Our text this morning comes from 1st Timothy chapter 1 and verse number 15 1st Timothy chapter 1 verse number 15 Where Timothy writes or Paul writes rather to Timothy? 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. Once again, this week, my heart has been drawn to this so familiar text of scripture. It is the season of celebration once again. So soon. We celebrate Christmas, but in doing so, what, honestly, are we celebrating? Now our reflexive response is we're celebrating the birth of Jesus. Yes, that is correct. But why celebrate his birth? What about his birth makes it cause to celebrate? This is the question we must ask and answer. And the answer must be pondered with reverent contemplation and worship. This is why we celebrate Christ's birth. Because Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. We will celebrate that. The saved of God will celebrate that. forever more. And surely it ought to be not simply our Christmas celebration, but our daily celebration, hour by hour celebration. But in this season of the year in which the church calendar has specified a date on which to celebrate Christ's birth, especially every one of us should be challenged to celebrate this faithful saying, which is worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And so this morning, I trust we might consider four items that are set before us in this text of scripture. The first being this, that by this statement, Our Savior's unique qualification and his impeccable identification as Savior are set before us. The Apostle Paul begins the statement by saying, Christ Jesus. And there he identifies the subject of the statement. the one about whom the entire statement speaks. And by identifying that subject of the statement with that name, that title, Christ Jesus, he begins to give us what it is that we are to celebrate and why we can celebrate. He therein shows the unique qualification of Christ to be Savior, he therein shows the perfect identification of the one and only one who can be Savior. Consider first that name, those two words, Christ Jesus. I would assume that most all of you know what those words mean. Christ is the word, the term anointed. It speaks of Christ as being the anointed one, the anointed of God. You find Old Testament references to God's anointed speaking prophetically of Christ who was to come. And so he is the anointed of God. And the word Jesus, the name Jesus, literally means Jehovah Savior, Jehoshiah, Jehovah the one who saves, and identifies Jesus Christ as the one who is the very embodiment of salvation. Christ, the anointed. The larger catechism of the Westminster Confession of Faith asks this question. Why was our mediator called Christ? And then gives a simple but profound and glorious answer. Listen to what it says. Our mediator was called Christ because He was anointed with the Holy Ghost above measure and so set apart and fully furnished with all authority and ability. to execute the offices of prophet, priest, and king of his church in the estate both of his humiliation and exaltation. He is called Christ because he is anointed by the Holy Spirit of God beyond any measure of anointing. It was the case in the Old Testament that one who would fill the office of prophet or the office of priest or the office of king was anointed with oil and by that anointing was thus set apart for the details and responsibilities and privileges of that office. And so you find the kings and the priests and the prophets of the Old Testament thus anointed and with that anointing they were then installed in that office for all of its duties and functions. What a privilege and joy it is to read where the psalmist speaking of the Lord his shepherd says, thou anointest my head with oil. The blessing of God, the sanctifying of God, the setting apart of God, but the priests and prophets and kings of the Old Testament, though anointed, were but anointed by men who held the cruise of oil and let it drip upon their head. But Christ is anointed by the Holy Spirit of God. And that, an anointing, that is above measure. That is Christ, anointed above measure. And we see glimpses throughout the scripture of the manifestation and enactment of that anointing. And so as the angel appeared to Virgin Mary to tell her that she would bring forth a son, she asks the question, how can this be, seeing I know not a man? The angel said to her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee. Then also that holy thing which is born of thee shall be called the Son of God. In our Lord's virgin conception, the anointing of the Spirit of God was there in evidence as he was conceived by the Holy Ghost. We see him 30 years later at his baptism as he stands beside John the Baptist, the foretold forerunner of Messiah and is baptized and the spirit of God in the form of a dove descends upon his head accompanied by the voice of the Father in heaven. This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. And shortly thereafter we read how Jesus was led of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil and thus the anointing of the spirit of God upon him included his subjection to the temptation of Satan himself that it might be said he was in all points tempted like as we are. And then as he entered into the synagogue of Nazareth on the Sabbath day, and he took the scroll of scriptures from the writing of Isaiah, he turned in the scroll to that portion which says, the spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those that are bruised to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And there the anointing of Christ was professed from his own gracious lips to the ears of an unbelieving and scorning audience. And that spirit of unbelief and scorning would follow our Lord for the next three years plus until we find him hanging upon the cross of Calvary. And the writer of Hebrews tells us that there Christ through the eternal spirit offered himself. And this is but a beginning of the anointing of Christ by the Spirit of God above measure, by which he, like none other, is set apart and fully furnished with all authority and all ability to execute for us the offices of prophet, priest, and king. This is the anointed, and the apostle Paul says This is a worthy saying, a faithful saying, and worthy of all expectation that Christ, Jesus, came into the world. There is then, of course, the name Jesus, which we've already alluded to, the human name of our Lord. And again, the larger catechism asks the question, why was our mediator called Jesus? and provides this answer. Our mediator was called Jesus because he saveth his people from their sin. And this is what the angel who visited with Joseph before Christ's birth said to him. Your virgin espoused bride is with child and shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus. Not a random grasp of a name because every baby needs one, but rather call him Jesus, Jehovah Savior, because he shall save his people from their sin. And in that brief statement of the angel, volumes of theology are encapsuled. For one thing, he has a people. He shall save his people from their sin. Another thing is, as I trust we will see this morning, he will succeed at saving them. He shall save his people. his people from their sin. That's why he is called Jesus, because he is Jehovah Savior, and Paul uses the title and name Christ Jesus with a double emphasis upon the wonder and the glory of Christ, that this one who is Jehovah, salvation is anointed above all measure with the ability and the authority to bring about the salvation of his people. And the songwriter has it right. when he concludes, hallelujah, what a savior. We recognize as well that this name combines deity and humanity. There are others named Jesus, but there is not another who can be named Christ Jesus, except with gross blasphemy. For this one anointed by the Spirit of God, above measure, who can be called Christ, therein reveals an element of deity attached to his person, if I can put it that way and not be irreverent, that this one is not simply a human Jesus, but he is a human anointed of God. In other words, the divine and the human meet in him. In your bulletin this morning, We have three of the questions from the larger catechism of the Westminster Confession of Faith, which deal with this very matter. And for succinctness, I refer to them as an instruction to be considered throughout the day and throughout the week. Keep this handy and think through it. Question number 38. Why was it requisite that the mediator should be God? In the answer, it was requisite that the mediator should be God first, that he might sustain and keep the human nature from sinking under the infinite wrath of God and the power of death. I cannot read that without thinking of the gospel song from our own country and culture. I was sinking. Deep in sin, far from the peaceful, restful shore. Very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more. What an apt description of humanity and its condition. Sinking deep in sin. very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more. And in speaking those words, I speak not simply of myself, not simply of each of you hearing my words this morning, but of all humanity, sinking deep in sin, deeply stained within, Sinking to rise no more, what then shall we do? One so stained, one sinking in such sin, cannot save himself, cannot find his way out of the dark maze. He's lost, lost, and all humanity can be thus described and the only hope is if God joins himself with humanity and rises as humanity cannot do to escape the depths of sin, the stains of sin. the destruction of sin sinking to rise no more. Only if God is united with humanity can humanity be lifted out of that condition and this is why it was requisite that our mediator be both God and man. So that the one who comes to save us from our sin is able to do so. And that's the second thing suggested or stated in this 38th question of the confession. That Christ might sustain and keep the human nature from sinking under the infinite wrath of God and the power of death, and second, might give worth and efficacy to his sufferings, obedience and intercession. when the Apostle Paul was giving instruction and greeting and farewell to the elders in Ephesus in Acts chapter 20, he said this to them. Take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers to feed the church of God. which he has purchased with his own blood. And there the apostle referring to the blood of Christ speaks of it as the blood of God. For millennia, Animal sacrifices had been offered in the Old Testament according to divine instruction and the blood of those animals shed and sprinkled appropriately for an atonement for sin But it was impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin Nor would it have been possible for the blood of any human being to cleanse away the stain of sin or pay its debt because every human being is himself stained with sin and thus his blood polluted and unacceptable. For there to be an acceptable sacrifice, there must be absolute righteousness, impeccable holiness, and that can be found only in God. And thus it was necessary that our mediator be both God and man, that there be in one person the union of deity and humanity. so that the sacrifice of Christ and the intercession of Christ and the obedience of Christ might have the very worth of God himself attached to it and therefore be effectual for the saving of his people. And thus, when the Apostle Paul writes, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, His use of that name, Christ Jesus, was pregnant with significance and meaning and blessing for all of God's people. And the third thing that is necessary or evident in the union of God and man in Christ is our mediator must be both God and man to satisfy God's justness, procure his favor, purchase a peculiar people, and give his spirit to them, conquer all their enemies, and bring them to everlasting salvation. And then the confession goes further to ask the question, why was it requisite that our mediator should be a man? and gives the answer. As you see in the bulletin, and I trust we'll ponder further, we cannot comment on these truths, but it was requisite that the mediator should be a man, one, that he might advance our nature, perform obedience to the law, suffer and make intercession for us in our nature, and have fellowship, have fellow feeling for our infirmities, and that we might receive the adoption of sons and have comfort and access with boldness under the throne of grace. And so our mediator must be both God and man. And Paul, in writing to Timothy, sets this forward by the simple introduction, Christ Jesus, entered into the world that he might save sinners. And in those two words of introduction, Christ Jesus is all of the proclamation of why he and only he could come to save sinners. The second thing that Paul is pointing out in this passage is the Savior's unique and miraculous incarnation. You notice that he says Christ Jesus came into the world. He doesn't say Christ Jesus was born, although we know that he was. But he couches it in language which indicates that he had been someplace else, that he had an existence that preceded his entrance into the world. And so Christ Jesus came into the world. As Paul wrote to the Galatians and said, when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his son. The son already existed. God sent him forth. Christ Jesus came into the world and this is the uniform teaching of the scripture. Paul thus also underscores again the deity of Christ when he exclaims that this one came into the world, meaning he existed before he came into the world, and who else could this be but God himself? Listen as I read some from Colossians, the first chapter, where he speaks of Christ saying, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature, for by him were all things created that are in heaven and earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created by him and for him, and he is before all things, and by him all things consist. He is speaking of the one whom God sent into the world and these things set forth the fact that Christ is deity. And not only did Paul make this a central point of his writing, but the Apostle John likewise, as we've noted several times in recent weeks, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made, and the Word was God. was made flesh, the Word became flesh. That Word that created all things, that upholds all things, entered into the world, entered into humanity, became one of us. And John affirms the same in John 3.16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. And when John writes there that God's love was manifest and that he gave his only begotten son, he is speaking of a son who already existed before the worlds were made. He is speaking in terms which might describe the eternality of Jesus Christ. Thus, his deity, and as we've read from Hebrews chapter one this morning, the portion we didn't read, it speaks of his eternality as being evidence that he is superior to the angels who are created beings. He is eternal, his years fail not. And in 1 John chapter one, a passage we looked at just last week, that which was from the beginning, he's speaking of Christ, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and have handled of the word of life for the life was manifested. There was a pulling back of the curtain by which men could see the life which has always been Christ as he entered into humanity. And this Paul sets forth when he says, Christ Jesus came in to the world. And there's something to be said about that matter. You know, we're dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. And so there are places that you don't want to go, and I probably wouldn't want to either. Perhaps there are destinations that you have heard of or read of on this globe, and you would say to yourself, I don't ever wanna go there. Or as I've heard several say, should I say this, should I report it, concerning Baltimore City, I went there and didn't leave anything, so there's no reason for me to go back. The idea, I don't need to go there. I don't want to go there. Various expressions are used to speak in those terms. Nothing against Baltimore City, but there are places you don't want to go. There are streets you don't want to walk on for various reasons you could present. You think about what this world was like as Christ would enter into it. Christ who dwelt in the pure and holy presence of his father, who delighted in him daily, where there was no sin, no death, no corruption, and yet you had this world which was under the curse of sin, a cursed place, filled with strife, strife that leads to violence, defilement, disease, decay, depravity, deformity, discomfort, desecration, death, all of these things, and you can list more. In other words, this world was such an unattractive place to come to. And yet, Christ Jesus entered into this world. This is a faithful saying and worthy of expectation, all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world. And as you contemplate places you would not like to go, imagine what it was that Christ endured to leave heaven and come into this world. that many of God's people are longing to get out of. Third, you have here what is to me an incomprehensible motivation that Paul sets forth. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. What is attractive or desirable, about a person who is totally undone by sin. Some of you minister in a rescue mission each month with our church group going there, and you meet people there whose lives have been utterly unraveled by sin. You see written on their faces the description of defeat, of purposeless living, of loss, of waste. Christ Jesus, Christ Jesus no less. came into the world to save sinners. Can you imagine what motivation this is? And so as Christ came to earth, the first people to learn about his arrival were the shepherds. Shepherds who were generally outside of the mainstream of society, it seems. They were out in the fields and the wilderness away from civilization, tending to their flocks. And some reports have it that they were thus a godless and ungodly lot. They were nobodies on the social scale. They were not men of the temple. They were not religious people. They're the first ones to get the announcement. Because Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And so we read that passage in Matthew where Jesus has called Matthew to be his disciple and Matthew was in a profession which everyone of that area considered to be an evil and loathsome profession. He was a tax collector, the most dishonest and thieving class of people in society. And when Jesus called Matthew of all people unto himself, Matthew accepted the call and had a feast in his home in honor of this one who had called him Jesus. And it came to pass as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your master with tax collectors and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, they that behold need not a physician, but they that are sick, but go ye and learn what that meaneth. I will have mercy and not sacrifice, for I'm not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. I'm come to call sinners. Not the righteous, those who are whole need no physician. And so we find in the Gospel of Luke. where another tax collector, a guy named Zacchaeus, is there at Jericho and Christ takes his journey into that city because Zacchaeus is there and he must abide at Zacchaeus' home that day. Zacchaeus, who can't see the Lord Jesus for all of the crowd, climbs a tree in order that he might see this celebrity of sorts from Judean culture. And Jesus looks up at him as if he is the one that he had come to Jericho to see, because he was. And he says, Zacchaeus, come down, for today I must abide at your house. And that day Zacchaeus was saved. And the passage ends by saying, for the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost. And so we find the Lord Jesus in John chapter four, while the disciples are about whatever business they're doing, and while he is wearied with his journey from the day, engaging a wicked immoral woman in conversation, because it is his purpose to save her. And he continues with her, in communicating who he is that she, an outcast, a Samaritan at that, might be saved. And we have another passage in John where the religious leaders bring to Jesus a woman taken in adultery with the question, are you going to do what Moses says, stone her? And Jesus proceeds to speak to her graciously and finally ends the conversation by saying, where are thine accusers? All of whom had melted away in the presence of perfect righteousness, Christ. And then he says to her, neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more. And on the cross of Calvary, as Christ is writhing in anguish and shame, his prayer is, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And immediately, a thief beside him on the other cross is utterly and totally transformed. who, whereas moments earlier had been joining the other thief in blasphemy and mockery, he now rebukes the other thief for his unbelief, and he believes and cries unto Christ, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom, because Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And that is the whole of his earthly ministry. That is the whole of his finished work. And even now in heaven, the God-man, Christ Jesus, seated in glory at the right hand of the Father, is praying for sinners, interceding that they be saved. Finally, Paul shows to young Timothy an example of the extraordinary success of this scheme. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Yeah, right. Well, let me now prove it to you, Timothy. sinners of whom I am chief. Timothy has known Paul as a spiritual father. Timothy was converted to Christ through the ministry of the Apostle Paul and Paul counted him to be a spiritual son. And all that Timothy had known was Paul, the apostle, the ambassador for Christ, the righteous, godly, selfless servant of the Lord. But in this epistle, the apostle Paul, as we read, tells Timothy, I was injurious. And in fact, I persecuted the church of God. And whereas Paul's persecuting of the church of God was the ultimate of what he had deemed to be his righteousness, it was righteous religious zeal which drove him to persecute Christians. But as he was traveling the road to Damascus in order to persecute Christians there, suddenly, He was confronted by Jesus Christ and in an instant was transformed so that he there embraced the very gospel which he was journeying to destroy and thus joined with the people as one of them whom he was seeking to have imprisoned. It was a transformation that was absolute, 180 degrees. And there is the evidence that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners and that his coming was successful. The Old Testament prophet had written these words concerning Christ's crucifixion. yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong. Because he had poured out his soul unto death and was numbered with the transgressors and he bared the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors. There Isaiah 53 ends with a prophetic proclamation of the triumph of Christ. That indeed, he shall prevail in accomplishing what he came to do. So Isaiah wrote in the 42nd chapter, he shall not fail nor be discouraged till he have set judgment in the earth and the isles shall wait for his law. And the triumph of Christ Jesus entering into the world to save sinners is written large in that Paul was the chief of sinners. And now is the very opposite. And there is a wonder to be beheld here. As we've endeavored to notice this morning, by referring to Christ Jesus, in those terms, the Apostle Paul speaks of the one who is utmost and uttermost, the foremost, the highest human excellence to its absolute limit and deity embodied. And when he speaks of himself, the contrast could not be greater. the chief of sinners. As far as Paul is concerned, there can be found no sinner worse than I am. And the statement begins with Christ Jesus and ends with the chief of sinners by which is set before us the absolute condescension of Christ himself to come and save the worst and the least. Let us learn from this. The Apostle Paul when he thought of chief of sinners, thought of himself, of whom do you think when you think of the chief of sinners? Are we not always predisposed to think of one that is worse than ourselves? But let us understand that there is no man worse than I am. that there is none worse than you are. And when you come to that understanding, you begin to sing in Paul's choir. Let us recognize as well that there is no one who is too evil to be saved, not a one. Paul was the chief. And his wickedness was in fact practiced with a sense of sacred perfection. He was serving God as far as he knew. This was his religious zeal. And as he wrote to the Philippians describing the things which he had come to deem as loss for Christ, he describes his spiritual theological pedigree. But he now counts all of that but loss and in fact recognizes that his fervent religiosity was the greatest of wickedness. Never satisfy yourself that you are in the Lord's house on Sunday morning. But recognize thus with Paul that even our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. And perhaps if this preacher could truly come to grips with the fact that he is chief of sinners, perhaps he might start preaching like Paul. Let us ponder that matter. Finally, I must conclude, and let us conclude on this note. The Apostle Paul, who came to believe himself to be the chief of sinners, did not reach that conclusion through a process of logical contemplation. It was not an intellectual thing that he had mulled over and finally come to that idea. No, as we've already noted, those things which made him the chief of sinners, he viewed as the very things which made him the prince among men, more zealous than all of his brethren and Hebrew of the Hebrews. One will not recognize himself to be the chief of sinners. Nor will one recognize that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners until he has had an encounter with Jesus Christ. The apostle wrote to the Corinthians and said concerning these things, it's foolishness to those who don't believe. You go out to the average religionist this day and endeavor to seriously discuss this fact, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and you will have them looking for the door and wanting to get away and wondering what kind of man is this? Or as one of my brethren has told me, the reputation of my father, of blessed memory and used here so effectively in the preaching of the word and establishment of this congregation, that as far as he was concerned and the people of his congregation at Don McKnight was crazy. Those are his words. You endeavor to get serious with this fact. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and it's deemed to be rather irrelevant. Yes, let's set up the manger scene, and I'll fight to make sure we're free to have it on the courthouse lawn. But don't bother talking to me about this. matter of theology Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners and that is the attitude of most toward these things of the unbelieving world and Thus the Apostle Paul says the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us that are saved it is the power of God and when you have met Jesus Christ and When you have truly been confronted with Christ, perhaps not in the drama of Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus road with the blinding light that crashed him to the ground, but when you have met Christ, you will know Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And the more you know of him, the more you will say of whom I am chief. Perhaps there's a young man here today who, like me, 40 some years ago, had been reared in church, had heard the preaching, had made a profession of faith in Christ, but is dead in trespasses and sin. You hear these things preached And yeah, okay, if my parents want to go for that, all right, there it is, but. And it's not that you have chosen not to believe. It is rather the fact that you are by nature an unbeliever. That unbelief is the very constitution of our nature from the moment of our birth. We do not believe because we are not saved. We do not believe because we are dead in trespasses and sin, which means we are dead unto God. We do not believe because we have not met the one who is life. We've not met Christ. Consequently, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. All right, when's this over? Christ is. Christ is true. Christ is God. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners like you. And he will not turn away any who truly come to him. And in fact, once they've come, they will realize that their coming was itself prompted by him. For no man can come except the Father draw him. And how I recall in college going to the prayer room and praying, Lord, if you exist, reveal yourself to me. And coming to the conclusion that there was no way there could be a God or me know him or believe him unless he revealed himself to me. And if he didn't reveal himself to me, he must not exist. God heard that feeble prayer. And God made himself known to me through the scripture. And I received faith that I could not have cranked out of my will by any means whatsoever. It was the gift of God, not of works. And he will save you. For Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And it is the role of every man and every woman to join with the thief on the cross in the cry, Lord, remember me. And those who cry and persist by their very cry are manifesting that God is working in their heart to bring them to life and to peace. And he says, him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out. Because Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And he succeeded. And he will not lose one whom he has come to save. Let us bow together as we pray. Almighty God and merciful Father in heaven, may the Spirit of God effectuate the Word of God this day to save some poor sinner before he's damned, to bring him into the life and light of God, into the joy of the Lord, so that he can say with the Apostle Paul, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and thus I am saved. Bless your word to our hearing, to thy glory. And as we pass through another season of celebration, may our celebration be this, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.