I invite you to turn with me tonight to 1st Timothy 1, 1st Timothy 1, we read together the first 17 verses of this chapter, the text tonight being verse 15 of this chapter. 1st Timothy 1, hear now the word of God, Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope. To Timothy, my true son in the faith, grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God's work, which is by faith. The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm. We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that law is made not for the righteous, but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful the unholy and irreligious for those who kill their fathers or mothers for murderers for adulterers and perverts for slave traders and liars and perjurers and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed god which he entrusted to me i thank christ jesus our lord who has given me strength that he considered me faithful appointing me to his service even though i was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man. I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the worst. But 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. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. Our text again, verse 15. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the worst. Dear people of God, have you ever been in a situation which seemed hopeless? A situation in which it seemed like there was absolutely no help or no deliverance to be found, but then help did come and hope was revived. If you have ever been in a situation like that, then you know just how precious hope is in the midst of a hopeless situation. Now, of course, in this life, we might be able to come up with many examples of situations that seem hopeless, one going on all around us, even this afternoon. I can't help but to think of a number of those who've been evacuated that might be feeling a sense of a hopeless situation right now, as they don't know what they will find when they are able to return to their homes. Will there be any hope? Or I read in the newspaper this past week about a 74-year-old hunter who was separated from his hunting party and he was lost for four days. One of those days he was being tracked by a mountain lion. No doubt during that time, until help arrived, until he was rescued, he might have found himself in a hopeless situation. Sometimes it's not quite so drastic, but even boys and girls in school might think that a particular assignment seems hopeless. I know that as an adult student in seminary, I would look at the literally thousands of pages of reading that were assigned. And the lengthy papers that were due. And the exams that had to be studied for. Not to mention the Hebrew and the Greek vocab words that had to be studied for each and every day. And then I would compare that to the number of days in the semester. And it just didn't seem to fit. It seemed hopeless. But the truth is, beloved, for most if not all of the hopeless situations that we face or may face in this life, there is always a way out. Even for those who will come back and find their homes destroyed by fire, they will find some hope. There is always a way out. But there's one situation that man cannot work his way out of, and that's our hopeless, helpless situation of sin. There's absolutely no way for man to pull himself out of the God-forsakenness of sin into which we have willingly plunged ourselves. And that's why Paul's message in this text is so very precious. His message is so certain that Paul introduces it with the words, here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. Another translation says it this way, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. A couple of weeks ago, we considered another one of these faithful sayings. There are five, I believe, in Scripture. Five or six in Scripture. And now tonight, we consider another one. But this introductory statement to what Paul was about to say was to be an attention getter introducing a most important point of doctrine. And what Paul was about to say was a truth that had been accepted in the Christian community. It was believed by believers as being the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. It was trustworthy, dependable, reliable, and solid as a rock truth. It was a truth that was so certain that you could take it to the bank as the saying goes. It was a truth that had struck at the heart and stuck in the heart of the Christian community. Yet it was a truth that could only be received by faith. It was a truth that, as he says, deserved or was worthy of full or all acceptance. Now deserving or worthy means that it had value to it. It had eternal value. And full acceptance means that it was without a doubt, No doubt about it. And we know that many people have doubts about many different things. In fact, sometimes a deep knowledge of sin can even make a believer doubt his or her salvation. But this truth was without a doubt truth that Paul says must be believed without reservation of any kind. In fact, he was so sure himself, he uses himself as an example when he says in verses 12 and 13, I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has given me strength that He considered me faithful, appointing me to His service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. Paul had been like an animal with rabies in opposition to Christ. But the abundant grace of God had transformed him into a preacher of the gospel and a pastor of God's people. What is that trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance? I preach to you this word of God. The call to believe the certainty of God's salvation by grace through faith. As we want to consider the amazing fact, the awesome task, and the honest confession. The amazing fact, beloved, very simply, is that Christ Jesus came into the world. That's the amazing fact. And He did that for the purpose of carrying out the awesome task to save sinners. But the amazing fact is that Christ Jesus came into the world. This is the testimony of the Apostle Paul to the supreme sacrifice and the condescending grace of God. This is testimony to the incarnation and the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, all of which are foundational to His saving work. And beloved, this is truly amazing in the first place when we consider what His coming meant for Him. Not just us, but what it meant for Him. He who knew the perfect glory of heaven. He who received the worship and the perfect obedience of the angels. He who enjoyed perfect and intimate fellowship with His Heavenly Father, left His home in glory to come here. He came into the world. That is, He entered the very presence of the sinful world. He became a part of it. Sin accepted. To be sure, this is what we celebrate, isn't it? Every time we celebrate His birth at Christmastime. But Scripture and Jesus Himself is far from silent about His coming into the world. The fact of His coming. He says in John 3, 19, and this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world. John 16, verse 28 says, I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. To Pilate he said in John 18 verse 37, You say rightly that I am a king for this cause I was born and for this cause I have come into the world that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. And there's no mistake that the world is talking about this place where mankind dwells as well, this place in the moral and ethical sense. He came into the midst of sinful mankind to dwell for a time And therefore, by coming into the world, our Lord went, on the one hand, through a location change from the glory of heaven to the sinful curse of this earth. But he also went through a change of state, from the state of exaltation that he enjoyed in glory, to the state of humiliation. That familiar passage in Philippians chapter 2 says, Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing. Taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. Jesus Christ made himself nothing, or as another translation says, he emptied himself. And he emptied himself in the sense not that he became less than he was before, but he emptied himself, he became nothing in the sense that by adding that which he was not before. That is human nature. Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, pure and holy, entered a world and sphere he did not belong to and he did not fit. He entered the sphere where the curse of sin was reigning. Yet His coming, as someone has said, was fully justified and gloriously motivated. And that justification and that motivation was to save sinners. What an awesome task. Now, of course, we know that that's also an amazing fact, isn't it? That He came to save sinners. But that was His awesome task. Now, the literal reading of the Greek says He came into the world sinners to save. And as well, the construction of the Greek teaches us that his sole purpose for coming was indeed to save. And therefore, the emphasis here is on both his purpose for coming, to save, but also the object of that purpose, namely sinners. First of all, his purpose for coming was to save. And the title that Paul gives to him demonstrates this. He is the Christ, which means anointed or Messiah, the one who was promised for the very purpose of salvation. And His personal name is Jesus. The angel told Joseph, Jesus meant one who would save His people from their sins. And again, the rest of Scripture also supports what Paul says here. Luke 19, verse 10 says, For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Hebrews 7, verse 25 says, Therefore, he is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him. And the word save has the idea of to keep from harm, to preserve, and to rescue from danger, and all of this in the eternal sense of the word. And we know that so many throughout the ages, and even today, have denied Jesus Christ and his purpose for coming. If they do acknowledge him at all, it is only to say that he was a great teacher, he was a good example, he was a good friend. Nothing more. The congregation, he didn't come to merely set an example for us to follow. He came to save us. He came to salvage sinners from their spiritual destruction. I think the word salvage hits it right on the head here. I think of a salvage yard, especially for automobiles. They're useless. They're worthless. They need rebuilding, reconstructing. He came to salvage worthless sinners who needed new life. And this salvation, congregation, is twofold in that we are rescued from something, but it doesn't end there. We are delivered unto something as well. And Scripture also testifies to this twofold salvation in many places. To save means to rescue from the guilt of sin and to deliver and bring into the state of righteousness. It means to rescue from slavery to sin and bring into the state of freedom in Christ. It means to rescue from the punishment for sin and bring into the blessedness of God's favor. And all of this means that the one who is saved is no longer alienated from God, but instead enjoys fellowship with God. The one who is saved must no longer endure the wrath of God, but instead lives from the love of God. He is no longer headed for everlasting destruction, but He owns as His very own possession eternal life. And therefore to be saved means to be rescued from the greatest evil and to be given the greatest good. And who is this for? Who did Christ Jesus come to save? Sinners. Sinners. Sinners are those who transgress the law of God and are a law unto themselves. The Bible defines sin as lawlessness. Sin is falling short of the glory of God. It's missing the mark that God has set for us. Sin infiltrates. It infects and infests our whole being, our thoughts, our words, our actions, our motives, our desires. Sinners are those who by nature are completely opposed to God. Sinners are those who need saving. But now sinners also needs to be qualified, doesn't it? Sinners, as we have it here. And that's because Paul says in another place, For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, no, not one. There is no one who has ever lived or lives today or will ever live, except for Christ, that is sinless. But the Bible makes it clear that not all are saved. We believe that which we call election. That God has chosen from the fore, the foundation of the world, of His own free and good pleasure, some to save. Totally undeserving, without any merit on their own. We also confess what we call limited atonement. That Christ's salvation is indeed sufficient for all of mankind, but it is efficient or effective only for those whom God has chosen. The Bible is clear that Jesus Christ came to save His people from their sins. As the angel said, His sheep hear His voice. They know His voice. But not all are of His sheep. As well in His high priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus prayed, I pray for them, speaking of the elect, the chosen. I do not pray for the world, but for those whom you have given Me, for they are yours. In Matthew 7, Jesus says, enter by the narrow gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction and there are many who go in by it because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life and there are few who find it. Paul, you remember, was a former Pharisee and therefore to say with such conviction that Christ came to save sinners and only sinners was very, very significant. The Pharisees divided men into two classes themselves, the righteous, and sinners. Matthew 2, verse 16 says, And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and sinners, they said to his disciples, How is it that he eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners? The Pharisees were the ones who kept the law. Therefore, they were the ones, at least they thought, who deserved to be saved. And indeed, it's true, congregation, that sinners don't deserve to be saved. But in God's mercy and grace, those who deserve the least are given the most. But we must also admit that sometimes we have a hard time thinking about those whom we consider, whom we have judged to be worse sinners than we are. And we have a hard time thinking about them being saved. They don't deserve it. It's not fair. But wait a minute. Neither do we. And it's not fair that we are saved. Now the Pharisees, although they would not admit it, they were included in the all of the all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, yet they could not claim salvation. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul tells his fellow Pharisees that for sinners alone Christ came, and the sinners He came to save are those brought under the conviction of sin, those who by the mercy of God come to know their sin and misery, those who are humbled under the weight of sin and know their need for a Savior and seek their salvation apart from themselves and look only to Christ Jesus. In Luke 15, verse 7, Jesus says, I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 just persons who need no repentance. He's talking there, I believe, about 99 who think they need no repentance, which describes the Pharisees. The Pharisees saw no need in themselves for repentance. They were righteous. But the message of Jesus to them was, as Matthew 9, verses 12 and 13 says, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Beloved, only those who understand their sin and misery by the grace of God and then see their hopeless, helpless situation, only they have true hope. And this is a living hope, which is given to them through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. And for them, this faithful saying of Paul is a trumpet blast of good news and hope. Because this is God's promise that Christ came to save them. And notice, Christ Jesus didn't come to help sinners save themselves. He didn't come to encourage sinners to save themselves, to cheer them on. Come on, you can do it. I know you can do it. Keep trying. You can do it. He didn't even come to make sinners able to save themselves. He came to do it. He came to carry out this awesome task himself. Paul says in Romans 6 verse 8, But God demonstrates his own love toward us, and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Salvation of sinners is and can only be by the grace of God. And beloved, this truth of the certainty of God's salvation by grace is ours by faith. Do you believe it? It can only be yours if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul was so sure of this that he identifies himself with the sinners. He says Christ came to save, and he does so in his honest confession. With regard to the saved sinners, Paul says, of whom I am the worst. And as many of you know, in another translation, he says he is the chief of sinners. But you know, human nature makes it so easy, again, to look at everybody else and examine them through a microscope of our own making. This is true of preachers. It's true of men, women, children, even those outside of the church. I'm pretty sure it's true of each one of us sitting here tonight. It's easy to notice the sin of others while at the same time conveniently overlooking our own sin. But this honest confession was in true humility from the very bottom of Paul's heart. And that's what happens when one is brought face to face with the holiness of God. One understands, only then, the seriousness of their sin and misery. No doubt Isaiah meant the same when he saw the Lord sitting on the throne high and lifted up. and he heard the seraphim sing holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts the whole earth is full of His glory. And what was Isaiah's response? Woe is me for I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips. No doubt this is what Peter meant when he realized after the miraculous catch of fish that he was in the very presence of God. He said to Jesus depart from me for I am a sinful man. You see before the world Paul might have been a man of exemplar standing one to be looked up to. In Philippians 3, he says, Though I also might have confidence in the flesh, if anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so circumcise the eighth day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, concerning the law, a Pharisee, concerning zeal, persecuting the church, concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. Yet in Christ, Paul sees himself as the worst of sinners. And he tells us why again in verse 13. even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, he says. And he says that he is the worst of sinners, not that he was. Indeed, he had confidence that he was a forgiven sinner. Yet, although God remembers his sin no more for him, his past remains in order to stimulate him to deeper penitence and more faithful service. And congregation, the same must be true for you and me. Indeed, we live with the joy of the forgiveness of all of our sins that God remembers our sins no more. Yet we must remember our sins in the sense that it might stimulate us in the same way to deeper penitence and more faithful service and more grateful living before our God and King. Yet Paul's readers may look at him and have hope because of what God had done for him and to him for the sake of Christ Jesus. He is proof of God's grace. He is proof of the enabling power of God to make Paul a useful servant. As he says in verse 12, I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has given me strength that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. You see, Paul uses himself as a two-fold example, as an example of the depth of human sin, but also as an example of the sovereign power of God and the hope He gives, as Paul says in verse 16, Beloved, it was not Paul's desire that we know Him as He was in the flesh, but it was his desire that we know Him as He was in Christ. He was a sinner saved by grace. He was a picture of what God does for the repentant sinner for the sake of Christ Jesus. If you've never seen that picture, look to Paul. He's a picture of the sovereign grace of God. If nothing else, he wanted those who feel helpless and hopeless because of their sin and misery to see that there is hope only in Christ Jesus. In essence, His message is that you may very well be distinguished before the eyes of the world. You might be worthy of praise in this life, one to whom people look up to. Yet if you don't understand your desperate need because of your sin, and instead you reject the gospel of Jesus Christ, you are the most heinous of sinners, and you are despised in the sight of God. Yet no matter what you may have done, no matter how terrible you have sinned, if you repent of your sins and call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, you shall be saved. Beloved, this is the truth. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. Do you believe it without a doubt? If it were up to us to save ourselves from our sin, there would be absolutely no hope. But there is real hope because Jesus Christ is victorious. He has accomplished what He came to do and no one whom He came to save will be lost. As we've said before in different contexts, there are many who complain that God is not fair and He is not loving if He only provides one way to be saved. But in truth, beloved, the amazing thing is that He indeed provided that one way. What amazing grace. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, indeed we stand amazed when we think about and meditate upon Your holiness, Your majesty, your power, your perfection, indeed all of your attributes, and then compare ourselves rightly to your holiness. And Father, we are reminded indeed what it is that we deserve, but we give you thanksgiving and praise with humble hearts of what you have given to us in Christ Jesus. We thank you for your grace, so amazing. We thank you that when we could do nothing to save ourselves, you did it all for us through our Lord Jesus Christ. And you are the one who will lead us by your mighty hand and your outstretched arm to our heavenly home in your time. Father, may we live from this joy day by day. May this joy be visible in our lives in every way to those whom we have contact with. May the world see it. And may you be praised. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Thank you.