Very Good News for Very Bad Examples

“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” (1Tim 1:16).

Think back to when you were a kid. Yeah, I know that’s a little harder for some of us who are more, shall we say, “chronologically challenged.” But crank up the WABAC machine, Sherman, and head back to your childhood. Who provided the examples for you to follow? If you’re like me, my parents loved to suggest candidates. “Why can’t you be more like (fill in the blank)?” You know the qualities I’m talking about. Good behavior. Good grades. Good looking. Well, good luck!

This brings us to something Paul wrote in his first letter to Timothy. He tells Tim how his Savior came to his rescue because the man from Tarsus was an example. “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” (v16). At first, we might think that the apostle’s status as the “foremost” means he’s the good example all the kids should follow. Not so much. Paul provides us with a bad example. Believe it or not, that’s not just good but GREAT! It allows Jesus to show at just how incredibly awesome He is. That’s what happens when our bad examples meet His Good News. 

The apostle begins by telling Pastor Tim, “But I received mercy for this reason” (v16). Earlier Paul mentioned how God extended him His “mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief” (1Tim 1:13). His blindness to who Jesus is and what He had done was the context for this specific mission of mercy. Now Paul gives him the purpose and reason for it. Don’t miss the fact that he’s “received mercy” (Gr. ele’eo). For you grammar freaks out there, this verb is passive. Paul didn’t go out and get mercy from God. He didn’t earn it. He didn’t work for it. He is simply on the receiving end of God’s goodness through Jesus. 

Same goes for us. There’s not a single thing we can do to impress God that results in our getting His mercy. In a letter to the Roman church, the apostle recalls a little chat Almighty God had with His man Moses. “I will have mercy on (Gr. ele’eo) whom I have mercy (Gr. ele’eo)…So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy (Gr. ele’eo)” (Rom 9:15, 16). We need to remember that God showers His compassion on those He chooses. We don’t earn it. We can’t earn it.

Paul is on the business end of divine mercy because “in me, as the foremost” (v16). In the previous verse, Paul claims the title of the G.O.A.T. of sinners (1Tim 1:15). The greatest sinner of all time. The first of the worst. We see an interesting progression in the man from Tarsus’ life. In his letter to the Philippians, the apostle says that before Jesus came to his rescue, he was a Hebrew superstar (Phil 3:5-6). A first round draft pick who knew he was hot stuff. But a funny thing happens once he starts following Christ. He begins by acknowledging how he would be ranked last in any list of the apostles (1Cor 15:9). A little later, he says he’s bringing up the rear as “the very least of all the saints” (Eph 3:8). Finally in this first letter to Timothy, he keeps falling until he’s at rock bottom as the “foremost” of every list of God’s law breakers. 

Growing in Jesus doesn’t mean that we get stronger and stronger and need Him less and less. Just the opposite. Instead of thinking we’ve outgrown the Gospel and have our stuff in one bag with a twist, we realize our desperate and daily need for His grace. A few hundred years ago, a member of Martin Luther’s church complained how the great reformer’s messages were basically all the same. Every single one came back to the Good News of who Jesus is and what He’s done. Isn’t it time to move on to something else? Something deeper? You’ve gotta love Luther’s response. He was going to preach the Gospel to them every week because they forgot it every week. He knew that because he had to preach the Gospel to HIMSELF everyday because he forgot it everyday. 

Here’s the dirty little secret. Paul is NOT alone as the “foremost” (v15, 16). We’re tied with him in last place. We just don’t realize it yet. Once we do, we’ll understand our desperate need to hear the Good News every single stinking day. You need to hear it. I need to hear it. Every. Single. Day. Why do you think Jeremiah wanted everyone to know that God’s mercies “are new every morning” (Lam 3:22)? Like the sign at Krispy Kreme that shines “Hot Donuts Now!”, His mercy is warm and fresh every morning. Why? Because we need it every morning.

Paul is the first of the worst so “that Jesus Christ might display His perfect patience as an example” (v16). In “patience,” he uses the Greek word makrothumia, which can mean endurance, steadfastness, or perseverance. It’s a compound word that literally describes something that’s “long (makro-) burning (-thumia).” Think of a long fuse. A REEEEEEALLY long fuse. It’s a reminder that no one has a longer fuse than God. He will eventually get angry but it just takes a long, LONG time. Paul says he was a true test of just how long God’s fuse was. His buddy Peter paints a picture of our God “is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2Pet 3:8). He was perfectly patient with Paul. He was perfectly patient with you and me. His fuse is still burning. Let’s not waste anymore time. The world needs to know the Good News!!

Not only does Paul see himself as the first of the worst, he understands that he provides an example to others. It’s always good to have an example to follow. But remember, there are both good and bad examples. The apostle is saying that in this case the only example he provides is so that the Lord’s amazing patience can shine. In other words, the only thing he brings to the table as an example is his desperate need for a Savior. He travels the Roman Empire telling everyone what the resurrected Rabbi/Carpenter has done for him. He wants the world to see what Good News can do through his bad example.

Some like to point to Christ as the example of how we are to live. There’s no doubt that God calls us to imitate Him (Eph 5:1). To love sacrificially (Jn 13:34-35). To serve selflessly (Jn 13:15; Phil 2:5-8). But Jesus is SO much more than our good example. He’s our Savior. He’s our Hero. He’s our Lord. He’s our God. I’m not saying to throw away your WWJD bracelet. But we need to realize that we can’t dream of following in His divine footsteps apart from His intervention. If anything, Paul is our example of what it means to be a bad example. We can’t do it on our own. We can’t obey God’s rules. We break His Law by commission. We break His Law by omission. It reminds me of Jonathan Edwards words. “You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary.” We’re only a good example because His good work as a result of the Good News.

Paul’s bad example of Jesus’ good work is “to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life” (v16). Christ would use the former Pharisee’s life as a display case of His incredible mercy and grace. If God could come to the rescue of killer of Christians then no one is beyond His reach. No one is too far gone. I don’t care how long your rap sheet is. As a result, Jesus sent the apostle on his lifelong mission of telling everyone who would listen the incredibly Good News. The bad news is that we’re rebels and terrorists against God’s kingdom and can’t save ourselves. We’ve broken God’s Law. We deserve punishment. Not just to be put in time out. Not just taking away our screen time. Not just being grounded for the weekend. We deserve death. 

That’s where our Hero comes in. Instead, Jesus does for us what we could never dream of doing for ourselves. He lived the perfect life of obedience to His Father that we fail to live. He died the brutal death for our sin and disobedience that we should have died. He rose to a spectacular new life that we in no way deserve. We trust in Jesus. We trust in what He’s done for us. That’s what it means to “believe in Him for eternal life” (v16). See, I told you this is VERY Good News for some VERY bad examples!

The First of the Worst

“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” (1Tim 1:15).

There’s a lot of argument about the G.O.A.T. No, I’m not talking about the frisky little critter with horns and beard that seems to be all the rage on Youtube. Thanks to LL Cool J, G.O.A.T. has come to mean “greatest of all time.” Fans and experts constantly debate who’s the greatest in particular sports. Muhammad Ali told everyone who would listen that he was the greatest. In hoops, is Jordan or Kareem the G.O.A.T.? Who’s the greatest QB of all time? Who’s your G.O.A.T. in baseball, hockey, and tennis? 

While all of will certainly be open to debate as long as there are sports bars and the world wide interweb, Paul says there’s no question who’s the G.O.A.T. of sinners. In his first letter to his protege Timothy, the apostle writes, “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” (v15). He doesn’t want his spiritual son to miss what he’s about to say. Here’s something worth remembering. Don’t ever forget that Jesus came from heaven to earth to rescue us from this sinful mess we’ve made. When it comes to sinners, he boldly proclaims to be the G.O.A.T. What?!?!? The dude who wrote most of the New Testament is the top-ranked trespasser!?! (And is there something wrong with my keyboard that I keep using all these?!?!?!?) Paul has come to realize that he is not the best and brightest. Nope. He’s the first of the worst.  

A quick review of the whole reason for this little letter in the first place. Paul planted a church in Ephesus around 54 A.D. This is a large port city on the west coast of what know today as Turkey. As a hub on international trade, this town is an absolute stew of cultures, races, and religion. The apostle sets up shop in Ephesus for three years. Dr. Luke devotes an entire chapter of Acts to those first crazy days of how God uses Paul and the Gospel to turn the city upside down (Acts 19). After the apostle goes to prison for telling people about Jesus, he writes letter to the believers in Ephesus. That’s what we call the book of Ephesians in our Bible. Now after getting out of the slammer, Paul has put a young man named Timothy in charge of this growing megachurch (1Tim 1:1-3). 

This epistle is really a pastoral to-do list. At the top of that list is shutting down an arrogant team of spiritual hucksters who are doing some serious damage to disciples in the church (1Tim 1:3-7). They pretend to experts but really have no clue what they’re talking about. As he instructs Tim how to shut down these false teachers, Paul goes WAY out of his way to humbly say that he’s not hot stuff. This is all about Jesus. The resurrected Christ has empowered and appointed him despite a rather dubious rap sheet (1Tim 1:12-13). As a result, the Lord has absolutely drenched the apostle in His overwhelming grace (1Tim 1:14). He counters the arrogance of the false teachers with his humility in Jesus.

You can break verse 15 down into three easy pieces. The first part is Paul giving his buddy a heads up. “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance” (v15). The second is the important truth about who Jesus is and what He has done that everyone should remember. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (v15). The apostle ends with what amounts to a quick aside. If there were parenthesis in Greek, he may have used them. “Of whom I am the foremost” (v15). He’s so glad the Son of God came to the rescue of of sinners because he’s at the front of the line. He’s the G.O.A.T. He’s the first of the worst.

Paul begins by letting us know what he’s about to write is important. REALLY important. “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance” (v15). He uses this idea three times in 1 Timothy (1Tim 3:1; 4:9) once in 2 Timothy (2Tim 2:11), and another in Titus (Titus 3:8). In other words, what you’re about to read is legit. You can take this to the bank. Listen up. Pay attention. Write this down. If the apostle were writing in the 21st century, he would probably tell you that this is Twitter-worthy. #Trustworthy. #FullAcceptance. I’ll be honest, I kinda doubt there was a hashtag in biblical Greek.

Does he have your attention? Are you ready for the big news? Good. Here we go. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (v15). If you were a headline writer for the Bible, you could put this at the top of the page in 150 point bold font. It’s not just a big idea, it’s THE BIG IDEA! Our Hero came to our rescue!! This is the very essence of the Gospel. Just to review. God created a perfect universe. We jacked it up. Jesus came to rescue us from the disaster we’re responsible for. More than once, the radical Rabbi/Carpenter from Galilee announced His mission statement. He came to serve and to seek and to save (Mt 20:28; Lk 19:10).

Just to be sure, Jesus didn’t come to save good people. The religious rule keepers freaked out when Jesus attended a shindig thrown by a tax collector. The Resurrection and the Life was clearly the life of this party. Christ responded to their mumbles and grumbles by saying, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Lk 5:31-32). Both then and now, folks who see themselves as the religious police fail to realize was just how gloomy their prognosis is without the Great Physician. You see, He came to save the bad…because that’s all there are (Rom 3:10-11, 23)! Jesus saves those who realize they could never save themselves. 

Now we come to the humble little phrase at the end of the verse. “Of whom I am the foremost” (v15). Paul appears to think less and less of himself as the Gospel overwhelms him more and more. Just in case you think this is some fleeting thought the apostle scribbled down, check out the apostle’s VERY interesting progression. Around 55 A.D., he writes to the church in Corinth and describes himself as “least of the apostles” (1Cor 15:9). If you were to rank Jesus’ posse, he believes he would have just snuck in to the polls. A few years later sometime between 60-62 A.D., he tells his friends in Ephesus, “I am the very least of all the saints” (Eph 3:8). Fast forward a couple of years as he writes to Tim and says he’s finally the baddest man on the planet. He’s the G.O.A.T. of sinners. He’s the first of the worst.

We get this idea of the greatest from Paul’s use of “foremost” (Gr. protos). The word means the first of many in time or place, the leader in a succession, chief, top ranked, or above all. He’s number one. He’s leader the leader in the clubhouse. Jesus tells James and John that if we want to be at the top of God’s rankings we must at the front of the line to serve others. “Whoever would be first (Gr. protos) among you must be your slave” (Mt 20:27). Later Paul tells King Agrippa how Jesus is the “first (Gr. protos) to rise from the dead” (Acts 26:23). 

At first, this doesn’t make any sense. It’s probably been almost 30 years since the resurrected Jesus blindsided the apostle formerly known as Saul outside Damascus. He’s been a follower of Jesus for a long time. His resume is pretty stinkin’ impressive. He’s been on three legendary Mediterranean tours for the Gospel. He’s written a big chunk of the Bible. He’s Christ’s handpicked spokesman to non-Jews around the world. Wouldn’t this be a guy who really didn’t need any help from God any more? 

Paul wants us to know that it’s EXACTLY the opposite. As we become more mature in our walk with Jesus, we don’t become more self-sufficient. We become more Christ dependent. We become more and more aware of our desperate day-today need of a Savior. Bill Hybels calls this “descending into greatness.” Smart folks like to call God’s process of holiness in my life sanctification. The apostle says the secret sauce of being sanctified is to remember that I’m justified. I don’t outgrow the Gospel. I actually dive deeper into it! The great reformer Martin Luther said we need preach the Good News to ourselves every single day. Remember how gracious God has been to you. Remember who you would be without Him. 

Paul knows exactly where he would be. He would be the G.O.A.T. of sinners. But he's not alone. There's a tie at the top of the rankings. With you. With me. With everyone who's ever fogged a mirror. We're all the greatest sinners who have ever lived. We're all the G.O.A.T. We just haven't realized it yet. It's not exactly something you race to post on your LinkedIn profile either. This humbling status breaks me and motivates me to tell others about the One at the other end of the scale. The world desperately needs to hear about Jesus, truly the Greatest of All Time. No one else comes close. Without Him, we're tied for the first of the worst. 

Messy Grace

“And the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (1Tim 1:14).

Grace is messy. Wonderfully messy. Beautifully messy. My friends with OCD are cringing right now and looking for something to clean up this spectacular spill. Maybe you think it’s not like God to be sloppy. Isn’t cleanliness next to godliness? That’s in the Bible somewhere right? Nope. Sorry. As a matter of fact, Paul goes WAY out of his way to tell his buddy Timothy about how Jesus poured so much of His goodness into his broken life that it was running down the sides of the glass and all over the counter! “And the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (v14). You see Jesus isn’t shy when it comes to giving out His grace. It’s messy. Very messy. Wonderfully messy. Beautifully messy.

And why should it be anything else for Paul? His life before Jesus was a hot mess. He readily admits how “formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent” of the Rabbi/Carpenter from Galilee (1Tim 1:13). But one crazy day outside of Damascus, everything changed. Jesus drenches the man known then as Saul with a tidal wave of His grace. He radically transforms this enemy into His friend. Next thing you know, Saul the assassin becomes Paul the apostle. Murderer becomes missionary. This incredibly messy life is healed under the flow of God’s incredibly messy grace.

I’ve got a sneaking feeling that some of you are just having a hard time thinking Jesus is sloppy with His salvation. Christ may generous, but He’s not careless. What Paul wants us to know is that Jesus radically generous. He tells Tim how “the grace of our Lord overflowed for me” (v14). First of all, remember God’s grace is His descending one-way love that we did nothing to deserve. We do absolutely nothing to earn or gain God’s goodness (Rom 3:23-24; Eph 2:7-9). Zip. Zilch. The big fat zero. The great preacher Jonathan Edwards does say there is one particular item we provide. “You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary.” Without our Savior, the only thing we’re generous with is our sin. Ouch. 

Despite bringing less than zero to the table, Paul describes how Jesus’ grace “overflowed” in his direction. In doing so, he uses a Greek word that only appears once in the New Testament: huperpleonazo. It’s compound verb which literally means “super (huper-) excess (-pleonazo).” Picture filling a glass to the point of overflowing. Receiving something to the point of ridiculous excess. God does not hold back when He delivers the incredible abundance of His goodness. Put away the measuring spoons. You’ll need more than a bucket. That dump truck is nowhere big enough. His grace is BEYOND measure and never-ending! The Amplified Bible pumps up the volume and reads “the grace (unmerited favor and blessing) of our Lord [actually] flowed out superabundantly and beyond measure for me” (v14 AMP). Jesus doesn’t just splash you once and move on. Picture yourself standing under a spectacular waterfall of His generosity. Ahhhh!

How do we know when we have some understanding of what God has done for us? The apostle says we overflow “with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (v14). His tsunami of grace opens my mind to trust in all that my Savior has done for me that I could never do for myself. He lived the perfect life while I drove it in the ditch. He died the death for my disobedience in my place. He rose to a new life when I did nothing to deserve it. You see, messy grace makes for messy faith. I trust in Jesus even when my life is a total dumpster fire. It’s about Him, not me. Messy grace makes for messy love. I love the people in my life when they are the most unlovable. ESPECIALLY when they are the most unlovable. It’s about them, not me. Remember, Christ loved you and me while we were still shanking our fists at heaven (Rom 5:8). You see that idea front and center in the New Living Translation. “Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that comes from Jesus Christ” (v14 NLT).

His waterfall of grace creates followers who become fire hydrants of faith in Him and love for others. Because of His incredibly messy grace, His church is a wonderful mess. Maybe you’ve bought the lie that church is filled with folks who’ve figured it out. People who are neat and clean. People that have their stuff in one bag with a twist tie. Wrong. The truth be known, the body of Christ is full of jacked up, messed up, and goofed up people. It’s less like a black tie formal at the country club than the freak show at the carnival. Messy grace. Messy faith. Messy love. 

That’s exactly what happens when Christ is radically generous with His grace. Dare I say promiscuously generous? Did he just say THAT word when talking about Jesus? You bet I did. And you can bet that He is!! His grace is spilling over into our lives. It’s bursting at the seams. His grace is flowing everywhere. When there’s a boatload of sin, you need boatload of grace. “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Rom 5:20). So put down the rag. Drop the mop. Don’t worry about cleaning it up. Instead, let it go an let it flow! Be messy with your faith in Christ. Be messy with your love for others. Grace is messy. Very messy. Wonderfully messy. Beautifully messy.

Turning Enemies into Friends

“though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief” (1Tim 1:13)

I need you to use your imagination for a moment. And I need you to crank it up to 11. Picture the number one enemy of the Christian faith suddenly switching sides and becoming a spokesperson for the Son of God. Try to wrap your brain around the idea of an enemy like Osama bin Laden unexpectedly spreading the love of Jesus across the planet instead of trying to wipe His followers from the face of the earth. Hard to imagine, right?

That’s EXACTLY the kind of guy that Jesus chose not only use to spread His Gospel throughout the Roman Empire but write most of the New Testament. In a letter to Timothy, Paul reflects on his wrap sheet. “Though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief” (v13). The apostle knows without a doubt he didn’t make a mistake. He realizes he wasn’t simply misguided. He didn’t just say “my bad.” He was a rebel with a cause against Christ. Despite all of that, Jesus overwhelmed His enemy in His amazing mercy. What a great reminder that our Savior loves to qualify the disqualified. That means me. That means you.

It’s easy to loose sight of Paul’s background when we see him at this point in his life. He’s Christ’s handpicked apostle to non-Jews everywhere. When he’s not in jail for upsetting local authorities with the Gospel, he’s always on the road telling everyone who will listen that the resurrected Jesus is the Hero sent straight from heaven to save the world. But before he was Paul, he was Saul. Before he was an apostle, he was an assassin. Before he was a missionary, he was a murderer. Before he was Jesus’ biggest proponent, he was Jesus’ biggest opponent. It’s a great reminder of the turnarounds our Savior loves to pull. He’s not looking to make good people better. The Son of God didn’t just water in to wine. You've heard of frenemies. Jesus loves turning His enemies into His friends.

Paul has nothing to hide from his spiritual son. He’s left Tim in Ephesus to pastor the growing megachurch there while he heads off the Macedonia (1Tim 1:3). The apostle gives his protege specific instructions to shut down a team of false teachers who are stirring up trouble (1Tim 1:3-7). The man from Tarsus knows all about what it means to be against the Gospel. He devoted himself to that cause for years. At the time, he sincerely believed he was doing the right thing. He was sincerely wrong. What did it get him? The realization that he was “blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent” (v13) of God. Just in case you were wondering, God beats His enemies. Every. Single. Time. The Generals have a better chance against the Globetrotters.

The apostle readily admits that he once was a “blasphemer (Gr. blasphemos)” (v13). This is a person who defames another in general and someone who speaks against God more specifically. But this is the idea of someone who openly insults another. A slanderer who trashes your reputation. In today’s culture, we call it hate speech. It’s literally someone who hurts another with their words. Now you can’t really injure Almighty God with what you say. The truth is the only person you’re really hurting is yourself. 

Paul also transparently tells Tim that he was a “persecutor” (v13) in the past. He uses a Greek term (Gr. dioktes) that paints portrait of a person preoccupied with causing others to pain (say THAT three times fast!). It comes from a verb that means to chase swiftly or hunt down. The book of Acts doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to Paul’s relentless pursuit of Jesus’ followers. He led house-to-house raids (Acts 8:3; 9:1). He mercilessly tortured many right in the synagogue (Acts 26:11). He had martyrs’ blood on his hands as well (Acts 22:4; 26:10). Paul comes clean to the Galatians about how he “persecuted the church God violently” (Gal 1:13). The apostle doesn’t shy away from his days as a Christian hunter.

If that doesn’t make your skin crawl, the apostle formerly known as Saul lays his cards on the table as a former “insolent opponent” (v13). This describes someone who is a violent aggressor. But it’s even worse than that. There’s arrogance and superiority involved. It’s someone with a superior attitude who mistreats others out of their own rebellion against God’s truth. Think hate groups like the KKK who intentionally look down on their enemies and do what they can to wipe them off the map. Before Jesus saved him, Paul saw little to no value in anyone below him in the religious pecking order. 

Oh, how times and hearts have changed. The jaw-dropping turnaround started a few years back when this Hebrew up-and-comer was on one of his patented search-and-destroy missions to Damascus. That’s when the resurrected Christ made it clear to Saul that when he persecutes His church, he persecutes Jesus personally (Acts 9:4-5; 22:7-8; 26:14-15). Once God shined his holy light of truth on Paul’s life, he saw his sin for what it really was. He saw himself for who he really was.

That was the very moment when Paul “obtained mercy” (v13) from His Savior. He uses a verb (Gr. ele’eo) that is less about a judicial ruling in his favor but receiving compassion or pity. Over and over, it’s what people tossed aside by society would plead Christ for. Two visually impaired men chased after Jesus and shouted, “Have mercy (Gr. ele’eo) on us, Son of David” (Mt 9:27). You and I would probably put this torturer and terrorist at the top of the most wanted list, NOT God’s mercy list. But in a letter to the Roman church, Paul reminds believers of what God said to Moses. “I will have mercy on (Gr. ele’eo) whom I have mercy (Gr. ele’eo)…So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy (Gr. ele’eo)” (Rom 9:15, 16). We need to remember that God showers His compassion on those He chooses. We don’t earn it. We can’t earn it. Our man Paul knows that better than most.

Saul/Paul quite simply did not understand who Jesus was and what He had done, or in his words, “because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief” (v13). As a member of the Pharisees, he believed it was up to him to save himself by building up a religious resume so impressive that God had to accept him (Phil 3:4-7). His admission of ignorance is not an excuse or an attempt to rationalize all he had done. Until Jesus blindsided him on the highway outside Damascus, this rising Jewish rock star was defending his religion against these whacky radicals. 

Like so many people around the world today, he mistakenly believed HE was on a mission from God. He was convinced this movement called the Way was clearly headed the wrong way. But the confrontation with Christ flipped on the light switch. Paul then realized that the only thing that matters is a personal relationship with Jesus and everything else was nothing more than a big steaming pile (Phil 3:7-9).

So what can we take from these words written from a mentor to his protege more than 2,000 years ago? What can we learn from this verse? Don’t miss the fact that Paul confessed. Throughout the New Testament, we see that he confessed early and often. Once Jesus shines His holy light on his life, the apostle understood exactly who he was and what he had done. Then he said it out loud. His sin was all out in the open.    

Confession brings our sin out from hiding. Funny thing. What seems so scary and mean in the dark becomes kinda wimpy when we drag it into the light. Horror movies are so horrible in the daytime. When we keep our sin secret, we carry it alone. Jesus’ little brother James knew the importance of confessing our sins to our closest spiritual brothers and sisters (James 5:16). Find a trusted crew of believers and open up. Reveal your mess. Disclose your dirt. Divulge your darkness. Stop carrying your secret crap all alone. Owning up to our sin also puts the focus on Jesus and His goodness…as it should be. In case you forgot, it’s not about you. Don’t impress. Confess. It’s what happens when Jesus turns us from one of His enemies into a friend.

It's NOT about You. It's ALL about Jesus.

“I thank Him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because He judged me faithful, appointing me to His service” (1Tim 1:12).

Rick Warren is right. “It’s not about you.” That’s the opening line to his best-seller “The Purpose Driven Life.” As a matter of fact, it’s not about me either. I don’t know about you, but that’s quite a relief. The book is awesome (as a matter of fact, you may want to stop wasting your time reading stuff like this on the internet and pick up a copy if you haven’t read it yet!). But it’s not like Rick has the copyright on some groundbreaking new idea. 

No, this notion was put in motion a few thousand years before in a little ditty known as the Bible. In a letter to his sidekick Timothy, Paul goes out of his way to say it’s not about him either. “I thank Him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because He has judged me faithful, appointing me to His service” (v12). It’s all about the One who gives us strength. It’s all about the One who leads us to a place of faithfulness. It’s all about the One who handpicks us to serve. If you’re scoring at home, it’s ALL about Jesus. That’s A-L-L. ALL.

The apostle is not simply scribbling this stuff down in a vacuum. He’s not just waxing poetic. You see, Tim’s got his hands full with a gang of false teachers who are stirring up trouble at the church in Ephesus. Paul has left his spiritual son there as the pastor while he’s off on his next assignment (1Tim 1:2-3). The man from Tarsus already kicked two of these knuckleheads to the curb before he hit the road (1Tim 1:20). But there are still a few religious hucksters selling a counterfeit gospel and distracting people from the real deal (1Tim 1:3-7). These false teachers are misusing God’s law and abusing God’s people. Instead of using Scripture to diagnose sin and point folks back to Jesus, they use it to dominate and damage through legalism and self-salvation (1Tim 1:8-11). This isn’t just a first century issue. Garbage like this is still spewed in our churches today. 

Paul is making a clear distinction between himself and the spiritual snake oil salesmen. He thanks Jesus for giving him supernatural strength. The false teachers are driving on an empty tank. He thanks Christ for judging him faithful. The false teachers have only a faith in themselves. He thanks our Lord for appointing him to serve. The false teachers are self-appointed and serve only themselves. Every single one of us who thinks we’re serving God needs to ask the hard questions. Who gives me strength? Who judges me faithful? Who appoints me to serve? If the answer is NOT Jesus, I need to shut it down and turn to Him right here and right now. Remember, it’s not about you. It’s ALL about Jesus.

Like a basketball player who’s just score and points to the one who passed him the ball, the apostle gives all the credit to where credit is really due. God. All throughout Scripture, we read of our God who gives. He gives creation. He gives life. He gives food. He gives His Son. Our God is not a grabber but a Giver. An over-the-top, crazy generous, radically lavish Giver. It’s just who He is. It’s just what He does. And He absolutely LOVES to give to those who don’t deserve anything. Just to clear up who these undeserving recipients are…it’s you and me. That’s why Jesus says He came so that we could dive into the deep end of a pool what He calls the abundant and overflowing life (Jn 10:10).

Paul is so thankful to “Him who has given me strength” (v12). He’s ultimately powerless without Christ. Jesus told His crew that when we’re vitally connected with Him, there’s really no limit to what He can do through us (Jn 15:5). Without that connection, zip, zilch, zero. The apostle knows without a doubt he didn’t do it. He didn’t have the strength. He didn’t have the oomph. He knows that God and His power are the secret sauce of all that he’s accomplished. In other words, it’s NOT about Paul. And it’s NOT about you or me. It’s ALL about Jesus. 

Make no mistake on just who this Jesus is and what this is all about. According to the apostle, He’s “Christ Jesus our Lord” (v12). These four words absolutely drip with significance. Jesus is the actual name His heavenly Father told His earthly parents to name Him (Lk 1:31). It literally means “Yahweh saves.” And boy, does He ever! God personally comes to our rescue through the Son of a carpenter from Nazareth. We see here that Jesus is so much more than Joe and Mary’s oldest. 

He’s “Christ” (v12). No, that’s NOT His last name. It’s an incredibly important title. It’s the New Testament equivalent of the Hebrew “Messiah” in the OT. As Messiah/Christ, He ties the entire Bible together. In fact, He is THE ultimate Hero of THE entire Story! Jesus is the long awaited Hero God promised for thousands of years Who would come. The Father first hinted at our Savior’s arrival to our first parents in Eden (Gen 3:15). Every promise and prophecy in Scripture points to the coming Messiah. He fulfills God’s pledge to Abraham. He fulfills God’s commitment to David. Jesus Himself shocked the world by saying all of the Scripture is about Him (Lk 24:27; Jn 5:39, 46). The term “Christ” (Gr. Christos) literally means “Anointed One.” God the Father drenches God the Son with God the Spirit (Lk 3:22). If you’re wondering, that’s an unbeatable combo!

Paul wants us all to know that Jesus is not just Messiah/Christ but also “our Lord” (v12). In other words, He’s the One who is ultimately in charge. Jesus isn’t some mid-level manager with limited authority. He decides. He rules. He reigns. He’s not just a king. Later in this very letter, the apostle doesn’t want Tim to miss the fact that Jesus is “the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1Tim 6:15). The Apostle John didn’t just call Jesus his best friend but also worshiped Him as the “Lord of lords and King of kings” (Rev 17:14; 19:16). With a title like that on your LinkedIn profile, you have “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Mt 28:18). Because of that, He’s not just some random ruler with no right to tell you and me what to do. He’s “OUR Lord” (v12 emphasis added). Remember, Jesus didn’t come simply to sell us fire insurance. He came as the most benevolent Boss the universe has ever seen. As Lord, we must to do what He says. Our willing obedience to the Lord Jesus is the secret to unlocking the overflowing goodness of life He came to bring (Jn 10:10). You see, it’s NOT about you. It’s ALL about Jesus.

The apostle is pumped not because of what anybody else thinks of him but “because He judged me faithful” (v12). The ESV translates the Greek verb here hegeomai as “judged.” While Jesus certainly is qualified as our Judge (Jn 5:22, 27; Acts 17:31), this isn’t so much like a ruling in a courtroom. This is term actually means to consider, regard, lead, govern, and rule. Hegeomai describes the effectiveness of a leader (Acts 15:22). Paul sure seems to be making the point that Jesus led him into faithfulness when he had none. Did Christ do that for you? Chances are He’s still doing it right here and right now.

Paul doesn’t give a hot hoot about what bloggers say about him. He couldn’t care less about how many friends he has on Facebook or followers on Twitter. He writes to Galatian believers that the only thing he really cares about is God’s stamp of approval as Jesus’ servant (Gal 1:10). All that matters is Jesus and what He thinks of the man from Tarsus. It’s not that we shouldn’t care about others. Our Savior has certainly called us to love people in the same self-sacrificing way He did (Jn 13:34-35). But our worth doesn’t hinge on their opinion of us. Whose opinion matters? Christ. It’s ALL about Jesus.

The apostle is doing cartwheels because the Son of God “has judged me faithful” (v12). That’s quite a statement considering his rap sheet as Saul. In the very next verse, he admits to his rather questionable background as “blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent” and how he “acted ignorantly in unbelief” (v13). Check out the Message’s take on the risk Jesus took with the former Pharisee. “He went out on a limb, you know, in trusting me with this ministry” (v12 The Message). So how in the world does Jesus see any faithfulness in this faithless former terrorist against His kingdom? It’s because Paul realized he was neither too bad to be saved or good enough to save himself. He places his trust in what Jesus has done for him that he could never accomplish on his own. 

We need to remember that Jesus doesn’t call to anything but faithfulness to Him. It’s not about piling up a great resume. It’s not about building up a fabulous 401k. And it’s not even being successful in ministry or building a big church. Faithfulness in our gracious God is one of the Bible’s mega-themes. “The righteous shall live by faith” (Hab 2:4; Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:38). Don’t fall for the lie of up-and-to-the-right. Look at the only measure of success that matters in Jesus’ eyes. Faithfulness to Him is ALL that matters.

Christ gives us His strength for a reason. In Paul’s words, He is “appointing me to His service” (v12). And why not, it’s the whole reason Jesus came. The Son of God came to seek, to save, and to serve (Lk 19:10; Phil 2:5-8). That’s right, the King of kings is also the Servant of servants. He flipped the cosmic org chart upside down. We need to remember to do the same. He seeks, saves, and serves us so that we can serve as well. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re faced with a life of minimum wage drudgery by following Jesus and attending to the needs of others. Christ says we’ll find unbelievable blessing in serving others (Jn 13:17). He goes so far as to say it’s the REAL path to greatness in God’s eyes (Lk 22:26). 

Rick Warren is right. The Apostle Paul is right. It’s NOT about you. It’s ALL about Jesus. 

Shining through the Cracks

“In accordance with the Gospel of glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted” (1Tim 1:11)

It’s over. Everything is ruined. And what’s worse, I’m the one who ruined it. Ever been there? Ever taken that disgusting and depressing look back at your own life and seen nothing but a dumpster of destruction, most of it self-inflicted? If your world was a little league game, someone should have used the mercy rule. It’s painfully obvious that it’s “Goodnight. Game over. Drive home safely.” 

If that’s you, meet my friend Paul. A few years back, everybody knew him as Saul of Tarsus. One of the rising stars of Judaism. He was so fired up about his religion that he was going to rid the planet of a pesky sect of people claiming that a radical Rabbi from the boondocks. He cheered when his buddies spilled the blood of a Jesus follower named Stephen. He became a one-man wrecking crew against this so-called Way. Arresting some. Torturing some. Even murdering others. 

But Jesus transforms Saul the murderer into Paul the missionary. God’s grace flips the script in a wacky way that is almost unbelievable. In a letter to his protege Timothy, the former Pharisee describes this radical transformation as “in accordance with the Gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted” (v11). The beauty of Paul’s story is how incredibly Christ used him despite his sordid history. Someone did institute the mercy rule for the terrorist from Tarsus. That Someone was Jesus. He also used the grace rule, drenching His newest apostle in His descending, one-way love just at the point he didn’t deserve it. So just when you and I think we’re useless, we’re the most useful. The Gospel allows God’s glory to shine through our brokenness.

Tim has had a front row seat to watch Jesus work in and through the man he knows as his spiritual dad (1Tim 1:2). He hopped aboard the Gospel party wagon during Paul’s second expedition around the Mediterranean Rim at a tour stop in Lystra (Acts 16:1-5). Talk about perfect timing. That was right before God threw the doors of Europe open to the message of Christ for the very first time (Acts 16:9-10). If you think the Beatles’ invasion of the U.S. was something, check out what went down in these first cities when the Gospel came to town. 

Philippi (Acts 16:12-40). 

Thessalonica (Acts 17:1-9). 

Berea (Acts 17:10-15). 

Athens (Acts 17:16-34). 

Corinth (Acts 18:1-17).

Chances are Tim was part of Paul’s team when he rolled into the massive Asian seaport of Ephesus and set up shop for three years (Acts 20:13). Now several years later, the apostle has left his righthand man to pastor the growing megachurch there while he takes the message of Jesus to Macedonia once again (1Tim 1:3). Paul just can’t stop telling everyone he meets everywhere he goes about “the Gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted” (v11). Jesus took His adversary and made him His apostle. So, do you still think you’re useless?

Paul will talk your ear off about “the Gospel of glory” (v11). So just what exactly is the Gospel? For a lot of us who grew up in the church, the term has become more familiar than the Jello salad your aunt brought to every potluck in the fellowship hall. “Gospel” is the Greek word euaggelion, which literally means “good message” or “beautiful announcement.” Back in the day, a messenger would hustle back from the war with the announcement that the home team has gotten the W in battle. That’s why some folks translate it as good news. But it’s not just good, it’s GRRRRRREAT!!! Jesus has personally just put the smack down on our sin for the win. Yeah, that qualifies as GREAT NEWS!!!

You did hear all about it, didn’t you? It’s such GREAT NEWS, we really can’t hear about it enough. Jesus did for us what we could never dream of doing for ourselves. According to God’s standard, we’re supposed to live a perfect life. When we didn’t, Christ did it for us. As a result of our rebellion, we were supposed to die. Instead Jesus died on the cross in our place. We desperately need new life, but there’s no way as the walking dead that we can climb out of the grave on our own. Once again, the Son of God walks out of the cemetery for us. And if that’s not awesome enough, Jesus declares that there’s absolutely nothing we have to do to STAY in God’s kingdom. I told you it was GREAT NEWS!!! 

Compare that with the crap the team of spiritual hucksters have been peddling to Ephesian believers. According to their counterfeit gospel that says we have to work to stay saved. Jesus may have gotten us in, but we have to do everything we can to stay there. Their gospel garbage isn’t GREAT news. It’s not even okay news. What they’re selling is awful news. Just as it’s impossible to get into God’s kingdom without Jesus help, there’s no way we can stay in without Him. See, I told it wasn’t such good news.

This incredible announcement of Christ’s victory on our behalf is a dazzling reflection of God’s own goodness. Paul describes it as “the Gospel of glory” (v11). The Greek word for “glory” (Gr. doxa) absolutely sparkles in meaning. Think radiance, brilliance, splendor, and majesty. It’s what Bill Murray and the boys in “Stripes” like to call the ol’ razzle dazzle. God’s glory is spectacular. It’s jaw-dropping. The former Pharisee should know. The resurrected Jesus literally blindsided him with the brilliance of His glory when Paul was on one of his infamous search-and-destroy missions to Damascus. “Since I could not see because of the brightness (Gr. doxa) of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus” (Acts 22:11). The glory of Christ shocks us and drops us to our knees. Glory will do that to you.

Make no mistake just Whose news this is. It’s God’s Gospel. He’s the Author. It was His idea. He came up with something so wild, so crazy that nobody else in the universe could have dream up this ridiculous plan. His Good News totally shocks the angels (1Pet 1:12). The false teachers didn’t cook it up. Paul didn't make it up. It’s God’s Gospel. He holds the copyright. As the saying goes, it’s often imitated but never duplicated. It’s His and His alone. But the awesome thing is that He’s not stinging with His message. God is ready to share it with anyone willing to put their faith in Jesus. Did I mention this is GREAT NEWS?!?!?!?

If this isn’t crazy enough already, guess who Jesus personally drafted as His number one spokesperson to non-Jews. If you said “Paul,” you win the prize! The apostle tells Tim how our Savior has “entrusted” (v11) with this blockbuster news. When Paul made a trip to the home office in Jerusalem, church leaders “saw that I had been entrusted with the Gospel” to non-Jews while Peter had similar marching orders to tell Jewish people that Jesus is Messiah (Gal 2:7). God believed in what He could do through Paul, not because of anything Paul brought to the table. God believed in what He could do through him because of God’s own faithfulness. Remember, Jesus is faithful even when we’re not (2Tim 2:13).

Jesus handpicked the former terrorist despite his sorted history. Or maybe BECAUSE of it! Paul’s brokenness provides cracks for God’s Gospel to shine through. That’s exactly what he wrote to the Corinthians about. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2Cor 4:7). It’s NOT about the jar. It’s about Jesus. It’s about letting His Gospel shine in and through us. The Gospel allows God’s glory to shine through our brokenness.

So what about you? If Christ can use Paul, why can’t He use you? Maybe you think your long list of mistakes disqualifies you from serving Jesus. Think again. How does your resume stack up to the apostle’s? Persecuted any Christians lately? Hunted down Jesus’ followers in your spare time? Tortured them? Murdered them? Didn’t think so. On the other hand, we all have our stuff. We all have our failures. We all have our mistakes. But let Jesus glow through the cracks. You see, the Gospel allows God’s glory to shine through our brokenness.

Rules Are Made FOR the Broken

“Understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine” (1Tim 1:9-10).

Rules were made to be broken. Come on, even the most goody-goody types among us feels that way many times. I admit it. Too often it seems like laws and regulations are just the Man trying to keep me down. To keep me from having fun. To keep me from getting to work on time when leaving from home ten minutes late. Just the idea of somebody trying to tell me what to do suddenly gives me the urge to do just the opposite. I’m sure that’s never happened to you.

Here in a letter to his buddy Timothy, Paul wants him to know that God’s rules aren’t for the rule followers. “Understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and the sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine” (v9-10). God is NOT trying to harsh your mellow. He gives us His law in order to show us how badly we need a Savior. His rules weren’t made to be broken. His rules are made FOR the broken.

Let’s take a moment and set the scene. Tim is in Ephesus, a large port city on the west coast of what we know today as Turkey. This place is a real cultural, racial, and religious melting pot. The apostle and his posse planted a church there a few years back (Acts 19). It was a whole scene. A huge fight at the local synagogue where rabbis gave Paul the boot. The man from Tarsus sets up shop for two years at a local meeting hall in order tell everyone who will listen about Jesus. The Gospel rolled through the city like a tsunami. Even the apostle’s hankies cured diseases! There’s a crazy story about seven exorcist wannabes trying to get in on the action and then getting their tail kicked by demon. The Good News was bad news for the occult. One day everyone who turned to Christ for salvation burned all of their magic books. Things really got wild when the Gospel had a huge economic impact on the local idol-making industry. We’re talking Ferguson-like riots. 

Fast forward about 15 years later. Paul is finally out of prison after 5 years of being held on trumped up charges. He’s back on the road around the Mediterranean Rim planting more churches and telling people about the resurrected Rabbi/Carpenter from Galilee. He’s handpicked his sidekick Timothy to pastor what is now a megachurch in the big port city (1Tim 1:3). But it’s anything but smooth sailing. A team of spiritual con artists are stirring up trouble in the church. It’s Tim’s job to shut them up and shut them down (1Tim 1:3-7). These false teachers are completely misusing the Bible to bully believers. Chances are they were peddling a false gospel and telling folks that Jesus may have gotten them into God’s kingdom but it’s up to them to stay in. You’ve got to follow the rules. You’ve got to check all the boxes. One false move and God is just waiting to zap you with a lightning bolt for your disobedience. I’m sure you’ve had the displeasure of running into some of these same kind of religious law enforcement officers in your life too. Talk about police brutality!

Paul tells Tim, “Now we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully” (1Tim 1:8). Clearly the false teachers are NOT using God’s rules and regs in the right way. Not in the way Paul and Tim use it. The apostle goes on to write, “The law is not laid down for the just” (v9). In other words, if you think you don’t need Jesus, He won’t ever come to your rescue. Dr. Luke tells the story about how Christ tells a bunch of self-righteous religious thugs, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Lk 5:31-32). John Burke likes to say that no perfect people are allowed in the church. The so-called perfect people don’t understand the real purpose of God’s law. They’re working a system of self-salvation. They are their own judge. They personally set the standard for what it means to be good and what it takes to be saved.

The apostle wants us to know without a doubt that the purpose of God’s law is to diagnose and reveal our sin. I might think I’m doing pretty stinkin’ great. I believe I’m a good person. Then suddenly I hold my life up to God’s perfect standard. It’s readily apparent I have sinned by omission and commission. Oh, I might do a decent job for a while, but Scripture eventually shines a spotlight on my crimes and misdemeanors. And it’s everywhere I look. Old Testament. New Testament. Ten Commandments. Sermon on the Mount. If my situation’s not desperate enough, then I read this. “For all who rely under the works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them’” (Gal 3:10; Dt 27:26). Even Jesus’ kid brother if I simply fail to keep one little law, I break the whole book (James 2:10). If I’m not 100% perfect in my obedience, I’ve completely failed. God gives us His rules to drop us to our knees. His commands don’t save. They don’t even come close. They diagnose. They don’t heal. They drive us to get help. You see, God’s rules are made FOR the broken.

Meanwhile back in Paul’s letter to Tim, the man from Tarsus lets his protege just who’s to be on the receiving end of God’s law. “For the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine” (v9-10). Well, that’s quite a roster. Looks like it might be a description of some sort of evil team of super villains like the Suicide Squad. 

The first six in the list all travel in pairs. According to John MacArthur, these dastardly duos describe direct sin against God mentioned in the first half of the Ten Commandments (Ex 10:1-8). The rest of the gang basically tick off the remaining rules in God’s Top Ten one by one. Is there really any reason to go through each one of them? Didn’t think so. Oh, did you see yourself anywhere in the list? Look again. As they say on the surveys, “Check all that apply.” If you’re like me, you’ll probably find yourself checking more than one box. Believe it or not, that’s a good thing. A VERY good thing. Because God’s law drives us to our knees. It breaks us and points us to the Good News. God’s rules are made FOR the broken.

There are a couple of GREAT stories from the life of Jesus that explain this idea. After Christ saves a Jewish traitor named Levi and makes him a disciple named Matthew, a bunch of religious bullies get their undies in a bundle when they see our Savior partying with some unsavory characters. “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” (Lk 5:31). Once we’ve been diagnosed by God’s law, we realize we’re very, very sick. Otherwise, we don’t have a clue about the cancer of sin that’s ravaging our body. God’s rules are made FOR the broken.

A little later in Dr. Luke’s biography of Jesus, the Son of God says did you hear the one about the Pharisee and the tax collector who walk into the temple (Lk 18:9-14)? As a superstar in the Jewish faith, the Pharisee thinks he can save himself. He’s got this thing knocked. He has the gall to look around and compare himself to the rest of the rabble who’ve come to worship. In comparison to the creeps in this crowd, he’s an absolute rock star. Not so fast, my friend. Jesus points out someone over in the corner who’s easy to miss. It’s a tax collector. The Jewish people consider these folks so filthy that they classify them as a special kind of sinner. But Christ says take a closer look at what culture calls a scumbag. The dude is so broken that he can’t look up. “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Lk 18:13). Jesus makes it clear that of the two, the tax collector understands that God’s rules are made FOR the broken.

God’s law will reveal the disease of my sin, but His Gospel is the ultimate miracle drug. Maybe you think you’re too far gone if you find yourself on that list. You’re not alone. Check out Paul’s letter to one of the craziest collections of Christians the world has ever seen. It’s the church in Corinth. He not only runs down God’s “do not save” list, but then adds a crazy twist at the end. Check it out. “Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1Cor 6:19-11). Did you catch that? “And such WERE some of you” (1Cor 6:11 emphasis added). Past tense. They used to be. That’s before God’s grace turned everything around. His Gospel is a game changer. 

If you haven’t figure it out yet, we’re ALL on that list. We just haven’t realized it yet. Take a look around. Who do you see? Every single person out there has fallen short of God’s perfect standard (Rom 3:9-10, 23). Now take a look at the person in the mirror. Yeah, I’m talking to you. You and I are no exception. God’s law sets the bar so incredibly high that none of us are able to meet it. Not you. And certainly not me. The law of God makes it obvious that I’m horribly broken. We desperately need to place our faith in the only One who lived the perfect life and took the punishment for our rebellion. Trust in who Jesus is. Trust in what He’s done. 

God’s rules are made FOR the broken.

Bullies and the 10 Pound Bible

“Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully” (1Tim 1:8).

Fire can help and it can hurt. It can be helpful and it can be hurtful. The same flickering flames in the fireplace that warm you up on a frosty night can also burn your house to the ground and kill your family. When we use fire properly, it’s wonderful. But it’s deadly when mishandled. Timothy is dealing with a similar situation in Ephesus. No, the middle school kids aren’t playing with matches at a lock in. (On the other hand, if your middle schoolers are spending the night at the church, you probably need to make sure none of them brought a lighter.) 

A team of false teachers have infiltrated the Ephesian church and their counterfeit gospel is damaging believers (1Tim 1:3-6). Paul already kicked two of these bad teachers to the curb (1Tim 1:21). Clearly, a few more of these spiritual snake oil salesmen are still around. They think they’re hot stuff when it comes to teaching God’s Word but don’t have a clue what they’re talking about (1Tim 1:7). They are totally misusing Scripture and abusing the followers of Jesus. The apostle contrasts their way of teaching and tells Tim, “Now we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully” (v8). When the law of God is used correctly, it’s constructive, not destructive. It’s helpful, not hurtful. These bad teachers are simply playing with fire and somebody’s going to get burned.

Paul begins by reminding Tim, “Now we know that the law is good” (v8). By “we,” he’s drawing a distinction between themselves and the false teachers. Let’s be clear on the teams involved. You’ve got the good guys who are good teachers teaching the Good News. That would be the “we.” That would be Paul and Tim. On the other side of the field are the bad teachers teaching bad news. The reason the apostle has left his protege in Ephesus is because he’s a teammate. Paul trusts Tim. It’s important to remember that we’re not alone. Following the Lord isn’t a long, lonely ride like your some mysterious High Plains Drifter for Jesus. We do it together. We do it as a team. So who are your teammates you can count on? Who is your “we?” 

As partners in grace, this dynamic duo knows “that the law is good if one uses it lawfully” (v8). A quality carpenter always uses the right tool for the right job. Paul and Tim know when, where, and how to use the law of God. The apostle makes it clear that it’s “good” (v8). This is the Greek adjective kalos, which can mean beautiful but can also describe something as useful and practical. Paul goes out of his way to tell the church in Rome about how incredibly awesome God’s law really is. “The law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Rom 7:12). God’s law is a handy dandy tool when used in the right way. It’s helpful, not hurtful. It’s constructive, not destructive. 

You can be sure that’s NOT how bad teachers are using the law. They misuse God’s commandments to crush and cripple Christ followers. Let’s be honest, you’ve seen it for yourself. Maybe you’ve personally been on the business end of a 10 pound Bible. This is when some bully appoints themselves as a religious law enforcement officer. They are more than happy to call you out and condemn you every time you get out of line. Think of them as biker gangs. Jesus dealt with thugs called the Pharisees during His earthly ministry. Now Paul and Tim are ready to rumble with similar hoods in Ephesus. These jerks are carelessly throwing the law around, trying to make folks believe it’s up to us to maintain our place in God’s kingdom. According to their twisted teaching, if we want to stay saved we need to follow every single rule and regulation. Jesus may have gotten us in, but it’s up to us to work to stay in. 

If you’re wondering, THAT’S A LIE FROM THE PIT OF HELL!!!! We place our trust in what Jesus has done on our behalf. He does the work that we could never do for ourselves. Christ perfectly obeyed every single commandment in the Old Testament so that we aren’t held accountable for it. I’ll be the first one to admit that reading through OT books like Leviticus and Numbers makes my head spin. It’s just rule after law after commandment. Let’s read them differently. Read them with the revelation that Jesus did all of that. Every single one of them. For you. For me. We trust in Jesus’ perfect life of obedience, His death for our sin, and His spectacular resurrection on our behalf. If you’re wondering what else you need to do in order to maintain your place in God’s family, Jesus shouted the answer from the cross. “IT IS FINISHED!!!” (Jn 19:30 emphasis added with pleasure!).

Meanwhile Paul reassures his boy Tim that God’s law is awesome “if one uses it lawfully” (v8). The original language here describes God’s good law as legitimate and correct according to proper use. A few years after this letter, the apostle will write Timothy a second time and use this same word (Gr. nomimos). “An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules (Gr. nomimos)” (2Tim 2:5). So it also pictures an athlete who follows the rules of athletic competition. They don’t cheat. There’s no Deflategate scandal. No Spygate controversy. No suspicion of steroids or PEDs. This isn’t NASCAR where if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying. Good teachers and pastors use God’s law as it is supposed to be used. There’s no cheating. No fudging the truth. 

So what does it mean to use the law of God “lawfully” (v8)? The best illustration is one from medicine. Think of the law like a diagnostic device like a CT scan, MRI, or x-ray. What incredible tools they are to health care professionals. These machines allow doctors to look inside our bodies and diagnose the disease. Once they’ve figured out what’s wrong, they know exactly what sort of treatment plan to pursue. No matter how many times you get a CT scan, it doesn’t treat the disease. The law is a diagnostic tool. God gives us His law in order to see our desperate need for a Savior. It points out just how much we need the Gospel. 

Look at it this way. The law is the diagnostic. The Gospel is the treatment. Without God’s good law, we wouldn’t know how bad our condition is. Going back to the law over and over again doesn’t provide the treatment for our sin. Only the grace of Jesus does that! Or in the words of Paul, “For by the works of the law no human begin will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin” (Rom 3:20). When used correctly in combination with the Gospel, God’s commandments have incredible healing power. King David had a hit song all about it’s rejuvenating ability. “The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul” (Ps 19:7). The law can’t save. But it can tell us how badly we need to be saved. The law is used for our diagnosis, not the cure.

When God’s commandments are used as intended, they’re awesome. When they’re used a weapon, they’re awful. Knowing when, where, and how to use His wonderful Word is incredibly important. Or in the Message paraphrase of verse 8, “It’s true that moral guidance and counsel need to be given, but the way you say it and to whom you say it are as important as what you say” (v8 The Message). Use God’s rules and regulations carefully and graciously. He gives them to us for our own good. Just like a loving dad tells his kids to not play with matches, He gives them to us for our own protection. It’s NOT to be used to hammer and hurt people. Stop bullying people with your 10 pound Bible. 

Bad Teacher

“desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions” (1Tim 1:7)

My wife loves movies about great teachers. I don’t mean she likes them a lot. LOVES them. There’s something about these stories that suck her in. Every. Single. Time. If “Mr. Holland’s Opus” is on, she’s in. Same with “Dead Poets Society.” Sidney Portier in “To Sir with Love”? Are you kidding me?!? These are stories of dedicated educators pouring themselves into the lives of young people in the hopes of making a difference. 

That is NOT the story we read about in Paul’s letter to Timothy in Ephesus. Oh, there are teachers there in the church. Teachers exercising their influence. There’s just one hitch. These are bad teachers. Now I don’t mean the kind you see Jack Black play in “School of Rock.” No, these aren’t misguided people who suddenly have a change of heart and use their abilities for good and not for evil. These are spiritual snake oil salesmen who’ve weaseled their way into the church who are doing everything they can to sidetrack people away from Jesus and His spectacular grace. These are bad teachers with bad intentions.

Paul writes to his protege about certain people in the Ephesian church who are “desiring to be teachers of the law” (v7). The phrase “teachers of the law” is actually one compound Greek word: nomodidaskalos. It means someone skilled in the teaching and interpretation of Old Testament. It literally means “law (nomo-) teachers (-didaskolos).” This is someone who knows more than just the words on the page. They understand the bigger context. They know how different passages relate to one another. They know that Scripture interprets Scripture. They can give perspective to the bigger story of the Bible and how it relates to God’s great story of rescue and redemption.

That’s awesome! We desperately need more people willing to teach and explain God’s Word. In his second note to Tim, the apostle encourages the young pastor to continually hone his skills as a teacher and preacher. “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2Tim 2:15). Teachers need to know how to handling and teach all of the different books of the Bible. But just because you think you can teach, doesn’t mean you should teach. Jesus’ kid brother James warns folks who are thinking about becoming Bible teachers to think twice before doing so. “We who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (James 3:1). If you’re going to instruct people about Scripture, your principal and superintendent won’t be the one ultimately doing your review. God holds teachers and preachers accountable for how they perform their job.

The writers of the New Testament don’t exactly put these dudes on a pedestal. Dr. Luke tells how the “Pharisees and teachers of the law (Gr. nomodidaskalos)” would arrogantly watch Jesus like a hawk and just wait for Him to slip up (Lk 5:17). As you might imagine, He never once bobbled or stumbled in His instruction. As a matter of fact, our Savior regularly put the smack down on bad teachers. He accuses them of going out of their way to make it impossible to know God (Mt 23:15). They were more worried about tithing out of their spice rack and not showing compassion (Mt 23:23). They only care about their image and not their integrity (Mt 23:25-26). Bad teachers with bad intentions.

Paul’s own mentor Gamaliel is an interesting example. On one hand, he was both a one of those infamous Pharisees as well as holding a seat among the religious bullies known as the Sanhedrin. Yeah, the same Sanhedrin that murdered Jesus. In Acts, Luke describes Gamaliel as “a teacher of the law (Gr. nomodidaskalos) held in honor by all the people” (Acts 5:34). Yet he’s wise enough to tell the council to pump its brakes when it comes to Jesus’ followers. If God is behind this movement, nothing’s gonna stop them (Acts 5:40). That’s someone who understands the scope and story of the Old Testament. Gamaliel had a strong grasp of God’s promises of a coming Hero. That’s what a teacher of the law is supposed to do.

The bad teachers in Ephesus don’t come anywhere close to Gamaliel. As a matter of fact, they don’t anywhere near the Gospel. They speak to believers “without understanding what they are saying” (v7). These troublemakers don’t have a clue what they are talking about. Yeah, that’s a bit of a problem. Later in this same letter, Paul says anyone trying to push a counterfeit message “is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing” (1Tim 6:2-4). There’s a pretty good chance hucksters had peddled similar garbage just down the road in Colossae. The apostle tells Colossian believers not to let any religious thugs intimidate them into any belief other than the Gospel because these bullies are “puffed up without reason” (Col 2:18). Arrogant people are full of hot air and just like to hear themselves talk. Bad teachers are moving their lips but nothing’s coming out. Good teachers build up others. Bad teachers puff themselves up. Good teachers make Jesus famous. Bad teachers make themselves the star.

That doesn’t stop these incompetent instructors from talking about “things about which they make confident assertions” (v7). Once again, it takes an entire phrase in English to translate one compound Greek verb. Diabebaioomai means to strongly insist or state with extreme confidence. It’s not bad to give certain things special emphasis…when it’s the truth! Paul instructs Titus, “I insist (Gr. diabebaioomai) on these things, that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works” (Titus 3:8). But the bad teachers in the Ephesian church stomp their feet and insist on crap that’s simply not legit. 

There are issues in God’s Word on which we need to stand strong. Who Jesus is. What He has done. His life. His death. His burial. His resurrection. Our sin. Our need to be rescued. Salvation by grace through faith. Inerrancy of Scripture. That’s all worth fighting for. There’s a lot of other stuff that the Bible talks about but doesn’t give us 100% clarity. Things like how to baptize believers, how often to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, worship style, preaching style, and church government. The list goes on and on and on and on. And there are people who will step into the octagon over every one of them too. Be careful when you stomp your feet and demand that certain things are true.

So if this is what a bad teacher looks like, how about a good one? If you’re looking for the ultimate Teacher, look no further than Jesus. He made it clear He’s not using anyone else’s teaching materials or curriculum. His teaching comes straight from His Heavenly Dad (Jn 7:16). Some of His biggest enemies even said, “No one ever spoke like this Man!” (Jn 7:46). Christ taught creatively by using parables and examples of contemporary culture. But Jesus didn’t just teach the Law of Moses, He fulfilled it (Mt 5:17). In other words, our Savior obeyed every single rule and command in the Old Testament on our behalf. He lived the perfect life that I failed to live. He died the death on the cross in my place that I should have died. He rose to new life that I don’t deserve. Jesus goes so far as to say He’s the Hero of the entire Bible (Lk 24:27; Jn 5:39, 46). 

Christ is so much more than a great Teacher. He’s the whole point of the lesson! And that’s the message quality instructors should always be teaching. Don’t get me wrong. Flicks about selfless educators are awesome. They’re stories of men and women who make tremendous sacrifices for underprivileged kids the rest of society has turned its back on. But then again, that’s the story of the ultimate Teacher. He left the comforts of the heavenly palace to move into the slums of our sinful world. He’s the greatest Teacher with the greatest message and the greatest intentions.