On The Savior and His Salvation

Adapted From A Sermon By

John Newton

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.

(1 Timothy 1:15 ESV)

The apostle Paul wrote a lot about every part of Christian teaching and living. He could honestly say that he did not hold back from sharing God’s whole plan. Yet two main topics stand out as his favorites. He returned to them often, explained them in great detail, and brought them up at every opportunity.

The first topic is to show the glory, power, and faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ. The second is to tell what great things God had done for his own soul.

We see how deeply his heart burned with the first topic in almost every chapter of his letters. When he talks about the mystery of godliness, "God manifested in the flesh," and the amazing grace and love that God has shown to a lost world through Jesus, ordinary words seem too weak for what he wants to say. He speaks with bold freedom and goes far beyond normal limits. Even the strongest words feel too small, so he creates new ones and piles powerful statements on top of each other. Yet after all his effort to describe it well, he often stops suddenly, as if he knows he has still not done justice to the subject.

This stands out clearly to those who read him in the original language. But even in translation, we cannot miss the incredible passion with which he pours out his whole soul when he speaks of his Lord and Savior. Anyone who can read the first chapters of his letters to the Ephesians, and Colossians, the second chapter of Philippians, or many other passages like them, and feel nothing must have a very cold heart.

And we also see how deeply his mind was touched by the mercy he received when God converted him and called him. This is just as clear. He uses every opportunity to highlight the goodness of God toward him, to emphasize and deeply regret the guilt and misery of his former life that he once trusted in, and to lament how little he was able to give back for such great blessings. He could say, without boasting, that he had "laboured more abundantly" than the most diligent and zealous of his fellow servants.

A deep and constant awareness of these two truths filled the apostle’s mind. This awareness has led to many sudden and lively digressions throughout his writings. The context of our text this morning is one of those moments.

After he mentions the gospel in the eleventh verse, he is suddenly struck by the memory of his own misery before he knew the gospel, and by the wonderful goodness of God. God gave him the knowledge of salvation and honored him — a former blasphemer — with the task of proclaiming the same good news to others.

This thought stops his argument and fills his heart and mouth with praise. After he acknowledges that "the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant" toward himself, he adds the words of the text as encouragement for others. He assures us that his case was not unique. Many people can share with him in the same hope of mercy.

The words break down easily into two parts.

I. First, a short but complete statement that contains the heart of the whole gospel: "That Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners."

II. Second, a strong commendation of this teaching in two ways: as "trustworthy," and as "deserving of full acceptance." He illustrates both of these points with his own example when he adds, "of whom I am the foremost."

I. The apostle knew very well that the gospel would receive very different responses in the world. He knew that many guilty people, trembling under a deep sense of their sin and unworthiness, would find it hard to believe that sinners like them could be saved at all. To these people he presents the gospel as "trustworthy." It rests on the unchanging plan, promise, and oath of God "that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners" — sinners in general, even the foremost of sinners, just as he describes himself.

He also knew that many others, because of a wrong opinion of their own goodness or because they depended on something they had chosen for themselves, would be tempted to undervalue this faithful saying. For their sake he adds that it is "deserving of full acceptance." No one is so bad that the gospel cannot give them a solid ground of hope. And no one is so good that they have any real ground of hope without it.

There was a time when the apostle Paul could have presented an impressive record about himself. He could say, "circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless," Phil. iii. But since then he has learned "to count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus," and he is now content to call himself the foremost of sinners.

Having considered the design and meaning of these words. Let us now unfold the main statement more fully and point out some of the important and far-reaching truths it contains; some of them, because it is not possible for men or angels to fully understand the depth of this one sentence, "that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." Later we will focus on the other part of the text, that "the saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance." And may He who came into the world to obtain salvation for sinners, and who is now exalted on high to give it, accompany everything we hear this morning with his promised blessing.

The main statement naturally leads us to three important questions.

1. First, who is this person called Jesus Christ?

2. Second, what does the salvation he came to provide really mean?

3. Third, how did he accomplish it?

I. Let us begin by speaking of this gracious and wonderful person, Jesus Christ. We already carry his name as Christians. We call him our Master and our Lord, and that is right as far as it goes. But as he himself has warned us, many will call him Lord on the great day to whom he will say, "I never knew you; depart from me." In the same way, we should fear that many people today outwardly acknowledge him yet do not really know who he is or where he came from.

We have Moses and the prophets, the apostles and evangelists always with us. The whole purpose of their writings — in every history, promise, prophecy, type, ceremony, and law — is to set Jesus before our eyes. The scriptures even take images from the created world to show his greatness. Yet ignorance of Jesus Christ and what he has done for his people remains the main reason why religion seems so low and worthless to some, and why it feels so tiresome and heavy to others.

Let us therefore pay close attention to the record God has given of his Son. In this part, let us consider the clear, powerful, and trustworthy testimony of holy scripture.

i. And here we learn first that Jesus Christ is God. The first words of the apostle John’s Gospel make this completely clear: "In the beginning" (that is, at the commencement of time and things, when as yet nothing else existed) "was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

To prevent any chance of mistake and to confirm the eternity of this divine Word in the strongest way, it is added right away, "He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him." And so that this also would not be questioned or misunderstood, it is protected by a clear statement that covers everything: "without him was not any thing made that was made."

Further, to stop any idea that in these great works the eternal Word acted only with power given to him by someone else, the apostle adds, "In him was life," life in its very essence. And from him, as the source, life and light came to his creatures: "In him was life, and the life was the light of men."

This matches what the apostle Paul says: "For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him;" by his power and wisdom, and for his glory and pleasure. "And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together."

Elsewhere Paul speaks of him directly as "God over all, blessed forever; who upholds the universe by the word of his power; the same yesterday and today and forever."

It would be easy to add more examples, but we will stop at this clear evidence of the divinity of Christ: The scriptures, which were given to make us wise to salvation, give to him the names of God, especially Jehovah. They give him the essential attributes of God, such as eternity, omnipresence, and omnipotence. They describe him doing the special works of God, such as creation, providence, redemption, and forgiveness of sin. And finally, they command us to give him those divine honors and to rely on him with that complete dependence, which would be idolatry if we directed it to anyone below the Supreme Majesty of heaven and earth.

ii. Again, we learn from scripture that Christ is truly and properly Man. This is truly amazing. That is why it is called the great "mystery of godliness," 1 Tim. iii.

But that he of whom we have begun to speak is the very person who came into the world to save sinners, we have clear proof. The apostle John, whose words we have already heard, says a few verses later, (John i. 14,) "And the Word" (that glorious Word, which was God with God) "became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory;" (that is, we his disciples, whose eyes were spiritually enlightened, for the world in general saw nothing of it;) "a glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

In other places it is said, "He took our illnesses and bore our diseases," (Matthew viii. 17,) and "in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin," Heb. iv. 15. "Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things," Heb. ii. 14. "when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman," Gal. iv.

Many are the mistakes people make, and wide are the extremes into which mistaken people run. Some have quickly chosen to deny our Lord's divinity. Some have tried in strange and unrealistic ways to explain away his humanity. But may we, through grace, hold firmly to the clear truth in scripture and stay right in the middle of the path of good judgment.

iii. From this union of the divine and human nature in one person, the scriptures speak of him thirdly as a Mediator, the "one mediator between God and man." The names Jesus Christ point us to this truth in their original meaning. The first name, which means Saviour, shows the success and power of what he came to do. The second name, which is the same as Messiah or the Anointed, shows both his divine appointment to this work and the complete supply of all grace and power he received to carry it out. That is what we need to know about the person we are speaking of.

II. We move next to consider the purpose of his coming into the world, "to save sinners."

Since the idea of rescue assumes a situation of real trouble, we must first look at the condition of those he came to save. That condition is clearly shown in the word used for them: sinners.

Man broke the law under which he was created, the law that was tied directly to his happiness. As a result, he fell into complete ruin. The image of God in which he had been made was ruined, and a very different image took its place in his heart, the image of the one who had led him away from his loyalty to God. His mind was filled with darkness. His will was full of rebellion. His desires became selfish and sensual. The justice of God stood against him with a penalty he could neither pay nor bear. The commands of God still called for obedience, but he no longer had the power to give it. Even the good gifts and blessings from God that surrounded him, gifts meant for his comfort and to guide him step by step back to the generous Giver, became the very things that pulled him farther from his duty and made his lack of thankfulness even worse.

This is how man stood before his Maker.

When it came to his fellow human beings, selfish love and wrong desires created many conflicting interests in everyone. Peace left the earth. Every person turned against his neighbor. Violence, anger, envy, and disorder spread across the world. He could not even find rest within himself. Restless desires drove him toward things that never satisfied or that he could never reach. He was chased by worries, tortured by pain, worn out by conflict, and crushed by disappointment. His conscience, like the hand that wrote on the wall at Belshazzar’s feast, (Daniel v.) wrote hard things against him whenever outward conditions gave him a brief moment of quiet. And empty pursuits, like a worm at the root, destroyed every hope of real success.

Here is a clear picture of fallen man. Miserable in his daily life, even more miserable because he constantly feared losing that life, and most miserable of all because he could not imagine, and his fear could not even grasp, what would happen after the death he dreaded. That death would bring him straight into the presence and the judgment of an angry, all-powerful, ever-living God.

Such was the condition from which Jesus Christ came to save us. He came to bring us back into the favor of God. He came to reconcile us to ourselves and to each other. He came to give us peace and joy in life, hope and victory in death, and after death, glory, honor, and everlasting life.

For he came not merely to repair and restore what was broken, but to lift us far higher. He came not only "that we might have life," the life we had forfeited, but "that we might have it more abundantly;" (John x.) so that our happiness would be greater, our standing more secure, and our enjoyment of it more certain than anything Adam enjoyed in paradise or than his children could ever have reached if he had remained without sin under the terms of the first covenant.

Now, suppose it were possible that completely innocent beings, who had done nothing wrong, had fallen into a state of misery. We would have to admit that it would be great grace and kindness in the Lord Jesus to save them.

But let us not forget the strong emphasis the text places on the word sinners. He came to save, not the unfortunate, but the ungodly, Rom. v. How then should every heart burn with love for him who has loved us in this way! Anyone who can listen to this or talk about it with indifference or disgust, must be a complete stranger to the true nature and the deep need of the salvation God has graciously given to his people.

Let us stop claiming the words generosity, sensitivity, or gratitude if this amazing act of divine goodness leaves us cold and unmoved. This is especially true when we also consider the third point we move on to: by what means Jesus Christ accomplished this salvation for sinners.

III. In the passage before us, it simply says that he came into the world for this reason. This teaches us that this was the only purpose of his coming. Because he came with this clear goal, he would leave nothing undone that was necessary to complete it.

He emptied himself of the divine glory and honor he shared with the Father from eternity. He did this not with visible glory as a heavenly messenger to force people to pay attention and worship. Instead, "he was made of a woman;" (Gal. iv.) not from an important or noble family in the eyes of people, "but in the form of a servant." He was born in a stable, laid in a manger, raised in an ordinary and unimportant place, and known simply as the son of a carpenter.

"He was despised and rejected by men; he had no form or majesty," (Isa. liii.) that would draw widespread attention. On the contrary, "he came to his own, and his own received him not," John i. Further, because he was made of a woman, he was "made under the law." One led to the other. This was the way divine wisdom had planned, and what divine justice required, in order to make salvation possible for sinners. Eternal truth had declared tribulation, wrath, and anguish upon every soul of man that does evil. All people, in every age and place, had corrupted their ways before God. Yet his mercy had determined that where sin had increased, grace would increase even more, Rom. viii.

Jesus Christ was the great solution in whom mercy and truth came together, (Psal. lxxxv.) and the perfect righteousness of God was brought into agreement with peace for sinful man. So that justice could be satisfied, truth could be upheld, and sinners could be saved, God loved a lost world so much that, when no lesser means would work and no one in heaven or on earth was willing, worthy, or able to step in, "he gave his only Son," John iii.

Jesus Christ, the brightness of the Father's glory and the exact image of his person, loved the world so much that he took on our nature, took up our cause, carried our sins, and bore the punishment we deserved. After he had done and suffered everything the situation required, he has now gone ahead "to prepare a place" (John xiv.) for all who believe in him and obey him.

Man was unable to be happy in two ways. He could not keep the law of God in the future, and he could not make up for breaking it in the past. To solve the first problem, Jesus Christ lived a perfect life of complete obedience in our place. To solve the second, he became "the propitiation for our sins." He gave up his life into the hands of those who killed him and poured out his precious blood, in drops of sweat in the garden and in streams from his side on the cross.

For this he faced the strongest attacks from the devil, the scorn, anger, and hatred of men, and drank the bitter cup of the wrath of God when it pleased the Father to bruise him and make his soul an offering for sin. His love carried him through it all. When he had finally overcome the pain of death, he opened the kingdom of heaven to all who believe.

In simple words, he lived and died for us while he was on earth. He has not forgotten us in heaven, but lives and prays for us there. He continues to serve as prophet, priest, and king for his people. He teaches them through his word and Spirit. He presents their lives and prayers to God as acceptable through his own merits. He protects them by his power from all their enemies, whether spiritual or physical. And he directs all things by his providence so that everything works together for their good, until finally they are brought home to be with him where he is and to see his glory.

i) From what we have said, we can rightly conclude first of all that this is, as the apostle calls it, "a faithful saying." When man first fell, God, even in the middle of judgment, remembered mercy. Without being asked and without anyone wanting it, he declared that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head, Gen. iii. In every following age, he confirmed his plan through symbols, promises, prophecies, and solemn oaths.

At the right time, Christ, the one desired by all nations, came into the world. He fulfilled everything that had been foretold and invited every humble person who repents of their sins to come to him so they might have life, forgiveness, and peace. To doubt or deny his readiness to save is, as far as we can do it, to make the word of God useless. It is to accuse God in a foolish way, as though he were like the careless and unskilled builder in the gospel who started to build something that was never going to be finished.

If, after all that has been placed before us, it is still possible for any person who sincerely desires salvation and seeks it in God’s appointed way to miss it, then it must be because the Lord Jesus Christ either cannot save them or will not save them.

That he cannot is completely false. For "all power is his in heaven and in earth;" (Matt. xxviii.) And it is clearly stated "that he is able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by him;" (Heb. vii.)

That he will not is equally false. For he himself has said, "whoever comes to me I will never cast out," John vi.

ii) We may infer, secondly, that this teaching is not only faithful, but "worthy of all acceptation."

And here let us seriously consider: A truth that some misunderstand so badly and that most people ignore needs far more than a few words. It really calls for a whole series of messages. The most high and wise God considered the rescue of mankind so valuable "that he did not spare his only Son," Rom. viii. And yet are there any among us, living in a land filled with the light of the gospel and with freedom, where the words of wisdom reach our ears every day, who dare treat this message lightly? Are there any who will simply listen to it and then go back to their farms, their business, and their entertainments as if this unspeakable grace from God requires nothing in return?

Surely! "How shall we escape if we neglect this salvation?" Heb. ii. The person who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy. It was dangerous and destructive to refuse the one who spoke on earth. Take care how you play games with him who speaks from heaven! For those who neglect this salvation, "there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries," Heb. x.

Let none of us think we are safe simply because we were born and raised in a Christian family, because we have Bibles in our hands, and because we have many chances to come together for public worship. For thousands of people these very things, instead of helping them, will make their judgment much worse and sharpen the pain of the never-ending worm. It would be better for us to have lived in Tyre and Sidon, (Luke x.) yes, even in Sodom and Gomorrah, than to stand before God in judgment with no better defense than this.

Neither should we comfort ourselves by saying we are not as bad as others. Perhaps we live decent and respectable lives, we are useful in society, and we do many things that people usually call good works. If these works come from a real love for God, if they follow the rule of his word, and if they are done in faith in Christ Jesus our Lord, then they are truly good and will be rewarded before men and angels. But if not, then you have already received your reward in the approval of your own mind and the praise of your friends and neighbors.

The Christianity of the New Testament means far more than all this. It means to believe in Jesus Christ. It means to believe in him in such a way that we obey all his commands, trust him in every situation, and walk in his steps. It means copying the clear example of his love, gentleness, patience, self-denial, and active desire for the glory of God and the good of all people.

It means that because we know we cannot do these great things on our own, we depend every day on the promised help and guidance of his Holy Spirit. It means we seek this help through frequent and heartfelt prayer. It means we offer ourselves to God every day as living sacrifices. And finally, when we have done all, it means we deeply feel our unworthiness of even the smallest of his mercies. We confess that we are unprofitable servants and place all our hope on this faithful saying, "That Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners."

Thus, from thinking about who the Lord Jesus Christ is, the depth of our natural misery, and the amazing things he has done and suffered for our rescue, we can learn how completely secure the salvation he has provided really is. We can see the extreme danger of ignoring it. And we can recognize the foolishness and pride of trying to build a righteousness of our own apart from him. God has appointed him to be our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, 1 Cor. i.

In presenting these truths to you clearly and honestly, I trust I have fulfilled my own responsibility. Time is short. Life is uncertain. And for all we know this may be the last opportunity of this kind that we will ever receive.

May God help us to become wise while there is still time. Today, while it is still called today, may we hear his voice. Then we will understand more of this message than words alone can teach us. Then we will experience "a peace which surpasses all understanding;" (Phil. iv.) "a joy" which "no stranger shares;" (Prov. 14:10.) and a hope "full of glory" that will be completed when we fully possess those "pleasures which are at the right hand of God;" (Psal. xvi.) where sin and the sorrow that always goes with it will end forever.

There "neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore;" (Rev. xxi.) but every tear will be wiped from every eye.