The Sinners Scale

If I were to ask you to rate sinners on a scale from 1 to 10 with 1 being the absolute worst sinner imaginable and 10 the person who sins the least, who would you put at number 1? Who would you put at number 10? Think about it. Do you have your scale yet? For example, Let's say Adolf Hitler is at 1, and Billy Graham is at 10.

Where do you rate on your scale? Surely you imagine yourself somewhere between 1 and 10. I know humility prevents you from saying you're a 9 or a 10. Where do you see yourself on the scale?

I'll play it safe and say that I'm a 5. I'm no Billy Graham, but then again, I'm not Adolf Hitler. But how does God view our scales? Are our scales like his? Somehow I doubt that it is. In fact, I'm convinced that it certainly isn't.

If ever in the history of the church there was a 10, it would be the apostle Paul. However, Paul doesn't seem to see himself as a 10. It doesn't appear he thought he was even a 5.  He explains to Timothy, "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst" (1Tim. 1:15, NIV). Paul says that he is a 1.

It appears that the closer one draws to Christ, the more they understand of their own sinfulness. They see the multitude of ways in which they offend a holy God everyday. The Spirit refuses to allow them to settle into believing that their actions make them right. Two rights don't cancel out a wrong. Sin must be confessed and repented of before it can be forgiven and cleansed.

A temptation for us as believers in Christ is to assume that our sins don't matter because they have been washed in the blood of Christ. That is to say, we sometimes (wrongly) think that sin is permissible because Jesus has already atoned for it. Such thinking is blasphemous. It denigrates the sacrifice of Christ. Sin is always an offense to a holy God.

Another temptations for believers is to assume that what we do makes us right with God. We often think that if we do something wrong, we just need to do something good to override it. But this approach will never work. Just like flowers won't erase a bruise, so to good actions cannot cancel out bad ones.

In the end, the only solution is the gospel. The gospel teaches us that we have sinned against God. It also teaches us that God loves us and wants to rescue us through the finished work of Christ. We owed a debt (because of sin), and Christ paid (by dying in our place). The gospel strips us of all self-reliance because we cannot save ourselves. Jesus must always stand in our place.

How is it that Paul could see himself as a 1, and yet experience such joy and peace? Simple, he knew it was Jesus who made him right with God from start to finish, and he rested in the knowledge. Do you see the sin in your own heart? Where do you see yourself on that scale now? Are you moved to cling more closely to Christ? If you're trusting in Christ, don't fear. Jesus has you covered.