The Lord has the heart of a savior. He is both mighty to save and willing to save. He is the ultimate, incomparable, quintessential Savior!
Recently my wife and I visited her brother in the hospital. He had just been diagnosed with cancer. Two days earlier he had almost died in the emergency room.
Some ten years ago he had suffered the same cancer, and after receiving various therapies for more than a month in the hospital he had fully recovered.
The doctor who treated him then was still working at the hospital and would be able to treat him now, for which he was very grateful. He had not yet seen her since coming into the hospital and was waiting for her to arrive in his room at any time.
He told us the story of how ten years ago, after recovering from the cancer, he had seen her at the hospital in the hallway from a distance and pointing toward her had called out loudly for all to hear, “She saved me!”
We visited for 20 minutes, and then the “savior,” his cancer doctor, suddenly walked in the door. She smiled broadly.
When he saw her, his face lit up, he beamed, and they began chatting enthusiastically like old friends.
Human saviors
A person who saves you holds a special place in your heart, especially if they literally save your life. We see such stories in the news regularly. A fireman rescues a person trapped in a burning building. Someone donates a kidney to a dying friend. A lifeguard rescues a drowning swimmer. A soldier rescues an injured fellow soldier under enemy fire. Those saved tell their stories with tears.
Even when threats are far less serious, we feel a special bond of gratitude toward people who help us in a tough situation. My wife called me last week from an hour away and said she had pulled the car off the road because it was making strange, loud noises from underneath. She texted a photo of something hanging midway along the muffler pipe. “Where should I take the car?” she asked.
We hung up so I could do some internet research. Suddenly I remembered a mechanic we had used several times when we lived in that area. He is a Christian and had always done quality repairs, at a fair price, with honest advice about what we really did or did not need. I called him immediately, and he said he could squeeze us in. Forty-five minutes later my wife called to say he had used one screw to reattach a pipe shield and charged us nothing for his time and no diagnostic fee.
Bonded with saviors
What a relief to have a “savior”! We love
- the helpful tow-truck driver who gets your car moving again
- the nutritionist who tells you how to eat and overcome health problems
- the author or financial coach whose book saves you from crushing debt
- the exercise coach who saves you from fat, fatigue, and heart problems
- the roofer who installs a quality roof that saves you from chronic, home-destroying leaks
- the skilled accountant who saves you from thousands of dollars in unnecessary taxes
- a friendly and competent clerk at a government office
- the competent lawyer who saves you from an unjust lawsuit
- the pastor whose sermons, podcasts, and books save you from spiritual ignorance and self-destruction.
They save us money, uncertainty, fear, time, frustration, and problems.
The ultimate savior
On an infinitely more important scale, what the gospel reveals about God is that he is the ultimate, incomparable Savior. First, of course, he is the Savior of one’s soul. But he doesn’t stop there. The gospel reveals Jesus traveling through Palestine healing the sick and crippled, delivering those tormented by demons, feeding the hungry. The gospel reveals the Lord as the Savior willing and able to rescue you from every harmful thing, every danger, torment, and problem.
The heart of God is to save people in need. He has the nature of a first responder, an emergency-room doctor, a beach lifeguard, a war hero, a financial coach to debt-crushed people, a suicide counselor. He rescues people who cannot save themselves.
God says, “I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior” (Isaiah 43:11).
Scripture says, “The Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14).
The angel told Joseph: your wife Mary “will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus [which means, Yahweh is salvation], for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
The title Christ is the Greek word for Messiah. A messiah is a savior.
God is not reluctant to save people. He “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).
How do you need to be saved?
What threatens you? How are you in danger? What do you fear and worry about? The Lord is willing and able to save you from all the following needs and threats if you pray and put your faith in him.
Trouble: Jeremiah described God as the “hope of Israel, its savior in time of trouble” (Jeremiah 14:8).
Pain, disease: Jesus “took our illnesses and bore our diseases” (Matthew 8:17). “By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).
Lack: “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
Spiritual, demonic torment: “That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick” (Matthew 8:16). “He went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons” (Mark 1:39). “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
Death: “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die’” (John 11:25–26).
Emotional torment such as fear, despair, depression, meaninglessness, rejection: Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28–29). Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:9–10). “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst’” (John 6:35). “Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). “Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:37–38).
Guilt for sin: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23–24).
Judgment Day and the wrath of God: “God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:9).
Our way and God’s way
Our way: Fallen people prefer to save themselves. They don’t want to have to trust in God.
God’s way: “Salvation belongs to the LORD” (Psalm 3:8).
Life principle: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).
Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)