Read: 1 Timothy 1:12-17

A man was filling out a job application and he came to the question “Have you ever been arrested?” He wrote, “No.” The next question was intended for people who had answered “Yes” to the previous question. That question was “Why?” Anyway the applicant answered it: “I never got caught.” He clearly knew he was guilty of many offences.

Paul the apostle was such a person. He knew he had personally done wrong and sinned against God. He wrote, “I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man” (1 Tim. 1:13). He even called himself “chief” of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15).

We also were once separated from God because of our sin and were considered His enemies (Rom. 5:10; Col. 1:21). But when we confessed our sins and acknowledged our requirement for His forgiveness, He cleansed us and made us new. That is the grace of God.

Those of us who have known the Lord for many years may have the tendency to forget what we have been rescued from and forgiven of. Sharing about our past and present failures and giving praise to God for forgiveness will help us not to have a “holier than you” attitude to people who don’t yet know the Lord.

For those who are God’s children through Jesus Christ (John 1:12-13), we need to always remember that we have all been guilty of many offences, but God forgave us in Christ. And God alone deserves the glory for His grace and mercy towards us. Someone once said, “Grace is everything for those who deserve nothing.”