Basic Training: Jesus Is Our Savior Series

I believe that there are many things that can substantiate and strengthen your faith. God has provided some strong objective evidence for your faith. Over the last couple of weeks we have talked about such things a archeological discoveries that are showing more clearly than ever that the Bible is an accurate and true historical account. In the 1950’s, in a place called Qumran near the Dead Sea, a shepherd boy accidently uncovered one of the greatest archeological finds of our time. He discovered pots containing what is now known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. These scrolls dated back before Christ and held much of the O.T. Now, although they do not contain the entire O.T., guess what they do contain? The portions of the O.T. found on those scrolls contains every prophecy from the O.T. concerning Jesus. It’s as if God gave us a huge neon type arrow pointing to Jesus through those scrolls.

And a study of prophecy is another thing that can deepen your faith. 2 Peter 1:19- "We have seen and proved that what the prophets said came true. You will do well to pay close attention to everything they have written, for, like lights shining into dark corners, their words help us to understand many things.."(LB) One of the greatest proofs that Jesus is the Savior of the world, is the O.T. prophecies. There are nearly 300 prophecies that Jesus fulfilled in His lifetime. No wonder David wrote in Psalm 130:7 "..put your hope in the lord. For He is loving and able to save." (NCV) And only Jesus Christ is worthy of instilling hope in our hearts for only He is our Savior. That’s why Paul wrote: “Jesus is the only One who can save people. His name is the only power in the world that has been given to save people. We must be saved through him!” (Acts 4:12 - NCV) Notice - He’s the only One. Some think that to be narrow but if it not the truth! And not only was He perfectly predicted, He was perfectly qualified.

II. THE FULFILLMENT OF A SAVIOR:

Because while the O.T. tells of a promised Savior, the NT reveals the fulfillment of all those prophecies in the person of Jesus Christ. And not only are they fulfilled but the purpose, the reason a Savior is needed, is revealed. It is revealed by His name. In Matt. 1:19 an angel appears to a young man in Nazareth who is quite troubled because he has discovered that his fiancé is pregnant. So he is trying to figure out a way to gently break the engagement. But an angel comes to him and says, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit."(NIV) And then in vs:21 the angel says: "She will give birth to a son, and you are to call his name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sin."(NIV) The name "Jesus" means Savior or "God is salvation." We also see the fulfillment & purpose of Jesus as savior at His birth. In the Christmas story, in Luke 2:11 when the angels appear before the shepherds they say, "Today, in the town of David a savior has been born to you: he is Christ the lord."(NIV) You see Jesus is His name meaning Savior, Christ is His title which means anointed one or chosen one. And Jesus proved all thorough His life that He was the One, the Savior. Through his miracles, to His teaching, to His resurrecting from the dead, Jesus proved himself to be the historical person who had been promised since the beginning of time.