A Sinner Saved by Jesus

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (v 15). The magnitude of the mercy Paul praises Christ is brought out in today’s text, and it’s not what we expect. We expect condemnation. We expect the one we have wronged to take His pound of flesh. That’s what we deserve; punishment. At least, that is what we think.

Adam and Eve were ashamed in the garden, but the Lord came after them, seeking to restore and rescue them. He still seeks sinners. Like the shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine in the wilderness to seek the one lost sheep (), the Lord will seek what is lost (). That’s us; we are the lost, the wandering sheep, astray in our sin. So we pray, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments” (). This is reflected in the Collect, where we petition the Good Shepherd to “rescue and preserve us that we may not be lost forever but follow you, rejoicing in the way that leads to eternal life.” With all the Propers, the saving activity is found not within ourselves and our ability to navigate out of the dark forest of sin. Rather, the Epistle sums up God’s saving work in one simple sentence: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”

Sermon Outline

V 5: telos, “aim.” Paul left Timothy in Ephesus for the purpose of charging “certain persons not to teach any different doctrine” (v 3)—that is, to keep the teaching of the Gospel pure. Concern for doctrine, and especially correcting false doctrine, is viewed by many as self-serving, loveless work, but Paul says the opposite. The very object of his charge to Timothy is “love,” agapē). Paul goes on to teach that genuine Christian love comes from three sources: a “pure heart” (katharas kardias), a “good conscience” (suneidēseōs agathēs), and a “sincere faith” (pisteōs anupokritou). It is the Gospel, the promise of the forgiveness of sins won for us by the death of Jesus on the cross, that makes a heart pure and a conscience good.

V 7: nomodidaskaloi, “teachers of the law.” The Ephesian false teachers (from both in and outside the Church, ) fancy themselves experts in the Law. Paul has shown (v 5) and will show (v 11) that keeping the Law can only follow faith in the Gospel. If you mess the Gospel up, you don’t have a chance at getting the Law right. Here (vv 8–10) Paul demonstrates the proper use of the Law for sinners. See also and for other references to “teachers of the law.”

V 9: hamartōlois, “sinners.” Paul defines sinners according to the Ten Commandments: “profane,” the First Table; “strike father and mother,” the Fourth Commandment; “murderers,” the Fifth Commandment; “sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality,” the Sixth Commandment; “enslavers,” the Seventh Commandment; “liars, perjurers,” the Eighth Commandment. But note that Paul will give this title “sinner” to himself (v 15). It is sinners whom Jesus seeks, whom Jesus rescues.

V 11: episteuthēn, “entrusted.” Paul is not a teacher of the Law (v 7) but of the Gospel. The Gospel is his trust, Timothy’s trust, every pastor’s trust.

V 13: proteron, “formerly.” Paul’s sins were well known; neither Paul nor the Holy Spirit tried to hide or minimize them in the history of the Early Church. It is difficult to find a contemporary person to compare to Paul and his violent hatred of Christians—perhaps an Islamic terrorist who has vowed jihad against the Lord’s Church. Imagine Osama bin Laden visiting your congregation, telling about his conversion, and preaching the Gospel.

V 14: huperepleonasen, “overflowed.” The Lord’s mercy is always abounding, overflowing; there is enough grace and peace and love and forgiveness and kindness to go around for Paul and every member of the whole Church.

V 15: logos, “saying.” Paul now enunciates his “trust,” the Gospel: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” This simple and beautiful confession is the theological core of this letter, indeed of the entire prophetic and apostolic witness. prōtos, “foremost.” Paul knows the depth of his own sin, but this means that he also knows the corresponding height of Jesus’ love.

The mercy showed St. Paul in makes clear that patience was behind Jesus’ mercy. Paul’s experience is a model of what Christ does in general. Because Christ’s patience will not undergo a more severe test that with Paul, no sinner ever needs to despair.

V 16: Paul’s conversion is an “example” (hupotupōsin) of how the Lord converts sinners, namely, without any help from us. The virtues that Paul brought to Jesus he listed in v 13: “blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent.” Thus his only boast is his despicable sin and wretchedness. Every time the Lord creates faith it is ex nihilo, “out of nothing.”

V 17: timē kai doxa eis tous aiōnas tōn aiōnōn, “honor and glory forever and ever.” At the remembrance of his conversion, Paul breaks forth in doxology. All glory belongs to God, because he delivers complete and profound comfort to sinners.

Sermon Outline

Christ Jesus Saves Sinners.

I. We are sinners.

Paul could never get over what the mercy of Christ had done for him. His emphasis on that mercy constitutes the theme of the Christian live. You see, the mercy of Christ comes to you and me in the midst of our sinfulness — despite our opposition — through Jesus Christ.

II. So we are sinners saved by Christ Jesus.

Sermon

Let us pray: May the words of my mouth, and the meditation of each heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, our Rock and Redeemer.

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (v 15). That’s not what we expect. Christ Jesus came into the world to condemn sinners. That’s what we expect. Christ Jesus came into the world to destroy sinners. That’s what we deserve. Christ Jesus came into the world to punish sinners. That’s what we think. Christ Jesus came into the world to teach sinners how no longer to be sinners, by being nice to one another. That’s how we act. But this is not what the text says: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Yes,

Christ Jesus Saves Sinners.

Mercy Despite Opposition.

Which leaves us only one thing to do: be a sinner.

St. Paul’s opposition to Christ was intense.

He inflicted great injury upon people.

He was a persecutor of the Church.

And we are no different.

WeAfter all, all of us sin. All of us break the Ten Commandments. Paul, in this letter to Timothy, runs through the Commandments, showing what sinners look like. They are unholy and profane, striking father and mother, murderers, sexually immoral, homosexuals, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and so on (vv 9–10). This is me. This is you. It might be possible that you’ve held back your hand from these sins, perhaps your lips, but your heart and mind are constantly bent toward sin.

We are born with a sinful heart that we inherited from Adam. All of us break the Ten Commandments. Paul, in this letter to Timothy, runs through the Commandments, showing what sinners look like. They are unholy and profane, striking father and mother, murderers, sexually immoral, homosexuals, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and so on (vv 9–10). This is me. This is you. It might be possible that you’ve held back your hand from these sins, perhaps your lips, but your heart and mind are constantly bent toward sin.

Remember how Jesus shows this to us? To be angry is to commit murder (); to look with lust is to commit adultery (). We have these two great tables staring us down: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” and “love your neighbor as yourself” (). Which of us can check these off the list? Do the dishes, check. Take out the trash, check. Love the Lord with every ounce of my being, check? I’m afraid not.

Remember how Jesus shows this to us? To be angry is to commit murder (); to look with lust is to commit adultery (). We have these two great tables staring us down: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” and “love your neighbor as yourself” (). Which of us can check these off the list? Do the dishes, check. Take out the trash, check. Love the Lord with every ounce of my being, check? I’m afraid not.

Which means that you are a sinner, and this is good, remember? Because that’s who Christ Jesus came to save: sinners. “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (v 15). “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” (). Jesus didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. But who is so healthy that he or she doesn’t need a doctor? Who is so righteous that he doesn’t need a Savior, that she doesn’t need Jesus?

This means that you are a sinner; But, that’s who Christ Jesus came to save: sinners. “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (). “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” (). Jesus didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. But who is so healthy that he or she doesn’t need a doctor? Who is so righteous that he doesn’t need a Savior, that she doesn’t need Jesus?

This is where we get to the difficulty. The Pharisees Jesus is talking to (in ) are just as sinful as you and I, but they don’t know it. They think they’re righteous, that they’re well, that they need no help, no Savior, and this is trouble. This is what Paul describes in our own text today, “Certain persons . . . have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions” ().

We are sinners, but we hate to admit it. The old Adam, that sinful flesh that hangs around our neck, hates to admit our sin. “Sure, I’ve made mistakes. I’ve messed up, but everyone makes mistakes. To err is human. Nobody’s perfect.” This is the soothing confession of our sinful flesh; one who does not want to give-up their sinful ways. “I’ve tried my best.” But you haven’t, have you?

Just because everyone else has messed up doesn’t make it okay with God. He is holy; He doesn’t grade on a curve. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (), but our flesh clings to the illusion of its own goodness with a death grip, like a cat at bath time with claws sunk into the carpet. To confess that we are sinners, to acknowledge this, is death to the old man, and this is what we’re after. The cure only makes sense after the diagnosis.

Imagine that some guy comes up to you and tells you to take a pill. “It’s going to make all your hair fall out; you’re going to lose your appetite; you’ll have to quit working for a few weeks because this pill will make you so sick.” You’d run from this guy . . . and call the police! But imagine that this guy is your doctor, and he’s just given you the bad news that you have cancer. The diagnosis is bad, but we’ve caught it in time so that the chemo pills can take care of it. Now you don’t run from him. You stay. You take the pills. You pay this man thousands of dollars! You rejoice in the cure because you know the sickness, the alternative. What a difference the diagnosis makes.

We are sinners. That is our diagnosis: poor, miserable sinners. Paul tells us, “The law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and the disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners” (). We have broken God’s Law and stand deserving of his judgment, his wrath. And when we are sinners, when we acknowledge that nothing good dwells in us, that we have deserved God’s anger because of what we’ve done and because of who we are, then the cure comes breaking over us with light and joy and peace.

But if God could extend mercy to Paul despite his sinfulness, nothing we have been or done or said can prevent Christ from extending that same mercy to us. But how is this possible?

Mercy Comes Through Jesus Christ

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (). “Hey, I’m a sinner! Jesus came to save me!” Yes! And save you He does: His agony in your place, His death for your life. His blood like a flood washing away your sin, your fear of death, your condemnation. All of this comes to you through His cross.

Paul was bold to confess his sins. In our text, he calls himself the “worst” of sinners (). In his letters, he boasts of his weakness, of his sins. Paul’s companion and friend, Luke, recorded in Acts how Paul had overseen the brutal murder of Stephen and how Paul had obtained permission to trouble the Christians in Damascus, throwing them, even the mothers and children, into prison for believing in Jesus. Paul makes no attempt to hide his sin; he is a sinner, a sinner with a Savior. Paul knows the horrendous depth of his own sin, but this, for Paul, simply means that he knows all the better the height of Jesus’ love. “But I for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on Him and receive eternal life” ().

Paul was bold to confess his sins. In our text, he calls himself the “worst” of sinners (). In his letters, he boasts of his weakness, of his sins. Paul’s companion and friend, Luke, recorded in Acts how Paul had overseen the brutal murder of Stephen and how Paul had obtained permission to trouble the Christians in Damascus, throwing them, even the mothers and children, into prison for believing in Jesus.

Paul makes no attempt to hide his sin; he is a sinner, a sinner with a Savior. Paul knows the horrendous depth of his own sin, but this, for Paul, simply means that he knows all the better the height of Jesus’ love.

“But I for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on Him and receive eternal life” ().

Your sin can’t stand in the way. Your death can’t stand in the way. Your trouble can’t separate you from him. Your Savior is Jesus, the one who came to save sinners, who came to save you. The mercy of Christ comes to you and me in the midst of our sinfulness — despite our opposition — through Jesus Christ. It comes to you and me so we can serve Him.

“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen” ().