Greetings to you, my friend! I’m Mack Lyon and I’m host on the program “In Search of the Lord's Way.” Did you know Friday of this week is Christmas Day? Of course you did! With all the music and decorations and bells and lights and well, come to think about it though, since this program is received world-wide now, maybe not everyone hearing me knows it is Christmas. So, suppose we study about God sending His Son into the world? Stay tuned.
Welcome to our program of Bible study, friend. The Scriptures reveal to us so many reasons why Jesus Christ came into the world, and every reason brings another blessing to those who believe in Him. This planet would be a much poorer place to live had Jesus never visited it. The world needs what Jesus brought, and we have every reason to be thankful that He came. Our brother Phil Sanders has prepared a message about it.
If you think you might want a free printed copy, or a CD, an audio cassette tape of it, then you might want to jot down our address right now. It’s In Search of the Lord's Way; P.O. Box 371; Edmond, OK 73083 or searchtv@searchtv.org. Or you may access it on our website at www.searchtv.org. And our toll-free telephone number is 1-800-321-8633.
We’re sponsored here by some members of some churches of Christ in the area served by this good station. They are the reason you won’t be hearing us beg you for money to stay on the air. Oh say friend, why don’t you just get ready to worship with one of those churches; start next Sunday. Tell them we invited you, will you? Ken Helterbrand’s going to lead us in a hymn now; then Phil Sanders will be here to read 1 Timothy chapter 1, verses 12 to 16 and then he will study that passage with you.
Our reading today comes from the book of 1 Timothy chapter 1, verses 12 through 16. “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 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. However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.” That is the Word of God. Let’s pray together. O Father, we are grateful that your love is greater than our sins; and that you could forgive even the chief of sinners; and that you can forgive us; that, Father, we are thankful. In the name of Jesus, Amen!
The Bible says in John 1:1 to 4, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.” The Word was God, and He is eternal. He has always been and will always be. There has never been a time when the Word, that is Jesus, did not exist. He came into the world to bless it with life and light, and we can be thankful that He came to this world.
If we want to know what God is like all we need to do is look at the life of Jesus. God came to be with us in Jesus Christ that we might know Him personally and have a relationship with Him. What do we see when we look at the life of Christ? We see God’s power and glory. He had power over nature, sickness, sin and death. We see amazing love, meekness, gentleness, holiness, justice, compassion, grace, mercy, loving-kindness, anger at sinful behavior, patience, and authority. We see in Christ God calling to us to repent and to do His will.
The Bible says in John 1 and verse 14, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus has always been Divine, but He became flesh and He dwelled among us. Now, the word for “dwell” has the idea of pitching a tent; that is a temporary dwelling place. Now, since our flesh is temporary, Jesus became one of us and took on temporary flesh. And that means that he felt pain; He got hungry and thirsty; He grew tired, and would experience physical death. We see His glory in spite of the fact that He was God, who became a man. He was willing to humble Himself in order to bless us.
Now, in spite of God becoming man and taking on flesh, Jesus was still full of two divine characteristics: the first one, grace; and second, truth. The Bible says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8, verse 9). The Lord Jesus humbled himself and became obedient to His Father’s will. And He did this to save us from sin and gave us life. Ah, this is amazing grace!
The Bible says in 1 Timothy 1 verses 15 and 16, that “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, (Paul says). And yet for this reason I found mercy, so 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.” Jesus came to save every person who comes to Him in faith and obeys His will. And He is patient with us and He gives us an opportunity to make the changes that we need to in our lives.
Now, out of grace and love for us, Jesus came to do the will of God. That is why He came. Hebrews 10, verses 4 to 7 says: “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when Christ comes into the world, he said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings you (that is the Father) have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, (Jesus speaking) He said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”
When Jesus prayed at Gethsemane, “Not my will but Yours be done,” He was saying to His Father that He was willing to drink the cup, that is to die on the cruel cross. Such grace and love is astounding! The Bible says in 1 Peter 2 and verse 24 that Jesus himself “bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”
You remember that Scripture we learned as children, John 3 and verse 16. It says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Verse 17 says, “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” God the Father and our Lord Jesus are in the saving business. Jesus didn’t come into the world to condemn it but to save the world from the evil that sin brings.
In the greeting of the letter to the Galatians, the Bible says, “To the churches of Galatia: (that is those congregations) Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.” That is from Galatians chapter 1, verses 2 to 5. Now the Lord knew that we needed forgiveness of sins and that we needed a path away from the sinful life. He forgave us and then He showed us the way out of evil. He lived a sinless life and showed us how to live and more than that how to love.
The book of Galatians says those who practice the works of the flesh or sin “shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5, verses 19 to 21). But Christ came to lead us out of that evil, fleshly life to a better life. Verses 22 to 24 of Galatians 5 say, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; and against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Jesus came to show us a better way of living than that old sinful way that hurts everybody.
The Lord Jesus didn’t merely come to give life but to give it in abundance. The Lord said in John 10 and verse 10 that, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; (Jesus said) I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly.” The life that Christ gives lifts people up; it gives them hope; it gives them joy; it gives them peace, and teaches them love. 1 John 4, verse 19 says that, “We love, because He first loved us.” We are transformed into new people by the blood of Christ. He gives us new life and a chance to start fresh as changed people.
The grace of God not only saves; it also teaches. Listen now! The Bible says in Titus 2, verses 11 to 14, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”
I tell you God’s grace turns cold hearts into warm ones. It turns people who once followed their foolish and ungodly desires into people who live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age. Their hearts don’t wallow in the old and ugly life they used to live. They are now ashamed of that life. What they think about is the coming of Jesus and they live to bless other people. They look for opportunities to do good deeds; and wherever it goes, the grace of God enlarges people’s hearts and transforms their lives to become compassionate and righteous.
The Lord doesn’t leave people in the lost condition where He found them. He shows them Jesus Christ and what they can become! Jesus Christ first gave us grace to save us from sin and He also gave us second the truth to teach us how to live this victorious and abundant life! Jesus graciously tells us the spiritual truth that we need to hear, not simply stories and easy things that we like to hear. God had only one Son, and He was a preacher. He gave us the truth that sets us free (John 8 and verse 32). Jesus showed us a great sense of urgency to preach repentance and the truth to people.
The Bible reveals this urgency in passages like Luke 4, verses 42 to 44 where the Scripture says that: “When day came, Jesus left and He went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them. But He said to them, ‘I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.’ So He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.” Ah, the Lord Jesus wanted everybody to hear his message. He spoke to anyone and everyone who was willing to listen.
Mark 2, verses 16 and 17 says that when the scribes and the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and the tax collectors that they said to His disciples, “Well, why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?” And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “it is not to those who are healthy who need a physician, but to those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” He came to make a difference in people’s spiritual lives, to help the spiritually sick become well. Jesus knew that both grace and truth were needed to make a difference!
Jesus came into this world so that we might know the truth. The Bible says in John 1 and verse 17, “For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.” In fact, Jesus could say to His disciples in John 14, verse 6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; and no one comes to the Father but through Me.” We can know what is true by listening to Jesus Christ. In John 18, verse 37, you remember Pilate asked Jesus, “So You are a king?” And Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. And everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
If you want to know what is spiritually true, find out what Jesus said. If you want to be “of the truth,” then listen to His voice. Read the words of Jesus in the New Testament. Learn what He teaches because He is full of truth. We are hearing a lot of strange ideas and beliefs in the religious world today. The apostle John urges us in 1 John 4 and verse 1, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but you test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” I tell you the best test of right and wrong, the best test of truth and error, is still the teaching of Jesus. If the Lord Jesus doesn’t teach it, don’t believe it. He is the measure of truth.
Some people think the words highlighted in red in their Bible are the only words Jesus spoke. Well, He certainly said these words, but the rest of the New Testament also contains the words of Jesus. You see Jesus made a promise to the apostles in John 16, verses 12 and 13. He said, “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” Why in fact, all the New Testament comes from the Lord. It is all God-breathed and utterly true.
I would hate for anyone to miss the grace of Jesus Christ by missing the truth of Jesus Christ. You see, these two things, grace and truth, are bound together and inseparable. You can’t find the grace of Christ by ignoring His truth, and you can’t find the truth of Christ by ignoring His grace. If we are to trust the grace and the promises of Christ, we must have them in what He has spoken. Some people want grace from Christ, but they don’t want His true teaching. My friend, you can’t have one without the other.
If you want Jesus as your Savior, you must also take Him as your Lord. You must trust Him and believe everything that He says is true. If you cannot trust Jesus but think He is mistaken in what He teaches on morals or doctrine, how can you trust His promises? You can’t re-write Jesus’ teaching on one point and then trust in Him on another point. When you do that, you don’t believe in Jesus at all. You believe in yourself and in your own wisdom. God wants us to trust in Jesus Christ in every step and decision we make. And when we do, His grace and truth surround us. Have you come to Christ in faith, repentance, and baptism? Why not come to Him today? Let’s pray. O Lord, we are thankful for the grace that we have in Christ Jesus our Lord; that He shed His blood for us; and, Father, we are also thankful that He gave us the truth, the teaching that helps us to know how to live our lives. Father, bless us and help us always to do Your will. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Thank you, thank you, brother Phil Sanders for an excellent message on “Why Jesus Came.” You know, since Jesus Christ entered the world and lived among us, and was tempted in all points as we are; and since He suffered and died on the cross that we might be reconciled to God and to live with Him eternally in heaven, don’t you think you and I should respond to His invitation, as is recorded in Matthew 11:28. He said, “Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest?” That is Matthew 11:28. He’s inviting you, my friend. Oh, I hope you will come to Him today.
If we may assist you in your obedient response, we would love it. Just call us at 1-800-321-8633. Or write us at In Search of the Lord's Way; P.O. Box 371; Edmond, OK 73083 or by e-mail at searchtv@searchtv.org. Visit our website at www.searchtv.org.
We plan to be here next week, too; and we hope you can, also. We’re presented here by members of some churches of Christ in the area that is served by this good station. We would like for you so much to go and be with them in Bible class and worship. God bless you now. We love you.
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