March 22, 2020 · Acts 4:8–12

Saviour

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that…

“This helps to understand, when we say that Jesus saves people — this is what we're saying. He's rescuing them from dire circumstances. When we say Jesus saved us, it's much more than just being rescued on a snowmobile. Jesus saved us spiritually. He saved us eternally. That's not less real. It's more real. So how does Jesus save us? There's a few ways I want to think this through. First of all, he saves us from our sins. He saves us from ourselves. He saves us from our brokenness. He saves us from the ways in which we hurt ourselves and others. He saves us from the guilt and the weight of that — the fact that we are responsible for our own actions. He wipes us clean. He saves us. He forgives us. We are no longer held to account for that. Secondly, he saves us from the evil one. There is an evil force present in the earth that is trying to take out humanity — that wants to push us down, that wants to keep us oppressed. And Jesus has saved us from that force. He saves us from others. If there's others who want to hurt us, or others who are just, in their own ignorance and blindness, living lives that can accidentally or purposely hurt us — Jesus is saving us from that. And he's saving us from circumstances. There's times in our lives when Jesus will step in. He will rescue us. There is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. Jesus came to earth. God became flesh. He grew up as a human.”