“A Saviour for All”

 

Text:     1 Ti.2: 1-6

Intro.:   Timothy was brought up in a godly home (2 Ti.1: 5) and had been led to Christ by Paul during his first missionary journey (Ac.14: 8-20).  On his second missionary journey, Paul decided to take Timothy with him.  Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus to minister and now he needed some instruction.

Paul wrote this book to encourage Timothy, and to explain how a local church should be managed.  Paul instructed him on how to handle false doctrine, encouraged him to preach the gospel, charged him to defend the faith, exhorted him to teach his people to pray, gave him qualifications for pastors and deacons, and taught him how to treat his people. 

In chapter 2 we find the . . . 

Prescription for Prayer (v.1):

Supplications - Refers to humble, earnest requests.

Prayers - This emphasizes the sacredness of prayer.  It is an act of worship consisting of adoration, confession, supplication and thanksgiving.

Intercessions - Coming to God in boldness and confidence.

Giving of thanks - This should definitely be a part of our prayer.  Thank God for answers to prayer, for who He is and what He has done.

People for Prayer (v.2):

“All men,” “kings” and “all that are in authority.”

Purpose of Prayer (v.2b):

That we may lead a quiet life - Free from outward disturbances.

That we may lead a peaceable life - Filled with inward tranquility.

“In all godliness” - This relates to our duty to God.

“And honesty” - This relates to our duty to our fellow man.

To do this (pray for all men) is good and acceptable in the sight of God, for He is pleased when His children pray for others, especially the lost.

In the following verses I want to focus on our Saviour. The key word in our text is “all.” It occurs 6 X’s.  The one thing that stands out is that we have a Saviour for All!  Notice first . . .

 

A)                The Saviour’s Power! (v.3)

1)                  “God our Saviour.”

2)                  He is powerful because of His Person - He is God!

A)                “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour” (Is.43: 11).

B)                 “...there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else” (Is.45: 21b-22).

C)                “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Lk.2: 11).

D)                “...Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world” (Jn.4: 42).

E)                 See also Tit.2: 10, 13; 3: 4-6

3)                  He is powerful because of His Proficiency - He is Able!

A)                He is able to forgive our sins!

1)                  “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins” (Is.43: 25).

                                                                            (2)

2)                  “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (Ps.103: 12).

B)                 He is able to save our souls!

1)                  1 Ti.1: 15

2)                  “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Heb.7: 25).

 

B)                 The Saviour’s Purpose! (v.4)

1)                  “Who will have all men to be saved . . . ” 

2)                  He reveals how much He wants all men to be saved by the following:

3)                  He gives light to every man that comes into the world! Jn.1: 9

4)                  He calls all men to salvation! 

A)                “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev.22: 17).

B)                 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Mt.11: 28).

5)                  He loves all men!

A)                Jn.3: 16

B)                 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Ro.5: 8).

C)                “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1Jn.4: 10).

6)                  2 Pet.3: 9 confirms again that God wants all men to be saved!

7)                  The teaching that God only desires the salvation of some is a mockery.  His compassion is genuine! Ezek.33:11 says, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked . . . ”

8)                  If any man goes to hell, it won’t be God’s fault, because He has done all He can do to keep you from going there!

 

C)                The Saviour’s Position! (v.5)

1)                  “For there is one God . . . ” - One God of all men, not many gods. Hence the One God desires equally the salvation of all his creatures.

2)                  “and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” - There is only one mediator for all men.  All are on equal ground with God.

3)                  The doctrine of the Papists, that the saints or the Virgin Mary may act as mediators to procure blessings for us, is false. There is but “one Mediator,” and only one is necessary. Prayer offered to the “saints,” or to the “Virgin,” is idolatry.

 

D)                The Saviour’s Provision! (v.6)

1)                  “Who gave himself a ransom for all . . . ”

2)                  “Ransom” - Means “a price paid to free a slave.”

3)                  He died for all.  This is clearly revealed in the Bible:

A)                Jn.1: 29

B)                 Jn.3: 16-17

C)                  “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (Heb.2: 9).