Brian Onstead

Why did your parents name you with the name you have? If you are a parent, why did you choose to give the names to your children that you did? More than likely, it’s because you liked the name or it had a nice ring to it.

In Jesus’ day, however, a person’s name reflected his or her significance and identity. And this is the case with the name that our Lord Jesus received. When the angel of the lord appeared to Joseph, he said regarding Mary, “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins,” Matthew 1:21. The reason he is named Jesus is because he saves his people from their sins. The name Jesus means “the Lord is salvation.” The lord is the one who saves. What is it that he saves his people from? It is not from bad health or bad fortune.

While the lord can heal and turn a bad situation around in our life, yet one day all our health is going to fail when we die. And even if we have the best life and gain the most wealth, we will have to part with it all, for just as we brought nothing into this world so we will not bring anything with us when we leave this world. Rather, the salvation that our Lord Jesus brings is much more significant. The Bible says that he saves us from our sins. Now, the question that remains is, how does he save us from our sins? In answering this, I like to give three “p’s.” He saves us from the penalty of our sin, he saves us from the power of our sin, and eventually he saves us from the presence of our sin.

First, he saves us from the penalty of our sin by dying on the cross to pay for all our sins. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). This is more than a physical death; it is an eternal death. It is to spend eternity in hell. The lord has saved us from this just penalty that each one of us deserves for our sin by bearing the wrath of God in our place. Everyone who trusts that Jesus has borne that penalty for them is forever forgiven of their sins and will never face hell. Instead, they will be in heaven forever, enjoying the presence of God. Second, the lord saves us from the power of sin. The Bible says that sin is an enslaving master. It is more powerful than us. We cannot overcome or conquer it by our will power of strength. We need the lord’s power in us to deliver us from our sinful lifestyle.

All who trust in Jesus’ power to deliver them, and not their own, receive victory over their sin. However, while this is true, sin still remains in the life of the believer. There is not an absolute break with all sin. And this brings me to the third “p,” which is that one day all who believe in Jesus will be delivered from the presence of sin. When we go to heaven, all our sin is completely removed. We will no longer have any sin nature, remaining sin in our lives, or even temptation to sin. It will all be removed! This is how Jesus saves his people from their sins. All who simply trust Jesus for this receive this salvation as a completely free gift. This is why his name is Jesus, the only one who can save us from our sins. 

(Brian Onstead is the pastor at Trinity Bible Church.)