4 Minute Devotions: The Biggest Sinner in the World

Who is the biggest sinner in the world? The honest answer may shock us.

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1 Timothy 1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-of whom I am the worst.

Here’s a question that we never seem to ask ourselves: who is the worst sinner in the world? We could probably make a list of movie stars, dictators, politicians, and religious leaders and compare our answers, but the true answer would be totally missing: me.

We are only truly aware of the sins that we commit, the mistakes we have made, and the regrets we carry in our hearts. No one else knows the full sum of sins that we commit except ourselves; therefore when we ask who the biggest sinner is in the world, the honest answer is “me.”

Paul understood this simple truth, which is why he writes that he is the worst sinner in the world. He can see before him the past mistakes he made as a Pharisee; he can recognize his pride, anger, and self-righteousness that led him to persecute Christians; he carries the burden of his guilty past within his heart. He knows that he is the biggest sinner in the world and no matter how saintly we revere Paul, he would never take that merit upon himself.

Once we understand that we are each the biggest sinners in our own worlds, we need the biggest Savior in the Universe to forgive and restore us. We cannot do it on our own because we have no clout with God. We each need someone to stand before God to intercede on our behalf. God will not listen or excuse us. We cannot negotiate with God. Only Jesus can stand in the gap and declare us to be His sanctified and forgiven followers. It’s His merits that extinguish our demerits. It’s His obedience that cancels out our rebellion. It’s His sacred holiness that erases our sinful hopelessness.

We go from being the biggest sinners in the Universe to becoming the greatest heirs of God. We are given grace and mercy instead of punishment and wrath. We are granted everlasting life instead of eternal misery.

This is why the Church is commissioned to go out into the world. This is why every Christian is a missionary. Like Paul, we rejoice in our salvation and want to help others receive that joyful experience. We live in the love of Christ and the grace of God. We seek to share these bountiful blessings with the whole world.

So, if you ever hear the question: “who is the biggest sinner in the world?”, then answer “me.” And follow it up by letting people know who the Greatest Savior is in the universe. One day, they’ll want to experience the same.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, none of us are perfect, holy, or sinless. We all make mistakes and commit sins. We all are ashamed of things in the past and fearful of doing things wrong in the future. Grant us Your mercy and grace when we fail and fall. Help us to come to You constantly with our confessions, regrets, and disappointments. Cleanse us of the past and lead us towards our eternal future. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

4 Minute Devotions: Faithfulness

It's only through God's faithfulness to His Word, that we can ever be restored to His favor and love.

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1 Corinthians 1:9 God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

My faith is built upon the faithfulness of God. If God was ever unfaithful to His Word, my faith would instantly diminish and be destroyed. I depend upon His words being true, which is why I hold fast to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This gets me into bother sometimes, especially with other Christians whose affinity to the faith does not depend upon how truthful God’s Word is, but on how much they believe that God’s Word is trumped by God’s Love. Acceptance and tolerance are the keys to their faith and sometimes I envy them. It would be so easy to give up on God’s Word and interpret things the way that I wanted. Life would be less cumbersome without divine rules, regulations, and readings. I could do as I please, instead of trying to do what would please God.

Now don’t get the impression that I am a sanctimonious, saintly, separationist who delights in being perfect and loves it when other people fail. I am a sinful person, whose mistakes often disappoint God, other people, and even me. Because I hold fast to the faithfulness of God’s Word, it hurts me to hurt Him. My failure to remain faithful, however, does not diminish the truth about God’s Word. He remains faithful, so that when I seek forgiveness, He pardons me through the precious blood of Christ.

That’s why my faith is built upon God’s faithfulness. Left to myself, I cannot always keep His words. At some point, during each day of my life, I am going to sin. My thoughts, my words, or my deeds are going to betray God. Whether it’s intentional or not, the result is still the same: through my selfishness, I have separated myself from God. It’s only through His faithfulness that I can ever be restored to God’s favor and love.

Perhaps you’ve separated yourself from God through something that you’ve done or said. Maybe like me, you find yourself spiritually alone because of selfish and sinful ways. It seems as though there’s no hope, no solution, and no one to turn to, but that is completely wrong. God is faithful and He will find us, no matter how lost, sinful, or unfaithful we have been.

Prayer: Lord God, we all make mistakes and allow our sinful ways to separate us from Your love. We feel alienated and isolated, spiritually crushed and totally abandoned at times. Despite what we do to what we do to ourselves, You remain faithful and offer us forgiveness through the holy sacrifice of Your Son Jesus Christ. Help us at this time, to turn to Him and receive Your mercy and grace. In Christ’s Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Nothing But the Truth

Last night, our church hosted a special performance by the Word Players of Knoxville. They put on their production of “A Woman Called Truth.” It was a remarkable play, which told the story of a slave woman from the North East, who fought against her captors to win freedom for herself, her son, and her family.

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I was really impressed by the whole cast, who portrayed her story in a wonderful and engaging way. I was also struck by how relevant Sojourner Truth’s life still is for what we experience today. People may not be sold as slaves any longer, but the old prejudices and racism still persist. Just recently, a major politician, who should have known better, made an unintentional racial slur against a presidential candidate. It was unintended, but it was still racist, and what makes it even more repugnant, is that many people don’t see the racism in the remark. But that’s how the scourge of racism works – subtly and under the radar – until it becomes acceptable to the general public.

Sin operates in a similar fashion, especially in the areas of obsession and addiction. Habitual sin diminishes our faith moment by moment, event by event, sin by sin, until it becomes a major problem. The ex-Governor of New York was seduced by his own addiction, but instead of seeking help, he let it overcome him until it has ruined his career, his marriage, and possibly his life.

Bible Verse of the Day

Romans 6: 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.

Sin, racism, and even slavery are insidious. They start off small and then grow like a cancer until they take over poor souls and an ignorant populace, transforming sinners and society into something soulless. That’s why Paul emphasizes the Cross in so much of his letters. It is the one safe haven for all sinners. It is the one place and time where we can be truly set free. It is the most pivotal event in human history where we, who have been enslaved by obsession and sin, insecurity and insensitivity, rancor and racism, can be liberated by our Deliverer Christ Jesus for all of eternity. Instead of hanging on to our hang ups, we can let go and let God transform us through Christ and His Cross.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, liberate us from our fears and sins, our prejudices and pride, our mistakes and misconceptions. Open our hearts and souls to Your words and ways. Keep us from following self-satisfying paths that lead to self-destruction. Help us to latch on to Your leadership and grant us Your godly counsel in all that we seek to accomplish this day. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Holy Spirit

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John 16:8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:

Some people think that the work of the Holy Spirit is just to infuse everyone with dynamic energy so that worship services, ministries and missions can be made more effective, positive and amazing. Far too often, we have this idea that the Holy Spirit is the fizz in our spiritual lives that makes us feel better as Christians. But from this passage today, Jesus reveals to us that the prime purposes of the Holy Spirit are to convict us of our sin and disbelief; to show us what righteousness is; and to judge the world for its failures to accept Christ.

If we think about it deeply, we begin to realize that this is what Easter expresses to us. On Maundy Thursday, the night in which Jesus was betrayed, we all feel guilty because we recognize that any one of us could have been Judas. We say that we love and worship Jesus, but how many times each day do we cast aside His counsel and throw away His words?

On Good Friday, we are shown what righteousness is when we see Christ crucified on the Cross. We see our Savior dying for the world and we realize that it’s only His goodness that prevents God from destroying the world again.

And then on Easter morning, we experience the almighty power of God and Christ’s authority over the world, flesh, and the devil. They tried to keep Christ dead forever, but His righteousness prevailed so that this world and its Satanic prince are judged for all of eternity.

And how do we know that these things are true? Through the work of the Holy Spirit, because He takes away the veil that covers our hearts and minds. He opens the doors of understanding; He brings us to that sacred moment of recognition, revelation, and realization because He confronts, convicts and afflicts us with these eternal truths.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, You are more than we can understand and wilder than anything we can control. You enter our hearts and minds, penetrating our thoughts and ideas. We are afraid of You because of the truths about ourselves that You reveal. Come into our lives and help us to accept Your holiness, knowing that it will challenge and change all of us. In Christ’s Sacred Name, we pray. Amen.