"Sinners, of whom I am chief"

BIBLE READING: 1 Timothy 1

Paul was a great sinner. He knew it. He never got over the fact that he persecuted those who believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah (1 Corinthians 15.9). How many times he must have asked himself, “How could I, a Pharisee, schooled in the Law and prophets, have been so blind as to not recognize the Messiah?” “How could I, a beneficiary of the best education, taught by the most brilliant rabbi, have missed the One to whom all the prophets pointed?” All that was true.

If the religion of Christ has any truth or merit, Saul of Tarsus would have certainly been able to accept it.  He had approved the execution of Stephen (Acts 7:58), worked to lay waste the church (Acts 8:3), and was heading to Damascus to do more damage (Acts 9:1-2).  He then saw a great light, and we can only imagine how he must have felt when he heard that the "Lord" is the Jesus whom he has been persecuting (Acts 9:4-6).  What guilt and shame. How terribly wrong and misguided his work.  He believed he was doing God's work.  Instead, he now understood that he had opposed God's work and even been complicit in murder.  It is little wonder that he declared himself the "chief of sinners."

Did Saul head back for home, despondent and frustrated, assured of his own sinfulness, dejected and despised? Did he declare that his sin was so great that it could not be forgiven? Absolutely not! He was made to understand the will of the Lord-- God's enemy will now be used to champion His cause (Acts 9:15-16). The chief of sinners will be put to work in God's Kingdom to warn others about their sins         (I Timothy 1:12-16). When he believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and was immersed in water for the remission of his sins, he obtained the mercy and forgiveness that so many today feel that they cannot obtain (Acts 22:14-16)!