2 Timothy 1:8–9

Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.

Paul writes these words from prison.

He knows Timothy might feel the pressure that comes when the world mocks faith or when following Christ becomes costly. So Paul tells him something very direct.

Do not be ashamed.

Do not be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord. Do not be ashamed of Paul, even though he sits in chains. Instead, Timothy is to share in the hardships that sometimes come with the gospel.

But Paul immediately reminds him where the strength for that comes from.

According to the power of God.

The same God who saved us also called us. And that calling was not based on our performance. It was not earned by good behavior, religious effort, or personal achievement.

It came from grace.

Long before any of us took a single step of obedience, God had already determined His purpose in Christ. The calling came first. The grace came first.

Yet many believers quietly reverse that order in their minds. They begin to think that God blesses them because they worked hard enough or performed well enough.

But that is not the gospel.

Blessing does not come from faith plus works. It does not come from faith or works.

It comes from faith that naturally begins to work because grace has already been given.

It is a little like a tree in springtime. The tree does not produce blossoms in order to become alive. The blossoms appear because the tree already has life inside it.

Works are the blossoms.

Grace is the life.

Paul wanted Timothy to remember that. When a person understands that everything began with God’s grace, the pressure to perform disappears. Instead of striving to earn something from God, we simply respond to the grace we have already received.

And that kind of faith naturally begins to work.