Believes Jesus Saves Us From Sin And Death
Believes Jesus Saves Us From Sin And Death
A HERO’S TALE
Mariano Rivera sure knows how to save.
The longtime New York Yankees closer ended his career in 2013 as Major League Baseball’s all-time saves leader with 652. A “save” in baseball is awarded to the last pitcher on the winning team who enters a game and holds a lead of three runs or less.
Rivera, a 12-time All-Star and a 5-time World Series winner, has dominated the ninth inning like no other pitcher in history. Without question, he is the greatest closer ever.
Still, when it comes to the most important version of saving, no one compares with Jesus Christ!
The Bible often refers to Jesus as the Savior. John 4:42 calls Jesus “the Savior of the world.” Acts 5:31 says he is “Prince and Savior,” while Acts 13:23 refers to him as “the Savior Jesus” (NIV). Don’t forget Titus 2:13, which mentions “our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Scripture makes it very clear: Jesus came to earth to save us.
DECODING THE MESSAGE
Yes, Jesus is the Savior. But what, exactly, does he save us from? Space aliens? Man-eating sharks? Eating cauliflower for dinner every night?
No, Jesus came to save us from sin and death!
Lots of people don’t realize they need to be saved from anything. But the Bible says that every human is a sinner (see Romans 3:23), meaning everyone breaks God’s laws. Left to ourselves, we would all be doomed to hell because sin separates us from God (see Romans 6:23). We need a Savior, someone to take away our sins forever.
That person is Jesus.
As the sinless Son of God, he was uniquely qualified to pay the penalty that we deserve (see Hebrews 9:11-14). But he didn’t just die for us —he came back to life! And by doing so, he conquered sin and death once for all (see 1 Corinthians 15). Sin and death have no power over him, and through faith in Jesus, we can defeat them too!
We will still die a physical death, yes, but if you trust in Jesus as your Savior, you will avoid what the Bible calls the “second death” (hell) and live forever with Jesus in heaven.
THIS IS HOW GOD LOVED THE WORLD: HE GAVE HIS ONE AND ONLY SON, SO THAT EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. GOD SENT HIS SON INTO THE WORLD NOT TO JUDGE THE WORLD, BUT TO SAVE THE WORLD THROUGH HIM.
—John 3:16-17
Jesus is a mighty Savior!
BATTLE PLAN
Since we’re talking about “saving” today, here’s a helpful tip: Are you saving money to buy something special? Every time you drop a coin in your piggy bank, thank Jesus for dying to save you!
From the book
