We Need A Savior: Why We Cannot Save Ourselves (Part 1)
“For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”
Romans 3:20 (ESV)
I do not remember a time in my life in which I did not believe in the God of Christianity. I grew up going to church, reading the Bible with my family every night, and praying before every meal. I am very thankful that my parents were saved and became Christians before I was born, and that they chose to raise me as a Christian. While this did not exactly translate into a perfect, trauma-free childhood, I do believe that I was spared much heartbreak and disappointment as a result.
Because of all of this, however, I took salvation for granted. I never fully understood that I was unable to save myself, or why I could not. I never grasped how desperately I needed a savior.
We need a savior.
This is a message, a fundamental truth, that non-believers and believers alike must understand. For the non-believer, coming to grips with this is a crucial first step towards salvation, redemption, and the only One with the ability to bring those to fruition. For the believer, like myself, realizing how powerless we are to make things right on our own is a necessary foundation for living out an active, fruitful, and faithful Christian lifestyle.
Why We Cannot Save Ourselves
“God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.” Psalm 53:2-3 (ESV)
If you are well-versed in the Bible, you may have noticed that much of this content is being taken from what Paul articulated in Romans 3. If you are not familiar with this passage, please read through it (and all of Romans for that matter). Please do not just take my word for it; verify my message with the Scriptures themselves.
The letter of Romans is Paul’s clearest presentation of the Gospel. In the third chapter he lays down the all-important foundation of understanding our own unrighteousness and the inability of humanity to save itself. He achieves this through talking about the law. God gave the law to Israel, commandments for them to live by and through which to seek after God. As we know throughout the Old Testament, however, Israel failed time after time to follow and uphold the law. There was not one Israelite that was able to obtain righteousness through the works of the law; Abram lacked faith in having children with Hagar instead of his wife Sarai (Genesis 16), Moses was disobedient to God by striking the rock (Numbers 20:2-13), and David committed murder in his lust for Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11). Even the most faithful of God’s people fell short. Paul’s words in Romans 3:23 ring true, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Our unrighteousness, however, is not simply due to the introduction of the law. Paul points this out in Romans 2:14-16:
“For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.” (ESV)
The law has already been written on the hearts of all human beings. To some degree, there is something inside of all of us that knows right and wrong. As beings created in the image of God, we have the imprint of His law inside us. Even so, however, this can be and has been easily misinterpreted. Those without the given law fall to sin as well. The law, then, was given to show us definitively how short we did fall, “since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:20 ESV) The law has shown us our unrighteousness and inability to save ourselves from the corruption of sin.
If We Cannot Save Ourselves, Who Can?
With the understanding that we are too steeped into sin to uphold the law and save ourselves, a few questions naturally arise: “Is there no hope? Are we doomed to brokenness for the rest of eternity? If we cannot save ourselves, then who possibly could?”
There are answers to those questions. They are beautiful, hope-filling, and life-giving as some reading this now may know. As much as I want to share those answers right here, however, I cannot. I believe that it is important sit with this knowledge and understanding of our own brokenness. We must fully comprehend why we need a savior. Why we need an answer to those questions. If we do not, and a savior does come for us, how will we be able to fully appreciate what they have done for us? My encouragement for you, the reader, is to sit, chew, and meditate on this. It may be painful, convicting, and difficult, but trust myself and Paul when I say it will be worth it. Stay tuned for the good news ahead in part two.
