Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope...

1 Timothy 1

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope...1 Timothy 1:1

I continue with my study of 1 and 2 Timothy. This morning, I lean on DesiringGod.com's Look at the Book video series, starting with the video for 1 Timothy 1:1-2, Part 2. Excerpts from the video entitled God Is Our Savior From What:

John Piper begins the video by examining, as the title of the video explicitly implies, 1 Timothy 1:1, the use of the word Savior and the question saved from what.

• Paul's role as apostle is animated by saving others as he for "endures everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory (2 Timothy 2:10)." 
• There is a worldview implied with the word Savior that the fundamental problem with humanity and the world is sin and preconversion all of humanity is under condemnation and must be saved; Jesus introduces this condition to us; see Titus 3:3-7, Romans 5:9, 8:1, John 3:36
  
• This is why God - the originator of salvation - sent Jesus Christ; see also 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10
  
• God is first and foremost our Savior, through Jesus BEFORE the ages began; God planned salvation and grace before any sin or condemnation even existed and fulfilled through Jesus; see 2 Timothy 1:8-10
• Titus 2:11-13 describes the same hope referred to in text today.

We do need saving and we should be thankful for our salvation.  Praise Jesus who is the Alpha and the Omega!  

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who provides salvation and works through Your Word, the church, the Holy Spirit, etc to bring the Good News of the Gospel throughout the world.  Thank You for saving me!  I am not deserving.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.

Romans 8

Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Romans 8:33

Today I pause in my study of Isaiah to look at John Pipers Solid Joys (www.desiringgod.com > Features > Solid Joys), where the post for today unpacks the implications of God's justification of us.  In the Exalting Jesus in Romans commentary, Tony Merida states that in Romans 8:31-39 Paul's focus is for us to celebrate the security of God's love for us.  When we are saved, it is God who does the saving (Ephesians 2:8) as He welcomes us into His family as one His elect. In Romans 8:33, Piper, in his devotion, encourages us to see that first, it is GOD who has elected us - not any earthly power and not any divine power but the God of the Universe and the King of Kings!  There is no higher power!  Piper then wants us to see that such a declaration of our election and of how God sees us as justified in His eyes, then no one can take this away or overturn such a decision that God has made.  We are justified in God's eyes - end of story.  Piper writes: "[i]f God is the one who acquits you — declares you righteous in his sight — no one can appeal; no one can claim a technicality; no one can call for a mistrial; no one can look for other counts against you. God’s sentence is final and total."  The implication (and application) Piper wants us to see is "unshakable security" in the face of suffering or whatever the world throws at us.  

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You have made me one of Your family, one of Your elect and I am justified in Your eyes and with this I gain great peace, security, confidence, etc. - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings - my sin of worry, anger, etc. continues.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Romans 5:1-11

More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Romans 5:11

This morning, I continued my study of Romans.  Using my commentary - Exalting Jesus in Romans (eBook) - I continued my study of chapter six The Blessings of Justification By Faith, which covers Romans 5:1-11.  My focus today is Romans 5:11 which my commentary refers to with the heading We Exult in God Himself. With focus on this single verse, I reflect on the meaning of reconciliation and it brings to mind a return to God's design of our relationship with Him.  In the beginning (Genesis 2), before The Fall, man and woman lived in the Garden of Eden and there was no sin and no shame. Sin entered the world and since that time, sin separates us from God.  Jesus death on the cross gives us forgiveness of sins and we are restored to God's design for His relationship with us.  We should rejoice in reconciliation. 

My commentary wants us to read this verse and rejoice in God. It offers (quoting Tim Keller) six signs of rejoicing to God:

1. Your mind is deeply satisfied with the doctrine of justification by faith.  You rejoice in it by studying it and speaking about it to others. 
2. You only think of your past in terms it. You don't say: What a mess made of it there!  Instead you say: Me, a Christian! Despite my deep flaws, despite my record!  Yet it is absolutely true!
3. When you discover in yourself a new character flaw, ...the discovery does not make you doubt God's love.  Rather it makes you feel closer to him, and his grace for you becomes more precious in your sight. 
4. When your conscience accuses you and says: How could God love you after what you've done? you don't try to answer with reference to your performance. 
5. When you face criticism, you don't say This is totally unfair.  You rejoice gently inside with thoughts like, Well, I'm really a much worse sinner than they know but....Well may the Accuser roar, of sins that I have done: I know them all, and thousands more: Jehovah knoweth none. 
6. When you face death, you do it with serenity because you are going to a friend. 

 #5 in particular can sometimes be painful as I am often defensive but I shouldn't be. 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God and I get to walk with You!  Your Son, the Word, the Holy Spirit - all of it!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of the reconciliation You bought for me. My sin continues...daily.  Please forgive me...anger, etc. Help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

Romans 5:1-11

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Romans 5:9-10

This afternoon, I continued my study of Romans.  Using my commentary - Exalting Jesus in Romans (eBook) - I continued my study of chapter six The Blessings of Justification By Faith, which covers Romans 5:1-11.  My focus today is Romans 5:9-10 where my commentary uses the heading We Have Assurance of Final Salvation. As with this chapter, I've been looking at the blessings of justification - we have in v9-10 the blessing of salvation.  Of course, it's hard to describe salvation with a single word - we must take the time to unpack and ponder what it means. Paul helps us by ensuring we know that prior to salvation we were "enemies" of God and of course deserving of His wrath - death (Romans 6:23).  Keeping in mind our own sin and its ultimate consequences it becomes more clear how precious and valuable our salvation is. We are saved indeed!

My commentary points out our salvation has a "negative" and a "positive" aspect - negative in that we "have no fear of future wrath" (v9).  We are encouraged to be overwhelmed in gratitude and be full of praise, joy and holy awe.  My commentary then states that "[p]ositively, Paul also says believers are reconciled to God now and forever (v10)....[w]e share [Jesus'] life now; we will share his life through the resurrection later."  We know this for sure because of how Jesus accomplished the most difficult aspect of our salvation through His death on the cross. 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an incredible God who has assured me of salvation both in this life and in the life to come - Heaven!  Thank You Jesus!  The greatest gift of all time - I am of course not deserving of this but deserving of Your wrath.  Thank You for saving me from Your wrath - knowing everything about me.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.