Say What?

1 Timothy 1:15(ESV)

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.

The crazy things we say
There are times we say things that just don’t make any sense. I heard a comedian recently talking about Christians praying for a “hedge of protection” around someone. He observed that it might make more sense to ask for a brick wall to protect someone rather than asking for them to be encircled by bushes.

Sometimes we say things that we just don’t mean. Like saying “bless you” to someone who is leaving when we actually mean “goodbye” or “I’ll be praying for you” when we really mean “good luck with all that” (with no real intention of prayer). My personal favorite is when we quote scripture in this way. For example, when someone shares with us something they are experiencing that is so painful or hard that we have difficulty even imagining it and we say “don’t worry…all things work together for good” when we really mean “you are scaring the crap out of me and I have no idea how to respond”.

What they were saying
In this passage from 1 Timothy, Paul is addressing something that was a common saying among them. The saying, namely “that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” was a phrase they would have all been familiar with. They may have been a little too familiar with it. The problem with that, of course, is that this is not just a “saying” to be used in a flippant way like “bless you” or “I’ll be praying for you”. This is a declaration of the gospel itself.

Christ Jesus – His title expressing His divinity and common name reflecting His humanitycame into the world – showing His incarnation and preexistence to save sinners – declaring His mission

What is Paul saying?
The gospel is not just a saying. In Romans 1:16 Paul says “…it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…” It’s not data to be memorized and parroted back. It’s not a mantra or magical incantation. The gospel is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance! Paul wouldn’t have to remind them that this expression of the gospel was trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance unless there were those who were not trusting in the gospel and accepting it fully. We need to be certain that we aren’t taking the gospel for granted, that we haven’t become too familiar with it. That it is not just something we say but that we are trusting in and accepting the gospel fully.

Why Paul can say it
Why does Paul seem so confident that the gospel can be trusted and accepted – because he has experienced the reality of the power of the gospel first hand. After declaring that Christ came into the world to save sinners, he describes himself as the foremost sinner (a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent). I don’t think Paul is saying that he is the worst sinner ever (relatively speaking, I think there’s a list of people who had him beat). I think this is Paul’s way of saying that he is the biggest sinner he knows. Paul is able to say that he is the biggest sinner he knows and that he is living proof that the gospel can be trusted and fully accepted. The foremost sinner had become the foremost example of Christ’s mercy and patience to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life (verse 16).

What can I say?
It’s funny. I have a few things in common with Paul. For starters, I’m the biggest sinner I know. I don’t know what anyone else has done to transgress God, but I know what I have done. I have also experienced the transforming power of the gospel and know it to be more than just words. Because of this, like Paul, I’m able to say to others that the gospel is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. If you are the biggest sinner you know and you have experienced the transforming power of the gospel, then you can say the same thing (and should as often as you have the opportunity).