Our scripture reading this afternoon is taken from the first epistle of Paul to Timothy chapter 1. So 1st Timothy 1. We read the chapter, we take as our text verse 15. We hear the inspired and fallible word of God. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope. Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith, grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying, which is in the faith. So do. Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned, from which some, having swerved, have turned aside unto vain jangling. desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor whereof they affirm. But we know that the law is good if a man use it lawfully, knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men-stealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust. And I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, who was before a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious. But I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly and in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus. 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. How be it for this cause I obtain 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. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience, which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck. of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. We read God's word that far. As I stated, verse 15 is our text. 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. May God bless his word to our hearts. Beloved in our Lord Jesus Christ, as we read through the epistles of Paul, especially the pastoral epistles, we come upon a number of these so-called faithful sayings. The Apostle mentions these sayings as worthy of our meditation. We read one such one here in verse 15. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. The context, beginning in verse 12, is a looking back on his life. Paul here is reflecting on his life. And as he's looking back on his life, he sees the context of sin and unbelief, unfaithfulness. And he describes here, by inspiration, the marvelous mission for which Jesus came into this world. Jesus didn't just come to preach, to teach, to do miracles. Jesus came to save sinners. The heart of the gospel is free grace. Jesus came to pay the full price for those sinners. We'll never know the marvelous character and nature of his love without confessing the depths of our unworthiness. Pride is deeply engraved into our natures. And in our pride, we're quick to trample underfoot others. We're inclined to look down on others, to esteem ourselves up above those around us. And in pride, we can become demanding. We can become insensitive to those around us. We don't think in a kind manner. We don't act in a manner that reflects that kindness, that love, that compassion. We don't show love to those whom God puts on our pathway. Here's the powerful love of God in Jesus Christ that moves us to humility, to kindness, to compassion toward others, that moves us to forgive even as we have been forgiven. This is a striking statement for the Apostle Paul to make. He confesses, of whom I am chief. Now we all know the Apostle Paul from our studies in the scriptures. The Apostle Paul was a man whom God used in marvelous ways. The Apostle Paul, as you children know, went on three missionary journeys. In addition to that, he made another trip to Spain. He was active in other labors, going to Rome. And in all of those labors, It was the Apostle Paul that was bringing the gospel to all of these different places throughout the known world of that day. If there was anyone who, so to speak, was doing great things for God, it was the Apostle Paul. In addition to that, God used him to write much of the New Testament. God also ordained tremendous hardships in his life. The Apostle Paul was never blessed with a companion in marriage. God gave to him a thorn in the flesh that was never removed. God gave Paul hardship after hardship, which he accounts, shipwrecked, beat, left for dead, all of these troubles that God led him through, all in God's sovereign goodness to humble him and to bring him to see the greatness of God's love. And so Paul confesses with great humility, not only I'm a sinner, I am chief sinner. What implication does it have for me? What implication does it have for you? We look at this confession this afternoon, I am chief sinner. Noting first the confession, secondly the wonder, and finally the humility. Beloved, living in this world, men and women, young people are inclined to trust themselves. And as we grow up, we want our own will, and we pursue our own way. And from early on, that's evident in the lives of our children. They want to do their own thing. They want to pursue what they want to pursue. And a child who's not admonished, who's not corrected, grows up then with a sense of entitlement, so that that child expects things to go his or her way, expects that whatever they want, they're going to get. And as a result then, troubles come. Relationships don't go so well for such a one. An entitled child who's not been told no much now grows up to even be greater entitled. And difficulties, troubles come for such a one who's so self-centered. Such we would be, apart from God's grace, consumed with self, interested only in what would be good for me and willing to pursue anything that I would desire at the expense of everybody else. And so quickly, and sadly, we grow up with that self-righteous perspective. We look down on those around us. We look down on them because they're not as hard of workers as we are. They haven't been as faithful and diligent, maybe, as we have. We look down on them because, in our estimation, they're lesser than us. We may walk past them without even acknowledging them. We don't even give them the pleasure of a handshake. We act and conduct ourselves in a manner that our noses are up and we're better than these that God has put around us. And we think then more highly of ourselves than we are. Quick we're willing and able to attribute all our success, all the good things in our life to ourselves. And then what do we do? We take the law and we try to use that for our advantage. We're good at that, aren't we? We're not taking the law now and using it to examine myself, but rather I'm taking the law in order to justify my actions and to condemn those around me. And so we go through life, hypocrites, self-righteous, acting as though we're entitled. And our young people, our young adults, they're able to see through that in parents, they see through that in teachers, and pastors, and office bearers. They hear what we say, then they look at what we do, and they realize there's a disconnect here. What's wrong with this person? What's wrong with their confession? And it has an impact then on their walk with God. Why would they want to be a Christian? Why would they want to go to this church if the people all are hypocrites? If so many of them say this, but then they don't live it. They don't conduct themselves in a manner that reflects it. We can't underestimate at times the impact that they can have on generations. Paul notes here two individuals that were active in blaspheming in a very negative way in verse 20. But so quick and so easy it is for us to live as those who are self-righteous, those who think ourselves better than others, are willing to put others in categories below us and to look down on them. Paul proclaims here, as always he does through his epistles by the inspiration of the Spirit, the gospel of the marvelous grace of God. And he expresses the beginning of that in verse 11, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust. The love of God is such a marvelous truth. And the apostle says, God entrusted that gospel to me that I might preach it and that I might make it known. But then he acknowledges who he was. He wasn't worthy to have that gospel entrusted to him. And yet God enabled him for that he counted him faithful, putting him into the ministry who was before a blasphemer, persecutor and all the rest. God is not a respecter of persons. God does not love you or me because of anything of ourselves. God loves you, he loves me only because of his sovereign good pleasure. And that's what the Apostle Paul here is emphasizing in this context. Why is it that God loved me? Paul says, why did God look upon me? Why did he entrust me with this gospel? This is who I was. This is who I am. And Paul says, it's all of grace. The proper use of the law, as he's talking here about the law, is not to use it against others. The proper use of the law is to look at my own life in connection with that law. And I'm humbled, deeply humbled, as I see that mirror that reflects God and His sovereign will. And looking at what God requires of me, looking at what God expects of me, I realize I can't do it, and I cry out for mercy. My only hope is in a Savior, a Savior from sin. And as the apostle here examines his own walk, looks at his own life, he gives a testimony to the wonder of God's grace in his own life. Paul uses his own experience. He says salvation is not by trying harder, salvation is not by doing the best, salvation is not anything that you can take credit for. Salvation is all of grace. And his emphasis is, look at me, look at my life, look at how God worked. Now beloved, it's easy for us to say that. Salvation is all of grace. What does that look like in your life? And what does that look like in my life? Every religion in the world teaches that salvation is according to man's work. And man's doing something that's going to be right with whatever gods they teach. And the emphasis is that you need to do this, you need to do that. That way you can meet the expectation of the gods. Over against that Christianity says no! Salvation is all of grace. It's through Jesus Christ alone. There's nothing you can do to earn favor with God. Jesus Christ came to save sinners. That's the marvelous expression of the love of God. In contrast then to the self-righteous sinner, Paul shows himself to be a self-conscious sinner. The Bible condemns those who are self-righteous. We know again and again Jesus comments toward the Pharisees And we take that to heart. We realize how quickly we can begin to look like and act like Pharisees. But the Bible tells us stories, stories about sinners who were saved by grace. And the Bible is brutally honest about the sins of those individuals whom God chose to be His own. And as the Bible lays out, problem after problem, sin after sin in the lives of God's children, God demonstrates that Christians are sinners. Now what is the implication of that? Christians are those who know how to say, I'm sorry. Is that true of you? Is that true of me? As you're dating, Is your boyfriend, is your girlfriend one who's willing and whom you hear regularly saying, I'm sorry, I sinned. I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have treated you that way. I should have done this better. So easy it is for us to Not be willing to acknowledge fault. Not be willing to acknowledge sin. The one who confesses salvation is by grace alone is the one who says, I'm sorry. I'm a sinner. I fail. I don't know the love of God as I ought at times. I don't follow after that way of thankfulness like I should. And the result is that I'm quick then to make things right. I'm willing to confess my sin to my spouse, to my children, to my parents. If you don't know what it is to say sorry, if you've never said sorry to your children, if you never acknowledge fault with your spouse, then you don't know the love of God and the power of that love in Jesus Christ. There are some who are tempted to say, I don't think I can go to church. I don't think I ought to go to church because my life is all messed up. My family is so dysfunctional. I would not be welcome in church. I have too many weaknesses. I'm guilty of too many things. Sometimes we struggle, beloved, with our sin. Who am I to come into the presence of Christ? How can I be assured of the fact that He's going to hear my prayer? That He's going to acknowledge my presence? We might look at our lives, we look at our circumstances of life, and we're tempted to despair. Read the Bible. And what do we find? We read the Bible and we find saint after saint. that sin, that fail, that confess their sin, acknowledge their fault. We find saints who are living in dysfunctional families, families with incest, with abuse, with idolatry, families with all kinds of adultery and fornication and struggles. The grossest of sins are found among those who are listed as the elect saints of God. And those sins continue to be found and present within the church of Jesus Christ today. God works repentance. God works sorrow for those sins. God works in the hearts of individuals to confess those sins. And God gives grace then to put them away and to look to Christ and to go forward, not by one's own strength, but through the strength that is found in Christ and Him crucified and the power of His Spirit. But sometimes we ask ourselves, why does God tolerate those sins in the lives of my loved ones? Sins that hurt me and others so bad. Why does God tolerate those sins in the lives of His children? Why did God ordain that the Apostle Paul would be such an evil man, persecuting Christians, trying to kill them and creating havoc in the church? Now there's many reasons, we know. chief of which is to humble his children, to teach us that we cannot stand for a moment, to cause us to realize that our salvation is all of grace, and to direct us to that wonder, that faithful saying that is worthy of all acceptation. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Jesus came to wash and to cleanse sinners Matthew 1, in laying out Jesus' genealogy with which you're familiar, notes those sinners that were given a place in Jesus' own genealogy. So that here writing to a Jewish audience, what does Matthew do? He includes in verse 3 reference to Tamar. Tamar was involved in incest with her father-in-law Judah. Verse 5 references Rahab, who was a prostitute. Later on in verse 5, Ruth, who was a pagan from Moab. These individuals are incorporated into the line of Jesus. Why is this important? Matthew tells us, like Paul does here, that Jesus came to save sinners. He came from sinners, although He Himself was the sinless Son of God, in order to save sinners. And the Bible tells story after story of sinners who, by God's grace, were transformed into those who lived as God's children, as saints in Jesus Christ. Now we could point to many, many passages to add to this teaching. Think of the church at Corinth. If ever there was a church filled with sin, unrest, strife, it was the church at Corinth. Paul almost despaired, but he wrote the first book of Corinth harshly exposing their sin, laying out their troubles, talking about all the sins of which they were guilty. In 1 Corinthians 6, then in verse 7 he states, Never may we get to the point where we look down on gross sinners. We may never get to the point where we refuse to walk in love toward such sinners, that we shun sinners. We pray for the opportunity, humbly, to bring the gospel to such sinners, the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ. We seek opportunity to admonish those in order that we might do so in humility and in love. We want to share the wonder of God's grace. We know what God's done for us, and we want to share with others the marvelous character and nature of that wondrous work. We want to tell them about Jesus, Jesus who came into this world to save sinners. We pray for those with whom we have contact in our families or extended or in the workplace. We pray for those And we invite them to come to church in order that they might hear the wondrous message of the gospel. Throughout our lives, we come into contact with homosexuals, with atheists. We come into contact with feminists, slanderers, proud individuals, those who are living for themselves, adulterers, adulteresses. They need to hear Jesus. And they need to hear about Jesus and the wonder of His coming, Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And note the humility with which we engage them, of whom I am chief. We're not looking down on them, we're not shunning them as though their sins are so great there's no possibility for them to be saved. We look at ourselves and we realize salvation is possible for anyone. If God can do what He did for me, He's able to do wonders for those around me. We don't come to them as haughty, better than them, shocked at the nature and character of their sin. The sinner is one who's humbled by grace, looks at himself, herself, first of all, and realizes no one is a greater sinner than I am. In light of the law, I know that I'm not righteous. I can't take upon myself any credit. For anything, I know that I am lawless, I'm disobedient, I'm a murderer, I'm unholy, I'm profane. I'm guilty of even holding to that which is contrary to sound doctrine at times. I know my heart, I know my thoughts and my actual sins. And Paul makes this very, very personal. Of whom I am chief. Now that poses a lot of questions, doesn't it? How could Paul, the Apostle Paul, say, I am chief sinner? It'd be one thing if he used the past tense. I was chief sinner. But that's not what he says. We know that Paul had a troubled past. But he says, I am chief. And he's writing this when he's in prison in Rome. And he doesn't know what's going to happen, but he's willing to give his life for the sake of the gospel. Very well going to be a martyr. And he's writing this, I am chief sinner. How do we remedy that with this also? He also has written to Timothy and he said, I fought a good fight. I finished my course. I've kept the faith. Henceforth, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness. So we have both, Paul saying, I'm chief sinner, at the same time, I have hope of life everlasting. And beloved, the possibility can only be Jesus Christ. And that's why he sets forth, you need to meditate on this. This is a truth that needs to reverberate in your hearts. Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. But we ask ourselves this, if Paul is the chief sinner, where does that leave you? Where does it leave me? How can we even hold a candle to the Apostle Paul? But we realize the confession that Paul makes here is a confession that all of us as Christians can and must personally make. Paul here is talking about the sinner who knows his or her sin, is conscious of who he or she is by nature, And as every child of God looks at him or herself in light of God's law, we come to this conclusion. There is no one that I can imagine with as evil of thoughts as I have. I can't imagine that there's another sinner as bad as I am. I look at the kind of things that motivate me. I look at the kind of things that I've done, how I've treated others. I look at my own failures, not just in the past, but in the present. Am I loving God as I ought? Am I showing love toward the neighbor like I am called to? Am I esteeming the neighbor above myself as God calls? Am I content with everything that I have as we noted this morning? Am I patient? Am I giving evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in my interaction with my spouse, my children, my parents, my relationships? Beloved, this is the opposite of the self-righteous. The self-righteous individual looks at the law and is moved to condemn everyone else in order to exalt self. But the self-conscious sinner is the one who understands the law as applicable, first of all, to me. How are you living, beloved? What is your spirit? How would those around you characterize you? Would they say, You definitely are a humble individual. You're one who puts others above yourself. Or would they say you're proud. You're always acting as though you know everything. You're always demeaning and putting other people down. You're living like a hypocrite. Always trying to cover your sins and make yourself look better when you're negative toward those around you. Beloved, how are you? How do I interact with others? And it's not a question merely of how does my neighbor view me, but more importantly, God. What does God see when He looks at me? Not only does He see my outward deeds, He's looking at my heart. He's looking within. What does He see? Beloved, there's a soul searching that needs to happen as God's children understand the marvelous character and wonder of salvation by grace. Again, what does it mean to confess, I am saved by grace alone? It means that this soul searching is taking place. And I know who I am as I stand before the living God and His searching eyes. There's nothing that I can hide. I hide things from my spouse. I hide things from my children. I can hide things from my parents. But from the living God and His searching eye, nothing can be hid. As I stand before God, am I a worse sinner than my spouse? How am I showing that? Am I a greater sinner than my children? How is there evidence of that humility in my heart as a father, as a mother? How did my actions this morning or my actions yesterday reflect that confession? Am I a greater sinner than Those who I'm sitting next to in the pew or who are sitting around me. When the law is read, does it strike me or am I just thinking about everybody else? About the people that were in the fields as I was driving here and how holy I am because I'm here in church instead of being out there farming on Sunday. Am I focused on others or am I focused on myself, my own nature? Am I a greater sinner than my parents, my father, my mother? There are those who are guilty of slander, those who are guilty of schism, but am I talking about them behind their back, making myself guilty even to a greater measure? It's easy to fall prey to the failures of others. I've sinned in my doctrine. I've likely sinned in my life. I've personally displaced the perfect work of Jesus Christ by things that I've said or actions that I've conducted. I've sinned in my discussion even, perhaps, about the division or the struggles that are taking place within the churches. I've slandered others. I personally have contributed to those divisions in one way or another. I've not esteemed those whom God put on my pathway in positions of authority as I ought. I spoke bad about the president. I've not esteemed the referees like I should. I don't conduct myself toward the policemen as I ought. Does it surprise me, does it surprise you that we might be inclined toward doctrinal error in our own life? After all, We're depraved by nature. The depravity of that nature always wants to cling yet to something that I can do, something that I can accomplish in order to accomplish that salvation. Sometimes there's sins that I'm guilty of that I'm not even aware of. And so I learned to pray that God will expose those sins, that He will reveal those secret faults in my life. Pray that He'll use others, perhaps, to bring them to my attention. I'm not even aware, perhaps, of them, but Matthew 18, other means God uses in order to bring them to my attention. Do I think that just because God's regenerated me, that now I'm thinking everything perfect, and that my life now is on a trajectory that is in perfect obedience to God's commandments? Beloved, The work of God in the lives of His children is that which is gradual at times, it's slow sometimes. It involves God using sin, God making use of temptation in order to teach us lessons that we would never learn in any other way. It involves at times pride, being esteemed so that we fall and so that we learn then humility in our lives. The Spirit is leading us into the truth. It's a process where we're continually reforming. It's a process where constantly I'm examining my life in connection with God's Word. And I'm realizing that there are things that I thought were not really so serious or significant, but now I realize, no. Those are things that I ought not have been doing. I ought not have been engaged in that. I become more sensitive to my errors. When others point them out, rather than in pride, I'm more humble to respond to them and not immediately to get defensive and to try to find fault with them and try to undermine the credibility of their testimony. Pride can blind me so often. And so we cry out, God, be merciful to me, the sinner. Acknowledging our sin, standing before God in His searching eye, we realize there's only one response. I am chief. I can't begin to compare myself to others. I realize my own sin and what I'm guilty of. And beloved, if you look at yourself as better than those around you, you'll never make this your confession, nor will you ever experience the wonder of the saving work of Jesus Christ. The self-righteous sinner finds fault with others. The self-righteous sinner maintains sin in his or her life, thinking that they're better, in pride, esteeming themselves. They don't know the testimony of the Spirit. They're not living in the manner as those who know the power of God's grace. The self-righteous sinner is hard to live with, offends God daily, mocks the blood of the atonement, acting as though he doesn't need it. He's able to do what's necessary. But the self-conscious sinner is humbled, humbled to the dust, cries out in repentance and true sorrow, I am chief sinner, Lord have mercy upon me. I would be on the path to hell if it were not for the marvelous grace by which Jehovah God sought me out, rescued me from myself, and gives me to know the wonder of wonders that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners of whom I am not just one, but chief. For that purpose He came. And beloved, this confession bears the fruit of mercy, albeit for this cause I obtain mercy, we read in verse 16, knowing myself to be needy, confessing my sin and my sinfulness. I look away from self and I cry out, to my Heavenly Father. And I know the mercy that's in Jesus Christ alone. And God grants that mercy. He directs us to the cross. He gives us to know the work of Jesus Christ and His Spirit in our lives. And that moves us then to show that kindness and that mercy toward those around us. What is the wonder of wonders here? Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And again, the Apostle in saying, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, intends by that to emphasize, this is a truth you need to meditate on. This is a truth that you need to think on. Because the devil is bringing the consciousness of your sins constantly against you. And the devil comes at you and says, you deserve the wrath of God. Look at your life. Look at how you've messed things up. Look at how evil you've conducted yourself toward those around you. You can't be saved. And God says, think on this truth. Jesus Christ came into this world for what purpose? Not to save the Jews from the Romans. Not to make this world a better place. To save sinners. The Son of God taking upon Himself human nature, born of a virgin, in order that He might as very God and very man, take upon Himself the wrath that we deserve in order to accomplish the salvation we don't deserve. And as the Son of God, He was able to take that punishment as His own, freeing us from the bondage of sin. You will never be punished for those sins because Jesus took the full punishment upon Himself. He paid for your sin. He doesn't save us in our sins. He saves us from our sins. He doesn't purchase for us the liberty to continue to sin. Liberty from sin. We're no longer those in whom sin reigns. Sin is present. That old nature never gets any better. It stays the same until we die. We are now freed from the dominion of sin. Jesus Christ frees us from the bondage of that guilt and He justifies us, declares us righteous, gives us to know the wonder by which we are forgiven. Our sins are forgiven. Every last one of them that we've ever committed ever will commit. And though we still experience the chastening hand of God, the consequences of sin are still our experience. This wonder of wonders is such that I will never experience what I really deserve, the pain of hell. Jesus delivered me from the deepest woe, but he also brings me to the highest bliss. He takes me to heaven and to his own presence. He implants within me a new spirit. He gives me a heart that is renewed and he declares me righteous. He arose to everlasting glory in order to prepare that place for us. And all this He did that we might live eternally. Not only does God declare us sinners by a wonder of grace, He declares us to be saints who are found in Jesus Christ. Jesus who came to save us from the corruption of sin. And through the preaching, He applies the benefits of that salvation to our hearts. He pricks us. He works in us to turn away from those sins. He gives us to know the marvelous character of the love with which He's loved us. He breaks stubborn, proud, hard hearts. As the Word comes, That word is applied to the hearts and lives of God's children by parents and by elders and office bearers and through the preaching. And the result is the mighty are humbled. Sinners are brought to cry out, God, be merciful to me, the sinner. And as the Spirit pours out that saving grace in the hearts of His children, He accomplishes that wonder by which their inclination is not to exalt self, but rather to confess the wonder of what Christ did and to extol Him above all. Every day, God is directing us in the green pastures of His Word. And as we spend time in the Word, we're impressed with the greatness of our God, our own unworthiness, and the wonder of His grace and His mercy. And He keeps us humble by reminding us that our best works are still polluted with sin. We can't expect ever to earn anything by anything that we do. We have but a small beginning of that new obedience. And the perfection is not something we'll ever attain here in this life, but it's that which is in the life to come. Paul says, do you want to know whether God can forgive sins? Do you want to know whether there's a place in the church for sinners and whether sins can be forgiven? Look at me! That's verse 16. Look at me! I was guilty of violating the whole law, the first table and the second table. I was conducting myself not only as the worst sinner, but yet I am a grievous sinner. I have a corrupt nature. that I confess. Paul had a guilty conscience. He wasn't just suffering from low self-esteem. The problem is not that people have too low an estimation of themselves. The problem is that they have too high an estimation of themselves. And when they have too high of an estimation of themselves, then they think low of everyone else. We need to repent of that. But Paul here confesses himself a violent persecutor. I am the worst? No, I am the worst. Not I was, I am the worst, he says. And he says, I am an example of pure grace. This is the grace of God. If I can be saved, any man, woman, child is able to be saved. No matter how terrible, how disgusting, how horrific their life, Christ is able to make you into a new creature. An abundant sin is met with more abundant grace. A truth that we find here in verse 14, and the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus. A truth that Jesus himself emphasized, that our knowledge of our sin is proportionate to our confession of grace. He that is forgiven little, Jesus said, loves little. He who understands that he's forgiven much, loves much. Now the idea is not there, go out and sin some more so that you can have a better consciousness. That's not necessary. We're already great enough sinners. We just need to look at ourselves more carefully in light of God's law. And as we look at ourselves, and as we acknowledge our besetting sins, as we acknowledge the temptations that we fall into, Sins including that of thinking, I'm a pretty good person. I'm doing better than those around me. There are sinners out there in the world, but I'm a pretty good individual. That's not the way that God's children are to think. An awareness of the depths of my own unworthiness and sinfulness moves me. to see the wonder of what Christ did and His perfect work. And that's the humility that the Apostle here is speaking of. That which God began in creation, God finishes in the recreation of sinners into His beloved saints. God's covenant promise is sure. What God promised to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to Abraham, to David, is now fulfilled through the wonder of the Emmanuel. Adam was a type. He failed. But the second Adam would not fail. Jesus is the mediator between God and man. And Jesus came as the one who accomplished the purpose for which he came. Why did Jesus come? Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. By nature, we are sinners alienated from God, dead in trespasses and sins of ourselves, worthy of everlasting death and damnation. To be saved is to be rescued, delivered from that horrible situation. And that's what Jesus did. Jesus came to save sinners. He came to deliver from sin. He came to remove the guilt, the shame of that sin. To declare us righteous in Jesus Christ. He gives us the gift of faith. He gives us to know the wonder and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. And positively, He takes us now into intimate communion with Himself. Putting His Spirit within our hearts, drawing us with that bond that cannot be broken, giving us the gift of faith, and bringing us to understand our sin, to confess it, and to know life everlasting. Freed from the greatest evil, brought into the enjoyment of the highest good, and given to know God's amazing grace. God's children give evidence of that faith and the power of God's work of grace in them. Salvation is not set forth here as conditional, it's not set forth here in any way as optional, as that which is available. Notice that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. Jesus came with a purpose. He accomplished that purpose. His name itself described that purpose. Jesus Jehovah's salvation to save His people from their sins. And He brings us then to the blessedness of that glorious gospel of life everlasting. Every last one of God's children will come to Jesus Christ. They will confess their sins. They will be brought to see in Him the whole of their salvation. And they will repent. And they will be brought into the fullness of that life that is in Jesus Christ. And beloved, it's all of grace. We're not saved because of anything of ourselves. There's no room for pride, no room for esteeming ourselves above others. All of salvation is according to God's gracious, sovereign decree of election. We're saved only because God from all eternity determined that he would choose to himself a people and that he would place his love upon those individuals. Why me? Why you? Why would he pick Paul? Why would he pick certain individuals so weak, a Samson, a Lot? All according to His sovereign, eternal counsel. And beloved, this is our comfort. This is our only comfort in life and in death. That Jehovah God set His love on me. And having set His love upon me, He gave me a Savior in Jesus Christ who has saved me from my sins and given me to know a life that is with Him to all eternity. That I am not my own. I belong to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. And nothing, nothing can separate me from the wonder of His love. This is the comfort as I go forward and anticipate the persecution that is going to come upon the church as the end approaches. And it's the comfort to which Jesus in Matthew 24 directs us. If it were possible, the very elect would be deceived. But it's not possible! Because they're God's elect! And God will keep them. And God will preserve them. And He will give them to know the blessedness and the joy of their salvation. Beloved, this is the doctrine that leads to true gratitude and joy. This is the doctrine that motivates us to live our lives, not for self, but for Him and for His glory. It's this truth that drives us to make our calling and election sure. Our hope, our pledge found in Jesus Christ, our Savior. Now the Apostle says this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. The word faithful conveys the idea here that this is unashamedly true. This is that which is to be depended on. The word saying conveys a doctrine, a declaration that is being stated here. The doctrine, the declaration that Jesus Christ came to save sinners is certain, it's worthy to be embraced. Why? All mankind are sinners, and therefore they need a Savior. Therefore, this doctrine is the doctrine that shows us the way, the only way of salvation. Christ died for all kinds of men, women, and children. He's no respecter of persons. And as such, if Jesus only died for the righteous, or only died for good people, this saying wouldn't be worthy. God ordained complete pardon from sin and restoration of the soul to God through Jesus Christ alone. And so, beloved, this is the truth that we are to meditate on. This is the truth that we're to think on when the attacks of the devil come our way, when we're inclined in pride to esteem ourselves above others. This is the truth that stirs us up to live our lives as those who are humble, those who are lowly, Those who have experienced mercy and those who know then the calling to be merciful to those whom God puts on our pathway. We would expect those who teach that their salvation is dependent on themselves to be proud. They teach the fact that their salvation is because of their works or what they've accomplished. We'd expect those individuals to be extremely proud. Look at what I've done. Look at how I saved myself. Beloved, those who know their salvation is nothing of themselves, all of grace, have no place for pride. And this is the spirit then with which we witness to the wonder of salvation. Knowing the blackness of my sin, my unworthiness, knowing that my sins are far greater than anything that I ever committed against anyone else, my brother, my sister, My sibling, I esteem them more highly than myself. And I don't need to tell them that. My words and my actions are going to be melded together. It's going to be evident from my walk, from my conduct, by my demeanor. I'm in awe of the fact that others are willing to talk to me. I don't carry myself in such a way that I get offended when someone isn't willing to invite me over, or others aren't being as friendly to me as I would think they ought. I count it a privilege that others allow me in their presence. Who am I that I would be entitled to anything? Who am I that I would expect anything? Rather than thinking that others should be reaching out to me, I'm thankful that they've not cast me out. I'm humble in my walk before God. God doesn't owe me anything. I owe Him everything. We can understand then, beloved, in that context the admonition of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 2. Who is Paul speaking of there? Christ. This is the mind that was in Jesus Christ. He walked that way. He was willing to come and give His life for those whom He loved. He was willing to esteem you and me above Himself in order that He might accomplish our salvation. And by His grace, we live out of that wonder and we show forth praise and thankfulness to Him. The purpose of this salvation set forth here in verse 17. Now unto the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. Why is it that you're here? Why is it that I'm here? You were created to glorify God. This life is not about you. It's not about me. It's not about what I want, how I like the trajectory of my life to go. It's not about my desires that I would like to be married. I would like to have children. I would like to have a peaceful household or family. It's not about me. It's not about you. It's about God. It's about His glory. Jesus Christ came to accomplish this wonder of wonder so that the result would be this, every one of God's children praising and exalting God to all eternity. That's a truth that by God's grace the Apostle never lost sight of. standing in awe of the wonder of salvation. He never lost sight of the wonder that Jehovah God could and would save someone like himself. That God would give him the opportunities that God gave him. Why me? Why did God save me? Beloved, allow that question to stir in your mind. Meditate upon it. Allow it to sink in. Why me? I deserve hell. I deserve God's justice. And yet God gave me grace. I have what I don't deserve. And I'll never experience what I do deserve. Amen. Our Father who art in heaven, we thank Thee for the truth of salvation. We thank Thee for the glorious wonder of the purpose of Christ's coming to save sinners such as us and move us to wonder, to amazement, to thanksgiving, to dedication as we live our life for our great and glorious God. Thanking Thee for what great things Thou hast done for us in Jesus Christ. May our conduct and our demeanor reflect those who are self-conscious sinners. Looking to Jesus Christ for our all. Amen.