The Savior Has Turned Our Life Around

You belong to a group of people here today.  Some people here 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 that they had been active in the Christian faith, but fell away for a time, and are just now getting back on track.  Do you believe one group has an advantage over another?  For instance, who do you think has a deeper appreciation for being close to God?  The repetitive church goer or the person 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, the miracle of conversion links us all together into the body of Christ for his Holy Ministry. We celebrate that miracle today and review 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

Demonstrated with His 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. Paul surprises us with his statement: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,” of whom I am the worst.”  Quite a remarkable statement from the greatest sinner to the Lord’s greatest apostle.

Why does Paul call himself “the worst of sinners”? Well, before God turned him around, he was well known as one of the Pharisees.  In words and actions he showed nothing but contempt for Christ.  Paul gave us this description about himself to Timothy: “formerly I was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man.” Paul expanded on this during his trial before King Arippa:

“⁹ “I too was convinced that it was necessary to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus the Nazarene. ¹⁰ And that is what I did in Jerusalem. After receiving authority from the chief priests, I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. ¹¹ I often tried to make them blaspheme by punishing them throughout all the synagogues. Because I was so insanely angry with them, I even pursued them to foreign cities.”

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.  As Paul writes to Timothy the reality of his sinfulness weighed on his conscience and drove him to his knees in humble submission: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,” of whom I am the worst.”

If Paul was sitting next to you today, which group would he fit into?  While that doesn’t really matter, what matters is what happened to Paul.  He wrote, “¹⁴ The grace of our Lord overflowed on me along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”  Not just a few dribbles of mercy but, “¹⁴ The grace of our Lord overflowed on me” 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 miraculous turnaround in Paul’s life, one truth stands out. The mercy of our Savior is totally undeserved. That is exactly what Paul wants us to take to heart today. “¹⁶ But I was shown mercy for this reason: that in me, the worst sinner, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his unlimited patience…..”  The Savior Turned Paul’s Life Around With His Mercy!

How about for us?  Well, one of the easiest things for me to do is to see the faults in other people. One of the most difficult tasks is to see and admit our own faults.  For instance, when we hear about Paul’s horrible 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. So tell me, since when are our sins any less the smell of rotting garbage to God than those of the Paul or the people sitting next to you? Just consider what our Lord has said to you and to me:

“¹⁹ So whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven…. [and] everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be subject to judgment, …[and] everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart….[and] Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

Matthew 5:19, 22, 28, 44

When we apply those standards to our life and ask, “How do I measure up?” we begin to sense the same kind of feelings that Paul experienced.  God’s holy law knocks us to our knees in humble repentance and have to admit, “Lord, I am not worthy of the least of all your mercies. I am the worst of sinners.”

Now listen, my dear Christian friends, the same miracle that Paul experienced has happened to you.  God used his Word to create faith in your heart.  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. The Savior Has Turned Your Life Around With His Mercy!  Believe it!  Then let us all be eager and ready to fulfill the Holy Ministry that belongs to us as forgiven sinners called by God and

Demonstrated with Our Ministry

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, “¹² I give thanks to the one who empowered me, namely, Christ Jesus our Lord, that he treated me as trustworthy, appointing me into his ministry.”  Paul was called by the mercy of Jesus and now he wanted 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, “¹⁷ Now to the King eternal, to the immortal, invisible, only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”  Paul sang out that 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.  How many people did you know that aren’t around anymore?  They were not immortal because they died!  But, Jesus came out of his tomb to guarantee that we will come out of ours so that at funerals we sing songs of hope and comfort and anticipation because our bodies and souls will be immortal in heaven.  Jesus is invisible.  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.”  This one causes so many stumble.  The thought that there is only one true God turns people off to Christianity, as if every god will work.  Try putting a .22 round into a .3006 riffle and see if it will work.  Nope. Try filling your car with milk instead of gas and see if it will run.  Nope.  Likewise there is only one God that works.  That God is Jesus Christ.  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.  It was God’s service to us—that is His Ministry To Us that saved us!

Now while Paul acknowledges this glorious truth, he reminds us that God not only saved us from hell, but he also saved us for service to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!  “¹⁶ But I was shown mercy for this reason: that in me, the worst sinner, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his unlimited patience as an example for those who are going to believe in him, resulting in eternal life.” Likewise for you and me.  God says that you and I get to engage a ministry to others.  The Lord uses us to turn the lives of other people around. When parents bring little babies to this font, we get to use the powerful tool of baptism to watch the Lord snatch that infant from Satan and whisk it into God’s arms. What a turnaround! When a friend or co-worker is drowning 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. That is God at Work Demonstrating His Mercy Through Our Ministry!

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). What a great ministry! On another occasion, Jesus was near a village 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). What a great ministry!  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. What a great ministry!  No matter what group we’re in today, “Lifers” “Newbees” or “Returners” at first we’re shocked and then thrilled that GOD HAS TURNED OUR LIFE AROUND.  For his undeserved mercy give him what he’s looking for: A Life of ministry. Amen!