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. -- 1 Timothy 1:15
Reader! Is your name written here? Are you described by this shameful hashtag, “sinner”? The apostle Paul described himself as the chief of sinners: “of whom I am chief.” The Publican cried out, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner (Luke 18:13)!” Is this faithful saying your basis for trusting Christ in life and your hope in death?
Who came from heaven? God the Son. He made Himself of no reputation. He willingly became a servant. As man, He obeyed even unto death. “The Word was made flesh (John 1:14).” Emmanuel, “God with us,” became man (Matthew 1:23; John 3:13). The fullness of the Godhead dwells in His body (Colossians 2:9). Make no mistake here. If Christ is not God, He cannot save (Isaiah 45:21). If He is not man, He cannot redeem (Hebrews 2:17). He is the only Mediator between God and men (1 Timothy 2:5).
But why did He come? To save His people from their sins. His very name binds Him to fulfill this God-glorifying purpose: “Thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)” This is the commandment His Father gave Him to obey (John 10:15-18), the will He gave Him to finish (John 6:37-40; Hebrews 10:1-10). This is the covenant Christ fulfilled by His death (Isaiah 49:6; Matthew 26:28). When He came into the world, He said, “I come to do Thy will O God. (Hebrews 10:7)” The last words He spoke before He died were, “It is finished! (John 19:30)”
What God the Son came to do, He actually accomplished. “He shall not fail (Isaiah 42:4).” Christ sits at His Father’s right hand because He finished redemption’s work (Hebrews 1:3; 9:12). Just as surely as He obtained eternal redemption for His people, He shall surely pour out His Spirit on every chosen, redeemed sinner in omnipotent saving grace. He will bring all of His ransomed home to heaven to be with Him in eternal glory.
Christ did not come to make all men savable; He came to save His people from their sins. He did not come to give dead sinners a choice; He came to raise them to eternal life, to live on Him by faith.
Oh sinner! If you have no spiritual value (Matthew 5:3), nothing to pay (Luke 7:42), are ungodly and without strength (Romans 5:6), even the enemy of God (Romans 8:7), then look in total dependence to Christ alone! “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else (Isaiah 45:22)”
Reader! Is your name written here? Are you described by this shameful hashtag, “sinner”? The apostle Paul described himself as the chief of sinners: “of whom I am chief.” The Publican cried out, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner (Luke 18:13)!” Is this faithful saying your basis for trusting Christ in life and your hope in death?
Who came from heaven? God the Son. He made Himself of no reputation. He willingly became a servant. As man, He obeyed even unto death. “The Word was made flesh (John 1:14).” Emmanuel, “God with us,” became man (Matthew 1:23; John 3:13). The fullness of the Godhead dwells in His body (Colossians 2:9). Make no mistake here. If Christ is not God, He cannot save (Isaiah 45:21). If He is not man, He cannot redeem (Hebrews 2:17). He is the only Mediator between God and men (1 Timothy 2:5).
But why did He come? To save His people from their sins. His very name binds Him to fulfill this God-glorifying purpose: “Thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)” This is the commandment His Father gave Him to obey (John 10:15-18), the will He gave Him to finish (John 6:37-40; Hebrews 10:1-10). This is the covenant Christ fulfilled by His death (Isaiah 49:6; Matthew 26:28). When He came into the world, He said, “I come to do Thy will O God. (Hebrews 10:7)” The last words He spoke before He died were, “It is finished! (John 19:30)”
What God the Son came to do, He actually accomplished. “He shall not fail (Isaiah 42:4).” Christ sits at His Father’s right hand because He finished redemption’s work (Hebrews 1:3; 9:12). Just as surely as He obtained eternal redemption for His people, He shall surely pour out His Spirit on every chosen, redeemed sinner in omnipotent saving grace. He will bring all of His ransomed home to heaven to be with Him in eternal glory.
Christ did not come to make all men savable; He came to save His people from their sins. He did not come to give dead sinners a choice; He came to raise them to eternal life, to live on Him by faith.
Oh sinner! If you have no spiritual value (Matthew 5:3), nothing to pay (Luke 7:42), are ungodly and without strength (Romans 5:6), even the enemy of God (Romans 8:7), then look in total dependence to Christ alone! “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else (Isaiah 45:22)”
-- Rick Warta
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