HE CAME TO SAVE

By Rick Mathes

Matthew 1:21 “And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.”

Now who but an all powerful God can save anyone from their sins? It is still breathtaking to me after over 30 years as a minister of the Word that God was incarnate in Jesus: mind blowing!  Oh how blessed were the Apostles and disciples that walked out those three short years with Him as friends. This power was truly harnessed with a power that only God could have. Imagine, He stepped down from His throne in glory, crawled up on the cross, suffered and died just for you. What self-restraint it must have been for Michael and his army of battle-ready angels to withhold their swords and spare the lives of those who killed God’s Son. Imagine that!

If wasn’t the nails that kept Jesus fastened to the death-stake, it was His love for you, yes you alone that held Him there. And He would go through the whole torturous process again, jut for you if it was necessary. Thank God once was enough forever!

Or is it over? He willingly takes the pain again and again. Each time you sin you are lashing that whip on His bloodied back. You are grinding the crown of thorns in His hear once again and you are running that spear into His aching heart. Yes, you make Him suffer the renewed torture of His compassion. He is willing if you will draw closer to the cross and repent of your sins.

A Holy Savior is the only salvation that can ever save us from the hell our sins deserve. His holiness is laid on us when we confess Him AS our Lord. We can only stand before a Holy God in the shadow of a Holy Savior. So that when Father God looks on us, He sees the nail prints of His only Son pleading on our behalf. How can God refuse His Son?

Understand now that Jesus is not just “out there somewhere.” He lives in you. You are the temple now and His glory shines wherever your feet touch ground. You can’t get more personal than that.

His Name is Jesus and He came to save us from the punishment we deserve, the temptation we are bombarded with and the presence of sin that will be obliterated when He comes once again.