1 Timothy 1:2:17
The two letters to Timothy found in the New Testament were composed by the Apostle Paul and directed at Timothy, his young protégé and “son in the faith”. When Paul meets Timothy, he’s little more than a teenager, a young man raised as a follower of Jesus. Timothy’s commitment to the Lord touches Paul deeply and Paul invites Timothy to join him on his second missionary journey.
The key theme contained in the first chapter of this letter is how Paul, and by extension Timothy, you and I need to be thankful to Jesus for His grace and mercy and how that grace and mercy should be the thing that emboldens us to share the gospel with others.
Paul says this to Timothy is verse 15 of chapter 1.
“This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it – ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – and I am the worst of them all.’ But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of His great patience with even the worst sinners.”
Here, Paul expands his audience beyond Timothy. He’s talking to you and me too. And the reassurance he offers we can all find comfort in. Paul, as the Pharisee known as Saul was, in his time, the worst sinner of all. In my day, I was the worst sinner of all. Some of you, as you read this may be thinking to yourself, “Man, I am the worst sinner of all.” And each of us, in our own way is right! And as we come to terms with that, we’re blessed by two of the best words we see in scripture. But God…
Even though you’re the worst sinner there is, God’s mercy is there for you. His mercy saves us from the eternal punishment we deserve. It also does a few other things.
First, it shows us that Jesus must be God because only God could possess the patience necessary to extend mercy to the likes of us. My life is a testimony to that loving patience. From there, others can be blessed to see how, through my life they can receive that same grace and mercy. They can come to know Jesus and, as Paul promises, they’ll receive eternal life too.
There’s nothing that the worst sinner can do to keep out of Heaven once they surrender all to Jesus. For people like you and me and young, inexperienced pastors like Timothy, these are facts that should embolden us to not just take Jesus into our own hearts, but to confidently share Him with the other “worst of all sinners” in our lives. We all know at least one…
Give ‘em Jesus!