Mighty to Save

Mighty to Save
SALVATION’S NAME
Terry R. Baughman

“The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17).

Some have posited the question, “Can God create a rock so big that He cannot move it?” In the question they create a circular reasoning that if God cannot make or move such a rock then there must be limits to His power and definition of His ability. 

The angel that appeared to Mary and proclaimed her spiritual conception to bring the Messiah into the world said, “For with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37). Not only did the angel predict that Mary, a virgin, would have a miraculous birth, he also announced the miraculous birth of John the Baptist who would be born to elderly parents who were beyond child-bearing years. Suffice it to say that miracles are plentiful in the story of God. There is nothing that He cannot do and if we try to use philosophy or faulty reasoning to deny His power we alone will end up missing out on the demonstration of the miraculous. 

Jesus came into the world with a clear purpose and a defined objective. He came to, “Save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Not only was His goal to save, but He was motivated by love. “God so loved the world” that He came. He promised that those who believe, “In Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). He loved the world. He came to save, and He continues to provide life to all those who turn to Him in faith. He is our loving and powerful Savior!

Anyone can promise protection and some may assure us of continual security from life’s unexpected problems. However, no one else is able to assure eternal life and deliverance from sin. Those promises can only be kept by one who has the authority over the grave and the power to restore us to righteousness. Only God can redeem us from the guilt of our sins, forgive us for our transgressions, and give us hope for an eternity with Him in Heaven. 

We have the privilege of proclaiming His message to all who are lost. The Gospel is powerful. It is His story of His death, burial, and resurrection. The One who died took on the guilt and burden of sin to finish it. We accept His provision and His substitution by faith when we ask His forgiveness of sins through the act of repentance. 

He is the one who was buried in a borrowed tomb. It would not be a permanent dwelling place, just a three day occupation. We identify with His death when we call on the name of Jesus Christ in the waters of baptism. Just as Christ rose from the grave we rise from the waters to receive His Holy Spirit and the new life He brings.

Paul said, “We were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection” (Romans 6:4–5). We leave the old life behind and the stain of sin buried in the watery grave. In Christ we have life and we live in the power of His resurrection. 

We have hope because He is mighty to save!

Theme passage:
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12 NIV).

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