Charles Spurgeon Commentary 1 Timothy 1:13

"though I was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: howbeit I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief;" — 1 Timothy 1:13 (ASV)

And a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

He almost thought that, if he had done all this willfully, he might not have been forgiven; but he felt that here God discerned the only extenuating circumstance, namely, that he was mistaken: I did it ignorantly, in unbelief.