Read with Me
1 Timothy 4:9-10 (HCSB)
This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance. In fact, we labor and strive for this, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of everyone, especially of those who believe.
Listen with Me
Paul had lived many of his first years as a Pharisee. The Pharisees are often looked down on today as legalists who looked good on the outside, but who were evil at heart. Jesus condemned them roundly for this, and rightfully so, because their insistence on a “do it yourself” righteousness had placed a wall between them and God and had insulated them from being saved through faith in Jesus.
But to the people of Jesus day, the Pharisees were the champions of the faith, the protectors of biblical doctrine, and the closest thing to saints that Judaism allowed. And many of them, like Nicodemus (John 3) and Joseph of Arimathea (Luke 23:50-53) were faithful men whose passion for serving God led them to becoming followers of Jesus and believers in his identity as the Messiah.
Paul had been absolutely self-righteous, secure in his belief that he was faultlessly fulfilling every one of the requirements of the law (Philippians 3:4-6). But when he was confronted by the risen Christ on the Damascus Road (Acts 9:3-9), any illusions he had about himself and his standing with God were shattered. He realized in a moment that, far from being among the greatest saints of all time through his own efforts, he was in fact among the greatest of sinners, worthy of God’s utter condemnation.
Paul was clearly shown, and instantly grabbed hold of, the truth that no one was or could be righteous in God’s sight. Everyone, whether the vilest heathen or the most observant Jew, could only be saved by God, by His grace. And the only doorway into that saving grace was Jesus (John 14:6).
Paul clung to that truth like a drowning man clings to a life ring. And within days, he was sharing that truth, the truth that had saved him, with everyone he could find (Acts 9:20-22). The message that everyone is a sinner and that the living God is the only hope of salvation through faith in Jesus became the message of his whole being from that moment forward. It wasn’t just what he preached, it was what he lived out every single day.
Pray with Me
Father, I think that one of the main reasons that Paul was so effective in his witness was that he never clouded up the gospel with politics or philosophy. He just kept the message simple: you are lost because of your sins, and you can’t be saved by anything you yourself can do. But God has provided a Savior for you and all humanity: Jesus who is the Deliverer whom He had promised for long ages, and who has now come. Jesus died to pay the penalty for your sins. He rose again to conquer death once and for all so that you can live forever. And He is now in heaven waiting to return so that He can receive His people to Himself. And you can receive the salvation He purchased for you at such a huge price by repenting and believing in Jesus. It’s very clean, very simple, and we see it over and over again as the core message, the foundation, the matrix of not only Paul’s gospel presentations, but those of all the other disciples as well. Help me, Lord, to not get too clever or inventive when I share the gospel, but to keep to keep it simple so that everyone can see the truth as they hear it. Amen.