The text this morning is from Paul’s first letter to Timothy, the first chapter:
I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
Chief of sinners though I be, Jesus shed His blood for me. That’s the whole message of today’s text. Paul sets up an interesting argument in today’s text, that, in ignorance, he acted evilly, yet it was through that ignorance that he received mercy. Now, that shouldn’t set up for us an idea that everyone who is ignorant of the Lordship of Jesus Christ will receive that same mercy and will be brought to salvation, but that ignorance can be turned to the merciful heart of the Lord.
Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. That is His mission, and I say is, because it still is His mission, that, though He lived and died 2000 years ago, today He lives again to bring the mercy and grace won on the cross to those who have otherwise turned away from Him. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His desire to save sinners has never changed. And if He can save one like Paul, if He can save one like me, then I know that there is no one He can’t save.
I think we need to be honest with ourselves. No one knows us like we do. I joke that my wife knows me better than I know myself, but that’s not really true. I know all my thoughts, all my emotions. I know all my leanings, all my desires. I know my sins. I know all my guilt. By the grace of God, I know these things. If it were not for the Word of God, I would have no idea. I would be ignorant of how evil I was. I could skate along in life thinking I was fine, and the only standard I would have of how good or bad I was would be by comparing myself to the next closest person to me.
But, when the Word comes into your ears, it creates something that no one can escape: guilt. All of the sudden, you have a perfect standard located in two places. The first place is the Law of God, which tells what is good and right and holy. The second place is the person and work of Jesus Christ, who shows us what that holy life looks like. And either thing we look at, when we compare ourselves to either one, we should be terrified.
Paul thought he heard the Word of God enough to know it. But, in reality, what he truly was facing was the reflection of a perversion of the Law through the lens of his peers. He faced the Phaisees’ rules. And by that standard, he was good, he was righteous, he was holy. The problem is, the Pharisees’ standards are not God’s standards. The Pharisees were woefully lacking. God looks at the heart and not just the outward actions. Outwardly, Paul was the perfect man chasing after the righteousness of God. But, because he rejected the Word of God, He met the man Jesus on the road to Damascus, and in that meeting, Paul came face-to-face with his Lord and the truth about who Paul really was.
Jesus stands before you as the standard of perfection. How do you add up? Because, standing before the righteous Judge, the King of ages, the immortal, the invisible, the only God, I would be terrified. Paul was revealed before Jesus as a blasphemer, worthy of death himself. He was revealed as a persecutor of the saints, whose place he was not worthy to supplant. He was revealed as an insolent opponent, thinking he knew better than God. But Paul’s wisdom was destroyed before the Lord. He was laid out off his horse, struck to the ground, made to be blind and disfigured with scales growing over his eyes. Paul was made to be as ugly on the outside as it was revealed he was on the inside. And he knew it. And he trembled.
And so should you. And so should I. What is it the standard of perfection reveals to you? Are you a blasphemer? Are you an anarchist, hating your family or the government? Are you an adulterer at heart? Are you a thief? Are you a liar? Are you a schemer? Are you a coveter? Are you a murderer? If you’re honest with yourself, hearing the Word of God, you will know exactly what it is that God is calling you by His Word. You know yourself better than anyone except God, and you know where you have fallen short.
But standing before Jesus as the judge isn’t the end. If it were, none of us would have hope. We all will stand before the judge one day, and He will declare you righteous, innocent. It doesn’t mean that you’ve only been righteous, but that He calls you righteous, declares you to be. And He has already done so now. He has done this in the same way that He did for Paul. Through the waters of Baptism, when the scales fell from Paul’s eyes, He heard the voice of Jesus calling Him holy, blessed, forgiven. Even in the ignorance that Paul displayed, God was working to bring forth His mercy.
Paul was ignorant of the Word of God, so God, choosing to use Paul as a specific vessel, appeared to him on the road. And because Paul didn’t know the Word of God, the Word of God in flesh stood before Him and showed him mercy. Paul’s ignorance lead to a conversion story that is still being felt in the world 2000 years after it happened. Without Paul’s ignorance, without the mercy of Jesus, without Paul coming to faith, we would not have the richness of God’s Word as complete as it is today.
Now, that didn’t matter to Paul. Paul didn’t care about leaving a legacy of the most prolific theology the world had ever seen. Paul didn’t care about writing things that would last for millennia. Paul didn’t care about his own standing. He cared that His Lord had shown him mercy, and had forgiven such a sinner as himself. So it should be for us. We go about our lives, we serve. Perhaps we teach, we write, we remember. Perhaps we love, we support, we cherish. But, in all these things, we are more than conquerors, for our Lord has redeemed us from the pit. He has given us strength. He has shown His perfect patience in bringing us to salvation.
Chief of sinners though I be, indeed. I can’t escape that legacy, but Christ casts it away from me as far as the east is from the west. I am, in my heart, evil and vile, but our Lord has given us new hearts, His heart, the heart of the immortal King, which shall live forever in righteousness and peace. To Him be honor and glory forever and ever. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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