I was reading today in 1 Timothy 1:15-16 where Paul refers to himself as the "chief of sinners". He did this because before he was saved he was very legalistic and he had persecuted and sentenced to death christians. Paul tells the story in several parts of scripture where the Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus and stopped him in his tracks. He was on his way to Damascus to persecute believers there.
Paul is not trying to show some false sense of piety by calling himself the worst of sinners. I believe it was always a motivator of Paul, having learned the truth to do his best to make the most of his time for Christ with the rest of his life. Paul says that Jesus saved him because he wanted to demonstrated his "unlimited patience" in saving Paul. He wanted to show Paul and us that there is no one who is beyond the grasp of God's saving love.
Years ago, I was in Nevada doing a summer missionary trip. I was in Lovelock, Nevada and the pastor there asked me to go over and invite a man who had some children with him to the VBS the church had planned. From what I remember (this was the summer of 1988) he was a scary, big looking dude with tattoos all over him. I did what the pastor asked me to do, though not expecting a positive reply. In a sense, this is something that God did with Paul. He picked the worst, biggest, baddest, most legalistic close minded person in the area and reached him. And it did that to make a point, that God doesn't give up on people.
Sometimes when people get caught up in sin of all kinds, shame motivates them to walk away from God. Satan begins whispering to them that God wouldn't love them or that they don't deserve God's forgiveness or if people only knew what you did, they wouldn't let you in the church. The truth is, that while people might very well give up on you, God does not. God knew all your sins and shortcomings better than you did before you were born and loves you anyway. God isn't surprised by your sins or mistakes no matter how much you tried to hide them from everyone else.
God has a love that goes beyond all that. He sees the darkness of the human heart better than anyone. He went and died on a horrible cross and shed his blood for those sins. He was literally forsaken on the cross for them. That isn't minimizing the sin. But, where sin is great, God's love and forgiveness is greater.
Paul is not trying to show some false sense of piety by calling himself the worst of sinners. I believe it was always a motivator of Paul, having learned the truth to do his best to make the most of his time for Christ with the rest of his life. Paul says that Jesus saved him because he wanted to demonstrated his "unlimited patience" in saving Paul. He wanted to show Paul and us that there is no one who is beyond the grasp of God's saving love.
Years ago, I was in Nevada doing a summer missionary trip. I was in Lovelock, Nevada and the pastor there asked me to go over and invite a man who had some children with him to the VBS the church had planned. From what I remember (this was the summer of 1988) he was a scary, big looking dude with tattoos all over him. I did what the pastor asked me to do, though not expecting a positive reply. In a sense, this is something that God did with Paul. He picked the worst, biggest, baddest, most legalistic close minded person in the area and reached him. And it did that to make a point, that God doesn't give up on people.
Sometimes when people get caught up in sin of all kinds, shame motivates them to walk away from God. Satan begins whispering to them that God wouldn't love them or that they don't deserve God's forgiveness or if people only knew what you did, they wouldn't let you in the church. The truth is, that while people might very well give up on you, God does not. God knew all your sins and shortcomings better than you did before you were born and loves you anyway. God isn't surprised by your sins or mistakes no matter how much you tried to hide them from everyone else.
God has a love that goes beyond all that. He sees the darkness of the human heart better than anyone. He went and died on a horrible cross and shed his blood for those sins. He was literally forsaken on the cross for them. That isn't minimizing the sin. But, where sin is great, God's love and forgiveness is greater.
