1 Timothy 1:12-17. “You’re supposed to pay but you don’t have to”
1. Paul begins by saying “12 I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord,” Why is Paul grateful?
• He admitted to Timothy that he was “a blasphemer, a persecutor and a man of violence”
• Paul was a blasphemer — He was against Christ. In his younger days, he was convinced that he “ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth” (Acts 26:9).
• Paul was a persecutor, locking up many of the Christian saints in prison, and pursuing them (Acts 26:10, 11). 10 And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the Lord’s people in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.
• Paul was a man of violence, When Stephen was stoned for giving a strong statement of his Christian faith, Paul “approved of their killing him” (Acts 8:1).
• Paul “was ravaging the church by entering house after house; dragging off both men and women” (Acts 8:3).Think for a moment of the violence: “Entering house after house.” Hear the pounding at the door. Christians are hiding, Saul and his henchmen have the house surrounded. More pounding and shouting. Saul and his men are inside. Christians are hiding . But they are all found and dragged screaming from their hiding places. Saul shows no mercy. He orders his men to “drag” them out of the house and onto the street. These early Christians are thrown into an oxcart and wheeled off to a prison where their fate will be determined.
2. I was a blasphemer, I was a persecutor, I was a man of violence, I killed Innocent men, women, and children. “ But I received mercy”
• I received mercy” Paul told Timothy, “I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, He writes, “the grace of our Lord overflowed for me ” (vv. 13-14).
• Paul was saved from a life of violence by the unexpected mercy that God showed hm. grace was not poured out in small measure but it absolutely “overflowed” for him.
• Divine mercy and grace made it possible for the persecutor Saul — the Christian hunter — to become the apostle Paul,
3. Jesus saves people like Paul Like me He saves Sinners like you, he saves Sinners like us,
• Paul says, verse 15 “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost. 16But for that very reason I received mercy,
• Paul says I was the “ foremost,” the result Jesus Christ shared the utmost patience, making me an example that anyone can come to believe in him for eternal life. 17To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and forever
4. What is Grace? “You’re supposed to pay but you don’t have to “
• Christian writer Philip Yancey was asked define grace, and he answered, “I don’t even try.”
• But he did tell a story. “I remember once getting stuck in Los Angeles traffic and arriving 58 minutes late at the Hertz rental desk. I walked up in kind of a bad mood, put the keys down and said, ‘How much do I owe?’ “The woman says, ‘Nothing. You’re all clear.’ “I said I was late and she smiled, ‘Yes, but there’s a one-hour grace period.’ “So I asked, ‘Oh really, what is grace?’“And she said, ‘I don’t know … I guess what it means is that even though you’re supposed to pay, you don’t have to.’” That’s a pretty good definition of grace, isn’t it? “Even though you’re supposed to pay, you don’t have to.”
• Paul was supposed to pay for being a blasphemer, but he didn’t have to.
• He was supposed to pay for being a persecutor, but he didn’t have to.
• He was supposed to pay for being a man of violence, but he didn’t have to.
• Although we are supposed to pay for our sins, we don’t have to, because of Jesus
• All we have to do is trust in him, put our faith in Jesus Grace may be described as it “doesn’t matter “if you feel like you are the worst friend, worst husband, worst wife worst neighbor, worst parent, worst child, worst employee. Maybe you are a violent person. A criminal. A person with a tumultuous personal life. It doesn’t matter
