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“A
DIVINE VISITOR FOR A DIVINE WORK”
READ IN THE BIBLE
(1 TIMOTHY 1:15, 16)
The scripture text we
will be considering in this message is found in Paul’s first letter to Timothy. He says in, (1
Timothy 1:15, 16) “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.” And, verse 16 says, “Howbeit for this cause
I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all
longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to
life everlasting”. Notice from
verse 15 we have the following significant truths brought before us:
1.
THE PRECEPTS
OF GOD – “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all
acceptation”.
2.
THE PERSON
WHO CAME – “Christ Jesus came”.
3.
THE PLACE TO
WHICH HE CAME – “Into the world”.
4.
THE PURPOSE
FOR WHICH HE CAME – “To save sinners”
5.
THE POWER OF
GOD UNTO SALVATION – “Of whom I am chief”.
In this message we will
consider each of these points beginning with;
1. THE PRECEPTS OF GOD – “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation”.
These words are saying
to us that what is about to be said is a “trustworthy” statement. The Greek order of the words is, “faithful is
the saying” or “trustworthy is the saying”.
The statement to follow is completely reliable and therefore should be
universally accepted. It is the Word of
God therefore it can be trusted. Because
it is the Word of God it is true and is deserving of your whole hearted
acceptance. What God is saying must be
believed without hesitation. God can
neither lie or be mistaken. If YOU
reject God’s Word you are being unreasonable and unwise. The Psalmist said in, (Psalm 19:7-11) “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the
testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” “The statutes of the lord are right,
rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the
eyes”. “The judgments of the Lord are
true and righteous altogether”. What
is to follow in this verse, and what we want to consider, is a “declaration
from God”. It has universal
consequences; therefore it should be universally accepted. Because all are sinners and need a Savior,
all, therefore, ought to welcome a doctrine which shows them how they may be
saved. The only way you can know and
understand God’s way of salvation, and how YOU personally may be saved, is from
the Bible, the Word of God. Why should
it be hard to believe the Bible is God’s word and revelation of Himself to
us? The God of the Bible is the God of creation and the God of salvation.
It is not difficult to believe therefore, that he is also the God of communication. The
cornerstone of all bible teaching is the subject of salvation. The message that tells men, women, boys and
girls how they may be saved is called the “gospel”, God’s good news. We are told in, (1
Timothy 2:3, 4) “God our Savior who will
have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth”. It is God’s will that all men be saved. The same truth is stated in another way in, (2 Peter 3:9) “The Lord is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but
that all should come to repentance”. It
is not the will of God that any should perish in their sins. Because this is God’s will, He has
commissioned His people to, “Go ye into all the world,
and preach the gospel to every creature”. (Mark 16:15).
We read in, (Romans 1:16) “The gospel of Christ is the power of
God unto salvation to every one that believeth”. When
the gospel message is heard (or read) and believed whole heartedly (not just a
mental accent to historical facts) a person will be saved. Salvation is bestowed on the grounds of faith
alone. Neither remorse for sins, nor
prayers, nor human desire can bring about salvation. Faith alone saves and the object of saving
faith must be in God’s beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel message is found in (1 Timothy 1:15, 16), the scripture portion we are considering
in this message. This is the
“trustworthy” statement worthy of your wholehearted acceptance. Let us consider, then, the following:
2. THE PERSON WHO CAME – “Christ Jesus came”.
Notice the order of His
Names, “Christ Jesus”. It emphasizes the
deity of His person. The One who came
from heaven to earth was first of all “God”, the “Christ”, the Messiah, and the
anointed One. It was “Christ” who came. He was
rich in power and glory and majesty.
The title deeds of this vast universe were His. We read in, (Colossians
1:16) “By Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are
in earth, visible and invisible: all things were created by Him and for
Him”. He eternally existed in the “form of God”. We read in, (Philippians
2:6) “Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with
God”. The prophet Isaiah was
given a vision of Him as He sat upon His throne in heaven. We read in, (Isaiah
6:1, 5) “I saw the Lord sitting upon His throne, high and lifted up”. “Mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of
hosts”. But, it says in, (2 Corinthians 8:9) “Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that though He was rich, yet for
our sakes He became poor, that we through His poverty might be rich”. It was for our sakes He became poor. He came into manhood. Deity took on humanity. The Son of God became the Son of man. The high and lofty One of heaven would become
the “man of sorrows”. Before His birth,
it was announced by the angel, (Matthew 1:21) “Thou shalt call his name JESUS: for
he shall save his people from their sins”.
The name “Jesus” means
“Jehovah saves” or “Jehovah Savior”. It
speaks of the work that he would do to vindicate the throne of God and provide
salvation for sinful men. The One who
came then was the Son of God. By His
coming into the world the love of God for this world of sinners lost was
clearly demonstrated. We read in, (John 3:16, 17) “For God so loved the world, that
He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life”. “For
God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world
through him might be saved”. This blessed One left the glory of heaven. He laid aside His garments of glory and
majesty in exchange for swaddling clothes and a servants robe. It was a great mystery; God was manifest in
the flesh. We read in, (Hebrews 2:14, 9) “Forasmuch then as the children are
partakers of flesh and blood, He also
himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy
him that had the power of death, that is the devil”. “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for
the suffering of death, that He by the grace of God should taste death for
every man”. “Christ Jesus CAME”. It tells us He had a previous existence. He said in another place, (John 6:38) “I came down from heaven, not to do
mine own will, but the will of him that sent me”. O
thank God He came. Apart from His coming
and His redeeming work on the cross, mankind had no hope of salvation and
escape from the judgment to come.
3. THE PLACE TO WHICH HE CAME – “Into the world”.
He came “into the world”. The pre-existence of the savior is indicated
by these words, “He came into the world”.
He came from another place. He
came from heaven. This blessed One who
dwelt with God, His father, from all eternity, came down into this world in
condescending grace. He came to where we are. He came as
we are sin apart. Deity took on
humanity as we said above. He came to
this place of sin, shame and sorrow.
When He came into the world, the world “hung out the no vacancy sign”
for Him. He was born in a stable and
laid in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. The Word of God has some things to say about
the world to which He came:
·
When the savior came into the world, He came into
Satan’s domain. (2 Corinthians 4:4) “The god of this world hath blinded the
minds of them which believe not”. Satan
is the god of this age. He has power to
blind the minds of those who will not believe in God or His gospel. He does not have power however, to keep
veiled those whose eyes have been opened and have turned by faith to the light
of the gospel. Satan’s supreme ambition
with regard to men is to fill the place in their hearts which God alone should
have. We are told in, (1 John 5:19) “The whole world lieth in wickedness
(the wicked one, i.e., Satan)”. He is called, “the prince
of the power of the air”. (Ephesians
2:2). His realm of power is the atmosphere above the earth. The behavior of the unsaved is often
diabolical as they are led about by the god of this age and his evil
spirits.
·
When the Savior came into the world, He came into
an environment of sin and death. (Romans 5:12) “Wherefore, as by one man
sin entered into the world, and
death by sin; and so death passed upon
all men, for that all have sinned. The devastating effects of sin which are
sickness, disease and death were all around Him as they are us as well. We read of the Savior in, (Isaiah 53:4) “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried
our sorrows”. The Savior’s
earthly healing ministry was evident by the many that were miraculously healed by
His gracious power. There were times
that even the dead were raised back to life.
We read in, (1 John 2:16) “All that is in the world, the lust
of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the
father, but is of the world”. These three elements of worldliness have been
around since Adam and Eve and are evident every day.
·
When the Savior came into the world, He came to a
world sentenced as guilty before God. (Romans 3:19) “All the world …guilty before God”.
God has pronounced this
world to be guilty in His sight. The
supreme guilt of this world was manifested in its rejection and crucifixion of
God’s beloved Son. The world said
through the voices of men, “we will not have this man to reign over us”.
·
When the savior came into this world, He came to
a world under the judgment of God. (Acts 17:30, 31) “God now commandeth all men every
where to repent: Because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in
righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained: whereof He hath given
assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead”. In
light of the certainty of God’s coming judgment, all men everywhere are
commanded to repent. It means to do an
about-face. To change your mind
regarding your sin and God’s Savior.
Dear reader, have YOU repented of YOUR sins? The Lord Jesus said in, (Luke 13:3) “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise
perish”. The message is very
clear. God’s judgment is coming. Unless YOU repent YOU will perish in YOUR
sins. The One who came into the world to
save the world will one day judge this world.
But, why did He come
anyway? This leads us to the next point
we want to consider;
4. THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH HE CAME – “To save sinners”
“Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners”. WHY
DID THE SAVIOR COME? There are at least three reasons why He came. (Psalm 14) gives us two of these reasons:
- HE
CAME BECAUSE OF HIS DIVINE PERCEPTION. It says in, (Psalm 14:2) “The Lord looked down from heaven upon the
children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek
God”. O what a sight before
the eyes of a holy God. This world
of mankind totally depraved and without understanding. The natural man will not seek God. We read in, (Psalm
10:4) “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek
after God: God is not in all his thoughts”. Wickedness, pride and selfishness
are characteristic of those who do not believe God and will not seek
God. God sees it all. (Job 34:21) “His
eyes are upon the ways of man, and He seeth all his goings”. (Proverbs 15:3) “The eyes of the Lord
are in every place, beholding the evil and the good”.
- HE
CAME BECAUSE OF HIS DIVINE DECLARATION. It says in (Psalm 14:3, 4) after the Lord looked down upon
mankind, “They are all gone aside, they are
altogether become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no not one”. “They call not upon the Lord”. Such
is the condition of mankind. God’s Word teaches that “sin” is a
universal condition and a universal problem. Sin came into the world through one man,
Adam. We read in, (Romans 5:12) “By one man sin entered into the
world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all
have sinned”. We see then, not only was Adam a sinner, but
each of his descendants inherited the same. In (Romans 3) we have what is described
as God’s “word portrait” of mankind.
(Romans 3:9-23) “Jews and Gentiles, they
are all under sin”. “There is none
righteous, no not one”. “There is
none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God”. “There is no fear of God before their
eyes”. “All have sinned and come
short of the glory of God”. “All
the world is guilty before God”. Please
note dear reader, there are no exceptions and no exclusions. YOU are included in God’s description of
fallen sinful man. Have YOU
acknowledged and confessed YOUR sins before God? Have YOU repented of YOUR sins? This
means to change your mind with regard to your sins and God’s salvation. The
awful truth is, that you, like everyone else, is not just a one-time
sinner but a sinner by practice. We
sin every day in thought, word, and deed.
If you deny this, you deceive yourself and make God a liar.
- HE CAME BECAUSE OF HIS DIVINE UNDERSTANDING. God is holy. He must
always do what is right and proper.
He cannot tolerate sin, compromise with it, overlook it, or pass it
by. God has declared in His Word, (Ezekiel 18:4) “The soul that sinneth, it shall
die”. (Romans 6:23) “The wages of
sin is death”. (Hebrews 9:27) “It
is appointed unto men once to die, but
after this the judgment”. God’s
law demands the death of the sinner.
God’s judgment will then fall upon the sinner for we read in, (Revelation 20:15) “Whosoever was not found written
in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire”. Dear
reader, is YOUR name in the “book of life”? If not, you must pay your own sin
debt. Your sin’s penalty must be
endured. Without a Savior, you must
endure the penalty of your sins and therefore be doomed and damned
eternally. God knows this, of
course, and thus in His love, mercy and grace, He devised a plan of
salvation. The hymn writer wrote of
this when he said;
O the love that drew salvations
plan
O the grace that brought it down to
man
O the mighty gulf that God did span
at Calvary
God
is a loving God and has proved it by providing a Savior for sinful man. (John 3:16) “For God
so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”. (Romans 8:32) “God spared not his own Son,
but delivered him up for us all”. This
is the good news. Read these wonderful
words again.
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”. O thank God, He came. He was under no obligation to come
but He came anyway. He came with a
purpose. He came with an intention, with
a plan. He came when we needed Him
most. We read in, (Galatians 4:4) “When the fullness of the time was come, God
sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that
were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons”. He did not come to save “good” people
because God says in His Word, (Ecclesiastes 7:20) “There is not a just man upon earth,
that doeth good and sinneth not”. He came to save, not to destroy; to show mercy,
not to pronounce judgment; to save sinners – the poor, the lost, the down
trodden, not to condemn them; He came to restore them to the favor of God, to
raise them up from their degradation, and to bring them to heaven. We read in, (John 3:17) “God sent not his Son into the world
to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved”.
He came down from heaven
to do a work that no other could do.
“There was none other good enough to pay the price of sin, He only could
unlock the gate of heaven and let us in”.
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”. He could only do this by going to the
cross. A holy God had declared, “Without
shedding of blood there is no remission”, no forgiveness. He was, (Philippians
2:8) “Obedient unto death, even the death of the cross”. He could say in, (John 10:11, 17, and 18) “I am the good shepherd:
the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep”. “I lay down my life, that I might take it
again. No man taketh it from me, but I
lay it down of myself. I have power to
lay it down, and I have power to take it again.
This commandment have I received of my Father”. He
was taken outside the city of Jerusalem to a place called Calvary and there they crucified Him. They nailed His hands and feet to a wooden
cross and lifted Him up between heaven and earth. During those first three daylight hours He
was mocked and ridiculed and called upon to come down from the cross to prove
He was the Son of God and the king of Israel. Then we
read, “From the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land till the ninth
hour”. During those dark hours on
Calvary He went under the wrath and judgment of a holy God. He took your sins and my sins in His own body
on the tree. We read in, (Isaiah 53:10) “The Lord made His soul an offering for
sin”. (Isaiah 53:6) “The Lord hath laid
on Him the iniquity of us all”. This
is the gospel, God’s good news, (1 Corinthians 15:3, 4)
“Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; He was buried, and He
rose again the third day according to the scriptures”. Dear reader, are YOU saved? Do YOU have, a time when, a place where and a
manner how you were saved? Was there a
definite time in your life when you believed the gospel message? This leads us to the final point we want to
consider;
5. THE POWER OF GOD UNTO SALVATION – “Of whom I am chief”.
The Apostle Paul said, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief”. Then, he went on to say in, (1 Timothy 1:16) “Howbeit for this cause I obtained
mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a
pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting”. Paul
said he occupied the first or foremost rank among sinners. He was a great sinner because he openly persecuted
the people of God and consented to putting some of them to death. If the Lord could save the “chief of sinners”
He can certainly save YOU dear reader. Paul’s
experienced a dramatic conversion to Christ is he was traveling on the Damascus road on his way to find Christians that he might
arrest them and bring them bound unto Jerusalem. He was
on a path away from God, as all unsaved people are, when he had a meeting with
the Lord Jesus Christ. Dear reader,
think of God’s great mercy and longsuffering to save this man who was openly
antagonistic to God and His people. Paul’s
conversion was a “pattern”, an example, of God’s longsuffering and mercy that
would be and has been shown to any who believe in His beloved Son. No one need despair, no matter how wicked
they might be. Since the Lord already
saved the “chief of sinners”, he will save anyone who believes on Him and He
can certainly save YOU dear reader.
In closing, I urge YOU
to take advantage of this present time while you can and receive the Lord Jesus
Christ as YOUR personal Savior. The
Apostle Paul was traveling the Damascus road when God saved him. YOU are traveling the “highway of life”,
passing through time on the way to eternity.
There are only two destinations.
It is either heaven or hell. Now
that you have read this message you have come to the “crossroads”. Which way will you go? You can remain on the “broad way” to eternal
destruction and hell by doing absolutely nothing. But, heaven can be your eternal destiny by
believing the gospel message and by a definite act of faith, receiving the Lord
Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior.
Please give this matter your most serious attention. Your eternal destiny depends on your
decision.
Christian Messenger