Chief of Sinners

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

I don’t know who you think you are. I don’t know where you think you’re going. But, please understand, if you are a child of God on your way to the Father’s house, God is able to use you in this life to accomplish things you would never, ever have imagined.

You may think, “I don’t have the natural gifts for that.”

Great. Perfect. Do you know what Paul said was one of his major qualifications to be the apostle that he was? Chief of sinners. How would you like that on your resume? Would we have picked Paul to be the writer of more of the New Testament than anybody else?

“So, Paul, tell us your background. How did you get this assignment?”

“Well, I used to persecute Christians, so I guess you could say I have exposure to Christianity. I used to round them up and have them beaten and tortured to death.”

I would have said, “God, please excuse me. I need to give you some background on this guy. He’s the wrong choice, a bad fellow, not to be trusted.”

God says, “I know all about him.”

“No, no, no, no, no. You don’t. He’s a bad man, a really bad man.”

“I know. I know. Here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to give him a new heart. I will put my Spirit within him. He’s going to shine for me. He will suffer greatly, but he will be my spokesman.”

God calls His people to do things they can only do supernaturally. Not everyone has a national or international ministry, but you can’t even be the kind of husband or the kind of wife God is calling you to be apart from His supernatural power.

Marriage isn’t just about you finding somebody to be your companion. Marriage is about your opportunity to witness to all who know you, as you exemplify the relationship between Christ and the church.

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church. To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband. Ephesians 5:31-33

You cannot be the kind of parent God is calling you to be apart from the supernatural power of God’s Holy Spirit at work in you. You are supposed to show your children what God’s love, truth, holiness, and patience look like. You can’t do this apart from God’s Holy Spirit at work in you.

You cannot be the kind of employer, employee or co-worker God has called you to be apart from the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit.

You cannot be the kind of citizen or neighbor God has called you to be apart from the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit.

Everything we do, as followers of Jesus Christ, is for the glory of God.