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Paul’s first letter to Timothy was written by the apostle to a younger colleague, one that he described as “my loyal child in the faith” (1 Tim 1:2). Paul began by admitting, “I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence” (1 Tim 1:13). Paul was a blasphemer, showing contempt for God or things that are sacred. In his younger days, he was convinced that he “ought to do many things against the name of Jesus” (Acts 26:9). Paul was also a persecutor, locking up many of the Christian saints in prison, and pursuing them “even to foreign cities” (Acts 26:10, 11). And Paul was a man of violence, casting votes against Christians “when they were being condemned to death” (Acts 26:10). When Stephen was stoned for giving a statement of his Christian faith, Paul “approved of their killing him” (Acts 8:1). Soon after, Paul “was ravaging the church by entering house after house; dragging off both men and women” (Acts 8:3).
According to The Atlantic magazine, the worst leaders of all time include Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States of America. Author Matthew Karp says, “He embraced America’s deadliest conflict, over the right to own people as property, and by the end of it, he had earned the hatred of almost everyone involved.” Also Nicholas II, the last emperor of Russia. According to Ahmad Alsaleh, Nicholas “took a reasonably functioning country and left it vulnerable to radical revolutionaries.” In addition, the list includes Pol Pot, Idi Amin, and Adolf Hitler, men who were under a “diabolical influence,” says Chris Cuomo of CNN. They gave in to the temptations of the evil power which is always “disconnecting people from the basic love of one another.”
The apostle Paul seemed to be a pretty awful leader as well — a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. And yet, Paul told Timothy, “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” (1 Tim 1:13-14). Paul was saved from being one of the worst leaders of all time by the unexpected mercy that God showed him. The grace of God was not doled out in small measures, but it absolutely “overflowed” for him. Divine mercy and grace allowed the apostle Paul to move from worst to first.
But what is grace, exactly? The Christian writer Philip Yancey was asked to give a definition of grace and he answered, “I don’t even try.” But he did tell a story. “I remember once getting stuck in Los Angeles traffic and arriving 58 minutes late at the Hertz rental desk. I walked up in kind of a bad mood, put the keys down and said, ‘How much do I owe?’ The woman says, ‘Nothing. You’re all clear.’ I said I was late and she smiled, ‘Yes, but there’s a one-hour grace period.’ So I asked, ‘Oh really, what is grace?’ And she said, ‘I don’t know … I guess what it means is that even though you’re supposed to pay, you don’t have to.’” That’s a pretty good definition of grace, isn’t it? Paul was supposed to pay for being a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence, but he didn’t have to. Instead, the grace of our Lord overflowed for him with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus, and Paul went on to become a top church leader.
Grace doesn’t make a lot of sense if people get off the hook and then return to their bad behavior. But more often than not, the opposite is true: People who receive mercy and grace are usually so grateful that they turn their lives around, and do everything they can to show grace and mercy to others. The best part about grace is that it is a central part of God’s plan, and it is available to each of us. “The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance,” said Paul to Timothy, “that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — of whom I am the foremost” (1 Tim 1:15). Jesus came into the world to save sinners — not just Paul, but each and every one of us. Each of us is supposed to pay for our sins, but we don’t have to, because of Jesus. Each of us is let off the hook, because Christ Jesus came into the world to save us. All we have to do is trust in him, and let him move us up the ladder from worst to first.
Paul was grateful for this mercy and grace, and he responded by becoming one of the greatest leaders of the church. As he said to Timothy, “I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service” (1 Tim 1:12). This former blasphemer, persecutor, and man of violence showed his gratitude by turning his life around and serving the Christians that he had hurt. A similar transformation can be experienced by us, when we receive the grace of Jesus and discover that even though we’re supposed to pay, we don’t have to. This passage from 1 Timothy is one of the Bible’s greatest hits because it assures us that the grace of our Lord overflows for us with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Like the apostle Paul, we can become “an example to those who would come to believe in [Jesus] for eternal life” (1 Tim 1:16). That’s a big shift, for sure: From worst to first. But it is possible for anyone who believes, because of the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ.
Questions:
1. What failures from your past are most in need of God’s mercy?
2. How would you define grace, and when have you experienced it?
3. In what ways have you responded positively to God’s mercy and grace?
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