First Timothy chapter one. I was talking the other day to
a very dear brother on the phone. And he reminded me of the story
of a man who was on his deathbed. And his pastor came to see him
and asked him Do you know that you're saved? Do you know, here this man is
on his deathbed and his pastor comes to see him and he asked
him, do you know that you're saved? And the man said, pastor, if
you told me the truth, I'm saved because I believe what you told
me. And that's a good answer. That's a good answer. That's
something that every pastor on this earth ought to ponder. Am I telling men and women the
truth? Am I telling men and women the
truth? Because I am sending men and
women out into eternity who are believing what I've declared
to them. When I first started doing this, a very dear old man
said to me, be careful what you say. Somebody's going to believe
you. And people are going to leave
this world believing what I have declared to them. And if it's
not the truth, they're not saved. Well, after our conversation,
I got to thinking about that question. I removed myself from
the role of pastor and I put myself in the role of that dying
man laying there. And I thought, if I was asked
that question, if somebody came to me and I was laying there
and somebody asked me, do you know that you're saved? based on what has been taught
and preached to me by the man who was my pastor. What would I say? What would
my answer be? What would my belief be? How would I respond to that?
Really, I ask myself this. How would I respond to that?
What do I believe about that? Immediately, two sentences popped
into my mind. Two thoughts, two statements
popped into my mind and then immediately those two sentences
or statements were confirmed by a verse of scripture. If someone asked me, do you know
that you're saved? I believe this is what my answer
would be. I believe this is what my pastor told me. and I believe
him, and I believe this is what my answer would be. Do you know
that you're saved? Well, I believe that Christ came
to save sinners, and I believe I'm a sinner. That's what I believe. That's what I know. All right,
that's what I know. That's what I know in my heart
to be so. Two things, number one, Christ
came to save sinners. And number two, I'm a sinner. Yeah, but do you know that you're
saved? The question is, do you know that you're saved? Well,
I can't answer that with certainty. I don't know what to do with
that question exactly. But I can answer this with certainty. I'm a sinner. I'm a sinner. And based on the promise of the
word of Jesus Christ, he said he came to save sinners. And
if the Lord Jesus Christ told me the truth, if he told me the
truth, then I'm saved because I believe him. I believe what
he said to me. My hope is not in what I know. You know you're saved. My hope
is not in what I know. My hope is in what he said. My confidence is not in my position. My confidence is in a person. I don't know anything in and
of myself. Do you know this? I don't know anything in and
of myself, but I know that he knows everything. So my trust
is in him and it's in his word. And if he said he came to save
sinners, then I have a hope of salvation because that's what
I am. That's where my assurance lies. That's where my comfort comes
from. Do you know that you're saved? All right, here's my answer.
This is what I know. Number one, Christ came to save sinners.
And number two, I'm a sinner. All right, that's my answer.
Now, after those two lines, two sentences popped into my head,
do you have any idea what verse of scripture came into my mind
and just confirmed that to my heart? Do you have any idea?
First Timothy one, verse 15 says, This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners, of whom I am chief. There are two things that can
be counted on, counted on. Do you know? Do you know? I mean,
counted on, relied on, trusted, and known because they're worthy
to be believed. Number one, Christ Jesus came
into this world to save sinners. And number two, I'm the chief. I'm the chief. Now, if you know
the Lord Jesus Christ in truth, I firmly believe this is so.
If you know the Lord Jesus Christ in truth, I would almost guarantee
you that you are disagreeing with me right now and calling me a liar in your
heart, saying, no, I'm the chief. No, that's the only spiritual
thing. I'm talking about spiritual things.
That's the only spiritual thing that God's people truly do disagree
on and fight over. One says, I'm the chief of sinners. And the other one says, no, you're
lying. I'm the chief. I'm the worst. One of my absolute
favorite things to tell on Charles Spurgeon, I really do love that
man, but one of my absolute favorite things to tell on him is something
I read in one of his messages a long time ago. He said, I take
issue with the Apostle Paul. I remember I was reading, I got
his books, you know, in my office on the bookshelf and I was reading
this message and I had this book in my hand. As soon as I read
that, I thought, I wouldn't do that if I were you. But he said, I take issue with
the Apostle Paul because he's stolen my seat, claiming that
he is the chief of sinners. He said, I would feign tap him
on the shoulder and say, sir, go up higher. I'm the worst. I am the vilest. I'm the lowest. But thank God, this is a faithful
saying. This is what makes grace so amazing
to me. This is what makes the gospel
so glorious to me. This is a faithful saying. That's
who Christ came to save, that's who he came to save. Turn with
me to Romans 5. Romans 5 verse 1 says, Therefore,
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into
this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory
of God. And not only so, but we glory
in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience,
and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh
not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our
hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. For when we
were yet without strength in due time, Christ died for the
ungodly. What a description of God's people. What a description of the ones
that God the Father chose to save and God the Son died to
save. Ungodly. Ungodly. Wicked. That's what it means.
Wicked. So wicked. Verse 6 says, For when we were
yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly,
for scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure
for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commended
his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us, ungodly sinners. That's who Christ died for. That's
who Christ died for. You know, false religion thinks
that Christ came to save good people. And I'm going to put,
like, let's do a Selah. Okay, let's pause a minute and
just think on that. That's what false religion thinks. That's
what the natural mind of man thinks, that Christ came to save
good people. That's not true. That's just
not true. And that's what the world believes,
and that's what false religion believes. But even we believers
can sometimes get it in our minds that Christ came to save sinners,
but light sinners. Or medium sinners. Maybe on the heavier side sinners.
but not hardcore sinners. Even we can naturally think there's
a line where once you've crossed it, you've gone too far. I mean,
you've sinned too great a sin to be saved from. That would
just require too much forgiveness. There's no hope for that kind
of sin. Do you know that's not so either? That's not so. That's wrong. If we believe that,
we're believing a lie. You know, they're believing a
lie out there. Well, if we believe that, we're believing a lie too.
Christ did not come to save those who had no sin at all. He did
not come to save those who have little sin. Christ came to save those who
have great sin, ungodly sin. Look with me at Romans 3 verse
10. Romans 3 verse 10. As it is written, there is none
righteous, no not one. There is none that understandeth,
there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of
the way. They are together become unprofitable.
There is none that do with good, no, not one. Their throat is
an open sepulcher with their tongues. They have used deceit.
The poison of asps is under their lips, whose mouth is full of
cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed
blood. Destruction and misery are in
their ways. In the way of peace have they
not known, there's no fear of God before their eyes. Does that
sound like good people? Does that sound like fine Christian
people? That's country talk. You know, they say, well, they're
just good people. Yeah, that's just a fine Christian man and
she's just a fine Christian woman. Does that sound like fine Christian
people? Who's that talking about? Everybody. Everybody, that's
talking about me, that's talking about you, that's talking about
every soul that God had to choose from to save. That's talking
about the whole lump. Verse 19, now we know that what
things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under
the law that every mouth may be stopped and all the world
may become guilty before God. Verse 23 says, for all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God. Ephesians 2 says, but God. But God. You were a dead, trespassing,
disobedient, lust-filled child of wrath, just like everybody
else, but God. who is rich in mercy. You know,
sometimes whenever I declare these things, because I pretty
much declare the same things every time I stand up in this
pulpit, but sometimes I really enter into them in the moment,
and it just really gets me the character of this man. You know,
in this word, you get to know his person, his character. character, his desire, who he
is, what he's like. We're going to live with this
man forever. We're going to walk with this man and talk with this
man. And you know what he's like? He's rich in mercy. He has great
love in his heart, great love for what he loved us. Even when we were dead in sins,
he quickened us together with him. By his grace he saved us, he
raised us up together with him and seated us together with him
in heavenly places. What a man, come see a man. Why
would he do that? That in the ages to come he might
show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward
us? His kindness to sinners. Jesus Christ the Sacrifice, Jesus
Christ the Atonement, Jesus Christ the Redeemer, Jesus Christ the
Savior of His people. All of the kindness of God came
through Him, came through His blood. Turn with me to Ephesians
3. Ephesians 3 verse 8, it says,
unto me who am less than the least of all saints is this grace
given. Right after the apostle Paul
was converted, right after the Lord converted him, he said in
1 Corinthians 15, I am the least of the apostles. That's the statement he made.
I'm the least of the apostles of those 12 men who stand above
everybody else in the world. I'm the least of the upper echelon
12. Right here in the middle of his
ministry, he took that a little further by saying, I'm the least
of all saints. I'm the least of all the people
that God has saved and raised on high with him. Of all those
special people, that peculiar treasure, I'm the least of them.
His two letters to Timothy, our text this morning is 1 Timothy
1. His two letters to Timothy are believed to be the last letters
that he wrote before he died. And he said there, in 1 Timothy
1, I'm the least of every human being that has ever walked on
this earth. Believer, unbeliever, I'm the
absolute worst of the worst. That's why he said, it's so amazing
to me, verse eight, unto me who am less than the least of all
saints is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles
the unsearchable riches of Christ. and to make all men see what
is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the
world hath been hid in God who created all things by Jesus Christ. To the intent that now unto the
principalities and powers and heavenly places might be known
by the church the manifold wisdom of God according to the eternal
purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. In whom
we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. Wherefore, I desire that you
faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
For this cause, I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to
be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man,
that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that you being
rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all
saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height,
and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that
you might be filled with all the fullness of God." Think about
that. that you might be filled with
all the fullness of God. Now unto him that is able to
do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according
to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the
church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. Do you know that you're saved
based on the promise of the word of Jesus Christ to sinners? Yes,
I do. Yes, I do. If he has told me
the truth that he came into this world to save sinners, then yes,
I know that I'm saved. I know that I'm saved because
That's what I am. And he's given me faith to believe
him. To believe that that's what he did for men and women who
are just like I am. I believe what he has told me. I don't know that I'm saved because
of anything that I see in myself. I don't know that I'm saved because
of anything that I see in myself. Matter of fact, everything that
I see in myself would cause me to doubt that I'm saved. But I know that I'm saved because
of everything that I see in him and everything that I see in
his word. And in that, I can die in peace. We can die in peace. You know,
when our Lord was, earthly speaking, eight days old, Mary and Joseph
brought him into the temple, and a man named Simeon was promised
by the Spirit that he would not see death until he had seen the
Lord's Christ. And when Mary and Joseph brought
him into the temple, Simeon looked at him and saw that little baby. And can't you imagine him like
just taking it in for a second and eventually easing over and saying,
hello ma'am, my name is Simeon. Would you mind if I see your
baby? And he took him up in his arms and he said, I can die in
peace. I've seen your salvation. I've
seen all my hope. I've seen all my salvation. It's
everything I need right here. Do you know that you're saved?
If I have truly seen Christ, I am. If I have Christ, I am. And if I've seen him and if I
have him, to him be all the glory for that. Amen. All right, you're dismissed.