At one time …
Summary: Today’s meditation is a preview of the next eight verses. With a few strokes of the pen, Paul lays out before us the essential message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Today, instead of listening to me talk about Paul’s words, we are going to listen to Paul. In a few short words, he lays out the essentials of the Gospel. It is a beautifully concise synopsis.
What We Were
3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
What God Did
4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.
How He Did It
He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
What We Do Now
8 This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
What About Disagreements?
9 But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. 10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. 11 You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned.
Application: The Gospel of Jesus, the Good News of Salvation, is told over and over again in the Bible. As you read through the Bible keep your eyes open.
Food for Thought: What do you see in these verses that especially captures the nature of the Gospel?
As I have come to learn,..gospel means good news,..the good news about Jesus,..from what I read here,..the good news is that we have been saved by His kindness and love,..and that we are heirs in the hope of eternal life,..
Sometimes good news doesn’t look pretty,…the message of the gospel isn’t the prettiest picture to paint in what Jesus went through in order to grant us eternal life with Him,..but it is what is expected of us,..convey the good news about what Jesus has done for us,..
I am always seeking opportunities on the fence line to share the good news about Jesus,..now days it all starts when I put my mask on,..It has the word Faith written on it with a cross,..it sparks up a lot of conversations and then there are some other looks and no conversation,..but the seed has been planted,..the mission is advanced,..
That’s good news,..
Excellent devotion. I love how you organized these Scriptures along the lines of what we were, what God did, how He did it, etc. I think it all captures the nature of the gospel.
What do you see in these verses that especially captures the nature of the Gospel?
The message is of course beautiful, perfect and complete as written. Far too big a bite to feed at one time, but you divided it up nicely. I enjoy allowing the Holy Spirit to present these truths to those brought to me by God in a conversational setting, which always begins with questions. The order and words used to pass on this message may change to meet the needs of the audience, however the message is eternal. The most amazing fact is, those brought to us always seem to recognize the truth, there is never an argument about what is being communicated. But then again, it is the truth.