Intro: Are you a sinner? This is the question I want to press upon each of us. Are you a sinner? The Lord Jesus said, I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. The Apostle Paul wrote, 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 (1 Tim. 1:15). Christ came to call sinners to repentance, and Christ came to save sinners. Are you a sinner? Perhaps you re thinking, Preacher, everybody is a sinner! Yes, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but not all are sinners in their own estimation. To understand these things aright, this grand distinction should be known: Though all are sinners in God s sight, there are but few so in their own. To such as these our Lord was sent; they re only sinners who repent. What comfort can a Savior bring to those who never felt their woe? A sinner is a sacred thing; the Holy Ghost hath made him so. New life from Him we must receive, before for sin we rightly grieve. Joseph Hart I ask you again, so be honest. Are you a sinner? Are you a guilty, Hell-deserving wretch before God? Do you deserve to die and spend eternity in a devil s Hell for your crimes against Heaven? Does the evil condition of your depraved heart give you grief? Now let s read our first text. () And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me. 28 And he left all, rose up, and followed him. 29 And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. 30 But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? 31 And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. 32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. 1. A SINNER HAS NEED They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. Christ came for the needy. He called Levi, who is also called Matthew, while he was sitting at the receipt of custom. Christ made this despised publican a disciple. When the LORD of glory called this man who was a sinner, he left all, rose up and followed Him. The LORD had mercy on him. And Matthew was so happy to find mercy, that he invited all his ragtag friends to come over and meet the blessed Savior. He threw a feast to celebrate the grace of God, and invited other sinners to come and dine. And Christ was happy to sit and eat with all these publicans and sinners. He sat and taught them the gospel. But when their scribes and Pharisees saw it, they murmured against the LORD s disciples. When these selfrighteous, religious hypocrites saw the liberty and joy of the LORD and his disciples, feasting in celebration around the table of grace, they complained and grumbled against them, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? Why are you the guest of those who are sinners? Why are you the Friend of sinners? Why do you break bread in fellowship with sinners? Why do you rejoice and drink wine with sinners? For what good reason do you do such things? SINNERS NEED CHRST The blessed Son of God replied, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. Christ says, These people are sick with sin and need Me, and I am come to help the needy. I rejoice to meet with sinners! I am the Great Physician! Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, like a physician is sent to cure the diseased. EXAMPLE: We don t understand all implications of this title as physician, because we live in a day when doctors work out of sanitized buildings and patients have to make appointments. Physicians in ancient days would come to their patients. If a terrible disease broke out in a village, the physician would be sent to the village to care for the sick. He would carry all his tools and medicine with him and set up camp in the village. There he would meet the diseased and afflicted, bringing them into his 1
tents to care for them. The sights and smells of a physician s tent were not for the weak minded. But if you asked the physician, Why do you spend all day and night in this tent with diseased people and putrefying smells? Why are you so happy to sit by their beds, touching their sickness and being touched by their sickness? He would reply, Because I m a physician, and this is my occupation, my passion and my calling, to help sick people. These people need my knowledge and expertise. I ve given my life to the cause of healing the sick. Why is Christ so willing to touch and be touched with the feelings of the infirmities of the guilty? Why does the holy Son of God rejoice to sit and eat with publicans and sinners? It s because He came to save sinners, and because sinners need Him. Are you a sinner? Is your heart plagued with sin, putrefying with guilt, and desperately wicked? Do you need the Great Physician? Come, ye sinners, poor and needy, Weak and wounded, sick and sore; Jesus ready stands to save you, Full of pity, love and power. Let not conscience make you linger, Not of fitness fondly dream; All the fitness He requireth Is to feel your need of Him. WHAT DO SINNERS NEED FROM CHRIST? This same account is recorded in Matthew s gospel. (Matt. 9:10-13) And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? 12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. 13 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. God our Savior came to have mercy on the miserable. He did not come to have the self-righteous sacrifices of religious hypocrites. He did not come to save good people. He came to show mercy to murderers and adulterers, to drunkards and thieves, to prostitutes and publicans and sinners. Are you a sinner? If you are, you know that you need God s mercy in Christ. If you re a sinner, you have nothing to offer or sacrifice to God. Your only hope is the mercy of the LORD; His pity and compassion for the helpless. A sinner knows that if God doesn t show mercy, he deserves to die. The wages of sin is death. All that a sinner earns from God is condemnation and wrath. A sinner knows that mercy is undeserved. Mercy could not be mercy if he deserved it. Mercy is free and unconditional, according to God s lovingkindness. If God shows mercy He ll do it for His own Name s sake. (Ps. 25:11) For thy name's sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great. A sinner knows that God s mercy is sovereign. God has mercy on whom he will. (Rom. 9:15-16) For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. A sinner knows his need for mercy, and that Christ came to show mercy, so a sinner calls upon the LORD for mercy. 2
(Ps. 86:5) For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee. A sinner waits for the mercy of the LORD, hoping in His word. (Ps. 123:1-4) Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens. 2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us. 3 Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt. 4 Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud. A sinner always obtains the mercy that he seeks. God is rich in mercy. He delights to show mercy. (Luke 18:10-14) Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 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. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 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. 14 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. The publican humbled himself before God s throne as a guilty sinner. He begged God for mercy. He begged God to be propitiated for him by the blood of Christ. He came to God through faith in Christ s blood. The Lord said, I tell you, this man went down to his house justified. He was declared innocent by the precious blood of Christ. He was washed from all his sin. Come to God by faith in Christ and you shall obtain mercy! Sinners always do! (Heb. 4:15-16) For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. 2. WHY ARE YOU A SINNER? If you re a sinner, why are you a sinner? Why do you need Christ? If you feel your need for Him today, you didn t always feel your need. A sinner is a sacred thing, the Holy Ghost has made him so. (Jn. 16:7-9) Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; Christ says to His people, It is necessary that I go to the cross, suffer for sin, and die as your Substitute, or the Comforter will not come unto you. There is no comfort for chosen sinners, except they be redeemed, except all their sin be put away by Christ s blood. But since Christ accomplished redemption by His blood, and ascended up to Heaven as our divine Advocate and Surety, the Spirit of God is sent to God s elect. How does the Spirit begin to comfort God s elect? He first reproves of sin, because they believe not on Christ. The Comforter s first work of grace is to convict us of sin. No man can believe on Christ, except God the Holy Spirit first convince him of what he is in God s sight. Except you repent, you shall all perish, but no man will repent unless God intervenes in grace to convict of sin. If you re a sinner, it s because God intervened and would not leave you alone. (Jn. 6:63-65) It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you that believe not. For 3
Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. 65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. A SINNER IS CHOSEN OF GOD If you re sinner, if you know your need of Christ, it s because the Father gave you that revelation. If you believe the truth, it s because you were chosen of God in Christ before the world began. (2 Th. 2:8-10) And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. The good news of salvation accomplished for God s elect, for all that believe, is utter nonsense to this religious world. They are deceived with unrighteousness, with the lies of man-centered, free-will, works religion. Because they received not the love of the truth, God gives them over to believe the lies of false religion, so they trust in themselves, in their own works, or a decision they ve made, or the power of their own will. (v. 11-12) And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Men and women that refuse to believe God and will not take their place as guilty, helpless sinners, are given over to the delusion that they can be accepted by what they do or decide. They hate the gospel of God s sovereign, distinguishing grace in Christ, so God sends them a strong delusion, that they should believe a lie. But who made the difference? There is no difference by nature, between those who are perishing and us who are saved. (v. 13-14) But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: 14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. A SINNER IS GIVEN A NEW HEART Before a man or woman will believe God and become guilty before God, God has to do a mighty work of grace. He must give us a new heart. (Eze. 36:26) A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. EXAMPLE: When life is conceived in the womb, meiosis begins as the cells duplicate. A baby s Life begins before there is any movement in the womb. The cells are alive! They multiply into hundreds, then thousands and millions. But at some point in the midst of all the countless cells, a group of cells begin to move in rhythm. The very first movement of life is the heart of the child. Before the heart is fully formed, the cells that form the heart begin moving to the rhythm of life. As it is with physical life, so it is with spiritual life. God must give life before a dead sinner becomes sensible to their sin. The first sign of new life in Christ is the movement of the heart toward God. The heart is pricked with a sense of guilt before God. A stoney heart can t be pricked, but a heart of flesh can feel the sting of conviction and learn to fear the LORD. (Jer. 32:39-40) And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: 40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. 4
How is life conceived in the heart of a sinner? How does a man become sensible to his sin? (James. 1:18) Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth Of God s eternal purpose and good will in Christ, He hath begotten us with the word of truth! (1 Pt. 1:23, 25) Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 25 And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. When you consider the multitudes of people who never hear the gospel, that are deceived by anti- Christ and perishing, who are we that God would send us His word by the gospel? By the mercy of our God, I m only a sinner saved by grace! I thank God that I am a sinner. I m not excusing sin. I mourn over what I am. But I thank God He has showed me the guilt of my sin and drawn me to Christ. I m thankful that I m a sinner, because Christ came to save sinners! 3. WHY AREN T YOU A SINNER? I ask this question to you that are lost, to you that are without Christ. Why aren t you a sinner? A sinner needs Christ. A sinner needs God s mercy. A sinner knows that he deserves wrath. A sinner knows that mercy is undeserved. A sinner knows that God has mercy on whom He will. A sinner knows that Christ came to show mercy, so he cries out for mercy. A sinner waits for the LORD to show mercy, hoping in His word. And a sinner always obtains the mercy that he seeks. So why aren t you a sinner? YOU DON T NEED CHRIST You re not a sinner because you don t need the Savior. If you were a sinner, if you needed Christ, you would have Him. Those who must have Christ shall have Him. (Luke 9:11) And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing. YOU DON T NEED MERCY You re a hypocrite. You think that you re a good person. You believe your own lies and have taken refuge in self-righteousness. YOU DON T DESERVE TO GO TO HELL You don t really believe that God is absolutely holy and that you re a condemned wretch. You don t really believe that God will send you to Hell for your sin. YOU THINK THAT GOD OWES YOU You really imagine that you deserve to be blessed by your own works and merit. YOU THINK YOU RE IN CONTROL You really don t believe that God is absolutely sovereign, that He saves whom He will, and whom He will He hardens. So you harden your heart in rebellion. You choose to follow your own free will. YOU REFUSE TO BEG You re too good to beg for mercy. Such a thought is utterly abhorrent. YOU DON T BELIEVE GOD S WORD You reject the truth of Christ, calling God a liar! YOU ARE DEAD IN SINS You walk according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. You are taken captive by Satan at his will. You re a child of wrath! YOU SHALL NOT OBTAIN MERCY You don t seek mercy, because you don t need it, and you shall never obtain it, if God leaves you to yourself. You might just be a vessel of wrath fitted for destruction, appointed to damnation by the sovereign purpose of our God. Oh God, will you show mercy on these who are lost, showing them their desperate need of Christ? God make us sinners and then show us the Savior of sinners, our Lord Jesus Christ! AMEN. 5