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Some parents start saving for a child's college
education before he is born, giving him a gift
even before conception.
God, our heavenly Father, gave us a gift before
even creating the world; He gave us grace.
- "Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony
of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join
with me in suffering for the gospel according
to the power of God, who has saved us
and called us with a holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to His own purpose
and grace which was granted us in Christ
Jesus from all eternity" (2 Tim. 1:8-9).
God's Grace
The word "grace" is used a number of ways in the
Bible.
In 2 Timothy 1:9 the Greek word charis
is translated "grace", denoting God's friendly
attitude toward us to be merciful because of His
love.
- "But God, being rich in mercy, because
of His great love with which He loved
us, even when we were dead in our transgressions,
made us alive together with Christ (by grace
you have been saved)" (Eph. 2:4-5).
Granted From Eternity
Therefore God predestined from eternity to save
us in Christ, granting us grace in Christ from
all eternity (2 Tim. 1:9).
In so doing, God established His plan for the
church (the group of people Jesus saves) from
eternity (Eph. 3:10-11; 5:23).
Granted In Christ
God determined to be gracious toward people in
Christ, choosing beforehand to save them.
This is the grace God gave us from eternity:
salvation in Christ.
- "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every
spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in
Christ, just as He chose us in Him before
the foundation of the world, that we would
be holy and blameless before Him. In love He
predestined us to adoption as sons through
Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the
kind intention of His will" (Eph. 1:3-5).
We're Not Ashamed
So we're not ashamed of the testimony of the Lord,
the gospel, because God has saved us and called
us with a holy calling.
- "Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony
of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join
with me in suffering for the gospel according
to the power of God, who has saved us
and called us with a holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to
His own purpose and grace which was granted
us in Christ Jesus from all eternity" (2
Tim. 1:8-9).
And we're not ashamed to be Christians, because
God's saving grace was "revealed by the appearing
of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death
and brought life and immortality to light through
the gospel" (2 Tim. 1:10).
And we're not ashamed to be Christians because
we know whom we've believed and we're convinced
that He is able to guard what we've entrusted
to Him until that day (2 Tim. 1:12).
Retain the Standard of Sound Words
So we retrain the standard of sound words, which
is the gospel, because we're eternally thankful
for God's grace.
- "Retain the standard of sound words
which you have heard from me, in the faith
and love which are in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim.
1:13).
Thus, we're careful not to walk by a different
calling other than the holy calling of Christ,
whereby we would be lost rather than saved.
Guard the Treasure Entrusted to You
As a result, we guard the treasure that has been
entrusted to each of us: the gospel and testimony
of Christ.
- "Guard, through the Holy Spirit who
dwells in us, the treasure which has been
entrusted to you" (2 Tim. 1:14).
- "O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted
to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter
and the opposing arguments of what is falsely
called knowledge' -- which some have professed
and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be
with you" (1 Tim. 6:20-21).
As those saved by God's grace, we are charged
with the responsibility of guarding the gospel
and testimony of Christ, by which we are called
and saved.
Conclusion
God granted us grace from all eternity in Christ.
Therefore, we're neither ashamed to be Christians
nor ashamed of the gospel.
And we're diligent to fulfill our responsibility
and guard the treasure entrusted to us, the gospel,
by retaining the standard of sound words.
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