Five Trustworthy Sayings of the Apostle Paul

Groundwork: Biblical Foundations for Life

If you had to sum up some of the most important, core teachings of the Christian faith, what would you choose to summarize, and how would you phrase it? What if you were restricted to just a short sentence in doing so? Near as we can tell, in the earliest years of the Christian Church, pastors, teachers, and others did precisely this as a way to capture the essence of the still-new Christian faith in short, memorable sayings. Recently, Groundwork, with hosts Dave Bast and Scott Hoezzee, concluded a new series that looks at these “faithful sayings”.

Groundwork is a half hour radio and podcast Bible-teaching program that plumbs the substantive questions of the Bible, seeking a practical understanding of God’s Word in today’s culture.

Christ Came to Save Sinners. Is it possible to sin more than Christ can redeem? In mentoring the young pastor Timothy, the Apostle Paul addresses this question by affirming a basic gospel teaching meant to give hope to sinners, encourage believers, and clearly identify the truth about Christ's salvation: Christ came to save sinners.

A Noble Task. In 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Paul affirms that serving the Lord is a noble, admirable task. But are you willing to live a life worthy of that noble task? What are the qualities of a good leader serving the Lord? We discuss this second trustworthy saying from Paul to help us evaluate our own life goals and aspirations.

The Value of Godliness. Most of us understand the value of physical exercise. But the Apostle Paul would argue that there's something better: godliness. We discuss the third faithful saying from 1 Timothy 4:8-10.

He Remains Faithful. Ever needed encouragement to endure in your faith? Or have you ever felt discouraged, or like God abandoned you? Paul says, "Remember, he remains faithful." This faithful saying reminds us of our baptism, being joined with Christ in his death and his life, and why it means we can count on God's faithfulness no matter what.

Saved By Grace, Now What? We are not saved by what we do, so we often take extra care not to talk about our own actions, to avoid suggesting they somehow contribute to our salvation. Yet it is important to talk about what it means to live as a disciple of Jesus Christ, and how that changes the way we act. Paul's instruction to Titus helps us see this balance between justification by grace and what we need to do as a result of our salvation.

Groundwork is produced by ReFrame Media in partnership with Words of Hope. Subscribe to Groundwork at listentogroundwork.com, and follow us on Facebook.