Because of Jesus, I am Saved

When I was in seminary, our neighborhood was a regular target for Mormon missionaries. We lived across the street from a Mormon family, so whenever we would have block parties, they would invite the Mormon Elders over. One thing I realized in talking to these young men was that we could talk for hours without really understanding what the other one was saying. The problem was that we talked right past one another. We used the same words, but they had different meanings.

There are words we sometimes find in church that are unclear or just don’t carry the same meanings in our culture as they did when they were written. For example, I remember being rather confused that my church would sing “How Great Thou Aren’t” and that we would pray, “Our Father, who aren’t in heaven…” Or how about the familiar words of the 23^rd Psalm which declare that “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.”

There are other words we tend to overuse to the extent that the word loses its meaning. This is true of a lot of church words. “Save” and “salvation” are such words. As Christians, we often talk about salvation without being really clear what salvation means.

When we look at the term “salvation” through the Old Testament, we find a context that seems completely different than ours. Salvation terminology often has to do with national identity and security. When the Lord saved Moses and the Israelites from the Egyptians, Moses sang a song to the Lord including this lyric: The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. (Exodus 15:2)

When the Lord delivered David from Saul, he said, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer, my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior – from violent men you save me.” (2 Samuel 22:2-3)

Salvation in Old Testament times was something real, and everyone knew what it meant. It meant being delivered from one’s enemies, being brought out of slavery, returning home from exile. In the face of life-threatening circumstances or in the midst of the bondage of slavery, salvation was the hope and dream of every Israelite. It meant freedom.

The Israelites recognized the domination of their enemies as God’s direct punishment. They were exiled as punishment. So salvation also meant restoration of their relationship with God. Before John the Baptist came, preaching, “Prepare the way for the Lord” and “All people will see God’s salvation,” his father, Zechariah, prophesied (Luke 1:68-75):

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us— to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

On Christmas morning, we focus on the baby in the manger, which is right – Christ is the reason for the season. But there is a reason for the reason for the season, and salvation is that reason. Let’s look at salvation through Zechariah’s prophesy. He begins by praising God. Why is God worthy of praise? Because he has come to his people and redeemed them.

Jesus birth is the beginning of redemption, which can be defined as the act of recovering ownership by paying a specified sum. The covenant God made with Abraham was a covenant in blood, and Abraham and his descendants became God’s covenant people, set aside for God. There were specific rules, lots of them, defining God’s people, and for each specific sin there was a payment required. Every time there was a sin, there was a payment required, again and again. But in sending His Son, Jesus Christ, God has redeemed us. No longer are we required to pay sacrifices again and again, because our debt has been paid in advance.

The Apostle Paul writes to Titus, saying: For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.  It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. (Titus 2:11-14) Jesus came to redeem us, to pay the required payment for our sin, and to purify us so we can be eager to do what is good.

God’s salvation is always two-fold. It means rescue from our enemies, but it also means empowerment. Remember what salvation is for Zechariah? To rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. (Luke 1:74-75)

Because of Jesus, we are saved. But what does salvation mean to us who live in a free country, a land of plenty, a land of opportunity? Often we live in bondage, even in a free country. A couple of weeks ago, I preached a message called “Because of Jesus… I am Free” – it is important for everyone to understand that we can be easily enslaved by almost anything. But freedom in Christ is not just freedom from… it is also freedom for.

Because of Jesus, we are enabled to serve God without fear. Fear is paralyzing. Once Tara and I went hiking in Zion National Park, and there’s a rugged hike called Angel’s Landing, and at one point you have to climb along a sheer drop-off. I got to the drop-off and my intellect told me I would make it but my legs and my stomach told me was going to fall to my death. I started to get vertigo and the path started to move. I just couldn’t continue. Unfortunately I see Christians who are afraid. Afraid to share their faith. Afraid to invite someone to church. Afraid to confront sin. Afraid to trust God fully.

This is not the kind of life God has called us to. Because of Jesus, I am saved from fear to live a fearless life. If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31b)

It can be daunting to face our fears, but God never does the miraculous when we complacently sit on our hands. It is always when we fearlessly follow Him that God honors us with amazing results.

Because of Jesus, we are enabled to serve God in holiness. Holiness means being set apart by God for God. We have no claim to holiness on our own; we can’t set ourselves apart for anything greater than ourselves. We do not get there on our own; it is only because of what Jesus did for us that we are saved from our sinful existence and made holy. God isn’t fooled; he doesn’t just say, “boys will be boys” or “humans will be sinful” and pretend we’re set apart. That would be like me putting on a Buckeyes jersey, thinking that would allow me to suit up for the Gator Bowl. No, God actually makes us holy, and that only happens through the action of Jesus Christ. Because of Jesus, I am saved from unholiness to serve God in holiness.

Because of Jesus, we are enabled to serve God in righteousness. Righteousness is another church-word that has often lost its impact. It simply means “in right relationship with God.” In our sin, our relationship with God was non-existent, and there was no way for us to restore it.

Titus 3:4-7 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

Because of Jesus, we are saved from unrighteousness so we can serve God in righteousness! We are saved from sin so we can have the hope of eternal life!

This is the joy of Christmas – not simply the joy of a baby born, as babies are born every day. But the joy is that the baby who was born is Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

These past couple of weeks have been difficult in the life of the church. Though we’ve been doing a lot of celebrating, truth is there has been a lot of loss. We’ve had three funerals in two weeks, and I’ve been at the hospital more these past couple of weeks than I had in months. Even in the Christmas season, when we celebrate the birth of Christ, we are reminded of the brevity of life. We are not promised tomorrow. But the great thing is that if you haven’t yet surrendered to God through Jesus Christ, you don’t have to wait.

As we read in 2 Corinthians 6:2b, I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.

Many, if not most, of us have accepted Jesus’ free gift of salvation, but some of us stopped there. If that’s you, Peter tells the church to grow up. In 1 Peter 2:2-3, he writes: Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

We celebrate today that Jesus was born. But Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and he calls us to do the same, to bring the most glory to God.