Amen, amen. You guys can have. A seat here today. I love that song. And I love the message of that song.
We were in need of rescue. We were in need of healing. And he came, he sent his only begotten son so that you could be rescued from your sin. I'm grateful for that. And I love when we get together and declare that by song.
Listen, it doesn't matter how you sound. It just matters that you have a song in your heart, right? And I know for me, I'm not a great singer, but I love coming together. And one of the aspects that I love about being here on Sunday is being able to lift my voice and declare by song what he has done for me. And I hope that you enjoy that here today.
Well, if you have your Bible, I want to invite you to join me in 1 Timothy chapter number 1. 1 Timothy chapter number 1. We are continuing a series that we have been in through the summer. And so we got this week and then we got next week left of this series. And it is entitled Sinners.
Like us, and just let's say that together, real quick. Sinners like us, and I've done this throughout the series, so we're going to do it again. Act like it's your very first time. Look to your neighbor and say he means you.
Okay. And sinners like us. And one thing that is amazing is as you look throughout scripture, it is amazing the amount of dysfunctional people that God chooses to save and use for his kingdom. When I was growing up, I would listen to these Bible stories and I would think, man, if I had the faith like Moses, or if I had the experience like Abraham, or if I had all these different things, and I would just think that these Bible characters that I learned about in Sunday school growing up, I would just think, man, these guys were just these pinnacles of faith and they were amazing. And I will never, ever be able to amount to what they were and things like that.
And then I realized, like, as I got older, that these people that I kind of, in some ways, idolized as a kid, they were, they're sinners just like you and just like myself. And so God uses some dysfunctional. People in scripture. We saw in Abraham's life, Abraham struggled. He doubted God.
He also lied several times. He had some problems. We looked at Moses and Moses' anger. We looked at Rahab and how Rahab was a prostitute. We looked at David, who was an adulterer as well as a murderer.
We looked at Jonah, who ran from God. We looked at Samson, who was a womanizer and filled with pride. We looked at the woman at the well who had been married to four different guys, and the guy she was living with wasn't even her husband at the time. We looked at the adulterous woman. If you remember that story, who was caught in the very act of adultery, and God did not condemn her.
He came to rescue her and save her. And then we looked at Peter, who denied even knowing Jesus when he was put to the test. And today, the next sinner that we are going to look at is Paul, or really Saul, if you would, in some ways. His name was later changed, but we are going to look at his life.
Now, when we look at the life of Paul, I recognize that everybody in here kind of knows a little bit about his story. You know, kind of what happens to Paul. You know about his name change. You know about all of those different things. And so you come in here and you're thinking, man, I know everything that I need to know about Paul.
And I'd encourage you, and for just a few moments while we're together, if you could just open up your heart to just see if God is going to show you anything. Anything maybe new or give you a fresh perspective about his life. But I've chosen the text, 1 Timothy chapter number one, because Paul is going to really. give some of his his story.
Some of his testimony here in 1 Timothy chapter number 1, but a little bit about the background of 1 Timothy so that you understand the book a little bit better and understand kind of the context in which this chapter is being speaking.
So, Paul is writing 1 Timothy, and he's writing it to Timothy, which was a pastor. And Paul had led Timothy to the Lord when Timothy was around 15 years old. Paul had reached him with the gospel, and then he had mentored him. In chapter number one, you will see that Paul refers to Timothy as his son. He's not talking about his physical son, he's talking about his spiritual son because that's what he was.
He was his spiritual son in the faith. The book of 1 Timothy, or really the letter that he writes to Timothy, is all about the local church. In fact, we're not going to look at chapter number. 3, but the purpose of the entire book is found in chapter number 3, verse number 15. You'll see this verse up on the screen, and it says, But if I tarry long, That thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God.
Here's the point. The purpose of this book, the purpose of this letter was how We should operate in the local church. It is how we should live in the local church, how we should interact. In the local church, how you should view your neighbors right here in the local church, the people that are sitting across the aisle from you, and different things. And the whole book is about behavior in the local church.
And so, with that in mind, I'm going to go back to 1 Timothy chapter number one, and you're going to see how we are to behave in the church. And so, pick it up in verse number eight of 1 Timothy chapter number 1, it says this: But we know. That the law is good if a man use it lawfully. Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless. and disobedient.
the ungodly. And for sinners. For unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers. For man slayers. For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves.
uh with mankind for men stealers. For liars. For perjured persons. And if there be any other thing. That is contrary to sound sound doctrine.
A couple of things before Paul gets into his personal testimony. He starts out with really talking about the law. And he mentions that the law is good. By the way, if you're young in here, we sometimes, when I was growing up, you thought rules and boundaries were bad. They're good.
In fact, if your family has set up boundaries for you that you don't like, you will one day look back and you will realize that they put those boundaries around you to protect you. They are good. That's why we have the law. That's why we have right and wrong. That's why we have those things.
The law is good. And what Paul is talking about specifically is the Jewish law, the first five books of the Old Testament. All the different rules and rituals and different things that are mentioned in those first five books of the Old Testament. All these different things. And what he says is the law is.
Is good, but the law was not really given for those that are righteous. In other words, if we were all good, Then we would not need the law. That makes sense, right? But he gave the law to really reveal something to us. You say, what was that?
The law was there to reveal. That we are all sinners. In other words, Paul would later in his writings would call the law a schoolmaster. Like a textbook. It shows you you're wrong.
In other words, it's like this: when you're sick and you grab a thermometer to take your temperature, that thermometer. Cannot heal you, can it? It doesn't make you better. I don't put that thermometer against my forehead. When I was growing up, you know, you had to put it underneath your tongue and stuff.
Now they just like wave a magic wand over you. They figure out what it is. It's like crazy. But when they put that thermometer there, it doesn't, I don't feel instantly better afterwards. No, what does the thermometer do?
It just reveals that you're sick.
Well, that's what the law does. The law cannot save you. The law can't make you righteous. The law can't make you good. It cannot trying to keep the law, it can't help you get accepted.
By God, and what Paul's saying is the only reason the law was given is like a thermometer, it just reveals that you have a problem. It reveals that you're a sinner. It reveals that you're in need of a Savior, is what he's trying to get at. That you, the law's purpose was really to reveal that you are sinful.
So that it would lead you to cry out to God. For a Saviour. And what Paul's talking about is this devout thing about the law and about righteousness.
So the law can't make you righteous. And he has a point. And we're going somewhere. I know you're probably thinking, wow, this is so different than any other week of the series. He has a point.
And he continues in verse 11. He says, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God. which was committed to my trust. And I think Christ Jesus our Lord. who hath enabled me for that he counted me faithful putting me into the ministry.
Who was before A blasphemer? A persecutor. An injurious. And this word right there means that he was a violent. Violent man.
But I obtained mercy. But I obtained mercy. Now, here's the thing: he's going to go into his testimony a little bit.
So, Paul is going to really just share. I mean, the word speaks for itself here today: is that he's going to really give his testimony. Paul, though, before he was Paul, he was Saul of Tarsus, and he was a devout Jewish. June. And you can read about his story in Acts chapter number nine on the way from Jerusalem to Damascus.
That was about a 150 to 200 miles trip. And on the way there, God reveals to him his need for a savior, and he gets saved. The whole story is in Acts chapter 9 and really bleeding over to Acts chapter number 10 just a little bit. And so, but he was a devout Jew. And what you have to understand about being a devout Jew in that day is that being a devout Jew, Saul did not believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God.
He did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. He believed, you know, the God of the Old Testament. He believed in that, but he did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God. And so, what he would do is he felt that if he could arrest. Those who who believed that Jesus was the Son of God, Christians, if he could arrest them and try them and eventually kill them, Saul felt that he was doing God A favor.
By killing Christians who believe that Jesus was the Son of God. How hypocritical is that, right? And so, what he would do is he would travel around. That's the very reason why he was going to Damascus in the first place, was so that he could find those following the way, is what Acts chapter 9 says, which is the way of Christ, those who believed that Jesus was the Son of God. He said that if I could go and find anyone that believed in that.
Then I could arrest them. And I could eventually, eventually try them. And he felt that he was doing God a favor in helping God by killing those who believed that Jesus was. The Messiah. Pretty bad, right?
When we look at this series, the point is that this is another very dysfunctional man. If you kind of put up who deserved the grace of God, Paul or Saul would have been the very last on the list. Everybody doesn't deserve the grace of God, but Saul would have been that guy that was just the worst of the worst. He was terrible. He hated God.
He was anti-Jesus. He was anti-Christianity. He was anti Gospel. He was a blasphemer. He was a persecutor.
And he was a very violent man, according to verse number 13. But He obtained. Mercy. Listen, let me tell you this before we go on any further: is that that is you in this verse. You might not be a persecutor.
You might not be a blasphemer. You might not be violent. But let me tell you this: many of you are prideful. Many of you are critical. Many of you maybe are adulterers.
Many of you are whatever. You fill in the blank and you have your own sin that you deal with. And your whole story is wrapped up in verse number 13, where he says, Listen, I was all of these things before Christ, but. I was shown mercy. But I was shown mercy in the midst of my sin.
I was shown mercy. I obtained mercy. And he goes on: he says, Because. I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant.
If the grace of God is exceedingly abundant in your life, can you please say amen this morning? Listen, that's our story as well. And what's amazing to me about this is that Paul's past. did not disqualify him. Paul's past of being a blasphemer, Paul's past of being violent, Paul's past of really being a murderer and helping see tons of Christians get martyred for their faith.
Paul was responsible for those things, but yet in the midst of that, he obtained mercy and grace was overflowing and abundant in his life. Verse 15, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. In other words, he's saying, listen up. To this moment, that phrase, this is a faithful saying, is mentioned five times in the book of 1 Timothy. And each time, what he's saying is: this: listen up.
This is very important. Do not miss this. If you miss anything else, this is what I'm trying to tell you: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. of whom I am chief. Howbeit, for this cause, I obtained mercy.
That in me first, Jesus Christ might show forth all long suffering. Everybody say all long suffering? For a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
Now unto the king eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. And this is a preacher's dream right here because Saul or Paul is writing, and right here in chapter number one, he says amen. You kind of think, man, he's done, the sermon is over, and he still has chapters left. This gives me hope, okay?
And so many of you sometimes think that your pastor's done, and I might just be on the introduction. I'm just going to tell you of the sermon. But he says in verse 18, this charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war. a good a good warfare. You see here Paul has has made it clear.
that he was guilty Before God, when it came to his standing before God. The law which was good. He was a devout Jew. If anybody had kept the law, those first five books, Saul was as good as any of them. Saul was one that did everything by the book.
Saul was the one that I'm sure if you had children his age, you would want them to hang out with him. Because in that day amongst the religious crowd, he was a, if you could use this term, a goody two shoes when it came to what people viewed as being right and wrong. He would keep the law and he would do everything, but listen, he was still in the midst of his trying to obtain righteousness and trying to obtain acceptance by God through keeping the law. He was still lost as anybody else in this world. He needed Jesus.
He needed a savior. He needed mercy because no matter how hard he kept the law, he was still lost. And let me tell you this: that no matter how much you try to do right on your own strength and in your own power, let me tell you this: you still are in need of the grace and mercy of Almighty God. That law, the good works you're trying to do, the things you're trying to do that's right, the list that you're trying to keep, the rules, the rituals, all these different things, those things can be good and they can lead you in the right direction. But here's what I'm going to tell you: those things cannot save you, and neither could the Old Testament law for Paul.
The law could not save him. He still needed the mercy and grace of God. And so, what he's trying to say here is this: he tried to keep all the law. And he did really good for himself. But yet all that it left him Was still standing before God.
guilty. He was still guilty. It didn't help him one bit to get accepted by God. Nothing. And so, what he's saying here is this.
Is that he is guilty, and like him, we all are guilty when it comes to our standing with. With God. And here I love verse 15 because he says he's the chief of sinners. Like, what does that mean? Does this have.
Layers of our sin, like, you know, like who's the really bad sinners? It's like, will the real bad sinners please stand today? You know, who's gonna really stand? What does that mean? Like, was Paul really a worse sinner than anybody else?
Here's what I'll tell you. When it comes to your standing with God, We are all equally guilty. In other words, you and Saul, you're both equally guilty. But I truly believe that Paul believed he was the worst of the worst. And here's what's amazing.
He said that he's the chief. Of sinners. Here's what he's trying to say: is this to Timothy. Remember, he's talking about the local church. He's saying, listen, I was the chief of sinners.
The worst of the worst. I don't have time to worry about everybody else's sin because I have too much sin in my own life. And you know what's interesting is that a lot of us in the church, what do we do? We worry about everybody else's sin, don't we? We worry about everybody else and making sure that they're doing right and making sure that they're attending this, making sure they're dressing the way I want them to dress, making sure that they're doing everything that I want them to do.
And listen here, I'm just going to tell you, you're a chief of sinners as well. Just like Saul, he's saying, listen, Timothy, when you talk about the church. When you talk about the local church. Is that he's the I'm the chief of sinners. Is that I don't have time to worry about everybody else's sin because I have enough to worry about it on my own because I'm the chief of it.
Verse 16 said that, but I experienced all long suffering by Christ's unlimited patience. You see, God showed him mercy.
So that other people could look at him and see the example of the mercy of God. You say, okay, bring this all. What does this mean for us? When we talk about the church... You know, and we talk about this series, Sinners Like Us.
Here's what I want you to understand, and this is what I think Paul's getting at here in chapter number one: the church should be a place of grace. The church Should be a place. Of grace. In other words, when people walk in. The church shouldn't be judging.
Damn. Right? When you see somebody come in that looks a little broken. You know how church people respond to that, right? I've grown up in a Baptist church my whole life, so let's just be honest for just a moment.
Let's not try to hide. Our judgmental postures that a lot of us, I remember there was a guy when I was growing up at my church. This is so funny. And he was a real tough, tough guy. And I remember he came to church.
Somebody invited him, he was a new convert. And this was the church that I grew up in. And so we had this special day. He'd only been to one service. And we had this special thing.
The church that I grew up in, we owned a camp. And a lot of times we'd go out to this camp on the weekend and just kind of spend holiday weekends out there, you know, campers and different things. And I can remember this guy. He was rough around the edges, tattoos on his arm, real tough guy, big muscles, very similar to Pastor Bailey. And so he came in and he was just this super, super tough, tough guy.
And he came rolling in, real deep voice. And we came to this camp. Remember, he'd only been to one service, so nobody really knew him well. And he came out there and he came riding a four-wheeler and he's just going crazy. And I was young, so I was probably about 12 years old at the time.
And so all of us, you know, around my age, we were kind of having fun, just goofing off.
Well, this tough guy, when you're 12, you're kind of like, man, this guy's cool. This guy's it. You know, like, this guy's awesome. When he comes in, none of us know it. And he's just like asking all these kids, like, man, you guys want to ride on the four-wheeler, you know, and that kind of thing.
I'll never forget it. an adult in our church. My dad was part of this conversation. This is funny. He brought me and all these young kids, he brought us into the camper and he said.
You guys don't ever get on the four-wheeler with that guy. You gotta watch him, right? And I remember, and I get it, they were looking out for us and stuff like that. But here's what I'll tell you: isn't that how we operate in church a lot of times? You see somebody come in that's a little bit broken.
Little bit messed up. They got sin just written all over their life. And you know, a lot of times what we do in churches: hey, watch out for that guy. They can't do this, they can't do this, they can't there. And what happens is the church over time, you know what we've gotten is a reputation of being a very judgmental place and a place that sinners don't want to come.
Because of that. Here's what I'm telling you. Paul was telling Timothy that when you operate a church, This should be the place where everybody is welcome. It doesn't mean that we affirm sin. We still talk about sin.
But it does mean that everybody is welcomed here because listen, his point is: this: that if Saul of Tarsus was welcomed into the local church. As the chief of sinners? And how dare us never welcome somebody into our midst? You see, the church should be a place of grace, a place where people with problems, where people with brokenness, where people with sin. Can walk into this place and find grace.
In our midst today, we can learn a few things from Paul's letter here in chapter number one that I want you to see first: is this: we all stand before God guilty. We all, everybody say all. All stand before God guilty. You see, there's not a person in here worthy of this. There's not a person in here worthy.
Of being able to sit in the presence of Almighty God today. There's not a person because listen, before Christ came into your life and gave you grace and you obtained mercy, you were lost. You were the chief of sinners. You were Saul of Tarsus. You did not deserve it.
You stand before God. guilty. That's how all of us are. Every single one of us were born into the same family, the sinner's family. When we were born into that family, we could do nothing to get out of it.
We could do nothing to change our name. We could do nothing to inherit acceptance by an almighty, perfect, righteous, holy father. And we could do nothing about it. And so God, He knew that. And so what did God do?
In the midst of our sin, he sent his son Jesus to come. And Jesus came, 100% God, 100% man, and he came to dwell among us. Why?
So that he could live the perfect life that you could never live. You see, with a perfect father, The only life worthy of a relationship with a perfect father is a perfect life. And what Paul is saying is that none of us can live a perfect life. We're all sinners. I mean, think about your children.
Right? They're sinners. They're just really, really short sinners, okay? And so the point is, they're still sinners. Like, you know, I didn't teach my kids to do what's wrong.
I didn't teach them to lie. I didn't teach them to disobey. I didn't ever say, hey, kids, here's how you tell mom and dad no. They just learned it. You say, why is that?
Because every single one that is born into this world was born in sin. We were born guilty before God. That's you, that's me, that's every person on the face of the planet. That is Saul of Tarsus. And he's saying, before God, when we were born into this world, we were all God.
Guilty. Which brings us to number two. God demonstrated his mercy toward us. In other words, what Saul is saying is to Timothy, he's saying, We're all guilty.
So there's no status. There's no, hey, these people are more important than these in the local church. No, we're all chief of sinners here. And so because we are all sinners, and that we can't save ourselves, God showed us Mercy. God showed us mercy.
There's four words that Paul uses here that I think are so interesting when you study this. The one is used in our main point there is the word mercy. The word mercy, he says in verse 13, he says it on two different occasions in this text. He says, I obtained mercy. Mercy.
You say, what is mercy? Differentiate between mercy and grace because they can be used a lot. And what's the difference between them? Mercy is simply this: it's withholding. What you deserve.
So, in other words, if you think about it using the parent analogy, if your kid, if you say, Don't grab a cookie from the cookie jar.
Okay. And they go get a cookie from the cookie jar and just say that you said, don't do it. And if you do, you're losing TV privileges for the rest of the day. If they go... And grab a cookie.
Should they lose TV privileges for the rest of the day, yes or no?
Okay, yes, they should. If you, as the parents, say, you shouldn't have done that. But you can still watch T V That would be mercy. Because you are Basically, withholding a punishment for them. When Saul or Paul is saying here that, hey, I was a blasphemer, I was a persecutor, I was violent, but I obtained mercy.
In other words, he's saying, because I was a persecutor, because I was blasphemous, because I was violent towards Christians. I should have experienced judgment. My sin should have made the wrath of God poured out on me. And he says, but I obtained mercy. What he's saying is this: I should have received judgment, but God withheld that from me.
I should have received the wrath of God, but God withheld that from me. You say, How did he withhold it?
Somebody had to be punished for the sin that Saul had committed. You're dead right. And guess who it was? The very Son of God. You see, the judgment and wrath was poured out upon Jesus Christ.
So that Saul. Could experience mercy.
So that Saul could obtain mercy and withheld, God would withheld his judgment and his wrath on Saul because he demonstrated it on his son. You see, that's what he's done for you. He's given you mercy. But not only that, he's given us grace. He mentions the word grace in verse 14.
You say, what's the difference? If mercy is withholding something, punishment. Grace is giving you something when you don't deserve it.
So, in other words, when he says that I experienced grace in verse 14, it was abundant in his life, what he's saying is that. Is that not only does he withhold judgment, mercy, he gives us blessings in return? He gives us his spirit in return. He gives us good gifts in return. That's grace.
So when we sing Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me, I want you when you sing that song, it's a reminder that in the midst of our sin, God has given us something that we do not deserve. That nobody deserves it. And yet he gave it to us. He mentions the word faith. Faith.
He mentions the word faith here. The word faith, if you look it up in the Greek, it's really talking about the conviction that he has. In other words, God granted him conviction of his wrongdoing so that on the road to Damascus, he saw and it was revealed to him that he was a sinner in need of a savior, even though he had spent his life trying to keep the law and do good works and this life of Judaism. And then he mentions the word love. He mentions the word love.
And you say, what is that?
Well, in scripture, there's different words for the word love. Like in our English language, we just have that one word, love. And so we use love for everything. You say, I love ice cream. I love my spouse.
Now We hope you love your spouse more than you do ice cream, right? But in our English language, the word love is just used about everything, right? It's just used interchangeable.
Well, in scripture, there's different words and levels to the word love. There's different meanings and interpretations to the word love. And so there's a bunch of different ones. But here in 1 Timothy chapter number 1, he uses the word love, and this word love. Is actually the agape form of the word love.
You say, what does that mean? It's the sacrificial form of love.
So, in other words, what he's saying is that Christ loved him. Sacrificially. In other words, Christ gave. Of his only begotten Son. That's what love is.
And then he says in verse 16: all long suffering. All long suffering, he has unlimited patience with us. This is the character of God on display. Remember, you're guilty before God. But God's grace, God's mercy, God's all-long suffering, God's faith, God's love, all of these things were given to us.
In the midst of you being guilty for God, that's why in the book of 1 Peter, when Peter is writing about the coming day of the Lord, the second coming of Christ, he says that the reason, because there was a lot of people questioning, like, why hasn't Christ come back? I mean, it's been a very long time since the Old Testament. Do we really believe he's coming back? And there was this argument about that, and there was this heresy, people believing that I don't think Christ is coming back. And so he gives all these reasons of why, yes, Christ is going to come back because.
Time is different for God because he operates out of time.
So he says, you know, one day is like a thousand years to God.
So it's different for us. But he says this: the real reason why God hasn't come back yet is a very famous verse that you and I would know. It's because he's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. You see, he is all along suffering for you. He is patient with you.
I tell people all the time about that verse is that God is waiting on somebody to accept him. And when they do, that's when he's going to come back for us. Right? And so if that's you, please accept him today so that we can go and meet him.
Okay? And so that's what he's trying to say. He's all along suffering with us. That's his character, that's his goodness lavished out on. On us, but then number three, in verse fifteen and sixteen.
He really is getting at this. Your life. should be an example of the mercy of God to the world. Read this again. Verse 15 says, This is a faithful saying.
worthy of all acceptation. That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. How be it? For this cause I obtained mercy. You say, what cause?
And then he goes on, he says, that in me is. In my example. That Jesus might show forth all of his long suffering. Why?
For a pattern, for an example to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. Here's what Paul's saying: is this. If my example My life. My life should be an example to the world so that everybody could look at me and just see the mercy and grace of God on display. That's why We exist and why God doesn't call you up the minute he saves you.
Ever thought about that? Why doesn't he just right when he saves us just call us up to be with him? Here's why, is because while you're here, Christian. Your life should be on display. The mercy of God should be on display in your life.
When people see you, they should see, wow, that's God's mercy. When people look at you, they should say that's God's grace. When people see you, they should be like, wow, he's experienced the love of Christ. But so often we get so busy in our life that we don't use our life as an example. You know, it's like that song, the lyrics to a great song.
I'm just a sinner. Saved by grace. And it says, when I stood condemned to death, he took my place.
Now I grow and breathe in freedom with every breath of life. I take cake. I'm just a sinner. SAVED BY GRACE. You see, that's your story.
That's my story. That's all of our story. If we were to go around this room. And just, hey, let's just share our testimonies. And maybe we should do that on someday.
Just walk around and just say, hey, share about what, listen. Your testimony is not about anything that you have done. If you begin to say, well, I did this, I did this, then you've missed the gospel altogether. Because here's the point: what Paul's saying is this: that the church, young Timothy, the church should be a place where every single one of us, it doesn't matter what we've done because all of us were sinners in need of a Savior. It doesn't matter what your past is.
It doesn't matter the sin that you've committed. It doesn't matter the levels and the different things that you've been involved in. That should not matter here because this is a place of grace. And for us, as we go through life, we should walk in every single Sunday that we gather here today, and we should walk in with a smile on our face because I'm just a sinner saved by grace. I'm just a sinner in need of the mercy of God, and I've obtained mercy.
Do I deserve it? Absolutely not. But the only reason why I'm here is because God loved me in spite of my sin. The only reason why I'm here is because God withheld his judgment on my life, and God granted me. Grace.
Something that I do not deserve. See, what Paul is saying is this. Church should be a place. Of grace. And listen, if you're in here today and you've never experienced the grace of God, Maybe you've slipped in here today and you're just like, maybe you've been that person that just goes with the motions.
You're trying to, you're church attendance. That's how you're getting to heaven. Your good things and good deeds, and dressing the right way, and doing the right thing, and just serving and doing all these things. You're like, that's how I'm getting to heaven. Listen, you're no different than.
Then solve Tarsus. Trying to keep the law. trying to keep the rules. and trying to keep the rituals. Listen, those things are good.
In other words, they lead you to him. But they can't make you righteous. The only thing that can make you righteous is when you accept the free gift of the grace, mercy, love. We're all sinners. Chief of sinners.
We're just sinners saved by the grace of Almighty God. Would you bow your heads with me?
