Study Desk

Greetings from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am an apostle because God wanted me to be. God sent me to tell people about the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus.

God saved us and chose us to be his holy people, but not because of anything we ourselves did. God saved us and made us his people because that was what he wanted and because of his grace. That grace was given to us through Christ Jesus before time began.

And I suffer now because of that work. But I am not ashamed, because I know the one I have put my trust in. And I am sure that he is able to protect what I have put into his care until that Day.

Timothy, you are a son to me. Be strong in the grace that we have because we belong to Christ Jesus.

And because I tell that message, I am suffering. I am even bound with chains like someone who has really done wrong. But God's message is not bound.

If we are not faithful, he will still be faithful, because he cannot be false to himself.

But you should continue following the teaching you learned. You know it is true, because you know you can trust those who taught you.

At the right time, God let the world know about that life. He did this through the telling of the Good News message, and he trusted me with that work. I told people that message because God our Savior commanded me to.

This is important, because there are many people who refuse to obey—people who talk about worthless things and mislead others. I am talking especially about those who say that men who are not Jews must be circumcised to please God.

These people must be stopped, because they are destroying whole families by teaching what they should not teach. They teach only to cheat people and make money.

That is the way we should live, because God's grace has come. That grace can save everyone.

He saved us because of his mercy, not because of any good things we did. He saved us through the washing that made us new people. He saved us by making us new through the Holy Spirit.

I thank God because I hear about the love you have for all of God's holy people and the faith you have in the Lord Jesus.

There is something that you should do. And because of the authority I have in Christ, I feel free to command you to do it.

For a short time Jesus was made lower than the angels, but now we see him wearing a crown of glory and honor because he suffered and died. Because of God's grace, Jesus died for everyone.

Jesus became like these people and died so that he could free them. They were like slaves all their lives because of their fear of death.

And now he can help those who are tempted. He is able to help because he himself suffered and was tempted.

So we see that they were not allowed to enter and have God's rest, because they did not believe.

So the opportunity is still there for some to enter and enjoy God's rest. But those who first heard the good news about it did not enter, because they did not obey.

We know that Joshua did not lead the people into the place of rest that God promised. We know this because God spoke later about another day for rest.