1. Jesus Saves! - 30th October 2015
“…believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…you and your household” (Acts 16:3).
Jesussaves!We hearthis,see thisandeveninmanycars as we drive along.Butthe Who is Jesusand
SavedfromWhat? Most people acrossthe worldhave heardor may know that Jesuswasa man who
livedinIsrael approximately2,000 yearsago. Virtuallyeveryreligioninthe worldviewsJesusasagood
teacherand/ora prophet.Andwhile thosethingsare mostdefinitelytrue of Jesus,theydonotcapture
the full essence of whoJesustrulyis,nordotheyexplainhow orwhyJesussaves.Itshouldnotbe
merelyabumpersticker.Buta lot more has to be done as Christiansasitis a mandate forall Christians
to teachothersof whoJesusChristisand how He can save us.
Therefore asChristianswe needtoknow,sothatwe couldshare this knowledge withothersforittobe
meaningful.Firstlywhydowe saythat“Jesussaves”.ChristiansbelievethatJesusisGod incarnate,and
He came as a true humanbeinginthe personof Jesusinorder to save us. We can learnthisinHebrews
4:“For we do not have a highpriest who isunable to empathizewith our weaknesses,but we have one
who hasbeen tempted inevery way, justas we are—yet he didnot sin. 16 Let usthen approachGod’s
throne of grace with confidence,sothat we mayreceive mercy and findgrace to help us in our time of
need (Hebrews 4:15-16).Therefore we can learnthatthose whohave faithand believe inthe name of
JesusChristas oursaviour,we can receive forgivesandsalvation…Thisis whatismeantwhenas
Christianswe state asbeing“saved”.
That bringsup the nextquestion: We know thatJesussaves.Jesussaves,butwhydowe needtobe
saved?The Bible declaresthateveryhumanbeingwhohaseverlivedhassinned:“Indeed,thereisno
one on earth who isrighteous,no one who does what isright andnever sins(Ecclesiastes7:20). To sin
isto do something,whetherinthought,word,ordeed,thatcontradictsGod’sperfectandholy
character. Because of our sin,we all deserve judgmentfromGod(John3:18, 36). God is perfectlyjust,so
He cannotallowsinand evil togo unpunished.Since Godisinfinite andeternal,andall sinisultimately
againstGod: ‘Againstyou,you only,have I sinned anddone what isevil in your sight;so youare right
in your verdict andjustifiedwhen youjudge”(Psalm51:4).Eternal deathis the onlyjustpunishmentfor
sin.That iswhy we needtobe saved.
One may wantto know how Jesussaves us. Because we have sinnedagainstaninfiniteGod andpay for
our sinsforan infinite periodof time afterourphysical deathtakesplace.ToavoidthisJesusChrist
broughtus the Good newsof salvationandalsosacrificedHimself forthe redemptionof oursinsone
time.There isnoother option.Jesussavedusbydyinginourplace.In the personof JesusChrist,God
sacrificedHimself onourbehalf,payingthe infinite andeternal penaltyonlyHe couldpay:“Godmade
himwho had no sinto be sin for us,so that in himwe mightbecome the righteousnessof God (2
Corinthians5:21). Jesuswasthe atoning sacrifice inourplace whichwe can learnin 1 John 2:2 “He is
the atoningsacrificefor our sins,and notonly for oursbut alsofor the sinsof the wholeworld…” Jesus
tookthe punishmentthatwe deserve inordertosave usfrom a horrible destiny,the consequenceof
our sin.Because of Hisgreat love forus,JesuslaiddownHislife payingthe penaltythatwe hadearned,
2. but couldnotpay. Jesuswasthenresurrected,demonstratingthatHisdeathwas indeedsufficientto
pay the penaltyforoursins (1 Corinthians15).
One may alsowantto know whomdoes Jesus save?We mustknow that He came to earth to save ALL of
humanity whowill receive Hisgiftof salvation.Jesussavesall thosewhofullytrustinHissacrifice alone
as the paymentforsin because of His of His love forus: “ForGodso lovedthe worldthat he gavehis
one and onlySon,that whoever believes in himshall not perishbut have eternal life (John3:16).
Therefore in Acts16:31 itteachesus:“…believein the Lord Jesus, andyou will be saved—youandyour
household.”. ButasChristianswe mustclearlyknow thatwhile Jesus’sacrifice wasperfectlysufficientto
pay forthe sinsof all humanity,Jesusonlysavesthose whobelieveinHisname offeringthem Hismost
preciousof gifts…anacceptance tobe calledchildrenof God: “ Yetto all who didreceive him,to those
who believedin hisname, he gave the right to become childrenof God— (John1:12).
As the reader, if you now understand whatit means that Jesus saves, and you
want to trustin Him as your personalSavior, makesure you understand and
believe the following, and as an act of faith, communicate it to God: “Jesus, I
know that I am a sinner, and I know that because of my sin I deserveto be
eternally separated fromyou. Even though I deserve it, thank you for loving me
and providing the sacrifice for my sins through your death and resurrection. Jesus
I believe that you died for my sins and I trustin you alone to save me. Fromthis
point forward, help me to live my life for you instead of sin. Help me to live the
rest of my life in gratitude for the wonderfulsalvation you have provided. Thank
you, Jesus, for saving me!”
“…believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…
you and your household” (Acts 16:3).
