Wednesday, January 18, 2023 Some material taken from United In Our Beliefs
And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12
Jesus – Your Savior
Of all the things that Jesus is, the most important thing of all is that He is our Savior. He was “the promised and expected deliverer of the Jews,” and He is our deliverer as well. Without His incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection, we would be lost forever in our sin, separated from God. He saved us from our sins for a relationship with Him, and reconciliation with God. He gave us all this through His grace, and not our works. He rescued us, redeemed us, reconciled us, and reserved our place with Him in heaven for all eternity.
It was the precious blood of Christ that paid the price for our sin.
He paid the price for our sins when He offered His life in place of ours, and He forgives all sins for everyone who asks. No sin is too small or insignificant in His eyes, and no sin is too big for Him to be forgiven. This forgiveness gives us access to Heaven. Our Messiah will be revealed in our lives as we live in step with Him, as He would, living out His purpose in our lives.
To understand Jesus’ role as Savior, we must understand our own desperate situation. We are all sinners, unrighteous and separated from God, and dead in our sins. There is no way possible for us to save ourselves, to be good enough, or earn our reconciliation with God because He is holy. There has to be payment for sin so God sent Jesus to be the propitiation – or the atoning sacrifice for our sins. He took our place and paid the ransom for our sin debt, and traded places with us willingly.
He made the one who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21
Jesus is perfect, spotless, pure and holy. He lived a life of perfect obedience and became the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He satisfied both the holy and righteous requirement of God. This sacrifice that He made was complete; there is no need of another, indeed cannot be another.
Here are four Biblical Concepts of the Death of Christ taken from United In Our Beliefs:
Ransom or Redemption - This concept has to do with delivering a person by paying a price. Everyone is sold under sin in the slave market of sin, but we are purchased out of the market of Sin by the price of the blood of Christ. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace. Ephesians 1:7
The Concept of Propitiation - Christ satisfied all of the requirements of God. The divine dilemma was that God is holy and just and must carry out His sentence upon sin. On the other hand, God is love and desires fellowship with His creation. This was a great problem for God before the work of Christ. Now, Christ satisfies both of these.
The Concept of Substitutionary Atonement - Christ died in our place. He suffered the wrath that God would have had to ultimately pour out upon us.
The Concept of Reconciliation - The death of Christ removes enmity between God and man, caused by man's sin.
Jesus’ death and resurrection make all these things possible, proving that He is the Savior of the world. Is He YOUR Savior? We can only be saved by believing that Jesus is the Son of God and trusting in Him as Lord and Savior. When we confess our sin and trust Him as Lord and Savior, we are forgiven, redeemed and eternal life is ours in Him. His grace covers all our sins, past, present, and future. If you have not made this decision, and you are ready, now is the time! If you are not sure if you are ready and want to talk with someone you can call the church office at 817-599-8612 to speak with a pastor.
