The Chief of Sinners

“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.”  I Timothy 1:15

Paul made the above statement which sums up the entire gospel: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.  That was the mission, not to be kept as a Baby in a manger, not to be considered merely a teacher or a prophet, not to set up His kingdom on earth when He came to earth the first time and grew into Manhood, not for His name to be used as an expletive to denote disappointment, anger, or shock, and not to “excuse” folks of their sin, but rather to suffer and die to pay the penalty for man’s sins and provide forgiveness and reconciliation with man’s Creator God.  How much more faithful can One be to be sinless yet take on the sins of all people purely out of love and honor to His Father?  Any who refuses Christ’s death and resurrection cannot expect anything other than an eternity separated from Him and the Father in a place “prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).

Paul then made the claim that he was the chief of all sinners.  The question always arises in my mind:   if Paul considered himself to be the greatest of all sinners, where does that leave you and me?  It is true that he persecuted followers of Christ before he met Christ, and this persecution and hatred of those who believed in Christ was certainly a very egregious sin before God.  However, sin is sin, no matter how we classify sins as to the depth of offense against our holy God.  He cannot accept any form of sin, small or large.  If sins were classified, the greatest and most egregious sin would be the one that cannot be forgiven:  the rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord, Savior, and Son of God.  God will forgive all other sins through Christ, but none will be forgiven without the blood of Christ covering their sins.

Since Paul considered himself the chief of all sinners, why would God choose him on whom to display His mercy?  Why wouldn’t God have chosen a man who had not done the things that Paul had done, the persecution of or consent to execute believers?  Why not choose a sinner whose sins had not made such a big impact on others and on the cause of Christ?  The question practically answers itself.  What better way for God to show His love and mercy than to the “chief” of sinners?  And what better example to display the depth of suffering That Christ endured for even the vilest sinner?  The forgiveness provided to Paul allowed the world to see that forgiveness was available to all sinners.  Others could see that eternal life was provided for them, too, through repentance and belief in Christ.  The greatness of Paul’s sin and the even greater mercy and grace given by God made a great impact upon a world of sinners.  I know that it did me.

For all that Paul had reminded Timothy of the goodness of God for His mercy which was extended to himself, to Timothy, and to all who name the name of Christ as their Lord and Savior, Paul saluted the Lord Jesus Christ as the King eternal, that is, without beginning or end, immortal, which means that He will never die again, invisible, who can’t be seen with mortal eyes, and the only wise God, the only God.  To Him is due all the honor and glory forever and ever.  Paul then ended his praise with “Amen” or, “so be it”.

More from I Timothy next time.