This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
This verse is written by the Apostle Paul — a man who, before becoming a follower of Jesus, had violently persecuted Christians, approving of their imprisonment and even their deaths. After a dramatic personal encounter with the risen Christ on a road to the city of Damascus, Paul became one of the most influential voices in the early church. In this letter to Timothy, a young leader he was mentoring, Paul distills the heart of the Christian message to a single sentence: Jesus came into the world to save sinners. The phrase 'trustworthy saying' was Paul's way of flagging something worth memorizing and repeating — almost like a creed or motto for the early church. What makes this declaration remarkable is the addition that follows: 'of whom I am the worst.' He doesn't say 'was.' The present tense suggests the grace he received was so enormous it permanently reshaped how he understood himself.
Jesus, you came into the world to save sinners, and I am one of them. I don't always feel the weight of that the way Paul did — grace has gotten familiar. Soften whatever in me has grown numb to it. Let it be as fresh and staggering today as if I were hearing it for the very first time. Amen.
Paul had blood on his hands. Not metaphorically — actual people died because of his choices before he met Jesus on that road. And yet years later, after planting churches across the Roman world, after miracles and shipwrecks and prison sentences endured for his faith, he still introduces himself as the worst of sinners. Not as a performance of humility. Because he genuinely never moved past it. The grace he received was so enormous it recalibrated everything. He couldn't unsee what he had been given — or what he had needed. In a culture — and maybe in a church culture — where people quietly compete over spiritual credentials and moral track records, Paul's badge of honor is his own profound failure. Not because wallowing in guilt is healthy, but because the size of the grace you experience is directly proportional to how honestly you reckon with what you needed saving from. You don't have to manufacture shame. But you might ask yourself honestly: how big does grace actually feel to you today? If it's become something small and familiar and manageable, it might be worth sitting with that question for a while.
Why do you think Paul writes 'I am the worst' in present tense rather than 'I was'? What does that grammatical choice reveal about how he understands grace and his own identity years after his conversion?
Is there something in your past that you find genuinely difficult to believe God has actually forgiven? How does Paul's raw confession here speak to that specific thing?
Does calling yourself 'the worst of sinners' sound like false modesty or genuine humility to you — and what is the real difference between those two things?
How does Paul's unflinching awareness of his own failure seem to shape the warmth and patience he extends to others throughout his letters? Does your own sense of being forgiven change how you respond when people around you fail?
If grace — not your achievements, not your failures — were the single defining fact of your identity, what would you do differently tomorrow morning?
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
John 10:10
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
John 3:17
For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Luke 19:10
When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Mark 2:17
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Luke 23:43
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Isaiah 55:7
This is a faithful and trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance and approval, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost.
AMP
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
ESV
It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost [of all].
NASB
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.
NIV
This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
NKJV
This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” — and I am the worst of them all.
NLT
Here's a word you can take to heart and depend on: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. I'm proof—Public Sinner Number One—
MSG