture Reading — Titus 3:3-7

"that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

Now, I hope you notice that in this passage you have the work of God the Father, the work of God the Son, and the work of God the Holy Spirit.

The Certainty of the Believer's Hope

Using Hebrews 6 and 1 Peter 1, Weaver demonstrates that the believer's hope is sure, steadfast, and living, anchored in God's unchangeable promise and Christ's resurrection.

What has He purchased for us? Verse 4,

Scripture Reading — 1 Peter 1:3-5

"to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you."

How do we know that we will make it? Here is how,

Scripture Reading — 1 Peter 1:3-5

"who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time."

God's Immutability and the Security of Hope

Citing Spurgeon, Weaver emphasizes that God cannot lie or change His purpose, making the hope of eternal life absolutely certain for those with divine faith.

The Fourth Great Truth: Manifestation Through Preaching

Weaver introduces Titus 1:3, explaining that God manifests His word through preaching at the appointed time, and that preaching is the divinely ordained means to reveal these truths.

Scripture Reading — Galatians 4:4-5

"But when the fullness of time has come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons."

The Necessity of Preaching for Spiritual Maturity

Using Ephesians 4 and Colossians 1, Weaver argues that preaching, warning, and teaching are essential for believers to grow, be edified, and avoid deception.

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 4:11-16

" Actually pastor teachers are one and the same. But notice he gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastor teachers. So the question has to be asked, why did he give these gifts? Well, look in verse 12, "

for the perfecting of the saints," that is the maturing of the saints, "for the work of the ministry, for the edifying,

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 4:11-16

" that is the building up and the strengthening of the body of Christ. How long will this preaching continue, these gifts continue? "

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect or mature man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."

Applications: Attitude Toward Preaching and Faithfulness

Weaver applies the truths by stating that one's attitude toward preaching reveals one's attitude toward God, and that missing preaching leads to spiritual anemia and regression.

Identifying God-Called Pastors

From Jeremiah 3:15, Weaver teaches that true pastors feed God's sheep with knowledge and understanding of the Word, not their own opinions.

So anyhow, but here's how you can tell. Look in Jeremiah chapter 3 and verse 15. Look what the Bible says. How can you tell whether a man's called of God or not? Verse 15. God said,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 3:15

"And I will give you pastors."

Watch,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 3:15

"according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding."

Four Great Truths - Part 2 of 2

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	aMsV2M7RdmE
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Assurance, Providence, and Life in the Spirit: Walking With God
Genre	Sermon
Date	2021-08-17
Dictation Name
Book	Book 178: Four Great Truths — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	70

Lecture Guide

Outline

Review of the First Two Great Truths: Weaver recaps the first two truths from Titus 1:1: the faith of God's elect (a divine faith, not dead or demonic) and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness (requiring exercise and addition to faith).
Introduction to the Third Great Truth: The Hope of Eternal Life: Reading Titus 1:2, Weaver introduces the hope of eternal life promised by God before the world began, raising the question of to whom it was promised.
The Eternal Covenant and the Nature of Biblical Hope: Weaver explains that the promise was made in the eternal covenant among the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He distinguishes biblical hope (a joyful, confident expectation) from modern contingent hope.
The Certainty of the Believer's Hope: Using Hebrews 6 and 1 Peter 1, Weaver demonstrates that the believer's hope is sure, steadfast, and living, anchored in God's unchangeable promise and Christ's resurrection.
God's Immutability and the Security of Hope: Citing Spurgeon, Weaver emphasizes that God cannot lie or change His purpose, making the hope of eternal life absolutely certain for those with divine faith.
The Fourth Great Truth: Manifestation Through Preaching: Weaver introduces Titus 1:3, explaining that God manifests His word through preaching at the appointed time, and that preaching is the divinely ordained means to reveal these truths.
The Necessity of Preaching for Spiritual Maturity: Using Ephesians 4 and Colossians 1, Weaver argues that preaching, warning, and teaching are essential for believers to grow, be edified, and avoid deception.
Applications: Attitude Toward Preaching and Faithfulness: Weaver applies the truths by stating that one's attitude toward preaching reveals one's attitude toward God, and that missing preaching leads to spiritual anemia and regression.
Identifying God-Called Pastors: From Jeremiah 3:15, Weaver teaches that true pastors feed God's sheep with knowledge and understanding of the Word, not their own opinions.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

The hope of eternal life is not a maybe-so salvation but a know-so salvation.

Because the works of the Father, Son, and Spirit are perfect and God cannot lie, the hope given in the eternal covenant is absolutely certain for those with divine faith.

Weaver argues from Titus 3:3-7 that the triune work produces a sure hope, and from Hebrews 6:13-20 that God's oath and immutability make hope an anchor sure and steadfast.

Preaching is the divinely appointed means to reveal and apply the truths of the gospel.

Titus 1:3 states that God manifests His word through preaching; this is not optional but commanded, and through it believers learn doctrines like election, sanctification, and glorification.

Weaver points to the phrase 'in due times manifested his word through preaching' and connects it to God's timing in Galatians 4:4-5 and Acts 2:1.

Without preaching, warning, and teaching, believers cannot reach maturity.

Colossians 1:28 lists preaching, warning (nuthetic confrontation), and teaching as essential to present every man perfect in Christ; rejecting these stunts growth.

Weaver exegetes Colossians 1:28 and explains nuthetic confrontation, arguing that refusal to hear these leads to perpetual immaturity.

Faithfulness to preaching is a mark of a true disciple.

2 Timothy 2:2 instructs Timothy to commit truth to faithful men; faithful men are dependable, present, and eager to receive truth, not sporadic or slothful.

Weaver contrasts faithful men with those who are lackadaisical and undependable, emphasizing that God does not call preachers to chase down the unfaithful.

Scripture References

Titus 1:1-3: The primary text of the sermon, containing the four great truths: faith of God's elect, acknowledging truth after godliness, hope of eternal life, and manifestation through preaching.
Romans 1:25: Referenced to show that some change the truth of God into a lie, illustrating that many prefer lies over truth.
James 2:19, 26: Used to describe dead faith and demonic faith, contrasting them with the divine faith of God's elect.
Titus 1:16: Cited to show that some profess to know God but deny Him by their works, exemplifying dead faith.
2 Peter 1:3-7: Referenced to show that godliness must be added to faith and that God has given all things for life and godliness.
1 Timothy 4:7-8: Used to explain that godliness requires exercise (gymnasticize), just as physical exercise profits little but godliness profits all things.
2 Timothy 1:8-9: Shows that grace was given in Christ Jesus before the world began, supporting the eternal covenant.
Hebrews 13:20-21: Mentions the blood of the everlasting covenant, confirming the eternal covenant made in eternity past.
Titus 3:3-7: Demonstrates the triune work of salvation leading to the hope of eternal life, a know-so salvation.
Hebrews 6:13-20: Explains that God's oath and immutability make the believer's hope an anchor sure and steadfast.
1 Peter 1:3-5: Describes the living hope through Christ's resurrection and the inheritance kept by God's power.
Galatians 4:4-5: Used to illustrate that Christ came in the fullness of time, paralleling the 'due times' of Titus 1:3.
Acts 2:1: Referenced to show that Pentecost came at the exact appointed time, supporting the concept of 'due times'.
Mark 1:15: Jesus declared the time is fulfilled, indicating the appointed time for the gospel.
Ephesians 4:11-16: Explains that Christ gave pastor-teachers for the perfecting of the saints and edifying of the body until we reach unity and maturity.
Colossians 1:28: States that preaching, warning, and teaching are necessary to present every man perfect in Christ.
1 Thessalonians 2:13: Shows that the Thessalonians received the preached word not as man's word but as God's Word, which works in believers.
John 12:48: Jesus ties rejection of His words to rejection of Himself, showing that attitude toward preaching reflects attitude toward God.
Jeremiah 3:15: God promises to give pastors according to His heart who feed with knowledge and understanding, a test of true calling.
Amos 3:7: Cited to show that God reveals His secrets to His servants the prophets, supporting the role of preaching.

Historical References

Charles Haddon Spurgeon: Weaver quotes Spurgeon on God's inability to lie, emphasizing that God never changes His purpose or retracts His word.

Important Quotes

Those who despise truth will never, ever be converted, as long as they continue to despise truth.

Emphasizes the absolute necessity of embracing truth (Christ and Scripture) for salvation.

In hope of eternal life which God that cannot lie promised before the world began.

The key verse introducing the third great truth, highlighting God's veracity and the pre-temporal promise.

The word hope in the Bible is used differently from the way that we use the word hope today.

Clarifies the biblical definition of hope as confident expectation versus modern contingent hope.

Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast.

Quotes Hebrews 6:19 to illustrate the certainty and stability of the believer's hope.

But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Savior.

The verse introducing the fourth great truth, establishing preaching as God's ordained method of revelation.

You will never be the Christian that you should be without the preaching of the Word of God.

A strong assertion of the necessity of preaching for spiritual growth and maturity.

When you receive the word of God which you heard of us, you received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth. The Word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

Quotes 1 Thessalonians 2:13 to show the proper reception of preaching as God's authoritative Word.

Your attitude toward the preaching of the Word of God reveals your attitude toward God.

A key application linking one's response to preaching with one's relationship to God.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does the biblical definition of hope differ from the common modern usage, and why is this distinction important for assurance of salvation?

[Context]

Weaver contrasts contingent hope with the confident expectation based on God's promise.

[Question]

What is the eternal covenant, and how does it provide a foundation for the certainty of our hope?

[Context]

Weaver explains the covenant among the Trinity before the world began.

[Question]

Why does Weaver insist that some truths can only be learned through preaching, and how does this challenge the idea that personal Bible study alone is sufficient?

[Context]

Weaver argues from Titus 1:3 and Ephesians 4 that preaching is a divinely ordained means of revelation and edification.

[Question]

In what ways does missing the preaching of God's Word lead to spiritual anemia and regression, according to the sermon?

[Context]

Weaver uses the analogy of missing meals and references Hebrews 5 to warn against backsliding.

[Question]

How can we discern whether a pastor is truly called by God, based on Jeremiah 3:15 and the sermon's teaching?

[Context]

Weaver states that God-called pastors feed the sheep with knowledge and understanding of the Word.

[Question]

What does it mean to receive preaching 'not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God,' and how should this affect our listening?

[Context]

Weaver expounds 1 Thessalonians 2:13, emphasizing that scriptural preaching carries divine authority.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T12:14:50Z