To Save Sinners - 1 Timothy 1:12–17

This morning, as you made your way here, you could have taken a moment to think about Charles Kettering. He was an American engineer and inventor known for many important inventions, but his influence on our lives this morning is due to a ground-breaking piece of electrical equipment that he designed for automobiles: the key-operated electrical self-starting ignition system - the electric starter. 

You see, before Kettering’s invention, automobiles were started by iron hand cranks. Now we all start our cars and trucks simply by the turn of a key or the push of a button. We don’t have to stand in the rain or the cold and crank the engine by hand.

So hats off to Charles Kettering! But I bring him up today because he was said to have a special approach to problem solving. When faced with a problem, his method was to break the problem into as many smaller subproblems as he could, then research which of those subproblems had already been solved by someone else. He often discovered that almost all of the subproblems had been solved, and he would spend his time and energy on the smaller problems that remained.

Kettering is known for having said that a problem well-stated is half-solved. In other words, half of the problem is clearly understanding what the problem is.

The Scriptures teach that the human race has one problem that underlies all others. That problem is sin. Sin positions us as enemies of God, it puts us at odds with each other. It even causes us to destroy ourselves. And it is pervasive, touching every human faculty: our minds, our wills, our emotions. Yet for all the problems sin creates, there is one problem it causes which is very alarming.

As sinners, we don’t naturally recognize sin as our greatest problem. We don’t easily identify how our own sinfulness comes to bear on our circumstances. In terms of Charles Kettering’s problem solving method, you might say that we don’t naturally see that the one problem we should be focusing on the most is that we are sinners and the ways of God don’t come naturally to us. 

Here in verse 15, the apostle Paul says, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” Jesus fully recognized the problem. He recognized the damage sin has done. He saw how helpless sin renders us. He understood why the wrath of God was against us. And so He came into the world to save sinners. 

And because this is why Jesus came into the world, we should always keep this truth on the forefront of our minds, not just this time of year - everyday - although it does bear emphasizing right now because of what the Christmas season has become.

Now, I enjoy Christmas, all the fun and excitement and warm feelings. But think about what our society, even much of the church, has done with Christmas. The importance of love, peace, relationships, and giving is proclaimed; Christmas has gotten bigger and bigger, but has the fame of Jesus Christ grown along with it? I don’t think it has.

The Christmas season today stands largely as a testimony of man’s attempts to find love, peace, and meaning apart from God, through traditions, through gift-giving, and through human relationships. What has been done with Christmas is exactly what you might expect sinners to do with it, because we don’t naturally recognize sin as the greatest problem, much less the Savior who came to deal with our sin. 

All the fun, excitement and warm feelings of the Christmas season are nice things, but those things cannot save sinners. Only Christ could do that. The church must never lose sight of why Christ came into the world. Each of us as individuals, if we would follow Jesus, must not lose sight of this truth.

But how do we do that? 1 Timothy 1 helps us. You can find an outline on page 6 in the WG. If we would always remember why Jesus came into the world, we must guard what God has told us about three things: ourselves, Jesus Christ, and Himself.

Now, the background of 1 Timothy 1 is that the apostle Paul has written this letter to his pastoral protege Timothy, who was a young pastor. Timothy taught the Word of God; he preached the gospel. But many false teachers had emerged in the early church. 

Rather than focusing on the saving work of Jesus Christ and preaching Christ from the OT, they were propagating various myths that had no basis in the Scriptures. This included speculating about angels and things taking place in the spiritual realm. But by doing so, Paul says that these false teachers were not practicing “the stewardship from God that is by faith.” 

They had swerved from and wandered away from the gospel of grace. So Paul warns Timothy not to handle the OT law of Moses in this way, but he also urges him not to stop preaching from those first five books of Scripture. Paul says, “the law is good, if one uses it lawfully.” The law of Moses, especially the 10 commandments, tells us that we are sinners. It shows us our sin. Paul lists numerous ways that people break the moral law of God, things that violate sound doctrine and the gospel entrusted to him and to Timothy. 

But then Paul does something very interesting and important. Notice verse [12] again, he writes, “I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, [13] though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent.” Paul is aware not only of the sins of others; he is acutely aware of his own sin. 

Before following Jesus, Paul had been zealous for Judaism to the extent that he tried to stamp out the movement of those who believed in Jesus of Nazareth. Look at the rest of verse 13, “But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief.” 

Not that Paul earned or deserved God’s mercy in any way. He is saying that he did not believe. God’s mercy was Paul’s only hope. God had to show mercy, “and,” verse [14] says, “the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” God’s grace - His undeserved favor - overflowed, literally it “super-abounded,” to Paul, and only by God’s power at work in Paul could these two things be produced: faith in Christ and love for Christ. 

Paul says that he did not naturally possess either of these. This is the gospel message, a message of this work of God, that He shows mercy and pours out grace on undeserving sinners. This was the message that God had entrusted to Paul and to Timothy. They were to guard it, preserve it, and preach it unchanged so that the church may never lose sight of it.

Have you perhaps been in church a long time or called yourself a Christian for a long time but you’ve started to forget who you were apart from Jesus? We cannot forget. When we start to forget and lose sight, we begin to swerve from the truth and wander away from Christ. 

God tells us in His Word about our true nature - our true problem - and He tells us about our standing before Him on our own. We must guard this Biblical truth about ourselves, we must revisit each Sunday in public worship and each day in private worship, because what comes naturally is for it to be buried in a host of other things. We instinctively forget who we are.

Now, notice verse [15], Paul says, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” There are multiple places in Paul’s letter where he says “the saying is trustworthy.” The point is that his statement is reliable, it should be accepted completely. 

Why did Jesus Christ come into the world? It’s obvious, isn’t it? Well, apparently not. Is Paul being ambiguous or vague here? Not at all. 

Interestingly, “sinners” was a term used by Jews about those outside of Judaism, who did not have a sense of the holiness of God, who followed all kinds of pagan religions. But here, you see, Paul applies the term to himself. And sinners need to be saved. Saved from what? From the wrath of God against sin. Saved from the destruction of sin, saved from eternity in hell.

Paul says that when it comes to sinners, “I am the foremost,” the first, the most prominent. The chief of sinners. Paul was not concerned about damaging anyone’s self-esteem. To guard the gospel of grace means never losing sight of what God has told us about who we are apart from Jesus, and it means never losing sight of what God has told us about Jesus. 

He alone is the Savior of sinners. He was born to save sinners. His mother Mary conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit so that Jesus could save sinners. The OT prophets foretold that the Messiah would come into the world to save sinners.Ever since the fall of Adam and Eve, ever since the entrance of sin into the world, the world has been inhabited by sinners who could only be saved by the coming of Christ into the world. 

All of redemptive history was moving to that point. The truth is, we don’t need the decorations, the traditions, the gifts and movies and food and gatherings to remember and celebrate that Christ came into the world to save sinners. The truth is that we should be celebrating it every Lord’s Day. Every Sunday in public worship it is the responsibility of the leaders of the church to remind and teach the people of God that Christ came into the world to save sinners. 

God has entrusted to us this message, that you and I are hopeless sinners who could only be saved from the wrath to come by the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is that magnificent and fully sufficient Savior.

What has drawn your eyes away from who you truly are and who Jesus truly is? Without understanding who Jesus is, we cannot deal with the problem of who we are. Without understanding who you are, you can’t worship Christ for who He is.

And notice verse [16], Paul says, “But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.” Paul says that his life stood as a testimony of God’s grace and power, as if to say, “Look at what God has done! Look at the kindness of Christ, look at the compassion of Jesus on a hopeless, foolish sinner. Don’t you see? He is the only hope for any of us.” 

Please take seriously what I am about to say: we must not assume that everyone understands the gospel, even if they have heard it, even if they think they “get it.” Are you willing to be honest about your own sinfulness so that others might see God’s work of grace in your life, so that others might recognize their own sin problem?

Now in this last verse, Paul is so caught up in the wonder of the gospel that he proclaims what God has told us about Himself in His Word, and what God confirms in our hearts by the power of His Spirit. Verse [17] To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. The Scriptures do distinguish between the three divine persons of the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three persons and yet one God. 

In one sense, when we talk about the glory of Jesus Christ, we give glory to all three persons of the Trinity. And here, all three persons are in view. Each person cannot be separated from the others, though their roles are distinguished. The triune God is the only true God.This is an entirely God-centered statement that speaks for itself. All glory to God alone for this great salvation.

Here’s something to think: in all that Christmas has become in our society, who gets the glory? Is it the parent who finds the perfect gift for his or her child? Is it the person who makes a donation to someone in need? Is it the creators of the latest holiday fad? It is the person who hosts the best holiday party? Is it the folks who keep it simple? Is it the folks who go all out? Is it the parent or grandparent who reminds everyone of what Christmas really means? 

There’s a lot of glory being doled out this time of year, a lot of praise being bestowed, but only Christ came into the world to save sinners, to the glory of the one true God -- to the honor of Jesus Christ, who is God Himself, who lived a perfect life in the place of those He would save, who was crucified, who was dead and buried, and who rose from the dead to never die again. 

He is not just a king, He is the King, He alone must be exalted. Carry on with your plans and traditions, but let your heart and mind be filled with the glory God alone. His glory fades from our sight because we are sinners.

Elsewhere in the Bible, in Romans chapter 7, Paul laments that even though he was saved, he was still naturally drawn away from God. He says, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate...I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing...I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Thanks be to God who sent Jesus into the world to save sinners. 

Have you lost sight of Jesus? Renew your faith in Him today. Or have you never surrendered to God, with faith in Christ, trusting only in Him to make you right before God? Surrender to Him now. Through the ages, the church has guarded this message, entrusting this gospel from one generation to the next, that you might hear it today and believe.

Let’s bow in prayer.