Lesson 2972

Lesson (2972)(02-18-20) 1 Timothy 1:11-15
    “According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”

   Today’s quote relates how Paul, although he had for the most of his life been a horrible persecutor of Christians, received forgiveness and mercy from Jesus. This lesson is a dictate to us in that no matter how sinful we have been, we can still receive God’s mercy and saving grace, simply by believing on Jesus.
    There is another very important lesson within today’s quote that should be stressed. We should make note that Paul, while being a personally selected apostle of Jesus Christ, and no doubt a man who’s name was already written in the Lamb’s book of life, REMAINED A SINNER AND admitted to being the chief of all sinners long after he had been born again and had committed himself to God through faith. He applied the term “sinner” to himself in the present tense when he said, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I AM (not was) chief.”
    This is yet another passage of scripture that puts to rest the erroneous contention that one must be spiritually reborn again every time that one commits a “sin”. “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” (1 John 3:9)~