MORE Than a Babe in a Manager

12/02/21 – 12/05/21

Jesus Seeks and Saves the Lost

By Michael Youssef, Ph D.  12/03/21

Read Luke 19:1-10.

There is a word that’s central to the Christmas story that many don’t want to hear. That word is sin. But Scripture is clear: Jesus came to save us from sin (see Matthew 1:21; John 1:29; 1 John 3:5; et al.).

Today our culture doesn’t want to talk about sin. But to give in to culture’s demands to ignore the word sin would be scandalous in light of what Scripture says. Sin is not a toy; it is a tyrant. It has the strength of death, and its power has not lessened in all of human history. That is why the ultimate deception is to deny the existence and power of sin.

Sin is real, and we are powerless to free ourselves from its grasp. But praise God He sent His Son on that first Christmas to bring us the only cure for sin: the righteousness of God transferred to us by the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross.

Every human being who has ever lived has been born with sin nature, with the inclination to be independent of their Creator. But only those who admit they are sinners and confess their need for a Savior will be rescued by Jesus. That is why the apostle John wrote, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). You see, from Genesis to Revelation, the Bible declares there are two paths before us. We either choose God’s way or man’s way, the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of Satan. Every person on earth is either saved or lost; there is no in-between. Only those who confess their sin and accept the blood of Jesus Christ as their only plea will be eternally forgiven and enjoy a restored relationship with God forever.

Jesus came to earth to deliver us from sin, its power, and its punishment. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus is our righteousness—the way home to the Father, the gate to eternal and abundant life (see 1 Corinthians 1:30; John 10:9, 14:6). He’s the greatest gift we could ever receive, and likewise, the most wonderful news we could ever share with a world in need of a Savior. So this Advent season, let’s rejoice in and proclaim the Good News that Jesus came to seek and save the lost.

Prayer: Father, thank You for delivering me from the power of sin. May my life bring You glory as You transform me day by day into Christ’s likeness. You are indeed mighty to save. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).