Are you Sinner Enough to be Saved?
by Elder Lin Brown
Mat 9:11-13
And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.Luke 7:47-50
Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.Luke 15:7
I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.Luke 18:10-14
Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.Luke 19:7
And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.John 9:24,25&31
Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.
Rom 3:7
For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?1 Tim 1:9,10&15
Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;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.
These verses certainly bring to light a very clear and apparent truth that it is to sinners that Christ came to bring salvation. In fact in one particular passage above it is very clear that those who do not deem themselves as sinners are excluded from the salvation that is in Christ. The Gospels say that thou shall call His name Jesus because He has come to save His people from their sins. Paul says that the purpose of the Law is to show that we are sinners. By the way it is God who says that we are sinners, not our parents, not our pastor, not man at all. In fact all of those listed may say that we are not sinners when we are judged by mans judgment. Look above and see that the Pharisees judged that Christ was a sinner Himself, but their judgment didn’t mean anything. Can we come to Christ without knowing that we are sinners? I believe that most Christians believe that you can come right into the kingdom without repentance and without being converted. As we teach our children Who God is and who they are, let us be careful that we don’t neglect the truth that we are all sinners before we come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and afterward we are sinners saved by grace. Let us teach faithfully that sin is sin, whether it is found, in the heart or in outward actions. Don’t be afraid of teaching that everyone without Christ is a sinner through and through, for that is what the Bible says, As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes (Rom 3:10-18).Paul said he was the chiefest of sinners and Christ had saved him. Are you and yours sinners enough to be saved? Remember it was the Publican despised and hated by the religionist of his day, who said Lord be mercuful to me a sinner and went down from the temple justified, while the self righteous Pharisee, who thanked God that he was not like other men who left that place still under the wrath of God. Sometimes I wonder why people even bother with a profession of faith in the Savior when they in their heart don’t believe that they are a sinner and are certainly as good as the next man. Beloved it is not the next man by which we shall be judged, but the righteousness of the Son of God. Can your own self righteousness match His? Keep in mind that our Lord said that, For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven (Mat 5:20). May God give us grace to see the depravity of our hearts and to see that there is no name given under heaven whereby we must be saved than that of the Lord Jesus Christ.
