He Saved Us

My previous talks this week have been based on the words of Paul in Titus chapter 3 verses 3 through 7. A passage which I’ve read two or three times.

First of all, we looked at Paul’s picture of ourselves—the whole human race—in our natural condition, apart from the mercy and grace of God. And this is the picture in Titus 3 verse 3:

“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.”

I picked out the key words—foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved, living in malice and envy, hating and hated.

And then we went on to the point at which God intervened in human history to meet our need—verse 4:

“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared...”

And in my talk yesterday, I emphasized that word “appeared”. God came on the scene of human history. God came in person, God came Himself. He didn’t just leave us with a morality or a philosophy or a theology. He Himself intervened on our behalf in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.

In my talk today I’m going to share with you the outcome of God’s intervention. Paul states it in three brief words of measureless significance: “He saved us.”

Who can measure all that’s contained in those words? Let me read the passage again in Titus 3:5. I like the particular version I’m reading from because it brings that phrase in twice:

“He saved us, not because of righteous things we have done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”

You see, those words “He saved us” indicate a specific act of God—something that took place at a specific time and place. It’s not in the realm of theory or theology. It’s in the realm of history. It’s in the realm of a timespace world. People—men and women of flesh and blood—He saved us. It brings Him, God, into direct relationship with us. And in fact when we come down to the individual level into direct relationship with each of us—individually—He saved me.

I wonder if you can say that? Just think about that for a moment while I’m speaking. Can you say, “He saved Me”? By the grace of God, and the mercy of God, I want to say that I can say those words, “He saved me.” At a certain point in my life, at a certain place, at a certain time, the intervention of God happened in my life and totally transformed my life. I’m so glad that I can by the grace of God, without boastfulness, say, “He saved me!”

What does it mean—“He saved me”? Well, of course the noun from the verb “to save” is “salvation.” And “salvation” is one of the most rich and wonderful words in all the Bible. “Salvation” is God’s all-inclusive word for all that was obtained for us through the death of Jesus. I want to bring out just four different aspects of salvation.

First, and most important, salvation is from sin—from the power of sin, from the guilt of sin, and from the defilement of sin. This was the purpose for which Jesus was sent into the world. Before He was born, the angel told Joseph, the husband of Mary, about Mary and the child that was to be born. In Matthew 1:21. The angel said this:

“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

The word “Jesus” in Hebrew is directly related to the verb “to save” or the noun for “salvation.” So He was to have that name Jesus. Why? Because He was to save His people from their sins. I want you to notice that Jesus does not save us in our sins. He meets us in our sins, but He saves us from our sins. He doesn’t leave us in our sin.

Who are the people of Jesus? Are they Catholics? Are they Protestants? Are they Baptists? Are they Methodists? I want to tell you a very simple answer. The people of Jesus are those whom He has saved from their sins. It’s not a matter of denomination. It’s a matter of salvation.

Let me read that verse to you again:

“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

You may belong to any church, any denomination, but if you’ve not been saved from your sins, you do not belong to Jesus.

The second aspect of salvation is from sickness. I just want to read a brief incident where Jesus healed a woman who’d been subject to bleeding for many, many years. This is found in Matthew chapter 9 verses 20 through 22:

“Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind Him [that’s Jesus] and touched the edge of His cloak. She said to herself, ‘If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.’ Jesus turned and saw her. ‘Take heart, daughter,’ he said, ‘your faith has healed you.’ And the woman was healed from that moment.”

The word “healed” occurs three times in those verses, and each time, it’s used to translate that basic word “saved.” “She said, ‘If I only touch his cloak, I will be saved.’ Jesus said, ‘Your faith has saved you.’” The woman was saved from that moment. Salvation includes deliverance from sickness. It’s part of the total package.

It also includes deliverance from demonic power. In the story of the Gerasene demoniac, who had a legion of demons, who could not live a normal civilized life, who was out in the tombs crying out and cutting himself with stones, after he had been delivered of the demons the people came to see the change. And this is how Luke describes it in Luke 8:36:

“And those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon possessed had been made well.”

That word “made well” in the Greek is “saved.” Salvation includes deliverance from the power of Satan and of evil spirits.

Fourthly, salvation includes protection and preservation through life. This is Paul’s personal confession of his faith near the end of his life in 2 Timothy 4:18:

“The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

Where Paul says, “will bring me safely,” the Greek says, “will save me.” So it includes protection and preservation. Let me recapitulate that briefly. Salvation is from sin, from sickness, from demonic power, and it includes protection and preservation throughout life.

Now I want to return briefly to that verse, Titus 3:5:

“He saved us, not because of righteous things we have done, but because of His mercy.”

Notice there’s a “not” and a “but”—“not because of righteous things we have done, but because of His mercy.” It is so important to understand that we cannot deserve salvation. We have no claim on God through what we have done of righteous acts. There’s only one way we can receive salvation, that is out of God’s mercy. And we do not receive out of God’s mercy until we have exhausted every claim out of our own righteousness. That’s why sometimes religious people find it so hard to enter into salvation. They’ve grown up and become imbued with the idea that they’ve got to do something to earn it. And as long as you think you can earn it, you cannot receive it out of God’s mercy and grace. God will not grant salvation to you on that basis because it’s a false basis. And God can never operate on a false basis. So you have to come to the point where you see it’s by God’s mercy or not at all.

Let me read to you also the words of Paul in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 and 9:

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Notice the tremendous emphasis there on grace. The essence of grace is that it proceeds from God and we cannot earn it. Anything that we can earn is not grace. But we cannot earn salvation. It comes only by grace. And because it is by grace, it is through faith. And even that faith doesn’t proceed from us. God Himself has to give us the faith to be saved. And then in order to drive the point home, Paul ends with those words, “not by works, so that no one can boast.” We are left with no room for boasting, no room for arrogance, no room for parading our own righteousness, our good deeds, our religiosity. All that is ruled out of court and we are shut up to one thing only—the mercy and the grace of God. Let me read those beautiful words once more:

He saved us, not because of righteous things we have done, but because of His mercy.