Years ago, a brokerage firm known as E. F. Hutton aired a TV commercial that featured two people talking about financial investing in the midst of a crowded room. When one said to the other, “Well, my broker is E. F. Hutton, and E. F. Hutton says…,” all the people around them hushed their conversations, and leaned toward them so as not to miss out on E. F. Hutton’s advice. I thought of this recently when I read I Timothy 1:15:

“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…”

Imagine you’re not saved, and you’re hearing that verse read in church. If the pastor paused at the word “save” to turn the page, I daresay you’d lean forward in your seat in eagerness so as not to miss out on hearing who Christ had come to save. How thankful you would be when you heard He came to save sinners, for if you are honest you have to admit that you are among the “all” who “have sinned” (Rom. 3:23).

But the news would not have been as good for you had you been a Gentile reading the Bible before the inclusion of Paul’s epistles. When the angel told Joseph that his wife Mary would bear a son, he added, “He shall save His people from their sins” (Mt. 1:21), and the Lord’s people were Jews. Aren’t you glad the Apostle Paul later made it clear that Christ came to save sinners, whether they be Jew or Gentile?

When Paul says that this saying is “worthy of all acceptation,” he means there is no part of it that is not worthy for you to believe and accept. That’s not true of all old sayings! They say there is nothing certain in this world except death and taxes, but that saying is not worthy of all of your acceptation if you are saved. There will always be taxes, but your death is anything but sure since the Rapture might come in your lifetime! We Christians aren’t looking for the undertaker, we’re looking for the Uppertaker (Tit. 2:13).

But if you’re not saved, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” is a saying that is worthy of all your acceptation! Christ did come into the world, and He came to save sinners like you. If the greatest need of men were education, God would have sent us a teacher. If our greatest need were money, He would have sent us an economist. If our greatest need were philosophy, He would have sent us a philosopher. But our greatest need was salvation, so He sent us a Savior who died for our sins and rose again (I Cor. 15:3,4). “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).

To the Reader:

Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."

To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.

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