Part 1 Review and Summary
To remind beimitators.com readers, last time we reviewed why I love the Apostle Paul’s testimony for evangelistic purposes to those who would fit into the category of a religious lost person–you can review this article by clicking here. The term “lost” people implies four truths: 1) all people are inherently valuable to God as image-bearers of him, 2) lost people are those who have not repented of sin and put their faith in the work of Jesus Christ, 3) it is this lack of belief in Jesus that gives them the status of being “lost,” and 4) followers of Jesus are called to reach all lost people with the good news. This post will show how the Apostle Paul’s testimony applies to someone who might be categorized as a rebellious lost person.
The method to validate this claim will start by defining a rebellious lost person. From this explanation, we will see how God worked in the Apostle Paul’s life. Finally, this article will illustrate how the Apostle Paul’s testimony can be used for evangelistic purposes (I’m indebted to John Piper’s teaching ministry from Desiring God in helping me make this connection).
The Rebellious Lost Person
A rebellious lost person is an individual who believes that their past prevents them from receiving God’s grace. The idea is that their conscience is filled with so much guilt because of their immorality, sin, and transgressions–in all their forms–that they truly believe and think they are a lost cause. To put it another way, they believe that their past and perhaps present style of life puts them outside of God’s forgiveness and therefore, are beyond even the gospel’s hope of redemption. The two issues that plague a rebellious lost person is 1) a sensitivity to their sinfulness and 2) a false belief that they are beyond God’s salvation.
From the outset, we are going to see through the testimony of the Apostle Paul that no one is outside of God’s grace. This means that if you think or feel that your life of rebellion against God makes you unforgivable, the Bible has good news for you. In short, you are not outside of God’s grace.
God has graciously given the Apostle Paul’s testimony in Scripture to show even the most rebellious person on the planet that you can be extremely far from God, but by God’s grace, love, and mercy you can be forgiven and changed through Jesus Christ. To put it another way, the same miraculous loving God that saved and changed Paul from a persecutor of the church to one of his greatest missionaries is the same loving and gracious God that is still at work today. What God did for Paul he can certainty do for any rebellious lost person.
Paul’s Testimonial and Response to the Rebellious Lost Person
Look with me at Paul’s words to his young protege, Timothy:
I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.
1 Timothy 1:12-16, emphasis added
From this text, we see two things that address a rebellious lost person. First, we see that the grace of God is overflowing towards any and all sinners no matter how far away they are at the moment. Prior to Paul’s conversion (see Acts 9:1-19), he admitted that he was a blasphemer, persecutor, and opponent of God. This means he was in complete rebellion to God as illustrated in how he violently went after God’s people. Nevertheless, even in his sinfulness he says, “the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 1:14). Paul seems to imply that God’s grace can be freely poured out onto even the worst of sinners–this is basically what he calls himself in 1 Tim 1:15–as a means to display his grace and goodness. Paul was a religious rebel who hated Christ and Christianity to the point of destroying anyone who belonged to this belief and way of life. Question: Can God save a rebellious person like Paul?
Notice that the text says it is an overflowing that comes from “the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 1:14). We can logically deduce that God’s overflowing mercy of love and faith becomes most evident when we look at the cross of Christ where his blood flowed freely to cover all our sins for all eternity. To answer the question, “Yes, the work of Christ was able to save even someone like Paul.” The salvation of this Apostle shows all sinners–including those in total and defiant rebellion–that no one is outside of God’s mercy.
This text should make us recognize that the key to salvation is not found anywhere in us, but rather is completely and totally found in Jesus Christ. To the rebellious lost person, God offers you himself through the work of his Son. This means no one is too far gone from the love that has been offered through the perfect life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection of Jesus. If Jesus’s work could save a guy like Paul, it can most certainly save anyone who has embraced a life of sinful living.
So, why does God extend salvation to a rebellious lost person? We see this in the second part of 1 Timothy 1:16, “[that] Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life” (1Tim 1:16b). This leads to our next truth from this text. Second, God saves sinners through Christ to display his glory and grace to the world for all eternity.
Paul seems to indicate that his salvation was to show even the most rebellious of all people that the same grace extended to Paul by God is the same grace God can extend to anyone–no matter how bad you think you are or how messed up your life is from making bad decisions. God unveils the beauty of his saving power through Christ by forgiving and transforming any rebellious lost person that repents of sin and trusts in the work of Jesus Christ. In other words, your salvation is a direct display of God’s overflowing love and faith in Christ Jesus.
No One Is Outside of God’s Gracious Reach
The appeal of Paul’s testimony is that no one, not even the most sinful lost person, is outside of God’s gracious reach. This is why I cherish Paul’s testimony for those living in constant rebellion to God. Because the same God who saved the foremost of all sinners like the Apostle Paul, is the same loving and gracious God that can save any rebellious lost person today.
Enter your email to subscribe to beimitators.com here:
One Preacher’s Process for Preparing A Sermon
One question pastors like to ask each other is: “How do you prepare your sermons for Sunday?” The responses differ based on personality, capabilities, experience, and time constraints. For example, Jim Shaddix used to prepare all week for his sermon. John Piper studies and writes his on Friday. Joby Martin spends all day Monday getting…
THE ERLC NEEDS REFORM RATHER THAN BEING ABOLISHED
We are weeks away from thousands of Southern Baptist messengers migrating to Dallas, Texas for the annual Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Southern Baptists hold to the autonomy of the local church. Unlike a denomination, which consists of a top-down organizational structure, the SBC has a bottom-up polity. Local and like-minded churches choose to partner with…
A Biblical Response to Suicide: What the Bible Actually Teaches?
The act of suicide is heartbreaking for many reasons. First, the person who committed the act believed that the only way out of whatever troubled them was by prematurely ending their life. Second, those who are left behind must deal with the many emotions, questions, and uncertainties as they process the loss of their loved…
Be Imitators 