THAT SAVED A WRETCH LIKE ME

To understand grace we must first realize where we are spiritually and how much we do not deserve anything that we have gotten from God. One person who understood this was the apostle Paul. The more he grew as a disciple, the more he realized that he was a wretch in the sight of God Almighty. This motivated him to do much because he could not pay the price of the grace. Consider the following Scriptures and see how Paul grew in his appreciation of grace.

1. THE LEAST OF THE APOSTLES

1 Corinthians 15:9,10
Paul considered himself to be an apostle, but the least of them. He realized that he did not deserve to even be an apostle.

For those who are leaders,
Q. Do you have the humility to realize that you do not deserve to be one?
Q. Do you feel that you are the least of all the leaders in the kingdom and that you are not worthy to serve in this capacity, e.g. lead songs, make announcements, preach, pray before the congregation, etc.?

If you have the right humble attitude, then will not have bad attitudes when not selected to do any of those.

2. THE LEAST OF THE DISCIPLES

Ephesians 3:7-9
Paul saw himself as not only the least of the apostles, but as the least of all of God's people. He felt that he did not deserve to be a disciple.

Being a servant is a gift. All that Paul did when preaching the gospel was to gift of the gospel which others had not yet received.

Many times we see ourselves as the disciples and all others as pagans or "religious." Before you call someone religious, however, how much of a disciple are you? "For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of God." (Matthew 5:20)

3. THE WORST OF SINNERS

1 Timothy 1:15-17
Paul finally realized that all along he had been a prideful man. Calling himself the least of the apostles and the least of disciples was an elevation of self. He now saw himself as the worst of all sinners. He accepted this as fact.

Q. Do you see yourself as the worst of sinners?

We need to be very open about the sins in our lives. We will have nothing to hide because we won't need to try to look good. Confessing sin does not make us look better, but will help us to live in appreciation of God's grace.

Where we have not done much for God, a lot of it is due to our not realizing who we are. Paul understood God's grace and that is why he worked so hard. When we understand the amazing grace, then and only then will we live lives that are worthy of the call to respond to that grace. Amen.

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