Welcome to a new day, a new bible study!

Transcript:

1 Timothy 1:14, “The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”

Interesting points:
1. In this verse, Paul acknowledges God’s abundant grace on his life: he received the Father’s undeserved forgiveness and favor as well as faith and love coming from Jesus Christ Himself.

2. Here Paul makes an interesting delineation between God’s grace -- forgiveness and favor which flows abundantly on those who accept Him as Lord -- and the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. This is an easily overlooked distinction which is important as we study the rest of this letter to Timothy. In the previous verse Paul spoke of God’s mercy for withholding the wrath and punishment he deserved as a sinner and here he addresses God’s grace in accepting him as His own. Our salvation is a costly transaction paid through the arduous crucifixion and death of Jesus through which God the Father accepts to restore us sinners to Himself. Although free to us, it is an invaluable gift we simply do not deserve.

3. In Jesus, we receive faith (belief who God is and that He is true to His word -- something which not all men have), and a love for: God, His people and those who do not yet know Him (also a characteristic man does not fully possess without a relationship with Jesus). Like grace, Paul and true believers have this faith and love abundantly.

Application.
Brothers, what a great reminder of God’s grace which provide us eternal life, a free and unmerited gift to us bought at a costly price -- one we cannot earn so that none can boast. It is God who chose us and provided such a means to reconcile us to Him. May we all humbly remind ourselves of this when we are dealing with others: without Him, we would be counted among the unsaved.

Similarly, our faith and ability to love as God does is proportionate to our relationship to Christ. The closer we draw to Him, the more we grow to love as He loves and respond to others as He would. Make no mistake, we believers are not spineless (for He is not), rather our faithful responses/actions stem from the love found in Christ, even in correcting, rebuking, chastising, holding accountable, and discipling.

Today let’s take stock of how we interact to others. Do our relationships reflect God’s grace, Christ’s love, and our faith in Who we serve? If we fall short, let’s take some time in prayer and reflection to course correct. If we are on good course, who is it that we can reach out to and encourage today?