Unbelievable Mercy

1 Timothy 1, verses 12-17.

1 Timothy 1:12–17

I thank Him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord,

because He judged me faithful, appointing me to His service.

Though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent,

but I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,

and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

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.

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.

To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God,

be honor and glory forever and ever.

Amen.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

Christmas time in our country is, as you know, is full of gifts and good feelings.

People watch classic films like It's a Wonderful Life, which I like as well,

A Christmas Carol, that highlight kindness and generosity toward people,

and they spend nearly $700 billion for themselves and others during November and December.

That's just in the U.S.

It's the two most profitable months of the year for retail businesses.

And churches, likewise, are very busy during the season,

putting on outreach events to reach their neighbors and friends,

Christmas plays, candlelight services, drive-through nativities,

and even live, I found out recently, live Christmas camels as attractions outside the church building.

Apparently that's the thing.

But beneath all the sentimentality and pageantry of Christmas,

the true message of Christmas can easily be lost.

And in our passage today, we get an unornamented look at the meaning of Christmas.

And the heart of it is chapter 1, verse 15.

Isaiah 1:15

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.

That's what Christmas is all about.

And that means we as people, we should entrust ourselves to Christ Jesus,

who saves sinners by His mercy.

That's the main point of this passage.

And I'll first talk about it, talk about the recipient of mercy,

and then the reason for mercy, and then the response to mercy throughout this passage.

Paul begins this passage with thanksgiving in verse 12.

I thank Him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord,

because He judged me faithful, appointing me to His service.

This verse is often misunderstood.

Paul is thanking Jesus for appointing Him to His service,

which is a continuation of the thought in verse 11,

if you just look back one verse prior to this,

where Paul spoke of how he has been entrusted with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God.

So he's thanking Jesus for appointing Him to be the minister of the gospel.

But the reason for this appointment is often misunderstood from this verse.

Some people understand the clause,

because He judged me faithful,

to mean that Jesus entrusted the gospel to Paul,

because Paul was already faithful to God.

Or they think that it's because God foreknew that Paul would be faithful.

God saw how hardworking Paul was,

how upright he was,

and how dependable he was.

And having judged him faithful,

He entrusted the precious gospel of Jesus Christ,

the gospel, the goodness of salvation to Him.

That's how people often understand it.

But that's not what this clause means.

If that's what is meant,

it would contradict the rest of this passage,

where Paul's talking about how he was not worthy of the service to which he was appointed.

And he highlights in the whole passage how undeserving he was of the mercy that he received from God.

So what then does verse 12 mean?

The word faithful in verse 12

is an adjectival form of the same Greek verb that was translated in verse 11 as entrusted.

So it can be translated as trustworthy.

That's in fact how this word is,

this exact same word is translated in verse 15.

The saying is trustworthy.

And I think that's the way it should be translated here in verse 12 also.

The New International Version,

if you have the New International Version Bible,

the NIV,

it nails the translation of this verse.

It says,

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord,

who has given me strength,

that He considered me trustworthy,

appointing me to His service.

So I hope you're following the meaning.

Paul's filled with wonderment and thanksgiving toward God,

that he considered Him to be trustworthy.

And God expressed His trust in Him

by appointing Him to His service.

So Paul's not saying that God appointed him or chose him

because he was trustworthy.

He's marveling and thanking God

that He considered him trustworthy.

You guys see the difference?

I hope you're following.

It's,

he's saying,

it's wonder that God considered me trustworthy.

And I thank Him for that.

And that's,

this is all the more remarkable

considering the rest of verse 13.

Though formerly I was a blasphemer,

persecutor,

an insolent opponent.

Paul's full of thanksgiving

because he is amazed

that God regarded him as trustworthy

of this entrustment of the gospel

even after all the blasphemy against Christ

that he spewed,

all the persecution of Christians,

God's people,

and his insolent opposition to God.

These three words are very strong words

of self-indictment

and it becomes progressively worse.

First,

blasphemer,

he says.

A few verses later in chapter 1,

verse 20,

Paul mentions two men

whom he had excommunicated

from the church fellowship

because they were blaspheming.

Same letter in chapter 6,

Paul specifically says

that Christians should behave

in such a way

so that the name of God

and the teaching

may not be reviled.

That's the exact same word

or be blasphemed.

He also warns of false teachers

who have an unhealthy craving

for controversy

and for quarrels about words

which produce envy,

dissension,

slander,

again,

different translation,

the same word,

blasphemy,

evil suspicions

in chapter 6,

verse 4.

So all that to say

that blasphemy

is something that Paul

is very concerned about

throughout his letter to Timothy.

Yet he describes himself

as a blasphemer.

He had spoken abusively

and falsely

about Christ and his church.

Not only a blasphemer

against God,

but Paul was also

a persecutor of God's people.

Describing his life

before conversion

in Acts 26,

Acts 26:10–11

verses 10 to 11,

Paul confesses this,

I not only locked up

many of the saints

in prison

after receiving authority

from the chief priests,

but when they were put to death,

I cast my vote against them.

And I punished them often

in all the synagogues

and tried to make them blaspheme.

And in raging fury

against them,

I persecuted them

even to foreign cities.

Paul jailed Christians

and he authorized

their execution.

He rabidly pursued Christians

even outside

of the Jewish jurisdiction,

even to foreign cities.

And not only was Paul

a blasphemer of God

and a persecutor of the church,

he was, in general,

an insolent opponent.

This is the strongest term

of the three.

It can be translated

alternatively as tyrant.

It refers to people

who violently

and presumptuously

transgress

other people's rights,

trespass

other people's fears

to inflict injury

and insult.

Paul was an insolent opponent

of both Christ

and the church.

He pridefully transgressed

against both God

and people,

presuming to know

better than God,

and violating the rights

of Christians.

That was Paul.

The man that God

singled out

to be an apostle,

to be a minister

of the gospel,

was not formerly

a worshiper of Christ,

supporter of the church,

and a humble servant

of God.

No, he was instead

a blasphemer,

persecutor,

and an insolent opponent.

And this is why

Paul calls his salvation

and appointment

to ministry

a mercy.

He continues

in verse 13,

But I received mercy

because I had acted

ignorantly in unbelief,

and the grace

of our Lord

overflowed for me

with the faith

and love

that are in Christ Jesus.

He repeats

that phrase

again in verse 16,

But I received

mercy.

And note the strong

contrast indicated

by that conjunction,

But.

Formerly,

I was a blasphemer

and persecutor

and insolent opponent,

but I received

mercy.

I am the foremost

of sinners,

but I received

mercy.

Even though I consider

myself to be

the very worst

of sinners,

I received mercy.

That's what Paul

is talking about here.

The very nature

of mercy

is that it's undeserved.

Those who believe

that they are in the right

don't ask for mercy.

They ask for justice.

People who believe

that they are deserving

or entitled

to something,

they don't ask

for mercy.

They ask for payment.

They ask for their wage,

their reward.

People who cry

for mercy

are the people

who recognize

that they are undeserving,

but because of

their desperate need,

they plead for it

anyway.

And Paul

understands

his calling

to Christ,

his salvation

and his ministry

as God's act

of mercy.

He's a recipient

of mercy.

As 4th century

pastor and theologian

Augustine writes,

none he chooses

is worthy,

but choosing

he makes them

worthy.

That God

not only

would save him,

but also

entrust him

the gospel

to Paul,

that was

an undeniable

evidence

of God's

forgiveness

and grace.

19th century

British pastor

Charles Sargent

expressed

a similar sentiment

this way.

I've always

felt in my own

mind

that it was

one of the

clearest proofs

that I had

God's forgiveness

of my many sins

when I was

trusted to

preach the gospel.

I should think

that if a

prodigal came

back to his

father,

the old gentleman

would kiss him

and receive him

and rejoice

greatly over him,

but the next

Saturday,

the market day,

the old gentleman

would say,

I cannot send

young William

to market

that would be

putting temptation

in his way.

Here,

John,

you have always

been with me.

Go to market

and buy and sell

for me,

for all that I

have is thine.

William,

you stay at home

with me.

He might not

let him see

all that he meant,

but he would say

to himself,

dear boy,

he's hardly fit

for that great trust.

I love him,

but still,

I hardly dare

trust him

as much as that.

But see

what my Lord

did with me.

When I came

home to him

as a poor

prodigal,

he said,

here is my gospel.

I will entrust

you with it.

Go and preach it.

I bless his name

that I have not

preached anything else

and I do not

mean to begin

to do so.

That God

would consider me

trustworthy

of stewarding

the gospel

of Jesus Christ,

this precious,

one-of-a-kind

message of salvation

for the world.

After all that

I had done

against him,

after all sins

I had committed,

what grace,

what mercy.

That's Paul's

sentiment.

Though Paul

was undeserving,

God saved him

and gave him

strength to be

an apostle

of Jesus Christ

to discharge

his sacred duty

of ministering

the gospel.

And that's why

Paul thanks God

for strengthening

him in verse 12.

It's God's

strengthening that

enables Paul

for the service

that he is called

to.

And Paul is here

speaking of his

Damascus encounter

with the spirit

of Jesus

on his road

to Damascus.

Because for Paul,

his conversion

to Christianity

and his call

to ministry,

his commission

to Christian ministry

happened simultaneously.

And Paul speaks

of this reality

again in verse 14.

When he encountered

Jesus,

he says,

the grace of our

Lord overflowed

for me

with the faith

and love

that are in

Christ Jesus.

This is the content,

the substance

of the mercy

that he received

from Christ.

Remember the triad

of Paul's sins?

This is,

he described himself

as a blasphemer,

persecutor,

and insolent opponent.

Now that triad

of Paul's sins

now meets

the triad

of God's mercy.

He says,

the grace

and faith

and love

that are in

Christ Jesus

overflowed

for him.

And that word

overflowed

is emphasized here

in the Greek.

It's actually

the first word.

It's intentionally

fronted for emphasis.

And I love

that word.

It's an unusual,

rare word

that it's likely

actually Paul

probably coined

this word.

He made it up

to express

just how

super abundant

God's mercy is.

It's the same

kind of word

that Paul uses

in Romans 5

Romans 5:20

verse 20

where he says,

where sin

increased,

grace abounded

all the more.

The grace

of our Lord

Jesus Christ

along with

the faith

and love

that are in him,

it didn't drip

down to us.

It doesn't

trickle down

to us.

It overflowed.

It spilled over.

It was poured

out on us

lavishly,

generously,

and unsparingly.

Whatever

Paul's sins

were,

they were

overmatched

by God's

mercy.

Wherever

Paul had

multiplied

blasphemies,

persecutions,

and insolent

opposition,

the grace,

faith,

and love

that are

found in

Jesus Christ

abounded

all the more.

And so

Paul had

formerly acted

ignorantly in

unbelief as he

said in verse 13,

but now that

unbelief is

counteracted by

this faith that

he receives from

Jesus.

Paul was

formerly a

persecutor of

the church,

but now through

Jesus he

receives love for

Christ and his

church.

And Paul was

formerly a

blasphemer and

an insolent

opponent of

God,

but now through

Christ Jesus he

becomes a

humble recipient

of grace.

Grace means

unmerited favor,

a gift from

God.

And if you're a

Christian, this is

true for you too.

Notice that Paul

doesn't say in

verse 14,

the grace of my

Lord overflowed

for me.

He says the

grace of our

Lord overflowed

for me, our

Lord, because

Paul is

addressing his

letter to

Timothy, his

disciple.

And by

extension, this

statement applies

to all who

confess Jesus

Christ as their

Lord.

His grace, along

with faith and

love, has

overflowed for

you.

And Christ

himself is the

fountainhead of

all this

overflowing grace,

faith, and love.

Christ Jesus is

mentioned four

times in this

passage alone.

And Paul says

in verse 14 that

all these things

overflowed for him

in Christ Jesus.

That's one of the

most important

phrases in the

entire Bible.

It's used nearly

90 times in the

New Testament that

we are in Christ

Jesus.

It speaks of our

union with Christ,

that we participate

in Christ, that we

are identified with

Christ, that we

are incorporated

into Christ.

And what this

means, when Jesus

was born in human

likeness, he was

born to identify

with us so that he

can represent us, so

that he can bear our

sins and iniquities

and die on the

cross in our place,

and so that he can

be raised from the

dead, so that we

can be united with

him by faith and be

restored to God and

to spend eternity

with him.

That's the sweetest

thing you could hear

as a Christian, that

we are in Christ

Jesus.

We are not in Adam

anymore, our

forefather who

sinned against God

and plunged us into

our current state of

brokenness and

fallenness.

We are now in

Christ.

We're in Christ.

That means we are

not on our own

anymore.

We don't stand on

our own to bear the

punishment for our

sins all to

ourselves.

No, we are now in

Christ because he

paid for all our

sins.

That's what

Christmas is all

about.

It's about the

gospel of Jesus

Christ, the good

news of salvation.

And verse 15 is as

good a summary of

the gospel as you

will find in the

entire Bible.

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.

This is the focal

point of this

entire passage.

This passage also

has a mirroring

structure that we've

seen throughout the

gospel of Luke.

Verse 12 and

verse 17, they

match each other,

they mirror each

other.

He began with

thanksgiving to

God, he ends with

praise to God, and

he gives a

contrasting statement

about how sinful he

was and how

merciful God was

toward him in

verses 13 to 14

and verse 16.

Those two verses

match each other.

And the only verse

that stands by

itself without a

matching element is

verse 15 because

that's the center,

the crux that he's

trying to bring our

attention to.

And that's this, 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.

most.

In his letters to

Timothy and Titus,

five times Paul

introduces a

statement with this

phrase, the saying

is trustworthy.

That's a signal that

Paul is about to

quote something, some

piece of church

creed, a traditional

dogma that's been

handed down that his

audience would already

be familiar with.

This is a truth that

is trustworthy that you

already know and

believe because this is

what Christians of

all, all Christians in

all places at all

times have believed.

It's trustworthy and

deserving of full

acceptance that Christ

Jesus came into the

world to save sinners.

And remember the word

trustworthy is emphatic

because he's repeated

different forms of this

word six times already

in mere seven verses.

He's emphasizing the

importance of faith.

That's why Christians are

called believers.

And this is what you

must believe above

everything else.

The saying is

trustworthy, deserving

of full acceptance

that Christ Jesus came

into the world to save

sinners of whom I am

the foremost.

That's the gospel of

Jesus Christ.

And it's good news

because Jesus said

earlier in Luke 5, 31

and 32, 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.

Salvation is not a

tryout.

It's a bailout.

It's not for the

righteous.

It's for sinners.

It's not help for those

who help themselves.

It's help for those who

can't help themselves.

It's not the survival of

the fittest or the

holiest.

It is the salvation of

those who humble

themselves and acknowledge

their sinfulness and

unworthiness before God.

There will be no saint in

heaven that pats himself

on the back and says,

oh, I got here because of

my many good deeds.

Not a single one.

There will be no saint in

heaven who does not think

himself to be a sinner

saved by God's mercy.

If you think you're a good

person, if you think you

deserve to go to heaven,

surely if anyone gets in,

I'll qualify.

If that's you, you are part

of the most at-risk population

for falling into the fires

of hell.

Because you're self-righteous.

Because you're prideful.

Because you think you are

self-sufficient and have no

need for God's salvation.

Jesus is not saying that

there are actually people who

are not sick and therefore

don't need help.

There's no one righteous.

Everyone is sick with sin.

And only those who

acknowledge that fact

and come to Jesus,

the great physician for

healing, will be saved.

Yes, the church is a

hospital for the sick.

But it's not a hospital for

people who refuse treatment

insisting that they're not

sick.

Church is for those who

acknowledge their

sinfulness.

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.

Paul considers himself to be

the foremost sinner.

Can you believe that?

And it almost sounds like

he's proud of it.

Why is that?

It's because the worse

sinner that he is,

the more sins that he admits

do, the greater the grace

that overflowed from Christ

Jesus to him.

Highlighting his own

sinfulness, Paul understands,

magnifies the mercy of God.

That's why as Christians,

we don't have to hide our

sins and wear masks and

pretend that everything is

okay.

We don't have to be

defensive.

We should freely confess our

sins to one another in order

to magnify the grace of God

in our lives.

And it's by confessing our

sins to one another that we

receive God's mercy and find

healing, as it says in James 5,

16.

A Christian should live with an

ever-present awareness that he

is a forgiven sinner.

That's who we are.

That's what Paul did.

That's why he uses the present

tense when he says,

I am the foremost.

Not because he's currently

blaspheming God and

persecuting the church.

No, he is living a holy life now.

But still he says, I am the

foremost because he is

ever-presently aware of what a

sinner he once was and how much

he has been forgiven by God.

John Stott, a British

theologian puts it this way.

Paul was so vividly aware of his

own sins that he could not

conceive that anybody could be

worse.

Are you more aware of your own

sins or of the sins of others?

We're not responsible for other

people's sins.

We're not going to be held

accountable for them by God.

But you will be held accountable

for all of your own sins.

Now that doesn't mean as a

church we keep each other

accountable.

That is, we're called to that as

brothers and sisters in Christ.

What I'm speaking about is

payment for sin.

You're not going to have to pay

for someone else's sin in the

end.

But you will have to pay for all

of your own sins.

So are you aware of your own

sins?

Remember your sins.

Remember what you were formerly

like so that you can remember

the mercy of Christ and so that

you don't lose your sense of

wonder at God's mercy.

17th century.

I don't know.

I didn't realize I was quoting all

these English pastors and

theologians.

It's like the third one.

The 17th century English pastor,

they produce some good theologians,

I guess.

Yeah.

John Bunyan in his autobiography,

which is so aptly titled,

Grace Abounding to the Chief of

Sinners.

He writes this,

Oh, the remembrance of my great

sins, of my great temptations,

and of my great fears of perishing

forever.

They bring afresh into my mind the

remembrance of my great help, my

great support from heaven, and the

great grace that God extended to

such a wretch as I.

Christian brothers and sisters,

it is our daily duty to remember

our sins so that we can remember

Christ's mercy because only then

we will be filled with joy and

gratitude.

Only then will our hearts delight in

Christ rather than in the relatively

trivial and fleeting pleasures of

this world.

Only then will your heart be fortified

against pride and self-righteousness.

And if you're not yet a follower of

Christ, this is what the good news

means for you.

Maybe you are a blasphemer,

persecutor, and insolent opponent.

Maybe you're a thief, a domestic

abuser, and a murderer.

Maybe you're a gossip, a liar, a

slanderer.

Maybe you're a porn addict, alcoholic,

or a drug addict.

Maybe you're a fornicator, a

homosexual, or an adulterer.

Maybe you're a sexist, a

Jewish, and a racist.

Whatever your past is like,

whoever you might be, if you would

only repent of your sins and believe

in Jesus Christ for salvation,

if you would only renounce yourself,

your own sovereignty and independence,

and pledge allegiance to Jesus Christ,

then from the fountainhead of Jesus

will flow, overflow for you,

grace, love, faith sufficient to meet

all of your needs.

Where sin increased, his grace will

abound all the more.

And not only that, he will empower you

and entrust to you the precious gospel

of Jesus Christ.

He will make you his ambassador,

his representative to relay his message

of salvation to the world.

Not everybody is called to proclaim

the gospel as a vocation, as his job.

But if you are a Christian,

it is your calling to share the gospel

of Jesus Christ with your family,

friends, neighbors, and coworkers.

That is the calling of every single Christian.

It is amazing grace that God would entrust to us

the precious gospel of Jesus

to sinners like us.

And having given his profile as a recipient of mercy,

Paul proceeds to talk about the reasons for mercy,

and he gives two reasons.

One is in verse 13, and another in verse 16.

He says in verse 13,

It's the first reason.

Paul's not saying that he deserved mercy

because he has sinned ignorantly in unbelief.

As I've explained,

deserved mercy is a contradiction in terms.

Now, think of it this way.

If you're pulled over by a police officer

for going 80 on a 60-mile-per-hour highway,

it's no use for you to tell him,

I didn't know the speed limit was 60.

You're still going to get your ticket

because ignorance does not erase your guilt.

You're still guilty of the misdemeanor or infraction.

However, if you tell the police officer

that you are speeding because you got a phone call,

that your wife is giving birth,

he will probably still give you a ticket.

But he might be more gracious to you

because that's a mitigating factor.

What Paul's saying here is similar to that.

He's not saying that ignorance and unbelief

makes him deserving of mercy.

He's saying that ignorance and unbelief

were a mitigating factor

that God took into consideration.

Ignorance does not diminish your guilt,

but it does make pardon and forgiveness easier.

The Bible consistently makes the distinction

between unintentional sins and defiant sins,

or between ignorant sins and willful sins.

For example, Numbers 15, 22-31

prescribes various sin offerings

for unintentional sins.

But at the end of that passage in verse 30,

it says,

In other words,

all kinds of unintentional sins may be forgiven,

but there is no forgiveness for willful,

knowing, presumptuous, defiant,

high-handed sins against God.

That's what Bible calls elsewhere

the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

To know God,

to have experienced something of His presence,

and yet to defy Him,

to turn against Him,

and with a high hand sin against Him.

Luke also makes this distinction later

in Luke 23, verse 34,

Luke 23:34

when Jesus is hanging on the cross,

He prays for the people that are crucifying Him.

He says,

Father, forgive them,

for they know not what they do.

On the basis that people who are crucifying Jesus

don't know what they're actually doing,

Jesus prays on their behalf

that God might mercifully forgive them.

So what Paul's saying here is similar.

He's saying that God mercifully took into account

the fact that Paul was formerly acting

ignorantly in unbelief.

That's the first reason.

And the second reason for mercy

is given in verse 16.

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.

This is so remarkable to me.

This is Apostle Paul

giving the reason

why he thinks he was saved.

Remember that this is

arguably,

and in my mind pretty clearly,

the best theologian to ever live on earth.

Not counting Jesus, of course.

He's the object of theology.

He's God.

This is Apostle Paul

who wrote most of the New Testament,

inspired the authoritative word of God.

This is Apostle Paul

who planted churches

in most of the known world at the time.

This is the Apostle Paul

probably because of his preaching of the gospel.

Tens of thousands of people

are now in the presence of the Lord.

And he says,

what's the reason

why God saved me?

He does not say,

God gave me mercy

so that I might become

the greatest theologian in the world

and write most of the New Testament.

He doesn't say,

God gave me mercy

because he knew

that I would plant churches

in most of the known world

and share the gospel

with tens of thousands of people.

Paul says,

this is why he thinks he was saved.

He received mercy.

No, God gave me mercy

so that he could use me

as an example

of how gracious

and patient he is.

Because I'm such a wretched sinner.

Because I'm so undeserving

of his salvation.

That's why God saved me.

So that when people look at me,

they will say,

well, if God could save him,

he could surely save me.

If God would have mercy on me,

he would surely have mercy on me.

On him,

he would surely have mercy on me.

That's why Paul thinks

God had mercy on him.

Jesus didn't save us

because we're great.

He saves us

because he's great.

Jesus didn't save us

because he saw great potential in us.

He saves us

because he sees in us

a potential

to reveal God's mercy

and grace in.

brothers and sisters,

we're in trouble

if we start to be more impressed

with ourselves

than with God.

If we start to be more impressed

with our own righteousness

than with God's mercy.

Salvation is not

primarily about us.

the primary purpose

of our salvation

is to display

the glory of God,

to display

the mercy of God.

That's why Paul

concludes,

fittingly,

this passage

with praise to God.

And that brings me

to my final point,

the response to mercy.

Paul began this passage

with thanksgiving to Christ

in verse 12.

I thank him

who has given me strength,

Christ Jesus,

our Lord,

because he judged me

faithful,

appointing me

to his service.

And he also ends

this passage

with praise to God

in verse 17.

To the king of the ages,

immortal,

invisible,

the only God,

be honor and glory

forever and ever.

Amen.

Amen.

And in this concluding verse,

Paul describes God

with the triad again

of attributes.

Remember Christ's grace,

faith,

and love

overflow to meet

Paul's blasphemy,

persecution,

and insolence.

Now all honor and glory

is due to God

because he is the king

of the ages,

immortal,

invisible.

These three words,

the word ages

is the exact same

Greek word

that's translated

in verse 16

as eternal.

So it's saying

that God

is the king

of the ages,

meaning king

of all ages,

king of eternity.

And in the Greek,

the word ages,

immortal,

invisible,

they all start

with the exact

same letter.

So it's alliterative.

So to capture

that in English,

we might say

something like this,

to the king

of infinity,

immortal,

invisible,

the only God,

be honor and glory

forever and ever.

Amen.

Amen.

Because salvation

is entirely of God.

Only God

deserves the honor

and glory.

We can't take

an ounce of credit

for our own salvation.

God deserves

all the honor

and glory

because the basis

of our salvation

is not our merit,

but God's mercy.

Only God

deserves

the honor

and glory

forever.

Think about this.

God is infinite.

We are

bound to time,

temporal,

perishing,

finite beings.

God's immortal

and incorruptible.

We are decaying

and dying.

God dwells

in unapproachable light.

He's transcendent.

He's untouchable.

He's invisible.

But we are visible.

We're touchable.

We're flesh and bones.

And yet,

this God

deigns to send

His Son

in the form of man

to save

us.

this makes God's mercy

all the more staggering.

This is not

dispassionate,

you know,

abstract theology

for Paul.

That's why he

spontaneously breaks out

into praise

in verse 17.

This is for him

very practical

and very personal.

For him,

theology,

which is the study

of God,

always leads

to doxology,

which is the worship

of God.

That's how theology

should be.

It should be steeped

in gratitude.

It should be impassioned

with love for God.

It should be

bubbling over

at all times

with praise

and worship to God.

That's true theology.

And that's why Paul

uses so many personal pronouns

in this passage.

He uses the personal pronoun

I

six times

and the pronoun

me

twice.

The mercy

of Christ

is personal

to Paul

and likewise

we ought to

personally

entrust ourselves

to Christ Jesus

who saves sinners

by his mercy.

Brothers and sisters,

I know

that you

understand

the gospel

of Jesus Christ

in your head

and that you believe

that it's true.

But I want to ask you

this morning,

is the gospel

of Jesus Christ

real

in your heart

this morning?

or is it just

theoretical to you?

Is the mercy

of Jesus Christ

personal to you?

Can you speak of it

with I's

and me's?

Or can you only

speak of it

in terms of

they's

and them's?

Is this

your faith

or is this

your parents' faith?

Is this

your friends'

faith?

Is this

your spouse's

faith?

Is this

your other

church members'

faith?

Can you say

this is my faith?

Jesus is my

Lord,

my Savior,

that I

have received

mercy.

Can you

say that?

are you

excited

to worship

God along

with your

brothers and

sisters?

Are you

eager to

share the

gospel with

your friends

and your

family and

your neighbors?

Or are you

just going

through the

motions?

this saying

is trustworthy

and worthy

of full

acceptance

that Christ

Jesus came

into the

world to

save sinners

of whom I

am the

foremost.

I hope

you can

say amen

to that.

That's how

Paul concludes

this passage

by saying

amen.

And this

is an

invitation to

his readers

to join

him in

affirming

what he

has just

said.

It was

common practice

among the

Jews in the

Old Testament

to respond

to the

praise of

God with

this

declaration

of

affirmation.

Amen.

It means

I believe.

So be

it.

It affirms

that what

has been

said is

valid and

binding.

And this

practice has

been continued

by Christians

over the

last two

millennia.

Because

the saying

is trustworthy

and deserving

of full

acceptance

that Christ

Jesus came

into the

world to

save sinners.

We should

say amen.

This is

true.

It's not

hypothetical.

It's actual.

It's real.

So we don't

respond with

this quizzical

maybe.

We say

amen.

I was a

blasphemer,

persecutor,

and insolent

opponent.

I was the

foremost of

sinners,

but I,

but I

received

mercy.

Amen.

I believe

it.

To the

king of

the ages,

immortal,

invisible,

the only

God,

the honor

and glory

forever and

ever,

because it

is the

deepest

desire of

our own

hearts to

see this

merciful God

praised and

honored and

glorified,

so we don't

respond with

the lukewarm

men.

But with a

hearty

amen,

so be

it.

I pray

all of you

this morning

will one

day be able

to say

from the

very bottom

of your

hearts,

amen to

that.

please take

a moment

not to

reflect

on this

truth.

If you

want to,

you can

close your

eyes.

I

received

mercy.

Think about

that reality.

Reflect on

that.

And then

we're going

to spend

some time

praying out

loud as a

church.