“Formerly, I was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man. Yet, I was shown mercy, for I labored in ignorance and in unbelief.”

(1 Timothy 1:12)

Paul’s testimony is powerful because his life illustrates what God can do. Further, verses like this also illustrate the humility of this convert. Think about it, Paul had been a Pharisee of Pharisees, studying under the great rabbinic teacher, Gamaliel. He had even been given authority to arrest the followers of Jesus under the charge of blasphemy. Yet here he is claiming that he had been the one blaspheming and without faith. For most of us who have grown up in Christian circles, it is hard to relate to how profound a statement this happens to be, but it would be the equivalent to a Muslim Imam converting to the Christian faith or perhaps even that of a Roman Catholic Bishop or Archbishop converting to the Protestant faith.

Yet, notwithstanding Paul’s personal testimony, I think that we need to look more closely at that which Paul accuses himself. Ultimately, it is three things: blasphemy, persecution, and violence. While it manifests itself differently in different contexts, I think it is fair to say that all these things still take place even within Christian circles. Blasphemy is any form of dishonoring God’s name. This certainly covers the Third Commandment, but we ought to remember that dishonoring God’s name can be just as much a a physical as it is a verbal action. For instance, one need not use God’s holy name as a curse word or vulgar oath, one can go about willfully breaking the commandments and still be guilty of blasphemy against God. When worship services follow the directives of men rather than the directives of God, that is blasphemous. When false teachers present a gospel that is not the Gospel as delivered in the Scripture, again, blasphemy is taking place. Any time the things of men are substituted for the things of God (especially in worship and in the life of the church), blasphemy is taking place.

Yet, we are not through. Is not gossip a violence against the name or character of another person? Do you realize that by not following the principles that Jesus lays down in Matthew 18, when you are aware of a brother or sister in sin, that you are committing violence against them. People so often run directly to the pastor or Elders when there is an offense, bypassing their Biblical obligation to speak to the offending brother one to one in the hopes of restoring relationship. How often I have told parishioners that the Elders and I will do nothing until Matthew 18 has been followed. How often people are frustrated by that stance. Yet, to do otherwise is a violence against an unsuspecting brother or sister. In some cases, where there is a breakdown of discipline in the church, it may even a form of persecution.

While Paul addresses sins in various places in this text, to see the change in Paul is a testimony to the mercy God showed him. When a person genuinely experiences the mercy of God, their life is changed. The sad thing is, what does that statement say about so many of the churches in our midst?