12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered
me faithful, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a
blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted
in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on
me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners — of whom I am the worst. 16 But for
that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ
Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would
believe on him and receive eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal,
invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
- 1 Timothy 1:12-17, The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
Publishing House) 1984.
Dear Friends in Christ,
"I am a great sinner, but Christ is a mighty Savior!" These oft-repeated words of John Newton summarized the last half of his life. But the full story is contained on the words of his tombstone, written by himself:
John Newton, Clerk
Once an infidel and libertine,
A servant of slavers in Africa
Now by the rich mercy of our Lord
And Savior, Jesus Christ,
Preserved, restored, pardoned,
And appointed to preach the Faith
He had long labored to destroy.
He also wrote a hymn in which he bares his soul and essentially lays out the story of his life. If not the most, it is certainly one of the most widely known hymns of the Christian Church. He called it "Amazing Grace," and it is a tribute to the grace of God; the grace that gives forgiveness, hope and eternal guidance to lost sinners. It is safe to say that John Newton was a man who understood and appreciated God’s grace.
17.5 centuries before John Newton lived another man who equally understood and appreciated grace. His name: the Apostle Paul. That he also stood in amazement of God’s grace is apparent not only from our text (of which he is the divinely inspired author), but also by the fact that in the rest of his epistles the word "grace" is mentioned over 100 times.
The Word we have before us today centers around the Bible’s teaching on God’s grace. At the same time it is autobiographical as Paul – much like John Newton – talks about what he once was and what he is now. Let’s take a closer look at this portion of God’s Word, which we might entitle:
PAUL: A PORTRAIT OF GOD’S AMAZING GRACE
"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that He considered me faithful, appointing me to his service." The thought expressed in this opening verse is almost a trademark line for Paul. Throughout his writings we find Paul constantly thanking God for this or that and asking his fellow Christians to do the same.
Sometimes his reasons for thanksgiving are more general in nature. Here, however, he gets specific. Why is Paul thankful to Jesus Christ? First, because "he has given me strength" – to do the work to which Paul had been called, which was not always easy. Secondly, because "he considered me faithful" – the emphasis properly being on God’s working in his life rather than any worthiness on Paul’s part (that God chose Paul to be his own, given his background, as we will see, never ceased to amaze him). And thirdly, because "he appointed me to his service" – Paul always recognized this fundamental truth of Christianity: Service to God is not an obligation or a burden; it is a privilege. Paul counted it a privilege to be in the service of Christ, despite the hardships it often brought upon him.
What we can learn from Paul in this first verse is to imitate him in cultivating a spirit of thankfulness to Christ. Why? For the exact same reasons Paul lists: 1) Daily Christ gives us the strength to deal with life (what would life be like if God was not our foundation and Christ was not our core?)... 2) Christ has called us to be His own, brought us to faith, preserves us in the faith, and (wonder of wonders) counts us among the faithful... 3) Christ has employed us in His service – which means our lives have meaning and purpose...
Our text continues with Paul reflecting on the power of God’s grace in his life. We’ve all seen those "before and after" pictures where an individual has changed so dramatically that it’s hard to believe it’s the same person. Spiritually speaking, Paul presents himself as one of those profoundly dramatic pictures. Listen again to his own description: "Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus."
It is interesting to note that Paul pulls no punches in speaking of his past. Wouldn’t you agree that oftentimes we try to rationalize away or to some degree defend the sins we commit (e.g., "Sure what I did was wrong but at least I didn’t [fill in the blank],") or even make ourselves the victims of our own sinful actions ("Sure, I’m guilty, but I’m not entirely at fault because he/she made me do it"). But we don’t see any of that in Paul. Here’s how he describes himself – as he once was.
First, "a blasphemer." Blasphemy is making light of or despising that which is sacred. Paul had ridiculed the name of Christ, which leads to his second description of himself:
"A persecutor." Paul had gone beyond ridiculing Christians to actually persecuting them. Acts 9:1,2 gives us the historical context: "Meanwhile Saul [Paul] was still breathing our murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem." We might also recall that Paul was present at the stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr – and gave his approval.
All of his previous activities give credence to the third, and perhaps summary, description he gives of himself: He was "a violent man."
However, regardless of what he was, God’s grace found him on the road to Damascus. There in a bright blinding light Jesus confronted Saul-the-Christian-persecutor and told him he was going to become Paul-the-Christian-missionary. There on that road to Damascus and in the events that transpired in his life shortly thereafter, the "grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly," says Paul. The result: faith in Jesus Christ as his Savior and love for Jesus Christ as his Lord. He who once was lost was found. He who once was blind could see...
Imbedded within these autobiographical words of Paul are any number of lessons, but one we shouldn’t overlook has to do with spiritual honesty. Paul was a sinner. He knew his faults. He didn’t sugarcoat them. He didn’t defend them. We’ve all heard it said that confession is good for the soul. That’s what Paul did. He admitted his sinfulness and he confessed his sin.
We must do the same. God, in His Word, asks us to. It is part of our daily Christian walk. Daily we must plead our failings, our faults, our sins. And Paul teaches us to be specific. Each of us knows what our specific pet sins are, or what we seem to be particularly susceptible to. Maybe it’s worry. Maybe it’s anger. Maybe it’s holding grudges and "punishing" people by being unforgiving or loving them conditionally. Maybe it’s lust. Maybe it’s sins of a sexual nature. Paul knew who he was and what his sins were. We know who we are and what our sins are.
But let us understand that Paul wasn’t merely obsessing on how rotten of a person he was. The fact of the matter is that the real focus wasn’t on the greatness of his past sins at all. The focus, rather, was on the greater-ness of our God who loves us and forgives us in spite of our sins, great as they might be. The focus was on the love and forgiveness of God, who for Jesus sake, pours out His "abundant grace" upon transgressors like Paul and us, washing away our sins so we stand redeemed, restored, forgiven – and saved...
Paul continues this thought with a grand proclamation: "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst."
"Trustworthy" and "deserves full acceptance" signify the important truth Paul conveys to us here. And the single, trustworthy truth is this: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." This is as clear a Gospel presentation as John 3:16. Is not the Gospel message the ultimate expression of GRACE? Is Jesus’ life and death as our substitute something God had to do for us? Was punishing His Son in our place and then giving us the credit an obligation on the part of God toward us? Do we have sort of leverage on God that made Him do what He did?
Obviously not. God is God and doesn’t have to do anything for us. But He did it anyway. He saved us eternally. That’s grace.
And as he talks about this central truth, Paul again gets very personal. He talks about Jesus coming to save sinners and then adds, "of whom I am the worst." Although Paul knew he was forgiven, he also never forgot his past. But once again, the greatness of his sins was not meant to inflict a heavy load of self-guilt or to be the basis for self-loathing, but rather to prove the "greater-ness" of the God who forgives them all.
Building on that truth and secure in his forgiveness, Paul goes on: "But for that very reason I was shown mercy, so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on Him and receive eternal life." In effect, Paul says to the world: Look at me as a prime example of the limitlessness and depth of God’s amazing grace...
And here we learn in a very concrete way that no sin is too big to be forgiven. This is a marvelously comforting and consoling Bible truth. It is ours to enjoy, embrace, rejoice in and apply to our lives. But as we enjoy it and embrace it and rejoice in it and apply it, let us also be aware that there is someone who will do everything within his power to have us not believe it. And that is Satan.
Let us recognize his tactics. Satan is very good at rattling the skeletons in our spiritual closet and throwing in our face our past sins and indiscretions. His intention is to make us doubt God’s love or the completeness of our forgiveness or even our worthiness to call ourselves God’s children. He reminds us of things we’d like to forget and then tauntingly asks us, "How can God love a person like you after you did such and such..." Rattle, rattle. Or "How can you call yourself a Christian after you did this or that..." Rattle, rattle.
But we need never give in to his temptation to despair. This is the message of our text: Our sins have been fully and freely forgiven. Though they were as scarlet, through Jesus Christ we are white as snow. What Paul is saying for all of our comfort is this: If God can forgive me, He can forgive anyone. And he does. For Jesus’ sake.
The only response to such grace for Paul and for us is a life of grateful praise and honor and worship before God, which is the final, self-explanatory verse of our text: "Now to the king eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen."
At the beginning of this sermon I said that this portion of Scripture was somewhat autobiographical. Certainly this text is about Paul; but it’s also about us. At the same time it is about something more, something bigger than either Paul or us. It’s about God’s grace.
All of us, like Paul, like John Newton, stand in awe and wonder before it, because it is truly an AMAZING GRACE. Now, as we have taken this opportunity to ponder God’s amazing grace once again, what is left for us to do? Let us simply enjoy it. Let us find deep comfort in it. Let us be profoundly grateful for it. Because God’s grace to us is not just a theological topic. It is a blessed reality in our lives.
Then, moved by this amazing grace, let us ever, always, and increasingly more day by day, live our lives to the glory of such a great and wonderful and gracious God. Amen.