Proof - 1/31/2010

1 Timothy 2:3-7, "...God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and know the truth. There is one God and one way human beings can reach God. That way is through Christ Jesus, who is Himself human. He gave himself as a payment to free all people. He is proof that came at the right time."

"Proof that came at the right time," like the old song says, "He's an on-time God!" Our modern world has been completely shaped by Jesus Christ; knowledge of Him has spread to every continent. If He came any earlier in history, His teachings may have been lost to antiquity. Any later, and they may not have spread as far and as fast as they did. Since He came at that time and place in history, His life and teachings were able to be recorded and then carried with those who recorded it as they spread across the globe, sharing the message of His love and salvation.

"The proof that comes on time."

So, what did He prove? That the prophets were right! That God didn't fail. God didn't forget about us in our lost state. That God is forgiving. That God's love knows no limits, that his love and forgiveness applies to all people. It says here that God our Savior wants all people to be saved and know the Truth, to know Christ.

He also proved God's word to be true and reliable. Isaiah 52 and 53, for example, described "God's suffering servant" 800 years before Jesus was born and suffered on the cross. This chapter is a prophecy that specifically describes what Christ accomplished on the cross for a sinful world that He loved enough to die for.

Christ was the proof that God loved us so much that, "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." God the father sacrificed His son so that every one of us might be saved and can eternally enter back into a relationship with Him - our very reason for having ever been created. He didn't give up on us!

There are many who reject that truth. Yet, Christ wants all to be saved. But in the end there will be some, who "...will die, because they refused to love the truth. (If they loved the truth, they would be saved.)" - 2 Thessalonians 2:10b.

So, we are commanded to help these people, and ourselves. In Titus 1, 2:1-8, we are instructed in this way:

"...tell every one what to do to follow the true teaching. Teach older men to be self-controlled, serious, wise, strong in faith, in love, and in patience. In the same way, teach older women to be holy in their behavior, not speaking against others or enslaved to too much wine, but teaching what is good. Then they can teach the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be wise and pure, to be good workers at home, to be kind, and to yield to their husbands. Then no one will be able to criticize the teaching God gave us. In the same way, encourage young men to be wise. In every way be an example of doing good deeds. When you teach, do it with honesty and seriousness. Speak the truth so you cannot be criticized, then those who are against you will be ashamed because there is nothing bad to say about us."

Certainly, this will prove that the Truth of Christ has its foundation in love, having the power to change hearts and bring us back into relationship with God. Amen!