1st Timothy 2:4. “Who will all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” BE SAVED. It is God Himself who can save a soul and make him fit for heaven. It is His will that we be made whole, and so the Savior was given To deal with sin and its consequence – Himself our sacrifice – Because of all that the Lord Jesus did, in Him we receive our life.
It is not by efforts that man can make, our souls and lives are saved. But God, in an act of His sovereign will, receives us by His own grace. In order for one of us to be lost to God, they have to refuse the knowledge of the truth By walking away from the light of God’s Word, they reject what God sees they’re worth.
Some will not come to the knowledge of the truth because they think there is no God. Others choose to go their own way; they don’t think the Bible is truly God’s Word. Still others don’t want their lives to be dependent upon God and His sovereign grace; And so, they choose to walk by sight and reject a life of faith.
God, in His mercy, still extends to all His offer of salvation free. Some don’t like their need of grace, choosing to live independently; Not realizing they wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t that God loves them – And sees their value and potential if only they would come to Him.
The plans of God for each of us are far better than we can ken – His salvation and His truth go way beyond the scope of men. When His will is mine, there is a purpose I can fulfill – It starts here as I go through this world, and in the future continues still.
God wants us to be saved from the consequences of sin, in hell and the lake of fire. He also wants us to be saved from sin’s power now, lest I end up in Satan’s hire. He saves us for an important reason, I won’t really know until in the future; I will perhaps understand difficult times were that He my spirit might nurture.
“I am very thankful Father, that when I heard Thy Word with the hearing of faith, it led me quickly to the Savior. I didn’t know then that the little bit of truth I knew led me to put faith in Him who saved me by His grace. I praise Thee for this and acknowledge I am not worthy to be saved – but I thank Thee I am, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.”
It is important that we keep in mind the universality of the Gospel. "God our Savior" wants "all men to be saved." This does not mean that all men will be saved. It is not God's intention, nor His sovereign will, that men be damned. The practice of public prayer is welcomed by God because it reflects His character and interest in the eternal welfare of people. Fellowship with God is maintained when we coordinate our lives and prayers with His activities that are going on in the world among all men. In God's sovereign will, He has given people the opportunity to exercise faith in Him and act upon that by receiving Christ as their personal Savior. Those who accept Him are saved by His grace. Those who reject Him will be lost. No one is outside the extent of God's mercy or beyond the reach of salvation. When the choice to accept or reject salvation is made, God, in His sovereign will, accepts that decision of a person.
The objects of prayer are people, no matter who they are. The reasons for prayer are that they will "be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth." The salvation here includes what happened when we trusted Christ - we have been given spiritual life. Salvation in daily life, "the knowledge of the truth," involves our daily living - our soul that connects us to our spirit, also connects us to that which goes on around us. God saves us from the practice of sin when we act on the truth of His word. Our bodies will experience salvation in the future, and our knowledge of the truth will be complete to the extent that the objectives of our public prayer for deliverance from the presence of sin will be answered.