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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
1 Corinthians 15:9-11
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
No one is worthy of anything from God. None of us have done anything to earn His goodness and blessings. The Bible tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
The psalmist David writes in the eighth Psalm:
“...what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” v.4
And yet, God loves us, forgives us, and show mercy to us. He freely extends the blessing of His grace to us, the undeserving, and we should be in a state of thanksgiving and praise daily because of this.
As we look at our scripture passage for today, verses 9 through 11 of 1 Corinthians 15, we find the Apostle Paul testifying and acknowledging the blessing found in the grace of God. Look again at his words here:
For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
Paul had invested so much in advancing the Gospel across his missionary journeys. He had planted Christian churches and helped thousands upon thousands of people find their salvation through sharing the good news about Jesus. He could have easily boasted about all he had done for the cause of Christ but he didn’t. Rather, he humbly acknowledged his sinful, fallen state before God.
Yes, he had done a lot and worked harder than any other Gospel-sharing apostle and yet he didn’t even consider himself worthy of bearing the title.
Why?
Because his past wasn’t always dedicated to supporting and endorsing Jesus, just like many other people who came to become Christians.
Paul didn’t believe in Jesus as Savior in his life prior to conversion. As a fervent Jew, he took great delight and gained pleasure from persecuting Christians, imprisoning many but also killing or at least being party to killing. In fact, the first time we are introduced to Paul in the scriptures, he is overseeing the stoning of Stephen, one of the seven specially selected men who were tasked with assisting people with their social needs. Paul’s name was Saul then and after receiving permission from the Jewish religious leaders to travel to Damascus where he planned to continue fighting against the Christianity movement, he was challenged by Jesus, struck down blind on the road to Damascus. Three days later, after a visit from Ananias, Saul would regain his sight and gain a new viewpoint in life, one that had him work to advance, not cancel out, the Gospel.
Paul didn’t forget who he was and he was far from proud of the person he used to be. It was a thorn in his side that he carried with him (2 Corinthians 12:1-10) but he also didn’t forget that it was the blessing of God’s grace that saved him. It was what made him who he was, a sinner who was granted salvation even though he wasn’t worthy of it. As an apostle, he was only who he was because of the goodness and mercy of God, and this mercy and goodness had a great impact on him as it was always with him and upon him.
Friends, we, like Paul, were completely unworthy of what God did for us through His Son Jesus, the One who is at the heart of the Gospel. Let us follow the lead of the apostle, never forgetting who we were before we found salvation and always remembering how we are saved by the blessing of God’s grace and that alone.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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