The G.O.A.T.

13th Sunday after Pentecost – C (Proper 19)                                      LSB #’s 684, 611, 819:1, 3-4
Text – 1 Timothy 1:15
 
The saying is trustworthy & deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
 
THE G.O.A.T.
 
 
If you’re not a huge professional sports fan, THE G.O.A.T. may be something you’re unfamiliar with.  The acronym stands for Greatest of all Time.  In the National Football League, Tom Brady is considered to be THE G.O.A.T. almost unanimously.  In the National Basketball Association, Michael Jordan is favored by many, but there is a lot more debate. 
Major League Baseball has seen thousands more players than any other league & it’s been a major pastime for many more years.  It’s a lot more difficult to come to a consensus.    In the realm of Christianity, the apostle Paul has staked his claim to being THE G.O.A.T.:
“The saying is trustworthy & deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”  (1 Timothy 1:15 ESV)   In our world alone that is an amazing claim.  In Utah, Charlie Kirk was assassinated in broad daylight, in front of thousands of people.  
In North Carolina, a young woman who fled the war in Ukraine was brutally stabbed to death by the man in the seat behind her.  Worse yet, three other people were within 8 feet of her, & not a single one of them made a move to help her.   Catholic school students were at chapel when a killer opened fire through the windows & ended the lives of two children. 
In Colorado, a teenager shot two other students at their school before he committed suicide.  In the Middle East hundreds of thousands of people have had their lives destroyed by the sadistic actions of cold-blooded killers.  The ego of Vladamir Putin has brought Ukraine to ruin & destroyed the lives of millions of people.  Less than a hundred years ago, Adolph Hitler had anywhere from 11-17 million people executed.  Joseph Stalin had another 20 million slaughtered.  Mao Zedong of China is estimated to have had between 30 & 45 million people destroyed.   Yet, St. Paul claims that he is the chief of sinners.   What kind of definition is he working with?  Is that definition one that you & I should be applying to ourselves?  
“The saying is trustworthy & deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”  (1 Timothy 1:15 ESV)   By default, as sinful human beings, when we’re confronted with a weak version of the Law, we tend to work with this definition: “Chief of sinners though I be / you-know-who is worse than me!” 
All the afore mentioned sinners, who’ve killed close to a hundred million people, are certainly worse than any of us, aren’t they?   To answer, “Yeah!” is where we end up when we work with the definition: “Chief of sinners though I be / you-know-who is worse than me!” 
That way of thinking reduces sin to nothing more than a criminal record.  Here’s the list of sins I’ve committed,  & since my list is shorter than yours  I’m not as bad  as you are.  In that sense all of us can find someone with a list that is longer than ours.   But that is not the definition used by St. Paul.  My sin is not simply a list of the bad things I’ve done. 
At its core, sin is the attitude of my heart.   In which direction is my heart facing?   In which direction is your heart facing?   Each morning, as you begin to regain consciousness, what are the first thoughts that come to mind?  Aren’t they often something about how you feel? 
I’m not a morning person so it’s common for me, as I wake up, to realize, I feel tired this morning.  It becomes clear that I didn’t get enough sleep, or I didn’t sleep well.  Or, can that really be my alarm – already?  What time is it anyway?  If things are really bad, “Where am I?” 
For those who are morning people, I’m just guessing now, “Oh, the sun is shining!  The birds are singing!  I feel alive & awake & refreshed!  Look out day, here I come!  There are so many things I’m looking forward to doing.”   In either illustration, morning person or not morning person, did the first thoughts of consciousness include anything like these words?  “To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor & glory forever & ever.  Amen.”  (1 Timothy 1:17 ESV)  Is that how your mornings begin, from the very first moment? 
 Every thought, of every moment, of every day should be centered in our Creator.   They don’t have to be explicitly focused on Yahweh, but every thought should revolve around Him.  As His creation, & especially as His children, our very existence is centered in Him & in Him alone.  That is so, because apart from the Creator, you & I have no existence. 
Every thought,    of every moment,    of every day…   Before the fall into sin, that is how life was for Adam & Eve.   Not a one of us can begin to comprehend the jarring break that occurred once they bit into that forbidden fruit.   I expect that Satan’s lie was immediately obvious in a heart-wrenching way that none of us can comprehend.  Sin is normal for you & me. 
St. Paul was barely scratching the surface when he wrote: “The saying is trustworthy & deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”  (1 Timothy 1:15 ESV)   Since we live in a world that has been broken by sin, that should be your confession & mine   every moment   of every day. 
At its core, sin is the attitude of my heart.   Of all the horrific sins being committed each day by every human being that is alive, the only ones that are relevant to me are the sins I commit.  Those are the only sins that have separated me from my Creator.   Regarding my salvation, I am the chief of sinners.  No other sins matter.   I am a lost & condemned creature. 
Nevertheless, those are not the only operative words in the sermon text.  Paul also wrote: “…Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…”  (1 Timothy 1:15 ESV)   All of us are sinners & all of us are the chief of sinners & that is why Jesus was born in Bethlehem.  He gave up the glories of heaven in order to rescue each & every one of us.  The words of St. Paul expose our negotiations in measuring our niceness or naughtiness relative to our neighbor.  When Paul confesses that he is THE G.O.A.T., that Word of God  busts us down to the bottom of the line every time.  Our sinful nature rejects that, but by God’s grace, our saintly nature believes it. 
Sinners who soberly face their sin have no place to run but to a savior, & the Savior to run to is at the cross.  The cross is where sin goes to die, but we go there only by the power of the Gospel.  The face staring at you when you see the law is the face of Christ Jesus on the cross.  In effect, Jesus says, “Come to me at the cross & I will kill your sin.” 
With St. Paul, our faithful response is not guilt or repayment or going back to measuring, but simple doxology, as V. 17 says, “To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor & glory forever & ever.  Amen.”  (1 Timothy 1:17 ESV) 
 
 
 
Chief of sinners though I be,  Jesus shed His blood for me,  died that I might live on high,  lives that I might never die.  As the branch is to the vine, I am His, & He is mine.  Oh, the height of Jesus’ love, higher than the heavens above, deeper than the depths of sea, lasting as eternity! Love that found me – wondrous thought!  Found me when I sought Him not.  Only Jesus can impart balm to heal the wounded heart, peace that flows from sin forgiven, joy that lifts the soul to heaven, faith & hope to walk with God in the way that Enoch trod.  Amen.  LSB 611:1-3.