The sermon explores the recurring phrase 'for this' in the book of 1st Timothy, emphasizing the importance of living a manner of life that is good and acceptable in the sight of God. It highlights the need for Christians to focus on their own actions and obedience to God's will, rather than being overly concerned with societal trends. The sermon also discusses the concept of God's will and man's will, emphasizing the need for individuals to align their will with God's will. Additionally, it examines the meaning of the phrase 'who will have all men to be saved' and how it relates to God's desire for all people to come to the knowledge of the truth. The sermon concludes by emphasizing the importance of evangelism and the invitation for all to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Bible says, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. The first two words of that verse, for this, it shows up a lot in the book of 1st Timothy. In chapter number one we see for this calls I obtained mercy chapter number two for this is good and acceptable we're looking at that now chapter three we'll see that this is a true saying for a chapter four we'll see again this is and then it talks about a faithful saying chapter number four, it says, we're in doing this, thou shall both save thyself. And it, and it goes on, but it's, it's, this is, or for this, it's very simply, it's opposed to that. It brings in an opposition and it's there because we just talked about our manner of life and it ties into what was seen in verse number one our supplications our prayers our intercessions our giving of thanks Then we learned about our Christian life with which is supposed to be peaceable.

It's supposed to be quiet, it's supposed to be godly, it's supposed to be honest, and because of all of those things for this manner of life it says all of all of this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior living that way is good it's valid it is proper, and God commands us as a principle for us to live. I don't care what's what the state of society is. I think too many people are concerned about the state of our culture and where that's going. I can tell you where it's going. It's going the same way that it's always gone.

But for this, I'm not worried about that. For this, I know how I'm supposed to live my life and too many Christians get bogged down well that's going on well that person what how about for this How about we do what we're called to do? Pray. And we went through it, lived quiet life, peaceable life, honest life, godly life. We see these acceptable things throughout the word of God to the Lord.

In Romans 12, we learn how we can present our bodies of the living sacrifice and God tells us that is acceptable to him and it's reasonable for us to serve God that way in Romans 12 we also see don't be conformed to this world It talks about having the renewing of our mind, and that is acceptable, and that's the perfect will of God. There's some things that are expected by God for us and those are the things that are acceptable to God. He makes some reasonable, he puts some reasonable expectations on you and I as his children and it's acceptable Romans 14 talks about serving Christ and that's acceptable to God we should live our life in in that way in the sight of God it says but this is good and acceptable the last half of verse number three says in the sight of God our Savior and this theme runs all through Timothy Titus it comes up in second Peter and it this idea of God our Savior Paul talks about he's an apostle it's by the commandment of God our Savior he talks about his preaching it's committed unto him according to the commandment of God our Savior in Titus chapter 1 grace and mercy and peace you know where it comes from God our Savior Titus talks about in chapter 2 showing all good fidelity that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

That's the doctrine that we preach. It's of God our Savior, our blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior. All of it's tied into our God and our Savior but after the kindness and love of guess who God our Savior toward man appeared to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. You know who glory, majesty, and dominion belongs to? God our Savior.

Praise the Lord For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. And it's not only an emphasis of what is good and acceptable. The first half of the verse talks about what is good and acceptable verses 1 and verses 2 explains that and we preach them the last half of chap of verse number 3 clearly gives us to whom is it is acceptable unto there's a lot of things that are acceptable in this way I just want to be accepted. That's how cults get their members. People longing for acceptance.

And they're taking advantage. Acceptance and they're taking advantage. They end up in Guyana drinking cool with some cult leader. These cults are all over them. They pray on people who are looking for acceptance.

And if people don't understand their Bibles well enough, they're going to get mixed up in what is good and what is acceptable and to whom it should be acceptable to. You don't live your life looking for acceptance from man. You can't find acceptance in a group. You can only find it. What do we sing about?

If you are dressed in his righteousness, if you are accepted in the beloved, that is where we want to point you to. That is where your acceptance comes. And then we teach the Bible. We preach the Bible. We evangelize, we disciple, we fellowship, we pray.

We do all of that because of all of us are accepted in the beloved. We want to live our lives being acceptable to him. All right, let's throw irresistible grace right out the window in this next verse you ready buckling buckling buckle your seat belts Bible says who will who will have all men to be saved. What did we just get done talking about? God our Savior.

And now we get God's will. Who will, that would be God our Savior, have all men to be saved. This is the definitive purpose of God our Savior his will is expressed here if God's will is to save all then man should align his will with God's will there isn't a problem with God's will there's a problem with man's will we should be praying that God's will be done why because before I got saved and before you got saved your will and my will our wills were against God's will and so we are praying for God's will to be done. Make sense? People talk about sovereignty of God, sovereignty of God, sovereignty of God.

The problem is the sovereignty of man. That has always been the problem. Man wants to be sovereign. Man wants his way. Not God we have to talk about.

He is powerful enough to do whatever he wants to do. He's omnipotent. It's man defying God. That's our depravity. Man thinks that he is something and above the Lord and over the Lord.

But all he is is against the Lord's will for his life. What is God's will for your life? To get in line with the will of God. Repent and trust Christ the Savior. Now let me read to you what Augustine said.

When he got to this verse, the Bible says, you will have all men, he said, by all understand all the predestinated, because men of all sorts are among them I don't know I'd like to just stick with the Bible meaning all it's simpler to me It's simpler to me in other words when you look at verses 1 & 2 Kings as well as everyday people it doesn't matter if you're in authority or not in authority Okay You can be we're gonna pray for you All those that are better in authority It don't matter if you're Jew or your Gentile Bonder free none of that matters But Augustine I read you what Augustine had to say because Augustine on this verse, he had a huge impact on John Calvin. Augustine is mentioned 70 times in Calvin's first edition of his institutes and Calvin's salt to limit the meaning of these verses including this where all men just refers to all sorts of men I honestly think the only way you can come up with that is by reading books about man's philosophy on the Bible rather than just reading and studying the Bible. I don't want to read books authored by men who have a philosophy.

I want to read the book authored by God who's got some truth for me. I'm not saying don't read books. What I'm saying is every book you read and I read, we have to filter through the book. Okay? I read books.

That's all I do. I got nine books. I'm reading on Romans all at the same time. How do you do that with a very patient life is how I do it. Cause there's three books here.

There's one book in another room and it's flipped over like this. There's another book that I had a dog ear in that somebody closed or I closed and I need to blame somebody. So it couldn't have been me. And so I got books all over the place I read books I want you to read books but all those books need to be filtered through people and you'd be surprised how much men say that doesn't line up with this book. This is why I want to try to be as careful as I can because all I'm doing is commentating on the text.

Your authority is the Bible, not what I say on the Bible. You got to stick with the book. Let's continue to go down into deep waters in this next few comments. Number 1, I made a big deal about verse number 4, who will have all men to be saved? Calvinists would say, why would God will something that he cannot make happen?

In other words, if it was God's will to all be saved, how come all aren't saved? Now you got to admit that's a pretty good question. Did you know that every single modern version, King James included, removes the word will from the Bible? You won't find it in any one. If you do, let me know and I'll change my study on you won't find who will you will find who wants who would desires you won't find will you will not find God's will on any modern verse you only find it the book right here But if God honestly wanted everyone to be saved, I mean wouldn't they just be saved?

And if they're not, well then wouldn't God's sovereignty be in question? And so because of that, okay, what are you going to do at 2 Peter 3? Not willing that any should perish. God's will. Not willing that any should perish, but that all should what?

Come to what? Repentance. It seems pretty clear to me. John 5 verse 40, that ye will not come that ye might have life. That is man's will in direct defiance to God's will.

What is 1st Timothy chapter 2 verse 4 finished with? Who will have all men to be saved and to come on to the knowledge of the truth This is God's will concerning all men. That they would come to the knowledge of the truth. You know what that shows us all? Essentially, it shows us all the condition that we are in.

Lost and undone. Look at that verse again. Who does the invitation go out to what is God's will verse number four who will have all men to be saved okay great praise the Lord what is the invitation and to come unto the knowledge of the truth I would like you to come unto church no okay I would like you to come unto church no okay I would like you to come unto the church nobody in the town could accuse the pastor of not wanting people to come to church. I've invited everyone. My will is that they would come.

God's will is that his house would be filled. We're to go out and compel them. But they don't all come. It's not a problem with me inviting are you inviting or God is being sovereign and inviting it is a problem with the sovereignty of man he wants to be sovereign he does not want to put his will and subjection to God's will you don't want to line it up but there is an invitation that goes out come under the knowledge of the truth knowledge of truth where there is one God look at that more next week and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. And so let's just throw limited atonement out in verse number six right now as well watch this who gave who gave who gave himself a ransom for all Pretty easy to be testified in due time.

That doesn't sound like it's limited to me. I know Calvin's wrote more books than me. I know Piper's wrote more books than me. I know John Owen's got a bunch of stuff look I've read it all death of Christ and all that death of death and rest of Christ mortification of sin look I've gone through all of it all of it and I when I filter it through the book I come out believing the book more. God's will is that all would be saved.

I'm asking you to do the same thing with me and I'm asking you and me to do the same thing with whoever's preaching the word of God. I'm going to give you the best thing. Ah, through prayerful study, through diligent work. But look, you've got to stick with this book. You can't take what I say or any man says.

I believe there's an invitation that goes out out to all okay so well what about Matthew 20 because in first Timothy 2 okay it says ransom for all but Matthew 20, it doesn't say ransom for all. You know what it says? Ransom for many. So let's go there. Why don't we look at Matthew chapter 20, Verse number 28.

Let's see if we can make, well we're not going to make the sense of it, we'll try to have the Bible make some sense for us. Go to Matthew 20. Matthew chapter 20. Okay, here it is. Verse number 27, whosoever will be chief among you let him be your servant.

Even, verse 28, as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give his life a ransom here it is for many you have a seemingly contradiction in the Bible Is God saying that he gave his life a ransom for all? Or is God saying he gave his life a ransom for many? Well, he's saying both quite obviously, right? Well, many isn't all. Let's see if we can have the Bible define what we're talking about.

Keep your finger in Matthew 20 and go and then go back to your Matthew chapter number two verse. Because Matt, I'm sorry, 1 Timothy chapter number 2. 1 Timothy chapter number 2, verses 1 and 2, and then verses 4 through 6, defines the many that we just read in Matthew 20 28 and I'm going to show you why in 1st Timothy chapter number two when you see in verse number one for all men and in verse number two for all that are in authority verse number four who would have all men to be saved verse number five verse number six rather who gave himself a ransom for all the context of these verses is very clearly and we'll unpack this some more after I make this statement it is very clearly unsaved people who are not in church. How do I know that? The first clue is this.

Watch it verse number two. For kings and for all that are in authority, that we, who's the we, lead a peace and cry of peaceful life. Who's the we? That would be us, safe people. The contrast starts right there with the we contrasting the them.

We are saved. They are not safe. We are in church, part of the body of Christ. They are not part of the body of Christ. What are we supposed to do?

We preached on it a couple of Thursdays ago. Pray for them. That they would leave us alone. Okay? Now, watch this.

Go down to verse number nine. I will therefore that men pray everywhere lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting who's that in clear reference to these people who were in the body of Christ. Paul draws out this distinction between verses 1 through 6 and then verses 8 and 9 with verse number 7 as he calls himself out as a preacher and apostle in Christ teacher of the Gentiles and faith and in very he distinks himself he draws himself out now and now he talks to in verse number eight nine he talks to save people watch it verse nine in like manner also that women adorn themselves in modest apparel with shame face in this and sobriety not with boys hair or gold or pearls or costly array which becometh women professing godliness with good works let the woman learn in silence with all subjection but I suffer not a woman to teach nor do serve the authority of the man but to be in subjection what is this all in context for the man in verse number eight and the woman in verse 9 and 11 just read it's all in context to what?

Save people who are in the body of Christ in the setting of a church. Matthew 20 28, who's the many? You picking up what God's putting down? You have two references to all in 1st Timothy chapter number two. You have all men that are not saved, and then you have all men that are saved it's pretty easy for me to piece together a ransom for all and a ransom for men because we're talking about all the people that are in the church guess who it isn't all the people of out of the church verse number eight nine every man lift up his hands That is not in reference to the guy across the street that's as lost as he can be.

He's the all found in verses one and verses two and verses four and verses six. Make sense? Pretty easy to me to reconcile that many ransom for many and ransom for all. You know those kings and those that are in authority? It can't be a elected because they're not in Christ.

Verses 8, verses 9, 10, 11, guess what you're in Christ you are you are elect you're in the elect one Let me show you how God doesn't get his name. But we'll turn to where we go, in 2 Thessalonians 2, 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2. Flip back a page and we should be there. But before I get there, one of my favorite Old Testament passages is Numbers chapter 13 and 14. God has a will for his people, the nation of Israel, and he's got 12 spies that are going to be sent out Moses is told that by God to send those spies and they're to go conquer Canaan that's God's will y'all go get that light up and Joshua and Caleb were two out of twelve that were in the will of God.

They knew what God wanted them to do. They knew God's will for their life. They knew that God had a wonderful plan for their life. Let's go slay some giants. Joshua and Caleb, let's go.

Give me a water gun, I'll charge hell with a squirt gun, you know work on that whole thing Ten of them said no God That's a man's sovereignty You know what God did He allowed them to have their will. Now, not without consequence. They all died in the wilderness. God wasn't happy about it. But God had a will.

God had a plan for those people. And guess what? Joshua and Caleb got out loaded and they got their way. God didn't get his way. God's a gentleman and he's not going to make you go out and tell somebody about Jesus as a preacher I'm not going to make you go out and live right for God I can't You have the Holy Spirit and dwell in you.

When you go home, that Holy Spirit is not gonna do a judo throw on you and put you in submission. If you turn something on the TV or listen to something on the radio that you shouldn't be listening Holy Spirit is it going to make you and guess what I'm not gonna do yeah brother this is the preacher here on five just checking in on you I'm gonna make you do some things that you should be doing. Not only do you not want me doing that and won't stand for it, I don't want to be doing it. Why? God is not in the business of forcing someone to do something they don't do.

And I can scare you half to death. Preachers of yesteryear have done a good job at scaring you. And I believe we should have a fear of God. I believe we should have a respectful reverence for God. I believe we should hate people.

I believe we should stay away from sin. I believe sin's going to hurt people and I'm going to compel them not to get involved with it, but ultimately I can't stop you from doing what you want to do." And God didn't stop those 10 spies. They had a choice to make and they made the wrong choice second Thessalonians how do we reconcile this first second Thessalonians chapter number two look at verse number 11 second Thessalonians 2 verse number 11 for this got a cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned, who believed not the truth. That's who this is for, is for those who believed not the truth. What do you go out and preach?

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth, the life. That's what we preach, the truth. You were damned if you believe not the truth, but had pleasure in on righteousness. Do you see anywhere in the verse, anywhere in the chapter where that is where God wants to send them to a place of damnation?

It is not God's will that they be damned. They chose to believe a lie. You want to believe a lie? Okay, Here's some delusion. God will give you what you want.

You want light, will give you more light. You want truth, will give you more truth. But he is not going to send an Uber driver to your door on a Sunday morning, and have that uber driver drag you out of bed make you breakfast put you in the car slap you on a three-piece suit with a slick hair hair slick back and a Bible under your shoulder and get you in the church on Sunday morning not going look I'd like it to happen it'd be it'd be nice if more people took church serious on Sunday morning what am I gonna do what are you gonna what you're gonna do love to have you here want to have you here I'll go pick you up I'll get up at 6 a.m. To make life hard on me and easy on you so you can be in the church house to be around God's people here the preaching of God's Word how much can you do for people if they don't want to be here you can't make them be here but I'll tell you what it's gonna be real hard for you to get me to not come with the church house it just is it just is you know I came to the church house one time without any shoes on you know I did I had my truck was stuck in mud spinning wheels couldn't get it out I'm not gonna be late for church we got chains hooked up to it pull that thing out get to church I forgot to take my mud boots on oh I Got boots filled with mud just had to kick them off.

We just came in preach with my socks on It's gonna take a lot to keep me out of church What do you want that's what it comes down to what do you want, what do you want I can be doing a lot of things on the weekend a lot of things and I'm not talking about simple things but I don't want to do I want to be with God's people even if it's only 10 even if it's only 20 even if it's only 30 man even if we go mega and get 50. Man, wouldn't that be great? This cause God shall send not his desire, it's not his will, but he shall do it. He shall do. God, in this verse he doesn't always get his way You can't tell me this that when you sin and I sin, that that's God's will.

Come on. Well, if God wills something, it has to happen where his sovereignty would be in question. That is not true. That is not true. He is sovereign, he is omnipotent, he is all powerful.

Because that would mean if you sin that would be God's will and it's not his will that you sin but we do don't we well as safe people with the indwell Holy Spirit with the calling of election, as elect individuals into into the elect Jesus Christ who is the head of the elect church, who created the elect angels and has an elect nation amen how's that for some Thursday night theology just got on all the purses folks everyone all the verse God says go out the highway and hedges to call him come into my house may be filled. Ezekiel 18 have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die sayeth the Lord God and not that he should return from his way and will live God is no pleasure and wickedness once people play he told them to look and live man look and let Robin become a brother look and let Isaiah 55 Bible says ho that's a that's a Bible word I know that looks good on a Hallmark card with some pagan troll flying across the cover of it, but look, that's, that's a Bible word. Ho! Ho! Everyone that thirsted come ye to the waters you thirsty for God and he that no money come ye by knee a come by wine and milk without money and without price.

It's a gift freely given. That's God's will. We are to offer this truth to all men. We are to strive that man's desires and wants and will would lie not with what God wants for his life. We're to pray earnestly that lost people would submit to the truth of the gospel.

We're to pray that people would turn from their wickedness and live Isaiah or Ezekiel 18. And we can only do that with a very devout and steadfast belief that God is not willing that any should perish. Because if you think somebody can perish because they're just part of this group that God selected to just be damned to hellfire that is going to affect your evangelism and it will affect the way that you look at people the spirit and the bride say come, let him that beareth say come, and him that is a first to come, and whosoever with, Whosoever, let him take water of life. Without money, without price. Let him take the water of life.