1 Timothy chapter 1 at verse 15.
This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners sinners of whom I am foremost.
!
Those who are at either the holiday club or the family service, it's nice to see some of the young ones who were there last week out here tonight as well.
You may remember that this was one of the verses that we were looking at, one of the passages that we looked at during that service last week.
And it reminds us in a week when we are remembering, it's Christmas time, is remember the birth of Jesus, that our focus is to be on that, that Jesus came into the world.
That amazing wonder of Jesus coming into the world, of God sending his son.
Because we are a forgetful people, one of the things that we thought about looking at this verse was how easy it is to forget.
And we're asking the young ones a question, what did you get for Christmas last year?
Some could remember, some forgot.
But then when you start going back further and further in the years, it's often we've forgotten what we got in these previous years because we are very forgetful people.
And in this week we can become so distracted by these things that we forget the main purpose of what it is we are to remember.
There's a well-known, very famous Christian book.
It's called The Pilgrim's Progress.
Many will have heard about it.
Many of you, I'm sure, have read that book.
It's a book about a man called Christian.
And it's a journey he's going on.
And it's full of different characters, people who have given names, and each name has meaning, and different places that the journey takes him from and leads him to along the way.
He begins his journey in a place called the City of Destruction.
That's a place where he is just lost.
And his journey ultimately takes him to another city, to the celestial city, which is really what we would call heaven.
And the Christian is taken there.
But on the journey, he passes through many different places and meets many different people.
And at one point in his journey, he comes to Forgetful Green, a place called Forgetful Green.
But in this place, there is someone who is able to remind all who are on this journey of what is important.
And the man is called Great Heart.
That's the man's name, Great Heart.
And it really means this man called Great Heart.
He's almost like a preacher who is there to guide people along the way.
He's got a heart for the people to guide them along the way.
And when they come to Forgetful Green, Great Heart says to those on the journey that Forgetful Green is the most dangerous place in all of these parts, he says.
For if at any time the pilgrims meet with any pressure, it is when they forget what favors they have received and how unworthy they are of them.
We forget the favors that we have received, all that God has done for us.
It's a dangerous thing.
And how unworthy we are of them.
And so it's important for us to remember what is right, what is important at this time of year.
And indeed all throughout the year.
Because as we approach Christmas time, we can be forgetful.
And at other times in the year, we can be so forgetful.
When you think of the two really most significant dates in the Christian calendar, when the birth of Jesus Christ is remembered at Christmas, and when his death is remembered at Easter time, where our focus should be clearly on the wonder of these things,
it is the two times in the year that have almost become the most materialistic.
Where it becomes all about gifts and giving, and we so easily forget about the Lord Jesus.
And it's something we can all be guilty of.
It's something we've maybe been guilty of in this past week, and maybe guilty of in this coming week.
We're caught up in the busyness of everything that's going on, and we forget what we should be really remembering.
How significant it is that Jesus came into the world, that he was born into this world.
And how significant it is that he had a purpose in coming into this world, that he would ultimately give his life for his people.
So we are a forgetful people.
But when we turn to the Word of God, to the Bible, it reminds us of the real significance of all of these things.
So that when we have the likes of the first chapter of John, and you start to read there, it says,
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
That Jesus came into this world, that God sent his Son into this world.
Isn't it amazing to think of that?
How we've forgotten the wonder of it, that Jesus came into the world.
It's not just a story for Christmas.
It's not just a story for Easter time.
It's not a story confined to the history books.
It is the most important thing we can hear today and every day of the year.
The love of God towards us.
The grace that he has shown to us in providing a Savior.
Giving a Savior for all who will put their trust in him.
And here in 1 Timothy 1, verse 15, Paul is showing just how important, just how significant this was for himself.
And how it is to be important for us too.
Why did Jesus come into the world?
Why do we remember his birth and his death, his resurrection and his ascension?
Well, Paul reminds us here in this verse, the saying is trustworthy, deserving of full acceptance,
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
Why did he come to save sinners?
To offer every one of us that hope of salvation through faith in him.
We looked at it last week, but I want to just look at it in a little bit more detail this evening, this verse.
And really we're going to break it down into three bits, using the words that we find in this verse.
The first thing is that it is a trustworthy saying.
And then it says it's deserving of full acceptance.
So these are our first two points.
A trustworthy saying.
Let's think a little bit about what this means.
As Paul writes here, he's writing to Timothy.
And Timothy is much younger than Paul.
Paul is an older man now.
He's experienced much in life.
And now he's passing the gospel on to Timothy.
And as he's doing so, he's not just someone who has been at a distance from life and all that it means.
All the challenges and now having faith in the Lord Jesus.
It's not just something that he's heard about or just learned in a classroom or anything like that.
It's through very practical experience.
His life has been full of thinking he was doing right with God only to realize he was miles away from God.
But he says to us here that something changed his life.
Verse 12 to verse 17.
It's almost like a small digression.
A little diversion that Paul takes.
And it's really reminding us and speaking about his own experience of the wonder of the grace of God.
In verse 14 it says,
The grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
He's got this amazing testimony to give.
The grace of God has overflowed to him.
This grace that is in Christ Jesus.
It is what has completely transformed his life.
So here is someone who knows what he's talking about.
He's experienced it in such a wonderful way.
His life has been totally changed and transformed by this grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so he's saying here in verse 15,
This saying is trustworthy and true.
I'm sure Paul maybe at times came along to this forgetful green himself.
Times when he was maybe distracted and was starting to forget things.
But what you often find with Paul as he's writing is he takes frequent trips down memory lane.
He always comes back to reflect on his life in a way where he doesn't forget what he was.
He realizes how far away from God he was.
How bad a person he was.
But then he comes to marvel at the grace of God.
He's reminding us of his past, of his sins.
It says that in verse 13,
He was formerly a blasphemer, persecutor, insolent opponent, but I received mercy.
So he's talking about his past, but he's seeing the wonderful mercy of God.
And as he goes on speaking in this way, he's speaking about it in this grace.
It is something that is trustworthy.
Something that you can rely on.
Because it comes from God.
Paul uses this phrase, this is a trustworthy saying, five times.
As he writes to Timothy and also to Titus.
And as he's writing to them, he's trying to put across a particular point saying,
This is so important for you to remember.
This is a trustworthy saying.
It's important for you.
And he's saying this in light of others who are coming and telling lies and seeking to lead them astray.
You see that in verse 3 and 4 of this chapter.
Where he's saying to Timothy,
I urged you when I was going to Macedonia,
Remain at Ephesus that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine,
nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies.
So there's all of these other things that people are teaching.
And they're not trustworthy.
They are lies.
They are taking them away from God.
But here is Paul saying,
But this, this is trustworthy.
This is the very word of God.
This is God speaking to us.
And so it's important for us to listen.
Do you believe the Bible?
Do you believe everything that the Bible says?
Do you see it as trustworthy?
When you think of the wonder of Jesus coming into this world,
when you think of the suffering of Jesus,
when you think of all of the people that are mentioned throughout the Bible in the Old and the New Testament,
do you believe what it says?
Do you believe that God is speaking to us?
Well, it is all trustworthy.
Every word that God has given is trustworthy for us.
To give you an example,
there was a man called Matthew Morrie.
And he was a naval officer in the 1800s.
He had been at sea for many years.
But as he was getting older,
he became unwell.
And during his time of being unwell,
he was reading the Bible.
He was a Christian man.
And as he was reading the Bible,
two things stood out to him.
One was Psalm 8 and verse 8.
And there it speaks about,
whatsoever walketh through the paths of the sea.
And this resonated with him,
having been at sea,
whatever walketh through the paths of the sea.
And he started repeating this phrase,
the paths of the sea,
the paths of the sea.
And what he began to realize was
that there were paths in the sea.
There were currents in the sea.
And he realized this over his years at sea,
that there were places where
there were times when you were going against the current
and it was slowing you down.
And other times you were going with the current
and it was helping you go faster.
So this verse began to speak to him.
And another verse spoke to him as well.
Ecclesiastes 1 verse 6.
The wind blows to the south
and goes round to the north.
Around and around goes the wind.
And on its circuit, the wind returns.
And again, he began to realize this.
This is trustworthy saying.
This is the truth of God.
He's speaking about the paths of the sea
being these currents that are in the oceans.
And the wind,
how the wind has a prevailing direction it comes in.
And all of these things helped him
to draw charts for seafarers.
And if you look at the currents,
there are general currents in all the oceans of the sea
that have a general direction that they go in.
You think of the North Atlantic drift,
that current that comes across from America and Canada,
across to our own nation.
When you're in that drift, it's pulling you along.
It's helping you to go fast.
If you're going against it,
it's slowing you down.
And there is God speaking of these things in his word.
And this man realized it and made up charts
that showed it to seafarers.
God's word is trustworthy.
That's just something that seems a little maybe simple to us.
But every word that God speaks is trustworthy.
So when you think of words like in John,
the word became flesh and dwelt among us,
it is trustworthy.
Christ Jesus came into this world.
When you think of reading of Jesus dying on the cross,
it is trustworthy.
Because he died on the cross for sinners such as we are.
And so Paul is speaking from his own experience here
that the gospel, the word of God,
is all trustworthy.
Through experience, he has realized it for himself.
Is that what you can say today?
Is this word of God trustworthy to you?
Because it is what speaks about our greatest need
in this world,
which is a savior who is Christ the Lord.
So the word of God is trustworthy.
The second thing we see here is Paul says
it's deserving of full acceptance.
Deserving of full acceptance.
So before he actually comes
to what the trustworthy saying is,
he says it is worthy of full acceptance.
It needs to be accepted.
It needs to be believed.
What does Paul mean here?
What he's about to say?
What this message is going to be?
This trustworthy saying?
He's saying the hearer,
the one who hears it,
needs to listen and needs to respond.
Needs to accept this word.
It is deserving of full acceptance.
He is speaking about as one who heard
the word of God.
But not just heard it in the sense of
he listened and did nothing to him.
But he heard it in light of what it was really saying.
The warnings it was giving.
We all get warnings in our lives.
We see it often at this time of year.
Heavy rain warnings.
Gale warnings.
We hear of them and sometimes we pay attention.
But other times we choose to ignore them.
There are many warning signs,
excuse me, that you see around us.
One of the ones I often see and think,
well, how can people not listen?
It's the warning on cigarette packs.
It used to be that cigarette packs
didn't have any warnings.
And then it went to,
it can cause you harm.
But then it went to something else.
It went to cigarette packs.
It now say smoking kills
in big, bold writing.
And yet people still choose to smoke.
And you think to yourself,
but why?
The warning is clear.
In front of you,
there's smoking kills.
But so many will have that attitude,
but not me.
And that's the way we are
with the warnings
that the Word of God gives to us.
Warnings that we are sinners,
that we need a Savior,
that without Him we will perish.
And yet so many will say,
no, not me.
Sin won't touch me.
Sin won't kill me.
But the reality is
it doesn't matter who you are.
We are all sinners.
But the reality of that too is
that it doesn't matter who we are,
that there is a Savior on offer.
That this trustworthy saying
is deserving of full acceptance.
So it doesn't matter your background,
it doesn't matter your nationality,
your age,
your education,
whatever it is in life.
This is for all.
This is to be accepted
by all.
There's no reason,
no valid reason
by anybody who could turn around
and say,
but it's not for me.
This is not speaking to me.
It is speaking to every one of you,
to myself as well.
God is speaking,
a trustworthy saying
that's worthy
of full acceptance.
Can you imagine
a world
in which these words
were not given?
Can you imagine
a world
without the Bible,
the Word of God?
Imagine you wake up
one morning
and there's no Bible
to read.
Not just that you've lost
your own copy,
but there's no Bible
anywhere.
God has stopped
speaking.
What kind of world
would it be?
What kind of life
would we live
if we didn't have
God speaking to us,
a trustworthy saying,
worthy of full acceptance,
all of these warnings?
Our world
would soon tumble
into chaos.
We don't have to think
about it as
what if
because we see it
with so many people.
They want nothing
to do with the Bible.
Let's get rid of it.
and our world
just descends
into chaos.
Values
become meaningless.
Life
becomes
of little importance,
of little value.
So many things
are meaningless,
tragic,
tedious.
Nothing
would make sense
without the Word
of God.
We'd have
no direction.
Some would be
happy enough
to say
that's the world
we should have,
but it wouldn't
benefit us.
And that's why
this week
is so important
to us.
The Word
of God,
the Word
became flesh
and dwelt
among us.
It says
in other parts
of Scripture
that in the past
God spoke
through the prophets
in the Old Testament,
but now
He has spoken
to us
through His Son,
Jesus Christ.
God is speaking
and thankful
He is
that He has not
turned His back
on us,
but that we have
God's Word,
that it is
trustworthy
and that it needs
to be accepted.
Here,
Paul is saying
this is what
gives life
purpose.
This is what
gives meaning.
This is what
should be the
foundation
of everything
that we look at
in this world.
The Word
of God
contained in the
Scriptures of the Old
and New Testament.
It's the only rule
to direct us
how we may glorify
and enjoy God.
So we need
this Word.
I've mentioned
recently the woman
at the well
in Samaria.
There's another point
in that account
where Jesus meets
with her
and He says
this to her.
Whoever drinks
of the water
that I will give
him will never
be thirsty
again.
The water
that I will give
will become
in him
a spring
of water
welling up
to eternal life.
There is this
offer of the
water that
springs up
to eternal life.
What is the
response of the
woman?
The woman said
to him,
Sir,
give me this
water so that
I will not be
thirsty or have
to come here
to draw water.
Give me this
water.
And here
is Paul
saying,
this is the
water of life.
This is the
Word of God.
This is a
trustworthy saying.
It is deserving
of full
acceptance.
Let us not
ignore this
Word.
Let us not
ignore the
importance
of Jesus
coming into
this world
when all
around us
is the
temptation
to get
distracted
away from
the real
meaning of
Christ coming
into this
world.
Let us
remember that
Christ came
into this
world with
a purpose.
And that's
the third
thing that
Paul tells
us here.
He tells
us the
reason why
Jesus came.
It is a
trustworthy
saying.
It is
deserving of
full acceptance.
Now what
is it?
That Christ
Jesus came
into the
world to
save sinners
of whom
I am
foremost.
So here
is the
trustworthy
saying.
Here is
what needs
to be
accepted.
Christ
Jesus
came into
the world
to save
sinners
for our
salvation.
You see
the birth
of Jesus
it's not
an excuse
for a
party.
His
death
and his
resurrection
is not
important
because it
gives us
an Easter
holiday.
it is
not meant
that we
should give
and receive
presents at
Christmas time.
Easter time
is not just
about Easter
eggs.
Now you
would say
here comes
the Christmas
Scrooge.
He's going
to tell us
why we
should not
enjoy any
of these
things.
But when
you look
back to
Pilgrim's
progress and
think of
that man
Great Heart
as he was
warning the
people on
forgetful green
what was
his purpose.
Not that
their fun
would be
spoiled
but that
their joy
would be
complete.
And
saying these
things
that Christmas
is not
just about
parties or
families being
together that
is not the
reason for
saying these
things.
But it's
to get
things right.
To get
things in
order.
because you
see to
enjoy these
things to
the full
what you
need to
see is
the importance
of why
Jesus came.
Christ Jesus
came into
the world
to save
sinners.
If we
acknowledge
that,
if we
receive that,
if we
trust that,
if we
accept that,
then we
can enjoy
all of
these things
in a much
fuller sense.
That our
life may
be full,
that our
life may
be complete
with Christ
at the
very heart.
Putting him
first in
all of
these things.
Paul's
trustworthy
saying is
not something
he made
up himself.
He is
reiterating
what Jesus
taught in
the Gospels
in Mark
chapter 2
verse 17.
Jesus
told them
it is not
the healthy
who need
a doctor
but the
sick.
I have
come not
to call
the righteous
but sinners.
In Luke
19
verse 10
Jesus
says for
the Son
of Man
came to
seek and
to save
that
what was
lost.
So
there is
the purpose
of Jesus
coming.
And so
to enjoy
all of
these things,
to enjoy
the birth
of Jesus,
the word
becoming
flesh,
to enjoy
the fact
that Christ
died for
our sins,
to get
the real
blessing
out of
us,
to have
our focus
right,
not to
forget him
but to
remember him
in the midst
of it all,
to give
thanks to
him,
to praise
him who
has come
to save
us from
our sins.
And Paul
here says
in verse
15,
that he
has come
to save
sinners.
And look
at the way
Paul describes
himself,
of whom
I am
the foremost,
of whom
I am
the chief.
He sees
himself as
the worst
of sinners.
We can
see ourselves
as the worst
of sinners.
You might
feel like
the worst
of sinners
here tonight.
But as
he's saying
these things,
he's reminding
us this
trustworthy
saying,
this saying
that is
worthy of
full
acceptance,
that Christ
Jesus came
to save
sinners.
It rules
nobody out
because it's
given for
all.
And so
what is
important for
us to
remember in
this coming
week and
in all our
days is
this trustworthy
saying and
to accept
this word
of God,
that he
came,
the Lord
Jesus Christ
came into
this world
to save
sinners.
That is
what we
need.
A minister
reflecting on
this time of
year said
this,
none of us
want to
appear
ungrateful
when someone
has taken
the trouble
to buy,
wrap,
and deliver
to us
a present.
But my
suspicion is
that most
of us
have experienced
that sense
of disappointment
or even
bewilderment
when opening
a parcel
to find
that either
we already
have the
item in
question or
we simply
have no
need for
such a
thing in
the first
place.
Isn't that
true?
Bewilderment
on opening
parcels when
we either
have the
item or
we have
no need
for it.
How many
of us just
put things
to one
side and
say,
oh,
that's
lovely,
forget
all about
it.
But he
went on to
say this,
yet the
great
leveler
of the
Christian
gospel
is that
there is
not one
person in
the history
of civilization
who does
not need
the gift
of God's
Son,
Jesus
Christ.
The greatest
gift of
all is
often the
most neglected,
that Jesus
came into
the world
to save
sinners.
the light
has come
into the
world.
The darkness
cannot
overcome
it.
But you
decide.
Do you
accept
or do you
reject?
Do you
put it
away for
another
time?
Or do
you see
the importance
of these
words?
This saying
is trustworthy.
It can
be believed.
But it
is also
deserving
of full
acceptance.
To
receive
the Lord
Jesus
Christ
through
faith
is to
recognize
that he
came into
the world
to save
sinners.
We are
all
sinners.
We all
fall
short.
but Jesus
came
to save
us
from our
sins.
Let us
remember
that
in this
coming
week.
Not just
remember
it,
but accept
it.
And as
you accept
it,
may you
realize
then the
greater
meaning
of Christmas,
of Easter,
of life.
That Jesus
came that
we might
have life
to the
full.
let us
pray.
Lord,
our
gracious
God,
we do
thank you
for every
gift that
we have
in this
life.
We thank
you for
all the
good
things
that we
enjoy
from day
to day
and all
the many
blessings
that we
will have
in these
coming
days ahead.
But Lord,
help us
not to be
forgetful.
Help us
to remember
the real
purpose
for which
your Son
came into
this world,
that he
came,
that sinners
might be
saved.
And so we
pray to
know that
joy of
salvation,
to know
that delight
in the
word that
became flesh
and dwelt
among us,
so we
might receive
him with
all joy
and gladness
and be
blessed
through faith
in him.
So hear
our prayers
and go
before us
as we
ask all
in Jesus'
name.
Amen.
We're
going to
conclude
by singing
to God's
praise
in
Psalm
111,
Scottish
Psalter
version,
page 391
of the
psalm
books.
We'll
sing from
verse 6
down to
the end
of the
psalm.
Psalm
111
at
verse 6,
We're
going to
sing from
verse 6
down to
the end
of the
psalm.
The tune
is
forest
green.
It's
not a
tune we
sing very
often,
but you'll
recognize
it as
we sing
it.
So we
stand to
sing these
verses to
God's
praise.
He did
the power
of his
works
and to
his
people's
show.
When
he
like
he
and
he
and
he
and
the
and
his
up
He sent redemption to his soul, his son of a man for the day.
He did come unto his spirit, and heaven and his soul be.
With what he did in his love to give, good understanding may.
And all that is called and fulfilled, his grace endured for thee.
We'll close in prayer.
Lord, we do thank you for your goodness to us.
We pray your safekeeping over us in these days.
We ask your blessing to continue with us as we go from here this evening.
And as we go through to the hall, Lord, we ask for your grace and your blessing in all that we do there.
We thank you for the food prepared for us.
May you bless it to us and watch over us in all of these things.
And now may grace, mercy and peace from God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with you all now and forevermore.
Amen.
Thank you.