Christ Came into the World to Save Sinners

· After making his urgent purpose for the letter known to Timothy, Paul will return to a more familiar thanksgiving.

o If verses 8-11 are an aside to the purpose of explaining how the false teachers misuse the Law, Paul’s thanksgiving here is an aside to that aside.

· 1 Timothy 1:8–11 (ESV)

1 Timothy 1:8–11 ESV

8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.

o Paul will now give an example of how the Law and Gospel intersect in the person and work of the Apostle himself.

· This is Paul testimony about himself

· Paul’s amazement at how the Lord has worked in his life.

· The testimony of a saved man; “the joy and rapture of a heart made free”

· Connection to the series (enduring ministry)? Through his own testimony, Paul will demonstrate where an enduring ministry comes from.

o Contrasted with the fruitless ministry of the false teachers (vv. 3-11)

· 1 Timothy 1:12–14 (ESV)

1 Timothy 1:12–14 ESV

12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. 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.

· Paul begins with a doxology, an expression of worship for what Jesus Christ has worked in him.

I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service,

· Paul’s testimony isn’t ultimately about him, it’s always about Jesus Christ.

o What he did and who he is.

· Acts 26:16–18 (ESV)—Paul is speaking of his calling as an apostle.

Acts 26:16–18 ESV

16 But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

· Christ appointed Paul to be the apostle to the Gentiles and then gave him the strength to do his service.

· John 15:4–5 (ESV)— We must remember that serving the Lord requires his enablement.

John 15:4–5 ESV

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

· A missionary’s effectiveness as a missionary does not depend on natural talent, education, or following established trends, but on the Spirit’s power.

The strength for enduring ministry for God is always provided by God.

· But Paul is amazed that God had entrusted a ministry to him at all.

Though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent.

· Paul used to be a very different person, Saul of Tarsus.

· Acts 7:58–8:1 (ESV)—Saul was present and approving of the murder of the first deacon, Stephen.

Acts 7:58–8:1 ESV

58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. 1 And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

· Acts 8:3 (ESV)—He then became a chief persecutor of the church.

Acts 8:3 ESV

3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

· Acts 9:1–2 (ESV)—In the immediate moments before his conversion, we see the depth of his murderous violence towards Christ and the church.

Acts 9:1–2 ESV

1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

· Acts 26:9–11 (ESV)—Paul later testified to his vile intentions to Jerusalem and Herod Agrippa II.

Acts 26:9–11 ESV

9 “I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities.

· Blasphemer: Paul was a person who used his words to defame, denigrate and demean the Jesus and his followers.

· Persecutor: harassing and mistreating them because of their beliefs.

· Insolent opponent: He mistreated them in ways that often included physically violence.

· Paul self-identifies as the most wicked and evil man that a Christian could dream up.

But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief

· Paul marvels at God’s grace in choosing determined, not only to forgive his many sins, but to make him an apostle.

o Mercy: He did not treat Paul as his sins deserve.

· Paul was not aware that he was in rebellion against God, his testimony to Agrippa shows that he believed he was serving the cause of God in his actions.

o He was ignorant, Paul didn’t receive mercy because he was deserving in his ignorance; ignorance is not innocence.

· Luke 23:34 (ESV)—Jesus’s prayer shows us that the Jewish leaders didn’t understand the full implications of their actions.

Luke 23:34 ESV

34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.

· Nevertheless, they were still guilty of crucifying the Son of God, and in need of forgiveness.

o Paul certainly sees himself as a person in need of mercy for his ignorance.

· Acts 9:4–5 (ESV)—On the Damascus Road, Jesus graciously freed him from ignorance and unbelief.

Acts 9:4–5 ESV

4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

· Why did Paul receive mercy?

· Titus 3:5 (ESV)—Paul received mercy because God is merciful.

Titus 3:5 ESV

5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

And the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

· This is the change wrought in Paul by grace, a man who breathed threats and murder became full of faith and love.

· Grace: the undeserved and unmerited favor of God.

· James 4:6 (ESV)—Overflowing, overabundant grace: there is always more.

James 4:6 ESV

6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

o Martin Luther:

Just as the sun is not darkened by the whole world enjoying its light, and could, indeed, light up ten worlds; just as 100,000 lights might be lit from one light and not detract from it; just as a learned man is able to make a thousand others learned, and the more he gives, the more he has—so is Christ, our Lord, an infinite source of all grace, so that if the whole world would draw enough grace and truth from it to make the world all angels, yet it would not lose a drop; the fountain always runs over, full of grace.[1]

· Romans 5:20–21 (ESV)—So it is with God’s grace, which exceeds all our sin.

Romans 5:20–21 ESV

20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

· Not only overabundant grace, but faith and love.

o Faith in Christ—Confidence that rests.

§ Like a child that rests securely in the arms of a parent.

o Love for God—the fruit of the gospel produced in the believer.

§ Remember the aim of Timothy’s charge.

· Paul’s testimony reveals the nature of our lives before and apart from Christ.

o Anyone who knows Christ has all that Christ has to offer (every blessing).

§ Grace, faith, and love.

o Even faith is a gift given by God according to his mercy.

· He holds out the free gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ, but in our flesh, we are too sinful to take hold of it.

o Rather, we close our hand in a defiant fist that we shake at him in rebellion.

In His mercy, like a patient father, He takes our clenched fist, opens the fingers, and places His grace within it before closing it again.

· Paul is a perfect example of this; one from a long line of unpromising sinners who became productive servants in God’s kingdom.

o A promise for all of us of God’s wonderful intentions towards us in Jesus Christ.

· 1 Timothy 1:15 (ESV)

1 Timothy 1:15 ESV

15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance

· This is an early creedal statement: meant to be memorized and repeated regularly.

· Paul says a version of this 5 times in the Pastoral epistles.

o It is meant to accentuate the importance of the saying, its truthfulness, and to link it firmly with the apostolic tradition.

· It contains the whole gospel.

Christ Jesus came into the world

· The Son of God took on human flesh, setting aside His glory to become a servant and entering into His creation (incarnation).

To save sinners

· Jesus came to make atonement for our sins so that we could have peace with God and the forgiveness of our sins (atonement).

· Mark 2:15–17 (ESV)—This is why Jesus kept company with sinners during his earthly ministry.

Mark 2:15–17 ESV

15 And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

15 And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

· He wasn’t communicating that they were not sinners, or that they were somehow deserving.

o It communicates the lengths to which Jesus’s mercy and grace will go.

Of whom I am the foremost

· We can become cold in the way we look at the gospel.

o Christ came to save sinners (pointing our fingers outward towards others).

o We need to always remember that we are those sinners.

· Paul accentuates the gospel by making it personal. “I am the chief of sinners.”

o When he reflects on his life before Christ and the state of other sinners, he is compelled to say, “I am the worst.”

§ This is the thinking of a healthy, regenerate heart.

§ “I am” indicates present need. Paul is still dependent on God’s grace.

o There is no sense of moral superiority in Paul, only humility, gratitude, and wonder because of the grace of God.

· Like Paul, we need to see our need for God’s mercy and grace each and every day. His confession needs to be our own.

· Because there is a troubling development in the modern evangelical church; an unwillingness to meaningfully address sin.

o In the place of sin, we offer a theology of self-esteem; positive self-talk.

· The so-called “sage of self-esteem” was Robert Schuller, who pastored the famous Crystal Cathedral in California and broadcast the “Hour of Power.”

I don’t think that anything has been done in the name of Christ and under the banner of Christianity that has proven more destructive to the human personality, and hence counterproductive to the evangelistic enterprise than the uncertain, uncouth strategy of attempting to make people aware of their lost and sinful condition.

o His desire was that people not be down on themselves.

· Luke 18:9–14 (ESV)—Jesus’s answer is different in the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.

Luke 18:9–14 ESV

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

· When Paul’s confession becomes ours.

o Keenly aware of our sinfulness.

o Increasingly aware of God’s grace and mercy.

· Jonathan Edwards

Resolved, To act, in all respects, both speaking and doing, as if nobody had been so vile as I, and as if I had committed the same sins, or had the same infirmities or failings, as others, and that I will let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion of my confessing my own sins and misery to God.[2]

The only difference between me and other sinners is God’s grace.

The only think I contributed to my salvation was the sin that made it necessary.

· 1 Timothy 1:16–17 (ESV)

1 Timothy 1:16–17 ESV

16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were 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.

But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.

· Paul doesn’t stop at his own salvation for he sees a bigger purpose for God’s mercy in His life.

· There is a warning here to us not to think that our personal salvation is the end of God’s redemptive work.

· Paul serves as an example for us; he sees it as a part of God’s plan to save other sinners.

· His attitude is, “if God can save me, he can save anybody!”

· Now he lives as an example of God’s perfect patience, mercy, and love towards sinners.

· To show that there is no enemy too great that God will not make him family if he repents and returns.

· Paul’s wonderful testimony shows that God’s mercy is more than sufficient to forgive the worst sinner.

· And he is driven again to doxology, singing praises to God.

o This time, though, Paul is moved to praising God for who He is in himself.

To the king of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

· It’s important for us to move from praising God for what he has done in our lives toward praising God for who He is in Himself.

· Perhaps our purest worship comes when we come to the place where the vision of God in his glory becomes so full in our eyes that we praise Him simply for who we see before us.

· Paul views himself as the worst of sinners.

· Philippians 3:4–6 (ESV)—Even though he was formerly a professional law keeper; the epitome of conscientious Judaism.

Philippians 3:4–6 ESV

4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

· But even with other sinners in view, Paul will not let himself off the hook.

· This is a lesson in humility for us.

· It doesn’t matter if any of us is truly the worst sinner; we ought to feel as if we are.

· Romans 3:23 (ESV)—We don’t compare ourselves to others, but to God’s glorious standard.

Romans 3:23 ESV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

o When we do, we will feel the full weight of our sin against Him.

o Only then will we see how amazing his grace is.

o That amazement will lead us into worship with the proper attitude.

§ Humility and gratitude.

· John Newton’s famous hymn, Amazing Grace.

“Grace is amazing because it saves wretches, not because it puts the final polish on nice people…” <Brian Abel Ragen>

· Not only that, we will find that in His grace, we are made fit for a greater service to the kingdom.

“I should have nothing that might be fit for this office, which is to bear the Gospel: but all my might, all my worthiness, cometh from the mere grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.”[3]

· Paul’s testimony serves as an example for every Christian:

o Do you praise God for the ministry he has given you in the family, church, or in the world?

· 1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV)—All we do (big or small; especially small) should be aimed at offering glory to Him who saved us.

1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV

31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

· Sometimes we can become ungrateful about the ministry that God has given us.

o We may come to think of it as a begrudging duty to him (I have to do ministry).

o We may even grow proud and think that God should be grateful for the service we render.

· In the light of what we deserve in our sins, we should be amazed that God has granted us any ministry at all! What is worthy in me that I should get to do this?

o When we remember what God has done in our lives as our savior and redeemer, we come to see Him as He is in His glory.

o Seeing God for who He is and what He has done produces in us both humility and gratitude.

§ Humility and gratitude will be the foundation of worship and of ministry that endures.

[1]R. Kent Hughes and Bryan Chapell, 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus: To Guard the Deposit, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2000), 44–45.

[2] Thabiti M. Anyabwile, What Is a Healthy Church Member?, 9Marks (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2008), 87.

[3] Philip Graham Ryken, 1 Timothy, ed. Richard D. Phillips, Daniel M. Doriani, and Philip Graham Ryken, Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2007), 20.

Christ Came into the World to Save Sinners

Context

The Testimony of a Pardoned Sinners (1 Tim. 1:12-14)

The Testimony of a Ransomed Church (1 Tim. 1:15)

The Testimony of a Redeemed Apostle (1 Tim. 1:16-17)

Conclusion