Who is Jesus to you?

He is my Saviour.

“Saviour” is His job description and the role that He plays in the life of every true believer. His name (Yeshua in Hebrew) literally translates into Salvation. He is salvation from sins. He is salvation from the curse. He is salvation from sin and death.

For me, He is Saviour to the uttermost.

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Luke's account of the gospel (in chapters 14 and 15) shows us how three groups of people - "the Pharisees," "the Multitude" and "the Tax Collectors and Sinners" - saw our Lord Jesus Christ. These three groups can be compared to different kinds of Christians today. Jesus loves and came to save all.

GROUP 1 - The Pharisees, who saw Jesus as competition for their high positions.

In Chapter 14, the Pharisees invited Jesus to dine with them on the Sabbath day. They watched Him closely as He went in, trying to find fault with Him (Grace-personified) as usual. As Jesus went in, He saw a man afflicted with dropsy. Jesus knew that the Pharisees were going to accuse Him of healing on a Sabbath day when working is prohibited. So He asked them: "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" But they kept silent. Jesus healed the man (freely, didn't ask him to go and keep the Law, fast or sow seed first!) and He let him go - he didn't try to control his life afterwards. The Pharisees' thoughts were that Jesus had broken the Law by healing on the Sabbath. Jesus answered them saying:

“Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?”

And they could not answer Him regarding these things. Why? They realised that the reason why they were not committing particular sins is because God did not allow them to be tempted beyond what they could bear! They would break the Law of the Sabbath in a heartbeat if they were the ones sick with dropsy - the same way that churchgoers today who tout themselves as "good" because they do not steal/fornicate/lie will sin copiously if a big enough temptation came their way, just like Peter who boasted that he would never deny Christ but ended up falling flat on his face when Satan came a-sifting.

Believers, the Pharisees represent Christians (mostly leaders) that tell you, like their counterparts of old, that there are terms and conditions that need to be met by you before you can receive from our Lord God - they are preachers of that horrid, false doctrine that that Paul called "doctrine of demons." Such teach that you have to keep the Law or fulfil certain terms and conditions before Jesus can save/heal/deliver/provide for you. They try to drive the wedge of your ability to keep the Law between you and Christ's salvation. If you lose your job, they tell you that you have to 'sow a seed' before our heavenly Father blesses you with another. When you are sick, they tell you that unless you confess some sin that you or your ancestors committed, God will not heal you, or worse, that God is punishing you for your sins or those of your fore-fathers.

How can the righteous God punish you for the same sins that He already punished in the body of His Son? In Christ, our heavenly Father who loves us disciplines and corrects us, but never with things like poverty, sickness, depression or any of the other symptoms of death and death itself that Christ died to save us from. According to Hebrews 12, His correction is for our profit, that we might live, that we might be partakers of His holiness and that we might yield the peacable fruit of righteousness.

Hebrews 10:12 says Christ "offered for all time one sacrifice for sins." As the righteousness of God in Christ, God doesn't remember our sins anymore (Heb 8:7-12.)

But members of Group 1 above put up barriers (the law) to receiving from God when our Heavenly Father gives us all things FREELY with Christ. Romans 8:32 - "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"

Most times, this group of "Christians," like the priests of the Old Testament, are the ones dispensing the actions that you must take in order to "overcome" your problems that Christ gave His life to freely save you from; they make it seem like you need a particular set of skills to be able to commune with your own Father in heaven! But with their methods you never fully overcome; you keep going back in fear, because their to-do lists for you never ends. They never point you to our Saviour Jesus Christ for salvation. They point you to what YOU have to do when our Saviour said we can do nothing without Him. Of course you have to come back next week for more "deliverance" because only two out of the twenty-five padlocks of bondage were broken in this curse deliverance session! Like the Pharisees, they see God's Grace - Christ himself - as competition for the tithes and offerings and cannot see that under Grace is where the flock can freely give, because we freely receive.

Such reject Galatians 3:13 - "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law..." and insist that believers are still under the same generational and other curses which Christ hung on the cross to redeem us from. They always point you to things to do to "maintain your salvation" when all you need to do is believe. Christ does it all. Believers, man is not your high priest. Jesus Christ is our High Priest!

But we see our Saviour's heart towards us in His healing of the sick man. His He can't stand to see us sick or in pain. Or living in sin. So He came to free us from our sins and cleanse us of all our ills. Titus 2:14 says of Him:

"He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

He loves us more than we could ever love our kids - just think what you would do if your beloved but nasty child was sick or had a bad habit that was destroying him! The man with dropsy got a "no questions asked" healing, free of terms and conditions; no questions about what he did or didn't do, as will you in Christ! Believe Right and you will Live Right.

GROUP 2 - The Multitude who saw Jesus only as an example to follow.

The multitude that Jesus addressed in verse 25 - 33 represent the second group of Christians that see Jesus as a Teacher that only tells them what to do or as an example to follow (by their own strength), and not as their Saviour. What Jesus told this multitude in v28-30 shows us that they thought they could begin and finish the good work on their own. v28-30:

"And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’"

From Christ's words to the multitude above, we see that the multitude expected that the cost of construction of their building and its completion was theirs to bear, not Christ's. This is not Christianity. In Philippians 1:6 is the way of we who believe in Jesus:

"being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;"

The multitude thought they could begin and finish the good work on their own so Jesus told them they should be prepared to carry their own cross- bear the burden of their own salvation! Their foundation is not Christ. It is their human effort. But the arm of flesh will fail.

Like the multitude, this second group of Christians are many today. They do not see Jesus as the author and finisher of faith even though they profess to follow Him. They think their salvation or receiving from God rests on their ability to do the work of keeping the Ten Commandments and living a godly life which no man can do by will-power. They do not believe that it is God who begins and finishes the good work as it is written in Philippians 1:6 above. See the New Living Translation:

"And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."

The multitude believe that they can live the life of Christ by their own effort. Because of the Pharisees doctrine that they receive from Group 1 above, they labour under the burden of their own cross! Jesus said of these false teachers that lead many astray in Luke 11:46 -

"And He said, “Woe to you also, lawyers! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers."

Many of these teachers tell you to sow your whole salary as a seed and such in order to get God - whom Romans 8:32 says gives us all things freely with Christ - to bless you and you feel guilty when you can't; but they cannot do what they tell you to do! Believers, its not by our power that we have salvation from earthly ills and death in hell. Only by God's Grace do we overcome and do God's will! With Christ, we don't GIVE TO GET, we GET TO GIVE. Abide in Him and you will bear "much fruit." John 15:5.

GROUP 3 - The Tax Collectors and Sinners who saw Jesus as their Saviour

The Pharisees show us what people thought of this group in Luke 15:1-2 -

"Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that He was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!"

These religious folk who thought they were godly were aghast that Jesus was eating with the scum of the earth tax collectors and sinners! Believer, the same yesterday, today and forever - our Lord Jesus Christ - is still eating with sinners today. He is our Righteousness and Strength. He is our Saviour, even from sin and death. The tax collectors and sinners typify believers who see no good in themselves and of themselves. They saw Jesus not as competition or as an example to follow (by their own strength) but as Saviour! They see (by God's grace alone) that their good works are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) in the eyes of our Lord God. God in His wisdom has opened their eyes to see that their good works or lack of it is not what puts them in right-standing with Him but the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus, as it is written in Romans 5:9-

"And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."

Jesus is still associating with this group today, changing us from inside out; transforming us to the image of His glory from glory to glory by His Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18) and causing us to bear "much fruit" (John 15:5)

Believers, if our good works (law-keeping) could save us, Jesus would not have needed to come and save us. Why would you need someone to get you out of prison if you could do it yourself? Matthew 1:21 says of Christ-

"And she will have a Son and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."

Also Titus 2:14 - "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

Why would our Saviour who came to save us from our sins use the same sins He came to deliver us from as an excuse for not saving, delivering or blessing us? This is akin to an oncologist dad refusing to treat his own beloved child who has cancer because the child has cancer and even punishing his child for exhibiting symptoms of the disease. Beloved of God, God's eyes burn at the cancer of sin but radiate perfect love for the sinner who looks to Him for salvation.

This is the Good News: Whatever category you find yourself in, it's not too late to come dine at the Lord's table. He compels the undeserving to eat and drink and rest. God loves you so, so much! Jesus died for us all. He wants you to enjoy His benefits in Christ, FREELY! Even those saying that we must obey rules and regulations cannot keep them all. Plus the reason why we are not committing particular sins is because God did not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:12-13.) The potential to commit heinous crimes is in everybody. God sees this potential and how, like Peter who denied Christ profusely, favourable circumstances can make some people think that some sins are beneath them and that they can obey the law in order to be godly. We can't say "I'll do my best, Jesus will understand and do the rest." This horrid mixture that is neither Law nor Grace is the "neither cold nor hot" that Christ spoke of in Revelation 3. With Jesus, it's saving all of you or nothing.

According to Galatians 5:4, if you are trying to get right with God by keeping just one law, you have been cut off from Christ-

"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace."

If you believe that your law-keeping and fasting is what gives you right standing with God; if you believe that you deserve heaven because of your hard work, then Christ is become of no effect unto you! As a new creation in Christ, we don't do good things to get saved or maintain our salvation, we do God's will BECAUSE He saved us! We GET TO bear "much fruit." It's so automatic that we don't even realise that we do His will!

Thank God for He is merciful and His desire is for none to perish but that we all have everlasting life and reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ!

Beloved of God, come to Christ as you are with your baggage of filth, sins and addiction. This is why He came - to save us from our sins.The moment you believe Him, He calls you righteous, "even though we are guilty of many sins." And in Him, we never remain the same. Only by receiving God's abundance of Grace and His gift of righteousness to us in Christ do we get to live in triumph over sin and death: Romans 5:16-17-

"And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ."

Right believing always produces right living.

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