In the summer of 2024, the news media declared that Huw Edwards had ‘fallen from grace.’ In one single news piece, I heard this phrase used three or four times in a single news piece. Huw Edwards had been found guilty of serious wrong-doing, the details I need not repeat.

The journalist borrowed the phrase from Pauls’ letter to the Galatians. But she misapplied it!

My friend, Andy Moyle commented in his sermon on ‘Standing in grace:’  ‘We fall from grace when we return to the law to try and keep our standing before God.’

The apostle Paul reserved his most severe censure for those who tried to turn others back to the law as the ground of justification and acceptance before God. In Phil 3.2, he refers to them as dogs, evildoers, mutilators of the flesh. In 1 Tim 4.1, he says they promote ‘doctrines of demons.’

Strong words!

So, if we fall from grace back into legalism, that is a serious matter. Don’t do it!

Paul’s final letter is 2 Timothy. The last two chapters, in particular, speak into the hostile environment in which his first readers found themselves.

3.1-5 describe ‘terrible times,’ in which most people will pursue ungodliness in many ways. Yet, amidst this ungodliness, legalism (a form of godliness) finds a home. This strange and contradictory environment is what Christians have to navigate.

3.9-12 goes on to describe persecutions which Paul endured and which the follower of Christ has to expect.

In 4.10, 14, Paul names Demas and Alexander, the unfaithful servant and the opponent. These statements are specific, since he names known individuals. It is unusual for Paul to name specific people in this way.

In this last message, Paul makes it clear that this world is not an easy place for someone who is a follower of Jesus Christ.

And he insists on a godly response. There are strong statements of purpose and hope.

3.10 – ‘my way of life.’ An important phrase. Paul continues to live with purpose, faith, patience, love, and endurance. In the face of anything that happens to him, these qualities remain.

3.15-17 – scripture. Timothy had known the scriptures from his childhood. And we return to the same scriptures.

4.6-8 – commitment to the end. Paul expected hardships, persecutions and sufferings so he lived focused on knowing Christ and making Him known.

4.17-18 – ultimately, the Lord stood with him. Irrespective of circumstances, we find God Himself, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, to be faithful and close.

The people of God are expected to be generous. The OT contains many references to providing for the poor, being hospitable, etc. These are evidence of generosity. Ancient Jewish culture was well-known for its hospitability. In contract, Gentiles lacked this, so Paul needed to teach, in particular, the Corinthian Church.

The NT refers frequently to real and costly generosity. This started in Jerusalem: Acts 2.45; 4.34-35; then continued in Antioch: 11.27-29. We cannot escape the conclusion that generosity was a key part of the character of the early Church.

Of this generosity, Terry Virgo says; ‘Great grace was on them all and they were transformed to such a degree that they relinquished their exclusive right to their own possessions.’ Such is the remarkable power of grace.

Paul commends the Philippians (Phil 4) for their generosity. When writing to the Corinthians,(2 Cor 8-9), he refers to Christians in Macedonia, ie: Philippi, as his most generous supporters.

In our cynical western and self-centred culture, generosity is becoming more counter-cultural. Christians and Churches who re-capture this grace will become effective in impacting their communities.