If you will take with me in your Bibles to the book of 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy chapter 2, 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 19. 2 Timothy 2, verse 19. 2 Timothy 2, verse 19. But God's firm foundation stands. Bearing this seal, the Lord knows those who are His. And let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity. Pero el fundamento de Dios está firme, tiene nuestro sello. Conoce al Señor a los que son suyos. God, it is a beautiful thing that you have done for us. As we sit before these elements tonight and they preach. So you contemplate you taking on flesh and giving it for us, pouring out your blood to cover our sins. And God, we ask, what can we give in return? There is nothing. Nothing can recompense what you've done. But there is reason that you've done it, and it is that we'd be holy. And God, I just ask that through this text tonight you would edify your church. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. You may be seated. Pueden tomar asiento. Maybe sometimes in the commonality of coming to the table, tal vez a veces en la frecuencia que venimos a la mesa, we lose that it is a solemn event. Ouviramos que es un evento solemne. It is a solemn gathering this evening. We come to remember. We've come to be refreshed in the covenant of His blood. As we consider our relationship with Christ, considerando nuestra relación con Cristo, what He's accomplished in His blood, lo que Él ha cumplido en Su sangre. And we turn to see what's required of us in light of that. Y miramos a ver lo que es requerido de nosotros en la luz de esta. You see something in our text tonight. It is easy to profess Christ. We see it all the time. I'm a Christian. They go out and live as an atheist. The Christian profession is easy. La profesión cristiana es fácil. The Christian life, not so much. La vida cristiana, no tanto. I remember having a thought in the jungle once. They wanted to kill us. And I thought, I think it would be easy to die for Christ. I think it is harder to live for Christ. I think it's a tragedy to see so many today make a profession of faith in Christ. And when they do so, and maybe even after they do so, many think they've found a secret. How can I join light and darkness? ¿Cómo puedo juntar la luz y tinieblas? How can I have my conscience cleared? ¿Cómo puedo tener mi conciencia libra and yet keep the dark desires of my heart y guardar los oscuros deseos de mi corazón? They think that they can have Baal and Christ. And what do they do? They just tag Christian on it and all of a sudden it's baptized. Our text commands us this solemn evening. that we either depart from iniquity or depart from Christ. Apartes de iniquidad o apartes de Cristo. Let me give you a setting for this text. Déjame darte un escenario por este texto. Here in 2 Timothy 2.19, aquí en 2 Timoteo 2.19, a scandal had arisen. Un escándalo ha salido. Jimeneos and Philetas, They had come along and taught that the resurrection had already happened. They believed that there was a resurrection. But it already happened. Their doctrine is described by Paul in verses 16 and 17, as irreverent babble. And it will lead people into more ungodliness and their talk will spread like gangrene. Dice, palabras vacios y profanos. So, I want you to think about this. They're taking a doctrine. They're calling it Christian. It has Christian words in the resurrection and what we're to do. And they began to preach it. And Paul says, this doctrine has infected others. And he says, rather than lead them to godliness. In lugar de llevarlos a piedad, it leads to more ungodliness. Llevamos impiedad. Satan stands. on the ruins of men like this. Satanás para en la ruina de hombres así. And he tempts the saints. Y él tente los santos. He takes situations like this. Él toma situaciones así. And he begins to say, look, you can have something else. Y empieza a decir, puedes tener otras cosas. Let me turn your mind away from Christ. Déjame voltear tu mente de Cristo. Men begin to sound wise. Hombres parecen sabios. They come with flashy words. Vienen con palabras flashiantes and polished minds. Y mentes limpiados, brillosos. They lead men astray. Lleven a desviar los hombres. Men claim truth. Los hombres claman la verdad. They fight with everyone over their truth. Yet their lives and attitudes, and especially their speech, it's void of piety. And the sad reality is. This is so many. This is the foundation of their faith. Their faith is built on the backs of men like Hymenaeus and Philetus. In 1 Timothy, Paul describes Emmanuel as one who has shipwrecked his faith. And yet he had a great hearing. Let's go there quickly. I want to read the verse. Hold faith in a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith. among whom are Jimeneas and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. Manteniendo la fe y la buena conciencia, desechando la cual nafragaron en cuanto a la fe algunos, de los cuales son Jimeneo y Alejandro quienes entregue a Satanás para They've made a disaster of their faith. When the foundation of your faith is on the backs of men like this, the foundation is shaky. So, to rid the saints of this. God's firm foundation stands bearing this seal. The Lord knows those who are His. No obstante, el solido fundamento de Dios permanece firme, teniendo este sello, el Señor conoce los consuelos suyos. So, how do we combat this? ¿Cómo batallamos esto? There's a seal, I'm going to say you. It's as though Paul were saying, it's como Pablo estaba diciendo, the devil got his own. El diablo tomo suyos. There's these two men, dos hombres, and the devil got them. Satanas los agarro. The devil got his own. El diablo tiene suyos, but he's gotten none of Christ. These men are none other than the devil's goats. Satan had a hold of their life with some iniquity. We've all seen it. men who we admire, hombres que admiramos, men who have a great gathering, hombres que tienen gran gente, many likes, muchos gustas, and all of a sudden it comes out that they were false. De repente salen quieren falsos. Why? Por qué? There was some iniquity in their life. Había una iniquidad en su vida. That maybe they hid for a long time. The lust of their heart constantly had rule over them. Times and seasons, maybe for a long time. They covered it. They dressed it in Christian clothing. Maybe even some came and warned them of it. But they defended it. 1 John 2.19 is true of them. 1 John 2.19 is true of them. They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it may become plain that they are not of us. Ellos salieron de nosotros, pero en realidad no eran de nosotros. Porque si hubieran sido de nosotros, habrán permanecido con nosotros. Pero salieron a fin de que se manifestará que no todos son de nosotros. The foundation of these men was not firm. Christ wasn't the foundation. But where the saints are built, what Paul says, the house that is built on Christ, that's a sure foundation. Our text says it can never be shaken. This is set before us this evening. Would you look on the elements with me? The bread shows us the flesh of Christ. That He went to the cross for us. He poured out His blood. You see the foundation of our faith. The blood of this covenant. I want you to see two things in the text tonight. Quiero que veas dos cosas en el texto hoy. First, there's a seal. Primero, hay un sello. The text says, there's a seal. The text says, hay un sello. That is the security of our faith. It's the security of our faith. Our seal, the text says, is the sovereign election of God. Our seal is the sovereign election of God. The men, the ones who have been elected, the ones who are in Christ, the ones who are in Christ, they're not like them and them and them. They're not able to be plucked up. They can't be plucked up. Now, hear me, escucha me. We should all walk carefully. Todos debemos hablar cuidadosamente. We should not say, well, I'm the elect. I can do whatever I want. No debemos decir, yo soy elegido. Puedo hacer lo que me da la gana. No, no, no. The one who thinks he's strong, be careful that he fall. El quien piensa que está fuerte, cuidado para que no caiga. However, we're not to walk in fear. Can I lose what I have? No debemos andar en temor por perder lo que tengo. No, no. Christ is the sure foundation. Cristo es el fundamento seguro. We are to be watchful. Debemos ser vigilantes. We should look and say, no, no, this is right, this is wrong. Debemos decir, este esta bien, este no. When we see wrong, we should call it out. Cuando vemos mal, debemos llamarlo. Brother, don't give ear to that. But we can rest assured. Satan cannot take the sheep. Jimineos and filetes were not sheep. We have a seal. We have a seal. Our seal is the sovereignty of God in His election. Our seal is the sovereignty of God in His election. We look on the symbol of that this evening. We look on the symbol of that this evening. Revelation 13, 8 and 17, 8. Revelation 13, 8 and 17, 8. They both speak of a book. They both speak of a book. The name of the book is Book of Life of the Lamb that was slain before the foundations of the world. And it was written before the ages began by God. There were names written and not written. The blood that we celebrate this evening is the seal of that covenant. They were written in the blood of the Lamb. It's interesting. If in your Bible you might see quotation marks in the phrases in our text this evening. It's because Paul is using an allusion here from number 16. He says, from the sons of Korah, where they come to Moses and say, why can't we be the priest? And Moses tells them something in verse 5. He says, in the morning, the Lord will show you who is his. who is holy. The Lord knows those who are His. And the Lord will show you tomorrow who are His and who are holy. That was the response of Moses. And Paul is alluding to this in the text. He is saying, the Lord knows those who are His. Moses in this text is showing the Lord knows who are His. Moses is showing in the text, the Lord knows who are His. And this was shown when the ground opened up and swallowed the sons of Korah. God is sovereign. He has chosen His. He's set His seal on them in the blood of Christ. holds them in His hand. Lo a God en sus manos, we just sang, I have a refuge in the storm. Acabamos de cantar, tengo un refugio en la tempestad. I will hide myself in Christ. Me esconderé en Cristo. Church, look before us, we have a seal. Iglesia, mira adelante, nosotros tenemos un sello. But second, there's a fruit of the seal. Pero segundo, hay una, hay fruto de este sello. This seal does something. Our text says, let everyone who claims the name of Christ depart from iniquity. I want us to see this evening, as we gaze on the elements, the symbolic aspect of this sacrifice of Christ. When we look symbolically At the person and work of Christ and the elements. As we look upon them. I want you to see that they preach to us. What we're going to do with them in a moment. They preach to us. Jesus says, as often as you eat and drink in remembrance of me. And they teach us something. Christianity is not devoid of piety. Cristianismo no es vacio de piedad. It cannot be. No puede ser. We're predestined in Christ. Estamos predestinados en Cristo. It was our election, not both in Him and to Him. Nuestra elección no era dos, en Él y para Él. The in Him, He's in His blood. El en Él is in su sangre. And the to Him, does it not mean holiness? Y a Él no quiere decir santidad? God is not pleased with anything short of that. Dios no está agrado con nada más. If we truly believe what the Bible says about man. Si en verdad creemos lo que la Biblia dice sobre el hombre. If we believe what it says about Christ. Si creemos lo que dice de Cristo. And if we truly believe what we saw this morning that Christ is our mediator. Si en verdad creemos lo que miramos esta mañana. Cristo es nuestro mediador. Then we also have to affirm, también tenemos que afirmar, nothing outside the person and work of Christ pleases God. Nada afuera de la persona y obra de Cristo agrade Dios. Let me make it simple, déjame hacerlo simple. Is God pleased with His church? Yes. Dios es agradecido, agradado con su iglesia? under the covering of Christ. It's Christ in us, the hope of glory. The church is in mystical union with Christ. He being her head. She is his body. She pleases God. Ella agrada a Dios. As Christ works and reveals himself through her. Mientras Cristo trabaja y revela a su mismo a través de ella. She pleases God. Ella agrada a Dios. In our good works. En nuestras buenas obras. That we are predestined in Christ to walk in Him. It's all about Christ. When we get to heaven and we receive the crown. It's not a reflection of our efforts. He is our righteousness. The church wants to please God. It's in Christ. It's in Cristo. There's no other economy. There's no other way that she can please him. This typical event from number 16. Paul is quoting from. In chapter 16 of Numbers, in verse 26, verse 26, Moses gives a warning to the people. Hear this. He begs them. Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest we be swept away with all their sins. He warns them. They've been shown to be wicked. They don't look like Christ. So don't go their way. Don't touch their stuff. It sounds of the psalmist. I will set no unjust thing before my eyes. I hate the works of those who do iniquity. It shall not cling to me. But the people, they would not depart. No, no, no. They grabbed a hold of the stuff. No, no, no. Ellos agarraron las cosas. They fixed their eyes on the stuff and forsaked God. Ellos pusieron sus manos sobre las cosas y abandonaron a Dios. I would rather have the stuff in these tents, they said. Me gustaría tener las cosas en estas tiendas, dijeron. The ground opened up and swallowed them and all their things. La tierra se abrió, se consumió ellos y todas sus cosas. They would not flee wickedness. No huyeran de la maldad. Hear me, escucha me. Christianity, devoid of holiness, el cristianismo sin piedad, it amounts to no more than a prostitution of the gospel and the Lord Jesus Christ. No es nada más pero una prostitución del Evangelio del Señor Jesucristo. Let me explain. Déjame explicar. If we claim the name of Christ, if we say, I am of Christ, it's for the purpose of being holy and blameless to the praise of His glorious grace. It's for the purpose of being holy and blameless to the praise of His glorious grace. It's for the purpose of being holy and blameless to the praise of His glorious grace. It's for the purpose of being holy and blameless to the praise of His glorious grace. It's for the purpose of being holy and blameless to the praise of His glorious grace. It's for the purpose of being holy and blameless to the praise of His glorious grace. It's for the purpose of being holy and blameless to the praise of His glorious grace. It's for the purpose of being holy and blameless to the praise of His glorious grace. It's for the purpose of being holy and blameless to the praise of His glorious grace. It's for the purpose of being holy and blameless to the praise of His glorious grace. It's for the purpose of being is borrowing the name of Jesus for another purpose. The one who names the name of Christ must depart from iniquity. Because he is a new nature. He must depart from the tents of this world. He must depart from the trinkets. Hear this. We look on the covenant in His blood tonight. The seal and the product of the seal. The seal being the destination of God. The product of the seal. Being holiness. is the fulfillment of the promise we see in Jeremiah 32, 40. Listen to what God says to the prophet. I will make with them an everlasting covenant. Talking about the new covenant. That I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts that they may not turn from me. Haré con ellos un pacto eterno, es un nuevo pacto, de que yo no me apartaré de ellos para hacerlos bien. Y infundiré mi temor en sus corazones para que no se aparten de mí. The seal and the product of the seal is a sello y producto de sello. All those whom he's elected, that he has brought to himself in the work of Christ, through the work of the Holy Spirit. He's set fear in their hearts. That they would depart from iniquity. There would be a fragrant offering to him. The command is, if you claim the name of Christ, you get away from iniquity. How? What does it mean for us to depart from iniquity? We renounce homosexuality. I'm departing from that. All the wickedness in the world, I denounce it's wrong. No, no, no. It's deeper. First, primero, it's not finding rest in sin. What does it mean to depart from iniquity? It's not to find rest in sin. It's of our knolled nature. To flee to sin for some comfort. I love how Jeremiah 48, 11 says this. And he is settled on his dregs. The King James there says, lees. The very things that have brought destruction to him. He's settled his life upon them. He's found rest on the very thing that destroys him. The world says, don't worry, just have a little bit of this. Rest here. No, no, no, the one who professes Christ must not seek refuge in the sin of the world. Second, segundo. It's a giving up of sin. Es dejando el pecado. Jesus tells so many, go and sin no more. Jesus dice varias cosas, vete y no pecas mas. 1 Peter 4.3, 1 Pedro 4.3, for the time is past, the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles do. Porque el tiempo ya pasado les es suficiente para haber hecho lo que agrada a los gentiles. Look, look back in your life, Peter says. Peter, Pedro dice, miren tu vida. Have you not done what the Gentiles do sufficiently? Has the time of sin not been sufficient in your life? He says, the time has passed for that. Our time is short. Leave it. Listen to Song of Solomon. Jesus summons his bride, the church. He says, come with me from Lebanon. My bride, come with me from Lebanon. Depart from the peak of Amana. From the peak of Sinir and Hermon. From the dens of lions. From the mountains of leopards. ¡Ven conmigo desde el Libano, esposa mía! ¡Ven conmigo desde el Libano! Bajo, desde la cumbre de Amana. Desde la cumbre de Zenir. Desde Hermón. Flee from danger. Come from that that will take your life. Turn your back on the things of this world. The open invitation for the church this evening. To everyone who professes Christ. Is that you depart from iniquity and find refuge in Christ. Number three. Avoid sin. Don't go where it is. Do not enter the path of the wicked and do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it. Do not go on to it. Turn away from it and pass on. No entres la senda de los limpios. No vayas por el camino de los malvados. Evítalo. No pases por él. Apártate de él y siga adelante. I think it was C.T. Studd. Creo que era C.T. Studd. I don't remember who said it. No recuerdo quién lo dijo. It might have been Martin Lloyd-Jones. Tal vez era Martin Lloyd-Jones. He said, are you passing through hell? El dijo, estás pasando por el infierno? Keep walking. Sigues caminando. Just pass by it. Pasa por allí. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked. Bienaventurado el que no anda en el concilio de los malvados. Blessed is the man. Happy is the man. Feliz is el hombre. Bienaventurado es el hombre who doesn't walk where the wicked walk. Que no anda donde andan los malvados. How do we avoid sin? Treat sin like the fire that's going to burn you. We should never look at sin and say, I'm man enough. I'm good enough. No, no, no. Treat it like a fire that's going to burn you. Treat it like a naughty viper or a nasty roach. Brother Sammy knows what I'm talking about. We see a viper, we're gone. Christine sees a roach, out! Christine ve una cucaracha, se va! Treat sin like that. Trata ese pecado así. The one who names the name of Christ departs from iniquity. El que nombre el nombre de Cristo, apartense de la iniquidad. But not only to avoid sin. No solamente desfie ese pecado. Go to the other side. Leave sin on this side and go to the other side. And go to Christ to piety. There can be no neutrality between sin and piety. The text says, by our fruit they'll know us. You know the text. The man has demons. He sweeps his house clean. Seven worse than the one. They come and inhabit. Flee sin. But flee to Christ. Fill your life with things of piety. It's not enough to sweep our house clean, we must fill it. Many at the start of the year, muchos en principio de año. This year, I'm no longer going to do A, B, C, and D. Este año ya no voy a hacer A, B, C, and D. This is it. I'm breaking with this. Ese es todo. Yo voy a romper con esto. And in three months, they've returned. Tres meses han regresado. Part of it is because they didn't fill it. En parte de eso es que no lo llenaron. Fill it with the things of God. And then lastly, what does it mean to depart from iniquity? Keep going farther away from it. As you grow in your Christian life, the one who names the name of Christ, sin should become more sick to you every day. You should begin to notice when you're justifying it. Even the most pious saints, they must constantly mortify sin. We've got to get farther away. If your eye causes you sin, pluck it out. The last question. Why? Can't I not have Christ and still walk in sin? Why should I worry myself with piety? It doesn't please the Lord to walk in sin. No agrada al Señor andar en pecado. We should grow every day in our fear of God. Debemos crecer todos nuestros días en el temor de Dios. We talked about it in our book study today. Hablamos en nuestro estudio libro hoy. To think on the providence of God and what He's done for us. A pensar en la providencia de Dios, lo que Él ha hecho por nosotros. causes us to fear God and sin less. How do we grow in a fear of God? How do we get to a place where we say, I don't want to do anything offensive to Him? I want to be careful with my speech. I want to be careful with my beliefs. I want to be careful with my life. I want to please the Lord. You fill your life with the image of Christ. Fill your life with His Word. We look on tonight, miramos hoy. We see the work of Christ. Miramos sobre Cristo and we ask ourselves one question. Hacemos una pregunta. In here we have our profession. Aquí tenemos nuestra profesión. We're all going to come together tonight, todos vamos a juntar hoy and we're going to say, Because of what Christ did, I'm joined to Christ and one another with you. So we must ask. Is he not worthy? Is He not worthy for us who take upon ourselves and profess His name? Is He not worthy of a holy life? Is He not worthy of our sacrifice? Is He not worthy the mortification of my own desires? The one who names the name of Christ is called to depart from iniquity and cling to Christ. Let's pray, oramos. Dios, tu eres digno de una vida piedoso vivido a ti. Tú eres digno de todo nuestro sacrificio. Tú eres digno de todo lo que pudiéramos ofrecerte. Sólo Tú eres digno, Señor. Dios, yo pido esta noche que todas estas palabras, grábalos en nuestros corazones. Ayudarnos. En nombre de Cristo, susurramos. Amén.