Jesus is Our Savior

Introduction -

Savior God — the God of Israel understood according to his activity in rescuing Israel from danger.

Savior — someone who rescues something from danger or violence; especially used of Christ as the one who rescued His people from their sins and the resulting danger of judgment.

Every once in a while we all get into a situation where we could use a Savior God. Someone to save us from a dangerous situation. Maybe we are in financial trouble, maybe we are in a situation in traffic which will cause harm if we are not saved from it or maybe we are in a situation where our lives are actually in danger because we are being held at gun point. Think back on your life - how many times have you needed help getting out of a situation that was dangerous.

There are a lot of times when we need to be delivered from a dangerous situation but mostly this isn’t the case. However, we are all in need of saving from our sins. We are all sinful. We are separated from God and we need to be saved from the consequences of those sins. There is only one way for that to happen and that is through the work of Christ Jesus. God can be our deliverer from danger when we need it. However, Jesus is our Savior. There is no one else capable of saving us from ourselves.

But what does it mean for Jesus to be our Savior. Well........

The Word Savior

Mo-si (Hebrew - Old Testament) This word is used 13 times in the Old Testament and means - Deliverer, Savior. It is used to depict someone who delivers someone from danger or harm such as when God delivered the Hebrews from the hand of Pharaoh in Egypt.

Hosea 13:4 NASB95

4 Yet I have been the Lord your God Since the land of Egypt; And you were not to know any god except Me, For there is no savior besides Me.

This is the idea of the one who saves us from actual physical harm. When we are in a situation where our lives or something about this actual physical life is in trouble - God is the One to turn to.

The other idea of a Savior is the one that saves us from our sins.

Soter (Greek - New Testament) This word is used 87 times in the the New Testament and means Savior. It is used to depict someone who delivers someone from sin and judgment. Used specifically of Christ Jesus as our Savior - the Son of God.

1 John 4:14 NASB95

14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

So what is the difference between the two ideas - deliverance from danger and salvation from sin? Let’s look at a passage from the Old Testament that shows how God delivered His people from harm.

Deliverance from Danger

The King of Assyria - Sennacherib came up against Jerusalem and besieged it. Hezekiah being one of the best kings since king David went into the Temple and called upon the Lord God for deliverance.

2 Kings 19:14 NASB95

14 Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.

Then Hezekiah prayed and God acted; God sent Isaiah to speak to Hezekiah and he said:

2 Kings 19:32–37 NASB95

32 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, “He will not come to this city or shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield or throw up a siege ramp against it. 33 “By the way that he came, by the same he will return, and he shall not come to this city,” ’ declares the Lord. 34 ‘For I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’ ” 35 Then it happened that night that the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead. 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home, and lived at Nineveh. 37 It came about as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.

That is old time deliverance from evil. This is only one of the many Old Testament stories that show God delivering His people; either individually or as a nation. This is what is meant by Mo-si.

Some might say that’s the Old Testament - God doesn’t do that anymore. However, he does. I have read dozens of missionary stories where God has directly intervened in the lives of His children to deliver them from harm. I know there are times when God has delivered me from situations that could have gone terrible wrong. If you think about things that have happened in your past you will probably find a few times where God intervened in your life to deliver you from harm.

So then we come to Soter.

Deliverance from Sin and Judgment

The idea of a Savior changes in the New Testament. The Savior is no longer dealing specifically with safety of the body in this world. It changes from physical salvation to spiritual salvation. The Savior is now here to save us from the sin that keeps us separated from God and condemned to death. It saves us to live eternally with God forever after this mortal body comes to an end. This is when the Savior becomes a specific person - The Lord Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 1:10 NASB95

10 but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

So we know who the Savior is but what exactly does He save us from?

As I said in the introduction message A.B. Simpson’s book the Four Fold gospel provides two lists. The first one is the things Christ Jesus saves us from and the other is a list of things He brings to us after salvation. List number one -

What salvation saves us from:

It takes away the guilt of sin.

Salvation saves us from the wrath of God. God hates evil and must punish it somehow.

Revelation 16:1 NASB95

1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”

3. Salvation delivers us from the curse of the law.

4. It delivers us also from our evil conscience.

5. It delivers from an evil heart, which is the source of all the sin in the life.

6. It frees us from the fear of death.

7. Salvation delivers us from Satan’s power and kingdom.

Acts 26:18 NASB95

18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’

8. Beyond all else, salvation delivers us from eternal death.

What salvation brings to us:

It brings us justification in the sight of God, so that we stand before Him as righteous beings.

It brings us into the favor and love of God, and secures us full acceptance in the person of Jesus.

3. Salvation gives us a new heart.

Ezekiel 11:19 NASB95

19 “And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,

4. Salvation gives us grace to live day by day.

5. It brings to us the help of the Holy Spirit, who is ever at our side as a gentle mother, helping our infirmities and bringing grace for every time of need.

6. It brings to us the care of God’s providence, causing all things, to work together for our good.

7. Salvation opens the way for all the blessings that follow it.

8. Salvation brings to us eternal life.

John 5:24 NASB95

24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

So now we know what a Savior is and what we are saved from let’s take a look at who that Savior is. Salvation comes through our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus.

John 3:16 NASB95

16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

We know that Christ Jesus is the only begotten Son of God because the Gospels say that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He was crucified, died, was buried and rose again on the third day. Our salvation comes through His blood that was shed on that cross when He was crucified.

Romans 5:6–10 NASB95

6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

So Jesus is the name by which we must be saved - but how does that happen?

There are many steps that lead to salvation, sometimes they happen all at once; when life turns someone upside down and brings that person to their knees. Sometimes the steps happen over years as a believer witnesses to the person and the individual finally understands their need for a Savior.

But the first step is to accept the fact that we need a Savior. We have to accept that we are sinners and there will be a price for our sin. That price is high, it’s eternal death. There is no redemption of sins without the shedding of blood. And as I said earlier it’s only through Christ Jesus’s blood that we receive the redemption of our sins.

Once we acknowledge our sin we must turn away from them - or repent.

Then we must call upon the name of the Lord and believe in Him as our Savior.

Then we must confess Him before men.

Romans 10:8–10 NASB95

8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

This is what seals the deal, confessing Him before men. Without confessing Him before men the truth may never really sink into the heart. In the heart is where we need to have the truth because then it will spill out into our everyday life.

Matthew 10:32 NASB95

32 “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.

It is with this that I will end. Confessing Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior before men. We can also call this witnessing, or preaching the gospel. We are all called to “Go” and make disciples. We do this by witnessing. We do this when we let the truth in our hearts overflow into our mouths and tell someone about Jesus.

Growth of the Church comes through the lost receiving salvation. Growth of the church comes when the lost realize they are in need of a Savior. We know who that Savior is and we know how salvation comes to those who call upon His name Let’s help the lost find their way home. Help them find Christ Jesus so they can find their way to the Kingdom of God. This is the first core value of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Lost people matter to God. If they matter to God they should matter to us.

So here is the challenge. In the next six days tell at least one lost person about Jesus. Tell that person who doesn’t know Jesus about Jesus and why they need Him. Then invite that one person to come to Church with you. Bring someone to Jesus and then let the Holy Spirit do His work to bring the increase.