JESUS: THE ONLY SAVIOUR

Trevor S. Ferguson

March 5, 2011

Isaiah 45:20-23 (KJV)
²⁰ Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.
²¹ Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
²² Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
²³ I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

Acts 4:12 (KJV)
¹² Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

INTRODUCTION

In every nation on earth there is a religious system that seeks to explain the existence of man and to offer a view as to what happens to man after death. The reason for this is that God created man with an innate desire to commune with Him. Man by himself and of himself feels incomplete and needs a relationship with a higher being to complete his understanding of himself. The problem however is that many people in their quest for meaning have not come to a full knowledge of who God is, or the way in which one may come to find salvation. People have therefore created all kinds of things and have made them gods – statues of gold, silver, wooden objects, animals and other humans; none of which have the power to save. Another problem is that many who have identified themselves as Christians still have not come to a full knowledge of who Jesus is or what is the bible standard of salvation. The passages today remind us that there is but one God and one Saviour, and that his name is Jesus Christ and that salvation is only through his name.

EXPOSITION

Let us look briefly at the context of the passage so as to understand its message.

Isaiah 45 begins with a declaration concerning Cyrus, king of Persia. Isaiah had prophesied that God would use Cyrus to deliver Israel with regards to the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Note that this prophesy was given some 150 years before the event and that Cyrus is called by name before he was even born. God, through Isaiah, calls up this prophetic statement to establish his unique authority and power among the doubters and gainsayers. Let us look at vs. 18-21:

¹⁸For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else. ¹⁹ I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.  ²⁰ Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. ²¹ Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.

God declares himself to be the creator of the heavens and the earth, the one who have spoken and have brought things to pass. God challenges all the people who seek to put their trust in gods who cannot save, to behold his works and his doings and therefore recognize that he is the only Saviour: There is no God beside him, He is a just God and a Saviour, there is none else! He then challenges them to respond to the evidence he has presented: Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none else! He then follows it up with a warning  …unto me every knee shall bow and every tongue shall swear. (Note that the same thought is echoed in Philippians 2:10-11). The question then is, do we wait unto we are forced to obey God or do we do so willingly now? Willing obedience to God comes with peace now and the hope of eternal life, whereas failure to obey will be characterized by the inevitable frustrations and disappointments of this life and eventually separation from God and eternal damnation. All will eventually confess the Lordship of Christ, but forced confession will be too late!

Let us look briefly at the passage in Acts 4: 12

We realize today that many have made a commitment to Christ but have not fully understood the gospel. As Paul said of the Jews in Romans 10 …they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. Many well meaning zealous persons are doing much for God but have failed to follow the bible plan of Salvation. (Note Paul himself was such a person.) Acts 4:12 tells us that salvation comes only through the name of Jesus Christ, for there is none other name by which men can be saved. We apply this by water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ and by receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Anything short of that is inadequate for salvation. There is no other way.

CONCLUSION

Jesus is the only way to Salvation! He invites people everywhere to look to him and be saved; No other god, no other system can bring salvation. Despite what we may have said or done the door to salvation is still open today to all who desire to receive him! Look to Him today and be saved!

See more on the New Testament Plan of Salvation in this link:Essentials of New Testament Salvation