For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy…
This is one of Paul’s patented run-on sentences, and finally I had to break it off somewhere. Notice though that, even in a sentence fragment, the entirety of the gospel can be found. No one hated Christians more than Saul of Tarsus. But “when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared” on the road to Damascus, his mercy saved Paul. Before; Saul, after; Paul. It does not get more dramatic than that, when even his name changed. His identity certainly did, from enemy of Christ to servant of Christ unto death. He had already been imprisoned and would be arrested again. This time he would finish the race and receive the crown.
I wonder what would change in our daily lives if we as Christians would remember these first few words of verse 3. That our past is riddled with foolish decisions, outright dishonesty, lacking self-control and abounding with hate for others. Would we cease to look down on others in dire straits of their own making, remembering that we once did the same? Would we show more grace to those in our families and churches who stumbled in sin, knowing grace is our only hope? Paul wrote to a generation of pagan excess and reminded his audience that without the mercy of God, they would be right there with them. We live in similar times with similar blessings…
According to his own mercy.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church