Are Christians Better People?

This is a provocative question. In answer to it, I have heard some folks say, without pause,  "Yes, of course we are better people." I have heard others say, without pause, "No, of course not; that is not what the Bible is about."  What is interesting is that in the text for Sunday, the Apostle Paul, perhaps the greatest believer to ever live, the man who wrote more books of Holy Scripture than anyone else, the leader of the movement that brought the gospel to the far corners of the world and who was ultimately killed for his faith, said, at the end of his life, something very provocative. When he is giving his "story" to Timothy, a young man he is mentoring, he sums up who he was before, and then after, he met Jesus. He confesses that he had been a blasphemer, persecutor and violent man. Then he talks about the grace of God in finding him. But then he says this: "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: 'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst.'"Now, we know Paul was a better man than he had been. Christianity did that, God did that, grace did that, but instead of talking of his post-conversion merits, seemingly all he can think about is the cross. There is a huge paradox here, as we will see, but one thing stands clear: looking back on his life, all Paul can ponder is the amazing grace of Jesus.