I invite your attention to the
first epistle of Paul the Apostle to Timothy. 1 Timothy chapter
1. My text is in verse number 15. And today, God willing, we will
consider in this message the sinners, Christ Jesus, came to
save. Our text reads, 1st Timothy 1.15,
this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am
chief. I was considering this text few
days ago and I realized that I have probably
preached from this text perhaps more than any other text. Not
the same message all the time but different messages from the
same text. But as I meditated on this verse
in reading a few days ago, I thought, you know, I have never dealt
with the sinners Christ Jesus came to save. I have dealt with
the Savior who came and what it was to come to save sinners,
but notice the sinners. And I got to thinking about the
fact that there are a number of different kinds of sinners,
but Christ Jesus did not come to save them all, did he? Only
certain sinners. And so today we're gonna consider
this subject of the sinners Christ Jesus came to save. And I hope
you're one of them. I am one of them, but I hope
that you are as well. We're going to commence our message
this morning by observing a very important fact, and that is that
every one of us is a sinner. Every one of us. I'm a sinner.
You're a sinner. Every human being is a sinner.
For the scriptures plainly declare that all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God. You might ask, what is a sinner?
It's someone who falls short of the glory of God, for one
thing. It is someone who has violated God's law. Had a man tell me one time, he said, I may be a sinner, but
I'm not a criminal. I may be a sinner, But I'm not
a criminal. A sinner is a criminal. A sinner
is someone who has broken God's law. If you've broken the law,
that makes you a criminal. Folks, we're just all a bunch
of criminals. That's all we are. In God's sight. We're broken His law, we're all
criminals, and we are all sinners. But the good news of this text
is this. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. criminals. That's why he came
into the world. But I want to add to that and
quickly add to that this point that Christ Jesus came to save
only certain sinners, not all sinners. It is a fact, and you
understand it well undoubtedly, that He does not save every sinner. All are sinners. Christ does
not save every sinner. Indeed, there are certain sinners
that He says, I will not save you. But there are others to
whom he says, I came to save you. And I hope that you and
I are of that latter sort, the sinners Christ Jesus came to
save. So here's what we're going to
do this morning. We're going to consider first some sinners
Christ Jesus did not come to save. And second, we will consider
the sinners Christ Jesus did indeed come to save. First of all, under that first
point of consider some sinners Christ Jesus did not come to
save, we will consider that Christ Jesus did not come to save denying
sinners. Sinners in denial. We read in
the scriptures that if we say that we have no sin, we deceive
ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we say that we have
not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. 1
John chapter 1 verses 8 through 10. I have met some of these
folks. I have met some of these folks
who say that, you know what? I have progressed so far in holiness
that I am above sin now. I live above sin. I do not sin. I've had people who tell me that
they have not sinned all day long. I've heard that. Sometimes late in the day, I
have not sinned all day long. Alright. That kind of person
is a sinner in denial and Jesus Christ did not come to save denying
sinners. Jesus did not come to save people
who deny that they have sinned or deny that they have sinned.
And yes, I said that correctly. Some say they have not sinned
and some say they have no sin. He did not come to save that
kind of sinner. That kind of sinner does not
need to be saved. Second, Christ Jesus did not
come to save partial sinners. These might say, I admit that
I do sinful deeds, but I also do deeds that I am certain God
will consider to be good. We have met with people who tell
us that they are convinced that at the final judgment that, well,
there's going to be some bad works that are accredited to
the name, but on the other hand, there are some good works. And
many folk tell us, I just kind of think that my good deeds will
outweigh my bad deeds, and that God will let me into heaven on
the basis of the fact that I'm not really all that bad a person.
I'm not really a bad sinner. I'm just a partial sinner. You know how we take lies and
we say, well, you know, that lie, that was a terrible lie. And we call that a black lie.
And then we say, but this lie that I told, that wasn't all
so bad. That was a white lie. You know, it was not so bad of
a lie. Listen, folks, a lie is a lie
is a lie. Sin is sin is sin. And we need to realize that sin
is all we do. Everything we do is sinful. So
therefore, do not think that your good deeds will outweigh
your bad deeds because you do not have any good deeds and all
your deeds are bad. And if you think you've got good
needs, you're only a partial sinner. And Jesus did not come
to save partial sinners. Then number three, Christ Jesus
did not come to save part-time sinners. Part-time sinners. What kind of sinners are these?
You know some folk that almost every day of the week They're
lying, and they're stealing, and they're dishonest, and untrustworthy,
and doing all kinds of wicked deeds. But come Sabbath or Sunday
morning, and they put on their Sabbath or Sunday morning clothes,
and all of a sudden they become holy. And they'd go and they'd
sit in the pew and sing, oh how I love Jesus, and every day with
Jesus is sweeter than the day before. And if you could see
them on Sunday or Sabbath morning, or on a holy day, Yes, they show
up for Christmas. And yes, they show up for Easter.
And they would sing on Christmas how glad we are that Jesus was
born. And then, after Christmas is
over, they forget all about Him. Until Easter comes and say, oh
how glad I am that he was raised in the dead. Now these are part-time
sinners. They would say, you know, I'm
not a sinner every day. Only on certain days am I a sinner. On Sabbath or Sunday or Holy
Days. I'm a good person then. Well,
Jesus did not come to save part-time sinners. Number four. Christ Jesus did
not come to save free will sinners. These are they who deny the bondage
of their will to Satan's. Jesus said of men in general,
you are of your father the devil and the deeds of your father
you want to do. And he's speaking of all men
in general with regard to their native condition, the condition
in which they were born. And then he says, he who sins
is a slave of sin. John chapter 8. So, does a man
sin? If he sins, then he's a slave
to it. Does a man do what the devil
wants him to do? Then he's a slave of Satan doing
what the devil would have to do. Jesus and speaking to such
men as this, told him that they were slaves, they were in bondage,
and he said, Ha, ha! No, no, no! We have never been
in bondage to anyone. We have dealt with this subject
on a previous occasion not too long ago, I think maybe two Lord's
Day mornings ago. But there are men that say, We
have never been in bondage. We have free will. Well, if you
boast of your free will, Jesus did not come to save you. You
do not need to be saved, do you? If you already have free will.
And then, he did not come to save, number five, capable sinners. Here is the free will sinner
when he says he has the ability to come to God anytime he wants
to for salvation. I've heard this sort. You ask
him, have you come to the Lord? Nah, but I will, I will. When will you? Well, when I'm
ready, when I'm ready. was preaching in Jamaica. You
know, I've been there a few times, preached to a certain church
in Jamaica. Every time I would go, there
was a certain lady who would attend every worship service. And yet she had never trusted
in the Lord, never had. And I talked with her, and I
remember the last time I was there, in that church in Jamaica,
and I preached. And I was standing by the door
as the congregants came out. And when she came out, I said,
may I have a word with you in private? And she said, yes. And so I took her aside and I
said, I just feel led to talk with you about this. You have
never trusted in the Lord for salvation, have you? And she
said, no, I never have. And, uh, you've heard me preach,
and you know you need to, do you not? And, uh, yes I do. And, well then, why have you
not done so? I'm serious. Why have you not
trusted in the Lord? And she told me of certain things in this life she
liked to do. And then she said, but the next
time you come back, I'll be here trusting Jesus. And I let her
know, no, I don't want to hear that. Don't want to hear that.
It's not when I come back. Now's the day. Now is the day. Don't put it off. Don't put it
off. And because, you know, listen folks, that scares me when people
say, you know, I'll come to Jesus when I'm ready. When I'm ready.
You never will be ready. You never will. And yet these
people say, I can come anytime I want to. That's the problem. You don't want to. No man in
his natural condition wants to. Jesus said to them, you will
not come to me that you may have eternal life. And then he said,
no man can come to me unless my Father draws him and gives
him the wherewithal to come. When people say, I can come when
I'm good and ready, Jesus did not come for that kind of sinner.
did not come for that kind of sinner, that free will capable
sinner. Now, I'm happy to report the
lady of whom I spoke, she came to Christ. Not when she was ready, when
he was ready. When he was ready, her pastor
sent me a note, said she's come to Christ. How'd she come? The
Lord drew her and gave her the wherewithal to come, as in thy
people shall be willing volunteers in the day of thy power. We will
come when he draws us. But if people put this thing
off, why, many people go to their graves saying, I'll come when
I'm ready, until they say it too late. Do not be one of them. Number six, Jesus Christ did
not come to save self-righteous sinners. They were epitomized
by the Pharisees in Jesus' day on earth. They trusted in themselves
that they were righteous. They boasted of keeping God's
law and of all their justifying works. These that boast about
how good they are. These that think they're better
than others because they keep Sabbath or they abstain from
pork or they try to keep the law or such as that. If we have
any kind of righteousness through anything we've done, Jesus Christ
did not come to save such sinners as that. He said, those who are
well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. No man
goes to the doctor unless he needs a doctor. No man said,
you know what? I feel good and healthy today.
Not a thing hurt me. I think I'll go see the doctor.
No, it doesn't happen that way. Who goes to the doctor? A man
who knows he's sick and scared of being sick and what it might
result. They that are well have no need
of a physician. And then Jesus said, I did not
come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Furthermore,
number seven, Christ Jesus did not come to save holier-than-thou
sinners. These are those who say to others,
get away from me, I am holier-than-thou. Some of these are described even
in the scriptures in Isaiah 65 verse 5. I am holier-than-thou. not nearly as holy as they think
they are. For God says of them, these are smoke in my nostrils,
a fire that burns all the day. If you believe that you have
made yourself to be holier than someone else, I mean even a little
bit holier than someone else, Christ Jesus did not come to
save you. Now, consider the sinners Christ
Jesus did indeed come to save. First of all, Christ Jesus came
to save confessing sinners. These are not denying sinners. These are confessing sinners. They say to Him, as the psalmist
said in Psalm 41 verse 4, Jehovah, be merciful to me, heal my soul,
for I have sinned against you. We come to him and we say, Lord,
I am a sinner. I'm a sinner all the way through,
every fiber of my being. And Jesus says, that's the kind
of sinner I came to save. Second Christ Jesus came to save
complete sinners. These confess, I know that in
me, that is in my flesh, nothing good dwelt. That's true of every
one of us, but how many of us would admit it? Listen, folks,
in my flesh, now remember that before you this morning stands
a man who is flesh and spirit. He's got this flesh he was born
with, and he's got that old nature he was born with, and I'm gonna
tell you that that old nature with which I was born It is sinful
in everything it does, every word it utters, and every thought
it imagines. We have heard of some people
who are outwardly beautiful, and then of others we say, that
one is ugly to the bone. Meaning that there's no prettiness
at all. The ugliness, you can not only
see it, but it goes all the way to the very marrow of the being. Well, that is the case with every
one of us with regards to sin. We are sinful to the very marrow
of our bones. And Christ Jesus came to save
that sort of sinners. Then Christ Jesus came to save
full-time sinners. These confess that they were
sinners from the moment of their conception and were born estranged
from God and have been iniquitous and liars ever since and are
sinners in all their deeds and words and even their thoughts.
The psalmist says that in sin my mother conceived me and from
that very moment From that very moment of conception, when I
was conceived in my mother's womb, I was a sinner even in
my mother's womb. I developed in sin in my mother's
womb. I was born estranged from God. We read that men are born estranged
from God and go far from their mother's womb, speaking lies. We lie all the time. Lying is
not something that we learned to do. Lying is our nature and
lying is something that we try to get better at as we get older. Some men try to lie and they
get caught in it. school children, certain salesmen
and such would do it, and they learn from their mistakes and
say, I won't make that mistake again, I'll learn to lie better.
Well, that is every one of us, but we who are the sinners Christ
Jesus came to save, we admit it, we admit it, we are full-time
sinners. We have never been holy and righteous
in his sight for even a moment of our lives. And then number
four, Christ Jesus came to save the worst sinners. These confess
with Paul the apostle who wrote the words of our text that Christ
Jesus came to save sinners of whom I am chief. Of whom I am
chief. Now listen, folks. I suppose
that every child of God would look upon himself or herself
as being the worst sinner that lived. I never met one of the
Lord's children who said, you know what? I was a sinner, but
I really wasn't a bad one. I was a sinner, but you know,
Kind of a minor sinner. Every one of us who know the
Lord, I think, will admit that we were the worst sorts of sinners,
and furthermore, we still are. Paul says, Christ Jesus came
to save sinners, and I am, present tense, I am the chief. I look upon myself now and I
know still I'm the worst sort of sinner there is. But I take
comfort in this, that's the kind of sinner Christ Jesus came to
save. And then Christ Jesus came to
save the epitome of sinners. I mean the very epitome of what
a sinner is. there is a certain tax collector,
a publican, and he goes up to the temple to pray one day, and
there is a Pharisee in that temple, and that Pharisee sees the publican
or the tax collector over yonder, the tax collector trying to get
into the shadows, get away where nobody can see him, and that
Pharisee spotted him, and that Pharisee got close to some holy
object there in the temple, and he said, I thank you that I'm
not like other men, especially like that Pharisee or that publican
tax collector over yonder. I thank you that I am not like
him. And then he was quiet. And the scriptures say that that
poor publican tax collector over there in the corner, as far away
from any holy object as he could find in that temple, just got
away from them. Got away. And he was, he was
too afraid to look up. He was afraid he might see that
God was looking at him. You know the feeling when you've
done, when as a little child you did something wrong, you
had to come into your house and your mother or your father would
confront you and you were afraid to look at them, didn't want
to see the look in their eyes as they looked at you and he
was afraid to look up and he smote his breast, beat his heart, and he said,
God, be merciful to me, the sinner. The New Testament text has the
definite article. Be merciful to me, the sinner. All of us whom Jesus Christ came
to save would pray that prayer. God be merciful to me, the sinner. I am the very epitome of a sinner. If you want to know what a sinner
is, look at me, look at me. And Jesus says, yeah, I'll look
at you and you're the kind of sinner I came to save. I came
to save the epitome of sinners. Then sixth, Christ Jesus came
to save unholy and unrighteous sinners. These confessed that
we have sinned in these ways we continue, and we need to be
saved. We are all like an unclean thing,
or like a spiritual leper, and all our righteousnesses are like
filthy rags or menstruous cloths. Isaiah 64 verse 6. We look upon
ourselves and we say, Lord, I am as unholy as I can be. There
is nothing holy about me. I am as unrighteous as I can
be. There is nothing that is righteous
about me. I am unholy and unrighteous. And the Lord said, well, okay,
then you're the kind of sinner I came to save. He came to save
people who needed to be saved. And then one more, and we'll
close. Number seven, Christ Jesus came
to save helpless and mercy-seeking sinners. Helpless and mercy-seeking
sinners. These say to him, Lord, If you
are willing, you can make me clean. That free willer says, when I'm
willing, I can be clean. When I'm willing, I got free
will and I can be willing anytime I want to. Well, you look at
the Lord's children and they know the bondage of their will
to Satan and they know the bondage of their will to sin. And they
look up at Christ and know that the only way they're going to
be saved is if He is willing to save them. Lord, Lord, if
you are willing, I can be clean. If you are willing. Here's a
blind man by the road and Jesus walks by. He says, David, son
of David, pardon me. He said, Jesus of Nazareth, son
of David, have mercy on me. And the Lord said, well, what
do you want me to do? He says, what I cannot do for myself,
give me my sight. Let me see. This is the way that
true sinners speak to Christ. Lord, if you are willing, I can
be cleansed. If you are willing, I can be
saved. If you are willing, I can be
justified. If you are willing, I can be
sanctified. We put it all on His will. And
if we ever come to the place where we can say, Lord, if you
are willing, He'll say, I am, I am. Be cleansed, be saved,
be justified, be sanctified. That, my friend, is the kind
of sinner Jesus Christ came to save. He came to save sinners
like me. Like me. Sinners like me. And I hope that he came to save
sinners like you because I hope that you acknowledge yourselves
to be such people as this in need of a Savior. They that need
a Savior find one in Jesus Christ. O God, our Father, be pleased,
we pray, to bless this word to the glory of your Son, to the
honor of his name. For in Jesus' name we humbly
pray. Amen.