The Apostle Paul at the close of his life called himself the chief of sinners. In another place he calls himself the least of the Apostles because he persecuted the church. It is true that we have to look at Christ and what He has done for us on the cross. We are no longer sinners but saints. We have been made righteous in Christ and we are now a holy nation. Our experiences may say something different but we don’t look at them but rather look at the facts of God as found in His word. But after we overcome sin by faith and enjoy the victory of Christ there comes a tendency wherein we are tempted to be proud. So now we have to look at the past and consider our experiences and confess that we are sinners if not the chief of sinners and remember that it was by grace alone that we overcame. Not by works lest any man should boast. Our victory over sin is because of Christ alone and not because of anything in us. So, the Apostle Paul called himself the chief of sinners because he remembered how he persecuted the church. After you overcome, remember the life you lived and give glory to God for what He has done in you. The more grace that you receive the more you will see the sinfulness that was in you and you will be humbled more and more as you progress in faith.
I’m on a personal quest for truth. researching the Early Christian Church, it’s doctrines, and beliefs. Many are not aware of even the meaning of the word “apostasy”,and the fact that it has already occured. Rev. 12:9 states:”…the one called Devil, and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth”.God’s word refers to Satan as the “ruler of this world”, in several text, and also calls him “the father of the lie”. So, we have “the father of the lie”, who is behind the scene, ruling this world. What would God want you to take away from these revelations.- Satan is misleading this world, and most are too gullible to see behind the veneer. 1 John 4:1, we recieve instruction from the Creator: “Beloved, do not believe every inspired expression, but ‘test’ the inspired expression to see whether they ‘originate’ with God…” but most of us, being unaware, embrace into our belief system practices, symbols, and beliefs,that are not of God. With only confirmation from a priest,(fallible man) we rest our salvation, without so much of a quest for truth, on these matters. The “transcendent truth” reveals the greek word that was translated as “cross” in most Bibles is “stauros”, which is a mistranslation. Properly, it translates as “stake”, or upright pale. Ordinarily, this may not be of much consequence, but this is Satan’s world and he’s mislead the masses to venerate a pagan symbol of “Tammuz”-the Sun God.The cross is really a lower-case “T”, the first initial of his name. Always “test” your beliefs, – Always.
Thank you, this is a wonderful reminder.