Thursday, June 25,
2015, 5:58 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song, “Full Release.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read 1 Timothy 1:12-20 (NASB).
Formerly I Was
(vv. 12-14)
I
thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me
faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and
a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted
ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with
the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.
We were all born into sin, with sin natures, without God and
without hope, destined to spend eternity in hell. Yet, I do believe small
children will go to heaven when they die, because Jesus said, "Let the
little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven
belongs to such as these" (Matt. 19:14). He also said, “Truly I say to
you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the
kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3). There is a sense, then, that little children
are still in a state of innocence, and are thus not held accountable for sin.
At least, that is my understanding. Yet, I believe, there comes a time in a
child’s life when he or she reaches an age of accountability, and when he or
she knows right from wrong, and at that time he or she must make that personal
decision whether or not to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of his or
her life, or he or she will be bound for eternity in hell, without God.
So, we are all born with sin natures, and thus we have all
sinned against God, and we all come up short of attaining God’s approval (Ro.
3:23). So, whether we have lied, stolen, cheated, overeaten, been hateful or
slanderous, gossiped, been bitter and unforgiving, and/or committed adultery or
murder, we are all sinners in need of a Savior. So, God the Father sent his
only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth to die on a cross for our sins.
When he died, he put our sins to death with him. They were buried with him. When
he was resurrected from the dead, he rose victorious over sin, death, hell and
Satan. By God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, and in what he did for us
in dying for our sins, we can be saved from our sins and have eternal life with
God both now and forevermore. Amen!
It does not matter who we were in our former life, or what
we did. So, if you think you are too bad for God to save you, think again. It
was while we were yet sinners that Christ died for us. He came to save sinners.
We are not saved because of our own righteousness or our own good deeds. There
is not anything we can do to earn or to deserve our salvation. It is a gift
from God, yet it must be received by faith. Yet, even the faith to believe is a
gift to us from God, for we are not capable in ourselves to have such faith,
but still we must act on that faith. The Bible teaches us that Jesus Christ
died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. Jesus and the apostles
preached a message of repentance for salvation. Paul taught that when we
believe in Jesus Christ, we die with Christ to sin, and we are resurrected with
Christ to new lives, “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness”
(See: Eph. 4:17-24; cf. Ro. 6-8; Gal. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:24-25; Ac. 26:16-18).
When Paul was converted, he did not keep on arresting and
murdering Christians. He did not keep on doing the things he did when he was
formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. By God’s grace
and mercy, he was transformed in heart and mind, and he became a new creation
in Christ Jesus, set free from slavery to sin, and set free to become a slave
(servant) of righteousness. God had an assignment for him. He believed in
Jesus, and he accepted God’s will and purpose for his life, and now he became
like those whom he had formerly persecuted and had put to death. He turned
(repented), and he went the opposite direction of where he was before. This is
what it means to be converted. This is what it means to be saved. We are turned
from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God so that we might
receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith
in Christ Jesus (See: Ac. 26:16-18). We don’t keep on living the way we did
before we were saved. We die with Christ to sin, so we might live to
righteousness.
His Perfect Patience
(vv. 15-17)
It
is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this
reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might
demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in
Him for eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only
God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
When the Holy Spirit transforms the life of anyone of us,
and changes us from who we formerly were to ones God considers faithful, and
whom he has appointed to his service, it serves to demonstrate God’s awesome grace,
patience, love, mercy and forgiveness in our lives, as well as it exhibits the undeniable
power of God to transform human lives. If God can take a person who is a
persecutor and a murderer of Christians, and a strong opponent of the gospel of
Jesus Christ, and change that person into a minister of the gospel, and a
mighty proponent for the gospel, and one who is now in support of those who
believe in Jesus, who are being persecuted for their faith in him, then that
shows that anyone can be saved, no matter what that person has done in his or
her former way of life. Our God is the God of miracles. He can change human
lives. Amen! All glory and praise to God!
Fight the Good Fight
(vv. 18-20)
This
command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies
previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, keeping
faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in
regard to their faith. Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have
handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we are in a spiritual battle.
When we were under the power of sin over our lives, Satan also had power over
us. When Jesus Christ freed us from slavery to sin, and we died with Christ to
sin, and we were resurrected with Christ to now walking in the Spirit, and no
longer according to the flesh, we were also delivered from the power of Satan
over our lives. Yet, the devil wants us back. Just like Pharaoh went after the
children of Israel after they were delivered from slavery in Egypt, Satan is
after us. He is pursuing us like a roaring lion roaming around seeking whom he
may devour. We are his enemies, and so he is out to try to deceive us and to
trick us into returning to being underneath his control. That is why God has
supplied us with spiritual weapons of warfare so that we will be able to stand
firm against the schemes (tricks) of the devil (See: Eph. 6:10-20).
One thing we must believe, though, is that Christ already
won this battle for us. Satan has no real power over us. He may be able to
attack us, and send his followers to persecute us, but we don’t have to give in
to him. We don’t have to give in to sin. We don’t have to be afraid of him and
all his many cohorts. Our God is absolutely sovereign over all powers, and
nothing can touch us but what God allows it, and he allows it for a purpose.
And, if he allows it, he will give us all we need to get through it, whatever
it is, and to come out as victors, in his power and in his mighty strength at
work within us. Amen!
Full Release / An
Original Work / April 15, 2012
Walking daily with my Savior
brings me joy.
Loving Father; precious Jesus;
He’s my Savior and my Lord.
Gently leads me; follow Him.
I’ve invited Him within.
Now abiding in His presence,
oh, what peace.
From my self-life
He has brought me,
By His mercy, full release.
Hope and comfort,
peace and safety Jesus brings
When I daily bow before Him;
Obey freely; do His will.
Follow Him where’er He leads.
Listen to Him; His words heed.
Now obeying his words fully,
oh, what love
That He gives me
through salvation,
By His Spirit, from above.
Loving Father; precious Jesus,
He’s my friend.
With my Savior, by His Spirit,
I will endure to the end.
Share the gospel, tell what’s true.
Witness daily; His will do.
Tell the world of how their Savior
bled and died.
On a cruel cross He suffered
So that we might be alive.
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