Is anyone too bad or too far gone to come to God?
"But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life." 1 Timothy 1:16.
THE WORST OF SINNERS
The Apostle Paul wasn't always a follower of Jesus. He was at one time a persecutor of the church and had a hand in having Christians arrested and put in prison. He endorsed the execution of Stephen by holding the coats of those who were stoning him, (Acts 7:58). Scripture says he even went from house to house to arrest Christians, (Acts 8:3).
You would think this would be the last person God would show his grace to, he was God's enemy.
HOPE
The hope we have is not in ourselves but in Jesus. It was Jesus who saved Paul. It was Jesus who had immense patience. It was not because of Paul's goodness that Jesus saved him but in spite of Paul's sinfulness that Jesus saved him.
RECEIVE
We think salvation is something we earn. We think we do some good and it outweighs the bad or that we avoid doing bad and the good comes to the top. The Bible in this verse uses the word "receive," not earn or merit. Eternal life is not earned but given as a gift.
MERCY
We have nothing to bring but come empty and ask for mercy, God is rich in mercy. He has the power to condemn but He has made salvation available to the worst of sinners no matter what you have done or how bad you are you can still find mercy.
To learn more about how to find salvation see the tab above titled The Gospel.
To learn about my books of poems visit my website, A.E. Dozat.com.
