Our salvation is based upon what we know from Scripture, of which we have several interpretations. Listen to the Spirit within.

²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. John 14:26

Yesterday, we began looking at four questions I wrote at the end of chapter two of, “A Grand Illusion,” by David Young about what radical progressives believe–or don’t believe.

Why do we need to recognize Jesus as Lord?
Why do we need a Savior?
How can the Bible be “living and breathing?”
What is holiness?

We looked at the first question yesterday. Today we will look at the second one.

Why do we need a Savior?

When will we learn that we are not designed to live life on our own? To use a metaphor, we have a spiritual hookup with God the Father. But, we were deceived into believing that the connection could not be trusted. We filled the connection with sin and selfish desires. We became soul-sick, as though we were dead.

God the Son came to clear out the debris of sin, cleanse and disinfect the connection area, and prove that the connection is safe, wholesome and trustworthy. The question is, will we trust that connection? God the Spirit is waiting for us to give Him access.

Another way to say it is that we are dead, disconnected from the life of God. Sin has killed us, but Jesus offers us His life to us. When we accept, we trade our lives for His life and live as if we are dead to our old lives,

¹⁰ The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
¹¹ In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:10-11

This way of looking at ourselves is illustrative. We could also say that we are held captive, in chains to our evil desires, serving the one who deceived us, the devil. Jesus became our Christus Victor, who came to rescue us from the dungeons of our own making. His words to us: “Believe in Me (John 5:24).

Before that verse, though, He says this,

¹⁹ “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. ²⁰ For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. ²¹ For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.

Do you want to know what the Father is like? Look at Jesus. He is “the exact representation of His being” (Hebrews 1:3). So, when Jesus would rather die than destroy His enemies, thus allowing them to kill Him, we are seeing God’s heart for everyone. Jesus then rose from the dead to break the hold that the devil had on mankind (Hebrews 2:14-15), including the fear of death. Now, the only prison that people remain in is the prison of their own making. He has had mercy on us all (Romans 11:32)!

This view of Christus Victor, or, the Ransom Theory, was predominant for the first thousand years of church history.

Why do we need a Savior? Because we were never meant to live life on our own. We needed rescuing; Jesus came to rescue us,

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
¹⁹     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Luke 4:18-19

This, folks, is truly good news.

Abba, thank You for rescuing me. I was blind and You healed me. I was oppressed, and you set me free. I will forever praise You for all You have done for me, and I will tell everyone who will listen so that they “will know the truth, and the truth will set them free” (John 8:32). Amen.