Purpose: To show that unbelievers have some knowledge of God, howbeit distorted, and that the apostle Paul was a sinner saved by God’s grace.
First, let us never forget what a great salvation we have all experienced. The apostle Paul never forget what a great sinner he was and how it was only by the greater grace of God that he was delivered.
May we often consider how deserving we are of God’s wrath and how great a price our Saviour Jesus Christ paid in order to set us free. And let gratitude to Christ motivate us to live for Him and to serve Him joyfully and faithfully.
But second, let us be encouraged that the sting and venom of sin and Satan has been removed from everything in our lives so that nothing that is ultimately evil will ever come upon us.
All things that happen happen to us for our good, yes, even snake bites and other such episodes. Satan may mean it for evil but Christ, who has removed the deadly poison from the evil one, will see to it that it will work out for our good.
“And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.” “And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.” Amen. |