The Very Best
For The Very Worst 17th Sunday after Pentecost September 26, 2004
1 Timothy 1:12-17 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. 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. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-- of whom I am the worst. 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. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ,
Today we have a beautiful text in front of us. It’s a text about grace, amazing grace. You remember from confirmation class that “grace” means “undeserved love.” In our text we’re going to learn to be amazed at how God gives the very best, and the ones to whom he gives it are no less than the very worst sinners. The Very Best For The Very Worst.
Think back with me to the early life of the Apostle Paul. What do you remember about his life before he knew Christ? Paul was a very arrogant man. He thought he was doing everything right for God, and that God was very pleased with him for all the good things he was doing. He was so convinced that he was doing what God wanted, that he took it upon himself to see to it that Christians would be stamped out. He began to persecute the church and was responsible for the deaths and imprisonment of who knows how many Christians.
In his letter the Philippians, Paul describes how he had previously lived and the pride he possessed: “If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless” (Philippians 3:4-6).
But God had other plans for Paul. This man who was committed to stamping out the way of Christ, God had chosen to be an ambassador for Christ. This man who was so convinced he was right, God had to show just how wrong he was. While Paul had resolved to destroy Christianity, God had chosen him to be an apostle of Christianity. Paul writes in our text, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. 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.” God chose Paul for a life of service to him and changed the direction of Paul’s life.
As I read through the epistles of Paul, I get the impression that Paul never forgot where he had come from. He never ceased to be amazed at the superabundant grace of God. He wrote to the Corinthians, “For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Corinthians 15:10). Paul could only marvel that God had extended such mercy to him, the worst of sinners.
How about you? Do you consider yourself the worst of sinners, or is there someone out there worse than you? If there’s a difference between Paul and us, it is that he acted in ignorance and unbelief, while you and I—we know the will of God. We know that God says, “Do not murder, do not lust, do not commit adultery.” But we still do them. We know that God wants to be first in all things, that we cannot serve two masters, God and money; we know we are not to be materialistic—but we are so in love with our stuff. We know that God has given us the Great Commission and said, “Go and make disciples . . . ” (Matthew 28:19) “Always be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have” (1 Peter 3:15). But when the opportunity to share Jesus arises, we keep our lips shut.
Do you still fancy yourself a pretty good person in comparison to other “sinners?” Paul used an argument to convict the Jews that certainly could apply to you and to me. He writes in Romans, “If you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convince that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by braking the law? As it is written: ‘God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.’”
The greatest obstacle to the spread of Christianity is . . . Christians! We watch the same smut on the television, read the same trashy novels, listen to the same raunchy music, dress in the same careless, disrespectful fashion, display bodies that are pierced and tattooed like any pagan’s—what’s the difference between Christians and unbelievers, if our light doesn’t shine and it’s not a difference that is visible to all? Do you see yourself as the worst of sinners?
“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” Do you know that it is really amazing that you are here today in worship? You are a living, breathing, walking testimony to the grace of God. God in his grace plucked you and me up out of the gutter of sin, out of the darkness of unbelief, and put us on the pedestal of his mercy and crowned us with his love and compassion. Only because of his grace, his amazing grace. It was God who opened your eyes to see the salvation of God in the sacrifice of Christ, to believe that Jesus lived perfectly for you and your perfect Righteousness, and that Jesus offered himself on the cross as the sacrifice—not for the “righteous,” who don’t need a Savior—for sinners. You are a trophy of God’s grace, that has washed you clean, given you full and free forgiveness for all of your sins, and made you a child of God.
Have you ever stopped to think, “What if?” What if things were different? What if you were a different person, who didn’t know Jesus as your Savior? What if you hadn’t been born into a Christian family and taught to trust in Jesus? What if you, as an adult, had never been exposed to the gospel and brought to faith? What if you had been born in some other country, say a Muslim country, where Christ is not known? What if you had been born in Afghanistan? What if you had never known Christ?
But you do! You do know him! And you are here to worship and praise him, because of his grace, his amazing grace that sought you and found you lost and wandering. It does not matter where you have come from. It doesn’t matter what you have done, what sins you have committed, how horribly you have disobeyed God, how dirty your former life had become—you are clean, you are fully forgiven, you can live at peace in the joy and forgiveness of your gracious God. Your conscience is at peace, your heart is at rest in your precious Savior. You belong to Jesus, because Jesus has claimed you as his own. God has planned the very best for you, the gift of immortality and the mansions of heaven waiting for you. He gives the very best to the very worst!
Paul couldn’t help but be amazed, because he knew where he had come from. “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.” Who can grasp God’s amazing grace?
God gave us the ultimate example, one that was easy for us to see because Paul’s sins were not only in the heart but his actions were clear for the eyes to see – if God could be patient with Paul and bring him to faith by the great power of his love, then he can do the same to you and me.
Like Paul I may think I am the worst of sinners, but God also already shown he wants to give the very beat to the very worst. Believe it, dear friends. When God leads you to see you are the worst, then let his grace pick you immediately up. He does not want you to despair or wallow in pity, he wants you to look at his Son on the cross and there see that he has taken your sins away and has given you His very best. Paul had every reason to doubt, but God burned faith into his heart. Let Paul’s hatred for Jesus turned to love teach us that nothing is impossible with God – not even saving us!
Such incredible love that is willing to overwhelm the sins of the world and show us God’s unlimited patience can’t ever be paid for. When we marvel at God’s love we can only do as Paul did – open our mouths in worship – “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
