26 January 2 Timothy

For God saved us and called us to live a holy life

2 Timothy 1:9-10(NLT) reads: For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News.God saved us not due to our merit, but because salvation was always part of His divine plan. His intent for His creation has always been steadfast, with redemption serving as the means through which He actualises this plan. Ephesians 1:4(NLT) states: Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. This reinforces the idea presented in Ephesians 1:3-4(ESV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.Before the universe was formed, God had you in mind. He set His eyes on you and selected you for Himself. It wasn’t because you were already in Christ, but so you could come to be in Him. He didn't choose you based on any pre-existing belief or righteousness on your part. Instead, His choice was aimed at making you a Believer, a child of God, and to lead you toward holiness and goodness.God’s grace was bestowed upon us even before the universe came into existence. As 2 Timothy 1:10(ESV) affirms: and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,The certainty of our future resurrection is grounded in our belief in the Lord’s resurrection on the third day. If we doubt our own future resurrection, we inadvertently question the resurrection of Christ. Understanding and believing in the resurrection is central to the gospel message: Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and triumphantly rose on the third day.To conclude, Ephesians 2:8-9(NLT) beautifully encapsulates the essence of God's grace: God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.