September 14, 2025

Love Covers Over Sin

Pastor Rok Lee

1 Timothy 1:12-17

12 I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he considered me faithful and appointed me to his service, 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost. 16 But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience as an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

In the quiet of a fall morning in Pennsylvania in October 2006, an unspeakable tragedy struck an Amish schoolhouse. Ten young girls were shot – five did not survive. But what followed surprised the nation: within hours, the Amish community announced they had forgiven the attacker. Heartbroken parents embraced the killer’s family and even donated to support his widow and child. This radical, undeserved forgiveness reveals something powerful – a love beyond human strength.

This story might be an example of the very grace Paul writes about in 1 Timothy 1:12–17. That passage shows how Christ’s love covers sin: Jesus came to save sinners, even the worst of sinners like Paul. Today, we see that same love at work in real lives. As we read on Paul’s writing, may these stories of grace inspire us to trust that “love covers all wrongs” and enables us to forgive as we have been forgiven.

Paul begins by thanking Christ for showing him mercy despite his terrible past. The author of 1 Timothy calls Paul “the foremost of sinners” – a violent persecutor who had lived “acting in ignorance and unbelief.” Yet God’s love reached Paul. In Christ the grace of our Lord overflowed with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus, transforming Paul’s life. Paul himself says it clearly: Jesus came into the world “to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15).

This divine forgiveness is merciful and undeserved. The Greek word for grace means “unearned favor or gift” – God’s kindness given freely, not based on our value. Likewise, the word for mercy speaks of active compassion: compassion that moves God to withhold the punishment we deserve and to help us in our distress. In Christ, God pours out both grace and mercy on us. God forgives sins we could never atone for ourselves.

Consider one recent story of forgiveness. In 2025, a mother in Idaho faced the man who had murdered her daughter. In a courtroom filled with pain and anger, she did the unthinkable: she told him, “Jesus has allowed me to forgive you for murdering my daughter without you even being sorry”. She went on to say, “This forgiveness has released me from any and all evil you have inflicted.” Even without an apology, she extended Jesus’ mercy to a sinner. This mother’s words echo God’s love toward us – forgiving murderers (and the rest of us) before we even ask for it. Like Paul, she recognized that Christ’s mercy came first.

In the same way, our sins – however large – are covered by God’s grace. When we truly hold that Christ died for the worst of sinners, it changes how we see ourselves and others. God’s forgiving love erases the debt of sin. The Bible assures us that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Jesus invites us to come to Him with our guilt and be cleansed. Just as Paul was lifted from being a persecutor to a preacher, so God’s love reaches into the darkest parts of our story and forgives us completely.

But God’s love doesn’t stop at forgiveness. It also renews and transforms us. Paul’s life is living proof: the man, who once caught Christians to prison, was empowered by Christ to serve God faithfully. The text tells us that Christ made Paul “faithful” and “strengthened” for service. In other words, grace not only pardoned Paul but turned him into a model of new life. Paul’s dramatic turnaround reveals the power of God to change the lives of even the most corrupt and harmful people. What was dead in sin became alive in Jesus.

This transforming grace is at the heart of the Gospel. Grace is not a passive gift; it is dynamic, a power that changes us. Once forgiven, we grow in faith and love. Grace begins salvation and continues through sanctification. In Paul’s words, “by the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Cor. 15:10). Paul’s conversion was not a one-time fix but a lifelong transformation.

This is the pattern Paul describes: grace that forgives also brings faith and love into our lives. Those who have truly experienced Jesus’ mercy become people of love. We bear fruit: kindness, patience, generosity and more. Like a cup filled to the top, God’s grace overflows into our everyday actions. As God counted Paul faithful and gave him purpose, so God calls each of us to walk in newness of life. We are no longer defined by past sins, but by Christ’s resurrection power working in us.

Finally, 1 Timothy 1:12–17 doesn’t end with Paul – it points ahead to us. If God’s love and mercy transformed Paul, it calls us to the same kind of mercy. Paul’s life became an example to those who would later believe. Paul shows us how God deals with sinners – with grace and compassion. In fact, Jesus’ perfect patience in Paul as a model for believers like us. In other words, God’s love for us isn’t just abstract; it’s meant to be lived out through His people.

That means we, too, must live out forgiveness and love. If we say Christ has covered our sins, we must cover the sins of others. One man’s story illustrates this well. Philadelphia mechanic Brett Lynn was attacked and stabbed in his own shop. Later, he stood before a judge and did something remarkable: he forgave his attacker. He said, “If I couldn’t forgive when it really mattered, then I think my witness as a Christian would be hurt”. He recognized that holding onto hate would undermine the grace he had received from Christ. He told the court he forgave because “Christ has forgiven me for so much more than he had done to me”. Then he challenged everyone: “If we’re Christians and we’ve been forgiven for everything we’ve done, then how can we withhold forgiveness?”. Brett’s words ring true: the grace we’ve been given makes us to share it freely.

It is true, love covers sin – and God calls us to cover one another with that love. When we refuse to forgive, we hold a debt over someone that Christ has already wiped away. Instead, we are to bear one another’s burdens and extend the mercy we have received. As Paul’s story shows us, a life transformed by God’s love naturally pours that love out to others. Like Brett, like the Amish families, our actions can reveal God’s heart to the world.

Dear church, what we have seen is that God’s love in Christ truly covers all sins – it forgives the worst of offenses, heals the deepest wounds, and flows through us to others. How can we live this out daily?

Forgive others. Make forgiveness a habit. Before bed, mentally release the hurts of the day. When you remember a wrong, say to yourself, “God, help me forgive.” Over time, this erases bitterness. You may face someone hurt you without knowing, without reason. Press down your anger and ask God’s grace and mercy.

Each small act of mercy, each word of grace, says to the world, “Christ’s love changes lives.” In this way we become living illustrations that “love covers over a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8). May we go forth today, empowered by the very love that saved Paul – the same love poured into our hearts – and let it shine in everything we say and do.

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