The Wonder of God's Overflowing Grace
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Paul opens with a charge to Timothy to confront certain people that are spreading false teaching. Paul now looks back in time twenty years to his own salvation event.
Twenty years after he first met Jesus Christ on road to Damascus, Paul has not lost the wonder of the cross or his salvation. He begins his testimony with heartfelt thanks to Jesus Christ and ends with a hymn-like doxology.
To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Paul is writing this testimony as a clear testimony of what the true gospel. But this is no cold academic presentation of theological truths. It is sound doctrine on fire with wonder and amazement at God's overflowing grace in Jesus Christ.
We are to hold to the gospel. Guard the gospel. Love sound doctrine. We also should never lose the wonder of the glorious gospel. The wonder of God's overflowing grace. Hold to this truth and never lose the wonder.
The gospel is Christ Jesus. Therefore the church and our message must always and truly be centered on the Person of Jesus Christ. He is the gospel. Outside of the Savior, there is no salvation.
Christ Jesus must always be at the center of all we say and do as His church. We need to be on guard that we don't drift from Christ Jesus as our center by focusing on other issues (issues that may be good) but are not based on the centrality of Christ Jesus.
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners...
That is the gospel in one line. It is both doctrinal truth and staggering enough to fill heart with wonder: At a real point in history, Jesus came into the world to live and die to save lost sinners. That is our message - everything else we teach and believe flows from that. That is the nail we will hammer again and again and again.
When our souls grow dull to Him and hunger for other things - rather than chase other things, we should pray May I never lose the wonder of the cross. May I see it like the first time, standing as a sinner lost.