What's In a Name..?

"Don't ever think that there are many ways to the Divine. Jesus is the one qualified mediator, the only qualified sacrifice, and the only qualified savior."  - Erwin Lutzer

Just about every historic person in the Bible has a name that is appropriate for them. For instance, Moses, Abraham, Joseph, Solomon, David, Samson, Job, Esther, Ruth, Mary and Joseph, John the Baptist, Paul, and so on. Even the name of Jesus is descriptive of the person and work of Christ.

Matthew 1: 20-21 gives us a good starting point for our discussion. This is where the Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream (Matthew 1:20). "Jesus" can be interpreted as "to save," which is the same as "Savior."

This sets him apart from you and I in more ways than we will ever really know. You see, Jesus is Divine, that is, he is holy or heavenly. And if this wasn't enough, He saves us, at least those who believe in him, for our sins. This is accomplished not by any laws or decrees, or by mere words, but by Jesus himself.

Let's linger here for a moment. In regards to our salvation, Jesus saves us from sin. Which is a really good thing since we can't do anything about it on our own. He does this by granting believers forgiveness, and not just any old forgiveness, but full, free, immediate, and irreversible forgiveness.

We are all born contaminated with sin. Only Jesus can save us from this pollution of sin. And while it's true that holiness is progressive, the Christian cannot and does not like sin. Nor can she live in sin as the choice and habit of her life. Our salvation will not reach its full completion here on earth, but in heaven.

Matthew 1:21 tells us that, "he shall save his people." Who are His people in this verse? We can infer from this that they must have been knee deep in sin, too. They were in need of saving just as badly as we are. Consequently, none of us needs to lose hope.

John 3:16 (KJV) assures us that, "Whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish." The key word being "Whosoever" or "whoever." That means that all are extended this offer, if they have faith in Him. Only one question remains. Does "Whosoever believeth;" include you?

Scripture: John 1:14; Colossians 2:9; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Galatians 3:28

Prayer: God our Father, may all of life’s experiences lead us to grow as people who always put love into everything we do, amen

Have a blessed Monday!

Hailey