Who Is the Worst of Sinners? (5-Pack) (Paperback or Softback)

Who is the last person in the world that you think will ever become a Christian?

Is it someone we hear about on the news? Someone like Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the Nigerian militant group Boko Haram, which kidnapped over two hundred schoolgirls in 2014 and forced many of them to marry Boko Haram soldiers? Or atheist author Sam Harris who has written that his aim is "to demolish the intellectual and moral pretensions of Christianity in its most committed forms"?

Or perhaps the last person you think will ever become a Christian is you. Maybe you have lingering doubts about the truth claims of the Bible. Maybe your own life makes you think you could never come to saving faith. Perhaps there is a sin in your past that, deep down, you think excludes you from grace and mercy. Whatever it may be, you feel unforgivable; to become a Christian seems like an exercise in hypocrisy.

If you think that your wrongs are too great to be forgiven by God, consider Saul.

Saul, the Hebrew of Hebrews

Saul of Tarsus was perhaps the most notorious opponent of Jesus and his cause. A callous, self-righteous, bigoted murderer, Saul's hands were covered in the blood of Christians. He was convinced that Jesus of Nazareth was not the Messiah and that he certainly was not resurrected from the dead. Saul was zealous to protect his own view of the law of God; so zealous that he became murderous.

But then something happened. "Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him" (Acts 9:3). It was the middle of the day and the sun was in the sky, but this was not the sun; it was "a light from heaven, brighter than the sun" (Acts 26:13). This light from heaven was, in fact, the radiant glory of the risen Jesus shining down so brightly on Saul that he was blinded by it. The blinding light was crippling, but the question asked by the voice coming from the light was confusing.

"Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." (Acts 9:4-5)

Soon after this, Saul became a follower of Jesus. There was Saul, the most unlikely person in his day to ever become a Christian, and God supernaturally intervened. His conversion was not the climax of a long process of God convicting him of sin or someone else convincing him with a sound argument. Jesus supernaturally revealed himself to Saul in such a way that it overcame Saul's ignorance about who Jesus was, his opposition to Jesus, and his pride in his own religious life. The risen, glorified Jesus summoned Saul, not only to come to him but to serve him, overcoming all Saul's resistance.

Following Jesus cost Saul much. He lost everything that had given him a sense of worth and identity: his family, his record of religious faithfulness. Saul came to see that Jesus was worth more than all of it.

To become a Christian is not merely to agree with a set of facts about Christ. It is to experience a radical reordering of what is valuable so that nothing is more valuable in the universe and in your life than him. Being identified with him is better than having an impressive reputation. Living under his authority is better than doing as you please. Becoming more like him is better than expressing yourself. Loving what he loves is better than getting what you've always wanted.

And the reality is that no one comes to this radical shift without having their eyes supernaturally opened to the supreme worth of Jesus. Have your eyes been opened to how beautiful, how sufficient, and how rich life in Christ Jesus is?

The Greatest Savior

The worst of sinners needs the greatest Savior, and that's what we have. That's who we have in Jesus Christ. "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). This Savior is our Savior. This grace is our grace. Seeing the conversion and transformation of Saul should fill every one of us with hope. When we look at Saul, we recognize that there is no sinner, no scoundrel, no blasphemer, no murderer, no person who is beyond the reach of the grace and mercy made available in Jesus Christ.

This grace is freely available to the last person you expect to become a Christian, whether that person is someone you see on the news, in your family photo, at your workplace, or in the mirror. But it must be received.

Look at Saul, the Hebrew of Hebrews who became the apostle to the Gentiles, a blasphemer who became a believer, a predator who became a preacher, a terrorist who became a theologian,

a law-keeper who became a grace-receiver, a scoundrel who became a saint. See and know that Jesus loves to put his mercy and grace on display in the lives of the worst of sinners.

If you want to follow in Saul's footsteps and receive the love and grace of Jesus today, tell God by praying something like this:

Heavenly Father, I believe that Jesus Christ is your Son and that he died on the cross to save me from my sin. I believe that he rose again to life and that he invites me to live forever with him in heaven as part of your family. Because of what Jesus has done, I ask you to forgive me of my sin and give me eternal life. Please guide me to a Bible-believing church where I can grow as a Christian with others who love Jesus. Amen.

(c) 2026 by Nancy Guthrie. All rights reserved. Adapted from the book Saints and Scoundrels in the Story of Jesus (c) 2020 by Nancy Guthrie. Published by Crossway. Printed in China. Bible references: English Standard Version(R) (ESV(R)).

Nancy Guthrie (MATS Reformed Theological Seminary) teaches the Bible at her home church, Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in Franklin, Tennessee, as well as at conferences around the country and internationally, including her Biblical Theology Workshop for Women. She is the author of numerous books and the host of the Help Me Teach the Bible podcast with the Gospel Coalition. She and her husband founded Respite Retreats for couples who have faced the death of a child, and they are cohosts of the GriefShare video series.