1 Timothy 1:16
Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
Before mercy Paul was the chief of sinners, a blasphemer and persecutor who persecuted God's people even to death. Christ granted him mercy and thereby displayed in him great and complete patience and longsuffering. Paul's forgiveness and changed life was made a pattern of accepted repentance for those who would afterward believe in Christ to life everlasting.
That pattern gives hope that even the greatest sinners and those who have spent their lives in sin are accepted, pardoned and saved when they turn to God in penitence. Those who so turn may be more favorably placed to develop Christian character than those who received great light but failed to live by it. The offer is open to all, but each person must choose to come and cooperate by accepting the salvation God provides, for refusing Christ's righteousness ends in loss, and mere conviction or postponed good intentions cannot save.
Those under Christ's rule are to show faith and love rooted in union with him. They are to examine their principles even in everyday dealings and to keep God's commandments. Their example can help or harm those who receive truth through their work.