Worshiping God for His Grace Part IV

1 Timothy 1:12-17:

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. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am the foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, that in being 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.

Now that we have seen the call of God, initiated by His will, apart from our works, apart from our faithfulness and righteousness, apart from our decision, we then moved on to see our very sad condition of lawlessness and rebellion before God.

Paul isn’t alone in being a blasphemer, a persecutor and a violent aggressor;

David isn’t alone in being an adulterous, lusting, lying, murderer;

No, we all continually live for our own selfish desires, and that means that we all sin against one another, and more importantly against a holy God. This sin requires repentance; a true change in our hearts and actions, which can only occur when there is an awareness of our sin. All of these things work together to show us the next point: Salvation by Grace Alone, Through Faith Alone in Christ Alone.

Lets look together at 1 Timothy 1:14.

"And the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus."

I have been striving to show you that God’s Grace is required for faith in Christ;

That Faith is required to truly love Christ;

And that a love for Christ, which consequently is the most important aspect of our salvation, can only exist with true salvation.

Lets look back to one of the first things we said today, Grace is the unmerited favor and kindness of God shown to the undeserving sinner. God doesn’t owe grace, you cannot earn grace, and without grace, you cannot be saved.

There is nothing inside of anyone, that is deserving of salvation. There is no action that can be performed that would merit salvation. Salvation from start to finish is by the grace of God alone.

Lets look back to Paul’s life, and his conversion. In 1 Timothy 1:16 Paul goes on to say “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 we will cover this verse in a few minutes, but this patience that Christ demonstrated in Paul’s life and salvation is to serve for an example for all who will believe, so it is an excellent place for us to see exactly how salvation through the grace of God works.

In Galatians 1:13-16 we find another account of Paul’s conversion, his testimony is repeated six times in the New Testament, and again that points to the significance it has in the life of each true believer in Christ.

“For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it; and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions. But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles.”

Notice again, Paul was certainly not looking for Christ, he was looking for Christians, and his intent was to destroy them. Then God, already having planned the entire course of Paul’s life from before birth, at the perfect time, God’s perfect time, revealed to Paul his sin, gave him the faith to believe, and put him into service for the kingdom.

Lets look together at another verse that emphasizes how the grace of God, including the faith to believe is a gift from God. Ephesians 2:8:

“for by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God."

Here the word “that” is a specific reference to the entire statement of salvation, not only the grace, but also the faith.

Although men are absolutely required to believe in Jesus Christ, His perfect sinless life, His atoning death on the cross, and His resurrection from the grave, even that faith is part of the gift of God which saves, and cannot be exercised in ones own power. God’s grace is the primary factor in every aspect of salvation, from His call on our lives, to the revealing of our sins, to the faith needed to repent and believe on Christ.

The Westminster Confession of Faith, which was written by a group of over 150 theologically learned men, who met 1,163 times over a course of five and a half years, who finished the document on February 22 1649, has this to say of Effectual Calling and grace:

Chapter 10 Article 1: All those whom God hath predestined unto life, and those only, He is pleased, in His appointed and accepted time, effectually to call, by His Word and Spirit, out of that state of sin and death, in which they are by nature, to grace and salvation, by Jesus Christ; enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God, taking away their heart of flesh; renewing their wills, and, by His almighty power, determining them to that which is good, and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ; yet so, as they come most freely, being made willing by His grace.

Paul was so adamant in glorifying God for this grace, that every letter he wrote both begins and ends with a pronouncing of grace from God to the recipients of the letter.

If you are reading this article right now, and know Christ; Not just know about Him, but love Him, worship Him, appreciate Him and serve Him; You have Him and Him alone to thank for where you are right now, and what an amazing thing it is to think about where He has brought us from!