(Article
for publication week of 4-24-AD 2014)
“This
is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief” (I Timothy 1:15).The glorious gospel
that we preach is worthy of all acceptation. It is the saving message of the
Saviour of the chief of sinners.
However,
very few are interested in the gospel, because they do not see themselves as
sinners in need of a Saviour. This is the great need of the hour, for the Holy
Spirit to convict men of their sins that they may be stripped of all their
fancied self righteousness and flee to Christ for salvation. The Church and her
preachers need to quit trying to get men saved, and start trying to get men
lost. The average man today when told of the Saviour of sinners, is just not
interested because he thinks all is well. “What? me the chief of sinners? Why
I’ll have you to know I’m as good as the next fellow!” This appears to be the
attitude of most today, and so they will not seek a Savior they don’t think
they need. But if you can ever find a man that is utterly lost, well you can
preach the gospel to that man.
The
man who was inspired by the Holy Ghost to write our text this week confessed
that he was the “chief of sinners.” As far as the Apostle Paul was concerned,
there was not a worse sinner on earth than himself. He had never gotten drunk,
or run off with another man’s wife or daughter, or robbed a bank, or broken the Sabbath, or taken the name of the
Lord in vain, or bowed down to an idol of wood or stone; in fact, he said once
that touching the law, he was “blameless” (Philippians 3:6). Yet, he confessed
he was the “chief of sinners.” In another place (Romans 7:24) he said he was a
“wretch.” Here was a man who was morally pure in his outward conduct, but he
called himself the “chief of sinners” and a “wretch.” The Apostle Paul had poor self esteem! Why would the man make
such statements about himself?
Well,
the answer is in the convicting and converting power of the Holy Spirit. The
apostle says in Romans 7:9 that he was “alive without the law once: but when
the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” What happened to the Apostle is
the same thing that happens to every poor sinner that is quickened into
spiritual life by the Holy Ghost. The Blessed Spirit teaches a sinner that he
has broken the law of God and stands guilty before God, and is condemned and
sentenced to death. The heaven born soul feels that there has never been a
worse sinner than himself, and he begins to cry out, “Lord, have mercy upon me
a poor sinner”! Now this is a painful thing for a poor sinner to have to go
through, but it is the way that God leads all his little children. God always
gets a man thoroughly lost before He saves him. God wounds before He heals, and
He kills before He makes alive.
Dear Reader, do you feel yourself to be the “chief of
sinners”? Well, if you do, I have a gospel worthy of your reception; Christ
Jesus came into the world to save the chief of sinners! As dear old Joseph Hart
wrote, “all the fitness He requireth is to feel your need of Him.” There is
only one qualification for salvation- you must be a sinner! May the Holy Spirit
convict some of their sins and draw you to the mercy seat.
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