The Lord Pours Out His Grace on Paul

¹² I am thankful to Christ Jesus our Lord. He has given me strength. I thank him that he considered me faithful. I thank him for appointing me to serve him. ¹³ I used to speak evil things against Jesus. I tried to hurt his followers. I really pushed them around. But God showed me mercy anyway. I did those things without knowing any better. I wasn’t a believer. ¹⁴ Our Lord poured out more and more of his grace on me. Along with it came faith and love from Christ Jesus.

¹⁵ Here is a saying that you can trust. It should be accepted completely. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the worst sinner of all. ¹⁶ But for that very reason, God showed me mercy. And I am the worst of sinners. He showed me mercy so that Christ Jesus could show that he is very patient. I was an example for those who would come to believe in him. Then they would receive eternal life. ¹⁷ The eternal King will never die. He can’t be seen. He is the only God. Give him honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Paul Commands Timothy

¹⁸ My son Timothy, I am giving you this command. It is in keeping with the prophecies once made about you. By remembering them, you can fight the battle well. ¹⁹ Then you will hold on to faith. You will hold on to a good sense of what is right and wrong. Some have not accepted this knowledge of right and wrong. So they have destroyed their faith. They are like a ship that has sunk.