Watchman Radio Hour

David Shuldt: Welcome to the Watchman Radio hour, coming to you from Portland, Oregon, here in the beautiful Northwest. This is David Shuldt, your announcer. The Watchman Radio hour is a production of Watchman Radio Ministries International, an evangelistic ministry reaching out to the peoples of the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And now here's our speaker, Alex Dodson, to bring you this week's message from God's word.

Alex Dodson: For our scripture reading today, let us turn to 1 Timothy chapter 1 and we'll begin reading in verse 12. Let us hear the word of God. I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service, even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man. I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance.

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy, so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. Now to the king eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for the Bible that you have given to us. We thank you that it's your infallible word and that we can put our full confidence in everything that it says.

And now, oh Father, we pray that you will send forth your holy spirit in great convicting power. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. In June of 1962, prayer was taken out of our schools. Following that decision, Bible reading was removed. Our nation through its highest court kicked God out of our public schools, and the nation has been declining morally ever since. We are a nation full of sin and sinners. Cohabitation, living together outside the bonds of marriage is rampant in the land. It has become commonplace and hardly looked down upon. Idolatry permeates the land in every place, whether we are bowing down to sports idols, electronic idols, or gasoline-powered idols.

Idols are everywhere. Lifestyles that God clearly label labels as sinful have become acceptable more and more. We are now trying to change the definition of marriage which God instituted. We could care less what God says, it seems. The Sabbath day being observed by the nation was something in our distant past that is no longer relevant to this modern 24/7 society. We are a nation of sin and sinners. God's judgments have already begun to fall as he continues to warn us of our great disobedience and rebellion, and the consequences will be great. Yet is there hope for a sinful nation?

Can a nation that is steeped in sin yet be saved? Yes, there is hope. The reason there is hope is that Jesus came into the world on a mission, and his mission was to save sinners. Our text for today is 1 Timothy 1 and verse 15, which says, here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. Jesus came to save sinners. The greatest hope for our nation is a national spiritual revival sent by God from heaven. When we come to the realization that we are great sinners in the sight of a holy God, then the nation will begin to see change.

Now we think we're okay in our sins. We don't even realize how great our sins are or that we are even sinning. Yet when God's spirit comes in power upon us, we will know that we are sinners and great sinners at that. And then and only then will we begin to repent and turn back to the Lord. Let us see in the first place a very important teaching. Again, our text says, here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. It's a firm truth. John Calvin wrote first he makes the general statement that Christ came to save sinners, introducing it with a preface as is his custom when dealing with matters of supreme importance.

In the doctrine of our religion, this is indeed the chief point that we who are lost in ourselves should come to Christ to gain our salvation from him. For although God the Father a thousand times offers us salvation in Christ and Christ himself proclaims to us his own saving work, yet we do not cease to be afraid or at any rate to wander within ourselves whether it be so. And thus whenever any doubt about the forgiveness of sins comes into our mind, we should learn to drive it out using as our shield the fact that it is truth, sure and certain, and should be received without any controversy or demur.

William Hendrickson writes simple and great like a granite rock stands the word reliable at the head of this sentence without any connecting particle. It indicates that the proposition which it introduces has sustained the very crucial fiery test of experience. And Donald Guthrie writes this is a faithful saying. It may seem strange that he should use the formula when writing to Timothy, but he probably wished to remind his younger associate of the fundamental character of the statement to which he is about to appeal. The first word in Paul's sentence is trustworthy or faithful or reliable. In other words, you can put your full confidence in this saying.

It's firm. It is truth. And then let us see that it's a universal truth. It's worthy of full acceptance by everyone. It's a universal truth. It applies to the whole world. In Acts 4:12 it says, salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. As the gospel is universal to be offered to all men, so this saying that Paul is introducing is to go out to all the world. It's a universal saying for all to hear. It's not just for the Jews, but it's for the Gentiles as well.

It's for peoples from all nations and tribes on the face of the earth. This saying is for all to hear. William Hendrickson writes, though not even four decades had elapsed since the death of the Savior, it had become even at this early date an unshakable conviction worthy of full acceptance that is entitled to wholehearted and universal personal appropriation with no reservations of any kind, or as we say colloquially, with no strings attached. Paul was about to give a truth that everybody in the world should accept without reservation. This a truth applies to every person in our nation today, and it's a universal truth.

And so we see in the second place that Jesus came on a mission. Our text again says, here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. He came from heaven on a mission. In John 1:14 it says, the word became flesh and lived for a while among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only son who came from the Father full of grace and truth. Jesus came from heaven to earth on a definite mission. Matthew Henry writes the conversion and salvation of great sinners are owing to the grace of Christ.

He is exceedingly abundant grace. Even that grace of Christ, which appears in his glorious gospel. This is a faithful saying. Here we have the psalm of the whole gospel that Jesus Christ came into the world. The son of God took upon him our nature, was made flesh and dwelt among us. He came into the world not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. His errand into the world was to seek and find and so save those that were lost. The ratification of this is that it is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.

It is good news worthy of all acceptation, and yet not too good to be true, for it is a faithful saying. It is a faithful saying and therefore worthy to be embraced in the arms of faith. It is worthy of all acceptation and therefore to be received with holy love, which refers to the foregoing verse where the grace of Christ is said to abound in faith and love. In the close of the verse, Paul applies it to himself, of whom I am chief. Paul was a sinner of the first rank, and so he acknowledges himself to have been, for he breathed out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord.

Persecutors are some of the worst of sinners. Such a one Paul had been. Or of whom I am chief, that is of pardoned sinners I am chief. It is an expression of his great humility. He that elsewhere calls himself the least of all saints here calls himself the chief of sinners. Jesus came from heaven on a mission, and his mission was to save sinners. In Matthew 9:13 it says, but go and learn what this means. I desire mercy, not sacrifice, for I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. In Luke 15:7 it says, I tell you that in the same way there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who do not need to repent.

And then in Luke 19:10 it says, for the son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost. John Calvin writes to save sinners. The word sinners is emphatic. Even those who recognize that Christ's work is to save admit that it is more difficult to believe that his salvation belongs to sinners. Our mind is always prone to dwell on our own worthiness, and as soon as our own worth unworthiness becomes apparent, our confidence fails. And thus the more a man feels the burden of his sins, he ought with greater courage to betake himself to Christ, relying on what is here taught that he came to bring salvation not to the righteous, but to sinners.

We should notice how in this verse Paul bases what he has said about himself on this general truth about his the work of Christ, so that what he has just said about himself might not by its novelty seem to be absurd. William Hendrickson writes, the holy spirit through Paul takes this appropriate epithet sinners and applies it to all persons who are brought under conviction through the power proper use of God's law. For them and for them alone Christ Jesus came. And then he says it was to save sinners that Christ Jesus came into the world.

He did not come to help them save themselves, nor to induce them to save themselves, nor even to enable them to save themselves. He came to save them. Jesus came to save all who have sinned. If we know we are a sinner, then we can also know that Jesus came to save us, and we can look to him for salvation. And then let us see in the third place that no sinner there is no sinner that cannot be saved. Again, our text says, here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. Christ Jesus came in the world to save sinners of whom I am the worst.

Paul said he was the worst of sinners. In 1 Corinthians 15:9 Paul had said, for I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. And then in Ephesians 3:8 he had said, although I am less than the least of God's people, this grace was given me to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Paul looked on himself as the worst of sinners. He had been saved by grace. If he could be saved, anyone could. John Calvin writes, of whom I am the chief.

We are not to think that the apostle was speaking here of any out of any false modesty. He wished to make a confession that was not only humble, but also true. And that came from the bottom of his heart. But someone may ask why he considers himself the chief of sinners. If he fell only out of ignorance of sound doctrine and in other ways lived a life that was blameless in the eyes of men. But in these words we are warned of how grave and serious a sin unbelief is in God's eyes, especially when accompanied by obstinacy and raging cruelty.

We should not carefully note carefully the teaching of the passage that a man who is not only harmless in the world's eyes, but of outstandingly excellent virtues and with a life worthy of all praise can yet be reckoned one of the greatest sinners because of his opposition to the doctrine of the gospel and the obstinacy of his unbelief. William Hendrickson writes, when the apostle his heart troubled by the vivid recollection recollection of the gruesome deeds of the past gives written expression to the deeply rooted conviction and the poignant sorrow of his inner soul and states, Christ Jesus came into the world as sinners to save, for most of whom am I.

He must admit for all sinners whom Christ Jesus came into the world to save, I am the greatest. Donald Guthrie writes, Paul never got away from the fact that Christian salvation was intended for sinners. And the more he increased his grasp of the magnitude of God's grace, the more he deepened the consciousness of his own naturally sinful state until he could write of whom I am chief. This is not an expression of formal devotion as Eastern supposes, but a mark of sincere humility. Paul seems himself in the vanguard of those who sins have called forth the resources of God's mercy.

It is Paul's way to use superlatives of himself, whether ranking himself as least of the apostles or least of the least of all saints or chief of sinners. Paul knew that he had been a great sinner and that Jesus had saved him, and he knew therefore that Jesus could save any sinner. And the gospel invites all. There are no exceptions. The gospel invites all sinners to come to Christ. Jesus came to save sinners. Jesus died for sinners. The gospel invites all sinners to come. In Revelation 22:17 it says, the spirit and the bride say come.

And let him who hears say come. And whoever is thirsty, let him come. And whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. John Calvin writes, faithful is the saying. When he was changed from a fierce and savage beast into a shepherd and a pastor, Christ gave a remarkable example of his grace which might bring all men to a sure confidence that access to salvation is closed to no man, however serious and outrageous his sins. Matthew Henry writes, observe Christ Jesus has come into the world. The prophecies concerning his coming are now fulfilled.

And he came to save sinners. He came to save those who could not save and help themselves. Blasphemies and persecutors are the chief of sinners, and so Paul reckoned them. The chief of sinners may become the chief of saints. So this apostle was, for he was not a whit behind the very chief apostle, for Christ came to save the chief of sinners. This is a very great truth. It's a faithful saying. These are true and faithful words which he depends on. And it deserves to be received, to be believed by us all for our comfort and encouragement.

And then let us see that revival can come to any place, no matter how sinful. The great encouragement of this passage is that there is still hope for our nation. We are sinful and full of sinners, but Jesus came to save sinners. Ian Murray writes, one common reason for believing that the world must grow worse and worse has always been the evidence of abounding moral decay. Confronted by this evidence, it has too often been supposed that the only work left for God is judgment. Yet the history of revivals should teach us that even in the midst of prevailing evil, it is possible to form precisely the opposite conviction.

For example, when John Wesley arrived in Newcastle upon Tyne in May 1742, he wrote these memorable words. I was surprised. So much drunkenness, so much cursing, so much swearing, even from the mouths of little children. Did I ever remember to have seen and never heard before in so small a compass of time? Surely this place is ripe for him who came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And the great evangelical revival, which was then dawning, proved this conviction to be right. Murray continues the gospel of grace does not need promising conditions to make its reception a certainty.

Such a result depends upon the will of him who declares his love to the ungodly. Thus in various centuries, revivals of apostolic Christianity have broken out in the most improbable circumstances and have powerfully, rapidly, and extensively affected whole communities. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him. It says in Isaiah 59:19. Martin Lloyd Jones in a sermon on Acts 10:25 and 26 said, we tend to regard certain people as being beyond hope and assume that they must of necessity continue in their grooves as they are and die unrepentant and unredeemed.

We just shake our heads over them and express our sorrow. We have talked to them. We've tried to persuade them. We have appealed to them and preached to them. Everything that human agency can possibly do has been tried and has failed. We cannot get them to come our way. And so we feel that their case is hopeless and desperate. Ah. What lack of faith all that reveals. How different from what we find here in the New Testament. And always in the church during days of revival and true faith. If you and I are to save men and women, then indeed the case is hopeless.

All our efforts will most certainly fail. But that's not our gospel. It is Jesus Christ who saves. There is no limit to what he can do. His methods are not confined as ours are. There are no prescribed indefinite ways where he is concerned. Ah. What a shock those Jews had when they found those these Gentiles suddenly converted. And what glorious shocks do we also get here from time to time, straight from paganism to Christ? Yes, quite easily, for there is no limit at all. He creates a new. His power is endless. Do not give up hope for any sinner.

Pray to God to save them. Let not any conversion astonish you. Be astonished rather that anyone should possibly remain unconverted. Ian Murray relates of Jarrad Witsheart, the Scottish reformer, martyred in 1546. We have this account of his open air preaching. He came to a dike in a moor's edge upon the southwest side of Mauchline upon the which he ascended. The whole multitude stood and set about him. God gave the day pleasing and hot. He continued in preaching more than 3 hours. But in that sermon, God wrought so wonderfully with him that one of the most wicked men that was in that country named Lawrence Rankin, Laird of Shield, was converted.

The tears ran from his eyes in such abundance that all men wondered. His conversion was without hypocrisy, for his life and conversation witnessed it in all times to come. In 1559 a great spiritual revival took place in Scotland under the preaching of John Knox who wrote, God did so multiply our number that it appear that it appeared as if men had rained from the clouds. On June the 23rd, 1559 Knox wrote to a friend, now 40 days and more hath my God used my tongue in my native country to the manifestation of his glory. Whatsoever now shall follow is touching my own carcass.

His holy name be praised. The thirst of the poor people as well as of the nobility here is wondrously great which putteth me in comfort that Christ Jesus shall triumph for a space here in the north and extreme parts of the earth. When the gospel comes in power to sinners, great and wondrous things can happen. In changing planes on a trip to Los Angeles a few months ago, we had to land in Las Vegas. Everywhere on our plane and in the airport we saw this slogan. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. The implication is that you can sin as much as you like in that city and no one will tell.

Yet God knows we cannot escape his gaze upon us. This is a slogan of a sinful society and a people who have cast off all restraint. Yet God knows and even now his judgments are falling. We are a sinful nation made up of sinners. Yet there is hope because Jesus came into this world to save sinners. And our prayer is the that the gospel will prevail in this land and that God will pour out his spirit in mighty power, and that sinners all over this land will come under great conviction of sin and turn to Christ.

Jesus came to save sinners. He came to save you, no matter how great a sinner you may be. Jesus came to save sinners. It's as simple as that. Today he calls out to you to come to him and be saved. All who come to him with a repentant heart will not be turned away. May God grant you that repentant heart today. Come at once. Do not delay. Our Father in heaven, we are a nation of sin and sinners. And our sins are great. They are piled up to heaven. And we know that even now you are sending forth your warning judgments upon this land.

But we pray, oh Lord, that in the midst of your wrath that you would have mercy and that you would send your holy spirit in great convicting power all over this nation. We pray that people all of this nation will come under great conviction of sin and know that they are sinners and then know that Jesus Christ came to save sinners and that they will turn to him. And we ask these things in Christ's name. Amen.

David Shuldt: We hope this week's broadcast has been a blessing to you. If you have any questions about Mr. Dodson's message, please write us. You may email us at info@watchmanradio.org. Our mailing address is Watchman Radio Ministries International, Post Office Box 13251, Portland, Oregon 97213. That's Watchman Radio Ministries International, Post Office Box 13251, Portland, Oregon 97213. You may listen to this broadcast at any time on the internet at www.oneplace.com. In the list of ministries, just select the Watchman Radio hour. This week's program and previous programs are always available there for listening. Our web address is www.watchmanradio.org. That's w a t c h m e n radio.org.

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