Saved by Grace - Rewarded for Faith
“…join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day. What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” (2 Timothy 1:8-14)
Paul was suffering for teaching the good news that…
1. God has saved us, not because of anything we have done, but because of his own "purpose and grace".
2. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus "before the beginning of time".
3. The truth of this salvation was hidden until Jesus came, died and then destroyed death by his resurrection.
4. Paul was appointed to tell this previously hidden good news.
5. Paul encouraged Timothy to "guard" this sound teaching, with faith and love.
In Chapter 2 Paul admonishes Timothy that those who do not “guard” this good news and "endure" any suffering for doing so will have some negative consequences if he were to “disown" what God and the Lord Jesus have done…
“You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus...I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” (2 Timothy 2:1-13)
Paul has assured us that salvation is a result of the grace of God alone and does not depend on our faithfulness, but on the faithfulness of Christ Jesus. However, our faithfulness will be rewarded and will determine what we do in the ages following our death and resurrection. It seems to me that the faithful will REIGN with Christ and all others will be reigned over in the two ages which follow this present age. Paul tells Timothy…
1. Be Strong in the GRACE that is ours in Christ Jesus.
2. Entrust the gospel to those who also will be strong to teach the truth about God's Grace.
3. Suffer for this truth if necessary.
Adolph E. Knoch said it better than I in his Concordant Commentary on 2 Timothy…
“This faithful (trustworthy) saying shows that our life and all that comes to us by His grace is immutable (salvation)—it depends on His faithfulness. Service, however, has two sides, reward and loss. Endurance will be recognized by a place of authority in His celestial realm. If we disown Him we cannot expect Him to give us a public place of power in the future. This does not infringe in the least degree on our salvation or life or anything which is ours by His grace.”
Paul makes it clear that it is loss of REWARD, not SALVATION, when he wrote to those in Corinth...
"By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a REWARD. If it is burned up, the builder will SUFFER LOSS BUT YET WILL BE SAVED..." (1 Corinthians 3:10-15)
Paul was suffering for teaching the good news that…
1. God has saved us, not because of anything we have done, but because of his own "purpose and grace".
2. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus "before the beginning of time".
3. The truth of this salvation was hidden until Jesus came, died and then destroyed death by his resurrection.
4. Paul was appointed to tell this previously hidden good news.
5. Paul encouraged Timothy to "guard" this sound teaching, with faith and love.
In Chapter 2 Paul admonishes Timothy that those who do not “guard” this good news and "endure" any suffering for doing so will have some negative consequences if he were to “disown" what God and the Lord Jesus have done…
“You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus...I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” (2 Timothy 2:1-13)
Paul has assured us that salvation is a result of the grace of God alone and does not depend on our faithfulness, but on the faithfulness of Christ Jesus. However, our faithfulness will be rewarded and will determine what we do in the ages following our death and resurrection. It seems to me that the faithful will REIGN with Christ and all others will be reigned over in the two ages which follow this present age. Paul tells Timothy…
1. Be Strong in the GRACE that is ours in Christ Jesus.
2. Entrust the gospel to those who also will be strong to teach the truth about God's Grace.
3. Suffer for this truth if necessary.
4. He who endures the suffering and "remains faithful" will REIGN with Christ.
5. Disowning him by being "faithless" with regard to the truth, will result in being denied the reward of REIGNING with Christ. (during the next two ages). Note that it is a loss of REWARD, not a loss of salvation..
Adolph E. Knoch said it better than I in his Concordant Commentary on 2 Timothy…
“This faithful (trustworthy) saying shows that our life and all that comes to us by His grace is immutable (salvation)—it depends on His faithfulness. Service, however, has two sides, reward and loss. Endurance will be recognized by a place of authority in His celestial realm. If we disown Him we cannot expect Him to give us a public place of power in the future. This does not infringe in the least degree on our salvation or life or anything which is ours by His grace.”
"By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a REWARD. If it is burned up, the builder will SUFFER LOSS BUT YET WILL BE SAVED..." (1 Corinthians 3:10-15)