Friday October 14, 2022

Happy Friday friends. Today we will continue our look at the Pastoral Epistles. On Sunday, I am covering 2nd Timothy Ch. 1. Let's look at a few passages.
2Tim. 1: 9-10
9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 
In these 2 verses the Apostle Paul points out 4 very important ideas, as it relates to Biblical doctrine. 
1. The believer is called to live a Holy life.
2. The sufficiency of grace.
3. The eternal preexistence and divinity of Christ.
4. The power of Christ’s work on the cross to provide eternal salvation.
All 4 of these ideas are necessary to believe, if we want to live a life for Christ. Once the believer recognizes their need for Christ, they are called into a life of holiness-but, in order for us to live for Christ, we must come to realize that we are unable to be good enough to please the Lord. If we do not understand this, we will try and please Him through our own righteousness. Recognizing that His grace is sufficient is key to living a holy life. Also, we must eventually come to understand, both the person and the divinity of Christ. The book of John says: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God." Lastly, we should recognize, that without the cross, and the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, we would not have salvation available to us...not only that, but we need nothing more than what Christ offers in order to spend eternity with Him. Our salvation is not fragile, like some might contend-it is secure in Him who is able to keep us from falling; yet, over and over in God's word, we receive the warning to be on guard, so we will not loose our "secure position" (2nd Peter 3) I realize that this is a complicated subject...one that we should not have to worry about if we are true followers of Christ! On Sunday we will look at each of these in more detail. God Bless.