The Mission of Jesus
A Trustworthy Statement
09/28/08 AM
Text: 1 Timothy 1:15
Introduction
This is the final lesson in this series drawn from the letters of Paul that we often refer to as the “Pastoral Epistles”, those letters written to Timothy and Titus. In this lesson, as with the others, we focus again the particular phrase used by Paul in these texts to underscore a principle or specific truth apart from the rest of what was written: “This is a trustworthy statement...” In these statements, Paul gave to Timothy, Titus, and now to us, principles which are true and dependable, truths upon which we can build our faith and our lives in Christ.
In this lesson we are going to look at the occurrence of this phrase in 1 Timothy 1 where the trustworthy statement declares the mission of our Lord.
1 Timothy 1:15 (NASB) It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.
I.A Trustworthy Statement
A.Deserving full acceptance
1.The Spirit-inspired Apostle tells us that these words of our text are "a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance."
a.Five times in the pastoral epistles we find the phrase "trustworthy saying" (1 Tim 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; 2 Tim 2:11; Tit 3:8).
b.It is to be found nowhere else in Scripture. The Greek language allows us to translate this phrase as a "faithful saying."
c.What is a faithful or trustworthy saying? It is a saying one can depend on. You know it is true, reliable, and inerrant.
d.Of course, in the final analysis this saying is trustworthy and faithful not because Paul can swear it is but only because it comes from our God Who is faithful and trustworthy. Because we can depend on Him we know we can depend on what He says to us in His Word.
2.This trustworthy, faithful saying "deserves full acceptance," our full acceptance. We must believe it with all our heart. We must live it with all our being.
a.Paul puts himself up as proof of the validity of the statement.
b.Paul calls himself the "worst of sinners." He tells us exactly why he calls himself this.
(1)First of all, he thinks about his past: "I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man" (vs 13). Before his conversion Paul hated Jesus Christ and His church, he persecuted Christians.
(2)Secondly, Paul is thinking not only about his sinful past but also about his sinful present. Consider his words in Romans 7:
Romans 7:21 – 25a (NASB) “I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord...”
c.Paul clearly identifies himself as one of the sinners Christ Jesus came to save. In fact, he was so aware of his sin, of the evil in his life, of his fallen condition apart from Christ, that he called himself "the foremost of sinners." Which of us say that of ourselves?
d.If Paul calls himself the "worst of sinners," what are you and I? Paul was one of the Apostles, a real saint of God, someone who agonized over his relationship with the Lord. If Paul is the "worst of sinners," then there are no words left to describe you and me.
e.Paul calls himself the “foremost of sinners” but still the grace of our Lord was sufficient to grant mercy to him.
f.If Christ came to save Paul, the worst of sinners, then there are none He will not save, none He cannot save. If Christ brings Paul from everlasting death to everlasting life, then He will also bring you and me to life eternal.
g.We can accept this trustworthy statement by the example of Paul
II."Christ Jesus came into the world…"
A.Jesus had a mission
1.He “came into the world.” He therefore had a previous existence.
John 1:1 - 4 (NASB) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
Philippians 2:6 - 7 (NASB) who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
Galatians 4:4 - 5 (NASB) But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
2.He came and so He had a purpose, an object in coming.
a.It makes his gospel more worthy of acceptation that he had an intention, a plan, a wish, in thus coming into the world.
Luke 19:10 (NASB) “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
b.He came when he was under no necessity of coming; he came to save, not to destroy; to reveal mercy, not to denounce judgment; to save sinners: the poor, the lost, the wandering, not to condemn them; he came to restore them to the favor of God.
John 10:10b (NASB) “…I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
c.“They” is we, His lost sheep and He came so we might have life for apart from Him there is only death
Acts 4:12 (NASB) “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
III.“…to save sinners”
A.That is why He left Heaven and came into the world.
1.Since Jesus came into the world to save sinners, this is the first necessary qualification for being a child of God - being a sinner.
a.Now, what is a sinner? A sinner (and this may sound a little simple to you) is someone who sins. But now we need to ask, "What exactly is sin?" We hear about sin often enough, but do we really know what it is?
2.The Bible has many words to describe sin.
a.Sometimes it is described as unfairness or injustice or iniquity when you don’t treat others as equals. This is the sin of a rich man who kills a poor man’s single lamb.
b.Sometimes sin is described as trespassing or transgressing. God’s holiness is pictured as a piece of land. When we step across the border of it, we trespass. We tread on holy ground. We go beyond our limits. This is the sin of Adam and Eve who took the forbidden fruit and tried to be like God.
c.Sometimes sin is pictured as missing a target, or stumbling and falling, or being filthy or wandering off the right path and getting lost. This is the sin of the lost son who left home with his share of the inheritance.
3.When it comes right down to it, sin is disobedience. It is disobedience against God. All sin is sin against God.
a.Yes, we may sin against our wife or husband, our children or parents, our neighbor, our church, our friends. But ultimately, all sin is sin against God.
b.Think of Joseph when confronted with Potiphar’s wife trying to take him to bed. This was sin against Potiphar, and Joseph knew that. But he knew this was first sin against God. So he said to Potiphar’s wife:
Genesis 39:9b (NASB) ”…How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?”
c.Or, think of King David after his adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah. He cried out to God:
Psalms 51:4 (NASB) Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge.
4.We need to remember that sin is not just something man does but it is also something man is.
a.Sin is something man is born with. It is something all men inherit. It is something that corrupts from within so that words, thoughts, and deeds are all infected.
Romans 3:23 (NASB) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 (NASB) For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
b.As a sinner nothing is deserved but death. But, instead, we get life – everlasting life.
Conclusion:
We have before us today a trustworthy or faithful statement. In other words, there can be no doubt, it is Gospel truth, it is absolutely reliable, "that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners."
This trustworthy, faithful saying – in the words of our text – "deserves full acceptance," our full acceptance. We can believe it with all our mind, trust in it with all our heart and live it with all our being.
Invitation
