Grace & Mercy In Abundance

Transcript

GR1754
02/09/2014
Grace and Mercy in Abundance
I Timothy 1:12-17
Gil Rugh

1 Timothy chapter 1 in your Bibles, a letter written to a very dear to Paul’s heart and fellow associate in the ministry, Timothy. A man evidently converted under Paul’s ministry, joined with Paul in his travels on his missionary journeys and became a trusted servant of the Gospel in representing Paul in difficult situations when Paul couldn’t be there personally and that’s the situation in the context of the letter that Paul writes to Timothy. It’s written to Timothy but really it addresses the issues in the church at Ephesus, that well known church in the New Testament has the letter to the Ephesians written to it. Christ addressed a letter to it in Revelation chapter 2 so in many ways a great church but a church under siege from within.

You know the heresies and corruptions of the truth that creep into the church usually do so under the guise of helping, of being a positive influence. In other words they don’t come in and say we are denying the truth of the Gospel. They come in, we are helping to clarify the Gospel. We are helping to be more effective in the ministry that God has given to us with His Word in reaching a lost world, those kinds of things.

In Paul’s day the trouble that continually plagued the churches he started came from Jews who had professed to have come to trust Christ but said that trusting Christ alone was not enough. You also had to keep the law. That’s what is going on at Ephesus, a misunderstanding of the place of the law in the plan of God. It can become confusing. It is still confusing today.

I was looking for a chapter this afternoon in light of our study written by a man who is critical of dispensationalism, the position that we take. He has a whole chapter accusing us of being anti-nomian. Anti-nomian means lawless. Nomos is the Greek word for law, anti-law and that means we are without law. We have no governing rules. Well that is not true. We believe we are not under the Mosaic Law but he is vehement that we are lawless, that we are anti-nomian.

A little review from last week on the Mosaic Law. Put up (on the overhead) the principles that we covered. We just ran through six principles looking more broadly at the Mosaic Law. At least put it in perspective. The first one was, it was given to Israel and that’s a foundational point. The law never was given to Gentiles. It was never given to the nations and we looked at passages. It was given to govern the life and conduct of the nation of Israel in all aspects. So it’s only for the nation Israel. Right away we have something wrong. We have people telling us that we should be living under the Mosaic Law. The church at Ephesus, a Gentile church, you have these Jewish teachers coming in and saying, “You know, you need to keep the law.” Well why? The law never was given to Gentiles. It was specifically for Israel and the Scripture was clear on that as we saw.

Secondly, it was not a means of salvation. God never gave the law as a way of salvation. Jews never were saved by keeping the law. We looked at passages like “By the works of the law no flesh will be declared righteous in His sight,” no one. Never was a Jew saved, not one because he kept the Mosaic Law. The law was not given to be a means of salvation.

Thirdly, it was not a means of sanctification. It wasn’t that well, you were saved by faith, now you grow in your salvation by keeping the law. It never was a means of sanctification. That wasn’t the intention.

Fourth, possibly Paul touched on that in I Timothy in the passage we looked at in our previous study, verse 9: “Realizing the law is not made for a righteous person but for those who are lawless, rebellious, ungodly, sinners, unholy, profane, those who hit their fathers or mothers (rather than kill) for murderers, immoral, homosexual, kidnappers, liars.” You can tell it did reveal sin by effect turning a brighter light on as God’s specifically pointed out sin. It is revealed; sin and the magnitude of sin. It acted as a restraint for sin.

I mean just like we have laws for our country that helps to restrain unlawful conduct so that’s what happened for Israel. God gave laws that restrained. There was punishment for certain conduct including capital punishment so it did serve to restrain sin as Israel functioned as a nation.

And the last point, we want to keep in mind there is nothing wrong with the law. It is good. Verse 8 of I Timothy 1 says: “We know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully.” In other words the law had to be used as God intended. And these first five principles would tell us something about the proper use of the law as God intended when He gave it. Paul is not telling the believers in the church as Ephesus that you ought to be obeying the Mosaic Law you just ought to be doing it properly. No, the whole point is the law was not intended for you. It is not a way of salvation. It never was. It is not a way of sanctification. It never was and this issue kept coming for Paul in the churches. It is an issue in the church at Rome. It’s an issue in the church of the Galatians and that region. It just keeps coming up. The way that the devil comes in and corrupts and partly its effectiveness is it is using the Word of God but it is using it improperly. You might think, well they use the Bible. Well if they use it improperly remember the devil was a greater quoter of Scripture when he tempted Christ to sin. But it wasn’t a proper use. So we want to be careful. The church is to be the pillar and support of the truth and that means we must accurately handle the truth as he will challenge Timothy to be diligent to handle correctly the Scripture so that he might be approved by God.

So Paul is setting the record straight and as he has commanded Timothy in verse 3, Timothy is to “command certain men not to teach strange doctrines” and some of the strange doctrines were the improper use of the law and using the law and understanding what God intended when he gave the law is in verse 11, “According to the glorious Gospel of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.” So, yes, proper understanding of the law. There are things we learn from the law; just like we have been learning from the life of Old Testament individuals. We studied the life of Abraham today. That doesn’t mean we should pattern our life after the life of Abraham and the details. For example we should leave our home land and move someplace else for a while, then someplace else. Those details aren’t what we learn to trust God and obey His Word from Abraham. We learn from the law “All Scripture is God breathed and profitable” even though we don’t under the law we learn something of the character of God and so on from the law that He gave.

So Paul says, use the law properly. There are things to learn from the law and this is according to the glorious Gospel, the Gospel, the Mosaic Law and the Gospel are not the same thing. The proclamation of the Mosaic Law is not a required preliminary for giving the Gospel as many teach today. You first preach the law and that convicts of sin and then you give them the Gospel. Again, that’s not the correct use of the law. But when you understand the law properly there is no conflict with the glorious Gospel of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.

And that transitions Paul to talk about God entrusting him with the Gospel and he wants to share a brief summary testimony of his own salvation. He was one who as a Jew lived under the law and tried his best to keep the law. That part of his testimony was written to the Philippians in Philippians chapter 3 and to the best of his ability he lived blameless as a Jew trying his best to do everything that the law required but that did not save him but the glorious Gospel of the blessed God did and now he’s been entrusted with that Gospel to share and he wants the church at Ephesus to maintain its purity.

So he picks up in verse 12 by saying: “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who strengthened me because He considered me faithful; putting me into service.” There is a play on the word here that we might miss in our translation. When we had the end of verse 11: “The Gospel with which I have been entrusted,” the same basic word is translated “faithful” in verse 12; “Because He considered me trustworthy.” I’ve been entrusted with the Gospel because He considered me trustworthy is the play here. His thanks is to Christ Jesus our Lord for what He has done. He has strengthened me, empowered me; enabled me. All that Paul will say here gives credit and honor to Christ in the work of God in the salvation that he has entered into and that he is sharing as he gives the Gospel to others. He has strengthened me, he has enabled me.

In 2 Corinthians chapter 3, why don’t you turn back there. I was going to read it to you but I’ll have you look at it. 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 5: “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves but our adequacy is from God who has made us adequate as servants of a new covenant; not of a letter (referring to the Mosaic Law inscribed on letters in stone) but of the Spirit for the letter kills but the Spirit gives life.” The contrast here being between the Mosaic Law and the work of the Spirit in the Gospel of Christ. All the law could do was condemn because sinners couldn’t keep it. So Paul gives credit here. His adequacy comes from the Lord. He’s the One who enabled him.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 10 Paul said: “By the grace of God, I am what I am,” in his service as an apostle. All the credit goes to God. It’s not because well I was a supremely trained and gifted man that could be of great use to God. Paul says, “no, it was all of grace and my adequacy to be sharing this message comes from God. He is the One who has strengthened me, empowered me,” back in 1 Timothy chapter 1, verse 12 which is true for all of us in our service for Christ that the gifts that God bestows on us when the Spirit comes to indwell us are gifts of grace and that’s the charismatic gifts. Charis being the word, grace. They are grace gifts.


Your ability to serve as a vital member of the body of Christ is a testimony to God’s grace. You’re adequate for that ministry, not because of anything in and of yourself but because of the grace of God who has made you adequate. That is true for every single one of us.

Back in I Timothy chapter 1: “I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has strengthened me, enabled me, empowered me because He considered me faithful; putting me into service.” Because, or since He considered me faithful God selected him who would be a man who would be trustworthy with the Gospel. We noted that word faithful, entrusted with the Gospel because He found me trustworthy. Not that He looked and said, “Well there’s Paul, he’s a trustworthy man. I will pick him.” But He picked him because so that he would be one who would serve Him and would serve Him faithfully. “He considered me trustworthy,” putting me into service.

Come back to 1 Corinthians again. I should have told you to stay there but the practice is good. It’s easy to get to; 1 Corinthians chapter 7. Paul repeats so much of what he writes in his different letter. Each letter being different but you find strains that run through them. In 1 Corinthians chapter 7, verse 25 he is writing here about marriage and single life: “Concerning virgins I have no command of the Lord, but I give an opinion as one who by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy.” This is so key, trustworthy.

Back up to 1 Corinthians chapter 4. Paul talks about his ministry entrusted with the Gospel. Verse 1: “Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy,” faithful to the task that God has given them. Paul was delegated a responsibility in the household of God. How important it was that he be faithful in carrying out that responsibility. Number one requirement – you must be trustworthy and that’s why Paul said, “It is a very small thing that I should be examined by you.” We know the Corinthians were very critical of Paul. It doesn’t matter what you say about me or any human court. In fact I can’t honestly examine myself. I mean that would be pride and arrogance. I am so glad I have been faithful. No, Paul wants to say, “To the best of my knowledge, I have been faithful,” but the ultimate evaluation comes not even from Paul himself. It will come from God. “Therefore, do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts;” and then we’ll receive the only praise that counts, the praise from God. So that responsibility to be trustworthy and Paul was placed in a position since God considered him one who would be faithful. It was a great responsibility. Paul knew he had been entrusted with the truth of God but could he have any idea that 2000 years later believers all over the world would be studying what he wrote in his letters? Learning from what God revealed to him and how God used him. You know, here he’s going; struggling, going to churches, being mistreated, battling false doctrine, having false accusations. Here we are, 2000 years later. Aren’t we glad he was trustworthy, faithful?

Paul was a unique man but it was the power of God that made him what he was and in that sense we each have been entrusted by God with the gifts to enable His body to function, His household to function. How important it is when He comes to evaluate us and our service we have been found trustworthy, faithful with what He gave to us.

He put me into service; back to Timothy. “He put me into service.” It doesn’t say here, He made me an apostle because Paul’s point is not to elevate himself here but he’s humbled. “He put me into service that I might serve Him.” The point is not to declare his apostleship although there’s you know a problem with that. He began the letter, “Paul, an apostle,” but he talks about how he came into this. His ministry as an apostle is a realm of serving. He doesn’t lose sight. He’s not that he lets it go to his head, so to speak, but “He put me into service. I am his servant, carrying out His will.”

And now the amazing thing, “Even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor.” Indeed I was. A terrible man, a violent opponent to Christ and His truth and His people. We know something of the situation of Paul from the book of Acts. He was there giving hearty approval when Stephen was stoned to death after giving such a strong and powerful testimony of God’s work in chapter 7. “Those who stoned Stephen laid their garments at the feet of Paul” who was giving his approval. That he was guilty of imprisoning believers and persecuting them and so on. That’s what Paul is amazed about. I was formerly a blasphemer. I spoke against the truth, against Christ. I was a persecutor, a violent aggressor yet I was shown mercy. That becomes key, mercy and grace, undeserved. When he says “He considered me faithful, trustworthy” and He put me into service, nothing in me merited that. I was just the opposite.

I have often thought about, I wonder what the people thought. You know, here’s someone, Stephen’s family had been murdered, people who have had their families torn apart under the leadership of Paul in persecuting and now he gets saved he is on his way to heaven. I was hoping he would get the worst of hell and suffer for what he did. No, it is a testimony of the grace of God. I am sure the believers in those years and times of Paul’s persecution weren’t thinking of Paul as much of a candidate for salvation but indeed God’s plan was different so “I was shown mercy.” I mean, what would one who was a blasphemer, persecutor, violent aggressor what does he deserve? You can’t deserve mercy. I mean mercy is something by definition undeserved. We hear things like that today. Well he deserves mercy. I mean you can’t deserve mercy. None of us deserve mercy. Crucial here to what Paul is saying. He’s clear what he was. He’s not bragging, not giving one of those testimonies to parade their filth. It’s a way of almost self-a-grandisament. Paul says, this is fact; I was and everybody knew it but I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief. That’s not an excuse but he wasn’t defiantly opposing God when he knowing what he was doing. He was in ignorance, arrogant ignorance. He didn’t know the truth. God showed him mercy.

These Jewish teachers would understand this from the book of numbers where the sin with the high hand could not be atoned for. No sacrifice for that where you knew what was right. You knew the truth and yet you defiantly rejected it and acted against God. Here “I acted ignorantly in unbelief and the grace of our Lord was more abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.”

You know, we read in Corinthians “by the grace of God I am what I am,” Paul said. He can’t give his testimony, two words: mercy, grace, mercy, grace. How do you explain Paul’s salvation? This blasphemer, persecutor, violent aggressor and he’s going to be entrusted with some of the greatest revelation God has given to us. Look at our New Testament, the letter to the Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, who would have thought, how do explain it? Well there was a seed of good in Paul like in all of us. No. Paul said that’s not the answer. It’s mercy. Its verse 14: “The grace of our Lord was more than abundant,” overflowing; the word abundant with the preposition on the front; its super overflowing.

You know we have this song we sing, “Grace greater than our sin.” That’s what it is. As great as our sin is there is a greater grace. That’s what Paul says. “The grace of our Lord was more than abundant.”

John Bunyan, the puritan we would refer to him, wrote his autobiography what – from using this word “grace abounding to the chief of sinners.” That’s how he saw himself, what we are. “The grace of our Lord was more than abundant.” Romans 5:20 says “Where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more.” As great as our sin is, God’s grace is greater and provides a salvation for Paul and for us. “The grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.” He went from being the blasphemer, persecutor and violent aggressor to one who had his faith in the One he had blasphemed and now we love Christ because He first loved us. That’s Paul’s testimony.

What a turn-around, what a new life. I mean what an example that Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away. New things have come.” What a turn-around. What a change with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. And the summary statement which is so familiar to us, it is a trustworthy statement. This is the first of the five of these kinds of statement labeled this way in the pastoral epistles – it is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation as we may have memorized it from the King James. It is a trustworthy statement.

Trustworthy, trustworthy, here we are, a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance, worthy to be accepted by all that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. That is the foundational statement. It is the heart of the Gospel. Christ Himself said He did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many. “Unto you this day, in the city of David is born a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. That is crucial.

You know we have many variations creeping into the church that have altered the Gospel without directly denying it. And unless we are declaring to the world that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners we are not presenting the Gospel.
A page out of a book talking about current practices in churches and I won’t tell you the denomination of this church. You would recognize it. It is in a different state. They interviewed the pastor and he says he uses the back door to introduce his congregation to the doctrines of absolute truth and divine judgment. We make the assumption and this is the quote from him, “that you can’t go through the front door. In our culture absolute truth is considered a pooh-pooh.” That’s not very theological. Sometimes you think I say incorrect things. “It’s a priory decision that seekers have made. I will talk about that issue but I can guarantee you when I talk about Christianity versus other world religions I will raise more ire than I will with most of my other messages.” So we don’t talk about it. People don’t want to hear about judgment, condemnation. There is only one way. This man summarizes what he has found. “Some of these churches introduce seekers to the Christian message by presenting the exclusivist theology of evangelicalism. In the friendly guise of egalitarian fulfillment enhancing, fun religious encounter with God. As a result, seeker church pastors make orthodox theology less offensive and more civil for a pluralistic society. Seeker church proponents do not abandon the Gospel truth but repackage it in a kinder, gentler format. They maintain the evangelical emphasis on the importance of faith in Jesus Christ but subtlety transform the reasons why one should pursue such faith rather than warning the unrepentant about the damnation awaiting their eternal soul they proclaim the riches of knowing Jesus now and on into eternity. The promise of this worldly peace and fulfillment supplements, perhaps even supersedes the eternal consequences of ones’ personal response to Christ.” As one pastor in Georgia put it – we are not at all hesitant to say that what you really need to live life to the fullest is a relationship with Jesus Christ. We don’t back off of that at all. Even in our Sunday morning service. Not backing off at all now means these churches will not hesitate to proclaim that without Jesus Christ life if not fulfilling. And you know there is an element of truth in that. Heresy is a corruption of the truth. I mean we as believers sing of the joy we have in Christ. The Spirit of God does produce love, joy, peace and so on in our lives. That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, Christ died on the cross not to give you a fulfilled life and make life happier for you. He died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sin so you would not be condemned to an eternal hell. We begin to put the Gospel in a context that is consumer friendly. You know it is like a toothpaste advertisement. This will whiten your teeth and people will like you better and you will be more confident and you will have more friends and life will be more fulfilling. And how many things you watch the advertisement on TV and this is the way it comes across and now we have a Gospel that is fulfilling and Christ died on the cross so you could have a full, satisfying life. What did Christ say? If you don’t take up your cross and follow Me you cannot be my disciple. To be My disciple you have to lose your life. It goes on.

Paul wants to give his testimony. He was what, overwhelmed, verse 13, with his sin. Come back to Romans, Romans chapter 1. Here we have the unfolding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its detail as you are familiar and where does Paul begin? He begins with talking about the most unpopular subject. I don’t know what makes people think that people just love to hear this in New Testament times but we live in a different day, in a different culture and that’s just not acceptable. It never was popular. Jesus Christ was not popular when He told the religious leaders of the day, “Woe to you, you are like white-washed tombs. On the outside you look good. On the inside you are filled with dead men’s bones.” How does he begin, verse 18. Where do we start with the Gospel, the wrath of God. Oh, I don’t like to talk about the wrath of God. I want to talk about the God who is love and the God who understands and…there is truth in that but where is the Gospel? We are under the wrath of God apart from Jesus Christ and that’s serious because the ultimate end to the wrath of God is an eternal hell which burns with fire and brimstone forever and ever. “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men; who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” They don’t want to hear it so therefore our churches aren’t teaching it.

We have you know, it’s a consumer friendly Gospel because people might not come if we are going to tell them they are sinners on their way to hell but we want to tell them, you know place your faith in Christ and you will have a fulfilled life as though we can trick them in. Place your faith in Christ and it may cost you everything you have. Your life will no longer be your own. You are called to take up a cross and suffer rebuke and rejection, hatred by friend and family. Well that’s not what I had in mind.

So we take what is true but we distort it and so people say oh yes, I am trusting Christ and I want that fulfilled life. Wait a minute. You understand you are a sinner. You are guilty. You are on your way to hell. Well I don’t know that I am that bad.

Well what do we do? We go through Romans 1 in which we won’t take the time to do but you have all kinds of sins, sexual sins and everything else. They have a depraved mind. Verse 29: “Filled with all unrighteousness.” They are haters of God, everything. Verse 32: “Although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval.” We see that going on nation-wide, giving hearty approval to vile sinful practices. Well that’s why God says is the case. What do people need to hear? Oh you can have a fulfilled life if you will trust Christ. Where the Gospel starts out, you are under the wrath of God, condemned to an eternal hell. You are without hope in the world. If you die in your state you will go to hell for ever and ever and ever. That’s how serious your sin is.

Now the amazing thing is, as wretched as you are and as wretched as I am, it is true God is a God of love and the demonstration of His love – He had His Son die for us and He is willing to offer you mercy and grace on His terms. That’s the Gospel. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the cross that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. And somehow we are presenting this in our Bible believing churches, a more friendly, more inviting Gospel. Of course it is. It’s just not the true Gospel and we leave people with a false hope of salvation in so much of this so they can talk the language about having trusted Christ and never have understood the truth of the Gospel.

Can you really trust Christ for salvation if you have never understood your sin and guilt before God? What are you trusting Him for; a better life, a new house? It easily slides to the health and wealth Gospel that we make fun of. What are we offering in our Bible believing churches, our own version of the health and wealth Gospel, toned down and not so blatant. We just tell you that you will have a better life, a more fulfilled life, a happier life. You may not.

Paul’s life went downhill humanly speaking. Before he trusted Christ he had position, he had stature, he was respected, and he was honored by the world. And read his testimony in 2 Corinthians chapter 11 how many times he was beaten and imprisoned and all of that and in his last letter he is waiting to be beheaded. That’s not what we are telling people when we say you will get a better life, you will get a more fulfilled life. We know as believers there is an element of truth in that because we count it all joy when we fall into various testings because we know God is working His purposes in those trials but that is a result of knowing something of His saving grace and the work of His Spirit in our lives and knowing the truth of His Word that we can rely on.

Come back to I Timothy. It should be a great concern what is going on in our evangelical, Bible believing churches. I am not saying there are no churches. By God’s grace there are many but there are many who have compromised the truth and compromised it in such a way that believers are sitting there very comfortable and at ease and we move very easily to be like the church at Laodicea. We are doing so well and we are just prospering. Pretty soon we are envying those churches and saying, “Wow, maybe they’ve got something there.” They do but it’s not what God has called us to be and what He wants from His servants.

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Paul is not done. Among whom I am foremost, I’m first. That doesn’t mean he was the most depraved person who ever lived necessarily. How would you measure that? There were some awful people but he was a very prominent sinner well known in Judaism; known for his opposition; known for his persecution of believers. There was even a reluctance among believers in Jerusalem, remember to open themselves up to Paul because they thought it was a trick. Barnabas had to take him under his wing. You think, no, I don’t think that would have happened to Saul of Tarsus, not the persecutor of the church. He probably is giving a false so he can infiltrate and thus spread the persecution and identify those that should be imprisoned and so on. He was a chief example of a sinner. How many were guilty of having Christians killed and imprisoned and so on? Yet for this reason I found mercy. I mean no one deserves salvation and how amazing it is that God would choose to put mercy on one who is such, if you will, a well-known sinner, an opposition to the Gospel. I found mercy, why? Paul says he was the foremost of sinners. Why didn’t God begin here with some who weren’t so bad? Well, that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. I mean what else can you say? I don’t think God could save him. I don’t think God could save me. You don’t know what I have done. No, I don’t know what you’ve done but I know someone who is every bit as bad or worse than you and you know what? God saved him because you have to be saved by mercy and God’s mercy, God’s grace is super over-flowing. His grace is greater than our sin and Paul says that’s why God was merciful to me. Not because I deserved it because he wanted to set an example for how great His mercy is. It’s not well He does save sinners as long as they don’t cross the line and become too great a sinner as though the death of Christ could pay for sins up to a certain level but serious sins, the big sins, you’re unsaveable. No, Paul says I am the example. That’s why I found mercy.

You see, there is no boasting here about himself. He sees himself as the least deserving. So mercy to me, the least deserving, is an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. There is hope for you. The persecutor of the church, the blasphemer, the violent aggressor, he was saved. God’s mercy could save him. He could save you, He can save me. It is that great. It’s a grace; it’s a mercy greater than our sin.

Jesus said in Luke 5: “It is not those who are well that need a physician but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” You see that? The people who will not see themselves as sinners cannot be saved. It’s not that God’s salvation is not great enough but they are not willing to come to the beginning point. And when we offer people a salvation apart from the issue of sin we have not offered them God’s salvation. What are they being saved from, not having everything in life that they want, not having the fulfilled life that they want? No. Christ didn’t come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance but we don’t want to tell them they are sinners. That is not considered acceptable in our culture today. It’s wasn’t acceptable in Jesus’ day. The Jews were terribly offended by the fact that Christ called them sinners. Nothing has changed. Sadly the church that is to be the pillar and support of the truth though is changing.

God’s mercy is so great it could save the foremost of sinners; the chief of sinners, the one so well known as a sinner. That’s why Bunyan could say grace abounding to the chief of sinners. His attitude wasn’t, I’m glad I’m not as bad a sinner as Paul was. At heart I am a vile, undeserving sinner. Grace abounded to me. There is no one here who is saved who didn’t come to understand I am an undeserving sinner but Christ died to pay the penalty for sin for people like me and I am going to claim His grace and place my faith in Him. Anybody who has truly trusted Christ as their Savior ends up thinking, will never think that I was that bad of a person. I may not have committed the same sins that some people did but my heart was deceitful and desperately wicked above all things because God says so.

So Paul, as he gives his testimony, has to conclude with what we would call a doxology, giving glory to God; “Now to the King, eternal, immortal, invisible; the only God to be honor and glory forever and ever, amen.” It’s like, the shame of it, Israel declared from Deuteronomy 6: “Hear oh Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. There is only one God.” “To the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God. The One who is sovereign over all. The One who is eternally God, immortal, incorruptible, unchanging, invisible. We believe not because we have seen Him but because He has declared His presence. He’s the only God. He’s the One who is to receive all honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Now he’s going to pick up in verse 18: “This command I entrust to you, Timothy.” Back to what Timothy has to do. You see the importance of it. Paul has inserted his testimony briefly here. Understand the importance of maintaining the clarity of the Gospel. That’s how God saves sinners. That’s how he saved me and now this false teaching coming in and trying to bring the law in. You are corrupting the gospel which is God’s way of salvation.

You understand Satan is a very religious being when he tempted Christ in Matthew what did he say to Christ? “I will give you all the kingdoms of the world on one condition. You fall down and worship me.” Satan is happy to go to church but he is intolerant of the truth and the church is the pillar and support of the truth.

So you have this relentless activity of the devil to try to weaken the churches. Stand for the truth, faithfulness to the truth and not looking for ways to work around the truth. Well we believe the same thing that you believe. We just present it a different way. We don’t think you have to confront people and hit them in the face with the fact of their sin. We can be gentler, more understanding and over time they will get exposed to sin also and as though you will grow into salvation which is a new doctrine of salvation and so on that is becoming popular. I am not saying people are not exposed to the truth and sometimes over years before the light of the Gospel shines in their heart and they are saved but we never stop presenting Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners and we have a message of God’s mercy and grace. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I don’t want to soften that by minimizing the fact that someone is a sinner. I had to understand I was a sinner, a sinner. I was a young sinner but God’s grace was to bring salvation. That’s what we as a church have the privilege of declaring.

Let’s pray together. Thank you Lord for the testimony of Paul. Lord, a testimony given by Him of Your grace, of Your mercy. He was the recipient of that which he did not deserve, mercy and that which was unearned, grace. It was greater than his sin. Lord we give You honor as Paul did because Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. We are testimonies of that grace and for all eternity as Paul wrote to the Ephesians we will be trophies of Your grace, testimonies to the greatness of Your grace that brought salvation to undeserving sinners. Lord I pray You’ll bless us as we give this glorious message to those we come in contact with. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen