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1 Timothy 1:16
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16 Howbeit [alla] for this [touto] cause [dia] I obtained mercy, [eleeo] that [hina] in [en] me [emoi] first [protos] Jesus [Iesous] Christ [Christos] might shew forth [endeiknumi] all [pas] longsuffering, [makrothumia] for [pros] a pattern [hupotuposis] to them which should hereafter [mello] believe [pisteuo] on [epi] him [autos] to [eis] life [zoe] everlasting. [aionios] KJV-Interlinear
16 And yet for this reason I found mercy, in order that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience, as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. NASB
Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. By definition, sinners are failures in life, lost to all of eternity and have no way out. All of humanity, consists of sinners. Jesus is the only exception. You are not an exception.
Therefore, no one can earn, or work for their salvation, because He did not come into the world to save those who are capable of saving themselves. No one is capable. That dismisses all forms of works, or elitism, or superiority concepts as possible mechanisms for salvation. That dismisses all forms of religion, philosophy, cults, beliefs, etc., that are based on works or human effort or human attributes. That leaves Christianity as the only viable relationship with God, through Christ.
All abilities, all talents, all social status, all achievements, that anyone may possess or occupy in life, is God given, and not human earned. God formed the clay vessels, not the vessels themselves. You cannot impress God by being you, because He made you. You did not make yourself. There is no such thing as the self made individual.
And so, God came into this world to save sinners, and in doing so, He hands out His grace as a gift to all that will accept it.
Paul has used himself as the example of a total failure in life, and if God can save Paul, who was a lying, cheating, self-righteous, murdering misfit, then God is able to save anyone. That includes you.
There is no one who is beyond salvation, unless they are already dead, and not too many of them are likely to be reading this study, now. That’s my humor for the day.
So if you are not dead, then you must be alive, and if you are alive, then God is able to save you. And you receive your salvation by believing in Jesus Christ. You simply state in your own heart, in your own thoughts, ‘Father, I believe in Jesus Christ.’
Father, is God the Father, and it is to Him that all prayers are addressed. Expressions of faith are in effect prayers, and they are always answered with approval and acceptance. That is Gods promise. The expression of faith to receive salvation, takes but a moment of time, and it doesn’t even hurt.
‘Makrothumia,’ means patience, patience with humanity. And God has all of the patience in the world and more. He has looked down through the tunnel of time and knows how long you are going to reject Him. But He will wait until you come to your senses, or until you have committed yourself to eternal doom. In either case, you cannot blame God for your procrastination.
But the longer you hold out, the greater the risk of your losing everything, forever. And ones eternal destiny is something that no one should gamble with, because there is nothing to be gained by rejecting Christ, and everything to lose.
Paul is the pattern of a loser. The pattern (sin in all categories) is in view here, not the deeds or their quantity. There is no one who can claim themselves as being a worse sinner.
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