1 Timothy 1 Devotional

Patience on Display

“This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.”1 Timothy 1:15 (BSB)

1 Timothy opens with a problem in the church at Ephesus. Some teachers have drifted into myths and endless speculation, wanting to be experts in the law without understanding it (1:3-7). Paul reminds Timothy that the goal of true instruction is love flowing from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith (1:5). Then he turns to his own story.

He was once a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man. Yet he was shown mercy, and the Lord's grace overflowed to him (1:13-14). Paul sums up the gospel in one trustworthy saying: Christ Jesus entered the world to rescue sinners, and Paul counts himself the worst of them (1:15). He says God saved him for a reason. In the worst of sinners, Christ would show the full extent of his patience, as an example for everyone who would later believe (1:16). If grace could find Paul, it can find you, and it can find the person you have written off.

To think about: Is there anyone, including yourself, you have quietly decided is beyond the reach of God's mercy?