Our Lord’s favour poured all over me along with the faithfulness and love that are in Christ Jesus. This saying is reliable and deserves full acceptance; “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I’m the biggest sinner of all. But this is why I was shown mercy so that Christ Jesus could show his endless patience to me first of all. So I’m an example for those who are going to believe in him for eternal life.

1 Timothy 1:14-16

The Apostle Paul boldly declared to Timothy how the power of the gospel had delivered him from his sinful life and old belief systems that are against the grace of God. He expressed the joy that his identity and security were no longer determined by who he was and what he previously believed in, but by Christ, whom he chose to follow and obey.

Both your identity and security are based on God's love and acceptance of you, and they are God’s gifts to you in Christ. It is through a vital relationship with Christ that you enjoy and experience their realities in a real and tangible way.

Without Christ, we cannot help but develop excuses or rationalise our sins away and be left untouched and unhealed by the gospel power. We then take the path of least resistance, which will result in lots of self-condemnation and self-loathing. It is by acknowledging who Christ is and what He has done that we are given the power to overcome sin and become more and more like Him. In this sense, our confession of sin is also the proclamation of our faith that Christ’s atoning sacrifice is sufficient to cleanse us from all sins and unrighteousness.

The gospel is not for perfect people.

The truth is, none of us is perfect because we have all fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We all need to be saved and reconciled with God—and thank God that Christ took our sins and gave us His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Knowing and understanding God's grace in Christ will have a significant impact on how we live and respond to God. The more we affirm and believe our sins have been forgiven and God considers us righteous in His sight, the more our character and behaviour will reflect the truth of the gospel.