Why Did Paul Call Himself the Chief Among Sinners? 4-16-25

Suppose you had persecuted the church of God, even if you did it ignorantly; wouldn’t you be remorseful after you learned the truth? I can imagine Paul beat himself up many times until he understood there is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

I probably would tell people and do that there are some things I did were so shameful, I would not tell anybody. I believe I would say this: “If it comes to anybody ever being one of the worst of sinners “it’s me” I’m fessing up!" Some of us think that nobody could have been worse than one of us.

That was Paul’s past although he spoke in the present tense. The reason being, there are too many scriptures to prove that Paul could not have mean that he was still a sinner. That would definitely be a contradiction, and we know the Word of God does not contradict itself.

Paul also wrote from two perspectives, from ours and from God’s which is the best. When he wrote from God’s perspective, it was always in the past because with God everything has already happened.

Yet he had to write from our perspective because we go through time, and there is no time when it comes to God, because He cannot be confined to time or space but we do because we live in a natural environment; whereas God is Spirit.

Therefore, He is to be worshiped in spirit and in truth. What does that mean? How can God be worshiped correctly unless we see things from His perspective? Otherwise, it would be false worship and we are leaning to our own understanding.

But, once we became born again we also became spiritual and it is absolutely necessary for us think like God thinks, because if we think with our carnal minds, we are at a loss.

These are a few scriptures that are quoted regularly, which I would like for you to consider after carefully reading this message, and prayerfully your eyes will be opened to the truth as to what they really mean:

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) – Have is in the past tense. Notice that Paul never called us sinners; he said “called to be saints (Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:2,  Colossians 1:2), therefore, we cannot be in a sinful state and a saint at the same time.

Also, if the wages (payment) of sin is death (Romans 6:23), how can we still be sinners when Christ paid for our sins? For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (1 Corinthians 5:21).

 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

Moreover, whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified (Romans 8:30). All the words are past tense, therefore from God’s perspective, everything is already done; complete; finished.

And raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6). Since that is true, why are we not thinking of ourselves in Christ Jesus as God thinks of us. We are privileged, but humbled people.

To sum it up, someone doesn’t know how to rightly divide the Word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

His handmaiden, Betty A. Burnett ~ burnettministries.org