It is the God who saved us AND...

2tim1.7-10
"7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 8 So you must never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don't be ashamed of me, either, even though I'm in prison for Christ. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the proclamation of the Good News. 9 It is God who saved us an chose us to live a holy life. He did this not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan long before the world began - to show his love and kindness to us through Christ Jesus. 10 And now he has made all of this plain to us by the coming of Christ Jesus, our Savior, who broke the power of death and showed us the way to everlasting life through the Good News."

After Paul reminds Timothy of his spiritual heritage of his mother and his Grandmother, (which would have been a Jewish Faith that would have been pre-Christ at least for his Grandmother) he affirms the fact that Timothy must remember that this faith heritage was made complete through the fulfillment of God's long plan beginning before creation. Paul then goes even further to remind and affirm Timothy that after this Jewish Covenant Fulfillment, came the Holy Spirit with which Timothy has been given, and through which Timothy has recieved his "spiritual gift" (v.6) presumably the gift of evangelism.

And it is with this gift, that Timothy is to use withouth shame, and with Boldness that comes from the power of the Holy Spirit, with which Timothy finds power, love and self discipline regardless of his "pastor" Paul's imprisonment or the possibility of his own persecution.

Where I see this verse jump from just a final declaration of Paul to Timothy, to truly also speaking to us as believers is the word "AND" found within verse 9.

"It is God who saved us and chose us to live a holy life"
or, "It is God who saved ME and chose ME to live a holy life"

God saved us, AND now he is calling us.

If we truly believe that we are saved, then we also must also truly believe that we have become the living temple of the Holy Spirit. The everyday place where Heaven and Earth intersect, and where the rest of the world can experience the love of Christ and the truth of his Good News.

God saved us "not because we deserved it", nor is it by any works which we can accomplish. BUT, now that we have recieved said salvation, we have been called to be part of his redemption story, an agent of change per say.

and as Timothy is reminded (as are we) that this proclamation of the Good News will lead to persecution: take heart because we do not proclaim it alone, we proclaim it with power, love, and self-control which is granted to us through the Holy Spirit. We must remember that eternity is at stake "Christ Jesus, our Savior, who broke the power of death and showed us the way to everalsting life through the Good News"