1 Timothy 1:16

I receive mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief.

Now, it's important not to misunderstand Paul here. He's not saying, I receive mercy because my ignorance lessened my guilt. That would go against everything he's been saying about mercy and about being the chief of sinners. What he's saying is that he was ignorant in unbelief. In other words, he wasn't ignorant because God had hidden the truth from him. He was ignorant because even though God had showed him the truth, gave him the scriptures, gave him the very best training in the world, he had refused to believe it. He had hardened his heart in unbelief and remained in ignorance as a result. It's like if, you know, we hear of a criminal that's just gone to jail again and again. He just keeps committing robberies, keeps committing violent crime. And we say things like, he's never going to learn. He's ignorant. He's perpetually devoted himself, resorting to this destructive lifestyle. Well, Paul's saying he's something like that with regard to God. And therefore, what Paul says here is that he received mercy, that is pure, unbridled mercy, because there was nothing good in him. He was an ignorant, unteachable, blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent man, but then the grace of our Lord overflowed for him with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. And as I picture this, I picture someone like trying to ford their way up a river. They're trying to fight upstream. Paul was resisting God. I mean, he was doing everything in his power, as it were, to prevent his own salvation. But then it was like a mighty wave of water just came rushing. Just picture this wave coming through the canyon and Paul is swept off his feet and he's carried backward. He says, the grace of God overflowed for him. And the result is he's totally transformed. His life is turned upside down. He's swept away. Instead of ignorance and unbelief, there was faith in Christ. Instead of blasphemy, persecution, and insolence, there was love for Christ and his people. See, that was the result of this amazing, powerful grace of God in Paul's life. And Paul's saying it was all because of God's mercy. But why? Paul asks, did Jesus show such mercy to him? Why, when countless others are passed over and die in their sins, why was Paul chosen by Christ? Well, again, I think that's what Paul's answering here in verse 16. He says,

I receive mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost sinner, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.

He's saying, Jesus saved me so that everyone else could look at me and know that Jesus can save them too. He saved me so that he might put his perfect or his complete patience on display for the world. And notice here that Jesus did that specifically for us. A lot of times in the Bible we have to contextualize. We read Moses said X to the Israelites, so what does that mean for me? Paul says XY to the Corinthians, what does that mean for me? But here Paul says that Jesus has saved him to display his perfect patience for all who would believe. That includes us. So God saves Paul so that his perfect patience would be displayed for you and for me. The main idea here is simple. Jesus saved Paul to encourage us with his patience. He saved Paul to encourage us with his patience. And in the time we have left, I want to draw out three applications of that. Three ways that we should be encouraged tonight by the patience of Jesus Christ as we reflect on Paul's salvation. So number one would be assurance. Assurance. We should find great assurance of our salvation as we reflect on this. That's because if there's even the slightest hint of doubt in our hearts that maybe we have out sinned God's grace, Or maybe that we have done something so bad in our past that God hasn't really forgiven us. On judgment day, he's just going to unleash his fury against us. Or maybe that simple faith in Christ isn't enough, that surely we who have sinned so much would need to contribute something to receive atonement for our sins. Well, we can look to Paul and be assured that's not the case. I mean, he is the chief of sinners. You haven't out sinned him. He hunted down and murdered Jesus' saints. So anything that you've done can be forgiven as well. Paul was saved in the very act of going to imprison Christians. He was not looking for God. He had done nothing at all good. And so there's nothing other than faith alone. that's needed for us to find atonement for our sins. Note also that Paul says here, he saved me to display his perfect patience. And as I thought about that, it seems to me, well, he could have just as easily said to display his amazing grace, to display his infinite love. Why does Paul suddenly introduce the word patience here? Well, I don't know for sure. But perhaps it's because if there's anything that patience especially speaks to, it's to the fear that we've provoked God, that we've angered him, that he's storing up wrath against us, that maybe he's not truly patient, but it's almost as if God is just looking forward to this day of destruction because of his great anger against us and our sin. You know, friends, I think we can look at Paul tonight and see how Jesus patiently endured with him in the midst of all of his insolence, all of his persecutions, all of his blasphemies. And Jesus did that not so at the end when he appeared to Paul, he might smite him and punish him. He did it so that in the end, Paul might be saved, so that Paul might taste the sweetness of Jesus's mercy and grace. He might experience Jesus' perfect patience that leads to his salvation. And so we should be assured today that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Because Jesus Christ is the God of perfect patience. And we see that in the Apostle Paul. Second, we should be encouraged by Jesus' patience towards Paul in our evangelism. So number two is evangelism. And I think this should encourage our evangelism in two ways. First, because it gives us a wonderful example to point unbelievers to. You know, if there's anyone that is about to believe, anyone who's considering coming to Christ, we can just point them and say, look at Paul and see how the Lord saved him to be an example of his perfect patience towards you. To be an example of the fact that God is waiting patiently so that if you will only turn from your sins and repent and believe in Christ, you will be saved just like Him. And how important that is because typically the more convicted of sin someone becomes, the harder it becomes for them to believe that God would actually save them, that God would actually forgive them. I mean, how helpful it is to be able to point them to Paul, to take them to this passage and say, look at him. Take heart, you can be saved as well. Second, this encourages our evangelism because it encourages us not to give up on people in our evangelism. You know, sometimes I think we start to lose heart because we've shared the gospel with someone so many times. Or we've seen someone just go through this cycle of, you know, they seem to show interest and then they just slide back into the same sin repeatedly. And we just start to think they're never going to be saved. And I think this passage should remind us that God is more patient than we are. And therefore, no one is beyond hope, right? All that must happen at any moment. is for someone to simply believe in Christ. The gospel is being extended. Salvation could be today for anyone. God's power is not limited. For all you know, that person you're about to give up on is the very person that Jesus will use to plant churches and become a great servant for the gospel, just like the Apostle Paul. How quickly we would have given up on him. And yet he is displayed as this example of Jesus's perfect patience, so that we would be persistent evangelists. And then third and finally, I think we should be encouraged by Jesus's patience towards Paul in our sanctification. So number three would be sanctification. And of course, that's because, praise God, His patience towards us doesn't end the moment we become believers. It's not like God is perfectly patient toward us when we're non-Christians and then as soon as you become a Christian, if you mess up, you're just thrown out. No, I mean, the fact that Jesus saved Paul shows his perfect patience and that he's the God of perfect patience yesterday, today, and forever. In fact, if you look at the broader context or remember Brian's prayer from verse 5, you'll see that Paul has just been bringing all of this up because he's saying

the aim of our charge, Timothy, is love, that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

Right? He wants Timothy to grow. He wants Timothy to know how to help the Ephesian church grow. And he's concerned about these false teachers. who have swerved into vain discussion about myths and genealogies and speculations, false teachers who desire to be teachers of the law but don't understand what they're saying. In other words, they're swerving into some version of some kind of Gnosticism and some sort of legalism. And Paul knows that only leads to ungodliness. So where does growth come from? How is the aim of our charge fulfilled? Well, that's why he brings this up. That's why he reminds Timothy of this mercy and grace of God that he's received, because he knows that this is how we grow as Christians, by looking back to God's rich mercy and grace, by always just being amazed at his perfect patience that he has displayed. So, we ask, how do I maintain a good conscience? Well, go to God and confess your sin. Don't be afraid to confess because Jesus is the God of perfect patience. And even if we've sinned that same sin a hundred times before, he's patient. How do we strive for a sincere faith? Well, look to Jesus in his perfect patience, who not only begins a good work in us, but finishes it. The God who will never let us go, that when we fear our faith will fail, He holds us fast. And how do we grow in love? Well, just look at Christ and be amazed at His perfect patience. See how beautiful it is. Let that be something that causes you to love Him more and something that would cause you to want to show that same kind of patience and show that same kind of love to one another. that we would exemplify that because we're just moved by this amazing patience of Christ. So friends, let us be encouraged tonight that Jesus saved Paul so that we might see his perfect patience and so that we might grow in our assurance and our evangelism and in our sanctification. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we stand amazed at the gospel tonight, amazed that you would reach down and save someone like Paul, and amazed that you would save him just to assure us that you are the God of all grace and you are the God of perfect patience. Lord, in response to this, may we trust you, may we strive to grow in holiness, may we be faithful in evangelism. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.