1 Timothy 1:12-17
And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen
Paul the Apostle was one of those people that Hollywood enjoys making movies about. Here was a man, born a Levite and a Pharisee, who taught the Scriptures to the people and was a member of the Jewish elite. He had influence and power within the Temple, he was a respected man in Judah, and was a man of wealth and he was also a Roman citizen, which was the highest of honors. Saul, as who he was known at the time, was someone who had everything going for him.
Then a new sect began stirring within the people. A Man from Nazareth began teaching heretical views of the Scriptures. These views challenged the accepted ideals of Scriptures and the Elders. This Man, named Jesus, insulted the members of the Sanhedrin and threatened to dismantle their authority. The members met and agreed to conspire against this Man, and do what was necessary to have Him killed. After the opportunity presented itself and Jesus was crucified, the members felt the movement would die off and order would be restored. But after Jesus’ death, His followers became even more dedicated to His teachings and to spreading His heresy. Saul began to persecute those faithful to this following. The first martyr to this new religion, a man by the name of Stephen, was stoned to death by Saul’s command. He spent time going from town to town and having followers of Jesus arrested and thrown in jail.
But on a trip to Damascus, Jesus appeared to Saul and called to him, and called him to be an Apostle, just as He did with His other eleven disciples. After his conversion, which is dated to 31-36 AD (within two to three years after Jesus’ death), Saul spent the rest of his life supporting and building up the religion he tried to stamp out. He became known as Paul at sometime early during his evangelizing, getting a new name for a new man, so to speak. The end-fade to black-roll credits.
We have recorded for us in the Book of Acts the four missionary journeys Paul took to spread the Gospel. We have recorded his arrest and his voyage to Rome to be sentenced. He would not refute his faith even under the threat of death. We know his death was during the time of the Roman Emperor Nero. As a Roman citizen, his death was most likely by beheading, as was the usual sentence and early Church writings (which may not be completely accurate) support this manner of execution.
Paul could not even think of, nor mention, his part in the spreading of the Gospel without expressing his gratitude to the Lord for His forgiving kindness and belief in Paul as a minister; “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry”. Paul emphasized the grateful attitude of his heart as he talked about this subject, which never failed to excite his humble and admiring thanks. From Christ Jesus, the Lord of the Church, Paul had received the ability and strength for the work of the ministry, of preaching the glorious Gospel of atonement through the works and sacrifice of the Savior. When Jesus called Paul to the office of the ministry He had deemed the man trustworthy for the office the ministry; and Jesus had been Paul’s Leader and his Model in faithfulness.
It is then with wonder and perhaps even confusion that Paul would identify himself as chief of sinners. There have been thousands, even millions that have been called into the office of the ministry, but only twelve have had the honor of having Jesus appear personally to them to bestow the office on them, and Paul was one of those twelve. Certainly not something God would give the chief of sinners. Of all the twelve Apostles, it is Paul’s writings that comprise nearly half of the books of the New Testament, and more than any two other authors in the entire Bible; again, not something God would allow for the chief of sinners. How can this man, so honored by God and respected by Christians be the chief of sinners?
Perhaps Paul was talking about his former life, his life as a Pharisee and not as a servant of Christ. Could he have been part of the conspiracy that got Christ arrested? He was a Pharisee. Could he have still felt guilty of having been the person who ordered Stephen’s death? How could this not have weighed heavy on Paul’s mind? How many people did he have arrested, and perhaps having more killed, for following the teaching of Jesus, the same teaching Paul now confessed and defended? While this is possible, there were many who persecuted Christians, and more than did worse than Paul had done. It is very possible, and very probable, this very humble man saw the faults in himself while ignoring the faults in others. He saw his utter unworthiness to have forgiveness given to him, much less to be having been called to the office of ministry.
Which now brings to us a very interesting question; if Paul is not the chief of sinners, then who is? History is certainly filled with many people who are worthy of the title chief of sinners. Even if we were to go no further in our list than to the time of Paul and look at only those who are named in the Bible, we could come up a list that would include Cain, King Ahab, King Herod the Great, Jezebel (King Ahab’s wife), and Judas Iscariot. Even Lucifer has a right to that title. But if we are truly wish to seek out the chief of sinners, our search will end with the reflection we see in the mirror.
I know I for one cannot point to anyone throughout history nor anyone I know and say that I live my life better than they. While I may not have performed any of the atrocities some people have done, my mind and my heart are just as black as theirs. I have called my brother a fool many times, and therefore I have murdered. I have dishonored my father and mother many times by not obeying the laws of the country I live in. I have worshipped idols when I have put other things, other priorities, ahead of God, and when I have put my trust in my own hands rather than placing myself in His. And for a few years of my life, somewhat like Paul’s, I was not exactly what anyone would call Christian.
I know I am not as faithful as Paul. There is no way I can express my faith and love of God as wonderfully as he has in his works. I don’t think my walk with Christ will be as trusting as his and when faced with the very same adversity and trial, I cannot say I’d be as strong as Paul. Paul called himself chief of sinners, but how can he be when I am not as faithful a person as he? There is no way he can be chief of sinners, for when I look into the mirror, I see the chief of sinners looking back at me.
These thoughts also echo in the minds of those here. And I’m a bit glad because I had that written down, imagine my embarrassment if it were not so. We can look past the sins of others but be unforgiving to our own. We can all see ourselves as chief of sinners; we can see where we have failed God and each other. We look at our lives and we can see all the sins we have committed, and we know there are many, many more sins we do not know we have done. We know what we all deserve is God’s wraith and punishment.
But God does not wish to punish us as such punishment would forever separate God from His creation. This separation from God, this sentence to hell is irrevocable. God, through His grace and mercy, made a way for us to be with Him, a way for our original sinless condition could be restored to us. God gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to us a sacrifice for us, to stand in our place. Jesus claimed our sins to be His own and He suffered the Father’s punishment for all sins. He surrendered Himself to death and endured the punishment of Hell for us. When the price had been paid, when God’s Righteous judgment for sin had been fulfilled, Jesus rose and became the firstborn from the dead; the first to live, die, and bodily ascend to Heaven, as we too will find ourselves on the last day. For those who believe and trust in God, there is forgiveness for the sins we commit. We become God’s children once again.
Even though Jesus took my sins away from me, even though I am forgiven, I am still a sinner. I continue to break God’s Commandments, I don’t do as God would like. This is something we must all realize, we will continue to sin until we die. It now is our task to try and keep the Commandments as God would have us keep them, not to secure any special favor from God or to gain any “heaven points” in our attempts, but to keep from hurting God, to show our love for God, and just to do the right thing. Because of God’s grace and mercy I am no longer chief of sinners, I am chief of forgiven sinners; still a sinner, and forgiven.
When Paul wrote to his friend Timothy, he wrote telling him of the sinful condition Paul believed himself to be. Even though he believed himself to be chief of sinners, the worst of sinners, his words pass through history to everyone who has ever lived. Even if we were able to say to the Apostle, “I never commanded anyone to death for believing Jesus is the Savior”, he would be able to say to us, “But I have not done what you have done.” The truth is we all have sinned; we all are in desperate need of God’s mercy, His undeserved kindness, and forgiveness. And all we ever need to do is to look into the mirror to see just who is chief of sinners. Amen.
