Trustworthy

September 24th, 2026
by Gary Cheaney

If He Could Save the Worst, He Can Save Anyone

SCRIPTURE:
1 Timothy 1:15 CSB - This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" -- and I am the worst of them.

OBSERVATION:
1 Timothy is one of four personal letters Paul wrote to three pastors—Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.

Timothy held a special place in Paul’s heart. Paul called him a “true son in the faith.” When Paul pastored in Ephesus, Timothy was a young man—believed to be about 19 or 20 years old. Paul wrote to him with encouragement and instruction, helping him set in order the things that were lacking in the church.

In chapter 1, Paul emphasizes a central, foundational truth of the Christian faith:

"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." — 1 Timothy 1:15

Even those who recognize that Christ’s work is to save admit that it is more difficult to believe that this salvation belongs to sinners. Our mind is always prone to dwell on our own worthiness and, as soon as our unworthiness becomes apparent, our confidence fails. Thus the more a man feels the burden of his sins, he ought with greater courage to betake himself to Christ, relying on what is here taught, that He came to bring salvation not to the righteous but to sinners. – John Calvin

This is at the very core of the Christian faith – without Jesus coming to save sinners, we would all be without hope.

But Paul goes even further: “...and I am the worst of them.”

This wasn’t a clever phrase—it was Paul’s deep conviction. He clearly remembered his past: the persecution, the imprisonment, and the death he brought upon the early church. In his mind, that made him “the chief of sinners.”

Yet, Paul explains the reason behind his salvation:

1 Timothy 1:16 CSB - But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in him for eternal life.

Paul says, "If Jesus can save me, He can save anyone." He is the living proof of God’s extraordinary mercy and patience.

Despair’s head is cut off and stuck on a pole by the salvation of ‘the chief of sinners.’ No man can now say that he is too great a sinner to be saved, because the chief of sinners was saved eighteen hundred years ago. If the ringleader, the chief of the gang, has been washed in the precious blood, and is now in heaven, why not I? Why not you? – Charles Spurgeon

Paul assures Timothy—and us—that this truth is trustworthy and fully worthy of acceptance. Christ came to save sinners, not the self-righteous. What a glorious promise!

APPLICATION:
When this truth sinks in—as Paul wanted it to for Timothy—it stirs the heart to worship. That’s why Paul bursts into praise:

1 Timothy 1:17 CSB – Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Let’s live today, grounded in this trustworthy and glorious doctrinal truth: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

Rejoice in this: Jesus came not for the perfect but for the broken. Not for the righteous but for the rebellious. The only “prerequisite” for salvation is to be a sinner—and some of us have excelled at it. Yet the grace remains.

If He saved Paul, He can save you. If He saved me, He can save anyone. Let that truth stir your heart to praise.

PRAYER:
Jesus, thank You for saving a sinner like me. May I never forget this glorious truth. You didn’t come for the righteous—you came for the lost, for me. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

The trustworthiness of the gospel isn't proven by how good we are — it's proven by the fact that Christ saved Paul, the chief of sinners, and left no one with an excuse to despair.

Posted in 15 - 1 Timothy