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First Timothy, chapter 1, verse 15: This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. This is a very dramatic verse in First Timothy, where Paul calls himself the chief of sinners, the greatest sinner. The drama is clearer when you look at it from the beginning, where Paul calls himself an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has been commissioned by the Lord Jesus Christ. He’s been enabled by the Lord Jesus Christ. And then, in verse 15, he calls himself the chief of sinners.
In other words, he puts himself at the lowest level. The grace of God turned Paul, a persecutor, into a preacher, and a murderer into a minister and a missionary. And so dramatic was the change in Paul’s life, when he encountered Christ, that the Christians at that time did not believe his conversion. They thought it was a trick.
So what did Paul mean when he said, «I’m the chief of sinners»? Christ came to save sinners, and I’m the chief sinner. Does it mean he was the worst human being on earth? Was he really the worst sinner in the world? And is there anybody who is the chief of sinners? I know there are people you may know that you look at and say, «That’s a proper chief sinner.» But is there really that? I don’t think Paul was saying this in comparison with others. He’s not saying this to say that others were better sinners and I’m the chief sinner. But he’s just looking at his own relationship.
And there are two reasons why he calls himself the chief of sinners. The first is the depth of God’s grace. The depth of God’s grace! Paul understood the depth of God’s grace that saved him. Remember, he encountered Christ on the road to Damascus. At that time, the gospel was not on his mind; Christ was not on his mind in terms of making Christ his Lord. He was going to persecute Christians, and then he had this supernatural encounter. He fell and he got saved. Nobody preached to him then, but he gave his life to Christ because prior to that, Paul had heard the gospel preached by Stephen.
Stephen preached the gospel fully, but Paul did not believe in it and actually consented to Stephen being murdered. So he understood the gospel, but he didn’t believe in it. When Christ encountered him, he believed what he had heard; he got saved and he understood that his salvation was purely the work of God’s grace. God picked him when he was going in the opposite direction, and he gave his life to Christ. So that is the depth of God’s grace. He understood it.
So that’s why he called himself the chief of sinners—because he didn’t deserve salvation. He had just been part of the murder of a Christian, and he didn’t deserve salvation, but God saved him. The second reason was the depth of his gratitude. Paul was very grateful for his salvation. You know, many times Christians take their salvation for granted. We devalue it, and we don’t even remember what it cost for us to be saved, for Christ to come into our hearts, and for us to be called children of God.
If we can look at Paul, we can also have a depth of gratitude for our salvation and a depth of gratitude for the grace of God. And that is why Paul will call himself the chief of sinners. It is not in comparison with others. It is because he appreciated the grace of God and he appreciated what God had done for him. And if we do too, then we can also look at ourselves and say we were the worst sinners. But thank God for the grace of God, and thank God for what he has done in our lives. Grace and gratitude is why Paul said what he said.
Let us pray. Say with me: Heavenly Father, your grace found me and delivered me from all sin. I am grateful for your priceless gift of salvation. In Jesus' name, Amen.