Jesus saves!

The name "Jesus" was given to the child of Bethlehem by God himself, who sent his angel to inform Joseph about the supernatural happenings surrounding the virginal conception and birth of Jesus. This name, Iesous, is very much appropriate to him since it is the equivalent of the Hebrew Joshua, which in turn is derived from a root meaning "to save," linked with God's personal name Jahweh. Thus his divinity and mission (saving his people from their sins) are indicated in his name.

The true God is included in the name "Jehoshua" - Jah is a shortened form of Jahweh, the name by which God revealed himself to the patriarchs and the Jewish people. This same true God is revealed in Jesus of Nazareth, a real man with a real birth and human life. Being given the name Jesus is further proof of his unique person, the Theanthropos, the God-man. Salvation is to be found in him alone, for "I am He, and there is no other; there is no Saviour besides me." Jesus is the Saviour of men, for he alone has the nature of God and the nature of man, mighty to save and of the same flesh and blood as we are.

The expression of God’s glory

Hebrews 1:3 describes Christ as "the radiance (apaugasma) of his glory and the representation (character) of his being or person." Christ is therefore the mirror image of the Father, having the same attributes and the same divine excellencies. Whereas the Father is invisible, Christ the Son made him known, or literally expounded him.

All that the Father is is communicated to us through his Son. The knowledge of His love come from God through Jesus to us. This statement refers to Christ's unique and sole mediatorship. Nobody can legitimately affirm that he knows God or that God loves him if he has not yet heard and believed the gospel concerning his Son. He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent him. God shines in our heart to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. As similar truth is expressed by the Lord Jesus, "I have manifested thy name which thou gavest me out of the world" (John 17:6). Nobody else is qualified or competent to fulfil this mission.

He will save his people and no others

The biblical (though unpopular) doctrine of particular redemption is brought forward at the birth of Christ: “He will save His people from their sins,” the implication being that His people and no others will ultimately be saved.

True, Christ is called the Saviour of the world, to emphasise his wide and far-reaching redemption. But such expressions are not to be taken literally for the Bible asserts that a portion of mankind will be eternally lost while another portion will inherit eternal life through Christ.

Thus, since Christ was completely successful in his redemption, he will actually save his people, not simply make salvation possible to all. "The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep." "Christ loved the church and gave himself for her." "He will save his people from their sins."

We need not be reluctant to mention election and reprobation side by side, thus creating a strong contrast. This helps to safeguard Christ's honour, leaving no doubt as to who are the recipients of God's grace.

Christ saves from the guilt of sin

The believers' sins are cancelled, forgiven; God remembers them no more, so that our conscience is purified and we can henceforth serve God without fear. No guilt; rather, we stand justified, reckoned as righteous in his sight, through Christ's merits.

Christ saves from the fruits of sin, which cause trouble, pain, temptation, grief and weariness. While believers still experience these things, this happens according to God's wise providence; he promises that we shall be fully delivered from them at death, for in heaven we read about "the spirits of just men made perfect."

Christ saves from the roots of sin, i.e., his salvation is not a perfunctory thing; rather it involves a supernatural operation on the human heart. "A new heart will I give you," as was promised repeatedly in the prophets. The sin principle in us is made inopertive and thus we are to count ourselves dead unto sin but alive to God.

Jesus saves

Believing in the efficacy of Christ's redemption, we must faithfully bring the truth home to our hearers. We addresses you as sinners who urgently and personally need Christ. We tie salvation and man's whole welfare to Jesus alone and exposes the folly of seeking help elsewhere. We show the difference between as dead faith that feeds on past experiences and a living faith the abides in him daily. We destroys false hopes. We makes it clear that Jesus truly saves those who come to God through him, as God requires, by repentance and faith.