Thursday Devo
Scripture:
1 Timothy 1:15-16
15 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. 16 But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.
15 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. 16 But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.
Commentary:
1:15 Calling attention to certain sayings as trustworthy is a particular distinctive of the Pastoral Epistles (cf. 3:1; 4:9; 2 Tim. 2:11; Titus 3:8). Christ Jesus came … to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost (cf. Luke 19:10). Paul cannot mean that he now sins more than anyone in the world, for he elsewhere says that he has lived before God with a clear conscience (Acts 23:1; 24:16), and he asks other believers to follow his example (see note on Phil. 3:17). Apparently he means that his previous persecution of the church (1 Tim. 1:13; cf. 1 Cor. 15:9–10) made him the foremost sinner, for it did the most to hinder others from coming to faith (cf. 1 Thess. 2:15–16). Yet it also allowed God to save Paul as an “example” of grace (1 Tim. 1:16). Another interpretation is that, in light of the Holy Spirit’s powerful conviction in his heart, and his nearness to God, Paul could not imagine anyone being a “worse” sinner than he. Godly people with some self-knowledge are prone to think of themselves in this way.
1:16 Paul is an example of the effect of true Christian instruction. He was the sort of person for whom the law was intended (see note on vv. 9–11), and the result of the gospel in his life was not mere idle speculation but transformation.
1:16 Paul is an example of the effect of true Christian instruction. He was the sort of person for whom the law was intended (see note on vv. 9–11), and the result of the gospel in his life was not mere idle speculation but transformation.
Questions:
- A "Brother Saul" means Jesus is SAVIOR! Saul's story is YOUR story. You were once a rebel against God. Like Saul, you didn't figure out the gospel because you were more special, smarter or more spiritual. You were blinded by Satan but God removed the scales from your eyes and said, "Let there be light" in your heart. THEN you became aware of the beauty, majesty, wisdom and glory of the cross of Christ and you believed! How grateful are you that God did this miracle in your heart? How should gratitude for the gospel affect our daily lives?
- There is a certain humility in Paul's verbiage in 1 Timothy 1. That is someone who remembered all he had done and realized all he had been saved from. He knew he didn't deserve the grace God had shown him. We must follow his example! Then this, too, should lead us to gratitude and humility. Would God describe you as grateful and humble?
Prayer Topics:
- That you would be grateful for the gospel.
- That you would live humbly in light of the gospel.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
6. Is the Bible God’s Word? Jesus proved He is God by rising from the dead and said the Old Testament was God’s Word and gave authority to the Apostles to write the words of the New Testament, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so that all the words of the Bible are God’s Word.
(Matthew 5:18; Luke 24:27, 44; John 14:25-26, 15:27, 16:12-13, 17:20; Acts 2:42; Ephesians 3:5; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21)
(Matthew 5:18; Luke 24:27, 44; John 14:25-26, 15:27, 16:12-13, 17:20; Acts 2:42; Ephesians 3:5; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21)
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