From your perspective, who is the worst sinner you have ever known? If you could ask the great Apostle Paul that question, he would answer it definitively. It was him! He was the chief or foremost sinner, from his perspective. Paul was more aware of what he had done to Christ than what anyone else had done. (See 1 Timothy 1:15)

I think from a quantity or kind or consequence perspective there were other sinners in Paul’s world who were worse than he was, but it didn’t seem to affect Paul’s thinking as far as how he saw himself prior to salvation. Paul saw himself as the worst sinner. I believe Paul had the right attitude on how we should view ourselves in the light of others.

Jesus said it another way in Matthew 7:3-5:

Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

To miss the Savior’s point here is to miss a very basic outworking of the Gospel: Rick was the chief of sinners before Christ regenerated him. A Christian who does not see himself as the worst sinner ever saved will be tempted to compare himself to other people, based on what they have or have not done. This kind of thinking creates degrees and levels for categorizing believers and unbelievers. In reality, there are only two kinds of sinners, with no degrees or levels:

• Unsaved sinner, also called pagan, unregenerate, lost, unbeliever, or a child of Satan.
• Saved sinner, also called saint, regenerate, saved, believer, or a child of God.

It is an ontological (state of being) issue, or who you are in Christ, rather than what you have done, good or bad. It will not matter what sins you have committed when you stand before God, as it pertains to the point of this article. What you have done is not the question I am asking. The issue on that day will be what did you determine about the Son of God? Did you accept him or did you reject him? That is the question.

The sin issue that I am talking about here is self-righteousness, a fundamental sin that feeds racism, legalism and other judgmental attitudes.

Whenever there is a temptation in my soul to do any of the following, then I am guilty of self-righteousness and I have strayed from a functional and practical outworking of the Gospel.

Paul knew quite a few Christians who had many issues and I am sure some of them were worse than he was, from a quantity or kind or consequence perspective, but when he looked at himself, he realized he was the chief of all the sinners in the group, a sinner whom God had shown mercy. (1 Timothy 1:15-16) If you really believe you are the worst sinner ever saved then you have a very basic, yet profound, understanding of the Gospel.

Application Questions

1. Do you have a “better than” attitude when you think of others?
2. One of the ways you can think about the question above is by asking these questions: Have you ever gossiped? Have you ever gotten angry? Have you ever been impatient? Have you ever criticized anyone? Have you ever slandered anyone?
3. If you answered “Yes” to any of the questions in #2 then you have yielded to the sin of self-righteousness, a “better than” attitude, that states you don’t need God because he came for the unrighteous, not the righteous. The solution would be to repent.

Other Articles in This Series

1. Problem: Big Sinners vs. Little Sinners – 1.0
2. Churches with Big Sinners & Little Sinners – 2.0
3. Adult Sinners with Big Problems – 3.0
4. Acknowledged Sinners with Inexpressible Gratitude – 4.0
5. Big Sinners, Little Sinners & the Worst Sinners – 5.0

Share

Checkout some of our training videos on our YouTube Channel

Free Counseling Advice via Twitter

Free Counseling Advice via Weekly eBlast

Checkout Counseling Solution’s Membership Training Site