Sermon Snippet – God Our Savior -Part II
INTRODUCTION – The Messianic message of the Old Testament book of Isaiah reminds us that God never changes: He is always seeking us to save us (Luke 19:10). As we considered last week, we need salvation, but we cannot save ourselves. However, God the Son, Jesus Christ, is mankind’s Savior and makes His eternal salvation readily available to all. Let us be strengthened as we study this subject further.
1. FIRST AND FOREMOST, WE ARE SAVED FROM OUR SIN
We saw last week from Isaiah 53, especially verses 5 and 10, that the sacrificial death of the Messiah is the full payment for our sins. Only One Who is fully human can be a substitute for us, and Only One Who is fully divine can be an efficacious, perfect substitute. Jesus fills these requirements impeccably. He was nailed to a cross and in so doing nailed our sins “to His cross” (Colossians 2:14). His sacrifice on that “old rugged cross” is the mechanism by which our sins can be forgiven so that we can be granted eternal life. Let us be honest: we are sinners, and we need the sinless Savior. May each one of us be certain of this everlasting salvation by trusting in Jesus.
2. OUR SAVIOR’S COMPREHENSIVE SALVATION INCLUDES OUR GENERAL WELL-BEING
Jeremiah 17:14 is a personal plea to God: “Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for Thou art my praise.” The parallelism of Hebrew poetry connects “healed” and “saved.” Part of our salvation, then, includes our physical and emotional health. This same assurance is found in Isaiah 53:5-6 (quoted in I Peter 2:24-25). The emphasis in both passages, of course, is our eternal deliverance from the enslaving power of our sins. However, it is also true that God cares about our entire lives. Isaiah 19:20-22 is a good example of this truth, as is Isaiah 30:15, 26. One of the ways that our Savior strengthens us is through our times of worship (Hebrews 10:22-25). It is no surprise, then, that one of the first things Satan did at the onset of the recent pandemic was to shut down churches. Schools were also shuttered, and the dramatic increase in health problems amongst children is a direct result. Satan hates all humans because we are created in the image of God. Thus, the devil will harm us in any way that he can. Conversely, Jesus our Savior cares about all aspects of our lives, and His salvation touches upon all areas of our health.
3. OUR MESSIAH’S SALVATION PROTECTS US NOW
Isaiah 61:10 speaks of “the garments of salvation”; this word picture indicates the complete coverage of God’s saving work. Isaiah 59:17, echoed in Ephesians 6:17, focuses on “a helmet of salvation,” demonstrating our Savior’s protection of our minds. I am sure that you have noticed that so many so-called experts are so wrong even about their supposed areas of expertise. How can they be so far from the truth so often? First, postmodernists do not care about truth; they are interested in power and control. Second, their minds are not protected from Satan, and their minds are “darkened” (Ephesians 4:17-23). An inexpert Christian can thus have common sense – really, uncommon sense – because our minds are illuminated by God the Holy Spirit. This protection is further illustrated in Isaiah 60:18 and 26:1. The safety of the city of God pictures the security that we have in Jesus and points us to the ultimate fulfillment of this promise -eternal life in the heavenly city of God.
4. OUR LORD’S SALVATION LEADS US TO RIGHTEOUSNESS
Isaiah 26:2 connects salvation to the righteous. The parallelism of Isaiah 45:21 links “righteous God” with “Saviour.” The same linkage is found in Isaiah 51:8. It is the righteousness of Jesus that ensures our salvation (Romans 5:18-21). Furthermore, we are saved to be righteous, to live differently (Romans 6:5-14). Note the use of “knowing” (verses 6. 9) and “reckon” (verse 11), directing us to the power of our protected minds. Note also “yield,” used twice in verse 13; we can now exercise our wills to do the right thing! In practical terms, righteousness is simply doing the right thing, and our Lord saves us from the inevitability of the wrong way.
CONCLUSION – Jesus decrees that “sin shall not have dominion over you” (Romans 6:14). As we saw last week and in this week’s first point, we are saved from the penalty of our sins through faith in the finished work of Jesus. We are also saved from the power of sin right now in our bodies, minds, and wills. We no longer have to live “having the understanding darkened” (Ephesians 4:18). Let us then live in this comprehensive salvation of our Savior, in His “grace” (Romans 6:14).