DAILY TRUTH - ＂The Chief of Sinners＂
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Summary
The Apostle Paul was one of the most sincere and yet warm-hearted men who ever walked the earth. His view of himself is a view worth emulating. And yet, as you come into a deeper, more profound view of how little you deserve the grace of God, you should not be growing in discouragement.
Transcript
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Hey guys, real quick, before we get started, I have a small request.
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Man cannot live on bread alone, but from every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
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He does not say, I was the chief or foremost of sinners.
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a blasphemer, a persecutor, an opponent of Christ.
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Instead, Paul says, I am presently the chief of sinners.
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And Paul does not make this statement as a new believer,
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but after, instead, after he had been faithfully serving Christ
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We can actually trace a chronological progression
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Notice in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse nine,
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then paul goes on a few years later he writes to the ephesians chapter 3 verse 8 saying i'm the
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very least not just of the apostles but of all the saints and here even later still in first
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timothy chapter 1 verse 15 our text today paul says i am the best now no longer the best i'm
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The least of the apostles or the least of the saints.
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But now he's saying, no, I'm not the worst of the best.
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Paul is saying in essence, not just I was, what I am,
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despite what our culture may tell us and what many churches influenced by our culture may tell us
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today paul's view of himself is a is a view worth emulating it's a view worth modeling and his view
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does not improve over time rather he progressively comes to see himself as less and less worthy of the
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grace of god the closer a person walks with god the more they become aware of god's holiness
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I like what C.S. Lewis says in purging the poison well within.
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when a man is being formed more into the image of Christ,
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he understands more clearly the evil that is still in him,
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Now, that being said, there's a distinction between being discouraged and having a worse view of yourself.
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See, the Christian who is being sanctified, the Christian who is maturing in Christ,
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will come into a deeper and deeper understanding of their worthiness, no, their worthlessness.
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The lack of their worthiness when it comes to being a recipient of the grace of God.
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And yet, as you come into a deeper, more profound view of how little you deserve the grace of God,
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If that's the case, and for some of you it is, if that's the case, something is off.
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Paul is not saying, I am coming into a deeper understanding of my own depravity.
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I'm coming into a deeper understanding of the sin that remains.
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I am being more and more persuaded that I am the worst sinner I personally know.
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And at the same time, I'm also becoming chronically depressed.
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Even when he's in prison, suffering, going without food and water, he's singing.
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I believe that the Apostle Paul was one of the most sincere
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and yet one of the most joyful, warm-hearted men
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His view of himself is that he's the worst sinner alive
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it's understanding the law which is good if it is used lawfully it's it's being able to look deep
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into the law of god see his holiness see my lack and yet not flinch even an ounce in regards
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that god has forgiven you that you are a saint that you are righteous that you have been adopted
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that you that you belong to him and that no one can pluck you from his hand that that nothing
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you have become convinced that neither death nor life nor angels nor demons things present
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or things to come that nothing can separate you from the love of god so you're able with a sense
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of being fearless you are able to diligently look into the law of God not being afraid of what you
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might find I'll spoil what you'll find right here and now what you will find is that God is more
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holy than you previously thought and that you are more sinful and yet that should not deter you
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that should not scare you because none of that has any bearing on his love for you because you
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bearing on God's love for you. His decision was made before the foundations of the earth were laid.
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Your sin comes as a surprise to you, but it comes as no surprise to him. Knowing all your faults,
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all your failures, the depths and the recesses of your sin, past, present, and future, he
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unconditionally administered to you mercy don't be afraid of what you might find in his law and
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don't be afraid of what it might reveal in your heart all it will do is further the gap between
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the holiness of god and your sinfulness which means all it will do is increase your knowledge
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That's the Theonomy and Post-Millennialism Conference.
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We've got the speakers that we've already had lined up.
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Dr. Gary DeMar, non-doctor, Pastor Joel Webin, but we also have a bonus speaker and that is
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Dale Partridge from Real Christianity. Perhaps you've heard of him. If not, you should start
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listening to his podcast. It's fantastic. Dale Partridge is going to be joining our team. We're
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going to have live panels on Friday night and Saturday night where you'll be able to write in
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questions and get them answered. We're also going to have a catered barbecue, Texas-style barbecue
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meal on Friday that's a part of your registration fee. All that is covered. So you need to get
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that. This is how you do it. Go and register right now at rightresponseconference.com. Again,