This is a faithful saying, and worthy of alt acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. 1 Tim. 1:15.

Two fundamental truths are stated in this verse: first, Jesus Christ came into the world; and second, He came to save sinners.

Almost two thousand years ago the second Person of the Godhead invaded this world in disguise. He Himself descended from a sphere quite beyond this earth. In Jesus Christ the invisible God became visible in human form. He is "God with us." He came to effect man's salvation. Only the God who had been sinned against could save. Only the God who lost a world could redeem it. Because God Himself came down, salvation is certain. God stepped down to save sinners by a supreme act of extraordinary grace and love.

The church is a community of the redeemed by virtue of the saving action of Jesus Christ. In 1959 the newspapers in Sydney, Australia, carried the account of a remarkable rescue of a 16-year-old girl. A young lifeguard, seeing her swept out to sea, plunged into the ocean. A strong riptide carried them farther from the shore. According to the account, sharks circled them, often brushing their legs. The girl fainted from the terror of it. The young man held her up for three hours. Finally he brought her to shore. The newspapers called it a record in the history of lifesaving in that country. The lifeguard did not send the girl a book on lifesaving with the counsel to read all about it. He acted. He made a supreme effort and saved the girl. She would never again be the same. One cannot pay off that kind of debt.

The gift of Jesus Christ is God's supreme act to save us. To believe this means that you can never be the same again. Beyond this God cannot go. Christ has done for lost men more than all the great men of earth. He has redeemed us. In place of death He brought eternal life. In place of sin He brought righteousness. In place of disease He brought health. In place of darkness He brought light. What stirrings of heart the good news should create in every life! We have an eternal inheritance in Christ. Let us claim it.