WHO CAN SAVE US?
by Steven Garofalo, March 9, 2023. (Copyright 2023)
Today, I want to look at who and only Who can save us in this crazy world. The world that we live has gone from being crooked to coming off the rails, morally misdirected and corrupted to depraved beyond all reason. This begs the question as to, “Who can save us?” 2 Timothy chapter one answers that question, and I will break that down for your right now.
The word “salvation” comes from the Latin “salvare”, or “to save”. According to vocabulary.com, “Salvation is the act of saving from sin or evil, or sometimes just from an unpleasant situation.” Vocabulary.com says, “Each of the monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) has a different “idea” about the way to achieve salvation.” https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/salvation#:~:text=The%20word%20salvation%20comes%20from,the%20way%20to%20achieve%20salvation.
I would assert that salvation is not “guaranteed” in Judaism or in Islam. In Judaism, salvation is a concept attached to keeping the more than 613 Jewish “commandments” or laws called the “Mitzvot” or “Commandments” as outlined in the Old Testament. In reality, it literally impossible for any human being to keep all those 613 commandment-laws perfectly throughout their life. As such, the true concept of salvation is not attainable as something guaranteed through our life time.
In Islam, salvation is based on good deeds verses bad ones. For each good deed you do, you get two points. For each bad thing you do, you get one negative point taken away. In the end, even if you have more good points than bad ones, Allah is decider as to your salvation, meaning if you go to heaven or hell. What is Allah’s criteria. The criteria is whatever Allah feels to be a reason to cast the person into hell or elevate them to heaven, despite how many good or bad points they have. The only way a Muslim is guaranteed heaven is to die a martyr for the Islamic faith. Martyrdom or “istishadi”, will automatically save Muslims from hell and grant access to paradise no matter the sin committed. The concept of martyrdom is attached to the person making an “atonement” for their salvation. As such, the only guarantee for achieving salvation within Islam is by dying as a martyr for the Islam faith.
Vocabulary.com goes a step further and states that “Salvation” does not always have to do with theology. They give an example that if a freak snowstorm on your camping trip has you worked about hypothermia, salvation can come in the form of an abandoned house with a working fireplace. This in my opinion, even by definition is a big stretch regarding the definition of salvation. Remember, vocabulary.com states that the root word for “salvation” in Latin is “salvare”, or “to save”. According to vocabulary.com,
Lastly, I want to look at salvation according to God through both the Old and New Testament Scriptures. There are many verses we can look at, but today I want to look at 2 Timothy 1:9 which says, “who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,…” (2 Timothy 1:9). To rewind for context, verse 8 says that we are not to be ashamed of the testament about our Lord Jesus, nor our own committeemen’s to Him, but that we are to share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God. It’s the power of God that that verse nine is saying “who saved us and called us to a holy calling…”
- FIRST: God has already “SAVED” us. Notice that verse nine says “who saved us and called us to a holy calling”. The word “saved” is in the past state, meaning, it has already been done, completed or finished. Jesus is not dying or going to die on the cross for our salvation. He has already done so for us if we will only authentically accept that free gift of salvation in our heart and minds.
- SECOND: Unlike the mandate to keep all 613 “Mitzvot” or “Commandments perfectly throughout life, Jesus paid the full price for our salvation as an atonement for our sins. This differentiates Christianity from all other world religions, cults and secular beliefs. The Apostle Paul said in verse 9, “…not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began…” Due to the fact that God is omniscient, infinite, all good, and because He “is Love”, in his “grace”, He has to know His plan for eternity, or He wouldn’t be God. We have a difficult time understanding eternity because we are finite beings born into existence and into eternity at a certain point. Our finite minds cannot fully grasp eternity outside of the concept and biblical proclamation.
- THIRD and LAST: the end of verse 9 states that salvation is something “…which he (God the Father) gave us in Christ Jesus (His Son) before the ages began…”. As states in the second point, true salvation was put into motion before the space-time continuum started. God foresaw or knows as one moment every false world religion every to exist. As such, God had a plan from eternity to overtake them all through His Grace and ultimate Love demonstrated in His sending His only sone for an atonement for our sin. Verse 10 goes onto say, “…and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who “abolished” death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel…”
- And that ladies and gentleman answers the question as to “WHO CAN SAVE US”. Acts 4;12 says, “Only Jesus has the power to save! His name is the only one in all the world that can save anyone.” Remember, God saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began…”
