I have a message for you this
morning that I want very much for you to hear, and I mean hear. This is an unusual message. It's
a different message. It's not the ordinary message
that you hear on television or from the pulpit. Now, the message
is entitled, This Man Receives Sinners. This Man Receives Sinners. I'm turning to Luke, chapter
15, verse 1 and 2. Will you open your Bible, please,
to Luke 15, verse 1 and 2? Then drew near unto him publicans
and sinners to hear him, and the religious leaders, that's
who the Pharisees were, murmured, saying, This man receives sinners
and eats with them. This man receives sinners and
eats with them. Who is this man? Who are they
talking about? This man receives sinners. Who
is this man? Well, he's God incarnate. John
said he's the Word made flesh. He's the exact image of the Heavenly
Father. He is the brightness of God's
glory. He is the promised Messiah. He's
God's Christ. He's the Redeemer of his people.
When the disciples asked him to show them the Father, he said,
He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. I and my Father are
one. So who is this man? This is none
other than God incarnate in human flesh. This man received sinners. Now, who are the people who brought
these charges? Who are these enemies that accused
him of eating with, associating with sinners? Well, these are
the Pharisees. They were the devoutly religious,
self-righteous, moral men of their day. They were the men
who sought acceptance with God through their works, through
their deeds, and through their religious affiliation. These
men were very devout religious leaders, the Pharisees. They
said, this man receives sinners. Now, what was the charge? What
charge did they bring against Christ? They said, well, he receives
sinners. He associates with sinners. He's
the friend of sinners. And they continually repeated
this charge again and again in God's Word. Let me read you a
few places. First of all, in Matthew 9. And
as Jesus sat at meat in the house, many publicans and sinners came
and sat down with him. And when the Pharisees saw it,
they said to his disciples, why does your master eat with publicans
and sinners? Why does your master associate
with sinners? In Matthew 11, verse 9, they
called him a gluttonous man and a wine-bibber, and they said,
why, he's the friend of publicans and sinners. And then in Luke
19, 7, when he went to the house of Zacchaeus, they all murmured,
saying, well, he's gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. Who is this man? He's the Lord
of glory. He's God in human flesh. He's
the Son of God. What was the charge they brought
against him? He's the friend of sinners. He associates with
sinners. He walks and talks with sinners.
Now, who were the people who charged him with this? They were
the righteous, moral, devout, religious people, self-righteous
men who were seeking acceptance with God, not by grace, but by
their own works and their own deeds. And these men, these enemies
of grace, sought to brand him with shame. They weren't complimenting
him when they said he received sinners. They wouldn't associate
with him. They had nothing to do with publicans and sinners.
They were holding his name up to ridicule. But what they meant
to be shame is the very glory of Jesus Christ. Thank God that
he loves sinners. I say thank God that Jesus Christ
is the friend of sinners. I say, thank God that he does
receive sinners, for this is what makes the gospel good news. This is what makes the gospel
glad tidings. Jesus Christ is the friend of
sinners. You know, men who truly know
themselves rejoice that Jesus Christ is the friend of sinners.
Listen to Paul. He said in 1 Timothy 1.15, this
is a faithful saying. And it's worthy of acceptation
by all men that Jesus Christ is coming to this world to save
sinners, of whom I am the chief. Listen to David. Let Israel hope
in the Lord, for with the Lord there's mercy. God is plenteous
in mercy. Listen to John. In 1 John 1,
9, he said, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Men who knew themselves, Paul
and Peter and James and John and David, men who knew themselves
to be sinners rejoiced that Christ received the sinners and associates
with sinners and loved sinners. My friend, what I'm pointing
out to you is this. This is no sham or fake gospel
that I'm preaching. This is a real gospel for real
sinners. I'm talking about real grace
for real guilt. We preach no gospel of reward
for mortals who are dressed in fig leaf aprons of self-righteousness. We preach no gospel of merit
for phony moralists and hypocrites, but we preach good news of mercy
for the sinner, mercy for the miserable, mercy for the man
who is nothing, has nothing, and can do nothing. The hymn
writer put it this way, come ye sinners, Come ye what? Sinners, poor and needy, weak
and wounded, sick and sore. Jesus ready stands to save you. He's full of pity, love, and
power. Let not conscience make you linger,
nor a fitness fondly dream. All the fitness that Christ requireth
is for you to feel your need of Him. Come ye weary, heavy
laden, bruised and mangled by the fall. If you tarry till you're
better, you'll never come at all. Not the righteous, not the
righteous sinners Jesus came to call. I said those who know
themselves rejoice that Jesus Christ is the friend of sinners.
Those who know their guilt rejoice that there's grace for the guilty.
Those who know their inability and helplessness before God rejoice
that there's help for the helpless and hope for the hopeless. And
let me tell you something else. Those who know God, those who
know God, those who were intimately, personally acquainted with the
living God and who were designated to speak for God, who were designated
to speak for God, When they described the mission of Jesus Christ to
this earth, listen to what they had to say. Now, you know the
angel spoke for God. And the angel came and appeared
to Joseph, telling him about the child that Mary would bring
into the world. And listen to what the angel
said. Now, these are angels of God. They're ministers of God. They're sent to minister to them
who shall be the heirs of salvation. Now, let's hear how they described
the mission of Jesus Christ. We've heard these Pharisees say,
he's the friend of sinners. He's a gluttonous man, a wine
beaver. He associates with sinners. They thought to heap ridicule
and shame upon him. And those who knew themselves
were glad that he was the friend of sinners. They're glad he associates
with sinners. They're glad he loves sinners.
Now let's listen to those whom God commissioned, ordained, and
sent into this world to describe the mission of his son. Listen
to the angel. They said, Joseph, Thou shalt
call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins."
From their sins. All right, listen to what our
Lord, this is Christ himself speaking. In Luke 19, he said,
the Son of Man is come. Well, we know that. He has come.
The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Why did Christ come into the
world? To save sinners. Why did Jesus Christ leave heaven's
glory and clothe himself with the likeness of sinful flesh?
Why did Jesus Christ come into this world and obey the law,
tempted, tested, tried in all points as we are yet without
sin? Why did Jesus Christ go to the cross and suffer such
agony? Why did he do this? He said,
to seek and to save the lost. He said, I've not come to call
the righteous, but sinners to repentance. You go learn what
that means. And then listen to Paul in Romans
5, 8. But God commended his love toward us in that while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us. Now watch this verse, Romans
5, 6. Christ died for the ungodly. Jesus Christ died for the ungodly. Those who knew God and those
who were commissioned of God to announce the ministry of our
Lord. John the Baptist, what did he
say? Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of
the world. The angels, our Lord himself, the Apostle Paul, he
died for the ungodly. My friends, I rejoice. I rejoice
to say this morning that God's gospel of free grace is addressed
to sinners like you and sinners like me. There are plenty of
people who are too good to be saved. There are none too bad. Did you hear that? There are
plenty of people who are too good to be saved. There is none
too bad. Christ died for the ungodly.
Christ came to save sinners of whom I am chief. The gospel of
Jesus Christ is addressed to sinners. Now you listen to the
gospel. Our Lord said, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are
heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. Who's invited? Those who
labor under the load of sin, those who are heavy laden with
the burden of sin. If you're loaded, heavy laden,
burdened with sin, he said, you come to me. I'll take your burden.
I'll take your load. I'll give you rest. Listen to
this. Come, let us reason together.
Though your sins be a scarlet, though your sins be a scarlet,
though they be red like crimson, Though they be as scarlet, they'll
be white as snow. Though they be red like crimson,
they shall be as wool. Listen to this. Oh, everyone
that thirsteth, come to the water. Come without money. Come without
merit. Come without price. Come without
works. Come without deed. Come and buy
wine, milk, without money, without price. Everyone who's not a sinner
ought to turn this program off right now because, my friend,
If you continue to listen, you'll only add to your condemnation
because the gospel is for sinners. Salvation is for sinners. Grace
is for the guilty. Mercy is for the miserable. Help
is for the helpless. I'm saying that a man will never
be filled with the grace of God who has never, first of all,
been emptied. Secondly, I'm saying that a man
will never be saved who's never been lost. Christ came to save
the lost. I'm saying that a man will never
be healed who's never been sick. I'm saying that a man will never
be exalted with Christ who's never been broken, humbled, and
made contrite with the Spirit of God. A man will never hear
the good news from Calvary until he's first heard the bad news
from Sinai. Unless he's a sinner, he'll never
lay hold upon Christ. Christ receiveth sinful men.
That's what these Pharisees said. They saw him go to the house
of Zacchaeus, and they said, he's gone to be the guest of
a man that's a sinner. They saw him sitting at the table
with these publicans and sinners, and they said, this man receives
sinners and eats with them. That's true. That's the best
news you can hear. That's the very best news that
any sinner can hear, that Christ receiveth sinful men, even me,
even you, with all our sin. Through his blood, we can be
purged from every spot and stain, and heaven with him enter in.
We sing these songs all the time. Do we hear them? There is a fountain
filled with blood, drawn from Emmanuel's veins, and sinners
plunge beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains. The
dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day. And there
may I, and there may I, though vile as he, wash all my sins
away. Our Lord Jesus Christ gave this
example. He gave this to those who trusted
in themselves that they were righteous. That's why it's preceded
with these words. And the Lord spake to those who
trusted in themselves that they were righteous. And he said,
you listen to me. Two men went to church one day
to pray. He said, up to the temple. We'll
use it like we're living in our day. Two men went to church.
One of them was a devout moralist, a legalist, a separationist.
He was a man who was very religious. He was a man, we'll hear him
talk in a minute and tell a whole lot about him, but he went all
the way up to the front of the church, right up to the altar,
and he began to pray. He began to tell God about his
good deeds. He said, Lord, I thank you that
I'm not like other people. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all I possess.
I've been tithing ever since I was a boy. I give alms to the
poor. God, I thank you. I'm not an
adulterer. I'm not an extortioner. I've
never been an unjust man. I've always paid my bills. I've
always treated my neighbor right. I thank you, Lord. I'm not like
other men." Well, how did God react to this man's statements?
The Scripture says God didn't hear him. He prayed with himself. Now, the other man was a publican.
He was a sinner. He knew it, everybody knew it.
He didn't come down to the front, he stayed back in the back, and
he wouldn't lift his hands, not even his hands to heaven, not
even his eyes to heaven, but he smote on his breast, and this
is his prayer, Oh God, be merciful to me, the sinner, the sinner. Be merciful to me. Let your blood
be propitiation for me on the mercy seat. Forgive my sin. Pardon my iniquity. Be reconciled
to me. Be sinner." Our Lord said, Jesus
Christ, in His Word, that this man who confessed his sin, who
faced his sin, who confessed the reality of his sin, who sought
mercy, who cried for grace, went home forgiven, pardoned, justified,
rather than the other. That's what I'm saying. Preacher,
what are you trying to say? This is what I'm saying, what
I believe Christ said. And I'm saying what I believe
we need to hear in this generation. I'm trying to say that today's
gospel, today's gospel of good works, today's gospel of morality
and self-righteousness and legalism, today's gospel of reward for
good deeds is not the gospel at all. It's another gospel. It is not the gospel of Christ.
The gospel of Christ, listen to me, is Christ died for sinners. Christ died for sinners. Christ
intercedes at God's right hand for sinners. That Christ saves
sinners, that Christ invites sinners, real, bona fide, genuine
sinners to come to Him for eternal life. Our Lord is the friend
of sinners. Now, that's not being said today.
A sinner is a hard thing to find. Did you know that? I mean a genuine
sinner, a man who's a sinner, who's without help, without hope,
without strength, without God, guilty before the law of God,
guilty before the holiness of God, guilty before the glory
of God, who sinned and come short of the glory of God, who can
say, I'm not worthy. Who am I? I'm less than the least
of all the saints. I'm the chief of sinners. Brethren,
Christ came to save such people. And I don't come to you to prove
His love for sinners. I come to declare it, to declare
what these Pharisees said in a derogatory manner, what these
Pharisees said hoping to heap ridicule and shame upon the Blessed
Master. I say it's the best news you
ever heard. If He doesn't save sinners, He'll
never save you or me. He needs no human lawyer. His
words and His actions prove His love. Let me give you about five.
Listen to this. His incarnation is proof of His
love for sinners. This man received sinners. While
His incarnation proves that, the Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us. God became a man. He came into
this world in human flesh. That's what it says. The Word
was made flesh. He was numbered, became one with the transgressors. That's right. He became our representative.
He thought it not robbery to be equal with God, and yet made
himself of no reputation." No reputation. Who is he, the carpenter? Can any good thing come out of
Nazareth? Do you teach us? You're not 50 years old, they
said. How can you know Abraham? Made himself of no reputation.
Took on himself the form of a servant. Took on himself the likeness
of sinful flesh. That proves his love for sinners.
Came down here and became one of us. He knew no sin, he had
no sin, he bore our sin, but he became a man, subject to every
trial and test and temptation that man's subject to. And then
watch this, his association with sinners is proof of his love.
You don't find the master standing afar off from sinful people,
issuing laws and commandments and statutes to them and daring
them to touch him. One of the Pharisees said when
the harlot was bathing his feet with tears, He said, if that
fellow was a prophet, he wouldn't let her touch him. He'd know
what manner of woman she is. But you don't find the Lord standing
afar off, aloof from sinners. You find Him associating with
them, walking with them, eating with them, talking with them.
That's what brought this charge. He's the friend of sinners. His
birth was in a manger, not in a temple. His office was in a
carpenter shop, not a synagogue. His disciples were fishermen
and laborers, not theologians. His followers were publicans
and harlots. He even died between two thieves. He never spoke more kindly than
when he spoke to a sinner. He never spoke more harshly than
when he spoke to a legalist, to a self-righteous religionist. He called them a generation of
vipers. He called them hypocrites. He
said, you shut up the kingdom of God to yourself and others.
You won't go in or suffer anybody else to go in. Our Lord's incarnation
shows His love for sinners. His association shows His love
for sinners. And His sermons, listen to His
sermons. His sermons reveal His love for
sinners. Listen to the sermon on the prodigal
son. The man had two sons. One of them said, give me what's
coming to me. I'm leaving this place. And he
took his inheritance, and he went out and wasted it, threw
it away, lived wickedly, rebelliously, disgraced his father's name.
But that father never quit loving him, never quit looking for him,
never quit wanting him to come back. And our Lord said, one
day, the boy said, I'm going to go back home. Even the hired
servants in my father's house are better off than I am. And
he said, when that father saw him a long ways off, he ran and
fell on his neck. kissed the rebel. And he said,
put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet and a robe
on his back and kill the fatted calf. This my son who was lost
is back home again. Rejoice with me. And Christ said,
let me tell you something. He said, there's joy in the presence
of the angels over one sinner, sinner, sinner that repented. Listen to him talk about the
lost sheep, how that the shepherd went out to hunt one lost sheep.
how he suffered and agonized till he found his sheep. And
he brought it home with him on his shoulders and said, Rejoice
with me, my sheep was lost but not found. Likewise, there's
joy in the presence of the angels over one sinner that repented.
Listen, our Lord, at the last supper he took bread and break
it and gave it to his disciples and said, This is my body broken
for you. And he took wine and he said, This is my blood shed
for you for the remission of your sins. Yes, our Lord's sermons
revealed He loved sinners. And then our Lord's prayers.
Listen to Him pray. He said, Peter, you'll deny me.
Peter said, Lord, I'll die for you. These other fellows may
quit you, but I'll stand with you to the end. He said, no,
Peter, you'll deny three times. You'll deny before the cock crows
that you ever knew me. But I prayed for you. I prayed
for you. Listen to Him on Calvary's cross
as He looks down into the face of those men who drove the nails
in His hands put the crown of thorns on his brow, and spit
in his face, and plucked out his beard, and he moves his eyes
from one to the other, and he says, Father, forgive them. They
know not what they do. Love sinners? Oh, he loves sinners. He's a friend of sinners. And
he said, John said this, if any man sin, we have an advocate
with the Father. Who has an advocate? The moralist? No, sir. The self-righteous?
No, sir. The religious? No, sir. The legalist? No, sir.
The separationist? No, sir. The hypocrite? No, sir.
Who has an advocate? The man who sins has an advocate
with the Father. You do what you want to with
that. But that's good news to most folks that are listening
to my voice. And then last of all, his death proves his love
for sinners. He was wounded for our transgression,
bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was laid upon him by his stripes we're healed. Peter said, who
his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree that
we, being dead to sin, might live unto righteousness by his
stripes we're healed. My friends, when I survey the
wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, My richest gain
I count but loss and poor contempt on all my pride. See from his
head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingle down. Did
as such sorrow and love meet or thorns compose so rich a crown? His death was a real death, a
real sinner's death. His grace is real grace for real
guilty men. His call to repentance is a genuine
call to every lost son of Adam. Come unto me, and I'll give you
rest. Now, if I could pull my chair
up beside you right now and look you in the face, I would declare
unto you what God has been pleased to reveal to me from His Word.
Here are four things, and I want you to listen to them. First
of all, Almighty God, the God of the Bible, the God of creation,
the God of this universe, the God with whom we have to do,
is a holy, righteous, and just God. He will not clear the guilty. He will punish sin, all sin. Secondly, we are sinful, guilty,
unacceptable creatures. Our righteousness is a filthy
rag in God's sight. There's no good in any man's
flesh, in the flesh no man can please God. But God Almighty,
thirdly, sent His Son into this world to redeem sinners, to justify
sinners, to sanctify sinners by one offering. He has perfected
forever them that believe. Christ Jesus is the only way
to God. He said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No man
cometh to the Father but by me. Not baptism or church membership
or decision. Sinners come to the Savior, only
to the Savior for eternal life. The fourth thing, you're called
to faith. in him alone. He does not require
you to produce righteousness, but to receive it. He invites
you to come. That's my message to you. It's
good news. This man received sentence.