How Is It that Jesus Is Our Only Savior?
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May 07, 2017 |
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 Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
"And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
There is the law in the spiritual realm just as there are laws in the world we live in. One of these is that a cost must be paid for sinners to be redeemed. However, the price cannot be paid by just anyone. The redeemer must be qualified according to spiritual law. What then are the qualifications?
1. The Spiritual Law Applied to Solve the Problem of Sins
The way for mankind to receive salvation is found in the law of the redemption of land. It is the law concerning land transaction in Israel where Jesus was born.
Leviticus 25:23-25 reads, "The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are but aliens and sojourners with Me. Thus for every piece of your property, you are to provide for the redemption of the land. If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, then his nearest kinsman is to come and buy back what his relative has sold."
Fundamentally, all the land belongs to God, and land cannot be sold permanently. Even if a person sold his land because he became poor, as long as his nearest relative is willing to pay the price for it, the land returns to him again. This law of 'the redemption of the land' contains the way for mankind to be saved. Let's look into it.
The law concerning the land which belongs to God is a spiritual law directly related to human beings that were created from the dust of the ground (Genesis 3:19, 23). As all lands of Israel belong to God, Adam and his authority also belonged to God and could not be sold permanently.
As Adam committed sins, he became a bondservant of the enemy Satan and all Adam's authority went to Satan. Nevertheless, what was handed over to Satan must be given back to someone who is qualified to redeem it. Now let's delve into the four qualifications to become our Redeemer as stipulated in the Law of the Redemption of the Land.
2. The Four Qualifications of the Savior According to the Law of the Redemption of the Land
First, he has to be a human being.
When a person sells his land, his nearest kinsman can buy it back for him (Leviticus 25:25). In the same manner, the one who redeems human beings who were sold due to sins must be Adam's nearest kinsman. Adam's nearest kinsman refers to a human being that consists of spirit, soul, and body like Adam. That is why neither angels nor animals can redeem us from sin.
1 Corinthians 15:21 reads, "For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead." That is, as sins came by the first man Adam, it should also be a man who pays for the sins and redeems mankind from sins.
To fulfill this, Jesus came to the earth in flesh. John 1:14 says, "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us…" and John 1:1 reads, "…the Word was God." It means God who was the Word became flesh and came to this earth. Jesus came to the earth in flesh. He experienced hunger, thirst, joy, and sadness. He shed blood and felt pain when He was flogged and crucified. This is the proof of Jesus' coming to the earth in flesh.
Second, he must not be a descendant of Adam.
A baby doesn't inherit only his parents' appearance and personalities, but he also inherits their sinful natures as well. When a new-born baby sees his mother breastfeed another baby, he tries to push the baby away from his mother and later bursts into tears. Nobody taught the infant hatred, jealousy, and envy. They were innately inherited and such sinful natures are called 'original sin'.
All human beings are conceived through the combination of a man's sperm and a woman's egg and it is in this way all humans inherit original sins from their ancestors and parents. But Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and just 'borrowed' the body of Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26-38). Jesus did not come to this earth in the manner of a descendant of Adam who had sinned.
Third, he has to have spiritual power.
Suppose a fellow soldier was taken as a captive by the enemy and you wanted to save him. Then, you need to have enough power to save him. In the same token, in order to redeem mankind from sins, the Redeemer has to have power to defeat the enemy Satan and save them.
In the spiritual realm, power is given to one who has no sin at all. Only the one who has neither original sin nor self-committed sin can defeat Satan. Original sins refer to sinful natures passed down through the descendants of Adam, and self-committed sins refer to sins people commit themselves throughout their lives.
All humans have original sins and self-committed sins, so no human has the power to redeem others. However, since Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and He lived only by the Word of God, He had no original sin and no self-committed sins.
Human beings commit many kinds of sins while they are living on the earth. They may hate or feel jealous of somebody in their heart even if they do not commit sins in action. Such feelings are deemed 'sin' in God's sight (Matthew 5:28; 1 John 3:15). Thus, no one can be deemed sinless.
Fourth, he has to have the love with which he can give his life.
Suppose there is a man who is rich enough to pay off his sister's debt. However, if he does not have love for her he will not help her.
In the same manner, Jesus would have not redeemed mankind from sins if He had not loved us. This is because the redemption required tremendous sacrifices of Him. He was condemned as though He were a heinous sinner. He was mocked and scorned. And in the end He had to die on the cross. Jesus, who was the Son of God, took the suffering of the cross and died for sinners. He did it on our behalf. This is truly great love.
Jesus did not spare His life at all to redeem mankind from sins. He willingly took the miserable suffering of the cross to fulfill the plan of salvation of God who desires all people to be saved. It is just as 1 John 2:2 reads, "And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world."
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, there were some people who were called saints, but none of them could solve the problem of their own sins much less the sins of others. Some others say there is a way of salvation in every religion, but it is no way true (John 14:6).
This is because according to spiritual law there are the four qualifications to redeem mankind from sins, and according to the four qualifications, there is no one but Jesus who is qualified as the Savior. Thus, Jesus Christ is our only Savior. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will believe it, receive the Holy Spirit, and thereby reach salvation.
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