Chief of Sinners

“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” I Timothy 1:15

Paul is writing this letter to Timothy. Timothy was one of Paul’s converts, and Paul had invested a great deal of time and effort in training him as a young preacher and fellow laborer in the Lord’s work. Timothy had a great deal of respect for Paul, so this letter would have meant a great deal to him. Paul describes himself here as the chief of sinners, or the worst sinner who ever lived. The Bible describes some pretty wicked people. Ahab and Jezebel were perhaps the most evil king and queen that reigned in Israel. When Athaliah’s son died, she killed her grandchildren so that she could be queen (II Kings 11:1). In the New Testament, the maniac of Gadara was possessed with a legion of devils. We may not be able to say for sure who the worst sinner who ever lived would have been, but the point here is that this was how the Apostle Paul saw himself. We have a tendency to want people to think well of us. We want to impress others, and we like to think of ourselves as basically good people. Paul did not allow himself such luxury. Perhaps that is part of the reason that he was able to stay motivated and why God used him in such a mighty way. Paul was grateful for God’s forgiveness and His goodness in allowing Paul to serve Him. Paul said, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry” (I Timothy 1:12).