The Lord Jesus is the world’s greatest teacher, He is the world’s best guide, He is our perfect example, He is the greatest hero, He is an infallible leader – but our first great need is not for these things, but for a savior, and it is in order to be our Savior that Jesus came to earth to die for us (Matthew 1:21; Luke 19:10; 1 Timothy 1:15; Hebrews 9:26). His death was necessary so that He might be our Savior; but having died He rose again and is now exalted, and at this moment He is alive in heaven, able to “save completely those who come to God through him.” He is not only willing to save but is able to; Jesus is both able and willing to save completely, adequately, everlastingly, all those who come to God through Him.
Hebrews 7:25: “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”
- Grammatical Usage: “to save” or in the Greek, “sōzein” meaning, “to rescue, heal, preserve”; “uttermost” or “panteles” meaning, “completely, perfectly, utterly”; “intercession” or “entynchanein” meaning, “confer; entreat”.
- Literal Interpretation: This means that Christ can rescue, heal and preserve fully and completely those who approach God through him, for he is always living to confer and entreat on their behalf.
- Contextual/Comparison: God keeps His Word: God continually uses His Word. The word ‘save’ implies deliverance from danger; look up Matthew 14:29-30 for an illustration of this. The Lord Jesus is able to save us from every evil, from sin, self, death, hell and the Devil, and to bring us back into a right relationship and full fellowship with God. The word ‘save’ or ‘salvation’ doesn’t only mean deliverance from danger but includes the whole idea of bringing us back into a positive and right relationship with the Lord Himself. What His saving ability consists of:
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- The Lord Jesus saves from the guilt and penalty of sin. By nature we are under condemnation because of our sin (John 3:18; 3:36; Romans 6:23). But by His atoning death on the Cross and because He is our risen and exalted Lord, He has provided and offers to us a full and free salvation from the guilt and the penalty of sin (Romans 8:1).
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- The Lord Jesus saves from the filth and the impurity of sin. These are strong words, but sin is horrible (Isaiah 1:5-6); compare David’s prayer in Psalm 51:1-10. We cannot cleanse ourselves from the impurity of sin, but He can and He is able and willing to do it (Zechariah 13:1; 1 John 1:7).
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- The Lord Jesus saves from the power and the mastery of sin. See what John 8:34 says and compare this with John 8:36. The ability of the Lord Jesus is such that He can break the fetters of sin and completely free the sinner who has previously been in the grip of sin (Luke 13:11-12).
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- The Lord Jesus saves us from the bondage of self; notice in these three ways:
- He can save us from an unhealthy lack of confidence in self. In one sense we should have no confidence in ourselves, but in another sense we should have confidence in the fact that as Christians we are redeemed and precious to the Lord, so we are special (Isaiah 43:1; Malachi 3:17).
- He can save us from unhealthy over-confidence in self. It is quite wrong to think that we have the ability or the strength to serve God, having an over-confidence in the flesh(2 Corinthians 3:5-6; Philippians 4:13).
- He can save us from the unhealthy sins of the flesh and the old nature – notice the awful list in Galatians 5:19-21.
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- The Lord Jesus saves from fear, worry and anxiety: the fear of man, failure, success, fear of the future and death (Psalm 34:4; 37:1-11; Isaiah 26:3).
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- The Lord Jesus saves from every evil thing. He doesn’t save from trouble but delivers in trouble (Psalm 50:15); He doesn’t save from disappointment but makes His grace sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9); He doesn’t save from accident (sometimes He permits this), but promises that nothing will happen to us that is contrary to His will (Romans 8:28; 2 Timothy 4:18).
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- The Lord Jesus saves from hell to heaven. Those whom He saves will one day go to be with Him (John 14:2-3); they will have new bodies (Philippians 3:20-21); and they will be with Him forever (1 Thessalonians 4:17). He saves from sin to salvation (Matthew 1:21); from death to life (John 5:24); from alienation to fellowship with God (Ephesians 2:12-13); from tears to joy (1 Peter 1:8); from wrath to a conscious enjoyment of God’s love.
The question then arises: whom will God save?
“…those who come to God through him” – because of John 14:6 and Acts 4:12. What does this mean? Here are five simple steps that anyone who needs to be saved should take:
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- I need to be saved.
- I believe the Lord Jesus is able to save me.
- I believe He is willing to save me.
- I here and now ask Him to save me.
- I believe I am saved because Jesus saves me now.
The Lord Jesus is fully able and willing to save completely all those who come to God through Him – those who come to trust Him for salvation: He saves fully, freely and forever!
- Conclusion: Am I saved? Am I grateful for my Savior?
