Can God Use Someone Like Me? (Part 1)

1Timothy 1:12-17

Sometimes recent Christian converts wonder if God can use them in His service…. They look back at their colorful past before conversion and wonder if they are somehow disqualified for service through their new church home. Because they love the Lord and honestly desire to obey the Scriptures that encourage ministry and involvement, they wrestle with doubts about being good enough to serve through their church. What should a person with a ‘mucky history’ do? These individuals know they are relatively different than those who grew up under the influence of Christ and the gospel…they not only made mistakes, but they routinely reveled in shameful sinful practices. Now that they are saved…is God willing to use them? Now that they have been born again will they be allowed to serve in meaningful ways?

I would like to answer this question using one of the most respected Christians in the New Testament…the Apostle Paul! The text we will focus on is 1Timothy 1:12-17. Yes, the apostle is writing to Timothy his ministry partner to instruct and encourage him in his pastoral duties at Ephesus. Paul mentions "the glorious Gospel of the blessed God" (1 Tim 1:11) and this stirred Paul to share his own personal testimony. He is case study 1 to answering this question while proving the Gospel of the grace of God really does work in the lives of real sinners. When you read Paul's testimony (see also Acts 9:1-22; 22:1-21; 26:9-18), you are gripped with the astonishment of God's grace and His saving power. You also begin to realize that God uses people with incredibly colorful pasts in many different capacities.

FIRST, CONSIDER WHAT PAUL USED TO BE (1Tim. 1:13A).

            1. He Was A Blasphemer.

·        He was a blasphemer because he denied the deity of Jesus Christ and forced others to deny it.

·        The reason this was so striking to the apostle was that he knew so well the pit from which he had been dug.

·        When he gave this description of his past, he was a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, he was not exaggerating for the sake of effect. (See Acts 22:4-5, 19-20; 26:9-11 for the vivid truth.)

            2.  He Was A Persecutor.

·        He was a persecutor who used physical power to try to destroy the church. “Threatenings and slaughter” were the very breath of his life (Acts 9:1).

·        He persecuted the Christian church (1 Cor 15:9) and then discovered that he was actually laying hands on Jesus Christ, the Messiah! (Acts 9:4)

·        During this period of his life, Paul consented to the stoning of Stephen and made havoc of the church (Acts 8:1-4).

            3.  He Was Injurious.

·        Paul was injurious, a word that means “proud and insolent.”

·        A modern equivalent might be "bully,"

·        It conveys the idea of a haughty man "throwing his weight around" in violence.

            4.  He Was an Ignorant Unbeliever.

·        But the basic causes of his godless behavior were "ignorance" and "unbelief."

1.      Even though Saul of Tarsus was a brilliant man and well educated (Acts 22:3; Gal 1:13-14), his mind was blinded from the truth (1 Cor 2:14; 2 Cor 4:3-4).

2.      He was a religious man, yet he was not headed for heaven!

3.      It was not until he put faith in Jesus Christ that he was saved (Phil 3:1-11).

·        Yet Paul was shown mercy because his actions were the product of ignorance.

1.      Willful disobedience triggers God’s wrath (Num. 15:22-31; Heb. 10:26).

2.      But God deals gently with the ignorant and misguided (Heb. 5:2).

3.      The German philosopher Nietzsche said, “If you could prove God to me, I would believe Him all the less.” No such willfulness characterized Paul’s unbelief.

SECONDLY, CONSIDER HOW PAUL WAS SAVED (1Tim. 1:13B-15).

1. How Could A Holy God Ever Save and Forgive Such Self-Righteous Sinners?

A) Through Mercy and Grace. (Vs. 13, 14)

·        The key words are "mercy" and "grace." God in His mercy did not give Paul what he did deserve; instead God in His grace gave Paul what he did not deserve.

·        Grace is God’s undeserved, unearned, freely given favor. Grace is God’s loving forgiveness, by which He grants salvation apart from any merit on the part of those He saves (see Rom. 3:24; Gal. 1:6).

·        “but I obtained mercy” If the apostle Paul could find mercy after the terrible things he did against Christ, then God surely offers salvation with “open arms” to all people (see 2:4). 

B) With Faith.

·        faith and love. Attitudes frequently linked with salvation in the NT (see Eph. 1:15; 3:17; Col. 1:4, 23). They are gifts of God’s grace in Christ.

C) With Love.

·        Grace and mercy are God's love in action, God motivated by love paying a price to save lost sinners. It is not God's love that saves us, for God loves the whole world (John 3:16).

·        It is by grace that we are saved (Eph 2:8-9) because God is rich in mercy (Eph 2:4) and grace (Eph 2:7).

2. What Did Paul's "Ignorance" Have To Do With His Salvation? (Vs. 1:13)

A) Is Ignorance An Excuse Before God?

·        Of course not! The fact of his ignorance is related to a special Jewish law (Lev 5:15-19; Num 15:22-31).

·        If a person sinned knowingly "with a high hand" in Israel, he was cut off from the people. But if he sinned in ignorance, he was permitted to bring the proper sacrifices to atone for his sins.

B) Jesus Recognized This Principle When He Prayed On The Cross, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).

C) Their Ignorance Did Not Save Them, Nor Did Christ's Prayer Save Them; but the combination of the two postponed God's judgment, giving them an opportunity to be saved.

3. Paul Stated That It Took "Exceeding Abundant" Grace To Save Him!

      A) The grace given to Paul was “exceeding abundant,” overflowing beyond all expectations.

1.      Therefore the apostle received God’s mercy, not His wrath. God’s grace far outpaced even Paul’s grievous sin.

2.      Where there was once only unbelief, God poured out . . . “faith” . . . “in Christ Jesus.”

3.      Where there had been violent aggression against God and His people, now God poured out the love of Christ. (See 2 Tim. 2:10.)

B) Everything Paul Lacked, God’s Grace Had More Than Amply Supplied.

1.      The term “exceeding abundant”, means “to be present in great or superabundance.”) Here may be seen the full measure of what Paul meant when he spoke of the empowering ministry of Christ (1 Tim. 1:12).

2.      “Paul liked to use the Greek prefix huper (meaning "an exceeding abundant amount"), and he often attached it to words in his letters. You might translate some of these as "superincrease of faith" (2 Thess 1:3); "superabounding power" (Eph 1:19); "superconqueror" (Rom 8:37). This same prefix has come into the English language as hyper. We speak of "hyperactive" children and "hypersensitive" people.” ---W.W. Wiersbe

4. Paul Makes It Clear That This Salvation Is Not For Him Only, But For All Who Receive Jesus Christ (1 Tim 1:15).

A) If Jesus Could Save Saul Of Tarsus, The Chief Of Sinners, Then He Can Save Anybody!

·        “This is a faithful saying.” A phrase unique to the Pastoral Epistles (see 3:1; 4:9; 2 Tim. 2:11; Titus 3:8), which announces a statement summarizing key doctrines. The phrase “worthy of all acceptation” gives the statement added emphasis. Apparently, these sayings were well known in the churches, as concise expressions of cardinal gospel truth.

·        World refers to all humanity.

·        Save means to deliver or rescue. Christ came to die for the sins of humanity.

·        This faithful saying was based on the statements of Jesus recorded in Matt. 9:13; Luke 19:10.

·        “The central thrust of Paul’s personal digression, begun in verse 12, now becomes clear. It is a testimony concerning the purpose of the Incarnation of Christ. Jesus came not merely to set an example or to show that He cared. He came to salvage sinners from their spiritual destitution—and Paul said he was the worst of that lot. There must be no misunderstanding of this most fundamental point. It is a truth that is completely trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. (Four other passages include this “trustworthy” phrase: 3:1; 4:9; 2 Tim. 2:11; Titus 3:8.)” ---John Walvoord

·        “Here we come to the very heart of the difference between true Christianity and all other teachings. False religions tell man that there is something he can do or be in order to win favor with God. The gospel tells man that he is a sinner, that he is lost, that he cannot save himself, and that the only way he can get to heaven is through the substitutionary work of the Lord Jesus on the cross. The type of law teaching which Paul described earlier in this chapter gives a place to the flesh. It tells man exactly what he wants to hear, namely, that he can somehow contribute to his own salvation. But the gospel insists that all the glory for the work of salvation must go to Christ alone, that man does nothing but the sinning, and that the Lord Jesus does all the saving.”  ---William MacDonald

B) We Admire Paul's Humility!

·        We note that he considered himself to be the "least of the apostles" (1 Cor 15:9).

·         And he referred to himself as the "least of all saints" (Eph 3:8).

·        Notice that Paul did not write "of whom I was chief" but "of whom I am chief." He was “first,” in rank.

·        Paul saw the degradation of sin and understood the sinfulness of human beings. Because of this, he placed himself first among sinners.

·        Few could be considered a worse sinner than someone who blasphemed God and persecuted His church (see 1 Cor. 15:9; Eph. 3:8). Paul’s attitude toward himself dramatically changed (Phil. 3:7–9; Rom 7:7–12).

Clearly God in His infinite grace and mercy can save anyone who realizes their sinfulness and believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. Beloved, this is one of the primary reasons Jesus Christ came into this world! Yes, God has you and me in mind for our salvation and good. He took responsibility to provide a means for people to be reconciled to Him and forgiven of their sins. Jesus is His provision; it is Christ who died, was buried, and rose again the third day capable of saving all who will repent believing the gospel.

In the following article, I will further explore the question: Can God Use Someone Like Me?