Grace and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:
[Expectations]
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). That is not what we would expect. Christ Jesus came into the world to condemn sinners. That is what we would expect. Christ Jesus came into the world to destroy sinners. That is what we deserve. Christ Jesus came into the world to punish sinners. That is what we think. Christ Jesus came into the world to teach sinners how to no longer be sinners, by being nice to one another. That is how we act. But this is not what today’s text says: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” Yes, Christ Jesus came to save sinners.
This leaves us only with one thing to do: be a sinner. Being a sinner doesn’t seem like a particularly hard task. After all, all of us sin. Each of us break the Ten Commandments. The Apostle Paul in today’s epistle ran through the Commandments showing what sinners look like. Sinners are unholy and profane, striking father and mother, murderers, sexually immoral, homosexuals, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine (1 Timothy 1:9-10). This is me. This is you. Now, it might be that you have held back yourself from these sins, but our hearts and minds are constantly bent toward sin.
Recall how Jesus teaches us what is sin? He says to be angry is to commit murder (Matthew 5:22); to look with lust is to commit adultery (Matthew 5:28). We have these two great tables staring us down – especially with the return of these two restored stained-glass windows: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” – Commandments 1-3 – and “Love your neighbor as yourself” – Commandments 4-10 (Mark 12:30-31). Now, which of us can check these off the list?
Do the dishes, check.
Take out the trash, check.
Fold the laundry, check.
Love the Lord with every ounce of my being? Hmm.
[We Are Sinners]
This means that you are a sinner, and this is a good thing, remember? Because that is who Christ Jesus came to save. He came to save sinners. “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick” (Matthew 9:12). Jesus did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. But who is so healthy that he or she doesn’t need a doctor? Who is so righteous that he or she doesn’t need a Savior?
This is where we get to the difficulty. The Pharisees and scribes that Jesus is talking to are just as sinful as you and me, but they don’t realize it. They think they are righteous, that they are all well, that they don’t need help, no Savior needed, and this is trouble. We all know people – our own family andfriends – who don’t realize they are sinners. Some believe that if the sinner doesn’t affect their life, they are fine with their sin. It’s a libertarian point of living – live and let live – by tolerating the unhealthy behavior of others. They don’t realize that they are about to walk off or drive off a cliff. Everything seems fine. They have a happy family, a well-paying job, a nice home, but they have no salvation. They are lost, but they are ignorant that they are lost.
This is what Paul – inspired by the Holy Spirit – is describing in today’s epistle. He wrote: “Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions” (1 Timothy 1:6-7).
We are sinners, but we hate to admit it. Our Old Adam – our old sinful flesh – hates to admit our sin. We prefer to say things like: “Sure, I’ve made mistakes. Yeah, I’ve messed up. Everyone makes mistakes. My bad. Nobody’s perfect.” Those words are the soothing confession of our sinful flesh. We would prefer to say things like that. We would rather say, “I’ve tried my best.” But you haven’t, have you? And just because everyone else has messed up doesn’t make it okay with God. He is holy. God isn’t a college professor who grades on a curve.
Remember, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), but our flesh clings to the illusion of its own goodness with a death grip, like a cat at bath time with claws sunk into the carpet. To confess that we are sinners, to acknowledge this, is death to the Old Adam, but this is what we are after. The cure only makes sense after the diagnosis.
Just imagine some man coming up to you holding a pill and says, “This pill is going to make all your hair fall out; you’re going to lose your appetite; you will have to stop working for a few weeks because this pill will make you that sick.” What would you do? You would likely run away from this man! You may even call the police! But imagine if this man is your doctor, and he’s just given you the bad news that you have cancer. The diagnosis is bad, but the doctor caught it in time so that the chemo pills can take care of it. Now, you don’t run from him. You stay. You take the pills. You pay this man thousands of dollars! You rejoice because you know the alternative. What a difference the diagnosis makes.
We are all sinners. That is our diagnosis: poor, miserable sinners. God’s Law “is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and the disobedient, of the ungodly and sinners” (1 Timothy 1:9). We have all broken God’s Law and stand deserving of His judgment, His wrath. When we acknowledge that nothing good dwells in us, that we have deserved God’s anger because of what we have done – in thought, word, and deed – and because of who we are, then the cure comes breaking over us with light and joy and peace.
[Sinners Saved by Jesus]
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). Hey, I am a sinner! Jesus came to save me! You are a sinner! Jesus came to save you!
And save us He does: His agony in our place. His death for your life. His blood is a flood washing away your sin, your fear of death, your condemnation. All of this comes to you through His crucified flesh on the cross.
In today’s epistle, Paul was bold to confess his sins. He called himself the “foremost” of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). In his epistles, Paul boasts of his weakness, of his sins. In the Book of Acts, Luke records how Paul had overseen the brutal murder of Stephen and how Paul had obtained permission to trouble the Christians in Damascus, throwing them, even the mothers and children, into prison for believing that Jesus is God. Paul, here, makes no attempt to hide his sin. He is a sinner, but a sinner with a Savior.
Paul knows the horrendous depth of his own sin, but this, for Paul, simply means that he knows all the better the height of Jesus’ love. He wrote: “But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display His perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:16).
As Christ said in today’s Gospel lesson, sheep wander off without knowing the wolf is waiting in the wings. You see, God wants us to rejoice at others who are rescued. Jesus says to us, look around at all who are lost and to rejoice when they are found. But remember, it is Jesus who does the seeking and the saving.
God’s grace is that He is able to seek out to rescue those sheep who are lost. When we are looking for the one lost sheep, or the one lost coin, that is you, that is me. Like Paul, we were once lost, and Christ Jesus saved even you and me.
This is a trustworthy saying: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” Every word here is the truth of the beating heart of our hope and joy:
§ Christ – the eternal Son of God promised as the Messiah, the Anointed One;
§ Jesus – true man, son of Mary, so named “because He will save people from their sins”(Matthew 1:21);
§ came – sent by God the Father, willingly leaving the glory that was His from eternity;
§ into the world – humbly placing Himself under the Law and being tempted as we are (except without sin), obedient even to death on the cross;
§ to save – His one great goal and accomplishment “to seek and save what was lost” (Luke 19:10); and save who?
§ sinners – those who deserved only damnation. For “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Here in the Divine Service, Jesus gives us the cure for our sins. He gives us the medicine of immortality, known as the Means of Grace – His Word and Sacrament. Unlike earthly medicines that often come with devastating side-effects, Christ’s medicine is 100 percent effective, 100 percent of the time. His medicine kills our Old Adam, so that we would have eternal life. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is life and salvation. As sinners, we need to continue taking this medicine weekly, for we constantly need forgiveness of our sins and the strengthening of our weak faith.
By grace through faith in Jesus, your sin cannot stand in the way of Jesus. Your death cannot stand in the way of Jesus. Your trouble cannot separate you from Him. Your Savior is Jesus, the one who came to save sinners, who came to save you. So, repent and believe! We are sinners saved by Jesus! “To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (1 Timothy 1:17).
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +
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