The Gospel of Mercy and Grace.

Introduction:

Today we continue in our series we’ve titled “House Rules” where we are going verse by verse through the book of 1 Timothy. This morning marks the third of four messages in 1 Timothy 1. Last week in our time together we observed vs. 3-11 and the Danger that a false teacher poses to the church.

Namely, they are out for their own glory and preach a false Gospel. False gospels come in a variety of shapes and sizes but they all see to hold one thing common, they teach a works righteousness. They call people “to do and keep rules” in order to merit salvation.

That is what was being taught in the Ephesian church that the Apostle Paul had sent Timothy to set right and the purpose behind the letter of 1 Timothy.

Since the false teachers in Ephesus were preaching a false gospel of law keeping, in our text before us this morning, Paul lays out for us what the true Gospel is and he does so by giving us his personal testimony.

In doing so, he demonstrates for us the proper role of the law as it relates to salvation. The law exists to bring conviction of sin and to show us our need of God’s grace. Paul’s testimony contrasts for us the glory of the true gospel versus the emptiness of false doctrine. It is the true Gospel that was to be Timothy’s guiding line as he sought to correct the problems at Ephesus. (v.11)

Paul gives this direction to Timothy by giving a:

A demonstration of the power of the gospel. (v.12-14)

A declaration of grace. (v.15-16)

A doxology to God for the Gospel. (v.17)

1.) A demonstration of the power of the Gospel. (v.12-14)

Paul was very quick to point out that it wasn’t his desire to be famous that put him into the ministry, it was the Lord Jesus who had chosen him and put him into the ministry.

Notice what Paul say’s here in these verses:

A.) It was Christ who “enabled” Paul. (v.12)

Enabled- to strengthen or give power to.

Every bit of power that was bestowed upon the ministry of Paul came from Christ. It was Christ who gave Paul the strength to endure everything he went through for the sake of the Gospel.

Paul’s ministry was not a product of his own might but of the power of Christ and the gospel.

Frankly in order for any minister to be effective, he must possess the power of Christ.

Ephesians 3:6–7 NKJV

6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, 7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.

B.) Christ counted Paul trustworthy. (v.12)

Paul understood, that his position in ministry wasn’t because God thought highly of him. No, this is an expression of the goodness of God. That Paul, in spite of the kind of man he was, was overjoyed at the fact that God had entrusted him to be a minister of the Gospel.

Have you ever thought of that?

That God has chosen you, to be a minister of his Gospel?

You and all of your faults and failures have been deemed trustworthy enough to take the message of the Gospel to others.

And, lest we think that Paul was somebody special, he lists for us just what kind of person he was when Christ saved him.

C.) Christ forgave his sins and offered grace. (v.13-14)

When Paul was saved he was a very religious man, and yet he says that he was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man.

Let’s unpack these words just a bit:

Blasphemy- A blasphemer is one who slanders God and overtly speaks evil of him. Not only was Paul a blasphemer but in giving his testimony before King Agrippa, he said that he tried to compel others to blaspheme.

Acts 26:11 NKJV

11 And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.

Persecutor- Paul as a Jewish Pharisee had been so angry at Christ that he had tried to stamp his name off of the earth. He was dead set on destroying anyone and anything who possessed the name of Christ.

Acts 8:1–3 NKJV

1 Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. 3 As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.

Acts 9:1 NKJV

1 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest

Acts 26:10 NKJV

10 This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.

Insolent- Injurious, treating others despitefully. Paul had been a brutal and violent man and even enjoyed being such. Often being in a fiery rage as he inflicted pain upon those he persecuted.

No wonder when Paul came to faith that other believers were skeptical and wary of him.

But, despite his history of sin, God had mercy on Paul.

Why? Why would God see fit not only to save Paul but to then put aul into the Gospel ministry?

When Paul was persecuting the church he says he did it our of ignorance. Paul did not know that Christ was the Messiah. Paul thought he was serving God and his religion by doing what He was doing. He thought he was doing God a service by stamping out a false religion. Paul’s attacks against Christ and his followers wasn't done out of maliciousness but out of ignorance in unbelief.

In v.14 Paul tells us that in spite of who he was, Christ offered “abundant grace”.

Grace- the undeserved favor and blessing of God.

Not only did Christ forgive and save Paul, but Paul seems to say that God gave his an abundant amount of faith and love.

Faith to endure, which is the mark of a genuine Christian.

Colossians 1:23 NKJV

23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Love to reach out to others and a genuine love for fellow believers.

1 John 3:14 NKJV

14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.

2.) A declaration of mercy and grace. (v.15-16)

Notice the words, “This is a faithful saying...”, this is a phrase that only appears in the pastoral epistles. It appears five times (1 Tim 3:1; 4:9; 2 Tim 2:11; Titus 3:8) this tells is that the phrase “This is a faithful saying” had become something that was used frequently and had become common lingo in the churches and shows us that a well articulated set of common beliefs had developed amongst them. Paul using this phrase indicates that what he is about to say is common knowledge. Common knowledge that everyone should accept.

What is that knowledge?

A.) “Christ came into the world to save sinners...”

No one should reject or ignore this truth!

Christ, left the realms of glory, came into the physical world, for one reason and one reason alone, to save sinners from sin, death, and the judgement to come.

No matter how sinful a person may be, no matter how great the sin that they may have committed, Christ came to save them! And, that person can be saved by placing their faith in Christ.

Luke 19:10 NKJV

10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Hebrews 7:25 NKJV

25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

B.) The Chief of sinners

Just to punctuate the fact that Christ can save anyone Paul adds himself to that.

If Christ can save a blaspheming, persecuting, injurious man like Paul, the worst of the worst. Then he can save anyone who calls on Christ by confessing that they are a sinner and need Christ to save them .

My friend Matt’s testimony.

C.) A Pattern for mercy. (v.16)

Paul is a prime example that any sinner, no matter how terrible the sin, can be saved through receiving Christ.

He’ s also an example that anyone who places their faith in Christ can be delivered from the power of sin, no matter how strong they are enslaved to it.

2 Peter 3:9 NKJV

9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Paul had been the arch-persecutor of the church, storing onto peoples homes, arresting and murdering the follower's of Christ. But God, who is longsuffering and not willing that any should perish reached down and had mercy upon Paul. God forgave Paul and saved him.

So Pauls declaration of God’s mercy and grace is that no matter how great the sinner, the long suffering mercy and grace of God is greater.

3.) A doxology to God. (v.17)

Rehearsing the salvation that had been given him through the abundant mercy and grace of God, Paul bursts out in praise to God.

The only response a sinner who is saved by the mercy and grace of God is the unreserved praise for the king of glory.

God is the King eternal- He’s the sovereign majesty of the ages.

Immortal- He is without end and without beginning. Incorruptible.

Invisible- He cannot be seen by people with physical eyes in the physical world.

Only wise God- He is the only true and living God. The only Go who actually possesses intelligence and wisdom. The only God who can actually interact with his creation and save sinners.

Conclusion:

I said at the outset that this section of 1 Timothy 1 is meant to stand in contrast to v.3-11. False teachers preach another gospel of self righteousness while a true teacher preaches the true gospel of Grace. That grace is available to the worst of the worst who come to Christ in faith and repentance.

In 1918 in Tokyo a man named Tokichi Ichii was hung for murder. He had been sent to prison more than twenty times. He was as tough as men get. In response to his hatred and violence, on one occasion after attacking a prison guard he was bound and gagged and hung from the ceiling so that his toes barely reached the ground. Before receiving his death sentence, he received a New Testament sent by two Christian missionaries, a Miss West and a Miss McDonald—resulting in the notorious criminal’s coming to know Christ.

When Tokichi was sentenced to death, he accepted that as “the fair, impartial judgment of God.”

During a visit Miss West directed him to read 2 Corinthians 6:8–10, which deals with suffering. There Mr. Ichii noted, among other things, the line “poor, yet making many rich.” He wrote of this:

This certainly does not apply to the evil life I led before I repented. But perhaps in the future, someone in the world may hear that the most desperate villain who ever lived repented of his sins and was saved by the power of Christ, and so may come to repent also. Then it may be that though I am poor myself, I shall be able to make many rich.

Tokichi died on the scaffold with great humility. His last words were, “My soul, purified, today returns to the City of God.”

God through his grace had reached a man who called himself “the most desperate villain who ever lived,” just as he had reached “the worst of sinners” 1,900 years before. God’s grace can reach anybody.

R. Kent Hughes and Bryan Chapell, 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus: To Guard the Deposit, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2000), 46.

Give invitation to receive Christ.