Yes — according to Paul, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
Paul explicitly states this in 1 Timothy 1:15, calling it a faithful saying worthy of full acceptance. Les Feldick explains that this is an extension of Christ's first coming to Israel as King. After the nation rejected the King, Paul proclaims the same Christ as the Savior of sinners through His death, burial, and resurrection.
1 Timothy 1:15 — Paul's direct, explicit statement of why Christ Jesus came into the world: to save sinners.
Paul's direct answer is found in 1 Timothy 1:15, where he describes the coming of Christ Jesus as an act of saving sinners. The same apostle later ties this to the central events of the gospel—Christ's death for sins, His burial, and His resurrection on the third day—as recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. These verses give the clearest Scriptural foundation for why Paul says Christ entered the world.
Les Feldick reads Paul's words as a faithful, trustworthy statement that Christ Jesus entered the world for the purpose of saving sinners. He explains that this is not in conflict with the Old Testament promise of a King; it is an extension. In the King's presentation to Israel, Jesus fulfilled the prophetic entry into Jerusalem, but the nation rejected and crucified Him. That rejection did not interrupt God's plan. Paul was later raised up to carry a distinct gospel of grace to the Gentile world, centered on Christ dying for our sins, His burial, and His resurrection for justification. Even Saul's early salvation came through the Kingdom Gospel, before God revealed His Son in him by grace.
Les Feldick contrasts the message of the Kingdom proclaimed by Peter and the eleven—that Jesus came to be Israel's King—with Paul's message that He came to save sinners. He also notes that John the Baptist's announcement of the Lamb of God was almost lost amid the dominant King proclamation. Les sees Paul's statement as an extension rather than a contradiction: first the King came, and after Israel's rejection, Paul announces salvation for sinners through the cross.
Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on a donkey was connected with the Old Testament prophecies that the King of Israel would come. When Jesus presented Himself as King, Israel cried for His crucifixion. Les observes that this did not interrupt God's plan; rather, it set the stage for Paul's later revelation of salvation by grace.
In 1 Timothy 1:15, Paul identifies himself as the chief of sinners. Les mentions that sermons on that verse often emphasize Paul's self-description, tying it to the truth that Christ came to save sinners, even the worst.
Jesus' triumphal entry as Israel's King
King of the Jews. Now these wise men, whoever they were, we don't know. We don't know really where they came from, but evidently God had revealed to them that the promised king of Israel was now on the scene. And this again came from all the Old Testament prophecies that he would be born.
Paul's faithful saying: Christ came to save sinners
All right, 1 Timothy, chapter 1, drop down to verse 15, where Paul says, "...this is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to be the King of Israel." See, it doesn't say that, but He came into the world, why? To save sinners, see? What a difference, and yet not different, it's an extension. See, first He came to be the King.
Contrast between Kingdom proclamation and Paul's saving sinners
Way back when John the Baptist announced Christ, yes he did say, "...behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world." But that was almost lost in the dust. But what did John the Baptist really proclaim Christ had come for? To become the King, and this is what Peter and the eleven have been proclaiming, that He had come to be the King.
Paul's distinctive cross-based gospel
So who are these that are going to be coming when Christ comes? Well we've been pulling out the fact that Paul has now been raised up to go to the Gentile world with a whole different concept of salvation. And it's going to be based on that finished work of the cross, how Christ died for our sins. His blood was shed, He was buried, and He rose from the dead for our justification.
Saul saved under Kingdom Gospel before further revelation
Even Saul of Tarsus was saved under the Kingdom Gospel, believing who Jesus was. And who was He? The Son of God, the Messiah of Israel, the Promised One out of the Old Testament as coming to the Jews under the covenant promises. That's all he understood. But see that was enough, because that's as much as God had revealed at this time.
Israel's rejection of the King
Period. See? And you go all the way into Saul's conversion, before the Gospel of Grace has even been whispered. And Saul has that tremendous conversion experience on the road to Damascus. And after his body had been replenished with food and he'd gotten his sight back, he goes straight to the synagogue of the Jews. And what does he preach? That Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Son of God.
God's purpose to reveal His Son in Paul
And so at the appropriate time, Saul's mother conceived, and the baby in her womb was all part of God's preordained plan. And that's what he says, see? It was God who formed him in the womb. It was God who brings him to the birth. And he says, and he called me by His grace. Now you all know Paul's background as the persecutor, as the one who hated Jesus of Nazareth with a passion.
Christ's death and resurrection according to the Scriptures
How that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, see according to the Old Testament. It was prophesied, but it was never revealed that it would be a salvation for Jew and Gentile alike. How that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.
1 Timothy 1:15: 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.
This is Paul's direct, reliable statement of the reason Christ Jesus entered the world.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4: For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
Paul summarizes the saving work that explains why Christ came—His death for sins and His resurrection.
Paul calls it a faithful saying worthy of full acceptance: the coming of Christ Jesus was for the purpose of saving sinners. Les applies this as the central reason for Christ's coming in Paul's teaching.
Les explains that Paul's statement is not a contradiction but an extension. First Christ came to be Israel's King; when Israel rejected Him, Paul proclaimed that He came to save sinners, Jew and Gentile alike.
Les says Paul was raised up after Israel's rejection with a new revelation: salvation is based on Christ's finished work on the cross—His death, burial, and resurrection for justification. This was not revealed in the same terms before Paul.
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