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SEPTEMBER 3, 2010
OUT OF ORDER
But join me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who 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. (2 Timothy 1:8-9, NIV)
I dare you to swing a golf club without first setting your hands. We have all been told how important it is to have a
proper grip, but how much more trouble we would be in if we didn’t have any idea what form the grip should take. Grab it like a knife and fork and look out!
There’s a critical order to the life we live in Christ, too. And it begins with Him.
The Gospel of Jesus is not good news because of anything we do. If that were the case, there would be no need for a New
Covenant, no need for a Savior. We could have all gone on trying our silly best to meet the demands of the law. Paul’s epistles are full of the reasons why this is futile. Of course, our own
conscience tells us the same. In fact, I was taken aback by an apologist’s question I heard recently: “If God eliminated all the evil in the world at midnight tonight, where would you be at 1
am?” Even a dishonest person knows the honest answer to that question!
So the Good News of Jesus begins with Jesus. It begins with Him fulfilling the purpose to which His Father called Him.
It begins with His perfect sacrifice, made in the completeness of grace.
But we cannot miss the importance of this initiative act on His part. You see, the enactment of Christ’s
salvation in us comes with a simultaneous calling: to live a holy life. Start with the holy life, and you find yourself back under the constraints and exposure of the law. You cannot get to salvation
this way. Christ must come first.
Further, a life lived as a beacon to His salvation may well lead us to very real suffering. Paul wrote to Timothy from
jail; his life would end at Caesar’s command. Speak of Jesus boldly even in nations committed to religious liberty, and you will find yourself criticized, ridiculed, and left out. Who would choose
such a life unless he or she was first chosen by God?
The impetus for our righteousness is Christ’s. We cannot be righteous without Him, but through Him we can be
holy. The order is everything.
--
Jeff Hopper
September 3, 2010
Copyright 2010 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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