2 Timothy 1:5-7 ESV
“I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
Sincere Faith
Not everyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ has genuine
believing faith in Christ. There is a difference between human faith, which is
of the flesh, and God-given faith, which is of the Spirit. Human beings determine
what human faith should look like. God determines what God-given faith should
look like, for it comes from him, it is authored by him, it is perfected by
him, and it is gifted to us who will receive it and apply it, in truth, by him.
We can’t even come to faith in Jesus Christ unless God the
Father first draws us to Christ, i.e. unless he first persuades us as to his
holiness and righteousness and of our sinfulness, and of our need to repent of
(to turn from) our sins and to follow Jesus Christ in obedience to his commands
(New Covenant), in walks of holiness and righteousness. The word “faith” means
to be persuaded by God, so this faith will align with God’s character and will.
And what is the gift of God? Well, it is our salvation, and
it is Jesus Christ, and it is the Holy Spirit, and it is God’s grace and mercy,
and it is eternal life in Jesus Christ, our Lord, all rolled up into one complete
package. And our salvation is not just forgiveness of sins so we can escape
hell and so we can go to heaven when we die. For Jesus Christ died on that
cross in order that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his
righteousness.
So, the grace of God, which is bringing us salvation, trains
(instructs) us to renounce (to say “NO! to) ungodliness and fleshly lusts, and
to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s
soon return. For Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all
lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are
zealous for good works. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for
good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
[Eph 2:8-10; Heb 12:1-2; Jn 6:44; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Acts
5:32; Tit 2:11-14; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Eph 4:17-32; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Lu
9:23-26; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:19-20; 2 Co 5:15; Matt 7:21-23]
Fan
it Into Flame
So, if we are
fanning into flame the gift of God which is in us, by faith in Jesus Christ,
then we should be walking by the Spirit and not by the flesh. We should be
responding to the calling of God on our lives, and we should be doing what he
has called us to do. We should be walking in obedience to the Lord and we
should be studying his word (in context) and applying its truths to our lives
and submitting to the Lordship of Christ over our lives.
And whatever
spiritual gifts we have been given we should be putting into practice. And
whatever part of the body God has assigned to us we should be doing by God’s
grace and in his strength and power. Our lives are no longer to be our own to
be lived however we desire, but our lives are to be surrendered to our Lord
Jesus to do his will and to fulfill his purposes for us, which is not for
ourselves, but which is for the glory of God.
For God did not
give us a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control. These (power
of God, love of God, and self-control of the Spirit of God) are to be what are
ruling our lives, not selfishness, not the lusts of the flesh, not pride, not
sinful passions, not entertainment, not self-pleasure, not peer pressure, but
the power and love of God and self-control under Holy Spirit control. And we
should be living to please our Lord.
2 Timothy 1:8-10 ESV
“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”
Now, if we are people of sincere faith who are walking
according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh, in practice, in
conduct, and if we are indeed “fanning into flame” the gift of God within us,
and so we are now living holy lives, pleasing to God, and so we are sharing the
truth of the gospel, and we are refuting Satan’s lies, and thus we are not
ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, then we should prepare to be persecuted.
We should anticipate that most people are not going to like
us or want to be with us, not even most people who call themselves Christians,
well especially if we live in America. But this could be the same or worse
where you live. I just live in America so I am familiar with what goes on in my
country, but I am not familiar with what goes on in other countries, and even
if I do read news stories about other countries, I can’t trust that they are
the truth.
And we should expect to be hated, rejected, mocked, falsely
accused, lied to and lied about, slandered, mistreated, abused, misused, and
mostly ignored, even by most professing Christians who are living worldly lives
not much different from people who make no profession of faith in Jesus Christ.
And this includes that we may be hated and mistreated by pastors and church
elders and they may even invite us to leave their gatherings.
And don’t let this word “works” fool you. Yes, we are not
saved by our own fleshly works. We can do nothing in our flesh to earn or to
deserve our own salvation. But we are saved to do the works God prepared in
advance that we should “walk in them,” for to this we were called. So works are
not excluded. They are part of our participation with Christ in our salvation
as we cooperate with his work of grace in our lives, by God’s Spirit.
For Jesus Christ saved us and called us to a holy calling
and to live holy lives in all our conduct. And to be holy is to be separate
(unlike, different) from the world because we are being conformed to the
likeness (character) of Jesus Christ. And if we do not live holy lives, but we
continue in deliberate and habitual sin and in willful disobedience to our
Lord, in practice, then we do not have the hope of eternal life, regardless of
what our lips profess.
He’s Been Faithful
By Carol Cymbala
In my own suffering
Through every pain every tear
There's a God who's been faithful to me
When my strength was all gone
When my heart had no song
Still in love He's proved faithful to me
Every word He's promised is true
What I thought was impossible
I've seen my God do
He's been faithful
Faithful to me
Looking back He's love and mercy I see
Though in my heart I have questioned
Even failed to believe
He's been faithful, faithful to me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkFaEMwct_A
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