Many religious people take the Lord Jesus Christ as their pattern in life. They call Him βThe Great Exampleβ. When problems arise, they ask themselves: βWhat would Jesus do?β They seek salvation by βwalking in His stepsβ.
While our Lordβs moral and spiritual virtues are indeed worthy of emulation, there were many details in His conduct which we should not imitate. For example, none of us would be in a position to pronounce upon the religious hypocrites of our day the bitter woes which our Lord pronounced upon the Pharisees of His day β simply because we all have so much of the Pharisee in us.
Certainly we cannot be saved by βfollowing Christ,β or striving to live as He did. His perfect holiness would only emphasize our unrighteousness and condemn us. He came to save us, not by His life, but by HisΒ death.Β βCHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINSβΒ (I Cor.15:3), and sinners are βreconciled to God by theΒ deathΒ of His Sonβ (Rom.Β 5:10).
But God has given us a pattern for salvation. It is none other than the Apostle Paul, the chief of sinners saved by grace. Hear what he says by divine inspiration:
βThis is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, THAT CHRIST JESUS CAME INTO THE WORLD TO SAVE SINNERS, of whom I am chiefβ (I Tim.Β 1:15).
Paul, as Saul of Tarsus, remember, had led his nation and the world in rebellion against God and His Christ. He was βexceedingly madβ against the disciples of Christ and βbreathed threatening and slaughterβ against them. Why then, did God save him? He goes on to tell us in the next verse:
βHowbeit [but] for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, FOR A PATTERN to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlastingβ (1 Tim. 1:16).
The moral: Take your stand with Paul. Admit you are a sinner and his Saviour will save you too. source
[β¦] ππ Paul, Our Pattern [β¦]
[β¦] rewarded for faithfulness and an unashamed stand for the message of grace that Christ committed to the Apostle Paul. [β¦]
[β¦] generations past, how many did he initially call to make known the riches of His grace? One man: Paul! One solitary life yielded to Godβs purpose can make a [β¦]
[β¦] Paul lived in a day when politics were corrupt, when power trampled righteousness under foot, when society was degraded, when purety was laughed at, and immorality was exalted. He saw what was called βart and cultureβ dragging thousands down as it tempted them from statues that almost lived, and from writings and pictures so vile that they were only surpassed by the actual immorality from Neroβs court down. [β¦]
[β¦] ππ Paul, Our Pattern [β¦]
[β¦] ππ Paul, Our Pattern [β¦]
[β¦] ππ Paul, Our Pattern [β¦]
[β¦] ππ Paul, Our Pattern [β¦]
[β¦] is a precious commodity! When the Apostle Paul instructedΒ the Ephesians to redeem the time, he wanted them to make wise use ofΒ it. They were not [β¦]
[β¦] The Apostle Paul, in discussing the resurrection of the dead, came to the simple and valid conclusion: βIf there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risenβ (1 Cor. 15:13). [β¦]
[β¦] ππ Paul, Our Pattern [β¦]
[β¦] today, have an even greater reason to be free from the fear of death, for 1,000 years after David, Saul of Tarsus, the chief of sinners, was saved by grace and was sent forth to proclaim the βgospel [good news] [β¦]
[β¦] all was ready for judgment, God revealed βthe exceeding riches of His graceβ by saving Saul, the chief of sinners, and sending him forth as both the herald and the living example of His grace (Rom. 5:20,21)! [β¦]
[β¦] regard to His humiliation, however, the Apostle Paul says, by divine inspiration:Β βGod also hath highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is [β¦]
[β¦] Paul was the first to say: βBut now the righteousness of God without the law is manifestedβ¦ [We] declare His righteousness for the remission of sinsβ (Rom. 3:21-26). When the Gentile jailor fell on his knees and asked: βWhat must I do to be saved?β Paul replied: βBelieve on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be savedβ (Acts 16:30,31). This is Godβs message for sinners today, for βwe have redemption through [Christβs] blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His graceβ (Eph. 1:7). source [β¦]