Jesus Christ saves us from our sins. No doctrine of the Christian faith is more core than this one. To understand it, consider three of the words: “saved,” “sins”, and “Jesus.”
What does it mean to be saved? It means rescued. It means help for the helpless. It means someone doing something for us that we cannot do for ourselves. The Bible says, “You were dead in your trespasses.” Not under the weather. Not sick. Dead. Hopeless. Sheep without a shepherd. We didn’t need a life coach. We didn’t need a personal trainer or a self-improvement program. We needed a savior. We had a debt we could not repay. We were caught in the grip of hands too strong. We were saved.
What do we mean by sin? Sometimes we mean particular behaviors, things we do that we should not so, or things we do not do that we should do. Sometimes we mean our fundamental condition. We are imperfect creatures, no matter we try to be otherwise. We are inclined to evil. We are sinners, and we can’t change that reality. We may learn to sin less, hopefully, but we sin our whole lives long. Rather than deny or grow defensive, it is best to accept who we are and ask for help, as in the ancient prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me, a sinner.”
What do we mean by Jesus? We mean the Son of God, the Savior of the World. Jesus is the sacrifice who makes us right we God. He is the suffering servant who was bruised for our iniquities and crushed for our transgression. He is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The first Christians used the sign of the fish as a secret signal. The letters of the Greek word for “fish” made an anagram that spelled “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.” That said it all.
In or sermon this Sunday we will talk about how Jesus Christ saves us from our sins.