Convinced Of Faith
I am convinced of this very thing: that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)
As Paul sat in a house in Rome, under house arrest, he longed to be with the various congregations that he started. While he thought about the Philippian congregation, he wrote them a letter to encourage them. Everytime Paul thought of the Philippians, he thanked God. He thanked God for the faith that they had and the fruits that came from that faith. These fruits of faith, their partnership in the gospel ministry, had convinvced Paul of their faith and it strength. Paul was convinced that Jesus would continue to grow their faith and strengthen it all the more as they continued to grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus. Jesus was the one who had created the faith in them, and he was the one who would continue to strengthen it and grow it until the day when it would be complete, at their death, and they would join him in heaven to wait for that day when Christ will return in full glory.
Our faith is also a gift from God. Through the words of Jesus shared with his disciples and the people of Isreal while he was on this earth, recorded in the words of the Bible, he has revealed our salvation to us and created faith in our hearts. And he continues to strengthen and uphold our faith through his Word. This faith shows itself in our actions toward others, our words that we speak, and even in the motives we have for doing good. Faith naturally produces fruits that are in accord with God’s will. And even when we find our fruits of faith lacking at times, faith causes us to sorrow over our sin and strive to live a life pleasing to God. When we doubt our faith, we can turn to these words and know that it is Christ who has given us faith and he continues to grow and strengthen it. So we can be convinced also that he who began a good work in us will also carry it on to completion until the day when Christ returns in glory to bring us to be with him for all eternity. Amen.
The song for today is “He Who Began A Good Work In you” by Renee Bondi