Steve Bain was a man who loved to study the Bible and know more about God. But he wasn’t always that way. He didn’t grow up studying the Bible, and, for much of his adult life, he didn’t have much interest in God.
So, what led him to change? His wife. She came to a crisis that led her to realize that the only thing that could give her meaning was a relationship with God. It was really God working with her that led him to Norcross Presbyterian Church. When he got there, he found that there was more to the Christian faith than he ever realized. He saw that it was really meaningful and helpful. At Norcross, he gave his life to Christ and became a follower of Jesus.
After that, Steve wanted more and more. When he went to Perimeter Church in Atlanta, he enrolled in the multi-year course, Theological Foundations for Leaders. He told me many times how helpful this was in his life. He was always active in small groups. When I first came here, he was involved in a group that was studying Henry Blackaby’s book, Experiencing God. He kept going, though. He got involved with Bible Study Fellowship. I would often ask our elders at our meetings, what is God teaching you these days? Steve would give an insight from the book of Joshua or another book that he was studying. I always appreciated that about him.
One thing Steve understood, though, was that the foundation of the Christian faith was a simple message. You have it here in 1 Timothy 1:15. “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” Now, I want you to see three things based on this passage: Steve’s Savior, Steve’s example, and Steve’s praise.
Steve’s Savior
All around the world, you will find a surprising symbol. A cross. It was an instrument of capital punishment and even torture in the Roman Empire. Yet millions upon millions look at it and see hope. Why? Because on that cross was the man whom Steve called Savior and Lord, Jesus.
Christianity begins with a message that God created the world good and created human beings for harmonious fellowship with Him and with one another. However, humans have gone their own way and become alienated from God, one another, creation, and even themselves. They have sought to make themselves the center of the universe rather than submitting to God.
God does not sit idly back and watch this. He is the Lord, and He opposes all injustice. We get upset at unjust things, and this reflects God Himself. However, we tend to be selective. We tend to oppose unjust things outside us, not unjust things in ourselves. We want God to do something about injustice—out there! But God is an impartial judge and opposes all injustice, all sin, all evil, even ours.
The Bible says that the punishment for sin is eternal death and separation from God. Those who reject God live on after death but without God. That’s what is due to us, for all have sinned and fall short of the the glory of God (Rom. 3:23).
The amazing news is that we don’t have to face the justice of God. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” Christ has faced the justice of God on our behalf on the cross. He was our substitute. He suffered in our place so that we don’t have to be separated from God forever. We can be saved. We can be brought back to God. We can be restored.
In the cross and the resurrection of Christ, God is restoring all things to what they were meant to be. If you will trust Jesus and become His follower, then you can be saved. You can stand before God completely forgiven and on the path of renewal. That’s what God offers to each one of you today, to make you part of this new creation. Steve believed that, and that’s why Steve called Jesus his Savior and Lord.
Steve’s Example
The Apostle Paul says in this letter that he was the worst of sinners. That’s a big claim, isn’t it? Well, he had a basis for it. He couldn’t stand Jesus or anyone who followed Him. He was in charge of putting the first follower of Jesus to death simply because they were a follower of Jesus. Then, he went everywhere trying to imprison or even put to death the followers of Jesus. Then, one day, he showed up saying, “Jesus is the Savior we’ve been looking for.” How? He said that he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, Syria, and it changed him forever. After that, he never could get over the fact that he had done so much wrong to Jesus and His followers.
So, why does Paul bring up the idea that he was “the worst” of sinners? “But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life” (1 Tim. 1:16). Do you ever wonder if God can forgive you? Remember Paul. Paul has long ago left this world, but we can still have him in our memory, even though he is not with us, and profit from that memory. The same is true of Steve. We can still experience him in our memories and profit from that memory.
How would Steve want us to remember him? Steve would want us to remember him chiefly as a man who was saved by grace, as a gift from God. Each of us, when we really get a sense of our sin, can feel our own guilt in a way no one else can. So, we can all say to a degree, “I am the worst of sinners.” Steve had a way of saying this. If you asked him how he was, he would say, “Better than I deserve.” What did he mean? He had a sense of his sin, knew that he had not made of himself what he should and knew that he had often done what was wrong and been contrary to what God made him to be. He did not deserve God’s blessing.
This may sound strange to our ears. However, when you really dig into people’s lives, you find out how much guilt they feel. It’s quite astonishing. To be able to acknowledge that before God is a gift from God. It’s God’s work in our lives. It’s the Spirit of God giving us repentance and humility. It’s a gift because it opens our eyes to see the grace of God. It opens the door to all other gifts.
That’s what God had given Steve. So, every day when he got up, he realized that he did not deserve the many blessings he had received: the travel, the children, the home, the grandchildren, the church, the service, and above all, a loving relationship with God himself. That’s why he said, “Better than I deserve.” He saw these things as unmerited gifts from a holy God through Jesus Christ.
One interesting thing. As Steve began to deteriorate, he stopped saying in response to “how are you?”, “Better than I deserve.” Does this mean that he no longer felt this way or no longer believed it? I think not. I think that Steve had a sense of what people needed from him. He told them plainly about his struggles. He kept doing his work as an elder. He would think and pray and share with people, but he was in severe pain throughout the past few months. So, he took that seriously and did not want to seem flippant about it. Nevertheless, I know that even in his pain he gave thanks to his Savior for each breath, for his church family, for his family and especially his wife, and for the beauty all around him and would have said that it is “better than he deserved.”
Now, he is free from pain and in heaven with His Savior. And what would Steve say today if you asked him how he was? “Better than I deserve.”
Steve’s Praise
And what ultimately is the reason for saying that we are doing better than we deserve? It is to give God praise. Notice what Paul says after describing what God had done for him: “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen” (1 Timothy 1:17). Steve and I prayed together a lot. For a while, I had a prayer meeting at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday mornings. Steve would sometimes be the only one to join me, and we prayed together. We prayed for our church, for our families, for the sick, for our ministry partners. Steve was a man who loved to pray.
When Steve began his prayers, he always wanted to begin by seeing the greatness of God. He would say, “O God, you are the one who is all righteous, all knowing, all wise, all powerful, all merciful. We give you praise.” All the things that God had done for him led him to see the greatness of God and give Him praise. That’s what life was really all about according to Steve.
Steve experienced some hard things in his life, especially at the end. However, he experienced a tremendous amount of good things. I think if he were here today, he would want to say, I didn’t deserve it. It’s only because of the cross of Christ. It was better than I deserved. It was all due to a gracious God. It was unmerited grace. Whenever you struggle, remember God’s grace to me, Steve might say. Receive God’s gifts and let them lead you to give praise to God. He would want us to join him in singing the song he now sings in heaven with the angels, archangels, and all the saints, “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen” (1 Timothy 1:17).