Why think that Jesus is the only Savior?
Of all the people who have lived and ever will live, Jesus alone
qualifies, in his person and work, as the only one capable of
accomplishing atonement for the sin of the world. Consider the following
ways in which Jesus alone qualifies as the exclusive Savior.
1. Christ alone was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a
virgin ( Isa 7:14 ; Matt 1:18-25 ; Luke 1:26-38 ), and as such, he alone
qualifies to be Savior. Why does this matter? Only as the Holy Spirit
takes the place of the human father in Jesus' conception can it be true
that the one conceived is both fully God and fully man. Christ must be
both God and man to atone for sin (see below), but for this to occur, he
must be conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a human virgin. No one
else in the history of the world is conceived by the Spirit and born of
a virgin mother. Therefore, Jesus alone qualifies to be Savior.
2. Christ alone is God incarnate ( John 1:1-18 ; Hebrews 1:1-3 ;
2:14-18 ; Phil 2:5-11 ; 1 Tim 2:5-6 ), and as such, he alone qualifies
to be Savior. As Anselm argued in the 11th century, our Savior must be
fully man in order to take the place of men and die in their stead, and
he must be fully God in order for the value of his sacrificial payment
to satisfy the demands of our infinitely holy God. Man he must be, but a
mere man simply could not make this infinite payment for sin. But no
one else in the history of the world is both fully God and fully man.
Therefore, Jesus alone qualifies to be Savior.
3. Christ alone lived a sinless life ( 2 Cor 5:21 ; Heb 4:15 ;
7:23-28 ; 9:13-14 ; 1 Pet 2:21-24 ), and as such, he alone qualifies to
be Savior. As Leviticus makes clear, animals offered as sacrifices for
sin must be without blemish. This prefigured the sacrifice of Christ
who, as sinless, was able to die for the sins of others and not for
himself. But no one else in the history of the world has lived a totally
sinless life. Therefore, Jesus alone qualifies to be Savior.
4. Christ alone died a penal, substitutionary death ( Isa 53:4-6 ;
Rom 3:21-26 ; 2 Cor 5:21 ; Gal 3:10-14 ), and as such, he alone
qualifies to be Savior. The wages of sin is death ( Rom 6:23 ). And
because Christ lived a sinless life, he did not deserve to die. Rather,
the cause of his death was owing to the fact that the Father imputed to
him our sin. The death that he died was in our place. No one else in the
history of the world has died because he bore the sin of others and not
as the judgment for his own sin. Therefore, Jesus alone qualifies to be
Savior.
5. Christ alone rose from the dead triumphant over sin ( Acts
2:22-24 ; Rom 4:25 ; 1 Cor 15:3-8 , 16-23 ), and as such, he alone
qualifies to be Savior. The Bible indicates that a few people, other
than Christ, have been raised from the dead ( 1 Kings 17:17-24 ; John
11:38-44 ), but only Christ has been raised from the dead never to die
again, having triumphed over sin. The wages of sin is death, and the
greatest power of sin is death. So, Christ's resurrection from the dead
demonstrates that his atoning death for sin accomplished both the full
payment of sin's penalty and full victory over sin's greatest power. No
one else in the history of the world has been raised from the dead
triumphant over sin. Therefore, Jesus alone qualifies to be Savior.
Conclusion: Christ alone qualifies as Savior, and Christ alone is Savior.
Jesus' own words could not be clearer: "I am the way, and the truth,
and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" ( John 14:6
). And the Apostle Peter confirms, "And there is salvation in no one
else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which
we must be saved" ( Acts 4:12 ). These claims are true of no one else in
the history of the world. Indeed, Jesus alone is Savior.
Faith in Christ is Necessary to be Saved
Why think that faith in Christ is necessary to be saved? The
teaching of the apostles is clear, that the content of the gospel now
(since the coming of Christ) focuses directly upon the atoning death and
resurrection of Christ, and that by faith in Christ one is forgiven of
his sin and granted eternal life. Consider the following passages that
support the conviction that people are saved only as they know and trust
in Christ as their Savior.
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