Turn with me, if you would, to
1 Timothy, chapter one. Our text will be one verse, which
is verse 15. The name of the message is, Why
Christ Came. Why did Christ come to this world?
Why did he come here? Well, there's a lot of things
in this world that are very doubtful. And sadly, we must realize that
a lot of people A lot of what people and preachers are telling
sinners is suspicious and questionable. So it's vital that we search
the scriptures. It's vital for a preacher when
we stand up to preach the gospel that we focus on Christ and Christ
alone. Spurgeon used to tell his students
When you prepare a sermon, make a beeline for Christ. Get to
Christ as fast as you can. And I think that is so vital
because the messages are all about Christ. Now I'm gonna be
speaking today on some things that I've learned. Some things
that I've learned. And it's important for a preacher
to tell what we know. I can't tell you about Christ
if I haven't experienced the saving power of the Lord Jesus
Christ. I can't tell you about someone
unless I know them. I can't tell you about a place
unless I've been there. I can read up on it, but until
I've been there, I can't really tell you about that place. So it's vital that we search
the scriptures and prove what we are being told about the Lord
Jesus Christ. There's no contradictions in
the Bible, no contradictions in the scriptures. And think
of this, the eternal welfare of our souls depends on what's
written in God's word. So let's turn to 1 Timothy chapter
one. We'll read one verse. Our text
will be found in one verse. And again, the message is, why
did Christ come? Why did he come to this world?
The answer is in this verse, and it's absolutely wonderful. 1 Timothy 1.15. Now first, this
is a faithful saying. This is faithful. This is true. This is a faithful
saying and worthy of all acceptance. This saying is worthy to be accepted
because it's true and because it's God's word. Word of all acceptation that
Christ Jesus, that's God incarnate in the flesh, that's the second
person in the Trinity, who was in heaven and came to this sin-cursed
world. Why did he come? He came into
the world to save sinners. Look at that. That's why Christ
came into this world. Now some people say, well, I'm
not a sinner. Well, you got your answer there then, don't you?
I pray God will show you you're a sinner. Because true sinners,
we know what we are. And look what Paul says, of whom
I, I'm chief. He says, I'm number one. You
know, we as believers, we say that ourselves too. We say that ourselves. I'm the
chief of sinners. But look at this. This is a faithful
saying in God's word. Christ Jesus, God in the flesh,
look at this, the word of God came into this world. He's the
word of God before he even comes here. He came in, and think of this,
he made this world, he made the universe, he made everything,
he made time and space, and he comes into this world for one
mission. One reason. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. And you know what? This never
changes. He's still saving lost sinners
today. Oh my. The God whom all men have
to face, who never changes. Therefore,
The salvation in his word never changes. Christ Jesus never changes. There's only one way to heaven,
the Lord Jesus Christ. There's only one way to the Father
in heaven. The Lord Jesus Christ. There's
only one way to be accepted by God, the Father. The Lord Jesus
Christ. There's only one way to be saved.
Christ died for sinners. The Holy Spirit regenerates us
through the preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's wonderful. It's absolutely
wonderful. And another thing is, man never
changes. We need salvation. We need to be saved from our
sins. We are born, every child that's born into this world,
and that includes we who are gray-haired, or if you're in
middle age, or if you're a young person, you are born a sinner. We all are. I was born a sinner. I produce sinners. My children
are sinners. Their children will be sinners.
My grandchildren will be sinners. Therefore, since God never changes,
the way of salvation never changes. Isn't that wonderful? For a believer,
it's wonderful. For someone who God shows is
a true sinner, that's wonderful. This saying right here, and this
is a faithful saying, whether people believe it or not, this
is faithful, this is true. It's not up for debate. And it's
worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. Oh, praise his mighty name. God
became a man to save sinners. I'm a sinner. And I've been born again by his
Holy Spirit. My. He saved me. He came into this
world to save me. And I'll tell you what. He's
never, ever turned away one who comes to him by God-given faith. That's why he came. And he redeemed
sinners 2,000 years ago on Calvary's cross. And then he says to Nicodemus,
before he went to the cross, he says, you must be born again.
Why? Because we're born dead spiritually into this world in
trespasses and sins. We must be born again. And that's
the work of God the Holy Spirit, who the Lord Jesus Christ sent.
And who will teach us the things of Christ. It's wonderful. And he gives us faith to believe
on who? The Lord Jesus Christ. The one
object of God-given faith. So, the God with whom, who is
in heaven never changes. Salvation in Christ never changes. The way we meet God's requirements
never changes. This, look at this, this is a
faithful saying. This has been spoken. This is
a faithful saying. This saying in our text is the
same in any culture, in any society, in any walk of
life. This saying is worthy of acceptation
when Paul wrote it. This saying is worthy of acceptation
even before Paul wrote it. Abraham believed God. He looked
to the Messiah. That's who the Lord Jesus Christ
is, the one who came to save sinners. Isn't it wonderful?
So this saying, this saying that's worthy of all acceptation that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, it never changes. Paul preached
this, Paul preached this in his times. Whitefield, Spurgeon,
all those men, and all the men up to him, them, preached the
same message. Christ and him crucified. Salvation
is only in Christ. It crosses culture, it crosses
society, and it crosses all walks of life. I can say to men, all
men everywhere, without any fear of saying something wrong, I
can say that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners.
I can say that without any fear. Because that's what, he came
to save sinners, and he did. I don't know who they are, so
I preach to everyone. God does the saving. Isn't that
wonderful? It's absolutely wonderful. Now
here are some things that I want to share with you today. Some
things that I've learned. Number one, the first thing I
want to tell you is that I'm a great sinner. And I'm not proud
of this. I'm not proud of that at all.
But it's true. I'm a preacher of the gospel
of God's free and sovereign grace. I preach that Christ came into
this world to save sinners. But I'm a sinner preaching to
other sinners. And even though I'm a preacher
of the gospel, sin is mixed in everything I do. Now you won't
hear a lot of preachers say that, but it's true. It's true. In my life, I've never had a
thought, never spoken a word, never done one thing that was
not stained with sin. And I've been saved by the grace
of God from my sins. I've been redeemed through the
shed blood of Christ, yet sin is always present with me. Oh, by the grace of God, I can
say with Paul what he said in Romans 7, verses 24 and 25. Oh,
wretched man that I am, who could deliver me from this body of
death? I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So then with
the mind, I serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the
law of sin. My, oh my, what a Savior is Jesus
Christ, our Lord. What a Redeemer is our King.
Oh, it's magnificent. Oh. And you know what? You know what? I don't see myself
as getting better. I see myself as more and more
of a sinner. The older I get, the more of
my sin I see. The foolish imaginations of my
mind have increased through the years. I open the Bible to read
the blessed word of God and sin grabs me. Oh my, I bow to pray
and my mind wanders up and down every road of iniquity. I'm just
being honest. I join together with the saints
of God to worship and my heart is filled with unholy imaginations. This is what it means to be a
sinner saved by grace. When Paul, my soul, cries, O
wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of
death? Only Christ Jesus alone who came into this world to save
sinners by his great substitutionary life and death. Number two, I've
learned something else, that God is love. Oh, he's a holy
and righteous God, but he's a God of love. That gives me hope. Because by nature, I'm guilty.
I'm guilty without hope by nature. I'm lost, condemned, sentenced
to death for my sin. And divine justice demands the
death of every sinner, but God is love. There's then hope for
sinners like us. There's hope for sinners like
me. because of his great love for
sinners. God sent his son to this world
to die on the cross so that sinners he loves, with an eternal everlasting
love, can be eternally saved by him. And I rejoice, beloved,
I'll tell you, I rejoice that this is a faithful saying and
worthy of our acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. And I'm a sinner! God showed me I was a sinner!
And I fled to Christ by his grace and mercy, by the power and might
of God, the Holy Spirit. Oh my, so I'm gonna proclaim
this truth. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. I'm proof of that. If you're
bored again, bored by sin, you're proof of that. Isn't that wonderful?
Oh my, it's absolutely wonderful. Then I learned, this is something
else I learned by the grace and mercy of God. I learned that
the Lord Jesus Christ is the all-sufficient savior of sinners. Because as the scripture says
here, he came into this world to save sinners. And I'm chief. I like Paul say, I'm chief. Oh
my, he came to save his people from their sins. Ephesians 2
verses 11 to 13 says this. Wherefore, remember that ye being
in ties past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision
by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands, that
at that time you were without Christ. Oh, we were dead in trespasses
and sins, beloved, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel,
strangers from the covenant of promise. In our minds, we were
enemies with God, having no hope whether God in the world. But
now in Christ Jesus, oh, listen to this, beloved. Now in Christ
Jesus, you sometimes were far off, are made nigh by the blood
of Christ. Hallelujah, what a Savior is
Jesus Christ, our Lord. He came to save sinners. Sinners
are made nigh by the precious blood of Christ. It's wonderful. Oh, this is good news. The Lord
Jesus Christ has never saved a good person. You know that? The Lord Jesus
Christ has never saved a good person. Christ did not die for
just and holy people who think that they're that way in their
minds. Christ does not show mercy to those who, according to their
own thoughts, have no need of his mercy. Listen to these wonderful words
in the scriptures, and I pray that if you do not know or think
that you are a sinner, I pray by God's grace he shows you you're
a sinner, just like he showed me. Oh my, listen to these wonderful
words. Then these words will make your
heart soar for joy. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. God shows mercy to me, a sinner
in Christ. God saved me by his grace in
Christ. God pardoned me from all my sins
in Christ. God accepts me in the blood in
Christ Jesus, my Lord. All wonders of wonders, the holy
God of the universe accepts sinners in Christ Jesus, our Lord, who
is God incarnate in the flesh, who shed his blood to redeem
sinners. So save sinners from all their
sin. If you come to Christ as a sinner, as a poor, bankrupt
sinner, He'll save you also. As a guilty sinner, simply trust
in Him, the all-sufficient Savior, and you will have eternal life.
And God's people say, amen and amen.