Week 10: Chapter 9 — Able to Save to the Uttermost

1.Paul calls himself "the foremost" (or chief) of sinners in 1 Timothy 1:15. Ortlund points out that Paul wrote this late in life, long after his conversion — it is not a past self-description but a present one. Why does Paul not move on from this self-identification? What does it suggest about how deep Paul's grasp of grace had gone?

2.The chapter argues that Paul's awareness of his sinfulness did not diminish over time but deepened, precisely because his awareness of grace deepened. Have you experienced this in your own life — the strange paradox that growing in grace makes you more, not less, aware of your sin? How do you understand this?

3.Ortlund connects Paul's testimony to Christ's ability to save "to the uttermost" — Paul is not a worst-case scenario in which Christ barely succeeds; he is a display case for the unbounded reach of grace. How does framing the worst sinner as a trophy rather than a tragedy change the way you think about your own past?