2 Timothy 1:9 (NIV)
9 He 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. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of
time,
The apostle uses the perfect tense and says, "who saved us."
Believers in Christ Jesus are saved. They are not looked upon as people who are
in a hopeful state and may ultimately be saved, but they are already
saved. Salvation is not a blessing to be enjoyed upon our dying bed and to be
sung of in a future state above, but a matter to be obtained, received,
promised, and enjoyed now.
The Christian is perfectly saved in God's purpose; God
has ordained him to salvation, and that purpose is complete. He is saved also
as to the price that has been paid for him: "It is finished" was
the cry of the Savior before He died. The believer is also perfectly saved in
His covenant Head, for as he fell in Adam, so he lives in Christ.
This complete salvation is accompanied by a holy
calling. Those whom the Savior saved upon the cross are in due time effectually
called by the power of God the Holy Spirit to holiness: They leave their sins;
they endeavor to be like Christ; they choose holiness, not out of any
compulsion, but from the power of a new nature, which leads them to rejoice in
holiness just as naturally as when previously they delighted in sin. God
neither chose them nor called them because they were holy, but He called them
that they might be holy, and holiness is the beauty produced by His workmanship
in them.
The excellencies that we see in a believer are as much the
work of God as the Atonement itself. In this way the fullness of the grace of
God is beautifully displayed. Salvation must be of grace, because the Lord is
the author of it: And what motive but grace could move Him to save the guilty?
Salvation must be of grace because the Lord works in such a manner that our
righteousness is forever excluded. Such is the believer's privilege—a present
salvation; such is the evidence that he is called to it—a holy life.
Thought for today:
Do I know my calling ?
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