My text shall be verse 13 and
just these words that make the difference in what Paul spoke
of being before and what he now was. Here's why. But I obtained
mercy. That's my subject. God's mercy. Anyone interested in that? God's mercy. Last month, no,
month before last, April, when I was at Fairmont Grace Church,
that's not right either. Katie Baptist Church in Fairmont,
West Virginia, where Marvin Stoniger is pastor. He had a picture of
dear brother Scott Richardson, who pastored that church for
so many years. And I asked him if I could have
a copy. And he gave me a copy and at the bottom of the picture
was something Scott said not too long before God took him
home. He said, a preacher is a nobody who tells everybody
about somebody that can save anybody, that can save anybody. Paul says in verse 16, that he himself was a pattern,
an example of God's long-suffering and great mercy. If you would
pick up today's paper and turn to the obituary column, you'll
see men and women whose names are listed there, but they usually
write things about them Some are noted for leaving wealth
behind. They accumulated great wealth
through business or so forth. Others have left monuments to
themselves bearing their name. That which the Apostle Paul prized
most and which had more value, which had more value than anything
else was this. Paul, before leaving this world,
said, I obtained mercy. Now, men and women don't realize
the importance of that now, but one day soon they shall. All
that really matters in this life All that determines where I spend
eternity is whether or not while I'm here before I die and go
out to stand before God Almighty is this. Have I experienced God's
mercy? Have I experienced the mercy
of my great God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ? Let me read you a few verses.
Oh, there are so many. But in Psalm 25, the psalmist
wrote, Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy loving
kindnesses, for they have been ever of old. Remember not the
sins of my youth, nor my transgressions, according to thy mercy. Not according
to what I deserve. Mercy is withholding from me
what I deserve, and grace is giving to me what I don't deserve.
Remember not my transgressions according to thy mercy. Remember
thou me for thy goodness sake, O Lord. Let that be the basis. Then a sinner has hope. Verse
10. All the paths of the Lord are
mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies
for thy name's sake. Again, the psalmist writes, for
thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great. My iniquity, my sins against
you, O God, are great, and they require great mercy. Why are
men saved? Why are men saved? because God
delights in mercy. The true mercy of God is mercy
unsought, mercy unasked for, mercy undeserved. Paul in writing about salvation
in Romans chapter 9 said, so then, So then, he comes to this
conclusion. Why are sinners saved? Why is it that one obtains mercy,
one finds grace? Why is it? How did it come about? Paul says, it's not this way. It's not this way. It's not of
him that willeth, nor of him that runneth. going about doing
religious exercise. No, but it's of God. Here's the
bottom line. Here's the foundation. You can
roll the weight of your immortal soul over on this. And rest easy. Rest easy. But it's of God that
showeth mercy. That's the reason. And thank
God that that's so. I'm thankful. And every sinner
awakened to his need is thankful as well. Those who've never felt
their need, that's another story. They boast about man's will and
man's desert and all these things. But I'm so thankful that the
salvation of this sinner wasn't dependent upon my will. I'm so
thankful that my salvation is not of me that willeth, but the
reason is solely here of God that showeth mercy. Look what
Paul says in verse 15. This is a faithful sin. Right
now. Right now. This is a faithful
saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners. That's why he came. That was
his mission of mercy, to save sinners. Robert Hawker, writing
on this verse of Scripture, said, let those that have never felt
their sin and consequently know not the need of a Savior, stay
and argue the point as they may. Let them debate. Let them swerve
into vain jaggling, as Paul said here in chapter 1. Let them stay
and argue the point as they may. My sole eternal welfare is concerned. And I will not lose a moment
to close with the heavenly proposal. If God is merciful, oh, let this
sinner come to Him pleading mercy, when nothing could stop the Son
of God. This, I know, is a miracle of
our Redeemer that I often refer to. but I find it so delightful,
so refreshing to my soul, when nothing could stop the Son of
God in His journey to redeem His people. No power of devils
could stop Him. No power of men could stop Him. The single cry of one blind beggar
stopped the Son of God dead in his tracks. That beggar cried,
Son of David, have mercy on me, and he stopped. Jesus Christ,
the same yesterday, today, and forever, always hears the cry
of every needy sinner that calls upon his name. None has ever
come to God. has never come to God seeking
mercy who didn't find it. Not one. Not one. Come unto me, all ye. All ye that labor. All ye that are heavy laden.
All ye that carry that burden that's weighting you down, perhaps
robbing you of your sleep and your sanity. Come unto me with
that burden. of guilt and that load of sin,
and I'll roll it off. I'll bury it away. And you'll
see it again no more forever, and I will give you rest. Oh,
the sweet rest. The sweet peace that arises in
the soul of every sinner that knows Jesus Christ alone is their
hope. Joe, I don't have any other hope. Other foundation have I none. Other hope have I none. I trust God's Son. I believe on the Son of God,
and I have hope before Him. Mercy there was great, and grace
was free. Is it not so? Mercy, the psalmist
said, mercy and truth are met together. Oh, mercy and truth
are met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. Yes, that's true when our Lord
Jesus Christ died upon this cross, bearing our sins away. And it's
also true as the fruit of His death that flows to needy sinners. Real mercy for real need. Look again at verse 13. Paul
says, but I obtained mercy. This was Paul's solo of gratitude. He would sing it if nobody else
did. And he never got tired of it,
did he? He never got tired of it. He
never got over the marvel of God's mercy to a sinner like
Saul of Tarsus. Not too long after he wrote these
words, he would die. Up to the very last breath, he
expressed his wonder, his marvel, that the God of glory would have
mercy, would take notice of a self-righteous rebel like Saul of Tarsus. He said, look at me. Look at
me. Does any sinner doubt God's mercy? Does any sinner doubt God's willingness
to save sinners? Paul said, look at me. I'm a
pattern. I'm an example of God's mercy
and grace. The marvel of God's mercy, Paul
says, I obtained it. I obtained it. What an astounding
statement for any sinner to make. I obtained mercy. Or is it? Or is it? I'll tell you this. Only if you have some idea of
what you are, then it's a marvel. Not just what you've done, but
what I am. What I am. It's because of what
I am is the reason of what I do. But the problem is deep within. The problem goes right to the
core of my nature, what I am. God saved me from who I am. We live, sadly speaking, we live
and have in a generation that doesn't have a clue as to what
the issue really is. Most of the people you talked
to, most of the people that are sitting in churches this morning
believe, they really believe they deserve God's mercy. They
believe that. They think they're deserving
of God's mercy. They feel like, and they've been
told this all their life. They believe it by nature. They're
born believing it. It's in their nature. But they're
told, and it's reinforced to them over and over again, that
God is obligated to save them. That God Almighty loves them. That Jesus Christ died for them. And God is trying His best to
save everybody. And I'll tell you exactly what
that produces. The result of that is this. It
produces what old Hart wrote about. Such an important question. Consider this. What comfort can
a Savior bring to those who never felt their woe? What comfort
does Jesus Christ give to any sinner who's never realized he's
lost? Does He put the robe of His perfect,
immaculate righteousness over the shoulders of one who attempts
yet to wear their own robe of self-righteousness? Will God
do that? Would God grant peace to a sinner who never bows to
the Lord Jesus Christ? Absolutely not. Is sin no longer
the issue? Is salvation still not impossible
with men? Paul is near, as we said, the
end of his journey and he stands and says, What a marvel. What a marvel. He speaks of again in our text
who was before. Before. That's something else
Paul never forgot, did he? What he was before God's mercy. Before Jesus Christ came to him. Remember where you were before. You may have been sitting in
a church. You may have had a Bible tucked under your arm. You may
have memorized certain verses. You thought and you stood and
sang, oh, it is well with my soul. But in reality, before Christ came, I was without
hope. Without hope. having no hope
and without God in the world. That's where I was. That's where
I was. Samuel Rutherford wrote, when
I look at my sinfulness, my salvation is to me my Savior's greatest
miracle. Martin Luther. He said, when
a man like me comes to know the plague of his own heart, he is
not miserable only, he is absolute misery itself. He is not sinful
only, he is absolute sin itself. And Jonathan Edwards said, it
has often appeared to me that if God were to mark my heart
iniquity, my bed would be in Hell. And that's just so. But. But. That's the first note in Paul's
song of praise to his God and Savior. But. What a blessed word
it is. But God. But God. Look what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians
15. You know this so well, but it
applies to you and I too, brothers and sisters in Christ. 1 Corinthians
15, Paul says in verse 9, for I am the least of the apostles,
am not meet to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church
of God. You would have been hard pressed
to find a more unlikely candidate of God's grace in all Jerusalem
that day than Saul of Tarsus. Saul hated Jesus of Nazareth. Saul was convinced that Jesus
of Nazareth was an imposter. He was a liar. He was a deceiver. And Paul had vowed to himself
he would spend his entire life stamping out that name with his
very last breath. Oh, the high priest would say,
oh, I have at my right hand a faithful, faithful warrior for the tradition
of our fathers, Saul of Tarsus. Ooh, I can count on him. Well,
just this afternoon he came to me and wanted authority to go
to Damascus because there are some of those people that believe
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and Paul wants to arrest
them and he wants to drag them back and give his voice a witness
against them that they deserve to be put to death. Oh, yes. A very unlikely candidate But,
oh, God's grace says concerning sinners, the bigger they are,
the harder they fall. Come down. Oh, I can't do it. And you can't do it. Oh, but
the God of all grace, the God of all grace, He's mighty to
save and He can bring sinners down. He did you, didn't He?
He did you. Paul said, He did me, but by
the grace of God. I am what I am. And His grace which was bestowed
upon me was not in vain. God's grace is never in vain. It's never in vain. But I labored
more abundantly than they all, yet not I but the grace of God
which was in me. Turn to Galatians chapter 1.
Again, Paul gives his testimony as to the reason of this great
change, this wonderful change. He would write afterwards, after
that Damascus Road experience, he would say, if any man be in
Christ, he's a new creature. He's a new creation. He has become,
by the grace of God, something that religion can't do. Man can't
do for himself. Creation is God's work. And God
creates in the sinner a new heart. He gives him the very nature
of Jesus Christ Himself. He stamps upon that sinner the
image of God's own Son. No wonder Paul said, Behold,
old things are passed away, all things become new. Here in Galatians
1 verse 13, For you've heard of my conversation, You heard
of how I lived, how I lived my life in times past in the Jews'
religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the Church of God
and wasted it, and I profited in the Jews' religion above many
my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous
of the traditions of my fathers. But there it is again. Oh, the glorious, glorious intervention
of God's sovereign grace. The sovereign God of all grace
looked down from the throne of everlasting glory and said concerning
Saul of Tarsus, arrest that man. Today, Saul of Tarsus, today
you're coming down. Today, Saul of Tarsus, you're
going to bow before the feet of my Son. Today. Today, before you reach Damascus,
before you arrest one more of my people, I'm going to arrest
you. You're coming down. Oh, that's
amazing grace. That's the only grace that can
help a sinner like me. God's sovereign grace. But when
it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and
called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach
Him among the heathen, immediately I conferred not with flesh and
blood. But God, what blessed words of
grace, He broke my stubborn will. Throughout the great eternal
age, I'll chant his praises still. But God, Paul says, this is the
reason that I did not die as I had lived in my self-righteousness. This is why he now doesn't cry,
in hell's eternal torments, have mercy on me, but no mercies ever
given there. This is the long reason why now,
though absent from the body, He is present with the Lord and
sings with the redeemed in glory, salvation to our God which setteth
upon the throne and unto the Lamb. And this is still true
today, is it not? When God saves anyone, it's on
the grounds of pure mercy. Ask Paul who made him to differ
from another, from what he was before, and he won't stutter. He won't stutter. He'll tell
you plainly, but I obtained mercy. That's the biography of every
saved sinner. I obtained mercy. That'll satisfy
me. When I leave this world, oh,
if it can be said, that rebel, that sinner, before he went out
to stand before the throne of a thrice holy God, he obtained
mercy. God Almighty had mercy on that
sinner. Glory to His name. Brother John
and I were corresponding a week or so ago by email. He referred
to that scripture in 2 Corinthians chapter 8 that says, Though he
were rich, our Lord Jesus Christ, though he were rich, yet for
your sake he became poor, that you through his poverty might
be made rich. And John said, man, I've been
thinking about that verse there. He said, that's a deep verse
of Scripture. He said, I want to be careful
how I even think about that, much less speak it to others. It is astounding, is it not?
Old John Bunyan said, come and hear all ye that fear God. and
I will declare what he had done for my soul." Saul of Tarsus,
standing at the foot of the cross, so to speak, considering that
great salvation, considering that one who bore his sins away,
Paul stands in an utter wonderment. and complete adoration, he says,
I'm determined to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and
Him crucified. God forbid, he says, that I should
glory save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen to what the psalmist said
in Psalm 40. I waited patiently for the Lord
and He inclined unto me and heard my cry. He brought me up also
out of a horrible pit. That pit. That pit. Man! The pit of helplessness
and hopelessness. That pit of spiritual blindness. That pit in which I lay loving
darkness rather than light. I didn't even want out, not at
the first. He brought me up out of a horrible
pit. Oh, how can I ever get over that? He reached out his hand. I can
understand somewhat why he reached out his hand for you, Louis.
and for you, Joe. But my soul, he reached out his
hand for me. He reached way down for me. He lifted me out of the mire
clay, and he set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings,
and he put a new song in my mouth, even praising to our God, many
shall see it in fear and shall trust in the Lord. Oh, the love that drew salvation's
plan. Oh, the grace that brought it
down to man. Oh, the mighty gulf that God
did span at Calvary. You who once were far off are
now brought nigh, nigh to God by the blood of Jesus
Christ. Jesus Christ, again verse one
of this epistle, Jesus Christ, our hope. Mercy there was great,
and grace was free. Pardon there was multiplied to
me. There my burdened soul, Is anyone here having such a
burden this very day? Anyone here suffering beneath
the weight of your sin? And like Bunyan's pilgrim, you
can't get it off! You can't get it off! You act
religious, but the burden's still there. Perhaps you've made decision
after decision. You went through the religious
hoops of our day. Do this, do that, do the other.
Say the sinner's prayer, but the burden's still there. I've
been there. I did that. Come forward, come forward. And
I was patted on the back and told I was a child of God. And
went home and laid down, and the burden was still there. I
couldn't get it off. I couldn't get it off until one
day. Oh, blessed, blessed day. Just
like Christian. He said with that burden on his
back, he came up to the cross and at the sight of the cross,
the burden fell off his shoulders. and rolled down to the mouth
of a sepulcher where it fell in and he said, I saw it no more
again forever. Praise his name. Paul said, I
obtained mercy. Oh, let me abide right here. And in humble adoration, praise
the Savior from whom I obtained mercy. Someone said, I would
rather be nobody at Christ's feet than everybody anywhere
else. Wouldn't you? Oh, let me be a
nobody at the feet of our Redeemer. The next note in Paul's song
of praise is this. Obtained. Obtained. But I obtained. How did you acquire God's mercy,
Paul? What did you do to deserve God's
mercy? Paul said, oh, nothing, nothing. Sinners obtain mercy. They experience
mercy because God gives them mercy. It's free. It's free. It's only given to those who
have absolutely nothing to pay. As long as you think you have
something that recommends you to God, some reason that God
should save you, then you won't experience God's mercy. Oh, but
when you have nothing to pay, this is what our Lord taught
in Luke 7, and when they have nothing to pay, I sure would
like to meet a sinner with nothing to pay. I sure would like to
meet a lost, self-loathing, condemned, helpless sinner. Everybody's
saved. Everybody's made their decision
for Jesus. Everybody's going to heaven.
Oh, but find me a sinner that has nothing to pay and I've got
good news for them." When they had nothing to pay, our Lord
said, He frankly, the word is freely, forgave them both. You can't earn mercy. That's
impossible. And you can't buy mercy. It's
not for sale. And you can't bargain with God
for mercy. Oh, but if you have nothing to
pay, if you are nothing and can do nothing, listen to this. God delights to show mercy. And last of all, let's end on
that happy note. Mercy. Paul doesn't say, I obtained
apostleship. He had, but he doesn't mention
that. He doesn't say, oh, the greatest
wonder to my heart is that I was caught up to the third heaven
and saw things that I can't even utter. No. The greatest marvel
to Paul was this, God's mercy. When I leave this world, all
that matters is this. As we said at the beginning,
this alone determines where I spend eternity. God's mercy. In Isaiah chapter 55, you're
familiar with it. Let me read it. Let me read it,
then I'll close. Ho, everyone that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters. And he that hath no money, Come
ye, he that has nothing to pay. Come and buy and eat. Yea, come
buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore
do you spend money for that which is not bread, and your labor
for that which satisfieth not? Drink of the waters of this world,
the wells of this world, and as our Lord said, you'll thirst
again. You'll thirst again. Anybody
thirsty? Hearken diligently unto me, and
eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself
in fatness. Incline your ear and come unto
me, here, and your soul shall live. And I will make an everlasting
covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Anybody thirsty? Anybody thirsty? Christ says, come to me. Come
to me and drink. Take the water of life. Drink. It's free. It's free. And live
forever. God bless you.