Rev. Sean Kilgo, pastor at the Northeast Kansas Lutheran Partnership, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Timothy 1:12-20.
Paul thanks Christ Jesus as the One who called him and judged him to be faithful. This was not due to anything Paul had done, but was solely the declaration of God that made him so. God did this despite Paul’s formerly blasphemous and violent ways against Christ and His Church. Paul was shown mercy in his ignorance, as God’s grace overflowed even more than Paul’s sin. Paul reminds Timothy that all of God’s Word is trustworthy, particularly as he sums it up concisely: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” Such wonderful news leads Paul to praise the one true God with great joy. He again encourages Timothy in the important spiritual battle that he will wage as a pastor. Even when that battle requires the drastic step of excommunication, the purpose is always to lead sinners in repentance to the One who came for them: Christ Jesus.
“The Word is Trustworthy” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the three pastoral epistles: 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus. These three letters are named after their recipients, two young pastors in the Christian Church. St. Paul gives instruction to these two men concerning the doctrine and life of the congregations where they are given to serve. In these epistles, the Apostle teaches both pastors and congregations of all times and places that the sound doctrine from God’s Word is faithful to save sinners in Christ Jesus.
Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail,
