There was a thief that came to listen to Jesus one day; he had a lovely home and money in his pocket.

He wasn’t popular but he didn’t care. He not only was a thief, he was a fraudster, a fiddler, a person who fraternised with the enemy of the people.

There was a great crowd round Jesus when Jesus came to his town, and he climbed up into a tree to see for himself who it was everyone was talking about.

Surrounded by all those people and yet Jesus saw Zacchaeus; Jesus called him, Lk. 19:5 Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.

On another day He was in a fishing town on the north-western side of the Sea of Galilee called Magdala.

In those days it was important for its agriculture, fishing and trading.

There, in that town, He met a woman and no decent person would have given her a second glance. She had been demon-possessed and lived a terrible life.

And yet Jesus spoke with her; He called her by her name; He cast the demons out of her and He gave her a brand new life.

There was another woman on another day He met; she also was someone who went from one disastrous relationship to another and her life was in an absolute mess.

Normally people from where Jesus came from wouldn’t even have travelled through the area she lived in, much less stop at a well in the town to ask for a drink.

But this woman in the Samaritan town of Sychar was given a ‘drink’ of living water that quenched her spiritual thirst; Jesus said to her, the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

There was another man who was only one of a group. Again, this was a group no-one decent would have had any contact with, - each of the ten men were lepers and outcasts of society.

The Bible says, when Jesus saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed (Lk. 17:14).

As they were walking away from Him they noticed a change taking place in their bodies, - each of them was healed.

One man turned round, - a Samaritan, - vv.15,16 and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks.

And as Jesus spoke with him He told him, thy faith hath made thee whole.

And there was a man well-respected in the city of Jerusalem.

He wore particular clothes that set him apart from all the rest of the population and pointed to the fact that he belonged to an elite within the city.

One evening he came to Jesus because he was intrigued by Him, Jn. 3:2 Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

… And did Jesus begin to talk deep theology to him? No, Jesus told him with the simplest of words but the deepest of meanings, v.3 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus couldn’t understand, so Jesus said it to him another time, v.7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

The Bible says, Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Jesus said, Lk. 5:32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

You see, those are the people He came to die on the cross for. He came to die for the sinner that He would bring him/her forgiveness from all their sin.

Is there any sinner too sinful that Jesus cannot save … is powerless to save? Absolutely none! If you are not saved Jesus can save you! Heb. 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him.

Yes, the message is that Jesus saves … despite the sinner.

There was another man … and Jesus met him on the cross.

This man, - whose name we are not told, but whose name is written forever in the Lamb’s Book of Life, - was a thief, a robber and a murderer.

He was a wicked man. Morals and decency were not part of his career … and yet on the cross of Calvary, he cried out to Jesus to be saved and Jesus saved him … despite his sin.

You see, Jesus died for the sinner, not for the sin. All the sins of God’s people were loaded upon the body of the Saviour and He suffered hell and the agony of God’s wrath for the sinner.

Jesus died for sinners who committed deeds worse than you could imagine.

I know men who were homosexuals and Jesus died for them and gloriously saved them and changed their lives.

I’ve heard the testimony of Doreen Irvine who was an influential witch of the black magic and who was a prostitute and a drug addict and God mercifully interrupted her life and saved her.

The ladies had Cammy MacKenzie in their meeting and Cammy was on drugs, sleeping around, and in a Paisley street he stabbed a man and ended up in prison for attempted murder … and God searched him out and found him and saved him.

Gerry Adams and Martin McGuiness are leaders  within a terrorist network that killed many of my friends but I would love to get an opportunity to speak to them about Christ because Christ can even save them!

I had a friend in the UVF who murdered a man in cold blood and went jail for nine years for the crime; I had another friend who was in the UDA and was one of a group who went round kneecapping people, - he did jail too … and God wonderfully saved them and they are working for Him now.

Jesus saves all types of people, - from the lowest in society right through to the highest in society.

There are no limits on who Christ can save! And He saves people brought up in Christian circles, and he saves them out of Islam, and out of paganism and out of all the different belief systems you can imagine. … Jesus saves … despite the sin.

There is no sin that can hold the sinner from His saving grace, when the Holy Spirit applies the Divine work of regeneration … absolutely nothing can hold Him back!

There is no place Jesus will not go to save sinners from sin. Prostitutes have been saved. Gamblers have been saved. Terrorists have been saved.

Who is there that Jesus cannot save? There is absolutely none … Jesus saves … despite the sinner and despite the sin.

The devil is the great opposer and he throws up all sorts of reasons why Jesus ought not to save.

He tells some people to wait until they are older, when they have lived life to the full. It’s time enough then to be saved.

He tells some people it’s not for them, - all that holy stuff. He convinces them they don’t need it. They’re good enough.

He gives all sorts of reasons why they need not be saved and it is him that we naturally listen to. … That is why whatever he throws up in front of us is attractive and we are willing to give it a try.

When God is mentioned the devil closes our ears that we wouldn’t hear and shuts our eyes that we wouldn’t see and throws down the shutters on the heart that we would not believe.

He closes out God … but when the irresistible call of the Holy Spirit enters into the life of the unbeliever the eyes are opened … and Satan can no longer close them, the ears are unblocked and the shutters over the heart are smashed by redeeming grace.

Nothing that the devil can do can hinder Christ’s saving power when the blood is applied to the sinner.

The particular work of the Holy Spirit of convincing men and women, boys and girls of their sin is unstoppable … even by all the power of Satan and of hell.

Jesus saves … despite the sinner … and despite the sin … and despite Satan.

Where would you get a better message to tell people who are still on their way to a lost eternity in hell? You can’t!

There is no better message and there is no other Good News to meet their need.

If you are not saved, call on him now to save and He will … and trust Him that the gospel of saving and redeeming grace reaches all types in all situations and there is nothing can hold back the power of God.

Tonight, let’s glory in the Truth of God’s Word. Paul told Timothy, II Tim. 1:13 Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. … 8  Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; 9  Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. … 2: 10  Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

This is the Truth of God’s Word and the Gospel we uphold: Jesus saves … despite the sinner … despite the sin … despite Satan. Jesus – and Jesus only – saves completely!