Skid Marks and Grace

“for by professing it some have swerved from the faith. Grace be with you” (1Tim 6:21)

You can tell a lot at an accident scene when you look at the skid marks. What’s left of the car may be still smoking in the ditch, but the burnt rubber left on the road will tell you where the trouble began. That’s why police investigating any wreck will carefully examine and measure when and where the tires made their black marks on the pavement. 

At the very end of his letter to Timothy, Paul looks over the skid marks of another accident scene. It was a terrible crash. No, there wasn’t six chariot pileup on some Philippian freeway. He’s talking about the wreck of the Ephesian church. It all happened when a team of false teachers distracted folks from following Jesus with a lot of pointless discussions they claimed was essential to the faith. The result was tragic. “For by professing it some have swerved from the faith. Grace be with you” (v21). 

When you take your eyes off grace, you’re going to leave skid marks.

As Paul wraps up his note, he personally encourages Pastor Tim to “guard the deposit entrusted to you” (1Tim 6:20). The apostle is talking about protecting the purity of the Gospel. When you compare spreading the Good News to reporting, it’s critical to maintain journalistic integrity. This goes for pastors, ministers, Bible teachers, as well as folks like you and me. We must make sure the message of Jesus remains untarnished, untainted, and undiluted. This is Paul’s call to quality assurance. And by guarding it, he doesn’t mean hoarding it. I’m to share it readily and generously.

Just a quick reminder of exactly the key ingredients of the crystal clear Gospel of grace. In an incredible moment of generosity, God created a perfect universe and put us in it. It wasn’t long before we jacked the whole deal up by thinking He was holding out on us. We continually rejected His goodness and repeatedly ignored His loving guidance. 

In order to save us from ourselves and restore creation, God personally got involved. His Son left heaven and went on the greatest search-and-rescue mission in all of history. Jesus lived the perfect life we should have lived. He died the death for our sin and rebellion we should have died. He rose to new life we don’t deserve. Christ restores our broken relationship with God for us. 

We simply trust in what He did for us that we could never do on our own. We follow His leadership as an act of gratitude and worship. I must keep my eyes locked on Jesus who not only starts and ends my rescue. When I’m distracted and start thinking it’s up to me to save myself, I headed for trouble. BIG trouble. When I take my eyes off grace, I’m going to leave skid marks.

Meanwhile back in Paul’s epistle, he stands at the accident scene knows exactly what happened. It all started when some of these spiritual hucksters began making promises they couldn’t keep. He writes how they were “professing it” (v21). “It” being the “irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called ‘knowledge’” (1Tim 6:20). He uses a Greek word (Gr. epaggellomai) to describe what they said that describes someone promising publicly what will occur. The term literally means to “pre (epi-) announce (-announce).” They asserted openly and emphatically how things would go down. You may remember back near the beginning of the letter how Paul these religious con artists had a bad habit of talking about all sorts of goofy stuff “about which they make confident assertions” (1Tim 1:7). 

Check out how writers use this word in the NT. When Judas cooks up the plot to throw Jesus under the bus, religious leaders “were glad and promised (Gr. epaggellomai) to give him money” (Mk 14:11). Despite being well a VERY old man, Abraham put his trust in God’s covenant pledge to give he and Sarah a son because he was “fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised (Gr. epaggellomai)” (Rom 7:5). In the opening lines of his letter to Titus, Paul tells him how everything hinges “in on the hope of eternal life, which God who never lies, promised (Gr. epaggellomai) before the ages began” (Titus 1:2). A promise is only as good as the one making it. Hint, hint. Trust God’s promises!

You can bet when we take our eyes off Christ, we’ll hear squealing tires very soon. Folks in Ephesus saw it happen with their own eyes. Paul and Tim remember that horrible time false teachers made empty promises and “some have swerved from the faith” (v21). “Swerved” is the Greek verb astocheo, which describes someone who completely misses the target. Picture a distracted driver while texting who veers wildly into your lane and off the road (because we know neither one of us would EVER do something so stupid, right? RIGHT?!?).

Earlier in this letter, Paul reminds Tim how folks who once had a pure heart, good conscience, and sincere faith, “by swerving (Gr. astocheo) from these, have wandered away into vain discussion” (1Tim 1:5-6). In his followup note, the apostle tells Tim how two false teachers named Hymenaeus and Philetus “swerved (Gr. astocheo) from the truth” by claiming the resurrection of the dead has already happened (2Tim 2:17-18). Pastor Tim is certainly used to seeing skid marks at spiritual accident scenes. 

The man from Tarsus signs off his letter to his spiritual son by writing, “Grace be with you” (v21). No, it’s not “yours truly.” Not “sincerely.” Not “regards.” It’s “grace.” This is no automatically generated signature at the bottom of an email. If you’re familiar with our man Paul, you know God’s amazing grace is a big deal. A VERY big deal. Some folks call it God’s descending, one-way love. Paul Zahl says it’s “love that seeks you out when you have nothing to give in return…Grace is being loved when you are unlovable.” It’s God’s overwhelming and overflowing goodness to each one of us who really deserve a one-way ticket to the far side of hell instead. 

Flip back to the opening lines of this epistle. Paul starts with a prayer for God’s goodness to Tim. “Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord” (1Tim 1:2). And now it ends celebrating His divine generosity to every follower of Jesus in the church. The apostle bookends every letter with grace (Rom 1:1; 16:20; 1Cor 1:3; 16:23; 2Cor 1:11 13:14; Gal 1:1; 6:18; Eph 1:1; 6:24; Phil 1:2; 4:23; Col 1:1; 4:18; 1Tim 1:1; 6:21; 2Tim 1:1; 4:22; Titus 1:4; 3:15; Phm 3, 25). Every. Single. One. See for yourself. I’ll hum the music to Final Jeopardy while you do.

Our journey with Jesus starts with grace. And it ends with grace. Why not open and close every conversation I have with a reminder of God’s undeserved and unmerited favor for you and me? Our relationship with our Heavenly Dad begins and ends with grace. His very act of creating the entire universe out of zilch for us to enjoy is certainly an example of it. It all starts with His grace and ends with His grace.

Paul constantly reminds us of the incredible impact of Jesus’ one-way love on his life. “The grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (1Tim 1:12). Remember, the apostle formerly known as Saul was a one-man wrecking crew on a search-and-destroy mission to kill the followers of Christ before our resurrected Savior blindsided him outside of Damascus. From murderer to missionary. From assassin to apostle. Now THAT’S grace!

When it comes to my own salvation, I bring nothing to the table except the sin that makes it absolutely necessary. Or as Paul tells his Ephesian friends, “Saving is all His idea, and all His work. All we do is trust Him enough to let Him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play a major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing!” (Eph 2:8-9 The Message). I absolutely love Tullian Tchividjian’s description. “Grace is unconditional acceptance given to an undeserving person by an unobligated Giver.” And if I don’t keep my eyes on His grace, I’ll swerve and wreck myself too.

There’s something curious about the very last word of the letter: “you” (v21). It’s actually plural. At the very end of this very personal note, Paul’s talking to the entire church. For those of you from the south of the Mason-Dixon line, you can read this as “y’all.” Well, the apostle is originally from southern part of Asia in the city of Tarsus. This is a powerful reminder that while our relationship with Jesus is very personal, it is certainly NOT private. We do it together. In other words, we’re carpooling in our journey with Christ. I’m not traveling solo. If I don’t focus on His grace I could easily end up careening and crashing. Just like that horrible accident in Ephesus. You can still see the skid marks.

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.

When Jesus Flips the Script

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope” (1Tim 1:1).

Let your imagination run at high RPMs for just a moment. Think of your greatest enemy suddenly becoming your most passionate supporter? Your hated archival unexpectedly is the best player on your team. Yeah, you’ve seen former Red Sox like Johnny Damon pull on the pinstripes of the Yankees evil empire. But that’s small potatoes. Something even whackier than Coach K coaching Carolina. In the blink of an eye, someone who once wanted you to die becomes willing to give their life for you. How about Darth Vader cheering on Luke and Leia? Or Osama bin Laden as President of the U.S.? 

Well, that’s the kind of jaw-dropping turnaround we’re talking about in life of Paul of Tarsus. One minute he’s the murderer of Jesus’ followers. The next he’s the missionary of Jesus’ message. From assassin to apostle. There’s no one, and I mean NO ONE, who saw this one coming. Nobody except Jesus. But the resurrected Rabbi/Carpenter from Galilee loves to pull off this kind of stunning stories. It’s His speciality, really. Jesus loves to flip the script.

Here the apostle formerly known as Saul writes to his protege Timothy who’s pastoring the mega-church in Ephesus. Thirty years ago, the man from Tarsus devoted his life to wiping such members of the Way off the face of the planet. But a lot can happen when Christ gets ahold of you. Instead of plotting to crush this congregation, he’s planning to help the pastor of the church he previously planted. “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope” (v1). I said you were going to have to let your imagination run wild, didn’t I?

A few years back, you never would have never dreamed of a 180 like this. Back in the day, folks knew him as Saul and he’s was on the Jewish fast track (Phil 3:5-6). Born and raised in the Turkish town of Tarsus (Acts 22:3). He left home to study under one of greatest rabbis of the day, the one and only Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). We first read all about this rising star when he flips out over Jesus and His followers. We see Saul running the coat check table at the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:58-60). The next thing you know, he pleads with Jewish leaders to let him go a search-and-destroy mission for this pesky sect (Acts 8:1-3). He’s a one-man Hebrew wrecking crew. Saul hunts down Jesus’ followers, arrests some and murders others (Acts 22:4). If he had Youtube back in the day, he probably would have posted videos like ISIS. 

But something absolutely crazy occurred on one of his patented black ops missions. He was rolling to Damascus to rub out another rebel cell. Suddenly, the resurrected Jesus personally blindsides Saul (Acts 9:1-9). Christ turns Saul’s life upside down and inside out. He goes from murderer to missionary. Jesus transforms this assassin to an apostle. So for those of you doubting God can turn your life around or do something radical for your worst enemy, just remember what happened to Saul. When Jesus drenches you with His ridiculous grace, anything is possible. He specializes in selecting rejects and rebels and then using them in ridiculous ways (1Cor 1:27-29). That’s what happens when Jesus flips the script.

The former Pharisee reminds Timothy that he’s “an apostle of Christ Jesus” (v1). So just what is an apostle? Back in the first century, an “apostle” (Gr. apostolos) was the job description anyone who handpicked to represent someone else. In other words, the person doing the sending hands their apostle the same power and authority of the sender. So when the Apostle Paul speaks or writes, his words carry the same oomph as our Savior. It’s why he kicks off most of his letters remind folks that he’s the Lord’s official rep (Rom 1:1; 2Cor 1:1; Gal 1:1; Eph 1:1; Col 1:1; 1Tim 1:1; 2Tim 1:1). Not a bad thing to have on your LinkedIn profile. So being one of Jesus’ apostles is a pretty big deal. 

While there are no longer any living capital “A” apostles, every follower of Jesus is His official ambassador. Just as His Heavenly Dad sent Christ into our world on the greatest rescue mission the universe has ever seen, He sends also you and me. He sends us with His gracious invitation to be part of His kingdom. He sends us with the message of forgiveness and grace found only in Christ. He sends us to the rejects. He sends us to the rebels. If you’re wondering, that pretty much describes everybody you meet who doesn’t know Jesus. You and I may not be apostles, but He personally sends us out into the world as shiners of His light and spreaders of His salt. Jesus wants to flip the script in their lives too.

Me Third

“Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth which accords with godliness” (Titus 1:1).

Great servant leaders realize they can’t do it alone. They understand the importance training others and eventually handing off the work to someone else. They understand they serve those in authority by serving those they shepherd. In the opening lines of his letter to Titus, the Apostle Paul gives us a classic picture of “Me Third” leadership. “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth which accords with godliness” (v1). He’s serving God as Jesus’ official representative. The Godhead sends him to serve Jesus’ followers and build up their trust in Him. The apostle doesn’t want to be number one. He’s not looking to be ranked second. His rightful place in the polls is third. 

And now the apostle has handed off the very important project on Crete to his boy Titus. We’ll dig a little deeper into Titus’ bio and his relationship with the apostle down in verse four. At this point, just know Paul understands that he’s not only serving His Savior, the Christ followers of Crete, but also his handpicked replacement for this critical mission. It’s not about Paul. Not even close. This is about making Jesus famous on this Mediterranean island. This is about growing the faith of His followers there. This is about allowing a young gun named Titus to spread his wings as a leader. Yeah, this is NOT about Paul.

A few years back, you never would have never dreamed this kind of servant leadership from Paul. Back then everyone knew him as Saul, one of the rising stars in the Jewish faith. I mean the dude was Hebrew hot stuff (Phil 3:5-6). He was born and raised in Tarsus (Acts 22:3), a town on the southeastern coast of modern day Turkey. He eventually went off to school and studied under greatest rabbis of the day, the great Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). The young stud completely flips out when Jesus and His followers challenge much of what he believes. Saul becomes so passionate about wiping the Way off the face of the planet that he runs the coat check table at Stephen’s stoning (Acts 7:58-60). Before you know it, he begs Jewish leaders to let him go a search-and-destroy mission for the folks who actually believe the Rabbi/Carpenter from Galilee is the Messiah (Acts 8:1-3). As a one-man wrecking crew, Saul doesn’t just arrest Jesus’ followers. He hunts them down and murders them (Acts 22:4). 

That all changed on one of his patented black ops missions to Damascus to rub out another pesky rebel cell. The resurrected Jesus personally blindsides Saul. He simultaneously blinds the man from Tarsus and opens his eyes to the truth of who He is (Acts 9:1-9). Christ turns Saul’s life upside down. He goes from murderer to missionary. Jesus transforms this assassin to an apostle. Just in case you think Jesus can’t turn a life around, remember what He did with Saul. When Christ gets His mighty mitts on you, anything is possible. He specializes in selecting rejects and using them in ridiculous ways (1Cor 1:27-29). He did it with Paul. He can do it with you. 

Paul describes himself as “a servant of God” (v1). In other words, he plays the God card in a very humble way. He doesn’t puff out his chest and say he’s a vice president with the company or some sort of big shot. Nope. He’s a servant. Just in case you’re unclear on just exactly what comes with that position, it does NOT include a corner office, a key to the executive wash room, and private elevator. On the other hand, Paul lets us know that he’s working for the Ultimate Authority. He may only be a servant, but he comes with some serious cred. 

The former Pharisee is also “an apostle of Jesus Christ” (v1). So just what is an apostle? This title has kind of lost its original meaning over the centuries. One reason is that we don’t exactly run into apostles at Starbucks these days. Back in the first century, this word “apostle” (Gr. apostolos) described anyone who was a handpicked delegate serving as a someone’s official representative. In other words, the person doing the sending gives them the same power and authority of the sender. So when the Apostle Paul speaks or writes, his words carry the same oomph as our Savior. He starts a lot of his letters by letting folks know he’s writing as the Lord’s official rep (Rom 1:1; 2Cor 1:1; Gal 1:1; Eph 1:1; Col 1:1; 1Tim 1:1; 2Tim 1:1). And he does it again here. Yeah, so being one of Jesus’ apostles is a pretty big deal. 

While there are no longer any living capital “A” apostles, every follower of Jesus is His official representative. Just as His Heavenly Dad sent Him into our world on the greatest rescue mission the universe has ever seen, He sends you and me. He sends us with His gracious invitation to be part of His kingdom. He sends us with the message of forgiveness and grace found only in Christ. You and I may not be apostles, but He personally sends us out into the world as shiners of His light and spreaders of His salt. 

Paul says God has given him this specific assignment “for the sake of the faith of God’s elect” (v1). In other words, the Lord is using Him to build up the trust of those who have placed their trust in Jesus. On this side of eternity, our faith is going to struggle at times. Like the dad who went running to Jesus to heal his boy, we both believe but desperately need help with our unbelief (Mk 9:23-24). The apostle’s role is to help folks grow their faith in God. Like Hans and Franz, he’s here to pump…you up! Who are those people God has placed in your life to pump up your faith in Jesus? Maybe Christ has put you in a position to build up the trust of others. Never miss a chance to point folks to who Jesus is and what He’s done. As we’ll read a little bit later, faith not backed up by action is dead as a doornail. 

We build up the faith of others by helping them with “their knowledge of the truth which accords with godliness” (v1). By truth, Paul means Jesus. Christ Himself had the audacity to claim He is the personal embodiment of “the Truth” (Jn 14:6). Not just A truth. But THE Truth. So just what is the truth about the Truth? Jesus lived the perfect life we failed to live. He died the death for our disobedience and sin we should have died. He rose to a spectacular new life we don’t deserve. In other words, Jesus did for us what we could never dream of doing for ourselves. 

The truth of Jesus and His Gospel changes everything. It “accords with godliness” (v1). Godliness stands out. The more we trust and obey our Lord, the more we stand out from culture. Do you do what Jesus tells you to do? Does your life of obedience to Christ contrast with the world around you? Do you handle money differently than others? Do you love your family differently from others? Do you work at your job differently than your coworkers? Do you interact with your neighbors differently than the rest of the people on your cul-de-sac? If you’re trying to remember His instructions, they’re pretty simple. Love God. Love others. According to Jesus, that’s the perfect way of obeying everything in the Old Testament (Mt 22:35-40).

We see here that Paul’s bottom line has nothing to do with Paul It’s about serving god. It’s about being sent by Jesus. It’s about building up God’s people. It’s “Me Third.” In college sports, everybody is working their tails off to get to the top spot in the polls. Not Paul. He’s fine finishing third. And in God’s rankings, that’s last. God first. Others second. Me third.

Paul's Religious Resume Part Two

“As to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless” (Philippians 3:6).

If you’ve ever been involved in the hiring process, you know to look for red flags on a resume. The candidate was apparently out of work for more than a year. That will get your attention. Hey, look there. Why did they work at that job for just a few months? Unless you’re Osama bin Laden, rarely do you include your years as a terrorist in your job history. Here in the third chapter of Philippians, Paul looks back on his days as Saul and refers to a copy of his religious resume. The first half of it is incredibly impressive (Phil 3:5). Have you ever laid your eyes on a more mind-blowing Jewish background? He was among the best and brightest of young Jews. We’re not just talking about a first round draft pick, but the number one pick overall. That’s when we move to the second half of his resume. “As to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless” (v6). Church persecutor?!? Yeah, that gets the warning lights flashing down at quality control! 

Paul wants his readers to know he can not only disarm the arguments of those who can earn their way into heaven but also those who think their too bad for God to save. The first half of this religious resume is all about the apostle’s unrighteous goodness. He tried to pile up enough stats to impress God. He did all the right things for all the wrong reasons. The second half focuses on his unrighteous badness. And when I say “badness,” I’m NOT talking about breaking the speed limit by five miles an hour down the interstate. We’re talking terrorism. We’re talking murder. The man from Tarsus wants us to know when it comes to sin, you’ve got nothing on him. But here’s the deal. You can’t out-sin our Savior.

A lot of people seem to believe that before Jesus saved him, Saul was simply a passionate but misguided soul. He rounded up a few of Christ’s followers and tossed them in jail but he never REALLY didn’t hurt anyone, right? Not even close. Before he became Jesus’ handpicked spokesman to the non-Jewish world, Saul was a one-man wrecking crew against His church. Here he makes an incredibly powerful admission of his very dark history. “As to zeal, a persecutor of the church” (v6). Check out the original language and it gets even darker! He had “zeal” (Gr. zelos), which paints a picture of excitement, passion, and ferocity. According to MacArthur, this sort of zeal is the highest single virtue for a Jew. It combines both a powerful love and hate. Since Saul had such a passion for Judaism, he burned with hatred for anything and everything that might threaten it. And if you can’t tell the players without a scorecard, we’re talking about the church of Jesus here.

What stokes your fire? What do you love to do? What are your hobbies? For this Jewish up-and-comer, it was being a “persecutor of the church” (v6). Here we see the Greek word dioko. It means to drive away, make something or someone run, chase swiftly, hunt down, or pursue with the purpose to harass. There’s incredibly intensity and focus. Picture the Terminator unrelenting in its pursuit of John and Sarah Connor. No matter what you might do or where you tried to go as a first century believer, Saul would chase after you with intent to do great harm. You might run but you can’t hide.

In case you’re not buying this idea of the Apostle Paul was the Terrorist Saul, let’s check some other places in the New Testament. Saul was so much in favor of Stephen’s stoning that he ran the coat check table at the execution (Acts 7:58-8:1). It was just after the murder of this first martyr that the young man from Tarsus got busy. “Saul was ravaging the church, entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison” (Acts 8:3). Ravaging. Did you catch that? Just a little later, Dr. Luke finds the future apostle taking his act on the road. “But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem” (Acts 9:1). It was just outside the city limits that everything changed. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Just after being taken into protective custody by Roman authorities, Paul tells an angry mob about his bloody background. “I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women” (Acts 22:4). Later the apostle tells King Agrippa how he blatantly opposed the name of Jesus (Acts 26:9-11). This is an incredibly scary description of the sort of religious terrorism campaign he once oversaw. He not only tossed Christ’s followers in the slammer but went on the road to arrest and kill even more of them. He cast his vote to execute these believers every chance he got. He personally tortured those he suspected of trusting in Jesus in order to force them to blaspheme. And in his letter to the churches of Galatia, he confesses his crimes against Christ. “For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it” (Gal 1:13).

Don’t make the mistake of thinking Saul of Tarsus is just like those folks we read about in the Old Testament who trusted in God and His goodness but simply didn’t know about Jesus. This dude was a lost legalist. With apologies to Mike Tyson, he was the baddest man on the planet. Well, at least until Jesus ambushed him just outside Damascus before Saul’s next black ops mission to terrorize His church (Acts 9:1-19). Paul wants everyone to know even though he had murder and terrorism on his resume, he still couldn’t out-sin our Savior.

The apostle wraps up his job history, “as to righteousness under the law, blameless” (v6). Nobody who watched Saul could find anything fault with him. He was squeaky clean. Did all the right things. Said all the right things. He put on a perfect performance. Spotless reputation. Long before Andre Agassi, Saul believed image was everything. But that’s not the whole story. There was a problem. A BIG problem. The outside may look great but there’s a hot mess in his heart. His heart was full of hate. Is that you? Are you all about keeping up appearances? Are you all about your image? Is there a steaming cauldron of anger and hatred bubbling deep inside you? Well, Paul would love to chat with you if you’ve got a moment. He knows a Guy.

When you take a closer look at Saul before Paul, he’s certainly no angel. No, he’s a thug. A bully. A terrorist. He spent his time chasing down Jesus’ followers to kill them. It was open season. I don’t know about you, but Saul is NOT at the top of my list when it comes to candidates who will take the Good News to a lost and dying world. Seems like someone we would want God to strike with some of His patented fire and brimstone, don’t you think? Jesus thought otherwise. Instead Christ came to Saul’s rescue. I like to think that He knocked this hit man off his horse with a blast of His amazing grace. Saul may have been a major league sinner, but Jesus is a Hall of Fame Savior. 

How ‘bout you? Think you’re too far gone for God to save? Is there stuff in your rearview mirror you believe disqualifies you from the love of Jesus? Maybe you’ve stolen or embezzled. Possibly an affair. Or an abortion. Is your heart full of hate? Paul’s got news for you. Some VERY Good News! No matter what you’ve done, no matter had bad you’ve been, Jesus is ready and willing to come to your rescue. You may be great sinner, but you can’t out-sin our Savior!!

The Ultimate Win-Win

“For me to live is Christ, to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

Caesar doesn’t know it but the greatest threat to his empire is in prison just down the street from his palace. The man known as the Apostle Paul may be sitting behind bars but he’s armed and dangerous. No one has smuggled him a 9mm. He’s not hiding a shank under his pillow. The man from Tarsus is armed with the ultimate hope in Jesus. Author James A. Baldwin once wrote, “The most dangerous creation of a society is the man who has nothing to lose.” Paul would say that what he has can’t be ripped out of his hands. “For me to live is Christ, to die is gain” (v21). Armed with hope in Jesus, he has nothing to lose. As long as he’s alive, he’ll keep telling people about Jesus. When he dies, he spends eternity with his Savior. It’s the ultimate win-win situation.

 Just a few years back, people knew him as Saul. The followers of Jesus knew just how dangerous he could be. He makes it his purpose in life to wipe the planet of every disciple of this Rabbi/Carpenter from Galilee. We first meet him in the Bible running the coat check table at Stephen’s stoning (Acts 7:58). Saul gave the murder of the first Christian martyr two very bloody thumbs up (Acts 8:1). He then establishes a team to travel around the region to arrest and kill people who believe Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah (Acts 8:3; Gal 1:13). But in one of the most bizarre episodes in Scripture, the resurrected Son of God supernaturally mugs Saul on one of his patented seek-and-destroy missions to Damascus (Acts 9:1-18). The next thing you know, Jesus transforms this murderer into a missionary. Saul becomes Paul. The most dangerous man to Christ’s followers becomes the most dangerous man FOR Christ’s followers. Wherever he goes, Paul tells everyone who will listen about Jesus. Because of the hope that he has in Christ, he knows he can’t lose. Even when his faith lands him in Caesar’s supermax.

As the apostle tells folks the Good News about Jesus, he’s constantly talking about how this faith is the ultimate win-win. In his very first letter to a group of churches in Galatia he writes, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal 2:20). In other words, Saul died on the cross with Jesus. Saul. Dead. Jesus has traded His perfection and obedience to the former Pharisee in for his sin and defiance. Jesus’ righteousness for our rebellion (2Cor 5:21). Martin Luther calls this the Great Exchange. The result is the ultimate win-win.

Later, the new man come to know as Paul drops a note to the church in Rome containing this no lose scenario we all share as followers of Christ. “For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be both Lord of the dead and of the living” (Rom 14:8-9). I wonder if he had any idea he’d been in Rome before long. And a few years back, God used a prophet named Agabus to give Paul a heads up about his upcoming arrest. The apostle responds by telling his friends to put away their Kleenex. “I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 21:13). 

So what does all this mean for me? How dangerous am I? Let’s face it, the world is not exactly quivering at the sight of this middle aged white guy rolling up in his Hyundai. But the truth of Paul’s words opens my eyes to the fact that what Jesus has done for me can never be taken from me. Let’s take a look at just a few implications and applications of what it means to live for the One who loves me.

Do I live FOR Christ? Jesus calls me to make Him my priority. According to the Son of God, all of my relationships take a backseat to Him (Mt 10:37; Lk 14:25-26). On this side of eternity, I’m to be a living sacrifice (Rom 12:2). The only problem with living sacrifices is that they keep wiggling off the altar! Living for Jesus means telling others about His incredible offer of overwhelming grace and unconditional love.

Do I live THROUGH Christ? This is the rock solid security of knowing what He’s done for me that I could do for myself. He’s lived the perfectly obedient life that I’ve failed to live. He’s died the brutal death for my sin on the cross. He rose to a spectacular new life that I don’t deserve. He died so that I never will. Once I’m in His kung fu grip, no one can ever pry me out (Jn 10:28-29). Talk about bulletproof!

Do I live TO Christ? He’s the Target. He’s the Goal. The author of Hebrews says that whenever you and I don’t know what to do, we need to lock our eyes on Jesus, the Starter and Finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2). This means to keep my eyes up. Keep my focus on Him and NOT my problems. When the storms hit, remember Who is in my boat. When life drops a huge pile of crap on my doorstep, it’s minuscule compared to the size of my Savior.  

Do I allow Christ to live THROUGH me? I need to constantly remember to get out of the way and let Him do what He wants. My selfish wants and needs died on a Roman cross 2,000 years ago. While they pop up once and a while, Jesus calls me to play a little game of Whack-A-Mole. Just in case I think God can’t use me, I simply need to take a quick look at the list of people He used in the Bible. Murderers. Adulterers. Rebels. Hookers. Knuckleheads. Weirdos. Goofballs. Losers. Hmm, looks like I’m right at home! As Tullian Tchividjian says, God uses bad people because bad people is all He has to work with. Let Him live through me.

All that is on this side of the graveyard. That’s what I can do without the fear of death through Jesus. For Paul, Jesus Christ is his reason for living. His reason for breathing. His reason for being. The apostle desperately wants us to know that physical death isn’t eternal death. Death actually relieves us of our earthly garbage and allow us the privilege of being in Jesus’ presence forever. Life gives us the privilege to keep telling people about Jesus. Death takes us into the His presence.

It’s the ultimate win-win. 

The Unusual Suspects

“if anyone is above reproach…” (v6)

Few things get my undies in a bundle like scandal in the church. Some knucklehead senior pastor gets caught sleeping around on his wife. Another doofus can’t keep his sticky fingers out of the offering plate. Some joker builds a palace that’s sweeter than most presidents and prime ministers have. Still another bully becomes so power hungry that he bum rushes everyone in his way to get what he wants. The interweb is chockfull of this crap. And all it does is throw mud on the wedding gown of Jesus’ bride. 

Two thousand years ago, the Apostle Paul gave serious instructions that would go a long, long way to help local churches from making bad news. Remember, we’re in the Good News business! He wrote a note to his “go to” guy deployed on the island of Crete. Paul tells Titus to set up leadership structures in all of the local churches by appointing elders (Titus 1:5). He’s NOT talking about chronological but spiritual maturity. This is what we should see in our elders, pastors, and spiritual leaders. The man from Tarsus then gives the Big T a picture of just what spiritual leadership looks like. Above all, they are to be “above reproach” (v6). All of the other qualities listed later are just specifics about what this means. 

So just what does it mean to be “above reproach?” The phrase comes from a single Greek: anegkletos. It literally means “one not called in.” Back in the first century, this was someone who is NOT called into court to appear before the judge for wrongdoing. This pertains to someone who cannot be accused of anything wrong. They’re blameless. They’re not accused. They’re without offense. They’re beyond suspicion. They are the Unaccused (yeah, I just made that word up).

Let’s talk for a bit about who an elder is NOT. Who doesn’t make the list? Who’s eliminated from consideration? Take the characters in the movie “The Usual Suspects.” After a nasty crime, police round up a group of familiar faces. These crooks run in the wrong circles and continually dance in the shadows of what is legal and illegal. The cops know them well. Very well. When the fecal matter hits the whirling device, they drag these dudes downtown for questioning. It’s not the first time. And it won’t be the last time. The each have a slimy rep. When you’re looking for an elder, you don’t choose one of “The Usual Suspects.” Just the opposite. There’s no scandal. No charges made. No indictments have been handed down. These guys are so far from the line that there’s no doubt they’ve ever been anywhere near the line. They are the Unusual Suspects. They are the Unaccused.

The Apostle Paul sets a high standard for the spiritual leaders in the local church. The list in the following verses is less about possessing a body of knowledge and specific skill set. If this quality is not there, the rest of the list is meaningless. It’s about character. It’s about integrity. Why is this a big deal? Having leaders who are above reproach goes a long way to prevent scandal and disgrace on both the church and the Gospel. Being unaccused means having a great reputation. It’s so important that Paul drops the very same word in the very next verse, just in case we may have missed it the first time around. Yeah, integrity. It’s a big deal in our spiritual leaders.

Check out how other translations handle this idea. “[These elders should be] men who are of unquestionable integrity and are irreproachable” (v6 AMP). “An elder must be well thought of for his good life” (v6 NLT). “Men having a good record” (v6 BBE). “Is this man well-thought-of?” (v6 The Message). “Elders should be without fault” (v6 CEB). “They must have a good reputation” (v6 CEV). Unquestionable integrity. Irreproachable. Well thought of. Good record. Good reputation. These are the character traits we’re looking for when vetting our leaders. They are the Unaccused.

Maybe you think that you’re off of the hook at this point. Whew, looks like nobody’s ever picking me to be one of the elders! Not so fast, my friend. You and I may not be a pastor or an elder, but the Holy Spirit is recreating each of us in the image of Jesus, not just those at the top of the org chart. An elder’s life should be worthy of imitation. Integrity and blamelessness should be our goal. No way, dude. You have NO idea what’s on my resume (or should I say “criminal record”!). I’m sure every one of us has stuff in our rearview mirror we’d rather forget. 

The guy writing this letter has quite a rap sheet. Before he was Paul the missionary, he was Saul the murderer. Yeah, he killed the followers of Jesus. He ran the coat check table at Stephen’s stoning (Acts 7:58). He was all in favor of it (Acts 8:1). He led a black ops team to hunt down believers (Acts 8:23). The apostle admits to trying to wipe Jesus’ church from the face of the earth (1Cor 15:9; Gal 1:13; Phil 3:6; 1Tim 1:13). Despite his bloody background, the former Pharisee is the man Jesus handpicks to reach the world. If God can use Paul, He can use you and me. He’s eventually going to wipe our records clean when He returns for His spectacular encore. Eventually, Jesus will make sure that every one of us is “guiltless (Gr. anegkletos)” (1Cor 1:8) and “above reproach (Gr. anegkletos)” on the day of judgment (Col 1:22). 

Yup, one day we’ll all be the Unusual Suspects. We'll all be the Unaccused.