Jesus Saves Even the Foremost of Sinners

Introduction

There's a sentence from Paul that should wake you up every time you read it. It's short, blunt, and it changes everything: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost" (1 Timothy 1:15). Pastor Wataru Sugawara, advisory pastor at Kobe Christ Glory Church, opened a new series on First Timothy on July 6, 2025, with this text at its heart. And he did it by pointing to one simple truth: if Jesus saved Paul, then he can save you too, and he can save anyone around you.

Outline of the sermon

1. Timothy, a "double" young disciple, not a "half" one

Before getting into the letter itself, Pastor Sugawara goes back to the meeting between Paul and Timothy in Acts 16. Timothy lives in Lystra. His mother Eunice is Jewish, a believer, and his grandmother Lois is too. His father is Greek. The brothers in Lystra and Iconium speak well of him (Acts 16:2). Paul wants to bring him along.

The pastor pauses on a detail that may concern you today. In Japan, children born to parents of two different backgrounds are often called "half." He rejects that word. "You are not a half. Your mother is not half a mother, your father is not half a father. You are a double." And he points out that in the Bible, "double" even evokes a double portion of blessing. Timothy is a double. His faith inherits the spiritual DNA of Lois and Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5), and he becomes a solid servant of the gospel.

2. Leaving pointless debates to enter God's plan

The letter opens with a warning. Paul asks Timothy to stay in Ephesus to instruct certain people not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, "which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith" (1 Timothy 1:3-4).

Pastor Sugawara insists: your Christian life is not a debate forum. He recalls opening Facebook sometimes and seeing Christians tearing each other apart for days over topics that won't change anything in their walk. He concludes soberly: "It's pointless." What God wants to produce in you is something else. It's "love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith" (1 Timothy 1:5).

3. The law is good, when you understand who it's for

Some in Ephesus want to be teachers of the law without understanding what they are saying (1 Timothy 1:7). Paul points out: "We know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully" (v. 8). He adds: "The law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners..." (v. 9-10).

The pastor draws a parallel with civil law. No law is written for people who already live well: it exists to restrain those who do wrong. God's law works the same way. It wasn't given to condemn you if you're walking with Christ, but to expose sin and lead those who live far from God toward salvation. The problem in Ephesus (and sometimes yours too) is wanting to teach the law without having understood what it's for.

4. Paul, the foremost of sinners, saved by pure grace

In verse 12, Paul's tone changes. He gives thanks: "I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent." Pastor Sugawara says it with emotion: "God recognized Paul as worthy."

Then comes the sentence that gives this sermon its title: "The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost" (v. 15). Paul puts himself at the front of the line. He doesn't say "I was," he says "I am." The pastor remembers his own conversion: before agreeing to enter ministry, he took a sheet of paper and wrote down every one of his sins, one by one, then asked God to wash it all clean by the blood of Jesus. Today, almost 48 years into ministry, he still stands because of that grace.

5. If he saved Paul, he can save Japan: and he can save you

Paul had Christians killed. Stephen died before his eyes (Acts 7:58; 8:1). And yet on the road to Damascus, Jesus calls out to him: "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" (Acts 9:4). The pastor highlights a point that should change the way you see things: when someone persecutes Christians, it is Jesus himself he is persecuting. Jesus takes personally whatever touches his own.

From that conversion, Pastor Sugawara draws a firm conviction. Japan is known as one of the hardest nations in the world to evangelize. He answers: "If he saved Saul, he has hope for Japan. He has great hope for Japan." He also mentions what's happening in Iran, where evangelism is illegal and yet where Muslims are converting in large numbers, because Jesus reveals himself directly to them in dreams and visions. Where people can no longer speak, God still speaks.

Key takeaways

You are not "half" of anything. Before God, you are whole, loved, called, just like Timothy.
Faith isn't built through pointless debates but through a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.
God's law isn't a tool of condemnation for you who walk with Christ; it's a mirror that exposes sin to those who live far from God.
Paul considers himself "the foremost of sinners." A servant's greatness begins with awareness of the grace he himself has received.
If Jesus saved Paul, no one around you is too far away for him to save as well.

Personal application

Who is the person you secretly stopped praying for because "it won't do any good"? Was Paul closer to the Kingdom than they are?
Where are you spending your Christian energy this week: on an online debate, or on the concrete love that comes from a pure heart?
Have you ever written before God, the way Pastor Sugawara did before his ministry, a concrete list of what you want washed clean by the blood of Jesus?
Do you still look at God's law as a courtroom, or as the mirror of a Father who wants to set you free?
If Jesus received today, as in Acts 9, whatever touches the Christians around you, what attitude would change in how you speak about them or live alongside them?

Verses cited

FAQ

Why does Paul call himself "the foremost of sinners" when he is an apostle?

Because the closer you get to the holiness of Christ, the more clearly you see how much you needed to be saved. Paul isn't putting on false humility: he remembers persecuting the Church and having believers killed. Calling himself "the foremost" isn't a spiritual performance, it's the clear awareness of undeserved grace.

How do you know if a theological debate is useful or pointless?

According to 1 Timothy 1:5, the goal of all Christian teaching is love that issues from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. If your discussion produces that fruit, it serves God's plan. If it only feeds controversy and leaves you dry, hard, or proud, that's the kind of debate Paul asks Timothy to stop.

Does biblical law still concern the Christian today?

Yes, but not as a system of condemnation. Paul says the law is good when used lawfully: it exposes sin to those who live far from God and leads them to recognize their need for a Savior. For you who are in Christ, it remains a useful mirror, but your righteousness no longer comes from it: it comes from the grace of Jesus.

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