Rodriguez, Marion Patricia L.

L-1800073
1E

Jesus as our Savior

Messiah, The Lord, Redeemer, Anointed One, Emmanuel, King of Heaven and Earth, The
Healer, and Our Savior— these are just a few of the many names that we associate with Jesus.
These are just a few of the many attributes of Christ that we declare in our praises. It is true to say
that finding out who Jesus is, who He is to the world, and what He can do would mean an unending
list of great names that no amount of books can contain.
For us Christians, it is common knowledge that Jesus, the son of God, died and saved us
from our sins. But up until now, a lot of people are questioning this single act of Jesus. They are
questioning on how did it affect us? Did He really save the people from damnation? Was His
sacrifice really worth it?
Salvation is the greatest manifestation of God’s power. It means so much more than being
saved from hell and being ready to be admitted into heaven. God’s salvation is comprehensive.
We are lost and beaten down by sin, and under condemnation, but He helps us restore our
fellowship unto Him, and empowers us to live a holy life. Salvation covers man’s need; past,
present, and future— and it is eternal. It means salvation of the soul but also of the whole human
personality which is brought under the lordship of Jesus Christ. It was our first parents’ fall, which
brought man into a situation where man is lost and needs to be saved. Through this event, man, as
he is born into this world, needs salvation, needs that wholeness because as natural man, he is lost
and has no eternal life. This was the reason why God had given more than His breath; He gave His
blood. The exodus is the story of Israelites being liberated. They were powerless, exploited, then
they were set free. Salvation means returning and reconnecting with God. It is a way to get out of
the mess we are in. It means freedom from all the things that holds us.
I believe that in order for us to be worthy of salvation, we need to admit that we are sinners.
We need to realize that sin separates us from God and the consequence of sins is death. Sin just
simply means refusal to acknowledge God’s authority over our lives. When we admit that we are
sinners, we are repenting from our sins, and turning towards God. When the scriptures say that
people are “saved” we should understand that this means that God saved us from something to
something. The modern notion of being saved implies some sort of being frozen and preserved,
but the scriptures clearly speak of being saved in more of an existential form, notwithstanding
salvation’s heavenly or eternal benefits. If we think of salvation as our ticket to heaven, then
Christianity becomes a religion of requirements and rewards. It creates a contract that if we do
this, then God will do that. That is salvation by works and it is something that we earn. And
scriptures said that salvation is a gift from God. It comes on grace, totally unmerited, unearned,
and undeserved. It is not a reward for completing a contract.
In Gerhard Lohfink’s No Irrelevant Jesus, it was discussed on how could an individual
redeem the whole world or how can an individual take away the sins of humanity. For me, Jesus
as our Savior represents for all Christians the perfect hope that we are created by an all-loving God
who does not desire to destroy creation, but sustain it eternally. Lohfink’s book also tackled about
the effect of Jesus’ salvation. Some said that despite what Jesus did, the world still hasn’t changed.
It is still full of sickness, misery, and strife. I believe that we are not in place to question the effect
of Jesus’ salvation. We don’t need to physically see whether or not something has changed or
something really happened with Christ’s sacrifice. Every single day that we are given the
opportunity to wake up, see God’s creation, and be with our loved ones is a great manifestation of
the effects of Jesus’ sacrifice for us.
Jesus’ journey towards salvation was not easy. His identity was questioned. His acts were
questioned. He was even betrayed by one of His apostles, while the other one denied Him three
times. Back then, a lot of people are against Him. They thought that He was spreading lies and
using the name of God in vain. He was crucified on the cross because of nothing that He did.
Others were jealous of Him because of everything that He was doing wherever He went; He would
perform miracles and gather large crowds. Despite all these things that made His mission hard, He
still fulfilled God’s promise of salvation. Why? According to John 3:16, For God so loved the
world He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have
eternal life. This biblical verse is often called the “golden text” of the bible. God sent His Son to
suffer and die. Whether we’ve seen this or have watched it, a parent watching his/her child die or
go through suffering is heartbreaking and painful. Jesus did not die for a certain group of people,
but for all of humanity, for all of us sinners.
I think the above mentioned bible verse was the reason why even though during the time
of Jesus, people are full of doubts about Jesus as savior of mankind, still, in each and every doubtful
heart, there is still a small percentage of faith. Faith that as sinners, God forgives. God deemed that
we are important enough to Him that He was willing to lose is one and only son in order to save
our lives. That even though a lot of people are questioning how on earth will that one person can
save us from our sins, that small percentage of hope that we have, convinced God that we are
worthy of His son’s life, and deserve to be saved.
Salvation is not a one-time event but rather a lifetime journey. Although it has already been
accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, there is a process of salvation
which must be completed by faith and obedience. Salvation is about being able to see again.
Salvation is love. When Jesus saved us, we are able to see that we are never alone; that God is
always present in our lives. We were able to feel the love that God has for each of us, all the time
and no matter what. That love is what Jesus came to make real in our lives.
When we understand everything that Jesus, Our Savior did for us, he becomes the most
important person in our lives. Through His atonement, teachings, hope, peace and example, He
helps us change our lives, face our trials, and move forward with faith as we make our journey
back to Him and His father. The power of Jesus’ atonement is available for each one of us, but we
have to choose to let it work in our lives. It is not only Jesus who have to make it work. We should
also do our part in order for His sacrifices to not put into waste.
The Lord has suffered too much but through His outmost love, He gave us all that we need.
Christ is our savior and the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. Even though He is divine, He became
human to suffer and die for the sins of mankind. He died a horrible death, which equates to
magnitude of our sins and the monumental significance of His sacrifice, which was made for every
human being. He was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
Through Jesus’ sacrifice and God’s unending love, we are enlightened with light and glory.
We should delight ourselves in the Lord, and He will give us the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:9).
As a child of God, it is one of our missions to spread His word. We accept Jesus’ sacrifice as
essential to our salvation. As we model our lives after His, we figuratively take up our cross and
follow Him, which includes a willingness to suffer and be persecuted. By understanding and
accepting Jesus’ sacrifice, in repentance and faith, we can be assured that our sins are blotted out.
We can go forward in our Christian lives with confidence, knowing that through that sacrifice we
can be reconciled with the Father.
We should be thankful of what the Lord has done for us. For giving us His son Jesus Christ
to be that perfect sacrifice for the atonement of mankind.