Paul's appointment as a preacher, apostle, and teacher of the Gentiles, despite suffering, leads him to declare his unashamed confidence in the gospel. This confidence stems from his personal knowledge of God and his persuasion that God is able to keep what has been committed to Him. The sermon emphasizes that this committal includes not only the salvation of one's soul but also the dedication of one's life and ministry to God's service. Ultimately, it calls listeners to place the same complete trust in Christ for both salvation and the vindication of their work.
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Greetings, radio friends, in the ever-precious name of the Lord Jesus. We come to you again with the word of God and turn to our epistle of Timothy, the second letter to Timothy, and read today verses eleven and twelve of chapter one. The words of the beloved apostle Paul stating, Where unto, that is, unto the gospel, I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For the which cause I also suffer these things. Nevertheless, I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."
May God bless these words as we meditate upon them from this great epistle that lightens the path of a believer in the darkening days of Christianity at the end of this dispensation. We have been touching upon the challenge of God in the last days of Christianity in chapter one of this wonderful epistle to Second Timothy. Guidance in the darkness of the last days is given to us specifically in this wonderful letter written by Paul to his son in the faith when even in the days of young Timothy there was discouragement, there were tears, there was disappointment in relation to the divine testimony of God upon the earth.
It is a strange but it is a true fact that whatever testimony God entrusts into the hands of men, there appears human failure. Men seem unable to carry out and to fulfill the testimony of God according to His divine will and according to the fullness of His divine truth. Nevertheless, there are those, thank God, who may be concerned and exercised in relation to the testimony of our Lord in the midst of human failure. Apostasy is not a new experience in the divine testimony of God upon the earth.
Throughout every age, God's testimony upon the earth has certainly manifested in the midst of it, unquestionably and unfortunately, human failure. But yet there has ever been, as God has written through Isaiah, This precious fact, when the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of God shall raise a testimony against him. And thus we thank him for the encouragement of Paul's words even today. Now Paul has been giving encouragement and seeking to stir up the hearts, the conscience, as well as the gift of young Timothy and even ours today.
And he has made it known that the purposes of God are clear and that they are fruitful and they will be eternally manifested through the glorious gospel. And as Paul approaches the closing words of our study today in verses eleven and twelve, he declares himself faithful to that gospel which was entrusted to him. He was appointed by God to be a preacher. He was appointed by God, an apostle. He was appointed by God as a teacher of the nations. We give thanks to God for the great testimony of the beloved apostle Paul.
Appointed a preacher of the gospel, appointed an apostle of Jesus Christ, and appointed a teacher to the nations. Would to God that the nations Look to God that all the world would listen to the beloved Apostle Paul. But notice the confidence of his words as we meditate upon verse twelve. As he thus declares the faithlessness of men surrounding him, he still reiterates the fact, for the which cause of the gospel that I preach, the which cause for the gospel that I am an apostle for, and a teacher of the nations, For the which cause I also am suffer these things, and nevertheless I am not ashamed.
What confidence that he places in that message and greater still in the person who gave him the message to preach? I am not ashamed. You remember that in verse eight, and let me quote the words, Paul says to Timothy, Be not thou therefore ashamed. of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner. And Paul declares himself not to be ashamed of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Well are his words brought before our mind, as we think of them in Romans one, verse sixteen, when he declares, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.
For it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the Jews first, and also to the Greeks. Not ashamed? My radio friend, I wonder if you can say with Paul, I am not ashamed of the testimony of the Lord. We are living in days, as we've already stated, when men are ashamed, as well as afraid, to identify themselves with Christ. And there are Christians, and I speak it, advisably, and without reservation, yet I speak to say, there are Christians today who are ashamed of the testimony of our Lord and the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But note, as Paul declares, I'm not ashamed, and he states the reason. for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. Note the words of confidence, and note the place of his confidence. I know whom I have believed. I believe on him with utmost confidence. Whom I am trusting. O beloved, these words have spoken of our blessed Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ.
He has just in the preceding verses told us that that Saviour appeared upon the earth, that Saviour annulled the power of death, that Saviour brought life eternal and incorruptibility to light through the Gospel. And he says, of that one who appeared and who abolished or annulled the power of sin and death and hell and brought eternal life into the grasp, within the grasp of human hearts and even minds, he says, I'm not ashamed of him. Ashamed of Jesus, can it be that mortal man would be ashamed of thee?
Oh, my radio friend, Paul says, my confidence is this. I put my confidence in him whom I have believed upon. And he rests the confidence of his soul. He rests not only the confidence of his soul's salvation, but he rests the confidence of his work that he had done for that blessed one who had saved him. I know whom I have believed. And with what confidence he leads the whole matter of his work, as well as the redemption of his soul, in the hands of that blessed Savior?
Oh, would it be God that you and I had the same confidence? Many of us rejoice that we know we believe upon him. But how about our life? How about the work that we have done for him? Are we still able to stand unashamed on the teachings of the beloved Apostle Paul? Are we able to stand unashamed of this blessed person who is the theme of that great message of the gospel and the teaching of its ministry? God grant that we can. But note that Paul goes on to say, I'm not only unashamed because I know whom I have believed, but I am persuaded blessed persuasion, that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
and in the confidence that all that he had, and all that he had done, was resting safely in the hands of the one to whom he had committed it, Paul leaves the whole matter of eternity, even the salvation of his soul, not only for time, but for eternity to come. He's able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. My radio friend, I want you to think of two facts that are involved in this committal of the Apostle Paul, persuaded as he was, in the ability of the Son of God to keep that entrusted committal.
What was it? First of all, as already stated, there was the committal of his soul's salvation. That certainly is involved, and that certainly must be the first committal of any soul. to entrust to the person and to the work of the Son of God the committal of the soul salvation. My beloved radio friend, may I ask, is your soul entirely committed to the person and to the work of our Lord Jesus Christ for salvation? There's no other one that you can commit your soul. When the Lord Jesus died upon the cross, Some of the last words that he ever uttered were these.
As he prayed to the Father in the Gospel of Luke chapter twenty-three. Father, into thy hands, I commit my spirit. When Stephen was stoned to death, as they were stoning him, likewise Stephen said, Into thy hands I commend my spirit. I asked my fellow friend, listening to this message, is your soul entirely committed into the hands of the Son of God. If not, please do it today. Come as a guilty, lost, deserving, hell-deserving sinner in repentance and faith, and put your soul in his keeping. But Paul not only entrusted his soul, he entrusted all the ministry of his life from the day of his salvation.
and believe that what he had done for the Lord he would face in that coming day of glory, and Christ would indeed absolve him and vindicate his work for the Lord. Oh, that you and I could say the same. Our time has gone, but I pray that you will know and commit all to this same blessed one as did the Apostle. Let us pray. Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and to the Spirit of God we commend the blessing and the ministry of this thy word in his own precious and worthy name, and for his glory. Amen.