trbccoffeebreak

“The Lord’s bondservant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, skillful in teaching, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.” 2 Timothy 2:24-26

Friend, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, I want to ask you a simple question: Do you always remember from where you came? Whether you gave your life to Christ at VBS when you were age 7 or the Lord called your name to salvation at 70, the fact is that you used to be an enemy of God in need of reconciliation with Him. It’s so easy, especially the longer we walk with the Lord down the path of sanctification, to forget.

If you’re like me and surrendered to Jesus later in life, your previous lostness may be more top of mind, so to speak—especially if you share your testimony as a witness of the transforming power of Christ. But even then, the longer we’re “church people,” the more likely we are to experience a bit of “sanctification pride”…in other words, a kind of forgetfulness of our own journey, with an attitude of, “Oh, I can’t believe he/she is ‘still’ doing this/that—I’m glad I’m not like that!” Really? First of all—yeah, we were once like that. Second of all, we still are. It may not be the exact same snare as our brother or sister, but we still fight against sin daily. (And if you don’t think so, well, a study on the sin of pride might be something to consider.)

And when it comes to looking upon unbelievers, we must absolutely reach back and recall our life as—not just in–darkness (Ephesians 5:8). Regardless of whether you never left the Father’s porch or you ended up in the pigsty (like me), you and I were once lost. Blind. Enslaved. An enemy (Ephesians 2:1-3). This is what Paul is exhorting Timothy about in 2 Timothy 2:24-26. Christians must battle that internal dialogue of judgement against the lost…in fact, it actually sounds an awful lot like Christ’s condemnation of the Pharisee’s prayer, “God, thank you that I am not like that guy…” (Luke 18:9-14).

So, how do we follow Paul’s advice? There are three words in those verses in 2 Timothy that seem to pop out: “all” and “if perhaps.” All means all, and that’s all all means—as a former pastor of mine used to say. Every person you encounter is either alive in Christ or dead. We may not know who’s who, but we can know that all need Jesus. So we need to act that way. And if they are dead (blind, lost, enslaved to sin), there is the promise of “IF PERHAPS”—the potential that the Lord will call them to Himself—and He may use YOU or ME to do it! Because of our gentle words of truth and actions of love, the Lord may open their eyes to the knowledge of Him. They may come to their senses (like that pigsty moment) and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will (v 26).

Beloved, as we walk through this world, remember that we have been rescued by the grace of God through faith in Christ Jesus! Now it is our calling, our responsibility, to show others the way of escape…that they don’t have to be held captive by the lust of the flesh, this fallen world, or the hissing lies of the accuser (Satan). Every day, we must first remind ourselves that through Christ’s victorious death and resurrection, we’re no longer captives to the enemy as we once were (Galatians 5:1; 2 Corinthians 3:17; John 8:36)…then, let’s go make a way of escape for others.

“Lord, thank You for the freedom won on my behalf in Christ. As one rescued, may I open my eyes to the walking dead around me who desperately need a way of escape—and use me to show them the way.”

For His Glory

Julianne Winkler Smith
TRBC Women’s Life