There is probably no other title
which is given to the Lord Jesus Christ which has any less meaning
to the average person calling themselves Christian than that
of Savior. Now I know it is quite common
to hear men of all stripes, denominations, and sects of those who profess
faith in Him speaking of Him as the Savior. Yet it is almost
impossible to find more than a handful today who believe that
He actually saved anybody by His atoning work on Calvary's
cross. There are multitudes who will
tell us that He made salvation possible or that He did all He
could do to save as many as He could. Yet they stopped short
of declaring that he actually procured salvation for those
for whom he died. Modern day physicians of no value
tell us he wants to save everyone but that he does not completely
save anyone because he has merely made an open-ended gesture which
allows men to be saved if they in turn will take advantage of
it by believing that he died for them. If they do not believe,
then they tell us that even though Christ died for them, they will
still be lost. This is not salvation by any
definition, and most certainly does not set forth Christ as
a Savior. This is but the description of
a cooperative salvation whereby a man can procure everlasting
life for himself by embracing the attempt of the Lord to take
away the sin of all men. They tell us that all men are
the objects of His salvation and that they can all be saved
if they will but believe. This makes their decision to
be saved more important than the work of the Savior, since
the success of His work depends upon their free choice to be
saved. Some have even declared that
hell is a testimony to the failure of Christ. This is damnable blasphemy. and should be rejected by all
who believe that He is the Savior who has obtained eternal redemption. The Scripture declares a Savior
who is mighty to save, and has accomplished exactly what He
set out to do, even as Isaiah describes Him as mighty to save. A Savior is someone who saves
or delivers. One who attempts to save someone,
yet fails, cannot be properly termed a Savior. He might be
noble, well-intentioned, and even kind, but unless a salvation
is completely performed by his actions, such a person cannot
properly be described as a Savior. A Savior saves. A Redeemer redeems. It is as simple as that. John
says that Christ is the Savior of the world, so it is necessary
to understand what world he is speaking of. If He means every
individual in the world, then we would have to conclude that
every individual in the world would be saved if Christ is the
Savior of the world by that definition. The Greek word kosmos is translated
as world 186 times in the New Testament. It literally means
an apt and harmonious arrangement or order of things, an ornament
or adornment. We read in the book of the Revelation
And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out
of heaven, prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband. It seems quite clear to me that
a reasonable definition of the world of which the scripture
speaks here as that of which he is the Savior, as the bride
of Christ, the church of God, the elect. For indeed, she is
an ornament of Christ, the apple of his eye, the sheep of his
pasture. She is that one who has made
the recipient of all of his blessings. May all glory be given to him
who is the Savior of the world. There is none other. Ye are my
witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen,
that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am
he. Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be
after me. Even I am the Lord, and beside
me there is no Savior. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem,
and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity
is pardoned, for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for
all her sins. I can think of no other message
which brings more comfort to the sons of God than this one. Yes, He is the Savior. If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at 4the4 at windstream dot net.