MPC, 1st October 2000.1 Timothy 1:12-20 - Good News for Bad People
Phil Campbell MPC, 1st October 2000.
I saw in the paper a couple of months back when Brad Thorn had just announced he was heading to New Zealand to play RUGBY that he made a promise. A promise to his team mates at the Broncos. The promise he made was that he would NEVER EVER, that he would never ever come back to RUGBY LEAGUE IN AUSTRALIA and PLAY AGAINST THEM. No matter what the offer from anywhere else, if he comes back, then it's the BRONCOS or nothing. Because there's no way in the world he says he's going to change teams; and play AGAINST the team he's been a part of for so long.
But other people to that, don't they. Not only in sport. Maybe in business. Going to work for the competition. Maybe in politics. Cheryl Kernot - one day the leader of the democrats, next day she's with labor.
But I want you to stretch your imagination a bit, and the same sort of thing on a larger scale. The sort of defection to the other side that would be enough to make you really sit up and take notice. I mean, what if you wake up tomorrow to the morning news, and JOHN HOWARD has announced he's stepping down as Prime Minister... to join the labor party.
I mean, imagine the headlines. You wouldn't believe your ears. You'd be thinking, this has got to be APRIL FOOLS DAY. That sort of turnaround just doesn't happen.
But if you reckon that's stretching the imagination, I want you to stretch it even further. And look at the background to the passage we're looking at today. This letter from Paul the apostle to his apprentice Timothy. Because in the section we're looking at here, Paul's talking about his own life story. He's talking about an incredible turnaround, that leaves the stuff I was talking about for dead.
You get a hint of it if you look at verse 15. This is what he says. He says, "Here's a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - OF WHOM I AM THE WORST."
Now here's Paul, the great Christian leader, the great apostle; the guy who's written half the BIBLE... and he calls himself THE WORST OF SINNERS. And let me tell you, he means it.
Go back to verse 13; and you can see the way he describes himself. And let me tell you, this isn't one of those false modesty things. This is all true. He says "I was once a blasphemer, and a persecutor and a violent man." And it's a fact. That's exactly what he was.
I want to take a few minutes to have a look at Paul's life story. Because when you do, it actually helps make sense of what he's saying here. And to do that, we need to turn back in our Bibles to the book of Acts. The book that forms the bridge between the gospels, the accounts of Jesus; and the letters like this one. The Acts of the APOSTLES. The story of the start of the church.
And I want you to turn back with me to Acts chapter 7. Because that's where you first meet Paul. Paul's parents named him Saul. As you follow the story through you'll see when his name gets changed. Here in Acts 7 he's still a young man. Not much more than a boy. Fresh faced, keen to be helpful. But notice what he's keen to help DOING. Because the place we first meet him is at a stoning. The stoning of Stephen; the first Christian martyr. You can read about it from verse 54. Stephen's been preaching in the Jewish Council, the council that sentenced Jesus to death. And the result is exactly the same. They take Stephen out, they say STONE HIM. And they gather around him, they pick up stones and rocks and they pound him and they pound him til he's dead under a mound of rubble.
And here's this YOUNG GUY KEEN TO IMPRESS. Here's this young guy keen to be helpful. And if you look at verse 58 in Acts chapter 7, you'll see him. Just a mention. That as they stone him, there's this young guy who looks after their cloaks. It's the guy who's one day going to be the APOSTLE PAUL. A teenager. Doing whatever he can to help stone a CHRISTIAN to death. And you'll see if you look at verse 1 of chapter 8, he's not just holding their coats. He's cheering them on. Saul is there... GIVING APPROVAL to his death. Saying THIS IS TERRIFIC. Go preaching about JESUS and that's what you deserve.
And for this young SAUL, it's the start of a very promising career. The fact is, he's actually a very religious young bloke. Full of zeal for his Jewish faith. Which means this new Christianity has got to be stamped out before it gets out of hand. And he's the FIRST VOLUNTEER to do the stamping.
Turn over to Acts 9 and see what happens next.
Verse 1. Here his is, older now, and it says he's breathing out murderous threats against the Lords disciples. And in verse 2 it says he goes to the High priest and asks for letters of introduction. And the plan is, he's volunteering to travel round to all the priests and rabbis, and they're going to flush out all the Christians; Saul's going to bring them back to Jerusalem and have them DEALT WITH.
Can you see,Saul HATES CHRISTIANS. And he's going to threaten them and harass them and persecute them however he can. He's going to stand there cheering while they're put to death. Other Jews might just sit back and watch. But not Saul. He's the sort of guy who gets involved. And he's going to do as much as he can to make life miserable for anyone who's got anything to do with Jesus.
And then something happens. Something that changes the whole direction of his life.
He's on his way to Damascus. And suddenly, there's a spotlight on him. A light from heaven. And Acts 9 verse 4 says "He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" Saul hasn't got a clue who's talking to him. But the fact is, it's the RISEN JESUS.
Now here's the question. Saul thinks HE'S DEAD. That this stuff about the RESURRECTION is just some myth. That's got to be STAMPED OUT. And now there's a blinding light and a voice that says, "I am Jesus, who you're persecuting." I'm the RISEN LORD. So do what you're told. Jesus says, "Get up and go to the city... and you'll be told what you must do."
Now that has to qualify as one of those classic moments where you realise you've been BACKING THE WRONG HORSE, doesn't it?
And so he doesn't have to be told twice. He gets up; he's been totally blinded by the light. And they have to lead him into Damascus, and he waits there until a guy named Ananias comes and tells him what to do.
And by the time you get to verse 20 in Acts chapter 9, he's a NEW MAN. And there he is, preaching in the synagogues that JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD.
What a turn around! I mean, last week he's killing Christians. Now he is one. Last week he's Prime minister, this week he's on the front bench right beside Kim Beasley. And people just can't believe it. And they say, "Hey, hasn't he come here to take those Christians PRISONERS?" And now he's agreeing with them.
It's an incredible thing to happen. And it's obviously something that affects Paul for the rest of his life. Because Paul's come FACE TO FACE WITH JESUS. And here's the stunning thing. He's come face to face with Jesus, and instead of facing judgement, instead of being condemned for the fact he's persecuted Christians, when he comes face to face with Jesus he comes face to face with FORGIVENESS. And a whole new start.
AN EXPERIENCE OF GRACE
Now can you see, THAT'S what lies behind what Paul's saying to Timothy when we come back to 1 Timothy chapter 1.
And you might like to turn back there. Because Paul has had an EXPERIENCE OF GOD'S GRACE. He knows all about it. First hand.
And now that you know the story, you can see exactly what he means.
Read from verse 12. He says, "I thank Christ Jesus our lord, who has given me strength, that HE CONSIDERED ME FAITHFUL, APPOINTING ME TO HIS SERVICE." He says, "Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The GRACE OF THE LORD WAS POURED OUT ON ME ABUNDANTLY, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. He could have just ZAPPED ME TO A CRISP. But instead of that, he GAVE ME A JOB.
The word Grace means UNDESERVED FAVOUR. And he's saying, I was the absolute scum. You couldn't go any lower. Persecuting, putting to death the people of God. And yet instead of doing the SAME TO ME, God has poured out his GRACE on me. And forgiven me. And made me a whole new man.
See, Paul knows first hand what it means to be a Christian. And I want to you notice what it's not. I've said it before. And I'll say it again. Because it's what Paul's saying here.
Being a Christian is NOT about being religious. When it all boils down to it, Paul was plenty religious to start off with. A top class Jew. And all that did was it made him a top class enemy of Jesus. Being religious counts for nothing. Even if it's being religious in Presbyterian ways or Church of England ways or Catholic ways.
Here's a trustworthy saying. It's a good one. So listen to. Accept it. Here's what you need to know. It's in verse 15. "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners... OF WHOM, says Paul, of whom I AM THE WORST."
And if he's going to save someone like Paul, see, then the rest of us are EASY.
It's like one of those ads on TV. Get the dirtiest, most stained shirt you can find. And soak it in new COLD POWER and see what happens. If it can get stains out of THAT, then you know it's going to work for your stuff.
And that's how it is with Paul. That's what he says. Keep reading. Verse 16. "For that very reason," says Paul, "I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his UNLIMITED PATIENCE as an example for those who would BELIEVE ON HIM - AND RECEIVE ETERNAL LIFE."
He says God's used me as a demonstration. An example for the rest of you. He says have a look and see the way Jesus has displayed his UNLIMITED PATIENCE WITH ME. Well, he's more than happy to do the same with YOU AS WELL.
CONCLUSION
Now it maybe today that for you, that's the best thing you ever heard. You've messed up, you've botched up large slices of your life, you look inside yourself and there's nothing much to be impressed with. And you hear one of the greatest Christians of all time say, IT'S OKAY. Look how much I WAS FORGIVEN. By the mercy of God. That's why CHRIST JESUS CAME... to save SINNERS.
And he's got UNLIMITED PATIENCE with sinners. Far more than you or I would. So if you're tempted to think you're beyond God's forgiving, Paul says, YOU'RE WRONG! He says, Look what he forgave ME!
There's another thing we can learn too. And I reckon it's important. And that is, God can save anyone. And no-one's too hard.
Like my friend Andrew. Who was as tough and cynical a bloke as you'd ever find. Christianity - he'd just laugh. And you'd be tempted to say, give up. Impossible. Maybe that's the point you're up to with the people you work with. Or people in your family. Or your neighbours. That it's just impossible to make any ground. That they're just not interested in Jesus. TOO HARD. But then you look at Paul, and you look at the power of God, and let me tell you there's NO WAY YOU CAN SAY NO WAY.
So never give up. And never stop praying. Because God can do amazing things. And if you keep your eyes open around here you'll gradually see it. God's grace at work as people come face to face with Jesus.
It's not often going to be like Paul. A flash of light on the road. More likely, it's going to be through people like YOU talking about Jesus to your friends. Living like Jesus. Sharing the gospel. And God works in people's lives.
I guess one of the best things about my job is I get to see it. Lives as totally turned around as Paul's was. Because God's still at work exactly the same way. Forgiving sins. Dishing up his mercy ABUNDANTLY. More than you'd ever expect.
Paul tells Timothy to stick with it. And not to get sidetracked. Verse 18 and 19, he says, "I'm telling you this so you'll keep going." When Timothy was commissioned they laid hands on him, and there was a prophecy about him. That he'd be gifted to lead and teach God's people. And Paul reminds him. He says, "Timothy my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you might FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT, holding on to faith and a good conscience."
He says, "Stick with the basics." And that's what we've got to do too. It's so very, very easy to get sidetracked. To lose your focus. To stop praying for your friends. To back off instead of speaking when you've got the chance to speak about Jesus. Let me say it again - the message we've got is POWERFUL. Powerful to change lives. Even lives like PAULS - who says, "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life."