What Are We Saved From?

Last week we covered the meaning of Savior (Strong’s 4990). It means to deliver, to rescue, to bring to safety.

Now we understand who the Savior is (Jesus the Messiah). He is the one who delivers / rescues us. In other words, the Savior saves. But that begs the question: What does the Savior save us from?

Although this series is about the names of God, I feel we should answer this question. So, we are going to take a little detour to dig deeper to find out what Scripture says about it.

Let’s start with what the original word means. In the New Testament the word usually translated “saved, or save” is a Greek word (Strong’s 4982). This word means to save, to rescue, to heal, to preserve.

Notice that the meanings of the word “save” has nearly the same meaning as the word Savior. The difference is that Savior is the one that is doing the saving. What the Savior does is “save” people.

The work of the Savior goes all the way back to the beginning.

The second part of the trinity of God (we call Jesus) is eternal. He has no beginning and no end (John 1:1). God the Father chose the time when He sent the always existing Messiah to be born of the virgin Mary. God said the name of the Son of God would be Jesus. The Messiah, the second part of the trinity, was born for one purpose: to be the Savior.

While Jesus was growing in Mary’s womb, her betrothed, Joseph, was confused about what to do. God sent an angel to him:

“ . . . An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:20-21.

There it is. This is the answer. What did the Savior come to save us from? Jesus, the Savior would save people from their SINS.

Another place that makes clear what Jesus came to do is when John the Baptist was baptizing. He looked up and saw Jesus approaching and this is what he said:

“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” John 1:29.

What is sin?

A sin is anything the misses the mark of God’s laws. A sin is a violation of the laws given by God. A sin is an ethical / moral failure that is opposed to God’s holiness.

Now we know who the Savior is: Jesus.

Now we know the Savior came for this purpose: to save people from their sins.

Next week, we will look at how the Savior saves people from the sins.

Carla Killough McClafferty

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