1 Timothy Study #2

“The World’s Worst Sinner”

1 Timothy 1:12-17

Study #2 in 1 Timothy Series 

INTRODUCTION:

I am sure you are familiar with the “Guinness Book of World Records.” What you may not know is the history behind it. For example, you may not know that the Guinness Book originated in Ireland. This quote comes from an article by Alex Altman in Time Magazine dated Friday, 14 November 2008. The title of the article is, “A Brief History of Guinness World Records.”

“Like many of the records it charts, the Guinness Book was the product of a can-do spirit and the need to validate one’s pride. In 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver, the managing director of the Guinness Brewery in Ireland, went on a hunting trip with friends. Though he considered himself an excellent shot, Beaver was unable to bag any golden plovers. Beaver suggested that the bird might be the fastest in Europe. Upon returning from the trip, neither he nor his friends were able to locate a reference book that provided the answer. The squabble triggered a marketing epiphany. Figuring that pub-goers would be grateful for a record book that settled debates and bar bets, Beaver created one. In 1954 he tapped a pair of brothers for the task: Norris and Ross McWhirter, who ran a London fact-finding agency. The idea was to distribute the book free of charge to bars in a ploy to generate publicity. The first edition, first titled the Guinness Book of World Records, debuted in 1955. It was a hit. Some 50,000 copies were reprinted and sold; demand proved so high that the book went through three more editions over the next 12 months. Over the ensuing decades, the book became a phenomenon, selling more than 120 million copies in 100 countries and in 37 languages.”

The first edition topped the bestseller list in the United Kingdom by Christmas 1955. The following year the book was launched internationally, and as of the 2025 edition, it is now in its 70th year of publication, published in 100 countries and 40 languages, and maintains over 53,000 records in its database. 

TRANSITION:

You know too that the Guinness Book publishes world records in every area you can think of, and some of them very bizarre indeed. In our text for today the apostle Paul makes a statement that, if true, would put him into the Guinness Book in the category of, “The World’s Worst Sinner.” Of course, he would have a lot of competition for that title. He would be going up against such notable heavy hitters in the sport as Adolph Hitler, Vlad the Impaler, Joseph Stalin, Idi Amin, Ted Bundy, Jack the Ripper, Ivan the Terrible, and Genghis Khan, just to name a few. But Paul assures us here in 1 Timothy chapter 1 that in his opinion, he could beat out all of them for the title and the prize. Let’s see why he would make such a claim. 

NOTES on the Text:

Verses 12-13: I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me [lit. empowered me], because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, ¹³ even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief.

• “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord…” Paul had met the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus. He had heard His voice, and according to Galatians, had seen Jesus in that blinding moment. He was grateful to the Lord Jesus for His divine intervention in his life, to stop him from doing more awful things to persecute the Christians.
• “Who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service…” To what service does Paul refer? Army? Navy? Air Force? To find the answer all you need to do is back up one verse to verse 11: “…according to the glorious Gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.” The service Paul is talking about is the Gospel ministry, proclaiming the Good News wherever he could find someone to listen and urging men and women, boys, and girls, to repent, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and be saved. And in the context, specifically he is referring to the fact that the Gospel must be contrasted to the Law and legalism. The Law only reveals sin and brings condemnation. On the other hand, the Gospel brings forgiveness and freedom.
•  “…even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor.” A “blasphemer” is someone who speaks against God, which Paul certainly did when he railed against Jesus, the Son of God, albeit in ignorance of who Jesus really was. He says he was also a “persecutor” because he pursued Christians like a hunter pursuing his prey. He wanted them all dead or in prison. And then thirdly he says that he was a “violent aggressor.” Paul was a bully! He acted out of personal pride and religious zeal, which is a dangerous cocktail indeed.       
• “…yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief.” Is Paul trying to excuse himself? Is he trying to justify his sinful behavior? NO! He is just giving credit where credit is due. He is trying to point out that if God could deal with him in mercy after all the terrible things he had done, then surely God will offer His salvation to any sinner who comes to Him. Paul is praising God for His mercy. God certainly did not owe Paul anything, yet because Paul acted out of misplaced religious zeal, thinking he was doing right and not understanding that he was in fact doing wrong, God had mercy on him and stopped him dead in his tracks. God could have simply killed Saul. Instead, He chose to redeem him and turn him into a trophy of His grace for the entire world to see and marvel at.  

Verse 14: …and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.

• Here Paul goes on to point to the mercy and grace of God that had been poured out on him by Christ. Moreover, he points again to the faith and love with which the Lord Jesus dealt with him, rather than with justice and judgment. Grace is God’s undeserved, unearned, freely given favor. Paul says that in his case this was “more than abundant,” his way of saying that God has a boatload of grace to give to sinners!
• I also find it interesting to note that Paul says that Jesus had faith in him. We do not normally think along those lines, but it is true. Look again at the verse. Paul has already said up in verse 12 that “Jesus Christ considered him faithful,” which means that Jesus had faith in Paul, not because Paul was all that, but because Jesus knew that through His empowering Paul could do anything he was asked to do. I take it that the “faith” spoken of here in verse 14 refers to the same thing. And frankly, this blows my mind, to think that God has faith in me! But should it really surprise us? After all, we have faith in our own children even though we know they are flawed and imperfect. God knows us inside and out, but He still has faith in us. 

Verse 15: It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. 

• “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance…” Some Bible scholars believe that Paul here is referring to an Early Church creed (i.e., statement of faith) that was well known to him, to Timothy, and to early Christians in general. However, it may not be that at all. The word here translated as “statement” is simply the Greek word, logos, which means word or message. This message is not merely a saying but is based on the words of Christ Himself and is equivalent to the truth of the Gospel. Jesus said in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Paul is once again just referring to the message of the Gospel, which he now summarizes beautifully.
• “…that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” This is the Gospel in a nutshell. “World” is the Greek world, cosmos, referring to the world of men, of human organization. Jesus stepped into humanity to rescue and save sinners. He came to die for the sins of humanity. He did not come to be a great teacher, although He was certainly the best teacher ever. And He did not come just to provide a moral example, although His life has been an inspiration to millions. He came into the world to save sinners.
• “…among whom I am foremost of all.” The KJV says, “…of whom I am chief.” There it is! Paul says that he is without a doubt, “The World’s Worst Sinner,” at least the way he adds up the points. When you share your testimony make sure that you do not try and tell people about how wonderful you are or about how much you have accomplished. Rather, tell them that you were a sinner, deserving of judgment, and that Christ saved you!

Verse 16: Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.   

• Some have understood the first phrase of this verse to be aimed back at Paul’s statement in verse 13 about being shown mercy because he had acted in ignorance. However, I do not agree. I believe that he is giving us a second reason why God showed him mercy—namely so that once he got saved, God could use him as an example for others to follow.
• Truthfully, I do not know that Paul really thought he was the most sinful man in the world. Probably not. I think he was trying to make a point and he used hyperbole to do it. After all the things he did in the beginning to stifle Christians and to hold back the work of the Church I think he never got over the fact that God would still show him such kindness and mercy. Notice that two times in our text Paul makes almost the same exact statement: (1) in verse 13 he says, “…yet I was shown mercy,” then (2) here in verse 16 he says again, “…I found mercy.” He just could not get over it. And I think that mercy from God was one of the things that motivated him to give his best for Christ. Also, he knew that if God could save him, as big of a reprobate as he was, then God could save anybody, no matter what they had been or done.
• “…that in me…Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe.” In other words, Paul is saying that God saved him so that He could use him in the future as an object lesson. Paul said that he was not only a preacher of the Gospel, but also an example of it. His life was proof that the Gospel saves sinners.
• “…of those who would believe.” Over 185 times in the NT the sole condition given for salvation is belief/faith/trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Gospel is that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, He was buried, and He rose on the third day, according to the Scriptures. Now all those who place their faith in Jesus for salvation will be saved from the wrath to come. And to add any other condition to salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone is to turn the doctrine of salvation into a works project, which the Scripture condemns (cf. Rom. 11:6; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:8-10; etc.).

Verse 17: Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen   

• After thinking about all these things that God has done for him, Paul just cannot hold it in any longer. Suddenly he bursts out with a song of praise, a doxology of adoration and thankfulness to God!
• Who is this “King Eternal”? It is God, of course.
• And what about “Immortal”? The Greek word here means incorruptible. God is not a man with a corruptible soul and spirit and a dying body. God is sinless and holy in every way.
• How about “Invisible”? We know that God is a Spirit and does not inhabit a physical body. That is what makes the story of the Incarnation so amazing. John 1:14 tells us that this All-Powerful, Omni-Present, All-Knowing, Invisible God in the 2^nd Person of the Godhead humbled Himself, took on human form and lived among us for 33 years so that He could die on the cross to save sinners like you and me. “God became flesh and dwelt among us.” The Invisible One became Visible, Immanuel, God with us. It is mind-blowing that He would love us that much!

CONCLUSION:

I want you to take just a moment to scan back over these verses 12-17 and look for six key words. I want you to underline or jot down all the words that describe exactly how Jesus Christ dealt with Paul.

·       Verse 13 – “…I was shown MERCY.”

·       Verse 14 – “…and the GRACE of our Lord was more than abundant.”

·       Verse 14 – “…with the FAITH and LOVE which are found in Christ.”

·       Verse 16 – “…I found MERCY.”

·       Verse 16 – “Jesus Christ demonstrated His PERFECT PATIENCE.” 

In his sin, Paul found in Christ mercy, grace, faith, love, and patience. Those same things are available to every one of us today. Hallelujah, what a Savior!

1 Timothy Study #1

“Laws for the Lawless”

1 Timothy 1:1-11

Study #1 in 1 Timothy Series 

INTRODUCTION:

After both of my parents died the job fell to me to be the executor of their estate. Several years earlier my dad had asked me if I would be willing to handle that responsibility for them and of course I agreed. However, until the time came, and the mantle fell upon me I had no idea how emotionally difficult the job would turn out to be.

One day, while sifting through the minutia of their lives I found an old shoe box in the back of a cupboard. It was filled with letters that my parents had written to one another back in the 1930s and 40s when they were very young. It is a strange sensation to read those faded handwritten words and try to imagine the circumstances under which they were penned. Life back then was very different than the life I have known, and my parents were different people, not fully formed, not yet Christians, and certainly not the wise, mature people that they became. But still in all, I cherish those letters. They are personal, and funny, and endearing, yet sometimes enigmatic because I don’t know what they were going through at the time.

During the approximately 33 years between his conversion (AD 34) and his martyrdom (AD 67) the Apostle Paul wrote a lot of letters as well. Most of the 13 Pauline Epistles that God has preserved for us in His Word are letters to churches, to groups of Christians scattered throughout Greece, Macedonia, Italy, and Asia Minor. However, four of the thirteen letters were written to specific individuals: 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. It is to these 4 letters that we now turn our attention.

The letters to Timothy and Titus are usually categorized as “The Pastoral Epistles.” The letter to Philemon, on the other hand, is usually included with “The Prison Epistles.” However, for our purposes we are grouping them together because of their personal nature, having been written to individuals rather than to groups of people.

These four little NT letters, although small and sometimes neglected, are still important books for the Church of our day because they deal, at least in part, with the problems of church administration. I can think of at least seven (7) good reasons why we should study these letters:

1. Because they shed practical light on the problem of how a local church should operate.
2. Because they stress sound doctrine.
3. Because they call us to consecrated living.
4. Because they answer the question, “Are religious creeds of any value?”
5. Because they give added details concerning the last years of the apostle Paul’s life.
6. Because they provide us with valuable information about the condition of the Early Church in the third quarter of the 1^st Century AD.
7. Because through these little letters God still speaks to us today.

TRANSITION:

Timothy was the pastor in charge of the church at Ephesus. However, false teaching had begun to creep into that church. Paul wrote to Timothy to warn him of these errors and to encourage him to stand firm against them, and against those who were promoting them. Furthermore, Paul wanted Timothy to see the importance of the application of the Christian message to the personal life of a disciple. Timothy may have been a bit reticent to take a stand for the Gospel and in this Paul encouraged him strongly. In addition, Paul instructed him concerning matters of church life and worship. In 1 Timothy we have a small, yet powerful package. Divided into 6 chapters, with only 113 verses, Paul gives us a lot of meat to chew on.

NOTES on the Text:

Verses 1-2: Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope, ² to Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 

• “An apostle” Literally a “sent one.” Paul was asserting his authority as an ambassador sent by Christ.
• “…according to the commandment” This word refers to a royal order, given by a King.  He is referring to the fact that God sovereignly commissioned him. He states this fact in a powerful way in Gal. 1:1, “Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead).”
• In fact, in both Galatians and 1 Timothy Paul says that his authority came from two sources: from “God, our Savior” and from “Christ Jesus, our hope.” This might take you by surprise—saying that God is our Savior. We usually refer to Jesus as our Savior. But remember this, Jesus came to do the will of His Father. The Scriptures tell us that the Father was the Architect of the plan of salvation (cf. Luke 1:47; Titus 1:3; 2:10; 3:4). Paul speaks of Christ as “our hope” because He is the reason that we can look expectantly toward spending eternal life in Heaven.
• “…to Timothy, my true child in the faith.” Timothy was the young disciple from Lystra who travelled with Paul during his 2^nd and 3^rd Missionary Journeys. This title, “true child” is a legal expression referring to a legitimate child who possesses all the rights and privileges of membership in the family. Paul is saying to Timothy that he accepts him unreservedly. 
• “Grace, mercy, and peace” All three are gifts from God. Normally in his letters Paul just uses “grace and peace” in his greetings. Only here in the Pastoral Epistles does he add the word, “mercy.”
• Notice that there are three biblical words that are very closely related; yet each is distinct.
• “Justice” = God gives me the punishment that I deserve, i.e., my “just deserts.”
• “Mercy” = God does not give me all the punishment that I deserve to receive.
• “Grace” = God gives me gracious gifts that I do not deserve at all.

Verses 3-4: As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, ⁴ nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.   

• “…that you may instruct certain men…” This word “instruct” is a strong military term meaning to drill it into the troops until it becomes rote, muscle-memory. That requires constant repetition. Paul tells Timothy that he cannot afford to let up on this because it is vitally important.
• Specifically, Timothy is to instruct these men not to teach certain things or to get caught up in unproductive arguments. But what things specifically? Paul mentions four (4) things in verses 3-4 and two (2) more down in verses 6-7.

1.    “Strange doctrines” – Paul is not talking about UFOs or zombies or flat earth theories but about doctrines that are not part of the Christian faith that has been handed down to us. By “strange” he means foreign to sound doctrine.

2.    “Myths” (KJV, “fables”) - This is the same word used in Titus 1:14 in connection with Jewish fables.

3.    “Endless genealogies” – Paul is not talking about the current Family Tree hobby that is so popular with amateur family historians. Rather, the errors that Paul is instructing Timothy about involved the constant and unrestrained wrangling and speculation about genealogies and allegorical interpretations of the Scriptures like those found in all the rabbinical literature. Moreover, in Ephesus this was probably combined with Gnostic speculations as well.

4.    “Mere speculation” – It is fine to ask questions and even to discuss the things we are not sure of in the Scriptures, but it is better to spend our time learning and discussing the things we do know, and finding practical ways to live them out, instead of having stupid and unfruitful arguments about things like, “Can God make a rock so big that even He cannot lift it?” or “How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?”

• “…rather than furthering God’s provision which is by faith.” As Christians we dip into the blessings that God has promised and provided not by endlessly speculating on the things that God has not told us, but by accepting by faith and obeying the things that He has told us. The Christian life is about walking by faith, not by sight.

Verse 5: But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 

• “…the goal of our instruction is love” God is love, and love should permeate our lives and exude from every aspect of our ministry. One of the most profound comments made regarding the Early Church came from the lips of a man named Aristides, sent by Emperor Hadrian to spy out those strange creatures known as “Christians.” Having seen them in action, Aristides returned with a mixed report. But his immortal words to the emperor have echoed down through history: “Behold! How they love one another.” 
• Jesus prayed that His disciples would have this kind of love. In John 17:20-21 Jesus said this to His Father: “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; ²¹ that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.” But it is not enough that we love one another—we also must love the world, the way God loves the world, and we must love sinners the way God loves sinners. Only then will the world really begin to believe our report.
• Notice that this love comes from three (3) sources:

1.    Love from a pure heart = an outward focused love, that has an “others first” priority

2.    Love from a good conscience = an inward element, that sees others as deserving of the same grace we have received

3.    Love from a sincere faith = an upward look, remembering that God is the source of grace, mercy, and peace (cf. v. 2)

• N.B. without a “pure heart,” a “good conscience,” and a “sincere faith” we will never, on our own, be able to produce genuine agape love. Never! 

Verses 6-7: For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, ⁷ wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions. 

• Paul does not name names here, but I have no doubt that both he and Timothy knew exactly to whom he was referring. Apparently, there were some hard-headed professing Christians in the Ephesian church who were stirring up trouble and leading other people astray.
• Notice here we have the last two “BEWARE OF” warnings. The other four were up in verses 3-4.
• Beware of those who have turned aside to “fruitless discussion,” meaning theological arguments that produce no light, just heat and smoke and a bad smell. KJV says, “idle talk.” The word he uses here means “empty chatter.” Gossip, speculation, and destructive criticism are not spiritual gifts and should never come from the mouths of Christians.
• And beware of those who make “confident assertions” concerning things about which they know little or nothing. You see, just saying something in a loud and forceful manner does not make it true. Truth is what we are after!
• Paul points out that there are lots of people who are drawn to the ministry, like flies to a carcass, because they get a thrill out of people looking up to them as authorities. He says they “want to be teachers of the Law (i.e., the Scriptures) even though they do not understand it or even what they are saying about it. In other words, they are clueless, yet that does not stop them from trying to pretend that they know what they are talking about. Paul makes it clear that Timothy needs to deal with these kinds of people when they come into the church and begin making trouble. Loveless instruction impelled by impure hearts and motives always leads to legalism. Remember: the law is good, but legalism is always bad! 

Verse 8a: But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, ⁹ realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious… 

• This is an interesting statement. “The Law is good, if we use it lawfully” (i.e., justly, correctly, judiciously the way God intended). For you see, the Law can also be used as a hammer to crush people. Hitler used the law and the legal system in Germany to accomplish all his goals. In fact, everything he did was perfectly legal, but it was still immoral and ghastly and sinful. The same is true for the Roe v. Wade ruling on Jan. 22, 1973, that legalized abortion in the United States. It resulted in the legal murder of over 63 million babies before the law was repealed in June 2022.
• “Law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious…” A truly righteous person, guided by God’s revealed Word and led by His Holy Spirit will automatically do the right, moral, and honorable thing, motivated by faith, love and kindness. Law is the fallback for those who do not know God and who do not govern their lives by His Word. Paul tells us that the proper function of the law is to make sinners aware of their sinfulness. In other words, the wicked need laws. The unrighteous require a moral compass with severe consequences to keep the fabric of our society from unravelling completely. Without law we would be left with anarchy and chaos.

Verses 8b-11: …for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers ¹⁰ and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, ¹¹ according to the glorious Gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted. 

• Paul continues with his sample list of various kinds of unrighteous people. He has already mentioned the “lawless” [= without law] and the “rebellious” [= disobedient, insubordinate].  Now he continues his horrific list with more examples of kinds of wickedness:
• “Ungodly” [literally, “a-theists,” without God]
• “Sinners” [includes sins of all kinds, a general word]
• “Unholy” [having no piety, irreligious, totally polluted inside and out]
• “Profane” [people who treat the holy things of God with contempt, mockery, and scorn]
• “Parent-killers” [a crime so heinous that there was not even a Roman law against it because no one thought it possible]
• “Murderers” [manslayers, general term for deliberate murderers]
• “Immoral” [fornicators in general]
• “Homosexuals” [sodomites/male prostitutes – cf. 1 Cor. 6:9]
• “Kidnappers” [slave-traders? sex-traffickers?]
• “Liars” [a general term for all who twist, hide, or misrepresent the truth]
• “Perjurers” [promise-breakers/vow-breakers]
• Here is where we discover that Paul is not supplying us with an comprehensive list of all the things that God hates. No, this is just a sample list, and we could add to it.  “…and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching” Paul is not singling these things out as the worst of the worst. They are just examples that come quickly to mind, but we could add things like… gossips, church-wreckers, pornographers, child-molesters, wife-beaters, forgers, embezzlers, human-traffickers, etc. His point is that all these things are “contrary to sound [i.e., healthy, life-giving] teaching.” 
• And Paul explains what he means by “sound teaching” in verse 11: “…according to the glorious Gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.” Paul says that the standard for “sound teaching” is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, given to us by God Himself. You see God’s Word is the plumb line, the straightedge that we use to test every teaching, every theory, every questionable assertion, and every kind of conduct. We measure everything against God’s Word and the Gospel. 

CONCLUSION:

Look again at the last words of verse 11: “…the Gospel…with which I have been entrusted.” In our next study we will look more closely at this word but for now just recognize that Paul sees the Gospel as a priceless treasure that has been carefully placed into his hands by Almighty God for a divine purpose. 

But was Paul the only one entrusted with this Gospel? NO! You and I have been given the same commission, to tell the Good News, to share the Gospel, to make disciples. The Gospel is not a treasure to be hoarded and hidden, but to be shared. And make no mistake, we Christians will be judged as stewards on how well we have invested what has been entrusted to us. As farmers we will be measured on how faithfully we have planted the seed and watered. As soldiers we will be evaluated on our courage under fire, or our cowardice. I, for one, do not want to stand someday before my Lord shamefaced. How about you? “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”