“Jesus Is Savior”
Luke 2:8-14, Matthew 1:21
Sermon Series: “Jesus Is”
Introduction: Last week, we focused on who Jesus is, and we saw that He is the God-Man, Immanuel, fully God and fully human simultaneously. He is two natures in one person. Today and tomorrow we are going to see that He is also Lord and Savior. This morning, we will focus primarily on what He came to do, which is save a lost world. Jesus said of Himself (as recorded by Luke in 19:10), “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” When God looked at this world and all its problems, He knew that the root and primary problem is the problem of sin. Therefore, He did not send a politician, soldier, philosopher, etc, but He sent a Savior, which means rescuer or deliverer. This is the greatest and most joyous news of all. Being in east Tennessee, most of us are familiar with the term savior. However, do we really understand what it means? Have we truly received Jesus as our Savior? Let’s explore that this morning.
Main Idea: God sent His Son into the world to save all of us from the grip of sin.
1. Jesus saves us from ____________ to __________________. A. Jesus saves us from death to life (Ephesians 2:1,
Romans 6:23, John 10:10).
B. Jesus saves us from the penalty of sin to forgiveness
of sin (Ephesians 1:7).
C. Jesus saves us from the bondage of sin to freedom in
Christ (John 8:34-36).
D. Jesus saves us from the wrath of God to being right
with God (Romans 5:9).
E. Jesus saves us from the power of darkness to His own
eternal Kingdom (Colossians 1:13).
F. Jesus saves us from hell to heaven (Revelation
20:11-21:7).
2. Jesus saves us by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). Grace is God’s unmerited favor. It is Him blessing us when we deserve His judgment. Grace is the DONE plan instead of the DO plan. Jesus came to us because we could never get to God (John 3:13). Salvation is the greatest gift of all. Jesus took the punishment that we deserve in order to give us the blessing that only He deserves. It is no coincidence that the angels appeared to the shepherds. Shepherds were considered religiously unclean and social outcasts. This shows that Jesus came for everyone, even those who are rejected by the world. The shepherds were probably tending sheep that would be used in the temple sacrifices. However, those sacrifices were insufficient. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).
3. Jesus saves us through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9. We cannot work for or earn our salvation, but we receive Christ by faith. He wants to be trusted. He wants us to rely on and rest in what He has done instead of our own efforts. Notice the responses to the Christmas story. Mary and Joseph trusted. The wise men trusted. The shepherds trusted. Simeon and Anna trusted. All of these people were saved by their faith and were given a relationship with God. On the other hand, many people missed Jesus. Herod missed Him because he was guarding his own power. The religious leaders missed Him because of their religious legalism. Many people missed Him because of simply being indifferent and not taking the time to check it out. Are you missing Jesus or have you been saved by Him through faith? That is what Christmas really boils down to. God offers you the gift of eternal life through Jesus. Will you turn Him down or accept His offer?
