He Considered Me Faithful
(12) I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. (13) Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. (14) The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. I Timothy 1:12-14
What an awesome testimony Paul had of the grace of God. We often have a much lower view of ourselves than God has of us. We live, move and breath in our sinfulness day in and day out and it is difficult for us to see that God could feel such a different way about us.
Jesus died to make atonement for our sins, with which religion in general agrees. But, when we are immersed into Him and His blood covers our sin, there is so much more. In this covenant-making burial, Jesus reaches into law and takes the bond and impales it to His cross. The bond of law says, “When you sin, you die.”
With that bond out of the way and nailed to His cross, God sees us as 100% pure, and He remembers our sin no more. Excellent!
Paul was a murderous individual, though he was acting on what he thought was right at the time. No matter his motives, he was a murderer! But, when the covenant of Jesus Christ was made and the grace of God came into His life, He was seen by God as 100% righteous.
Though Paul was a great man, he was not of some privilege that is not shared by you and I. We are not worthy of the forgiveness of God. That’s a fact. But when we go around acting lost all the time, it is a disgrace to the power of God.
You and I have to learn to TRUST the Master. We lean completely on His blood sacrifice and the cleansing power of His blood.
Covenant believers are free from the bondage of the guilt of sin and we should rejoice. God knows our limitations and our weaknesses. He took that into account and made provision for it. We should live well and do the best we can, but our forgiveness is based on HIM and not on US! The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.