Before I really get into the meat of what I would like to say, allow me to first say I am a Calvinist. This means that I believe if anyone comes to Christ and trusts in Him, they did so because the Lord first converted their heart. If someone does not trust in Christ for their salvation, though, it does not mean that they’re not of the elect. So when I speak of providing a defense of the faith, or bring careful to not get in the way of the Gospel, I’d like to say that an imperfect presentation of the Gospel is not going to prevent one of God’s elect from receiving the faith that is the gift of God. If THAT were the case, then we might as well not preach the Gospel at all, right? I mean, if an imperfect presentation of the saving work of Christ isn’t good enough, then none of us can be good enough. The Lord has chosen the FOOLISHNESS of preaching to save His people. That being said, we ought to strive for the most perfect presentation of the Gospel that we can manage, and do our best to not be a stumbling block, or something the lost will want to use as an excuse for why they did not believe. We have a good example of Paul in this who was all things to all men that he might have as many opportunities to share the gospel as possible.
This morning, I was listening to Alistair Begg preach on Counterfeit Christianity, which is a topic the evangelical church at large really needs to hear preached on more often. He mentioned something that really stuck with me, and I’d like to talk about it a little here.
I don’t know how often any of you have experienced this, but I have often been told when I’m sharing my faith that the reason they can’t trust Christ for their salvation is because they don’t have it all together. Much like the young man who wanted to go bury his father, they feel they need to clean themselves up before they come to God. I’m pretty sure it was Pastor Bruce Mumper from Calvary Chapel in Fresno that I heard last night talking about whether we’re supposed to clean up first and then go see God, or trust in Christ first, and then clean up. The topic is an important one, though, because of where I think these people get this idea that they need to make themselves presentable before they come to Christ.
Pastor Begg was speaking this morning on the fact that Paul was exhorting Timothy to stop some men from proclaiming false doctrines in the church. They were taking the strictures presented in the Law and adding their own regulations derived from speculation to them. The result was salvation by works, and Paul wanted Timothy to put an end to it. But something Alistair mentioned really caught my attention, when he discussed the reason for Christ’s entry into the world. He said that Christ came to save sinners, which is obvious to those of us who have spent time in the church. We know why Christ had to come, to be sure. But Paul adds something that I think many of us forget when we’re witnessing…
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. – 1 Timothy 1:15 (bold italics mine)
When we share our faith with others, we often hold ourselves up to be some sort of role model. If we don’t do this explicitly, we do it by pointing the fingers at those around us who are sinning. “Look at the homosexuals…look at those living with their girlfriends in sin….look at those getting abortions…” In our haste to point out the sins in their life that show them they need a savior, we often forget to admit, as Paul did, that we are sinners as well; that it is NOT the case that we’ve left sin behind. Yes, we need to show them their need of a Savior. Without that perceived need, they have no reason to turn to Christ. However, in our haste, as I said, we often forget this little bit of godly wisdom, which is that we are sinners.
Paul, here, used a bit of language that is perhaps more strong than what I just said. What Paul claimed was that he was THE FOREMOST SINNER. And not that this was something he HAD BEEN. He used the present tense here for a reason. He wanted his readership to know (whether or not it was just Timothy) that he was not out of the woods yet. In Romans 7, we see Paul’s struggle against his flesh.
For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. – Romans 7:14-25
If Paul is the chief of sinners, what then can be said of us?
The lost often come away from their conversations with us feeling as though we have it all together (or at the very least, that we **think** we do). They don’t see the camraderie they possibly should see, or else they’re angry at our “high and mighty”, “holier than thou” presentation of ourselves. The fact of the matter is that we are sinners. We didn’t clean up and then come to God. Most of us just came to God knowing that we’d done some bad things. It wasn’t until we came to God and He began conforming us to the image of His Son that we began to see the harsh reality of the sin we’d committed against Him. And thank the Lord for that, for if we HAD been made aware of our sin in the first minute of our salvation, I think we would have been crushed beneath our iniquities. Thankfully, it is not usually until much later that we are gradually made aware of our sins.
This is the truth that we so often fail to convey. May we remember this little bit that Paul added, when we witness. May we see its truth, and may that Truth cause us to remain humble in our witnessing. Also important, may we read on in this passage to see past our own self-pity to the Good News, that through our weakness, the Lord’s manifold mercy and grace is made evident:
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 ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. – 1 Timothy 1:16-17
