The Savior Has Turned Our Life Around
The apostle Paul admitted in 1 Timothy 1:12-17 that he was the "worst of sinners." But God worked the miracle of conversion in his life to turn him into the greatest missionary of all time. That miracle of conversion continues to link all Christians as "The Savior Has Turned Our Life Around" as well. July 3, 2011.
Some people here today were born into a Christian home, were baptized shortly after, and have remained in a Christian environment to this day. Others didn’t know too much about God and the Bible and only later in life came to know and believe the truths of Scripture. Still others would admit, although somewhat reluctantly, that they had been active in the Christian faith, but fell away for a time, and are just now getting back on track.
Which do you think is more advantageous? Which of those types of people do you think will have a deeper appreciation for being close to God—the person who is a lifelong Christian, or the one who enjoys the freshness of Christianity because it’s all rather new, or the person who couldn’t have cared less for a while but has now returned to the fold? I suppose there could be quite a debate about that since several other factors and variables would play in, but the bottom line is this: From God’s perspective none has a spiritual advantage over the other because all three have experienced the one big miracle that counts the most. The technical term for that miracle is conversion. It is a supernatural act of God that yanks a soul from the flames of hell and gently places that soul into his loving arms.
No matter what spiritual background you might have, no matter whether you can count the time of your membership in God’s family in decades, years, months, or days, the simple fact remains that that miracle links us all and dominates the scene of our Christian experience. We celebrate that miracle today and learn anew how we are privileged to play a role in making that miracle happen in the lives of others as the apostle Paul shares with us the remarkable news that The Savior Has Turned Our Life Around.
For his undeserved mercy
The apostle Paul was the greatest missionary of all time. He is also the author of 13 out of the 27 books of the New Testament. What we often forget is that he had several dirty pages in his life’s story. Our world is “up to here” in murderers, thieves, burglars, adulterers, blasphemers, scoffers, drug dealers, traitors, and terrorists. But Paul says he ranks as the worst, which is a most remarkable statement from the Lord’s greatest apostle.
Why does Paul call himself “the worst of sinners”? Well, before God turned him around, he was the wonder-boy among those world-class religious hypocrites known as the Pharisees. In words and actions he showed nothing but contempt for Christ. He hurled satanic insults at the Lord of glory, and he took it a step further. He gives us this deposition: “I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man.” “I…was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is just what I did…On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them (Acts 26:9-11). Only later, after an encounter with the glorified, risen Lord Jesus, did Paul realize that his religious zeal was not earning him brownie points for a special spot in heaven. Rather, it was greasing the slippery slope to hell. Like an anvil tied around his neck, the reality of his sinfulness weighed on his conscience, pressed him down, burdened his soul, and drove him to his knees in humble submission. “Lord, I am not worthy of the least of all your mercies.” He had to admit, “I am the worst of sinners.”
But an incredible miracle took place in Paul’s life. “I was shown mercy,” he writes, not just a few dribbles of mercy, not a spritz or two of kindness, but, “The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly” like a big bucket filled with water and running over. While on a journey to Damascus, Paul was knocked to the ground by a dazzling light. Jesus confronted him and converted him. Jesus came into Paul’s life with his saving forgiveness and captured Paul’s heart. The Savior-King turned Paul completely around from a persecutor to a preacher, from an unbeliever to a believer. As we recall this astounding turnaround in Paul’s life, one undeniable truth stands out. The mercy of our Savior is totally undeserved. That is exactly what Paul wants us to take to heart today. “I was shown mercy, so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.”
One of the easiest tasks in life is to see other people’s faults. One of the most difficult tasks is to see and admit our own. For instance, when we hear about Paul’s putrid past, we may be tempted to say, “Wow! Was he ever rotten! I’m glad I’m not that bad!” But right there our sinful nature has gotten the better of us, arrogantly elevating us over someone else, as if we have better status before God by who we are or what we have done or not done. Since when are our sins any less the smell of rotting garbage to God than those of the Paul or the people sitting across the aisle? Just consider what our Lord has said to you and to me, “Anyone who breaks one of the least of my commandments…will be called least in the kingdom of heaven…Anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment...Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart...Love your enemies” (Matthew 5:19,22,28,44).“Do not worry” (Matthew 6:25).“Pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). When we apply those standards to our life and ask, “How do I measure up?” we begin to sense the same kind of predicament that Paul experienced. With an anvil of guilt tied around our neck, with our conscience weighed down, with a burdened soul, we are knocked to our knees in humble submission and have to admit, “Lord, I am not worthy of the least of all your mercies. I am the worst of sinners.”
But, my friends, a miracle took place when God used his Word to create faith in our hearts. For many of us that happened when God linked his powerful message of forgiveness to water and planted his love in our hearts at baptism. For others it happened through hearing and learning that same powerful message. Just because we were not knocked to the ground by the dazzling visible presence of Jesus himself doesn’t make our conversion any less amazing. Jesus has come into our lives with his saving forgiveness and captured our hearts. The Savior has turned us around from the status of sinners to being saints, from unbelievers to believers. As we recall the amazing turnaround that God accomplished in our hearts, one undeniable truth stands out. The mercy of our Savior is totally undeserved.
Give him well-deserved praise
It would have been enough for Paul to sit back and enjoy this miraculous turnaround. But God poured more joy in his path. Paul wrote, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service.” How was Paul going to offer the Lord well-deserved praise? Service! And the most obvious way to serve the Savior is to let others know what the Savior had done for them. Listen to Paul’s hymn of praise, “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever.”
Paul sang out that Jesus is eternal. Teens entering the dating scene fret over who likes whom and wonder what this love business is all about. Parents smile quietly and try to keep the seesaw balanced between encouraging innocent dating and rolling their eyes over “going steady” because they know what a broken heart from a first love is like. Jesus is eternal. He gives us forgiving love that is not here today and gone tomorrow. He won’t break our hearts. His mercy will not change.
Jesus is immortal. When you listen to people who are getting older, you hear one common tune: “Getting older is no fun.” But the smile starts to fade and all kidding gets put aside when the tune changes to the minor-key groaning of a funeral dirge. But here is a King who came out of his tomb to guarantee that we will come out of ours so that at funerals we sing songs of joy and hope and comfort and anticipation because we will not have creaky bones in heaven, and our souls will never decay.
Jesus is invisible. Last April, Donnie Thompson from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, performed a squat-lift of over 1,200 pounds. God plopped all the mountains in place in less than a day. Ocean waves have the power to lift a ship right out of the water. God spoke the word, and the oceans came to be. Creatures are visible. The Creator is not. That means Jesus is God and can be everywhere we are and can do everything we can’t.
Paul added, “He is the only God.” Probably the most surprising thought, and sometimes the scariest thought, for a non-Christian is to hear God’s claim to exclusivity. There is only one true God, only one way to get a happy connection with him—and that’s through Jesus. That rubs directly against the grain of post-modern, everybody-will-be-saved, and all-religions-are-the-same thinking. But people did not make God. God made people. And if there is a God (and there is), and if all people are accountable to him (and all are), then it’s only rational and right to stick with God’s own description of how he operates and his claim to be in charge. We don’t have to scratch our heads wondering if we have found the right religion and the right God. There is only one God, and he found us. He turned our life around!
Paul wasn’t just saved by this eternal, immortal, invisible, only God from the sewer of hell. He was saved for service to the King of kings and Lord of lords.
And we were, too. That means we get to perform miracles. No, I’m not talking about waltzing into the ER, pushing the doctors aside, and praying organs back into functioning order. I’m talking about a much greater miracle than that. God says that you and I get to play a role in turning people’s lives around. When parents bring little babies to this font, we get to use the powerful tool of baptism to snatch that infant from Satan and whisk it into God’s arms. What a turnaround! When a friend or co-worker is floundering in a sea of confusion, we get to reach out with the life vest of God’s truth. What a turnaround! When fellow Christians wander away from God’s fold like lost sheep, we get to be under-shepherds and rescue them. What a turnaround! In spite of our shortcomings, in spite of our sinfulness, God uses us to reclaim and restore lost sinners. Beyond straight up worship, there’s no better way to offer Jesus well-deserved praise.
On one occasion in his ministry, Jesus passed through Samaria, stopped for water at a well, and encountered a woman of ill repute. He turned her life around. What happened to her? The Bible says, “Many of the Samaritans from the town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony” (John 4:39). On another occasion, Jesus was near a village called Gadara and was confronted by a vile, demon-possessed man. Jesus turned his life around. What happened to that man? “[He] began to tell in [that territory] how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed” (Mark 5:20). The apostle Peter denied knowing Jesus, but after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to him, looked him in the eye, and said, “Feed my lambs...Feed my sheep” (John 21:15,17). Jesus turned his life around. Are you first shocked and then thrilled that God has actually turned your life around? For his undeserved mercy give him well-deserved praise. Let his love ring out! Amen.
Preached at Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI (www.gracedowntown.org) on July 3, 2011
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