“Holding Faith”
I Timothy 1:15-20
15)
This is a
faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
16)
Howbeit for
this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all
longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to
life everlasting.
17)
Now unto the
King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour
and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
18)
This charge I
commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on
thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;
19)
Holding faith,
and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made
shipwreck:
20)
Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I
have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.
Introduction
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must accept the fact that all that we will ever need in this walk of salvation
has already been accomplished by God. Not only has He done these things because
He intends for us to be free to serve Him, but also, simply because He loves
us.
Now, all too frequently, this is one
of the greatest differences between the character of God and ours. You see, in
order for love to be love, it must involve action. Without being acted upon, love
benefits no one. Therefore, for our profession of love to mean anything to the
Lord, He must see us acting upon it.
Main Thought
We have scriptures throughout the
Bible that tell us to hold onto the truth of God. It is not as if we do not
know this, for after all, we can read the Bible for ourselves. What we fail to
pick up from the Word we fail to get because we do not receive the word in our
Spirit!
From the book of Genesis, we are
progressively and successively given the principles and precepts to enable us
to fulfill our purpose in Him. However, also from the book of Genesis, it was
established that all that can produce, will do so “after its kind.” This means
then, that whatever we are, is what we will produce.
This is very powerful when it comes to acknowledging our success as parents, or
“disciples of Christ.”
Along with this, it is established
that in order to “receive” from the Lord, one must be willing to “plant.” This
principle was taught in the Old Testament and reiterated in the New. Here, we
are told that Jesus became the “the firstfruits of
them that slept.” From this, we know that He, first, was “put to death,” then
we were “planted in His likeness.”
Not only were we put to death with
Him, but we were “raised” with Him, as well. If we are honest, most of us will
acknowledge that there is a difference in our “likeness,” compared to His. For
that “difference” to be remedied, we must be dead to living after our human
existence.
Part of what differentiates us from
the “likeness of God” is that He was loyal to His Father and His principles no
matter what! You see, as a human being, it is impossible for us to be like
this, hence the necessity of change. In order to serve Him; to be called by His
name, faith must be maintained—no matter what is happening around us.
If we can acknowledge this about
Jesus, then we must acknowledge this about our own lives, as well: God allows
nothing to take place about which He does not know. Now, though He knows, He
expects us to trust Him that He knows just how much we need to go through in
order to provide Him a return on His investment.
Perspective, position, and focus is
everything, therefore ours must be on “where I’m going (to)” as opposed to
“what I’m going through,” Now, even if it requires a few “tricks” from the
devil to get us there, who really, is our “friend?” Those who would shield us
from what is necessary in order that we get to heaven, or the God and the enemy
who each work as hard as they can to make sure that we get our “workout?”
Without exception, a change in thought
leads to a change in attitude. If one believes that the Lord is only out to
help him, he will greet all that comes to him in a different way from the one
who is convinced that no one is interested in helping him. The actions of the
former person will bespeak contentment and godliness, while those of the
latter, discontent and unrighteousness. Now, which one would you say will
experience the fewest difficulties?
We all know that we are told by God to
“stand still” and allow Him to deliver us. Nowhere in this statement is there a
suggestion that we can deliver ourselves. Neither would this ever be necessary
(even if it were possible), for when Jesus is tried, He never fails.
God allows no tests that He has not
already resolved. This means, then, that what is “new” to us,
is not new to God. Though He is well aware that the only “danger” to us in
tests is that we will not trust Him, we are not told exactly what they will
contain because flesh would never consent to being tested.
The first principle of salvation is
that one’s life is given to God, and in return, we are filled with His Spirit
as evidenced by speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives utterance, and baptized
in Jesus’ name.
Let no man fool you: the solution to
all of Man’s problems is spiritual. However, if we would get the benefit of
that solution, we will have to consent to go through all that He has decreed,
in the order that it was decreed.
What is our biggest part in salvation?
To testify of the goodness of God. This begs the
question, then, of how we could ever believe that there are some things that
God will not do for us if it be important to salvation? In case you have not
yet come to this “revelation,” the God Who has saved us will do whatever is
necessary for us to get to the