Today we take a took at the undeniable biblical truths of salvation. Here, I have pulled eight Old Testament passages, and three New Testament passage, just eleven of many verses that clearly state Who takes credit for salvation.
It always amazes me how anyone who studies the Scriptures misses the fact that salvation belongs to God alone. Not to man, or even God and man, but it rests in God alone. And it is that truth that we must believe. We will start by looking at the Old Testament passages, and please take note that not one verse gives any credit to the one being saved.
Psalm 3:8 Salvation belongs to the Lord (Yahweh); your blessing be on your people! Selah
Psalm 28:8 The LORD (Yahweh) is the strength of His people; He is a stronghold of salvation for His anointed.
Psalm 37: 39 The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord (Yahweh); he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
Psalm 68:20 Our God is a God of salvation, and to God (Elohim), the Lord (Adonai), belong deliverances from death.
Isaiah 43: 11 I, I am the Lord (Yahweh), and besides me there is no savior.
Isaiah 45:17 But Israel is saved by the Lord (Yahweh) with everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity.
Jeremiah 3:23 Truly the hills are a delusion, the orgies on the mountains. Truly in the Lord (Yahweh) our God (Elohim) is the salvation of Israel.
Jonah 2: 9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord (Yahweh)!
As we can see, all the honor, thanks, and glory is pointed at God alone for the salvation of His people. Notice also how I placed the proper Hebrew name for God next to the English word being used. Three names were used, Elohim (Creator God), Yahweh (covenant God), and Adonai (personal God). It is vital that we understand these names and meanings. Are these three different God’s? Someone foolishly or unbelievingly reading these passages might come to that conclusion. But that would be totally unbiblical. Didn’t Isaiah 43:11 just say, “Besides Me there is no Savior?” And what about Deuteronomy 6:4“Hear, O Israel: The Lord (Yahweh) our God (Elohim), the Lord (Yahweh) is one. That’s why it’s important to know the meanings of God’s names. Let me try to explain: The Creator and sovereign Sustainer makes a covenant agreement with His chosen people and through that covenant a personal relationship is established.
So, what does the New Testament say about this? And where does Jesus fit into this? That’s where it gets good. Let’s look at just three passages.
John 14:6-7, 6 Jesus (I’esous) said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Note that Jesus uses only singular speech (the way, the truth, the life) when speaking of the New covenant. So much so that He literally says, “I am God incarnate, the visual image of the invisible God,” in verse seven.
Acts 4: 11-12, 11 This Jesus (I’esous) is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Here in Acts, we have the words of Peter during a sermon before the Jewish leaders. Remember that it was Christ Himself who appointed Peter as the chief or lead Apostle in order to lead the early church. And what does Peter directly say? That salvation is in Jesus or I’esous alone. There’s no way around Peter’s clear words.
Revelation 7:9-10, 9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God (Theos) who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb (I’esous)!”
Here in the book of Revelation, we have salvation being ascribed to both God and Jesus. I thought the scriptures said God is ONE, and that salvation was in Him alone? Do we have a contradiction within the holy word of God? Is there more than one God by which salvation can be had? The answers to the last two questions in absolutely not. What must be understood with these New Testament passages is that they are very trinitarian in speech. Even if Jesus was another god who worked in compatibility with Almighty God, he would still be another god. And that’s not what we see Him doing, he is always aligning himself with God and as God, not separating Himself from God. Look at how the forerunner of the Messiah (John the Baptist) describes Jesus in John 1: 29 The next day he (John the Baptist)saw Jesus (I’esous) coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! In this verse, John uses the exact same title as we see in our passage in Revelation. So, there’s no denying that Jesus is the Lamb. And, if Jesus is not Almighty God, how can He possibly take away sins? He can’t, for God alone has the ultimate power and right to forgive sins. Which means that Jesus is indeed God very God. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit make up the three in one, Almighty God. And from the very beginning of history, that was made clear by the plural description of Himself in Genesis 1: 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
This last portion of information should seal the deal. I’esous (Jesus) is the Greek name for the Hebrew word Joshua. And Joshua can also be translated Yahweh (The Lord), which we have already seen many times in our verses. But, what that name literally means is the deal breaker. It means: Yahweh is salvation. Therefore, Jesus is salvation. So, believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and His finished work, that you may be saved. Amen.
By Daniel C. Rodgers