Christ Came to Save Sinners

Paul states the purpose of Christ's coming as plainly as it can be put: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Not to save the good, the religious, or the respectable, but sinners, that is the category He came for. And Paul adds something deeply personal and humbling: "of whom I am chief." The great apostle does not exempt himself or place himself above the rescued; he counts himself the foremost of the sinners Christ came to save. The nearer a person draws to Christ, the more clearly they see their own need of Him.

This is wonderfully good news for everyone who feels unworthy at Christmas, too flawed, too failed, too far gone to belong at the manger. The truth is the reverse: it is exactly sinners that Christ came for. To know yourself a sinner is not to be disqualified from Christmas but to be precisely the one it was for. The healthy do not need a physician; the sinless would not need a Saviour. If you come to this season aware of your sins, you come as the very person Jesus was born to save. Your unworthiness is not a barrier; it is your qualification.

Do not let a sense of unworthiness keep you from the Saviour this Advent. He came into the world to save sinners, and that is exactly what you are. Come, then, as the one He came for.