A simple sentence in a book introduction caught me completely by surprise the other day: “Only Christianity offers a Savior.”

Duh! It was so basic, so fundamental, and I was taking it for granted.

I thought, “of course, we have a Savior, take Him away and the entire faith virtually disappears.”

The Buddha never pretended to be a savior, Hindus have no such figure, Muhammad made no such claims.

Search as you may, you will not find any other religion but Christianity that offers a full-fledged bona fide Savior. It matters …

Why Having a Savior of Your Own Is So Important?

You, me and everyone born on planet earth have a big problem — inherited sin, brought to us courtesy of Adam, our original forefather.

And you can’t beat the wrap on your own, no matter how hard you try.

Religion won’t help, good behavior won’t put a dent in it, being sorry for all your “spilt milk” doesn’t count either.

Theologian Wayne Grudem, in his tome, Systematic Theology, explains why counting on your own merits before God is a fool’s mission: 

“(1) Only someone who is infinite God could bear the full penalty for all the sins of all those who would believe in Him — any finite creature would have been incapable of bearing that penalty; (2) salvation is from the Lord (Jonah 2:9) , and the whole message of scripture is designed to show that no human being, no creature, could ever save man — only God Himself could; and (3) only someone who was truly and fully God could be the one mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5) both to bring us back to God and also to reveal God most fully to us (John 14:9). Thus, if Jesus is not fully God, we have no salvation and ultimately no Christianity.”

Bottom line, a God-size problem requires a God-size solution.

Our only hope was for our one and only Savior to step in and stand between us and our guilt and shame, bearing it upon Himself in our place as our Substitute.

This was predicted thousands of years ago in the Old Testament in many places.

Here is just one example through the prophet Isaiah, from Isaiah 43:10-12:

“You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And My servant whom I have chosen,
So that you may know and believe Me
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed,
And there will be none after Me.
I, only I, am the Lord,
And there is no savior besides Me.
It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed,
And there was no strange god among you;
So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And I am God …”

There it is in black-and-white — God Himself promised to intervene directly in the affairs of man and save us from our sins, at great personal expense.

His “servant” in the above passage turns out to be none other than his one and only Son, Jesus Christ.

And so, hundreds of years later, the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy is announced, in Luke 2:10-12:

“And so, the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’”

This was no bolt out of the blue. Jesus Christ was foretold throughout the Old Testament and revealed in the New Testament, right on schedule.

Your Need for a Savior Continues

Now, lest we forget, we are not talking about a dead savior still hanging on a cross, but a LIVING Savior who is active in the lives of all believers throughout their lives.

As written in 1 John 2:1-3, saved Christians need watching over:

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

The root word for “Advocate” here is Paraclete, which means, one who comes along side to encourage, exhort and comfort us in our inevitable ups and downs in life.

How About You?

Still trying to go it alone? How’s that been working out for you?

Hear this, from Hebrews 7:23-25: “Therefore He (Jesus) is also able to save forever those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”