1 Timothy 1:13b

(13b) …but I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief.

Paul is talking about the graciousness of God in giving him the Gospel ministry. He’s overflowing with thanks to God – not showing that he’s worth being a minister of the Gospel – but showing how great God is in making a blasphemer, persecutor and insolent opponent (13a) into an apostle.

And he just has in broad brushstrokes painted his former self as an enemy of Christ.

And here he points out that God moved – God acted – God demonstrated mercy. God saw a puny human breathing hateful, blasphemous threats against Jesus Christ – and had pity on him – saw his true, depraved, wretched, poor, helpless state – and gave Paul mercy.

God felt compassion for Paul, forgave him his sins, and made him an apostle for the spread of His Good News.

We see what that mercy looked like in v. 14. But before we get there, we need to address Paul’s ignorance. He says that he received mercy because he acted in unbelief. Well, all unbelievers act in unbelief. But not all receive mercy, right? So what’s he mean?

I think he means to distinguish himself here from the Pharisees that Jesus dealt with – who saw the miracles – who in some sense believed – and called the Lord a devil. The Lord, as you recall, responded to such accusations with his statements about how blasphemy against the Spirit will never be forgiven.

He was thus never a member of the community – and never participated in the life of the Spirit. He didn’t really see it. See Matthew 12:22 and following and Hebrews 6:1-9. In other words, he wasn’t an apostate. He didn’t do what those two passages talk about.

Why does he seem to distinguish himself from those people? I think because he’s addressing heretics in this book. He doesn’t want to shake Timothy’s trust in the word of the Lord, and so he’s careful about what he says.

There are, thus, degrees of depravity. They all make one guilty before God – but there are degrees of rejection – and ultimately – Paul was not one of the swine who knowingly trampled the pearls (Matt 7:1-6)– but rather, an unbeliever – a guilty one – who was given grace.

In sum,
1) A pastor must realize and give credit to God for his grace.
2) A pastor must be public about how it is God’s mercy that gave him a ministry.
3) A pastor must be public about how God’s mercy rescued him from sin.
4) A pastor must be careful in his speech, trying to make sure he is understood.
5) Thus, a pastor must take his audience into account – and harmonize everything he says, anticipating objections and questions that arise.