Jesus Came Into the World!

Only Sinners Qualify ~ 1Timothy 1:15 by George Dunn

Let’s look at 1 Timothy 1:15. It says, “This is a Faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief.”

Try to imagine for a moment, what it must have been like for Jesus, THE KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS, ADORNED IN MAJESTY, RICHES, AND POWER to leave His Heavenly home and come into this DERANGED, FALLEN, AND SAVAGE world. Heaven is where it is holy, clean, light, perfect, peaceful, and where He sits upon His throne, sovereign over all of creation. There the Angels do His will and worship Him. Yet still, He left it willingly to come down into our fallen and depraved world, to be born among beasts in a feeding trough, to be hated from birth, to live among the dregs of humanity, with the unholy, the darkness, the turmoil, and the contentions of men.

So why did Jesus leave Heaven to come here? He came into the world to save sinners and only sinners qualify for salvation! He said, “I have come to seek and to save the Lost.” He came to rescue us, from the curse of our sins, our sonship and bondage to the father of lies and prince of the power of the air, that ancient serpent called the devil and satan, and ultimately to rescue us from God’s execution of perfect Holy justice in the pouring out of unremitting wrath in the eternal punishment of rebellious and faithless, unrepentant criminals, of which all of us once were and perhaps some reading over this message, still are this very moment!

Despite all this, Jesus works and purposes to reconcile us to Himself and give His people ETERNAL LIFE, perfect peace, and hope, faith, and love. He desires even to give us rewards in Heaven, and crowns of rejoicing, righteousness, incorruption, life and for some, even glory.

But let’s dig a little more to have a deeper understanding of why we needed Christ to come into the world to save us wretched sinners. What’s really so bad about sin and why does it separate all of us from a Holy God?

I) First, there’s our Original Sin: The bible tells us in Romans 5:12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” The term Original Sin by definition means: the depravation of a nature formerly good and pure. This fallen world in which we live gives evidence of Adam’s first sin in the Garden of Eden; The evidence of his sin being the corruption of nature and the depravity of men; which should be obvious to anyone of sane mind. Adam acted as our federal head and so we as his descendants are from the Garden, exiled in this fallen world and have all been made sinners from the womb. The consequences of his sin, have been imputed to all of us being the posterity of Adam. Imputed means to credit something to another’s account, and this is the first of three imputations in the Bible. So the consequences of Adam’s sin came upon them (Adam and Eve) as well as all of us. 1 Cor. 15:22 says,” For as in Adam all die,…”

Let’s face it; This world is a fallen place and not the paradisiacal garden or garden paradise; a perfect place of happiness where God originally placed man. Consider what God started with.

Listen to R.C. Sproul give this account. 

Paraphrasing R.C. Sproul – Through HIS love and grace, HE gave our world light, an atmosphere, and water. He creates the earth and the sun, moon and stars. He inhabits earth with a vast array of animals and plants. And then HIS crowning act of creation is shaping a creature in his own image, and breathing into it his own breath, creating man. GOD gave the man (Adam) pre-eminence and dominion over all things of the creation, as well as gratuitously heaping all kinds of other free gifts upon the man. And God gave the man only 1 restriction. Not to eat of the 1 particular tree. But the ungrateful man, who owes his creator (GOD) EVERYTHING, what does he do? He willfully defies GOD’s law, in an attempt to be his own god.

It is the result of man’s infidelity and disobedience to God’s single command in the garden that has necessitated His original judgment and our corruption and our deprivation. God is the just judge of all the universe and takes justice very seriously. The death penalty man incurred was being handed over to his sinful nature and total depravity and ultimately, being separated from the presence of a Wonderfully Holy God.

If you think that isn’t fair, just consider the force of Adam’s defiance. He was given everything and wanted it all apart from the One who gave it to him. And every child of Adam throughout all the ages has gone the very same way.

I) Some of the consequences that fall under the headings of the corruption of nature and our depravity are:

1. pain

2. envy

3. unpleasant work for survival

4. the ground is cursed with thorns and thistles

5. germs, disease, deformities, and disabilities

6. the destruction of relationships

7. 3 kinds of death:

1. Physical Death. Gen. 3:19 says we all return to the ground from where we were taken and formed.

2. Death is now on the vertical level. What do I mean by death is now on a vertical level? Death at its core means separation. In Genesis 2:17, God commanded, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Adam and Eve didn’t die physically the day they transgressed that commandment, but their separation from God occurred.  Compare John 5:24 where Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my words and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” Jesus is talking to people who are physically alive, but spiritually dead until being made alive in Christ, wherefore they believe and embrace the Gospel.

3. And Finally, there’s Eternal death for all those who are never born again in this life, having denied the Gospel, and failed to repent of their sins’ and place their trust in Jesus for salvation. Now you must understand that this is because of the Holy character of God. If your sin has not been placed on Christ, then you are still in your sins, and when you appear at the Great White Throne judgment, you will be eternally condemned for all the offenses committed against an eternal judge. And Matthew 25:41 says that our Lord will then say, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:”

II) And then, moving beyond the crushing reality of our original sin, there are our actual sins. Romans 3:23 says, ”we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 7:20, “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.” So if Christ had not come, the whole of humanity would have been lost to hell. These sins that we commit always offend God and inevitably bring harm upon ourselves as well as others.

Listen to Todd Friel giving us a clear picture of our offense against the law and our total need for grace.

Paraphrasing Todd Friel evangelizing;

i. Just consider a few of God’s commandments for a moment. We are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. That is the greatest commandment that we should love God with everything that we are.

ii. How about we shouldn’t have any other gods or make a graven image? In other words, we shouldn’t make a god to suit ourselves, one that we think, “well I like that God because He lets me get away with the sins I like” or “yeah well I like Christianity and I like Buddhism and Hinduism and I’ll kind of mush the whole thing together.” Beware, the second commandment says you can’t do that. There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. The name given is Jesus, and God did not leave us without 1 perfect way to be saved.

iii. You can confess it now or you can confess it on the Day of Judgment, but every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. But if you wait until you die to confess Him, its too late, because the bible says it’s appointed once for men to die and then comes judgment. But I guarantee you on the authority of Holy Scripture, you will be confessing Jesus Christ as Lord.

iv. He is the only God. And He commands our affection and our attention and every second we fail to give it to Him we are sinning. So how many seconds, how many minutes, how many days, how many years have we sinned against God by not keeping His commandments?

v. Have you ever taken the Lord’s name in vain? The bible says God will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

vi. Have you ever been angry with somebody? This is the second greatest commandment to love others as yourself. If you do not love your neighbor, then how can you say you love God? Have you flipped somebody off? Given them the cold shoulder? Then you’ve committed murder in your heart.

vii. God is that Holy. He is that just. He sees the intentions the heart. Not just the actions that we do. He judges us based on what we are thinking. He does not judge based on a balanced scale. He does not exonerate you because you have walked an old lady across the street or helped a child in danger. You can’t bribe the judge. Those things are nice, but only by being clothed in the sinless, righteousness of Christ, and washed in His blood, will you be passed over for sentencing and saved.

viii. Had a lustful thought? Pornographic thoughts? Ever undressed women with your eyes? Then you’ve committed adultery.

ix. Stolen anything; an apple from a tree on someone else’s property without asking? That marks you as a thief in the eyes of a Holy God.

x. Told a lie? That marks you as a liar. God says all liars will have their part in the lake of fire. Have you ever coveted or desired something that didn’t belong to you? Do you love anything else more than you love your God? Then you have sinned against Him time and time and time and time again. And if Jesus Christ had not come to this earth we’d would be punished for each and every one those thoughts, each and every one of those deeds, where every sin is brought into the light on our personal day of judgment and all we could look forward to is Hell!

III) BUT …Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

Christ Jesus came into the world where He would become friends with unholy, the sick, the outcasts, the sinners, the prostitutes, the thieves, and others that self-righteous people didn’t associate with. He would be criticized for being a friend of sinners. You see, the so-called righteous didn’t hang out with the unrighteous. They didn’t touch them, didn’t love them, and didn’t try to bring them to God, but Jesus did. He went to their homes, and ate at their tables, and attended their parties. The Holy Son of God deliberately hanging out those who have grieved His heart with their sins. But only sinners qualify for salvation!

“Christ Jesus came into the world,” where He knew He would be rejected, and hated, even though He did good and loved people perfectly. He would experience death as a man by the hands of His creation and die on a tree that He Himself had created.

So how does Jesus save sinners; By taking our sins upon Himself. This is the second imputation in the bible. Remember that word means to credit something to another’s account. So if we have been born from above, and repented, and put our faith in Christ, then our sins have been transferred to the back of Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Only the Holy, sinless God who was and is offended by our sins is worthy, and therefore is the only One could solve our sin problem. He did this by dieing in our place as our sin substitute. 2 Cor. 5:21 says, “For [God] made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  Saved in Christ, we are seen as perfectly innocent of all the charges of sin.

After Jesus was nailed to a bloody cross, died, and was buried, He rose again on the third day defeating death, proving that our sins are paid for in full, fulfilling prophecy in scripture, and demonstrating that God the Father approved of Christ’s finished work as a man.

IV) There are some final thoughts to consider. 2 Corinthians 8:9 says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”

(What are these so-called riches?)

These riches begin with the third and final imputation in scripture which is when Jesus’ righteous perfection under the law is credited to our account, when our faith and trust is placed in Him alone, through faith alone, by grace alone. The work that He completed for us during His life on earth, we ourselves could never do and we’ve already fallen short of it. It’s only when the gift is received, that the riches of Christ and His Kingdom are manifested to us, such as;

We are reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:18-21)

We have peace with God (Rom. 5:1)

We are no longer condemned (Rom. 8:1)

We are completely forgiven – never to be charged with sin again (Heb. 10:17-18)

We are adopted as God’s Child (John 1:12)

We are changed from the inside out (2 Cor. 5:21)

We are given a powerful companion (John 14:16)

We are given heaven and a home in God’s House (John 14:1-3; 1Peter 1:4-5)

We are freed from the fear of physical death which no longer has any sting, and in fact death is even something that can be anticipated with courage, confidence and assurance because Christ Jesus has conquered the grave and He’s alive, and so too shall we live forever in Him. (1Cor. 15:55; Phil. 1:20; Hebrews 2:15)

We are given the fruit of the Spirit – (Gal. 5:21)

We no longer walk around as blind men.

We are given the ability to understand God’s word.

We are free from the bondage of sin.

We are safe in Christ from the coming day of God’s wrath!

We are given a wonderful purpose for living- to glorify God, enjoy Him forever, and love one another.

And there’s a whole lot more.

No wonder Paul says, “Thanks be unto God for His indescribable gift” (2 Cor. 9:15).

I wonder if you who are reading over this message are enjoying these riches which are incorruptible and last for all eternity.

V) Listen to the rest of what Mr. Friel has to say.

Paraphrasing Todd Friel;

Finally, If you have never received God’s forgiveness then you must know, you must humble yourself, die to yourself, confess and forsake your sins, cry out to God for mercy and He says if you do that, He has already granted you ever-lasting life.

- He will forgive you of every sin you’ve ever committed against Him, and all the sins you’re going to do, because Jesus Christ shed His blood for the payment in full of your sins. Now God can legally dismiss your case, and commute your death sentence. Without Jesus Christ you have no hope of heaven… period!

- But as sure as you are hearing my voice, Jesus came to this earth. And you can also be assured of this… He is going to come back again. There are a lot of people who mock and who scoff at the idea of Jesus’ first coming… They will not be scoffing at His second coming when He comes back in flaming fire with His Holy angels to judge those who refuse to repent. When He pours out His wrath on everyone who lives for themselves and who practices evil deeds. I am pleading with you, if you haven’t received this gift, God’s word makes it very clear, you must humble yourself, and He will exult you in due time.

- Do not ask Him into your heart. Do not say that you’ve decided this day that you’re gonna accept Jesus.

Jesus doesn’t need your acceptance. Who is anyone tell the King of Kings and Lord of Lords that you find Him acceptable? No, He is to be received as the greatest gift ever given.

- And all you can do is decide that you need saving by this Gracious and Merciful God, and throw yourself at His mercy. And He says if you will do that, if you will humble yourself, like a little child, with nothing in your hand totally dependent on Him (nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling)…  then He will lift you up. And He will give you a new heart with new desires. And He will do that as well as forgive you of your sins. And He will give you everlasting life and He will do it because Jesus Christ did come to this earth to seek and to save sinners.

- Please I am begging you today, do not reject this marvelous message of God’s amazing kindness. Today is the day of salvation. I implore you to get right with God and fall broken and humbled into Christ, before the mighty hand of God, at the foot of the cross.

In conclusion, let’s remember 1 Timothy 1:15 where Paul says, ““This is a Faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief.” And if God could save Paul, He can certainly save you too. Remember, only sinners qualify for salvation! If He has already saved you, be sure to tell someone else of God’s amazing love today!

© 2011 George Dunn