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. 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. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.—1 Timothy 1:15–17

Introduction

Imagine that you were coming from another country to observe the way people in America celebrate Christmas. Your assignment was to summarize what Christmas is based only on its celebrations—what you see and hear. Putting it mildly, it would be confusing. You would see Christmas lights and Christmas trees and Christmas wreaths and Christmas stockings and Christmas eggnog. You would hear songs talking about weird stuff like figgy pudding and sugarplums and Grandma getting run over by a reindeer. I am not even sure what to say about Black Friday or Cyber Monday. You would see different people dressed up in very different outfits—Santa, elves, the Grinch, Frosty the Snowman, even holiday Elmo or the Holiday Armadillo. Somewhere in there, buried in all the glitter and glamor, you will see what has come to be called a nativity scene, like a moment frozen in time. It would be hard for someone from another country to see that Christmas celebrates the coming of Christ.

However, even if they were to focus on the manger scene, what would they see? It would be difficult from that manger scene to see what we celebrate about Christ’s coming. The celebration of Christ’s coming at Christmas tends to focus narrowly on nativity scenes. We see Joseph and Mary and wise men and animals in a stable, and at the center there is a child in a manger. Some people see more. It is not just any child in the manger. We hear the angels saying, “He is Christ the Lord.” But how many people even know what Christ means anymore? It means “Messiah”—the deliverer promised in the Old Testament. I will say more about that in a moment.

Some people see more in the manger. They know the child is actually God in the flesh. That thought is never an easy one to grasp. How could God fit in a manger? It is easier to say than to explain. Mary was a virgin but had a baby by the power of the Holy Spirit. Almighty God in the weakness of a baby. What a mystery! The one who has the whole world in his hands is now in the hands of Mary.

I care about your Christmas cheer. Real Christmas cheer comes when Christmas is clear. So let’s go deeper. Why is he in the manger? Why did he come in the first place? That is the Christmas question. There is a verse that gives the answer in only nine spectacular words: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. 

Why Did Christ Come? To Save Sinners (v. 15)

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.

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—nine words in English. It is breathtaking in terms of how much is stated in such few words. You have a complete explanation of Christmas from the Old Testament promise of the Messiah to the incarnation and his purchase of salvation. Let us look at this statement from a few different angles: the introduction, who Jesus is, where he was, and what he came to do.

First, you may have noticed that Paul doesn’t just say it: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. He sets up the statement up by setting it apart with an introduction. It is like Paul is saying, “This is so good that I can’t just say it—you might miss how high and holy and beautiful and utterly rock-solid it is. No, I can’t just say it—I have to prepare you for it so that you will hold it up as elevated and essential, not everyday or ordinary.”

The introductory formula sets this statement up by saying it is more than a true statement. It is in contrast with the false teaching the false teachers are promoting: the “myths and endless genealogies that promote speculation” (v. 4). It is true in contrast to what is false, but it is massively more than true. Some things are true but have relative importance. “My shoes are black” is a true statement, but it has very limited value. It does not really deserve to be recognized. Not a lot is riding on you knowing the truth of that statement. But Paul’s statement could hold you up forever.

It is so immensely true and massively important that eternity hangs on it (the “eternal life” in v. 16). Let us take the two halves of the introduction: Paul says the statement is both trustworthy, and deserving of full acceptance. What does trustworthy mean?

Imagine the first day of ice fishing. When I lived in the South, I had people who could not believe that we actually went ice fishing. It was fun to see them get bug–eyed when I told them that people drove their trucks on the ice. Some refused to believe it. But they believe things like it always snows. One guy from the South once asked my dad how many years were represented by the different layers of snow that he saw in a snowdrift. He thought they were like tree rings that told you how old the snow was, that it never melted.

You have to be careful when people start ice fishing. There were always people who tried to put their ice shacks on the lake too soon when the ice was too flimsy. There were even people who drove their trucks on the ice too soon, and then tow trucks would have to do a different kind of fishing to get the trucks out.

What Paul is saying is this statement is like a fully frozen lake that is strong enough to hold up all the weight you can possibly put on it. This saying is like a lake frozen solid. It can hold up a Mack truck without cracking. It is a trustworthy statement. You will not fall in. It can hold you up. Put your trust in it.

The second way he sets it up is by saying that “it is deserving of full acceptance” (v. 15). It deserves something very clear. In fact, a certain response is not only fitting but deserved. Half-hearted acknowledgment, mere intellectual assent, a passing nod of your cap—none of these responses fit. No, it is so immensely true and massively important that it deserves an eager embrace, a whole-hearted, full-throated shout of joy. I love the word deserving. If only half of your heart wants to respond, you don’t get it yet. It is stunning news. It is the kind of news that is so humbling and so shocking that it makes you want to put your hand over your mouth, but it is stunningly good news. It is such good news that it makes your whole heart and body have to join in as you leap for joy. Your whole person says “yes,” and you do one of those jumps where you click your heels together.

Second, this statement tells us who Jesus is.Jesus is the Messiah—that’s what Christ means. He is the deliverer whom God promised at many times and in many ways. He would fulfill all of God’s promises to save his people. I wish we could spend time surveying all of the promises to see how Jesus perfectly fulfills them. For now, I will just say what Paul said in 2 Corinthians: All the promises of God are “yes” in him (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Third, this statement shows us where Jesus was. Jesus existed long before he came into the world. He came into the world, and that means that at one time he was once not in the world. He was in the beginning with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit before the beginning of the world. I can sort of understand the back side of being eternal because I can imagine something that never ends. I can’t get my head around the front side of being eternal, of never having a beginning. Everything that we know had a beginning. This building had a beginning, and everyone on earth had a birthday—everyone except God. The Son of God existed long, long before his Christmas birthday as a baby born in Bethlehem.

Fourth, this statement shows us what Jesus came to do. He came to save sinners. That is what his name means. “You will call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Let us look long and hard at the word sinners. Don’t miss what it is saying.

Christianity is the only religion on the planet for bad people. All the others tell you that you have to be good to be saved, and then they tell you all the good things you have to do in order to become good. Christianity is for sinners.

It doesn’t say Christ Jesus came into the world to save those who earned it or those who have it altogether or those whose good deeds outweigh their bad ones. Christianity is not about what you do to reach God—it’s about what God has done to reach you. Do any of you really think that you could earn your way to Jesus? Do you think you have to clean up your life and become more presentable before Jesus will take you in?

Consider the person who is testifying to this truth. He gives himself a shocking title: the foremost or chief of sinners. This leads us to our second question: Why did Christ save the chief of sinners?

Why Did He Save the Worst Sinner? To Make an Example (vv. 15-16)

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. 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.

Paul is a man with a past. His name was Saul. We get a couple of snapshots of him throughout the Scriptures.

For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it.  And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.—Galatians 1:13–14

Philippians 3 adds something about Saul’s theology before he was saved. He had the theology of the Pharisees. 

If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: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.—Philippians 3:4–11 

Saul was like Simon the Pharisee we saw two weeks ago in Luke 7. Both of them thought they were at the front of the line, but they were actually at the back of the line. They were running the wrong way. Die–hard Vikings fans may remember defensive end Jim Marshall picking up a fumble against the 49ers in 1964 and running 60 yards with all of his might, thinking that he was going to score a touchdown. He crossed the goal line and threw the ball in celebration. But he had made a major mistake. He had run the wrong way. He scored for the other team. He was as far away from a touchdown as possible.

Saul the Pharisee thought he was producing a highlight reel for his salvation, but he was the Jim Marshall of religion. He thought he was blameless and righteous, he thought he was advancing at the front, but he was actually at the end of the line.

Then he realized that he had run the wrong way. He met Christ Jesus on the road to Damascus while traveling to persecute Christians.

“God was pleased to reveal his Son to me.”—Galatians 1:16

He was blinded, and his physical eyes stopped working for a while, but conversion meant that Saul now saw not just with physical eyes but with the eyes of his heart. Now he could say, “I am the first sinner. I had last place. I was at the end of the line.”

Saul used to think Christians were blaspheming for calling Jesus God, and he persecuted them for it so that he could force them to stop blaspheming.

“I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities.”—Acts 26:9–11

Now he realized that he was a blasphemer. If Jesus is God and Saul had denied it, then Saul had blasphemed Jesus. He had railed against the cross instead of embracing its salvation. He thought others were blaspheming, but he was. 

formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent.—1 Timothy 1:13

He thought he was blameless, but he came to confess the same thing as the tax collector in Luke 18. “Have mercy on me, the sinner.”

His turnaround was tremendous. He confessed that all his hope, all his righteousness was found in Christ. Watch what happens when the lost are found and hidden in Christ:

Be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.—Philippians 3:9

Saul the Pharisee thought he had to ascend to God by the climbing up the ladder of good works. Paul the Christian realized that God incarnate came down to save him. Grace is the opposite of earning.

Why save someone at the end of the line? To show that anyone in the line can be saved. If last place isn’t too far away to be saved, then no one else is too far away, either. What is on display is Jesus’ perfect patience. He always stands ready to receive repentance. His arms are always open wide, no matter what you have done. You can’t do enough to cause Jesus to shut his arms to you. You are always save-able. The faith and love of Jesus more than overflowed for the worse sinner, which means they are sufficient for you, as well.

It has to become personal. It is not enough to say that he came to save sinners in general. Faith looks at the cross and says, “He died for my sins. My sins are paid for. I am free. I belong to him now.” The cross is like the check for a trillion dollars that you have to sign your name to: “I, the sinner, receive this and endorse that this grace is enough to pay my debt.” He offers grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt. It is grace that can’t be contained. It triumphs over sin.

Unbelief defies God’s word here. Unbelief says, “You are wrong, God. I have sinned too much to ever be saved.” How can you call God a liar? He never lies, and his word says you can be saved. His arms are not crossed and shut—they are open wide. Run to him!

What happens when sinners stop going the wrong way in their unbelief? They turn around, and they don’t have to work their way back up to the front. Once they turn, God grabs them, and they come into the kingdom.

Here is another place you can get stuck. Verse 16 spells out more what save means. It means to give eternal life. This verse shows us what we are saved for and what we are saved from. We are saved for eternal life. What are we saved from? Eternal death. It is hard for people to think that they deserve eternal death. That seems over-the-top to a lot of people. That is because few people think about what sin is. Sin is preferring other things to God. We slander God’s worth in the sight of people all day long by telling the world, “This is much better than God. Give your life to this.” Why think about God? Why devote your life to him? This other thing is superior to him.”

You assume eternal life until you see that you don’t deserve it. When you see the horror you deserve and the treasure you get, then that you want to sing. “I deserved that and you gave me this instead!” The one true gospel makes you want to praise the one true God.

How Shall Saved Sinners Respond? The One True Gospel Causes Us to Praise the One True God (v. 17)

To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

What a King! He could use his almighty power to grind our bones to powder like an evil giant. If Christ came into the world to crush sinners, there would be no verse 17 of praise and celebration and exultation. What if there had been no manger, no cross, no empty tomb? He could have crushed us under his almighty boot. But he doesn’t crush us. Wonder of wonders, he chose to crush his Son instead. It would take a miracle of almighty proportions to save us, and that is what God did. He did it. There is no one like him. He is the only God. We ascribe to him honor and glory forever and ever. He deserves it forever and ever, and we can give it forever and ever because we have everlasting life.

Conclusion

Let’s think about our Christmas music for a moment then in conclusion. Verse 15 is the tuning fork for our Christmas singing. Have you ever seen a tuning fork? You strike it, and it produces the sound that provides the standard of reference so everyone else can be in tune. The trustworthy theology of the gospel tunes our hearts to sing the right kinds of Christmas songs.

In all of these sermons, I have tried to make biblical things stand out as distinct from worldly or secular things. Think about the songs we sing this season. As a Christian, the more you sing Christmas songs about Jesus, the less you have a stomach for Christmas songs about Santa.

For example, here are two songs that Saul the Pharisee would sing. The first song is “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town. You should be very glad that “Encounter His Coming” is not referring to Santa’s coming—“Encounter Santa’s Coming.” That song “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” is terrible because the whole song is a warning.

You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout. I’m telling you why: Santa Claus is coming to town. He sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.

Yikes. Watch out. He’s coming, and he is watching you like a hawk. Santa is all-seeing and all-knowing, and he is legalist. How is that good news?

He’s making a list, he’s checking it twice. He’s going to find out who is naughty or nice.

That is an anti–gospel song if I ever heard one. It is like the Pharisee national anthem. If you substitute Santa for God, then Saul the Pharisee would sing it. But Paul the Christian wouldn’t. What about for those of us who are sinners and are on the naughty list? The only way to get off the naughty list is to start being more nice than naughty. This song is nothing but bad news if you’ve been bad.

The early church had an important phrase: “What is sung is what will be believed.” I think that was true in my childhood. I don’t remember a lot of my childhood, but sometimes I get little flashbacks. I think I remember a time when I got black socks for Christmas from an extended family member. I can remember looking at and thinking to myself in my seven-year-old mind, “What did I do to you? Wasn’t I good enough?” I mean, who is bad enough to deserve black socks? Give me a black lump of coal. At least I could throw it at someone—that would be more entertaining.

The second song is “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Don’t get me started on that song. I used to have a little record player as a kid, and that song was one of the only ones that I had. I would play it over and over, but I never realized what it was saying. Rudolph had a rough reindeer life.

All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names. They never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games.

What changed it all?

Then one foggy Christmas Eve Santa came to say, “Rudolph with your nose so bright, won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?” Then all the reindeer loved him, as they shouted out with glee, “Rudolph the red–nosed reindeer, you’ll go down in history.”

Anybody see any problems with that song? Love is conditioned by your contribution to reindeer society. Really? Are you comfortable talking this way at church to a visitor? You don’t have to do much to be loved on and not laughed at here—just make history. What a high bar for belonging!

The cross is so different in its message of why we can belong here. Christianity alone is good news for bad people. Glory in the fact that God in Christ does not look at people and treat them as their sins deserve. Jesus is our substitute. He treats Jesus as our sins deserve. Think about “What Child Is This?”.

Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
The cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

Christmas doesn’t sing about a list of who has been naughty or nice. Christmas celebrates the fact that our naughty list is nailed to the cross. God forgives sins “by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14).

We must sing. We must bow down and adore him. Look at how the King loves us.

Who has felt the nails upon His hands? 
Bearing all the guilt of sinful man 
God eternal, humbled to the grave 
Jesus, Savior, risen now to reign

He will reign forever. The one true gospel gives us eternal life so we can praise the one true God forever.

Closing Song 

“Behold Our God”

 

Sermon Discussion Questions

Three Key Questions for Christmas:

1. Why did Jesus come? (v 15)
2. Why did he save the worst sinner? (v 16)
3. How shall we respond? (v 17)

Main Point: Why is Jesus in the manger? Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

Discussion Questions

1. What stands out to you about the way our culture celebrates Christmas? Compared to past generations, have there been any changes in the way our culture as a whole celebrates Christmas today?
2. How does the statement that “Christ came into the world to save sinners” show the eternality of Jesus?

Application Questions

1. The gospel is that Christ came into the world to save sinners. It is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance. Have you fully embraced it? Do you find it completely trustworthy? Describe (or rate on a scale of 1 to 10) your current embrace of the gospel and your trust in the gospel.
2. What are your favorite Christmas songs? Consider the early church’s saying that “what is sung is what will be believed.” What do you think?