Two weeks before Easter, Pastor Marc launched a new series on the Life of Paul — one of the most revolutionary lives in all of human history. With raw candor, he opened by addressing the elephant in the room: if you feel too far gone, too broken, too far removed from God’s grace — God used a murderer of Christians for His mission. Your sin is never too strong for God’s grace.
Before Easter: What Was Saul Thinking?
Pastor Marc opened with a haunting question: What was Saul of Tarsus doing two weeks before Resurrection Sunday? He was in Jerusalem — a religious leader, well respected, high in the ranks. He had status, leadership, understanding. And as the religious establishment stirred with frenzy over this “Messiah” Jesus, you can imagine the hate building in Saul’s heart.
“There is this man doing miracles. He’s making us look stupid,” Pastor Marc imagined. “I am upset. I am angry. If people keep doing this thing, I’m going to kill them.”
Saul wasn’t just watching. He was active — breathing out “murderous threats” against the disciples of the Lord, hauling believers in chains to prison, and casting his vote against Stephen as he was stoned to death. He was, by his own later admission, “a murderer,” “a slaughterer,” “an absolute depraved, angry man.”
Your Sin Is Never Too Strong for God’s Grace
But then came the Damascus road.
As Saul traveled to continue his mission of rounding up Christians to drag them back to Jerusalem for punishment, a great light from heaven suddenly blazed around him. He fell to the ground. He heard a voice:
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
“I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,” came the answer.
Pastor Marc highlighted the staggering implications: to persecute the church — the body of Christ — is to persecute Christ Himself. And when Saul asked, “What shall I do, Lord?” Jesus didn’t say, “Here’s a list of things to make up for what you’ve done.” He simply said, “Rise and go to Damascus. There you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.”
Grace. Unmerited favor. Not based on what Saul had done or would do — but on who Christ is.
“God used a murderer of Christians for His mission,” Pastor Marc said. “He used the worst of the worst against Christ. Used that for His glory and for His work. Your sin is never too strong for God’s grace. Your mess ups and your failures and your depravity — don’t give yourself that much credit. The mission here is way bigger.”
Paul’s Mission: Proclaiming Christ to the Gentiles
Pastor Marc turned to 1 Corinthians 2:1-3 to show what Paul did with this grace:
“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
Paul was not ashamed of the gospel. He didn’t come with polished rhetoric or philosophical arguments. He came with one message: Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And he came in weakness, fear, and trembling — not relying on his own ability, but on the power of God.
This was Paul’s mission — the same mission given to every believer. Not to build ourselves up, but to proclaim Christ. Not to seek the applause of men, but to demonstrate the Spirit and of power. To let faith rest not in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
The Transformation That Still Works Today
Pastor Marc closed with a direct challenge: If you are sitting there thinking you are too far gone, too removed, too broken — look at Paul. The man who made robes for tents by day and dragged Christians to death by night became the apostle to the Gentiles. The one who approved of Stephen’s murder became the one who wrote half the New Testament.
That same Jesus who met Saul on the Damascus road is inviting you to rise and go. Not to clean yourself up first. Not to have your act together. Just to rise and go where He leads — and trust that His grace is sufficient, even for you.
The mission is bigger than your sin. The grace of God is more powerful than your failures. Rise and go.
Key Takeaways
- Your sin is never too strong for God’s grace. If God can transform a murderer of Christians into the apostle to the Gentiles, He can handle your failures.
- Persecuting the church is persecuting Christ. When you hurt God’s people, you hurt Christ Himself.
- Grace comes first — before performance. Jesus didn’t give Saul a to-do list. He said, “Rise and go.” The mission starts with what God does, not what we do.
- The mission is bigger than your sin. Don’t give yourself too much credit for your failures. God uses broken people for His glory.
- Paul’s message: Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Not clever rhetoric, not polished wisdom — just the gospel, demonstrated in the power of the Spirit.
- Your faith rests in God’s power, not in man’s wisdom. Stop relying on your own ability. Trust in the power of God.
Scripture References
- Acts 7:58 — Saul at the stoning of Stephen, casting his vote for murder
- Acts 8:1-3 — Saul devastates the church, entering house after house
- Acts 9:1-19 — The Damascus Road encounter with Jesus
- Acts 22:6-16 — Paul’s own testimony of his conversion
- Acts 26:9-18 — Paul before Agrippa: “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision”
- 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 — Paul proclaimed nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified
- 1 Timothy 1:15-16 — “The worst of sinners” shown mercy as an example
- Philippians 3:4-8 — Paul counted everything as loss for Christ