“This is a faithful saying and worthy of
all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom
I am chief.”
--- 1Timothy 1:15 (NKJV)
The Importance of
the Gospel
Gospel is not just about the news to escape hell to heaven! Gospel
is everything! Gospel is God’s Grace reaching to Human beings! We all need
God’s grace at all time. The fact that we are breathing now is God’s grace!
If you think, you
have understood the Gospel enough, or if you think you have outgrown the need
for the Gospel, I have to tell you that you are wrong! I am afraid that you
have misunderstood what Gospel truly is.
We never
understand the Gospel enough! We never
outgrow our need for the Gospel! That is why Paul repeated his Gospel
repeatedly! He wrote that he was determined to know nothing and preach nothing
except Gospel. He was not ashamed of the Gospel nor ever gets tired to proclaim
repeatedly! Therefore, whoever we may be we need Gospel all the times!
However, this
does not mean that the Gospel is
difficult or not understandable. (Jesus says that even children can
understand!) It just means the Gospel is
great! To illustrate, it is just like you live in Delhi as Indian. You do not
need to have a home in every village of India to call yourself an Indian.
The point is not to tell you that you do not understand the Gospel, rather it is to say that the Gospel is
beyond our comprehension, just as India is bigger than your village!
Paul summarized the great Gospel in
one line, just nine words in 1 Timothy 1:15
“This is a faithful
saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners, of whom I am chief.”
This is a
magnificent verse. It is deeper than the Pacific Ocean, higher than the Mount
Everest, wider than the North Pole to the South
Pole, grandeur than the Taj Mahal!
Now, I want to
tell you up front, the main thing we want
to learn from this trustworthy Gospel is this: “TRUST JESUS CHRIST AND BE
SAVED!” It means if you would put your trust in Jesus, you will surely be
saved! That is what this verse means in simplest understanding!
In fact, this is one of the key messages of this book! Look at the very
beginning of this book (1Tim1:1). How does Paul begin? He describes God in the
business of saving people – “Savior.” 1Tim2:3 – “God as Savior.”
Look again at 1Tim4:9 – “Savior of all men.” 1Tim2:4 – “all men to be
saved.” He wants you to be saved! This is the message of the Gospel, our
message today! Not to postpone for tomorrow
for you could die anytime; death gives no warning and no excuses!
There is a real danger, and need of being saved, and
as we think through this verse to trust Jesus for our salvation, Paul answers
three basic questions, which we are required to know here! The first question
is, Who is Jesus? “Christ Jesus came into the world.” The second
question is, What did he do/What is He? to save sinners.” The third
question is, What to do with Him “of whom I am chief.”
Paul begins by
saying “this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance”
The word “this” refers to what he is about to say, that is the
proceeding phrase “Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners.”
Why is Paul
saying this? Does that mean the other verse are not worthy of full acceptance!
No! This is a way of getting attention! This is a way of highlighting the truth
of the greatest importance! It means we
should never, never, never miss this! In fact, the word “worthy” in
Greek has the idea of being weighed in the weighing scale as if you put
a kg of potato in one side and the 1kg stone in the other side before you buy.
It is weighed, evaluated. This is not just feeling or opinion; it is a fact.
You can bet your life on this. This is trustworthy!
“This is a
faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance.” It is all, not some,
not half, but all, full, and complete. This word in Greek has an idea of not
just believing it to be true but also to respond accordingly! Paul is saying,
this, you’ve got to believe it, you’ve got to respond to this trustworthy
Gospel!