The Perfect Savior
Scripture Reading — 1 John 3:1-6
You know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.
First the bad news. We stand condemned before God. Our condemnation goes way back to the guilt we share with Adam and Eve (Genesis 3), as well as to our own rebellion against God. We can do absolutely nothing to make ourselves right with God. We are all worthy of eternal separation from God.
Now here’s the good news. It’s obvious that we desperately need help, but what kind of savior will do? The Reformers saw that Christ alone was qualified to be our Savior.
Why is Jesus the only possible Savior of humankind? God’s moral law requires perfect obedience and demands punishment for anything less. From his birth to his death, only Jesus was perfectly obedient to God’s law. Only in him can new life be found.
Scripture testifies that Jesus, the only perfect one, bore the results of our rebellion. While we were still dead in our sin, God provided the perfect Savior, who alone can make us right with God.
If you’ve known this good news for a while, savor it anew. Let it wash over you each day and prompt acts of loving service to God and your neighbor.
If you’ve only been uneasily aware of the bad news but have not yet believed the good, may the Spirit of God move you to see and confess the name of the perfect Savior, Christ Jesus, today!
Only you, Jesus, can be my perfect Savior. Thank you for saving me and guiding me today. Amen.
About the author — Kurt Selles
Kurt Selles is the director of ReFrame Ministries and serves as the Executive Editor of Today. He is a graduate of Calvin College and Seminary, and received his PhD from Vanderbilt University. Before coming to ReFrame, he served 19 years in Taiwan and China with CRC World Missions. Kurt later taught missions at Beeson Divinity School, where he also acted as the director of the school’s Global Center. Kurt and his wife, Vicki, reside in Grand Rapids and have three adult children.
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