1 Timothy 1:12-20 Amazing Grace 1. God s Grace is shown to Paul in abundance (12-14) a. In the past I spoke evil of him and persecuted and insulted him. (13) b. But God was merciful to me because I did not yet have faith (13) c. I thank him for considering me worthy and appointing me to serve him (12) 2. It is an example for us (15-17) a. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I am the worst of them (15) b. In order that Christ Jesus might show his full patience (16) c. An example for all those who would later believe in him (16) 3. So that we might persevere in our faith (18-20) a. Paul commands Timothy to persevere encouraged by the prophecies made about him (18) b. Some people have not listened to their conscience and have made a ruin of their faith. (19) c. Fight well, and keep your faith and a clear conscience. (19) Introduction: Have you ever thought that God might have big plans for your life? Maybe you think that your life could never be great or of value to others? Maybe you think that God would never use you because of the mistakes you have made in your life? Paul s letter to Timothy is important to us because it highlights how God has used sinful, blasphemous men like Paul, & timid, shy people like Timothy for great purposes. It speaks of God s grace shown to us. Grace is something given to us that comes completely free & is completely undeserved. 1. God s Grace is shown to Paul in abundance (12-14) a. In the past I spoke evil of him and persecuted and insulted him. (13) When Paul looks back on his life & wonders why God chose to use him for such great things, he is overwhelmed. If anyone was unworthy of God s choosing, he considers that it was him because of all he did to destroy God s work. He was an enemy of the gospel. We are all unworthy of God choosing us, yet Paul considers himself the most unworthy and he calls himself the worst of sinners. I reckon today he s got some pretty good
competition going for that title but he does have a case to make. He opposed violently the Christian faith & made it his passion to go after Christians with the aim of imprisoning them. He was at the stoning of Stephen, holding the garments of those who stoned him & approving 100% their actions. He spoke evil of Jesus and persecuted and insulted his followers. When Jesus appeared to him in a bright light on the road to Damascus, he thought he was a dead man because he had opposed so strongly & violently the Christian faith. He couldn t conceive that Jesus would ask him to come on board. It was inconceivable & an act of pure grace & mercy. b. But God was merciful to me because I did not yet have faith (13) Paul defends his actions to some extent by claiming that he did what he did in ignorance of Jesus power & divinity, & basically because he didn t believe the teaching of the apostles about Jesus. He believes he acted in good faith, but was just badly informed. He explains in Acts 22:3-4 I was... just as zealous for God as any of you are today. I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison. His defence is that he did wrong believing it to be right. Even so, he persecuted Christ s followers who are the body of Christ & Jesus said to him from the ray of light: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" Acts 9:4. c. I thank him for considering me worthy and appointing me to serve him (12) What is even more startling was what Jesus said to him next: Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. Acts 26:16-18. Paul was turned around 180 0 by God s grace in Christ Jesus. The persecutor became the persecuted. The enemy of Christ became the servant of Christ. The sinner became a saint. Saul became Paul.
2. It is an example for us (15-17) a. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I am the worst of them This marked Paul s life & message. He now knew Jesus not from an historical or theological or academic point of view. He knew Jesus through a powerful personal encounter & conversion experience. He heard Jesus speak to him directly about his purpose & mission & now this had become the centre of his own message. This message was quite simply Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. He himself was a sinner & he recognised it. In fact all of us who would receive God s grace must recognize ourselves as sinners, unworthy of his grace. b. In order that Christ Jesus might show his full patience (16) He served in this sense as an example to all of us. If God can rescue him, the worst of sinners from his sin, he can rescue any of us! If God can be patient & merciful with Saul the persecutor, he must have infinite patience. Is there anything that can leave us outside of the reach of God s grace & infinite patience? c. As an example for all those who would later believe in him (16) Paul is a type of pioneer. He was almost a test case for the early church. Many were sceptical at first that such an enemy of the faith could now become an apostle of that faith. He serves an example for all time to show us that no-one is beyond God s mercy. To give you an idea of how radical this idea was, think of the person least likely in all the world to come to faith, and imagine them now becoming a Christian leader. God can turn even the hardest of hearts and forgive even the cruellest of sins for nothing is impossible with God. The grace of God is for all who believe & so is the promise of eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 3. So that we might persevere in our faith (18-20) a. Paul commands Timothy to persevere encouraged by the prophecies made about him (18) Paul s concern was that all people understand this wonderful truth, that Christ Jesus came to save sinners, but he would depend upon others also to carry that message & Timothy, his son in the faith, was someone he was depending on. The only trouble was that Timothy was lacking somewhat in confidence & in boldness. This reminder of God s grace shown to him would hopefully serve to encourage Timothy to also trust in God s grace to get him through.
He reminds him particularly of the prophecies that had been made about Timothy which apparently were to do with his role of leadership in the church. Not all of God s leaders are powerful & zealous when they are called. Many wonder why God would choose them. That is certainly the case with Timothy. He reminds Timothy of what God has promised him through prophecy. Pauls again speaks of this in 2 Timothy: For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:6-7 Even Timothy s name is reminiscent of timidity, yet by God s grace, he overcomes his timidity & in God s power, goes on to be great leader in the church. b. Some people have not listened to their conscience and have made a ruin of their faith Yet not all continue strong in their faith and move ahead in spiritual maturity. Already in this first chapter Paul speaks of Hymenaeus and Alexander who have not listened to their conscience and have made a ruin of their faith. Paul says rather shockingly: I have punished them by handing them over to the power of Satan; this will teach them to stop their blasphemy. This basically means that they have been put under discipline & denied participation in the body of Christ, the Church. They are in the world for a time, where Satan has his throne, so that they might be taught not to blaspheme. It was a temporary discipline with the aim of teaching rather than eternal punishment in the hands of Satan. c. Fight well, and keep your faith and a clear conscience. (19) The Christian faith isn t for the faint hearted. Paul & Timothy had to face many dangers for the sake of the gospel. Even today, Christian faith requires courage to obey God when he calls us into things outside of our comfort zone; something he does frequently. We need to be courageous & rather than just amble through life passively following God, we need to fight the good fight & not settle with complacency. Complacency will be the death of the church. We are called to active courageous obedience. We are called to perseverance, even when the going gets tough. We are called to a life of holiness: holding on to our faith & good conscience, resisting the temptations life throws at us, & striving to live as faithful witnesses of Jesus Christ. It won t be easy. The Christian life requires discipline, hard work & perseverance. It s not something we should just stumble through. Rather, with determination & trust in God, we should force ourselves forward in holiness, fighting the good fight, yet knowing that our prize is a gift from God, by grace alone, as Paul labours home in Ephesians 2:
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9. Paul s message is just that; God s grace to us in Christ Jesus who came to save sinners. To think about: What does fight the good fight (Use those words as weapons in order to fight well) vs.18 mean for you in your life at this moment.