Who do you believe in? Perhaps you believe in yourself, that is, in your ability to manage and control your own destiny. Perhaps you have placed your trust in someone else for your future wellbeing — it could be your spouse, your boss, a religious leader or a benefactor. Perhaps you say you have placed your trust in God — “In God we trust,” as is said — the question then is do you know this God, and who is this God?
What is, or ought to be, the relationship between man and God? We might like to relate to God as a friend. Often though in our attitudes, we consider that it is worthwhile to relate to him only if he is able to help us, to bless us, to provide for us, to protect us and to give us what we want and desire. That he might be willing to do all of that might not be enough for us — for it is often no sooner that he has done for us what is good that we forget his benefits, and we come to him time and again only for our need when we want something, only to again forget to thank him if we get our wants.
The title of this article is lifted from a verse in the Bible:
That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day. (1 Timothy 1:12)
This was written by Paul to his disciple Timothy. Paul was an apostle of Jesus Christ. Although a contemporary of Jesus, Paul did not know or meet Jesus before Jesus died on the cross. Paul, known by his other name Saul, was a Jewish religious scholar and leader who was inflamed that there were Jewish people who (in his view) departed from the Jewish faith by believing in Jesus as Messiah, believing that Jesus rose from the dead after he was put to death by the Jewish and Roman authorities. Saul had persecuted the early Christians, seeking to arrest them. A young Saul gave approval to the stoning of Stephen, an early church martyr (Acts 8:1).
Breathing murderous threats against the Christians, Saul was making his way to the city of Damascus to hunt down the Christians there, when his mission was disrupted by an encounter with the resurrected Jesus. A light from heaven blinded Saul on the road to Damascus, and he had to be led by hand into the city, where a Christian disciple named Ananias was waiting for him. Prior to Saul’s arrival, Ananias had been instructed by the resurrected Jesus that he was to place his hands on Saul’s eyes to restore his sight.
When Ananias resisted and protested that Saul was an enemy of the church, Jesus answered, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” (Acts 9:15–16) Ananias did as he was instructed by Jesus, and Saul now became a believer in Jesus and immediately began to proclaim that Jesus was the Son of God and the Messiah.
Saul’s conversion and preaching were so offensive to the Jewish leaders in Damascus that they conspired to kill him. As the Jews kept watch over the city gates day and night in order to kill him, the Jewish Christian disciples helped Saul to escape the city by night, lowering him in a basket thru an opening in the city wall.
For the next few decades, Saul, who was now Paul, preached the gospel and suffered at the hands of both Jews and Gentiles for doing that. Where he, as Saul, had previously sought to silence those who preached the gospel with threats of persecution and death, Paul now preached the gospel in the face of threats to him and his colleagues of persecution and death. After having endured much suffering, Paul wrote:
“I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?” (2 Corinthians 11:23–29)
Paul had endured a life of suffering for the sake of Jesus’ name. He had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel, of proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ — that Jesus was the Saviour of the world sent by God to save men and women from their sins and the judgment for sin, that by believing in Jesus man receives the forgiveness of sin because of Jesus’ sacrifice of his own life on the cross for the sins of humanity, that Jesus is risen from the dead after his crucifixion and shall be the righteous Judge to whom every person in the world shall give an account.
The message of the gospel might be offensive to some, but to those who receive it, it is effective for salvation. Paul says in another place: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” (Romans 1:16)
Paul was willing to give his life to preach this gospel. Thanks to men like him, men like me can believe in the gospel and be saved by it. I need the salvation that comes from the gospel because I know of no other way that my sins can be forgiven. The Bible says, “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” (Romans 4:25)
Do you know who you believe for your salvation? Is it in yourself that you trust? If yes, you are a very confident person. I am glad that I can rely on Jesus for my salvation, for I am only too aware of my shortcomings, weaknesses and inadequacies, to want to trust myself for doing all things right and to be able to stand tall before God. I can stand before God because of all that Jesus Christ did for me, to redeem me from a life of not knowing him, to be the Way which I can follow, and to keep for me that which is precious which I have no power otherwise to preserve.
I know whom I have believed. He has called me to serve him, and the result of my service is kept secure with him and by him. He is calling you to serve him too. We know this because the Bible is God’s Word, written to all of humanity and for all of us. He calls every son, every daughter, of the earth to be reconciled to God. Our sins separate us from God, but God sent his Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins and to reconcile us to God. Jesus is my Saviour and he can be your Saviour too. This is the gospel, the most important message that any human mortal can hear, believe and proclaim.
In Paul’s second letter to his disciple Timothy, Paul who was in prison for the sake of the gospel and who sensed he was near the end of his life, penned these words: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day — and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7–8)
That which Paul had entrusted to God for God’s keeping included the crown of righteousness. Note that this crown will be awarded by the Lord Jesus Christ, the righteous Judge, to all who have believed in him and who have looked forward to his return from heaven. On that Day, he shall make all things right, either in judgment or in reward. Let us choose to believe, and to be willing to suffer for his name. The gospel is not for the faint-hearted, and it takes courage to receive from God the best that he has for us.