“His Perfect Patience!”

“I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.” (1 Timothy: 12-17 ESV)

Verses 12-17 are very emotional verses penned by a man who fully understood the mercy (not receiving what we deserve) and the grace (receiving what we do NOT deserve) of our Lord and Savior.

Everyone who has come to Christ fully realizes that what we deserved for our rebellion and refusal to come to Him was death. Our sins, no matter how horrible or how subtle they were, kept us from coming to God. They kept us from coming to Him with our hands outstretched, asking for mercy and grace, not wanting to receive what we deserve (separation from God for eternity) but asking for grace to be applied to our very souls so that we could receive what we did not deserve (live with God for all eternity) solely based on Jesus having died on the cross to pay for our sin if only we would accept His death as payment in full. If only we would accept his grace and mercy and admit our way was wrong and His way of eternal life was right. Mercy and grace go hand in hand, do they not? How can you have one without the other? God is ready to administer both to any and all who will call upon the name of His Son as their Savior.

Those of us who have made that trip to the foot of the cross, who looked into that empty tomb, at that moment, understood that it was all for “me.” We understand God’s mercy and grace. Paul never forgot what Jesus had done for him, the “greatest of all sinners,” and it changed Paul’s life. Not just his eternal outlook, but his daily outlook on life, salvation does that to many of us. We are very grateful that we will not suffer separation from God for all of eternity but instead will be seated with Jesus for all of eternity.

However, Paul’s understanding of precisely what Jesus did for him affected his life every day. He never forgot who he was and who Jesus is. It consumed his very existence, and it really shows in this passage of 1 Timothy. A quick question for all of us. Does your salvation affect you every day? I know it changes your eternal outlook, but does it change how you conduct your business? Does it change how you treat your wife, husband, children, or friends? Does it flood your heart sometimes and become overwhelming?

If you read verses 12-17, you can’t help but see how the love of God overwhelms Paul’s life. Paul mentions in v17, “… Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience, as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.” Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience, or as the KJV translates it, “shew forth all longsuffering.” Perfect patience, all long-suffering, both try to explain the complete patience of Jesus Christ. You see, Paul knew that Jesus was patient with him. Paul knew that Jesus could have struck him down at any time when he was blaspheming His precious name, but He did not. Paul knew what he deserved for his unrepentant heart before he met Jesus face to face. He knew that God allowed him to live some 30+ years deep in his wrong way of thinking that he could earn God’s forgiveness by keeping the Law of Moses. Paul even says that none of his contemporaries came close to his devotion to the Law and his zeal for persecuting anyone who would defame it and speak out against it.

Paul understood that it was the perfect or complete patience of Jesus, waiting until the right time in Paul’s life to have him make a decision. Was Paul right, or was God right? Paul repented right there on that dusty road to Damascus. Paul changed his mind about what it took to please God and what it took to gain eternal life. Paul experienced the Complete perfect patience of Jesus.

This word patience in the Greek means “Long-Tempered” as opposed to short-tempered, which we all are very familiar with. You see, God is “long-tempered” with us. Many of us, for years, stood opposed to God, insisting our working for salvation was right and rejecting the only true way of salvation, Jesus. Paul and any of us that have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior have experienced this “perfect patience”, this “complete long-tempered” gift from Jesus.

My friend, if you have not yet repented (changed your mind) of your efforts to try to earn God’s forgiveness and accepted the gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus, you still have the opportunity. Jesus is long-tempered and extends the gift of salvation to you today. Read Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved, not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” We cannot boast about our virtues, goodness, or “works.” We need to repent (change our minds) about who is right and who is wrong.

There is still time while Jesus Christ demonstrates His perfect patience. Make that decision today.

"Living in Grace is not about what I can do, but about what Jesus has already done!"