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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/frank-sona/1-timothy-1-15/
1st Timothy chapter 1. I am just going to read one verse as well. Verse 15. This is a faithful saying, a faithful word, and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
It was 47 B .C. Julius Caesar with a group of about 10 ,000 Roman troops marched into Zella, what is now Turkey, and massively decimated, and a concise victory for the Roman Empire, 20 ,000 troops. He said this, I came, I saw, I conquered, and he wiped those men out.
1st Timothy 1 .15 tells us about someone far greater than Caesar, who came, he saw, and by his death on that cross, he is not interested in wiping out human beings, but he is able to save human beings.
He sees you tonight. He looks down upon this meeting, and he sees every single individual. I have trouble looking and scanning quickly, and maybe now and then focusing on an individual. Yes, preachers do that.
I can see a few of you. He not only sees you individually, but he knows the very thoughts, the very ideas, the very perspective of what you are thinking, even now, in relation to his son, and your sins.
This verse is written by a man who was absolutely intelligent. He was absolutely steeped in religion. He thought he had the right way. He found out on the Damascus road, in the book of Acts, that he was absolutely wrong.
And there was one, the God of the Old Testament, the God of the Bible, the sovereign God who made the stars and the skies, the God of eternity, found out that that God, the God that you have been hearing about, stepped into time, took upon himself humanity, went to a cross to pay the ultimate price for sin, not so that he could destroy, but so that he could save.
Let me ask you a question. Now, you have heard it already in this meeting. I am sure everyone here is familiar with the term. You are certainly familiar with it in relation to many experiences and events of life.
But are you saved spiritually, eternally, saved from your sins, saved from the penalty of your sin, saved because you have trusted the Savior, the Lord Jesus? When I look at this verse, it is clear. More and more, I can appreciate clear, simple gospel preaching.
And this is one of them. This is a faithful saying, worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. You know, we talk about John 3 .16, 25 words, and 12 about God, 12 about me, the one in the middle, the Son, John 3 .16.
But you know, this verse has 25 words too. And the center word of this verse is Jesus, the Son as well. God is pointing out to you, the Savior. What are you looking at tonight? What are you listening to?
What are you letting Satan and that darkened heart of yours turn you away from so that you are missing the one Savior that can deliver you from hell, save you for time and for eternity, the one who loves you like no one else could love you, the one who longs and wants to be your Savior even tonight.
I know I'm speaking to people tonight in this meeting, and there are some here and you are not saved. And because you are not saved, that means you are lost. You are a lost sinner. And the one thing that is separating you from God is your sins.
You know, people think that they're not going to heaven because they're not saved. And people will say, well, they're going to hell because they are not saved. The reason you are not going to heaven and the reason people go to hell is because of their sins, your sins.
Now listen to the verse, because it provides the ultimate solution and provision. It provides the ultimate truth, so clear. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. He can save you. He is able to save you.
This is a faithful saying, worthy of all acceptation. I want to give you just five simple points about this verse to leave you with before you go home tonight, if this meeting does continue the full hour.
Because you know, we do expect the Lord to come. We've been hearing about that today. I want you to think about the presentation of this verse, the presentation. It's a faithful saying, worthy of all acceptation.
You know, it's faithful on God's part. It's worthy on our part. Faithful on God's part because of the one who is presenting it. This is the Word of God. It's faithful because of its foundation. The very foundation of these words is from God himself, the God who cannot lie, the God of absolute truth, the God of absolute light, the one in whom is no darkness.
He is actually giving you, extending to you his infallible, eternal Word for you to trust. He's faithful. You know, that's one of the very names of the Lord Jesus himself. Faithful. One of the very descriptions of the Lord Jesus himself as well as worthy.
Worthy, worthy is the Lamb, the faithful and the worthy one. And he is actually in kindness and grace, giving you his Word. It's faithful because of its foundation. It's by God himself. It's faithful because of its flow, its flow.
This is not one isolated statement on one page of one large book. This is a verse that is linked with the very flow of promise from the beginning of our Bibles in time right to tonight and beyond. That this verse is the fulfillment.
It's linked with fulfillment. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. The promised seed, the predicted Messiah, the prophesied Lamb, the Savior of sinners. What a day it was on the shores of the Jordan when John the Baptist announced to his audience, behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.
That could never have been said before then. No prophet, no priest, no one, no angel could that ever have been said. But John turns, behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. And now the Apostle Paul picks up his pen and in a long flow of fulfilled scripture writes, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
My dear friend tonight, let me ask you, in love for your soul, why are you not saved? How much gospel preaching do you need? What more do you need? Here it is, faithful, worthy of all acceptation. God is handing it to you, right into your lap, right into your hands.
In fact, Paul writes the same writer in Romans, the word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, in thy heart. It's so close, the word of God. You could take it. It's faithful because of its foundation, because of its flow, because of its fulfillment.
It's faithful not only that but because of its force. Something about the word of God, it's different than any other book. It's a book that awakens the conscience. It's a book that speaks to the soul.
It's living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. There are people that say they want to be saved. They want to know, how can I know I will never perish? And they don't pick up this book.
And there are other people that know that they should pick up this book and they turn away from it because they don't want to be convicted. They don't want to be exposed for what they are. They don't want this book to be as clear as the mirror that it is, revealing the soul, the heart, the conscience, revealing their deeds.
If there's someone who wants to be saved in this meeting tonight, you come to this book because this is a faithful saying and it's worthy of all acceptation. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
It's faithful because of all those reasons. You know, in its presentation, it's worthy. And it's worthy, first of all, because of its audience. Leaves nobody out. Nobody left out. You know, that's one of the great things about preaching the gospel.
You know, there are messages, if you're a believer tonight, there are messages you can take and it doesn't fit everybody's needs. Some of you study particular subjects. Some of you are going into specific careers.
They are niches. They are grooves for certain things, certain people, certain career paths. But you know what? You can take this book in your hand and it doesn't matter where you go, who you meet, you can tell them this is a faithful saying and it's worthy of all acceptation.
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. It's worthy because of its audience. Leaves nobody out. It's worthy because of its accomplishment. You see, this verse, it isn't telling us about an attempt.
It's telling us about an accomplishment. There are people that will tell stories about attempts to save people. There were attempts to rescue people. There were attempts to solve this particular problem, to cure this particular disease.
We are still looking as people, labs, medical scientists, labor feverishly in attempt after attempt after attempt to cure cancer and different diseases. They are attempting. You know what this verse tells us?
The greatest disease of all was finally taken care of at Calvary's cross when the Lord Jesus accomplished a finished work of salvation. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And you know why else it's worthy?
It's not only worthy because of the audience. It leaves no one out and the accomplishment. It's worthy because of the assurance it gives. Do you want to know? Do you really want to know? Here's a faithful saying and it's worthy of all acceptation.
It will give you the assurance that you can know you're saved from your sins. It's the Word of God. That's the presentation of it. I don't want you to think of the person of it. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
Christ Jesus implies the truth of the Christ after the cross. The one who is now seated at the right hand of God. The one who has done all to the satisfaction of God. God gave him that tremendous mission.
The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. And he accomplished it magnificently. He accomplished it eternally. And he has now sat down on the right hand of God. He's coming again. Are you ready?
I tell you, it thrilled my soul to hear today about the coming of the Lord again. Well, this verse makes it abundantly clear. He came the first time. And the one who promised and actually put his footprints on planet earth and left them here, he's coming back again.
And if you're in your sins, you're not ready for his coming. This is a wonderful person. What a thing to think about. And the Bible tells us that this person, not only the person, but the place he came to.
Christ Jesus came into the world. You know, he who made the stars, we're hearing about the galaxies today, and the myriad, the uncountable stellar bodies. The one who made the stars could have stepped upon each one of them.
But that would have never brought salvation to you. That would have never brought salvation to me. He had to come into the world, a world of lost sinners, a world of rebelliousness, a world where men would take their creator and they would spit on his face and they would nail him alive to a cross.
And they would say, and they have been saying it ever since, the multitude of society in the world away with him. We will not have this man to reign over us. We do not want him. And he is still presenting himself in a gospel meeting tonight in Maryam to the world, to you.
He came into the world to save sinners. It tells us not only of the heights from which he came, but the depths to which he went. This place, this planet, this people, he arrived, he came, he was really here.
You know, I remember a few years ago, well, it was quite a few years ago now, I was in Teterboro, New Jersey. I was on business. And as I went to make my way to a customer, a client that I had had, there's an airport there in Teterboro, New Jersey.
A lot of the celebrities fly into it. And as I try to make my way to see this company, the whole area was cordoned off, sealed off. I thought, well, maybe there's a celebrity that's come. So I parked my car a little ways away, as close as I could get.
And I made my way to the airport. And I was looking, I kept trying to look and see who was there. And I was quite a ways away. And I saw it. I couldn't believe it. Air Force One. It had landed in Teterboro, New Jersey.
And there were cars, they were guarding the area. I mean, you couldn't get, you could hardly get close at all. I remember one man, he was standing out there, and he had the earbud in, he was standing just like this.
And I went up and I said, hey, I said, and he says, yeah, yeah, just like that. Like, stupid. Yes, you know, it's Air Force One. The president. Yes, the president. Yes, yes, yes. Like, he looked at me like, how did you not, like, how could you not know?
The plane, me, everything. You don't know who came? You don't know who arrived? I could only get so close. Listen, how could you not know? He was here. And you know what he says? Don't stay far away. Come.
Come. Come and get salvation. Come and let me save you. Don't stand aloof. Don't stand apart. Don't be distant. Because if you stay distant now, you will be even further eternally and you will never be able to come close.
You will die in your sins. You will perish eternally in hell. Come. Come. Christ Jesus. You know what he's saying? I came. I came. Now you come. I wonder how this meeting is going to end tonight. I wonder on this side who's going to be in your sins and who's going to have salvation.
I wonder about this side. Maybe someone in the back. Maybe someone up front. How's this meeting going to end? Knowing that he came. He was here. He really died. He really paid the price and he can really save tonight.
I wonder, are you going to leave still lost in your sins? The place he came to. The purpose. Verse tells us about the purpose he came for. He came to save sinners. You know what that tells me? You know what that should tell you?
You need saving. If he came to save sinners, then you need saving. We need saving. We are ruined. You know, you can take the word pagan, idolater, as you've been hearing, and you might say, well, that really doesn't apply to me.
But you know what? Here's a word that applies and it's so clear and it's so simple. Sinner. Sinner. And in that word, there is a full description by God of how far you are and that you have broken his laws and that you need saving.
You know what divides this meeting tonight? People who are saved and people who are lost. He came into the world to save sinners. But there has to be a personal response and I want to end with that. Because, you see, this verse ends.
It's almost as if the Apostle Paul has to keep writing. He has to kind of add his initials at the end. He came to save sinners. And then he writes, of whom I am chief. It's almost as if his heart is just erupting.
He did that for me. Isn't it a wonderful thing when you hear the gospel and you think, he did that for me. Christ did that for me. Can you say that tonight? He did that for me. He came to save me, the lost sinner.
Because that's what the Bible says. That's what God says. He came to save you from heaven. It was 1987 and there's a crossing almost 30 years ago now. A crossing from the port of Dover to Zeebrugge, Holland.
I don't know if I'm saying that name right, but it's a ferry crossing. They had just implemented a new ferry with a new clamshell design in the back. And as the cars would drive on, this clamshell door would close.
And they would make their way from one side to the other. There were people that were rushing to get on that ferry that day. Some of them had just made it by the skin of their teeth and they were thankful they had managed to get on that ferry that day.
It was called the Herald of Free Enterprise. 459 people would be on board, including 80 crew members. As they made their way across the channel, I don't know how it happened, a man just derelict in his duties, the boat swaying, Mark Stanley, just never closed the doors of the back of the ferry.
And as it made its way out, it wasn't too far, maybe 15 kilometers, not even, the water gushed in. And that whole ferry listed and tilted over. There were men that were trapped underneath. 81 cars, 47 trucks would be on board that ferry that day.
193 people would die. Interesting thing is that there were two boats in the area, two ships in the area. They were called to come quickly and try to accomplish a rescue. On one of those ships, there were some divers.
And those divers actually went down to the side of that ferry, the Herald of Free Enterprise. And in the murky waters, they tried to find people and they started just tapping, tapping on the hull. Divers that made their way in, tapping on the pipes inside, listening for some response.
And they heard it, a faint tapping. Thankfully, a few of those divers were able to make the rescue of a number of those people. You know what they were waiting for? They were listening for a response.
And not only that, if there was ever going to be help, if people were ever going to be saved, you know what? The help had to come from above. Listen, if you are ever going to be saved, the help had to come from above.
Christ Jesus came into the world. He came into the world from above. Dying on that cross, the work is done. This is a faithful saying. Now here's the response. It's worthy of all acceptation. You have to accept it.
You have to accept it. You have to receive Him. If you do not receive Him personally, you will never benefit from that death, from that tremendous price. You will lose your soul in your sins. The gospel tonight is this.
Listen to it as I close. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Are you the sinner that He came for? If you take that place tonight, you could be saved and have eternal life and never perish.
Let's pray. Our Father, we thank You for a good day today. We thank You for the Word of God. We thank You for the encouragement that we have had as believers, as Thy people. We thank You for the establishment of truth in our own souls.
But our Father, as we have come to the end of this this gospel meeting tonight, we pray for those in their sins. We lift them up to Thee. We thank You for a Savior that came into the world. We thank You for a work that's accomplished, a work that's finished.
We thank You that He is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by Him. We thank Thee for the Lord Jesus Christ and we pray Thy blessing upon this meeting tonight. And upon souls that are in such dangerous, dangerous condition.
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.