The content of the Christian faith contains depths unplumbed by the wisest and most learned theologians and yet at the same time it is a simple message.
In 1 Timothy 1, the apostle Paul begins his short address to his ministry coworker and spiritual son Timothy, whom he met on his second missionary journey in the town of Lystra (see Acts 16:1-2).
Timothy was a young pastor serving in the city of Ephesus and in the beginning of this letter the apostle wanted to clear up waters that were being muddied by false teachers.
There were those who were devoting themselves to the study of myths and endless genealogies (1 Tim. 1:4). While the exact nature of these teachers is unknown, what is clear is that in their desire to know deep things, they apparently missed the basics.
The apostle puts forth in contrast:
“The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Tim. 1:5).
Rather than getting lost in the weeds, Christianity need not be complicated. The Lord Jesus Himself pointed out that the paramount Christian virtue was love (Jn. 13:35). Likewise, the apostle concluded in another place that no matter how spiritual he was or how accomplished he was if he did not have love he gained nothing (1 Cor. 13:1-3).
Christian living is not particularly complicated because the Christian message is not particularly complicated. Truth-be-told, the Christian message hinges upon that same theme of love—more specifically though, in God’s love for us (see Jn. 3:16; Rom. 5:8; 1 Jn. 4:9-10).
In Paul’s mind, the Christian message is, “that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15a).
Christ’s entire mission, the reason He left the glory of heaven behind and became incarnate in the womb of a woman was in order to save sinners.
Jesus spent His time with the riffraff. He was not “too good” for tax-collectors, prostitutes, or other model sinners. When criticized for this by the religious elites, he simply replied,
“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mk. 2:17).
With this in mind, the apostle Paul concluded that amongst sinners he was the foremost (1 Tim. 1:15b).
He persecuted the church of God. He tried to crush what Jesus was building. He was a horrible wretched man who became an example of the perfect patience of the One whom He was truly persecuting (1 Tim. 1:16).
I love how the NLT renders that verse:
“But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners” (1 Tim. 1:16, NLT).
Paul marveled at the mercy of God. Truly, it is confounding to know that we who once were rebellious sinners have been made a part of God’s household.
Let us never lose sight of the fact that saints are not found, they are made. There is no one sufficiently righteous that they did not or need not be saved. Anything good in me is merely a result of God’s grace (1 Cor. 15:10)—I am wholly undeserving. Likewise, there is no one too wretched to be saved or too lost to be found.
Saving sinners is the mission of Jesus. It is what He does. It is why He came: for sinners like Paul, for sinners like you, and for sinners like me.