What God’s mercy does - 1 Timothy 1:12-17
Would you say that you like to be first? I would have to think that many of us without much of a second thought would respond, “Yes, of course we like to be first.” First place in the competition. First to hear the good news. First for the promotion. First off the plane. First or top of our class. There are numerous examples of things that we’d like to be first in. But there are also some things that no one wants to be first in. First, to make a costly mistake. First to be diagnosed with a rare illness. First on the most wanted list. First to try that mysterious casserole at the fellowship meal after church. But what about first among sinners? Who of us would want that title?
And yet that’s exactly what the apostle Paul calls himself in our sermon text for today. After having perhaps the most influential ministry in the history of the Christian Church, Paul picks up the pen and calls himself the first, he says it this way, the chief of sinners. Why would he say that? Paul invites Timothy, and you and I this morning, to examine his life. Not to determine if he truly is the worst sinner to have ever walked this planet, but to see the transformation that God's mercy brought about for someone like him. This morning Paul holds up his own life as an example of what God’s mercy does, mercy that saves and mercy that sends.
To understand why Paul would say such a thing about himself, it’s important to know the context for why Paul was writing to Timothy in the first place. Timothy was serving the church in Ephesus, where some had begun teaching false doctrine about God’s law. They had turned the law into a weapon used only to beat down the wrongdoer and promote self-righteous behaviors. Paul encourages Timothy to confront such false teaching because this was not the proper use of the law. The law Paul says is “good” when it’s used properly, to expose deeds contrary to God’s will and reveal our need for a Savior. After describing the kinds of people the law condemns, Paul does something unexpected, he places himself among them.
He not only explains the proper use of God’s law, he demonstrates it from his own life. Paul says, “I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man… I acted in ignorance and unbelief.” And he had. Paul had sincerely thought that what he was doing, persecuting the Christians, was a God-pleasing thing to do. But it wasn’t. It was sinful! It took divine intervention, by way of a blinding appearance from Jesus on his way to persecute the Christians in Damascus, to open his eyes to see who he was really persecuting, his Savior. It took Paul getting knocked on his rear and blinded by the brilliance of God himself to understand that his actions were contrary to God’s will. The proclamation of law to Paul, opened his eyes to see his deeds for what they really were. The law showed him his sins!
And he did not like what he saw. In a completely new way, Paul began to understand the ramifications of his actions. For one, he had blasphemed the name of Jesus. Blasphemy is not a word we are very familiar with today. Simply put, blasphemy is speaking against God in a way that either personally defames his name or character or leads others to do so. Paul had done both. He had personally proclaimed Christ as nothing more than a deceptive and cursed criminal who got what he deserved, death. But he had also used persecution as a psychological tactic to get other Christians to blaspheme the name of Jesus. By threats of torture and death, Paul had forced Christians into cursing the name of Jesus. He also describes himself as once a violent man. His contempt for Christians had resulted in outrageous acts of violence against others. Scripture records a few such instances in the book of Acts, indicating Paul was the operational supervisor of Stephen's stoning, of quote destroying “the church. Going from house to house, he [Paul] dragged off both men and women and put them in prison” and later in the book, of putting “many of the Lord’s people in prison, and when they were put to death, I [Paul] cast my vote against them.” Throughout the letters that Paul writes, time and again he uses these same words, blasphemer, persecutor and violent man, as an honest description of who he’d been. He never forgot the kind of man he once was and so in verse 15 and again in verse 16, he calls himself the very worst of sinners.
But then where does that leave you? Are you not so bad as Paul? I’d be hesitant to make that arrogant claim. No, I think if we are honest, we might rightly say “Move aside Paul, you can't be the chief of sinners, there's a new first place sinner and he’s standing right here. Because if people only heard the things I’ve said. If they only saw the thoughts I’ve entertained. If only they knew what I’ve done, what I’ve failed to do, and what I’ve desperately tried to hide from the light of day, well then they’d all agree that I’m the true first of all sinners. You know your own sins better than anyone else's. You know the words you wish you could take back. You know the times you’ve failed to love. You know the evil thoughts that have filled your mind. In fact, even if you spent a lifetime recording every sin committed against you, that list would pale in comparison to the list of sins you personally have committed. There’s no sinner you know more intimately than yourself. One honest look into your own heart reveals that Paul isn’t the only candidate for the title of chief or foremost sinner.
But, Paul doesn't shy away from such a title. And what’s remarkable is that he doesn't just say he was the chief of sinners before Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus. He doesn’t say he was the chief of sinners prior to becoming an apostle. No, he speaks in the present tense as if to say, “Right now Timothy, I consider myself the worst of sinners.” He refused to sugarcoat his past. He opens the door for Timothy, for us, to see how he viewed himself. He knows that his blasphemy, his persecution and his violent ways hurt his God and hurt God’s people and in his book that made him the very worst of sinners. Yet despite this, he is far from despair. He isn’t hopelessly saying, “My sins are too great, I could never be saved.” Quite the opposite. He calls himself the first of sinners so that God’s mercy would be shown that much greater. Timothy, can you believe it? “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.” So wide is the Savior's mercy for sinners that his mercy covers someone like me. Even me Timothy!
Like Paul when you look in the mirror of God’s holy law, what do you see? Do you find the weight of your sins knocking you on your rear? As we saw again our Savior's suffering and death on Good Friday a few months ago, were you reminded of the very real ramifications of your every sin? That should’ve been you suffering beneath God’s wrath. But it wasn't, because “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” What a profound and precious truth that is. Christ, the eternal Son of God, the anointed one, the Savior promised from the days of old. Jesus, the true man, born of the virgin Mary, given the name which means he would save people from their sins. He came, as sent by God the Father. And he came for a specific purpose, to save. To save who? The best. The famous. The rich, no Timothy, to save sinners. All of ‘em. The best, and the worst. Jesus came and stood in the place of sinners, becoming the true and very first of all sinners. In his Father’s eyes, he became a blasphemer, a persecutor, a violent man, a liar, a thief, an idolater, an adulterer for Paul, for Timothy, for the believers in Ephesus, for you, for me. In verse 14, Paul says that mercy poured out in abundance. Literally in the Greek, overflowing. More than we deserve. More mercy than our frail cup can even bear to hold. Mercy that saves us from what our sins deserve. That's what God’s mercy does for first place sinners like us.
Paul was not proud of who he once was, but he realized that God’s mercy covered it all. He could not continue through life with any sort of excuse, “I’m too terrible. I’m beyond God having any plan or purpose left for me.” No, Paul's claim to chief of sinners was not a badge of excuse, but of powerful witness. In verse 16 he writes, “But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.” If anybody wanted a living breathing example of God’s patience and mercy Paul says, “Look at me.” Having transformed his heart through faith, God’s mercy compelled Paul to spend his life proclaiming the mercy of God to others. The most unlikely and unworthy person, who once tried to destroy the Church, became one of God’s greatest instruments for building it. And yet Paul takes no responsibility for that either, saying in verse 12, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.” As a recipient of mercy, God made Paul an instrument of his mercy. God appointed Paul and strengthened him to serve in the public ministry as an apostle so that his life would be an example of divine mercy for others to see.
God still uses unlikely candidates still today. At times he uses unworthy people like Pastor Lewis or Kara or myself or other pastors, teachers and vicars from across our churchbody as instruments of his mercy. God has appointed them to their work and he’s the source of their strength to serve faithfully. But not every Christian serves in the full-time public ministry. Yet that doesn’t mean that God is not at work through you. God has also called unworthy people like yourselves into the priesthood of all believers. You have been appointed by God and sent out as his instruments of mercy. You too are strengthened by Christ Jesus our Lord to accomplish this task. None of us are worthy and yet each of us as recipients of mercy have become his instruments of mercy to others.
If God could use someone like Paul to advance his kingdom, what will he do through you? How will he use you? I don't know exactly. But I do know this, that God sends us into a wide variety of mission fields. To your workplaces, your classrooms, your sports clubs, your neighborhoods, your circle of friends. And there, God doesn’t send you to pretend that you have it all put together. He doesn’t send you to put up this facade that you have never failed. He sends you as someone who knows what it means to need mercy as someone who says, “I’m by no means perfect. I’ve failed and I’ve failed badly. But I know the one who never failed. I know Jesus who became the very first of all sinners in my place. I know he has shown mercy enough for you as well. Be a living example of what God’s mercy does, mercy that saves and mercy that sends.
Because there’s no greater privilege than to be recipients and instruments of God’s mercy. And so alongside Paul may we praise our merciful God always, “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
