But I Received Mercy

“I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:12-17 ESV)

Not one of us is saved from our sins, delivered out of slavery to sin, saved from the punishment of sin, and given the hope of eternal life with God because of our own goodness, in our own flesh, but only because of God’s grace to us in sending Jesus Christ to that cross to take upon himself the sins of the entire world, putting our sin to death with him so that, by God’s grace, we will no longer walk in sin but now in righteousness and in walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commandments (New Covenant).

[Heb 12:1-2; Eph 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Acts 26:18; Rom 3:9-26; Rom 5:12-19; Rom 6:1-23; 1 Co 15:21-22,42-49; 1 Peter 2:24]

And we are only able to be the Lord’s servants and messengers and witnesses for him and for his gospel because he delivered us out of our slavery to sin and he gave us new lives in Christ Jesus to now be lived for him and for his purposes, by his grace, and in his power and strength. And only because of God’s grace in pardoning us from our sins and in renewing us in our spirits and minds, and because he chose to call us to his service, can he use us for his purposes in ministering his word to the people.

So, I am not here doing what I am doing because I lived a perfect life. I did not! I followed the Lord closely for a period of time, and then I had a time of failure, but then he drew me back to himself, and when I turned back to him, and I surrendered my all to him, and I accepted his sovereignty over my life, and that I will have trials and tribulations as part of serving him, then he called me to this present ministry of writing down what he is teaching me each day from his word and to place these on the internet.

And when God called Paul (then Saul) to the work of the ministry, he was on his way to persecute even more believers in Jesus Christ, for then he was opposed to Christ and to his followers. But God turned him around, just like he did with me, and he changed him, and he gave him a new lease on life, not because Paul (Saul) was a righteous man, but because God was going to change him into a righteous man, by his grace, and he was going to empower him to live a holy life and to share the gospel of our salvation.

Many people erroneously misinterpret Paul’s words here when he said that he was the foremost of sinners (he said “I am” the foremost). But if we read of Paul’s life in the Scriptures, and all that he taught in the Scriptures, and did, we will see clearly that he was not saying that he was (present tense) the foremost of sinners, in practice actively. But he saw himself as the worst of sinners in comparison to all others because of what he had previously done in persecuting the church, which was against Jesus Christ.

For we need to go back a few verses to verse 13 where Paul stated that he was “formerly a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief.” So he said that he formerly was this person who he described as the foremost of sinners, for that is how he viewed himself, not that he was still living that way. But the things he had done to other Christians, he believed, categorized him as the worst of the worst. But by God’s grace, he was delivered from that life of sin.

See: https://runwithit.blog/2023/05/13/was-paul-a-hypocrite-ii/ 

Paul did not deserve God’s grace and mercy, and I did not deserve God’s grace and mercy for the time that I deserted him and I gave in to my flesh. So I am extremely humbled that God would choose to call me to this ministry, and that, I believe, is what Paul was expressing, too. He had no room for pride, and neither do I. He was well aware that all that he was able to accomplish was only by the grace of God, but as he submitted to God’s will for us his life. The same with me. So all the glory goes to God.

So, what does this tell all of us? We don’t have to be defined by our pasts. But, for some people, their past is still their present, for they are still living in the past, still doing all the same evil they did before without change of heart and mind and direction. So this is not saying that we can continue living in sin and that God is going to use us to be his witnesses and messengers and servants. But it does encourage us that not all is lost. We can still come out of our pasts and change and be given new lives to live.

So, even if you are one who has failed yourself and others and God miserably, as long as you are still alive, God can change you and make you into someone he can use for his purposes if you will turn from your sin and now commit to following the Lord wherever he leads you. You are only “wasted space” if you choose to be. Your past life does not have to be your present life. And it doesn’t matter if your sins, in your opinion, were the worst of the worst. God can change you, if you will surrender to Him.

Songs in the Night  

An Original Work / December 18, 2013

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

Lord, I praise You forevermore.

You, my Savior, I now adore.

Hope in heaven awaiting me,

Because You died at Calvary.

I have been forgiven,

And I’m bound for heaven.

Jesus set me free from

All my sin, I say.

I will praise Him always!

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:

Overcame death, my vict’ry won!

Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!

I rejoice in His love for me.

I will walk in vict’ry!

My sin is but hist’ry!

I am free to please Him

With my life today.

I will love Him always!

Lord, I thank You for giving me

A new life bought at Calvary.

Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.

Tender mercies now flow within.

Lord, I am so thankful;

Through my Lord, I’m able

To sit at His table;

Fellowship with Him.

I will thank Him always!

https://vimeo.com/379484387