The Mediator, 1 Tim. 2:5

Let's turn again to the Scriptures, and the reference I want to take tonight is from 1st Timothy. If you'll turn over to 1st Timothy with me, please, and we'll read in chapter 2. Like Brandon, it's a privilege to be here for the conference, and it is a privilege that I count above measure to be able to share in the gospel tonight for the minutes that are before us. 1st Timothy, and in chapter 2, and let's read together at verse number 5. Verse number 3, for connection.

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. We're on to, I am ordained a preacher and an apostle.

I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. What I'm going to speak about is really couched in verse number 5. So let me read that verse with you, and to you once again. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

I want to speak tonight on the great theme and the great teaching of the Bible. I want to speak on the mediator. There's a number of very descriptive words and titles that are used of the Lord Jesus, right through scripture.

You could almost begin right through the alphabet, and from the letter A, we could make our way through the English alphabet, and there would only be a few letters, that there would be no descriptive name of the Lord Jesus couched therein. The one that I want to speak about tonight is the mediator, the one that is able to stand between guilty sinners, and the one that is able to reach forward to a holy God, and the Bible and the Apostle Paul says, there is one God. I want you to listen to this now, because there might be a sinner here who wants to be saved tonight.

Listen to it now, folks. Listen to what the Bible says. There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and man, himself man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time.

This is quite a text. As I stand here before you tonight, I count myself happy that I'm able to handle this text of sacred scripture, because this, it is quite a text. The first thing that I want us to notice together, you will notice that it speaks about one God, and I want to put a heading over that, one God, and the Bible says, He is so supreme.

One God, so supreme. One of the interesting habits that I have in life, maybe I shouldn't mention too many of these habits, because some of the Christians are now, they're now smiling at me, and maybe even teasing me about some of them. But one of the things that I find most interesting in life is this, just picking up a book, and seeing how the author commenced the book.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the season of hope, it was the season of despair. Now, everyone here tonight, you're automatically thinking in your mind, I know where that line comes from. Of course you do.

That's a tale of two cities. And there's so many other novels. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a man in possession of a great fortune must be in want of a wife.

You know where that one comes from, don't you? Oh, you say, of course, that's pride and prejudice. Listen to how God starts. There is no book like this book.

There is no book that starts like this book. Listen to how the Bible starts. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

And it's without apology that God introduces himself onto the stage and onto the writing of sacred scripture. Listen, folks, now, Paul picks that up here, and he says, there is one God. As I'm preaching to you tonight, he is so supreme.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. I was telling some of the folks somewhere that my wife and I, we dropped our daughter Alexia off to music just a few months ago. One of the things we like to do, if it's possible, when Alexia is doing music, we've about 45 minutes, and we'll take a walk around the town that we live in.

We were almost back to the location where our daughter was having the music lesson. And as we were walking up the hill together, we noticed a man standing on the sidewalk, and he's not looking at us. And he wasn't looking at some of the vehicles that were moving.

And he was looking, it almost seemed to be, he was looking into a desolate piece of ground. And then we noticed he was looking up. And so I thought, this is interesting.

So I stopped him, and I said, sir, what's going on here? He said, look. And I took a look. There was the Aurora Borealis.

I've only seen it a few times in life. There it was, just dancing in the night sky. If you have never seen the Northern Lights, folks, you don't know what you've missed.

It's almost as if someone took a paintbrush, and with that paintbrush, just swept colors through the sky. And the man pointed to it again, and he said, look. And I said to him, I couldn't resist it.

You could almost tell now what I'm going to say to the man. I looked at that man who was standing there, and I said, sir, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He said, what? I said to him again.

I thought, what an opportunity. I said, sir, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Listen, folks, now, this is our God.

But let me tell you tonight, this is the God with whom you will have to do. In the person of his Son, you will have to give account to this God. He is so supreme.

And Paul here, he picks up the great theme, and he says, there is one God, so supreme. He says there is one mediator. And you say, what's the title that you have over that? It's not so much that he's so supreme.

What I want you to notice about is this. He is so singular. There is only one mediator.

If you want to be saved tonight, it's not through church attendance. And you say, why is that? There's only one mediator. If you want to be saved tonight, it's not through baptism.

You say, why is that? There's only one mediator. If you want to be saved tonight, it's not through going to see the priest. The Bible says there is only one mediator.

Salvation is not found in preachers. Salvation is not found in a place. Salvation is not found in the Pope.

Salvation is not found in anything that we put our hand to, folks. Listen tonight. If you want to be saved, let me assure you tonight, salvation is found in Christ, and it's found in Christ alone.

Listen to what the Bible says. Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Did you ever ask yourself, why is it that there's salvation only found in one person, and it's not found under the heavens? You ever ask why Peter couches us like that? Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is none other name under heaven. Why does he say under heaven? The answer is quite simple, folks.

Salvation is found, as you have heard tonight, in a living man who sits exalted in heaven. And because Christ is risen, salvation is found in the living Christ, the living, loving, lifting Christ of God. And as I'm looking at you tonight, oh folks, tonight, the great burden of my heart is this.

There is one mediator. If you want to be saved, there is one mediator, and it's the Lord Jesus. Only one.

One singular Savior who can save you from your sins tonight, and it's the Lord Jesus Christ. There is one God. He is so supreme.

There is one mediator. He is so singular. Of course, the text says this, between God and man, I want you to think of one, and he's so suitable.

Now, don't forget what we are tonight. In this testimony meeting, our brethren told us the reason they wanted to be saved was because they were sinners. The reason why Brandon got saved was because there came a moment in his life when he realized, I'm only a sinner.

The reason, folks, that there came a night in my life where I wanted to be saved, I was a 16-year-old boy, and there came a moment in my life when I got down on these knees with complete honesty, complete transparency before God. I remember it, folks, as if it was yesterday. I got down on my knees, and I cried, and I lifted my heart to God, and I said, Oh God, I'm a sinner, and I'll perish in my sins, and if I die the way I am, it's hell for me.

Oh God, save me. You know, within minutes from crying that, I was saved. Would you like to be saved tonight? I look across an audience like this.

Would you like to be saved tonight, boys? Would you like to be saved tonight, girls? Listen to it now. There is one God. He is so supreme.

There is one mediator. He is so singular. He is between God and man.

He is so suitable, because you think of God. God is holy. We are unholy.

You think of God. God's in heaven. We are on earth.

You think of God. God is righteous, and we are unrighteous. You think of God.

God is sinless. We are sinful. You think of God.

God is pious. We are impious. You think of God, in all of his holiness, and all of his majesty, in all of his glory, in all of his greatness, and man, in all of his lowliness.

How could anyone reach to a holy God? How could anyone reach to sinful man? The wonder tonight is this, that there's only one man who can. Brandon can't do it tonight. I love this man.

I love preaching with this man. But let me tell you something. He can't do it tonight.

I'll tell you something more, folks. I can't do it tonight. But there is one, and he became a man.

Blessed be his name. His name is the Lord Jesus. Because he is God, he can reach the claims of God.

And because he is man, he can reach down to sinners. Are you a sinner tonight? He's able to meet your need. In fact, I would tell you, there is never one sinner who has come to him that he hasn't met their need.

There is never one sinner who has trusted him that hasn't found it him dependable. And you say, why is that? He is so suitable. He is between God and man.

He's the man Christ Jesus. You say the text can't get any better than that. Oh, but it does.

There is one God so supreme. And one mediator so singular, between God and man, so suitable. Listen to it now.

Who gave himself? I want to speak for a moment about one, and he was so sacrificial. You say, so sacrificial he gave himself. We know the story of Bethlehem.

Ah, but folks now, just wait a second. What Paul is describing, it includes Bethlehem, but it's much more than Bethlehem. He gave himself.

You say we know the story of Capernaum. It includes Capernaum, but it's much more than Capernaum. You say we know the stories of Nazareth.

It includes it all, but it's much more than that. And you say, what are we dealing with tonight? Let me tell you again of the story of the cross. 9 a.m. in the morning, they crucified him.

Midday, the sun is darkened. For six hours, the Lord Jesus suffered for our sins, under the awful weight, under the awful penalty, under the awful judgment, through the awful storm. Oh folks tonight, let me tell you again about dark Golgotha.

The Savior died at Calvary. The Bible says Christ died for our sins. The Bible says when we were yet without strength, in due time, Christ died for us.

And Paul simply couches it just so beautifully. Paul says, he gave himself. At Calvary, would you like to be saved tonight? He gave himself.

I was listening recently to a preacher. He's gone now. He's been gone for quite a number of years.

He was telling on the old, it was an old cassette I had, and I started to listen to him. His name was David Craig. He was a Scots preacher, Scottish preacher.

He told about how his sister's son got into some medical difficulties. In fact, the boy wasn't expected to make it. David Craig was having some gospel meetings in a locality, and he said to the brethren, I would like to take the train back so that I can see my sister, and hopefully see her son before he passes away.

It's only a little boy. He took that train journey, and it got him into the station quite early in the morning. He made his way to his sister's home.

All the lights were off in the home. He opened that door as quietly as possible, and he stepped into the home. He was hoping not to wake anyone, and he got into the living room of that home, and he was putting his little bag down in the corner, and his sister was sitting on a chair.

The little boy was gone, and as he put his bag down, his sister, in that lovely broad Scottish accent, she broke into a wail, and she said to him, Oh Davey, Davey, he was my only wee boy. Oh Davey, he was my only wee boy, and I wouldn't have given him for the best sinner that I know. That man said on the recording, with a broken heart, I looked at my sister.

The body of her son, I looked at her son, and the thing that came to me was this. God had one son, only one son, and God gave his son from heaven for sinners like me. Would you like to be saved tonight? There is one God, one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself into the darkness of Calvary, into the depths of Calvary, into the desolation of Calvary, into the awfulness of dark Golgotha.

He gave himself so that you could be saved tonight. If you accept the sinner's Savior, you'll be saved on the seat you're sitting on, and you say, why is this? Because there's no deception with this. One God and one mediator.

Let me come to the next thing. There is one God. He's so supreme.

There is one mediator. He is so singular. Between God and man, he is so suitable.

He gave himself. He's so sacrificial. Let me speak about this one, a ransom.

He's so substitutionary, and you say the death of Christ. Oh, it was a wonderful death. You know why we love the death of the Lord Jesus? It was a substitutionary death, and it was on the behalf of all.

That means this. He took the guilty sinner's place, and he suffered in his stead. For man, oh miracle of grace.

For man, the Savior bled. But you say, you don't know what I've done. I don't need to know what you've done.

You say, you don't know my sins. I don't need to know your sins. You say, you don't know my past.

I don't need to know your past. You say, you don't know the dark stains that have stained my character. I don't need to know, friends.

But I do know this. There is a Savior, and the immensity of the cross is this. That when the Lord Jesus died at Calvary, he died as the sinner's substitute.

So that the sinner will not have to bear the awful penalty of the righteous judgment of God. My friend, Peter Orosok. Mr. Orosok, he was leaving his home in Prince Edward Island one night.

He got into the car. When he left his home, he traveled down to the TransCanada Highway. It was a snowy night.

Darkness hadn't just fallen, but it was starting to fall. And as Mr. Orosok was coming down to the TransCanada Highway, he noticed to his left hand side, there was a little boy. And there was a little girl, and they were making snowballs.

He thought, this is interesting. And as he was coming closer, the little girl, she made the snowball. So did the little boy.

And as he was coming closer still, the little boy stepped forward first. And he threw the snowball. And of course, hopelessly, he missed.

The little girl didn't miss. She took aim with that snowball, and she hit it right smack on the windscreen. I don't know what my friend was thinking.

I have no idea what he was thinking. As quickly as he could, he pulled that Honda into the side of the road. He opened the door.

He got out of the car, and he started to chase the kids. There was a building there. They went one way around the building.

And he used to say, Mama Orosok's little boy wasn't that stupid. He went the other way around the building. And of course, you know the story.

You could almost tell what happened. The little boy and the little girl, running at full pelt. And here comes this gospel preacher.

They almost ran into him. And the little girl stepped forward, and she was going to say this, Mister, please. It was.

And she was going to say, I threw the snowball. I'll take the punishment. And just at that point, the little boy pushed her behind him.

And he stepped forward, and he said, Sir, I threw a snowball. He said, if there's any punishment here for her, I'll take the punishment. If there's anything, any blame for her, I'll take the blame.

Let me take the blame. But let her go free. Do you know why I love the Lord Jesus, folks? Eternally.

I should be under the judgment, the righteous wrath, and the judgment of God forever. There was one upon the cross. Reverently speaking, he took the punishment.

He died in my place. He bore what I should have borne. He, the sinless Savior.

I say it again, folks. The Lamb of God for sinners died. A victim on the tree.

Wouldn't you like to be saved tonight? There is one God, and one mediator between God and man. The man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself so sacrificial, so substitutionary, a ransom. Well, you say, that's as good as the message gets.

Is it? Is that as good as it gets tonight? Listen to it now. There is one God and one mediator between God and man. The man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself a substitutionary ransom on the behalf of all men.

For guilty sinners, there are people here, and they've carried the gospel to Mexico. You say, why is that? Because they believed that all in Mexico could be saved. There's people here, and they've preached in parts of the Caribbean.

Why did they do that? Because sinners there can be saved. There are men here who've preached across the United States, because people in the United States can be saved. There's men who have carried the tidings to Canada and other parts of the world.

And you say, why would you ever do it? Because there's one mighty singular sacrifice. And such was the mighty sacrifice of Christ, that every single sinner, the moment they accept the Lord Jesus, their sins are forgiven immediately and eternally, the moment they trust Christ. Wouldn't you like to trust him tonight? Just as I'm almost finished, I would suggest to you, it's more than a suggestion.

The thing that I would tell you to do tonight is this. You need Christ, and you need him now. And I would command him to you.

He stands so unique. He stands so distinct. There is one God.

He is so supreme. And one mediator, so singular. Between God and man, so suitable.

Who gave himself so sacrificial. A substitutionary ransom, so substitutionary. For all men, you say, did you give us that one? So sufficient.

Not a sinner outside of hell. Do you hear that tonight? Not one sinner outside of hell needs to perish, because the great ransom has been given. My advice to you tonight is this.

Accept the sinner's Savior, and trust the Lord Jesus. Shall we pray? Our Father, we would bow our hearts again in the precious name of our Lord Jesus. We bow, and we express our grateful thanksgivings.

Oh God, we bless thee again, that there's no deception with the Lord Jesus. He was the one that told that he would rise from the dead. And Father, we think of the power of resurrection, when just as light was breaking, just as day was dawning, Christ rose triumphant right from the grave itself.

Death could not keep its prey. Father, we bless thee again. He is the one that gives assurance in the gospel that sinners could be saved.

Oh God, remember this meeting tonight. Remember sinners tonight, Lord. Father, our desire is this, that even tonight in this gathering, someone will accept the Lord Jesus, and trust him as their own Savior.

We pray for this, as we give our thanks in the Savior's lovely name. Amen. 178, please.

Let's sing together. 178. Oh Christ in thee, my soul hath found, and found in thee alone, the peace, the joy I sought so long, the bliss till now unknown.

We'll sing verses 1, 3, and 4 of 178, and our meeting is over.