Alan Lewis
Elon, North Carolina
September 2024
For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. (I Corinthians 15:9-10 NIV)
The last few weeks, we have been studying the gospel. I Corinthians 15 is the one passage in the Bible that explains what the gospel is. This passage shows us the power of the gospel. We see some of the amazing things that the gospel does.
Today, we want to look at just two verses. Paul talks about himself in these verses. He shares his personal testimony. There is great value in doing that. People can argue with what you say but no one can argue with your personal story.
No one can argue with what God has done in your life or how you came to faith in Christ. Some of us have more dramatic conversion stories to tell but it is always powerful to hear a personal conversion story.
We are going to look at Paul’s conversion and see what it says to us today. What can we learn from it? We can learn several things.
Three Practical Truths
Today, I want to look at three very practical truths from the conversion of Paul: God can save anyone. God can change anyone. God can use anyone. Let’s look at these three points.
1) God can save anyone
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, 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.
15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. (I Timothy 1:12-16 NIV)
Paul was the greatest Christian who ever lived, and he called himself a sinner. So much for sinless perfectionism, as some teach. Paul did not teach that.
He saw himself as a sinner and he was not a new believer. He was a mature Christian. He had been saved for decades and yet he still called himself the worst of sinners.
Now, Paul was also a saint, but he still saw himself as a sinner saved by grace. If Paul was a sinner, so are we.
He was a sinner. In fact, he was not a little sinner. He was a big sinner. He called himself “the chief of sinners.” He saw himself as the greatest sinner who ever lived.
Was he the worst sinner who ever lived? Probably not but he had such a strong conviction of his own sin that he felt that way.
Paul was responsible for the imprisonment and death of Christians. He did not blame others for his actions. He did not make excuses. He felt terrible for what he did. We would call him today a terrorist.
Saul was “still breathing THREATS AND MURDER against the disciples of the Lord” (Acts 9:1 NIV).
Saul began to DESTROY the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. (Acts 8:3 NIV)
When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. And Saul APPROVED of their killing him. (Acts 7:54-8:1 NIV)
If the greatest sinner of all time could get saved, then anyone can be saved. No one is too bad to be saved. Nobody?
What about murderers? What about serial killers? What about rapists? What about child molesters and pedophiles?
All sins can be forgiven. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18 NIV)
Jesus said, “I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven” (Matthew 12:31 NLT). That doesn’t mean all sins will be forgiven. People have to repent but they can be forgiven.
The worst sin ever committed was not violence. It was not sex trafficking. It was the crucifixion of Jesus and ye the ones responsible for this horrendous act could still be saved. Peter told them that they crucified their Messiah. They nailed him to a cross, but God raised him from the dead.
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:37-38 NIV)
God can save anyone. When they felt bad for what they had done, Peter did not say, “Sorry but there’s no forgiveness for you, after what you have done.” He did not tell them that because of their level of sin, there was no hope. He told them to repent and be saved.
There are plenty of people that that we think could never be saved. You may know some. There are hardened sinners who seem too far gone to ever get saved. There are atheists who you think will never come to faith.
It would be impossible but with God all things are possible. Paul was one of the people that you would think would never come to faith, but the number one hater of Christianity became the number one defender of it.
2) God can change anyone
The gospel radically transforms people. It changes lives. Has your life been changed? What changes have taken place in your life as a result of your salvation?
Paul’s life was changed. He was a completely different person. There was no natural explanation for what happened to the Apostle Paul.
Jesus appeared to him and changed his life. Paul became a new person in Christ. The old Paul died on the Damascus Road. He was a different person. He was even given a different name. It was Saul before he got saved but it changed to Paul after his conversion.
Paul said, “if anyone is in Christ, the NEW CREATION has come, the old has gone, the NEW is here!” (II Corinthians 5:17 NIV)
If a person makes a profession of faith but there is absolutely no change in his life, he is probably not saved. It takes time to clean everything up in your life but there should be some changes.
A Christian is a new creature in Christ. Jesus makes us new. We are different after we are saved, and other people will be able to see the differences.
Paul had a past. He had some past sins. He never forgot who he was or what he had done. He never forgot where he came from, but he changed after salvation. He changed radically
Before he was saved, he was breathing threats and violence. Before he was saved, he was a terrorist. After he was saved, he became a pastor and missionary. He went on mission trips. He started churches.
Instead of putting other people in prison, he was put in prison. Instead of attacking other people, he was attacked and beaten. The persecutor a preacher. The killer became an apostle.
Paul went from being violent to being gentle. He went from being profane and blaspheming to being a writer of Scripture.
He went from believing Jesus was a deceiver to believing He is the Son of God. He went from hating Christians to joining them and being the number one Christian on the planet.
He went from focusing on religion to focusing on a relationship. Prior to his conversion, everything was about religion and following a set of rules.
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. (Philippians 3:4-6 NIV)
After he was saved, he was still Jewish but there was more to life than following a set of religious rules.
After his conversion, everything was about Jesus. He said, “For to me to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21 KJV). He said, “for me to live is Christ,” not religion or a set of rules. Jesus meant everything for Paul.
Paul went from being proud to being humble. Before he was saved, he boasted about his religion. He was a Pharisee of the Pharisees. He was educated by a famous Rabbi in Jerusalem named Gamaliel.
After his conversion, things changed. He became humble. We can see this in three ways.
First, he called himself the WORST SINNER. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. (I Timothy 1:15 NIV)
Second, he called himself the LEAST SAINT. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ (Ephesians 3:8 ESV)
Third, he called himself the LEAST APOSTLE. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. (I Corinthians 15:9 ESV)
Now that is strange. Paul was one of the greatest Christians who ever lived. He was more educated than the other apostles. Many of them were simple fishermen (Peter, Andrew, James and John). They were uneducated.
Paul wrote more NT books than any other apostle. Three-fourths of the apostles did not write a book of Scripture. Paul wrote thirteen of them. Most of them were not writers. Only three other apostles wrote a book of the Bible (Matthew, John and Peter).
Paul planted more churches than the other apostles. Paul was the greatest missionary of all time. The church today is largely a Gentile church today because of his influence.
When the church began it was one hundred percent Jewish. Now the church is predominantly a Gentile movement. Paul was the one who took the gospel to Europe and from Europe it came to America.
Paul was the greatest theologian of the apostles. All of the deep theology of the NT comes from the Apostle Paul.
After Judas committed suicide, he had to be replaced. Matthias was chosen to replace him. You can read about it in the Book of Acts. Paul never said, “They should have chosen me.” He was never jealous.
Of course, he was not a believer at that time. He was not even saved yet. That happened in Acts 1. Paul persecuted the church eight chapters later
Despite of all his accomplishments, Paul said that he was the least of the apostles. In fact, he said he was not worthy to even be called an apostle. That is humility. We don’t see that kind of humility today.
There is a lot of pride, even in the church. Among Christians, there is a lot of competition. Among some pastors, there is a lot of competition but there was not any competition with Paul, not even with the other apostles.
3) God can use anyone
Paul was unworthy but God still used him. He used to be an apostle. He used him to write Scripture. Paul wrote two-thirds of the New Testament.
God can use you despite your past. God knew what Paul had done but He still put him in the ministry. God can use you even if you had a sinful past. God used a prostitute to hide the Jewish spies in the book of Joshua.
Many say, “You don’t know what I did. You do not know my past.” Paul had a past, but he was not bound by his past. Paul did not join a recovery group for persecutors, Pharisees, or spiritual abusers.
God can use anyone because of grace. This passage is all about grace. The word “grace” occurs three times in one verse.
10 But by the GRACE OF GOD I am what I am, and HIS GRACE to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but THE GRACE OF GOD that was with me. (I Corinthians 15:10 NIV)
What are the applications that we have seen so far? God can save anyone. Are you saved? Do you know if you are saved?
God can change anyone. Is your life changed? Have you experienced radical changes since salvation?
God can use anyone. Is He using you? Do you know what your spiritual gifts are? Are you using them for His glory?
Types of Grace
What is grace? Do you understand grace? Most Christians have a wrong conception about grace. They believe there is only one type of grace. Most Christians have only one definition of grace.
The biggest misconception that Christians have about grace is that they think that grace ONLY has to do with salvation.
We are saved by grace. Salvation is a free gift that God gives us. It is a gift we don’t deserve and have not earned.
Ephesians 2:8 says, “by grace you are saved through faith”. Titus 2:11 says, “For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people.” (NIV)
Grace saves but grace is not limited to salvation. Grace also makes us holy. Grace does not encourage sin. It encourages holiness.
The Bible teaches saving grace. It also teaches sanctifying grace. Grace not only justifies us; it sanctifies us. It makes us holy. Grace teaches us to be holy. Paul says that grace teaches us to be godly.
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. (Titus 2:11-14 NIV).
Grace enables us to serve. It gives us POWER TO SERVE. All of our spiritual gifts are a result of grace. They are called “grace-gifts. The Greek word for “spiritual gift” is χαρίσμα. Charisma is a great name. It has the word “grace” (χάρις) in it.
We have different gifts, ACCORDING TO THE GRACE GIVEN TO EACH OF US. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. (Romans 12:6-8 NIV)
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of GOD’S GRACE in its various forms. (I Peter 4:10 NIV)
Our gifts and ministries are a result of grace. Grace does not just save people; it empowers people to serve. Grace does not encourage laziness but service.
John Piper said that grace is power, not just pardon.[1] It gives you the power to do things. Grace does not only deal with salvation but with empowerment.
Grace also gives us STRENGTH IN HARD TIMES. Grace gives us strength to endure trials. Paul had a trial. He had a thorn in the flesh.
He asked for it to be removed. Jesus said, “I am not going to remove it. I am going to give you grace instead to endure it.”
Jesus said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for MY POWER is made perfect in weakness” (II Corinthians 12:9 NIV). Grace gives you the supernatural power to endure trials.
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6 ESV).
What does that mean? It is not talking about salvation. James is writing to people who are already saved but they still need grace. What is James saying?
If you are saved, you have already experienced the grace of God but you can still experience more grace. The way to experience more grace is through humility. Humility opens the door to more grace from God.
James makes two points. God resists the proud. God gives grace to the humble. Your attitude affects your relationship to God.
Pride restricts God’s ability to work in your life. God actually opposes you. He resists you. Don’t expect to get your prayers answered if you are a proud person.
Grace not only saves us and sanctifies us; it makes us what we are. We are what we are by the grace of God. Paul was what he was by the grace of God.
All of your accomplishments are a result of grace. They are not just the result of your incredible abilities and hard work.
Paul did not boast about his accomplishments. He did not think he was better than other people. He did not think he was better than other apostles.
[1] https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/grace-is-pardon-and-power
