I Hope! I Think!

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I give you orders, before God and Christ Jesus, who will be the judge
of the living and the dead, and by his revelation and his kingdom; 2
Be preaching the word at all times, in every place; make protests, say
sharp words, give comfort, with long waiting and teaching; 3 For the
time will come when they will not take the true teaching; but, moved
by their desires, they will get for themselves a great number of
teachers for the pleasure of hearing them; 4 And shutting their ears
to what is true, will be turned away to belief in foolish stories. 5
But be self-controlled in all things, do without comfort, go on
preaching the good news, completing the work which has been given you
to do. 6 For I am even now being offered, and my end is near. 7 I have
made a good fight, I have come to the end of my journey, I have kept
the faith: 8 From now on, the crown of righteousness is made ready for
me, which the Lord, the upright judge, Will give to me at that day:
and not only to me, but to all those who have had love for his
revelation. 2 Tim 4:1-8 (BBE)

One thing that bothers me a great deal is that I sometimes hear those
who say they are "born again" doubt whether or not they are going to
be with the Lord after they die. They will laugh as though its
something not to be taken too lightly. This is a very serious matter.
In the above passage Paul is writing his last epistle before he is
beheaded because of his faith in Christ Jesus. Paul makes it very
clear, without the shadow of a doubt that he is going to be with the
Lord. Before he voices his confidence of where he will be spending
eternity he lets Timothy (and us) know that he has served Lord Jesus
Christ to the best of his ability. He has kept the faith, he has
successfully fought the good fight that is he has done what was
needed, with God's help, to overcome anything that hindered his
service, his life for Christ. Does this mean Paul was "the perfect
christian?" Definitely not! The reason he was such a successful
servant of his Lord was that he recognized his "weaknesses" and in so
doing turned to Christ for strength to endure 13 I am able to do all
things through him who gives me strength. 14 But you did well to have
care for me in my need Phil 4:13-14 (BBE) Note that his strength came
from Christ which made him strong spiritually. Also, note that he
commends his readers who, out of love for Christ and therefore for
Paul, did what they could to help him in whatever way was necessary
for him to continue to serve Christ and His church.
Either we know know, as did Paul, with certainity that we, as
followers of Christ, know we will spend eternity with our Lord and
Saviour. If we have doubts then we need to examine ourselves and see
where we really stand in our relationship with Christ. We, who are
confident in our salvation, in our relationship with Christ, need to
be supportive of each other especially those who are weaker in the
faith. Remember, if we find ourselves struggling in the faith remember
the words of Paul, And my God will give you all you have need of from
the wealth of his glory in Christ Jesus. 20 Now to God our Father be
glory for ever and ever. So be it. Phil 4:19-20 (BBE).
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