1. Free As Sons
   
2. Does "Go Ye" Mean "Go Me?"
   
3. Are We Really Born Again?
   
4. The Sacrifices of Cain and Abel
   
5. Silence Says Something
   
6. Body Language
   
7. Repentance Before Faith
   
8. I Wonder
   
9. Can I Know?
   
10. Ultimate Logical Conclusions
    
11. Errors in Peter's Sermon
    
12. Did Timothy Need Admonition?
    
13. Jesus' Youth Sermon For Adults
    
14. Why Didn't Paul Reform?
    
15. Christmas
    
16. Let The Unmarried Marry
    
17. A Dialect of Division
    
18. Our Traditions
    
19. Adding Our Safeguards
    
20. According To The Pattern
    
21. A Creed In The Deed
    
22. Samuel Did Not Know The Lord!
    
23. Response From Our Readers
    
24. Cries Of A Troubled Church
    
25. Sharing Without Fellowship
    
26. I Joined A Church
    
27. Open Membership
    
28. Another Last Will And Testament
    
29. Sad Thoughts About Church Growth
    
30. My Four Retirement Homes
    
31. Hook's Points: A Potpourri
    

WHY DIDN'T PAUL REFORM?

Before baptism can be effective, a sinner is called upon to repent. That repentance is a change of mind which determines a course of reformation. We can hardly expect that a person deeply entrenched in sin would be able to recognize each of his sins and make a complete break from them on short notice, but, given a number of years for maturing, we would think that reformation should be accomplished.

We consider Paul as having been a spiritual giant of the most saintly character, yet toward the end of his career as a preacher he admitted to being the chief, or foremost, of sinners. Isn't that disappointing? Why didn't Paul reform?

Perhaps you are thinking that Paul didn't really mean that he was such a sinner but that he was just exaggerating for the sake of emphasis. That could be true; however, I think that there is a richer meaning for us to grasp. I am suggesting that Paul shows a development of his understanding of the nature of man, of justification, and of grace. His being Spirit­filled did not rule out his need for maturing in understanding.

Paul could not forget his past. The painful memory of his violence and blasphemy against Jesus and his disciples eroded his pride, which was based upon his claim of righteousness as a Pharisee boasting of flawless law keeping. Pride does not die easily, but we see his diminish consistently through three statements of confession.

In one of his earliest epistles, he admitted, "For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain"(l Cor. 15:9f). Here he compares himself with the other apostles in their honorable and distinctive role. Later, in his letter to the Ephesians, he compares himself with the other disciples rather than the apostles: "To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given" (Eph. 3:8). More time passes and Paul makes another comparison, not with the apostles or the saints, but with the vilest of sinners: "I am the foremost of sinners," he confesses, "but I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience for an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life" (l Tim. 1:15f).

Paul did not say "I was the chief of sinners" but "I am!" Why hadn't Paul reformed? We know that Paul had changed from his former ways and he was not relying on grace as a license to continue in sin, but at this point he better understood the nature of man and justification. Man is a sinner. He has always been a sinner and will always be one. Even though he may grow in sanctification, he cannot escape the fact that he sins. And he has never been able to undo one of his misdeeds. He has no means of self­redemption. As Jesus had taught, even though he might own the whole world, he would hold nothing in his hand with which to buy back, or redeem, his life.

How can man be saved? With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Will God make this sinner into a sinless person? Will he, through some sacramental ritual, pour his grace into a man's soul, thus perfecting him? Is the concept of baptismal regeneration true that, through sacramental powers in baptism, the Spirit recreates the sinner into a sinless person? Does the Spirit work in us to make us into the sinless person that God would have us to be?

We cannot make ourselves sinless, and God does not do it for us. Righteousness is never achieved by our efforts or accomplished in us through God's efforts. Justification is not accomplished righteousness but imputed righteousness. We are sinners accounted as righteous. This is grace, not works of achievement or accomplishment either on our part or on God's part. The greater the sin, the greater the grace. "The grace of our Lord overflowed for me." Grace is deeper than the sin of the foremost of sinners! Paul, the chief of sinners, was chosen that "Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience for an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life." No wonder that Paul concludes this consideration with a doxology: "To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. " (I Tim. I :1 2­ 1 7)!

Yes, Paul had long since renounced his impious and vicious acts against Jesus' disciples, but there had been no time in subsequent years when he could say that he was no longer a sinner. Being a sinner is of life­long continuity. No longer did Paul feel constrained to protect his Pharisaic facade of achieved righteousness. He could openly confess, "I am the chief of sinners!"

Probably, there has never been a more saintly man than Paul, yet he was a sinner of a most infamous nature. This reveals the paradox of justification by grace. God, through Christ, will account a sinner as righteous when he knows that the righteousness can never be accomplished in the person.