Sermon Snippet – God Our Savior
INTRODUCTION – As we have worked our way through various passages in the book of Isaiah, we have seen its Messianic message. Today, we will consider Isaiah’s specific emphasis on the Savior and salvation.
1. WE NEED SALVATION
Isaiah 63:7-9 is a lovely revelation of God as “Saviour” (verse 8). His “lovingkindnesses” (verse 7) flow from His covenantal love: He has promised to love. He has demonstrated this love through His “great goodness (verse 7) and merits our “praises” (verse 7). Moreover, His concern is not coldly distant, for in our “affliction, He was afflicted” (verse 9), and He warmly has “carried” (verse 9) His people. The root meaning of the Hebrew word for Savior and salvation is “to make wide” or “to enlarge” as opposed “to narrow” is the sense of causing discomfort. Although a different Hebrew word is used in Psalm 4:1, the thought is similar: “Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress.” The promise is not of a removal from tight places but of room in those difficulties. We are made bigger spiritually; we are enlarged such that we are equipped to handle the challenges of life. The same idea is found in Isaiah 60:5: those who worship God the Savior (“fear”) will “be enlarged,” will thrill and rejoice spiritually. Finances, family troubles, failing health, foolish leaders – these troubles and others crowd in every day. We need space; we need to experience God’s deliverance. We agree with David: “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13). Life squeezes us hard, and we can give up hope. We need safety, sanctuary, salvation.
2. WE CANNOT SAVE OURSELVES
Logically, if we could save ourselves, we would never let ourselves get into problems and predicaments. Isaiah 17:10-14 is clear: our attempts at salvation will result in failure. Some fads are innocuous – the hula hoop comes to mind. Other fads can help or harm depending on the individual – certain popular diets are examples. The current fad of spiritual self-improvement is always deceptive and destructive. Briefly, for a superficial moment, there might be the appearance of progress: “In the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish” (verse 11). However, there is no real salvation: “The harvest shall be a heap [a heap of nothing] in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow” (verse 11). We need salvation, but we cannot save ourselves.
3. WE HAVE A SAVIOR – JESUS CHRIST
We studied Isaiah 43:1-15 three weeks ago. Because it is not possible to preach everything from a given passage (at least not for me), I only briefly mentioned the use of “Saviour” (verses 3, 11) as we considered the absolute claim of God to be God. However, God is also making the absolute claim to be Savior: “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour” (verse 11). We are not saviors, nor are idols and false gods (as we touched upon last week). How does the Savior save us? Isaiah 53 provides specific prophecy concerning the salvific work of the Messiah. Note the emphasis on the payment of our sins in verses 5 and 10. We find fulfillment of this prediction even in the name of Jesus: “She [Mary] shall bring forth a son; and thou [Joseph] shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). The name “Jesus” means “YAHWEH saves” and is derived from the same Hebrew word that we studied in Isaiah. Certainly Jesus lived up to that name in His ministry: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Yes, He seeks us out individually and offers each one of us salvation because He is the promised Savior. Colossians 2:13-15 vividly reveals that our sins are nailed “to His cross” (verse 14); His sacrifice on that cross is the mechanism by which our sins can be forgiven.
CONCLUSION – Let us be sure that we have trusted in Jesus alone for His eternal salvation, and let us thrill and rejoice in Him. He is God our Savior.