Jeff Schreve - To The King Who Saves Sinners
Summary:
Drawing from Paul’s testimony in 1 Timothy 1:12–17, the preacher highlights how the Apostle, once the foremost of sinners as a persecutor of the church, was shown abundant mercy and grace by the King who saved him, leading to a doxology of praise. The core message is that Jesus the King can forgive even the worst sinners—no matter one’s past—and is worthy of one’s entire life in response. The call is to remember the depths of sin from which Christ rescued us, the priceless blood He paid, and the mission He entrusts, living fully devoted like Paul and Polycarp who called Him «my King who saved me.»
Polycarp’s Martyrdom
One of the great names in church history that you learn in seminary is the name Polycarp. Polycarp’s big claim to fame was not only that he was an early church father, but he was also discipled by the Apostle John. It’s a pretty big deal to be discipled by one of the twelve disciples, one of the big three: Peter, James, and John. They were in the Lord’s inner circle. Well, John the Apostle discipled Polycarp. Polycarp was a bishop in Smyrna, and he was excellent at refuting heresy. But maybe one of the greatest legacies he left was in his martyrdom.
He was arrested in Smyrna because Rome was cracking down on Christianity, and at that time he was 86 years old, an old man. They brought him before the tribunal, and they didn’t want to execute Polycarp. They said, «You’re an old man. This is what we need you to do: we just need you to take a little pinch of incense, burn it to the statue of Caesar, and say 'Caesar is Lord, ' and we will let you go.» Polycarp said these immortal words, «For 86 years I have served Christ, and He never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?» And they burned him at the stake.
Polycarp was faithful, as the scripture says in Revelation 2:10, speaking to the church in Smyrna, where he was pastor: «Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.» How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?
Introducing the Series: To the King
We’re starting a new series today, and for the next four weeks, it’s called «To the King.» From 1 Timothy 1, the great doxology, the Apostle Paul says: «Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.» To the King.
You know, we sang today about the King, but many of us don’t think about the Lord in terms of being a King as much as they did in Bible times, because in Bible times, they lived with a King; they had an earthly King. The writers in the Old Testament and the New Testament were very familiar with a King. In America, we are not familiar with a King; we have a President, and we vote on him every four years. At the end of four years, half of the people like the President, and half the people don’t. But then we get to vote again. Not that way with the King. The King comes to power, and the King is King, and what he says goes until he dies.
Now the Lord is King; He’s the King of kings. I love what it says in the book of Revelation when Jesus comes back in Revelation 19, at the Battle of Armageddon. It looks like it’s curtains for Israel; they’re going to be wiped out. The Antichrist is going to win. He comes back at the ninth hour, riding a white horse—the horse of victory. The scripture says that on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, «King of kings and Lord of lords.» When He comes again, He comes to rule and reign forever and ever and ever. To the King, the honor and glory forever.
Now we want to start this series by talking about the King, just as Polycarp said, «My King who saved me.»
Paul’s Testimony in 1 Timothy 1
You know, Paul was totally taken up with the concept of the King saving him. That’s what made his life so different from every other person’s life; that’s what made him, in my estimation, the greatest of Christians. He never got over the fact that the King saved him. He says in 1 Timothy 1, he shares a little bit of his testimony. You know, where you read about Paul’s testimony in Acts 9, when he’s on the road to Damascus and encounters Christ. He shares about his testimony at other times in the book of Acts; for instance, in Acts 22, when he’s before the Jews, he gives this testimony. When he’s before King Agrippa in Acts 26, he gives his testimony. Paul rehearsed and thought about his testimony a lot.
He says this in 1 Timothy 1, beginning in verse 12: «I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. And yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all, I am chief. Yet for this reason I found mercy, in order that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.»
And then he breaks into his doxology: «Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be glory and honor forever and ever. Amen.»
Lesson One: The King Forgives the Worst of Sinners
What does the testimony of the Apostle Paul teach us about the King? Many lessons, but I just want to focus on two wonderful lessons. Lesson number one: The King can forgive the worst of sinners. One of the greatest things about Jesus that was ever said of Him was said by His enemies: «This Jesus is a friend of sinners.» Aren’t you glad He’s a friend of sinners? And He can forgive even the worst of sinners. Paul says that he is exhibit A, the worst of sinners.
Now, so what does that say to you and to me? It says this: No matter what you may have done, no matter what I have done, we’re not as bad as Paul because he’s the chief of sinners, he’s the worst of sinners. You say, «Well, yeah, I don’t think Paul was that bad.» Ah, but see, we know him in the church as the Apostle Paul. Before he was the Apostle Paul, he was Saul of Tarsus. He was a terrible guy. He was in the book of Acts when they stoned Stephen; he kept their cloaks and kept watch over that so nobody stole them. He gave a standing ovation when Stephen was stoned for his faith in Christ.
He was the one who was breathing out threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He was ravaging the church. He was dragging people out of houses and arresting them. He tried to destroy the Church of the Living God. When Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus, he was going with letters to arrest Christians in Damascus and bring them back to Jerusalem. The Lord met him on the road with a bright light and said, «Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?» He said, «Who are You, Lord?» He said, «I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.»
Hey, no matter what you’ve done, you’re not as bad as Paul because Paul was the worst. You say, «Oh, Jeff, but you don’t know what I’ve done.» No, I don’t, but I’m pretty sure you haven’t devoted a chunk of your life to trying to destroy Christianity and eradicate it from the face of the Earth. That’s what Paul did when he was Saul of Tarsus. Yet he said, «I acted ignorantly in unbelief.» His eyes weren’t wide open to the truth; he was in darkness and thought what he was doing was a good thing because he thought Christianity was a bad thing.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:9, «For I am the least of the apostles, and I am not fit to be called an apostle because I persecuted the Church of God.» But not only, no matter what you’ve done, you’re not as bad as Paul. No matter what you’ve done, there is mercy and grace in Paul’s testimony. «Hey, God put me into service. I’m amazed. I thank Him for it because of where I came from, because of who I was—a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent aggressor. And yet I was shown mercy,» he says in verse 13, «because I acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.»
There’s mercy and grace. There was mercy and grace for Paul; there’s mercy and grace for me; there’s mercy and grace for you; there’s mercy and grace for anyone who will come to the Lord in repentance and faith. Warren Wiersbe says this about mercy: «Mercy is God’s compassion, His pity for us. Mercy is God not giving us what we rightfully deserve. What we rightfully deserve is judgment. It’s separation from Him forever; it is hell. That’s what we rightfully deserve. But in God’s mercy, He doesn’t give us what we rightfully deserve.»
And grace—grace is God’s loving-kindness, God’s love in action. Grace is God giving us what we don’t deserve. What don’t we deserve? We don’t deserve forgiveness. We don’t deserve our names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. We don’t deserve the Holy Spirit living inside of us. We don’t deserve peace with God and the peace of God, but He gives that by His grace.
I love what Corrie ten Boom says: Corrie ten Boom, the woman who experienced all the atrocities of the Nazi concentration camp at Ravensbrück, who lost her dad to the Nazis and lost her sister Betsy to the cruelty of the Nazis, says, «No matter how deep the pit, God’s love is deeper still.» God’s love is deeper than the deepest pit of sin. I love that!
Hey, no matter what you’ve done, there’s mercy and grace just like there was for Paul. He acted ignorantly in unbelief. He didn’t, no. He’s not like Caiaphas and some of the other religious leaders, whose eyes were wide open. They knew Jesus had risen from the dead, and they would rather believe a lie than believe the truth. Paul wasn’t like that, and so the Lord had mercy and grace for him.
And then, no matter what you’ve done, Jesus came to save you. It is a trustworthy statement, verse 15, deserving full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all, among whom I am chief. It’s a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. Have you accepted the fact that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners? Some people have this idea of God that He’s on a seek-and-destroy mission; that God is mean, cruel, and the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the whole earth that He may find somebody who’s having fun and break it up, that He may find somebody who’s laughing and say, «I’ll give you something to cry about.» That’s the view that many people have of God.
But the scripture says God didn’t send His Son into the world to condemn the world; He sent His Son into the world to save the world. Jesus said He came to seek and to save that which was lost. He didn’t come to be served but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many. No matter what you’ve done, Jesus came to save you.
While He was on the cross, you know, lots of people come to church, and they’ve never received the salvation that is found in Jesus Christ. They know about Jesus in their head; they can spout Bible verses, they know where things are, they can find books of the Bible, they know Bible doctrine and Bible truth, but it’s never penetrated into their heart.
It’s just in their head. Truth in your head is just religion; it doesn’t change you. Jesus in your heart is what changes you. And you can be the worst of sinners, and the Lord can forgive you. That was Paul’s testimony.
I was watching just the other day the testimony of a man who is a very unlikely Christian. His name is David Berkowitz. David Berkowitz terrorized the city of New York for 13 months in 1975-76. He was known as the Son of Sam killer, and he was going out at night in the city and shooting people—killing people randomly—and then he would write notes to the police saying there are going to be more. It left New York City in an uproar and afraid because who is this who calls himself the Son of Sam?
Well, they arrested David Berkowitz; they found out who he was, they arrested him, and they tried him. He received a sentence of 300 years in prison. I don’t think he’s going to make it, but anyway, he’s in prison for 300 years. He said he was in prison for ten years, and he was walking one day in the yard. People stayed away from him because that guy was demonized. The guards in his testimony even said, «David Berkowitz, you could look into his eyes, and you just knew that guy’s scary, so there are demons in that guy.» The guards called him David Berserkowitz. Nobody wanted to get near him.
Well, one day in the prison yard, David Berkowitz said he was walking by, and another prisoner came up to him and said, «Hey, I know who you are; you’re David Berkowitz.» Berkowitz was always ready to fight. He turned on the guy and said, «Yeah, what of it?» The guy said, «I just wanted you to know that Jesus sent me to talk to you today. He wants you to know that He loves you and can forgive you, and He has a plan for your life.» Berkowitz said these words in a cold way: «Jesus couldn’t forgive me for the things that I’ve done; He doesn’t want to have anything to do with me because of the things that I have done.»
But that man built a relationship with David Berkowitz, and he began to share with him, giving him a little New Testament. God began to speak to David Berkowitz as he read His Word. One night, alone in his cell, he gave his heart and life to Jesus Christ. Did you know his testimony now? He was known as the Son of Sam killer, and now he calls himself the Son of Hope, forgiven for life.
What? How does that happen? It’s because Jesus, the King, can forgive the worst of sinners. This is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am chief.
Lesson Two: The King Is Worthy of All of You
Lesson number two: Not only is Jesus the King able to forgive the worst of sinners, but Jesus, the King, is worthy of all of you. He’s worthy of all of you. When Paul was detailing how the Lord put him into service and how Jesus came to save sinners and how he was the chief, and how he serves as an example to anyone that if the Lord can save me, He can save anyone, he just burst into a doxology. He began to praise the Lord, saying, «To the King belongs all honor and all glory and all praise and all dignity and all preeminence and all reverence.» That’s what honor and glory mean.
Isaac Watts wrote in the 1700s that we sing today, «When I survey the wondrous cross»: «Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small; love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.» The King is worthy of all of you and all of me. He had all of Paul, and that’s what made Paul such a dynamo for Jesus Christ.
You know, here’s the struggle that we have in the Christian life: many of us struggle. I prayed for a man this morning who shared with me that he just struggles. He said, «Pray that I could get back on track with the Lord because I’m just not able to give all my heart.» There are things that are parasites that have pulled his heart away. How was Paul able to give all his heart? How was he able to go from being the worst of sinners to become the best of saints, the greatest of saints in my estimation?
There were three things that Paul remembered that kept his life on track and on fire for Jesus Christ—three things that you must remember, that I must remember—three things that will keep you where you are, all connected to Jesus. As David said, «Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name.»
Remember the Depths From Which He Brought You
First of all, remember the depths from which He brought you. Remember the depths from which He brought you. Paul was very mindful of the fact that he was not worthy to be an apostle because he persecuted the Church of God. Not that he lived guilt-ridden, but he was very aware of where the Lord had brought him from. Are you aware of where the Lord brought you?
I told you about the preacher who kept a dump truck on his pulpit, a little toy dump truck. Somebody asked him, «Why do you have a little toy dump truck on your pulpit?» He said, «Because I was working on a dump truck when Jesus saved me, and I never want to forget where He brought me from.»
In Luke 7, there’s a great story of the prostitute who comes to Jesus. He’s at the Pharisee’s home, Simon the Pharisee, and she barges in on the dinner party. She comes before the Lord; everyone knew who she was. She was an immoral woman, a prostitute well known in the city. She falls down at His feet, weeping, wipes His feet with her hair, and anoints His feet with perfume. Simon the Pharisee can’t believe Jesus would let this woman touch Him.
Jesus says to Simon the Pharisee, «You see this woman? You know, I came in here, but you didn’t give me any water for my feet.» That was a custom of the day because they walked in sandals, and their feet would get dusty. «You gave me no water for my feet, but she, since the moment she came in, has not ceased to wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, which was the custom of the day, but she, since the moment she came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet. You gave me no oil on my head, but she has anointed my feet with her perfume.»
And then Jesus said this in Luke 7:47: «For this reason, I say to you, Simon, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little loves little.» He who is forgiven little loves little. He who has forgiven much loves much. She loved much because she had so much for the Lord to forgive her for, and she appreciated Him all the more.
Now, here’s the thing: when you look at the prostitute and Simon the Pharisee, Simon the Pharisee was the one who loved little because he thought, in his mind, he had been forgiven little. Now, I want you to think about something for a minute: how much have you been forgiven—little or much?
Now here’s the kicker: if you think you’ve been forgiven little, I doubt very seriously that you’ve been forgiven at all. When you understand that you are a sinner before God, you’re guilty of high treason—I’m guilty of high treason before Heaven’s King—wow, that He would forgive me for all the things that I did, for all those things I did in high school, for all those things that I did before I came to know Him, for all the things I’ve done since I came to know Him—that He would forgive me; I say with the Apostle Paul, I’m the chief of sinners; I’m the greatest of sinners.
What made Paul the greatest of saints? He never forgot where he came from. He never forgot what the Lord had forgiven him for. John Newton was the man, the slave ship captain who came to know Christ and wrote the great hymn we’re going to sing before we leave today about Amazing Grace: «How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.» John Newton, on his deathbed, was senile; his mind was nearly gone, but he was able to say these words: «My mind is nearly gone. I cannot remember very much at all, but I remember these two things: I am a great sinner, and Jesus is a great Savior.»
And those are the two things that matter. He always remembered where he came from.
Remember the Price That He Paid for You
Remember the depths from which He brought you, and then remember the price that He paid for you.
Paul didn’t forget the price that was paid to purchase his salvation. It’s a trustworthy statement, verse 15, deserving full acceptance: «Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.» He came into the world to save sinners by giving His life for sinners. He paid a debt that He did not owe; He paid a debt we could not pay. He gave His life on the cross—the price that was paid.
Scripture says in 1 Peter 1:18–19, «Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.»
You know, the Lord could have opened up His wallet. He could have shelled out some bucks and said, «Okay, I’ll pay this much. This much—$21—that’ll buy Larry. I just pay a little bit here, oh there’s another 20 for that guy.» You know, He could have done that. He didn’t do that. You weren’t redeemed with perishable things like silver and gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers. He didn’t open His wallet and shell out some bucks; He stretched out His arms and shed His blood. You were redeemed with the most precious of commodities—the blood of Christ, God’s own dear Son.
Remember the price that He paid for you. Remember the fact that the blood of Jesus washes whiter than snow. Whiter than snow. There’s a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance: «Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am chief,» Paul said.
And you know what? As Iris Blue, the prostitute in Houston, when she came to know Christ, said, «I knelt on my knees, and I arose a lady forgiven completely for what I’ve done, forgiven forever for what I’ve done.» The price that was paid. Some people live, and they’re so guilt-ridden. They’re Christians who have put their faith and trust in Jesus, and Jesus lives inside, but they’re living guilty lives because of a sin they committed last year or five years ago or the abortion they had when they were younger or this or that or the other. They can’t seem to shake it.
Let me tell you, Jesus said to the Apostle Peter in Acts 10:15, «What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.» What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy. You are washed whiter than snow by the blood of the Lamb.
Remember the Mission That He Has for You
Remember the price that He paid for you, and then remember the mission that He has for you.
He says in verse 11: «According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.» Paul was entrusted with the glorious gospel; every Christian is entrusted with the glorious gospel. «I thank Christ Jesus our Lord,» verse 12, «who strengthened me because He considered me faithful, putting me into service.»
You’re in the Lord’s army as a believer; I’m in the Lord’s army because I put my faith and trust in Jesus, and He’s entrusted to me, as He’s entrusted to you, the glorious gospel to share. We are to shine, as we’ve talked about in our church; we are to shine for Christ. We are to share what great things the Lord has done for us and share the good news of Jesus.
And Paul says in verse 16, «Yet for this reason I found mercy, in order that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.» He’s the example; He’s exhibit A in the court of law. He’s saying, «Look, here is God’s trophy of grace—that’s me. If God can save me, He can save anybody. If He can forgive me, He can forgive anybody.»
And Paul went out; he shared his testimony and the gospel. Everywhere he went, his whole life was devoted to letting people know that there’s a Savior who can forgive you, who can change you from the inside out. You have a mission, and I have a mission to tell people about the King, and we have a mission together in the church as the church in this part of the world where God has placed us. We have a mission to let people know—to speak the truth in love, to send out His light and His truth from this place as far and as wide as we can share it—to let people know there is good news because there’s a Savior who has come, who has shed His blood, so that people far and near can come to know Him and have a relationship with Him, that there is mercy—God’s compassion—that there is grace—God’s love in action—for them that can change their lives from the inside out.
Closing Story: The Indian Chief and the Caterpillar
I’ll close with this story: There was an Indian chief who had come to know Christ, and he was so excited about his relationship with Jesus. He told everybody about it all the time. He was always talking about Jesus. Finally, somebody said to him, «Why do you always talk about Jesus?» And the Indian chief didn’t answer. He gathered some sticks, a few twigs, and some grass, and he made a little circle on the ground. He took a caterpillar and put the caterpillar in the middle of the circle of twigs and grass, and then he lit the twigs and grass on fire. The fire began to come out around the circle, and when the caterpillar felt the fire, the caterpillar tried to move away.
But the fire went all the way around in a ring, and when the caterpillar went this way, he ran into fire, and that way, he ran into fire, and the third way behind him, he ran into fire. The fire began to close in on the caterpillar, and the caterpillar lifted up as if to say, «My help has to come from above because I’m hopeless and helpless in this ring of fire.»
Then the Indian chief knelt down and put out his finger and rescued the caterpillar. The chief said to that man, «I was that caterpillar. I was hopeless and helpless in sin, but my King left Heaven. He became a man; He knelt down, and He lifted me up out of a hopeless, helpless situation, and He changed my life forever. That’s why I talk about Him all the time.»
It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. He came into the world to save you, and He’ll save anyone who puts their faith and trust in Jesus.