Good evening. I invite your attention to 1 Timothy
1, verse 15. And God willing, tonight we would
address the subject of from what does Christ Jesus save sinners? And while you locate your text,
I would express my appreciation for all the many kindnesses and
the generosity of this church to myself and to the minister
the Lord has given us in the Caribbean. And all these things
are much appreciated and I am indebted to you and appreciate
and love you. very much. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 1 verse
15 that 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." Now, I suppose we all know this
verse very well. And we know that Paul writes
as an apostle and acknowledges himself as the chief of sinners. And we acknowledge our gratitude
to our God for having sent Christ Jesus into the world to save
sinners. If he has saved the chief, he
can save us. But what is it from which Christ
saves sinners? Paul does not here say, and he
probably does not need to, we should know what it is from which
Christ Jesus saves sinners. But we're going to review these
things tonight. in looking at the subject of
from what does Christ Jesus save sinners. I think you will find
that there are at least nine things from which he saves sinners. Let's quickly look at some of
them. First of all, Christ Jesus saves
from sins. And this is probably the aspect
of his saving work that comes foremost to mind. He saves sinners
from their sins. We know that he was given the
name Jesus, which means quite literally Jehovah is salvation. And that was the name given to
him at his birth. You shall call his name Jesus
or call him Jehovah is salvation. Why? For he will save his people. from their sins. Now, what is
a sin? A sin is any transgression of
God's holy and righteous law. And every sin deserves death,
for the wages of sin is death. And every one of us is a sinner,
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And
Jesus Christ has saved his people. Notice that God said he will
save his people from their sins, and he has saved them from every
sin that you can imagine. And there are various types of
sins. He has saved his people from
both original sin and actual sins. He has saved his people
from both sins of commission and sins of omission. He has
saved His people from both public sins and secret sins. He has saved His people from
sins as both guilt and defilement. He has saved His people from
sins of thought and word and deed. He has saved His people
of sins of both individual persons and of a collective group. And
this collective group will say, O Israel, hope in the Lord. For with the Lord there is mercy,
and with him is abundant redemption, and he shall redeem Israel from
all his iniquities. And that's what Christ has done.
He has saved his people from their sins by redeeming them
from all their iniquities. Every sin that God would ever
find in any one of them or in all of them collectively, Christ
has saved His people from every one of those sins. Why? That's
why He came. He came into the world to save
sinners. He came to save them from their
sins. And second, He came to save them
from their bondage. This is the prophecy of him in
Isaiah chapter 61 verse 1 and this is quoted by our Lord in
his message in his hometown of Nazareth in Luke chapter 4 verse
18 when he declared that the spirit of the Lord God is upon
me because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to
the poor. He has sent me, here's why, to
proclaim liberty to the captives and the owning of the prison
to those who are bound. He came to save his people from
their bondage. And their bondage is to Satan,
for they are by nature from birth in the snare of the devil, having
been taken captive by him to do his will. They're in his prison. They are in his prison house.
And Jehovah says, I sent him to bring them out, to bring out
prisoners from the prison and those who sit in darkness from
the prison house. Isaiah chapter 42 verse 7. as Jehovah had mercy on Israel
when it languished in Egyptian bondage, when Israel languished
as slaves of Pharaoh. When Israel thought they were
about to perish as the Lord sent Moses to bring his people out
of Egyptian bondage, so did he send his Christ to bring his
people out of Satan's bondage, out of Satan's snare. Number
three, Christ Jesus saves from Satan's rule. Colossians 1 verse
13. God has delivered us from the
power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of his dear
Son. Observe this. We were under the
power of darkness. We not only were in Satan's bondage
in his snare, but furthermore, we were under his rule. We were
under his dominion. Christ has delivered us from
the power of darkness, that would be Satan, and God through Christ
has translated us into the kingdom of His Son, Jesus Christ. And
our Lord spoke of this in Matthew chapter 12, when He was accused
of having cast out demons by Satan. And our Lord said these
words, He said that You cannot rob the strong man until first
of all you tie him up, and then you may plunder his goods. And
if I cast out demons by the power of God, then surely the kingdom
of God has come upon you. And Christ indicated by this
that his kingdom had been established on this earth, and he was the
king, and he had gone in the Satan's house, tie him up, and
then told his people, you come out. You're no longer under his
dominion. I'm translating you into my kingdom. I'm making you my subjects. Christ
has saved sinners. Christ has saved his people from
Satan's rule and Satan no longer has rule and dominion over them. Number four, Christ Jesus saves
from this present evil age in Galatians chapter 1 verse 4. He gave himself for our sins
that he might deliver us from this present evil age. What is this present evil age? Well you know that the whole
world lies under the sway of the wicked one Satan. And consequently
this present evil age is evil in nature. And this is true especially
of its religion. There is nothing more evil than
a man boasting of his free will. There is nothing more evil than
a man boasting of his meritorious works. There is nothing more
evil than a man boasting of being holier than thou. There is nothing
more evil than priestcraft and men claiming to absolve men's
sins and making them right before God. These are the most evil
things you can think of, and that is the characteristic of
this present evil age in which you and I right now. It is no
wonder that Peter declared on the day of Pentecost, as I would
declare to you right now, be saved from this perverse generation. this religious world around us.
Be saved from it. Be saved from this present evil
age and be saved through faith in Jesus Christ because that's
what he does. He saves us from this present
evil age. Number five, Christ Jesus saves
from the law's curse. Galatians chapter 3 verses 13
and 14 where Paul has written that Christ has redeemed us who's
us, the sinners he came to save. Christ has redeemed us from the
curse of the law, having become a curse for us. I want you to
think about that. Many people balk at the thought
that Christ was made sin for us. They balk at that. We preach
it. No, no, no, no. You've misunderstood
that, folks. It's as plain in English as it
is in the Greek text. He was made a curse. Furthermore,
he was made sin. But here we read, he was made
a curse. Think about that. was made a
curse. He was not merely accursed. He
was made a curse. He has redeemed us from the curse
of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, cursed
is everyone who hangs on a tree. Why was this true? That the blessings
of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus that
would be us who are believers, God's elect among Gentile nations. Christ was made a curse so that
the blessings that God promised Abraham might come to us as well,
not only to his physical descendants, but to the spiritual seed of
Abraham as well, that we might receive the promise of the spirit
through faith. Now, this law, Christ was made
a curse by the law and under the law. This law is that legal
code that God gave to Israel at Mount Sinai. And observe carefully
that this law was given only to the nation Israel. Jehovah
said, I am the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the house
of bondage and here is my law. However, Paul tells us that when
Gentiles who do not have the law, observe that phrase, it
was not given to them, and they do not have it. When they, by nature, do the
things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law
to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts. Now, what is the curse of the
law? It is the sentence of condemnation
and of death. And we all deserve it. Every
one of us. Every one of us. The law, whether
given to Israel at Sinai or whether written on your heart, it demands
that you die. Demands it. You've broken it.
It demands that you be cursed from God and suffer eternal condemnation
and everlasting death. Demands it. Demands it. and the
demand will be met. Christ saved his people by becoming
the curse for them. The law will never curse me. Never. The law is never a curse
to me. I do not fear the law. He has
redeemed us from the curse of the law because he came to save
his people from their sins. Number six, Christ Jesus saves
us, saves his people, not only from the law's curse, but from
the very law itself. Romans chapter 7 verses 4 through
6 Paul writes therefore my brethren You also have become dead to
the law Through the body of Christ dead to the law. What does that
mean means exactly what it says? You cannot put it much you do
understand dead. Do you not? unresponsive We have
become dead to the law through the body of Christ, and now we
have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were
held by. We're dead to it, and it is dead
to us. He has saved from the law itself. When Christ died, the law terminated
with regard to God's people. For Christ is the end, termination. It's over. The law was over.
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
who believes. Christ's death was the law's
termination. When Christ died under the law,
all who were in him died to the law. His death not only delivered
them from the law's curse, It delivered them from the law itself.
That is why that Paul repeatedly tells us, you are not under law. And as though we didn't catch
it the first time, he reminds us over and over, Paul says,
you are not under law. Why? redeemed us from the law
itself, not only its curse, but from the law itself. Believers
in Christ are not bound to the law. We are not obligated to
keep it. We are not required to follow
it as our code of conduct. We do not go to the law to find
any way to live. And by the law, I include the
10 commandments It was the integral part of the law. We don't go
there. We don't go there. Why? It's terminated. He saved us from the very law
itself. Furthermore, number seven, Christ
Jesus saves from our body of death. Romans chapter 7 verses
24 and 25, Paul writes, Oh, wretched man that I am. Who is this wretched
man? This is the same man who just
formerly said he came to save sinners and I'm the chief and
I'm a wretched man. I'm a wretched man. Oh, wretched
man that I am. No one but a believer really
means that. Pharisees will say, what a good
man I am. Oh, I'm so much better than others.
Oh, you folks, you get away from me. I'm holier than thou. When
you look at a child of God, he says, I'm the chief of sinners
and oh, wretched man that I am. Oh, wretched man that I am. Who
will deliver me from this body of death? Notice, he wants deliverance. I need to be delivered from this
body of death. I thank God through Christ Jesus
our Lord. Now this body of death, what
is it? It is not your physical body. Your physical body is the
body that is dying. But in your physical body, there
is a body that is already dead. It's your old man. We're all
the damned nature. It's a body of death. It is that which causes unholy thoughts and unholy
words and unholy deeds. And no one but a believer wants
to be free from it. Who will deliver me? Who will
deliver me? It is the body of sin, that's
what it's called, quote, body of sin, unquote. It is that mass
of moral corruption within us that makes us slaves of sin,
according to Romans 6, verse 6. It is the body of, quote,
sin that dwells in me, end quote. Romans 7, verses 17 and 20. It
is the law or it is the impelling force in my members warring against
the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law
of sin, which is in my members here in Romans 7 verse 23. And
every child of God, though saved by Christ, yet possesses this
body of death. For note that Paul spoke as a
saved person when he wrote, O wretched man that I am. who will deliver
me from this body of death. But I've got good news for you. If you're weary of your depravity,
that nature you were born with, if it grieves you like it should,
I thank Christ Jesus my Lord. He
will deliver. He will. It's going to be gone. This old
nature is going to be gone. Christ will save us from it. Number eight, Christ Jesus saves
from future wrath. Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians
1 verse 10, Jesus delivers us from the wrath to come. He writes
in Romans 5 verse 9, much more then, having now been justified
by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. Now notice
that certain aspects of our salvation are yet in the future. We shall
be delivered from this body of death, and we shall be delivered
from the wrath to come. And it is coming, but not upon
us, whom Jesus Christ came to save. This wrath is the wrath
of God that is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness
and unrighteousness of men. Romans 1 18. This wrath is the
wrath of God that is coming upon the sons of disobedience. Colossians
3 verse 6. This is the wrath that is coming
in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of
God who will render to each one according to his deeds. And believers
in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ are assured that Jesus
delivers us. Notice the present tense. He
delivers us from the wrath to come. Why? Because God did not
appoint us to wrath. From all eternity, God never appointed his people
to wrath. God appointed an entire world of sinners to everlasting
wrath, but not his people, not his people. God has not appointed
decreed, predestined, foreordained. God has not appointed us to wrath,
but to obtain salvation through Jesus Christ, who died for us,
that we might live together with him. And when the wicked, who
deserve God's wrath and its coming, when they suffered for all eternity
to come, God's people, rid of their body of death, will dwell
with Christ for all eternity. Think about it. Salvation from the wrath to come
is just about the only salvation that this world wants. And it
is just about the only salvation that most preachers will offer
to people. And you can spot them by their
evangelistic message when they stop people and say, Would you
like to know how to keep from going to hell when you die? And would you like to know how
to go to heaven when you die? You will not find a single preacher
in all God's word who ever asked such a question. It's not there. Not there. But preacher, do you
not want to be saved from future wrath? Of course I do. But these
folks are offering you nothing more than a fire escape. That's
all they're offering you. I'm going to show you how you
can keep them going to hell, they say. Oh, good, a fire escape.
That's what they've got to offer. And that's the only salvation
that most of this world wants. These folks will accept Jesus
as their savior in fire escape, pronounce themselves to be saved,
and then become what they call a carnal Christian, living like
the devil in this life, but self-assured of not going to hell when they
die. Because I got a fire escape. It's Jesus, they say. They say,
quoting their preachers. They desire no salvation from
sins because they want to continue to live in them. They desire
no salvation from bondage, because they claim they already have
free will. And if a man claims to have free
will, he denies he is in bondage. They desire no salvation from
Satan's rule in this present evil age, for they desire to
yet follow which ways. They desire no salvation from
the law, for they hope to be justified in the end by at least
something they did in keeping the law, such as observing the
Sabbath. They most certainly will not
be heard exclaiming, O wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this
body of death? Because they love that body of death. And their
supposed salvation is but a refuge of lies that will be deluged
and swept away in the day of God's coming wrath upon the wicked. Now, please, folks, please tell
me you want something more than a fire escape. I want salvation from everything
that Christ will give me. And I need more than a fire escape. I need salvation from every sin
and everything else in my life. And number nine and last, Christ
Jesus saves from enemies. Luke chapter 1, verses 68 through
75. Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people. to grant us that
we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, observe,
delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without
fear in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our
life. Notice, He has saved us from
all our enemies. Now these are not so much mortal
enemies. These are spiritual enemies and
foremost among them probably is yourself to yourself. He saves us from ourselves. Saves us from our spiritual enemies. And these are especially Satan.
Especially Satan. Think about it. Saves us from
Satan, from his rule and dominion and his prison in this life and
from Satan's presence in all eternity to come. That enemy
will plague us no more. He has saved us from death in
the sense of the separation of the soul from God. Think about
this. Death has been destroyed by Jesus
Christ. Oh, death, where is your sting? Christ took it. And when he did,
death was defeated. My soul will never be separated
from God. Never. I may be separated from
this dear one I love. Maybe for a short time. I may
be separated from my friends and loved ones, but I will never
be separated from God because Christ saved me from death, my
enemy. Christ promises his people that
I will ransom them from the power of the grave. Sheol in Haiti. I will redeem them from death. O death, I will be your plagues. O grave, I will be your destruction. Pity is hidden from my eyes. Hosea 13 verse 14. The Lord went
to my enemies, death, hell, Satan, and he says, I came to destroy
you and I will have no pity. And he did. He did. Destroyed it. Destroyed it completely. All my enemies destroyed. Christ Jesus came to save sinners
from all these things. From sins, from bondage, from
Satan's rule. from this present evil age, from
the law's curse, from the law itself, from our body of death,
from future wrath, and from all our spiritual enemies. And I
say to you that he's faithful to save all who come to him. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners, of whom I am chief. And my good news to you
tonight is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and he'll save you
from all these things. May the Lord bless us.