Why We Need a Savior

(Sabbath Before Passover)

"The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things!"

Fred R. Coulter—March 20, 2021

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Greetings, brethren! Welcome to Sabbath services, the Sabbath before Passover! My, the time flies, and here we are just about ready for the Passover, which will be this coming Friday night.

• Why does the world, and all human beings, need a Savior? If that is the case:
• How is that going to come about?

Since God is a God Who lives in eternity

• When did He have this plan?
• When did He come up with this?

Yes, there is a plan to save mankind, as many as will repent and come to Christ—past, present and future!

God's plan is so great that it encompasses all of that. As we know—through the Holy Days—it reveals the plan of God for mankind.

• the Sabbath is the key of constant connection with God
• the Passover is the renewal of the New Covenant of Eternal Life for those who are called in this age

• When did God work this out?
• What happened that there has to be a Redeemer?

2-Tim. 1—Paul is writing to Timothy, and Paul knew that he was about ready to die. He wanted Timothy to have broad overview of what God is doing and how important that it really is, especially when it came around to the time to canonize the New Testament just before John, the apostle, died.

2-Timothy 1:8: "Therefore, you should not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner…"

Think about that! We're going to suffer some very tough times. It looks like it's going to be difficult. But there have always been tough times for those who follow Christ. Following God and Christ in the world the way that it is becomes difficult:

• physically
• mentally
• spiritually

So, we're not to be ashamed!

"…but jointly suffer with me for the sake of the Gospel, according to the power of God" (v 8).

You need the Holy Spirit of God to go through what we're going to face:

• what Paul faced
• what Timothy faced
• all of the saints faced down through time

Verse 9: "Who has saved us…" Remember that salvation comes step-by-step:

• you have been saved from your sins
• you are being saved day-by-day as we stay close to God, love Him and keep His commandments
• you shall be saved at the resurrection

Salvation encompasses those three steps!

Verse 9: "Who has saved us and called us with a Holy calling…"

Think about that! The very fact that we have the Holy Spirit of God.

Verse 6:[transcriber's correction]: "For this reason, I admonish you to stir up the gift of God…"

• through prayer
• through study
• through yearning for the Kingdom of God
• through yearning for His Way
• through yearning for the whole plan of God to be fulfilled

Verse 9: "…not according to our works…" Yes, we have to have our works, as we have covered; we know that.

"…but according to His own purpose and grace…" (v 9).

Think about that! Our relationship with God is direct access to the Father and Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit:

• through prayer
• through study
• through living God's way

"…which was given us in Christ Jesus…" (v 9).

Notice this next phrase. We've covered this before, but let's really zero in on it:

"…before the ages of time" (v 9).

• How far back does that go?
• How was God preparing for that?
• What did He make so it would work?
• How did He work it out so when there are difficulties and problems they can be overcome?

That's an important thing that we need to realize!

Down through the history of mankind up to the coming of Jesus Christ there were prophecies concerning Jesus Christ, but salvation granted to ordinary human beings did not begin until Jesus came. We will see that:

• He had to live His life
• He had to die for our sins
• He had to shed his blood
• He had to be in the grave three days and three nights
• He had to be resurrected from the dead to be:
  • our High Priest
  • our Intercessor
  • our Brother
  • our great King in the coming world, which is coming during the Millennium

All of this was planned out before the ages of time!

Verse 10: "But has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ…" (v 10).

So we need a Savior. Every human being, past, present and future, and when you understand the flow of the Holy Days, that shows how God is going to do it!

"…Who has annulled death…" (v 10)—meaning to make it so it never happened! That's only something that God can do!

"…and has brought to light eternal life… [which is what He wants to give us] …and incorruptibility through the Gospel" (v 10).

• How do we know that it's going to take place?

There are a lot of people out there in the world; maybe even some in the Church are really not sure, You have to know:

• God is true
• His Word is true
• His plan is true

His plan, before the ages of time, is being worked out!

Let's see where Paul repeats some of this again. Notice how important this is:

Titus 1:1: "Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the Truth that is according to Godliness." That's us!

• we have faith to God
• God gives us His faith

It's kind of like a two-way circuit! Our faith to God, His faith to us! Our faith to God, His faith to us day-by-day as we pray, study, live and walk in God's way!

"…and the knowledge of the Truth…" (v 1). We've covered that recently!

Everything that God has done is true, and that the Truth of the Scriptures are written in heaven! That's an amazing thing! Isn't that going to be a wonderful thing when we're in the Kingdom of God and we can look at the Scrolls of Truth recorded in heaven! That's going to be an amazing thing.

Verse 2: "In the hope of eternal life…"

Christianity is not to be better, nicer people in this world, which we should be. God's plan is greater, better and reaches out way beyond that. He wants us to be converted, as we will see with the up coming days of Unleavened Bread. Conversion means a complete change of:

• heart
• mind
• attitude
• purpose
• destination

Verse 2: "In the hope of eternal life, which God [the Father] Who cannot lie…"

• that's why the Scriptures are called the Word of Truth
• that's why there are warnings against those who would add to or take away from

That's how important that it is! Today we have the whole Bible in our language! We have the time, the means, the ability to learn the Word of God:

• to study it
• to know it
• to memorize it
• to have it written in our mind

"…promised before the ages of time" (v 2).

If God promises something, it will be; it's as good as done! That's why God is called the God of the living, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. All three of them are dead, but because of the promise of eternal life to them it's as good as done. Remember that we saw that God is going to annul death!

Verse 3: "But revealed in its own set time in the proclamation of His Word, with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior." Jesus Christ Who is also God! That's quite a tremendous thing to happen!

We know that Genesis 1:1 says: "In the beginning God…" So, God was there before anything else was created, and Jesus Christ was with Him.

We have in the Old Testament the Most High God, the One Who became the Father of the New Testament. Then we have YHVH, the Lord God Who was the God the Old Testament leading up to the beginning of the New Testament. This is confirmed and verified by:

John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and not even one thing that was created came into being without Him" (vs 1-3)—He created it!

That verifies Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning God created the heavens…"

He did all of that first, all the heavens. After He created the heavens then we will see something else. We will see that God created the angels.

Sidebar: For all of those of you who have heard about Genesis as history—which it is—and believe in a 6,000 year age of the earth, miss the whole point of when the angels were created.

So, God created the heavens and then we're going to see that He created angels. We find that in the book of Job. Let's understand something very important. Of course, the book of Job is always difficult to understand, especially the first time you read it. Here you are as a new Christian, newly baptized and you know you have to read the Bible, study the Bible. So, you read the book of Job.

That happened to me. This was when I was about a year and a half or so after baptism. I was reading about Job, and it said that Job was blameless! Even the King James says, 'perfect'! I thought that all that's written here in the book of Job. I wonder if God could be wrong? It took me quite a while to read through it and understand it! At the end the thing is this for Job: everything that he did was what God required!That was not Job's righteousness, but God's righteousness!

Since Job though he was so good, and he was almost as righteous as God, maybe even a little more, he challenged God to come and speak to him. Well, God obliged him! Be careful what you ask God for, because it's going to happen!

Job 38:1: "Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, 'Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?'" (vs 1-2).

Have you ever done that, blithered words out of your mouth without knowledge, and you think you're so right? Then someone comes along and shows you that you weren't so right!

So, God tells Job,; v 3: "Now gird up your loins like a man; for I will demand of you, and you shall answer Me."

'Okay, Job, let's hear you.' The first thing He wants to know from Job, since he's so righteous and important:

Verse 4: Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?…."

So, we have in Genesis that He created the heavens; then He created the angels, and then He created the earth.

"…Declare it if you have understanding! Who has determined its measurements if you know? Or who has stretched the line upon it? On what are the foundations fastened to?" (vs 4-6),

The earth and the bodies in the heavens hang in space! How does God do that? One of these days we're going to find out!

"…Or who laid its cornerstone" (v 6).

Now, v 7 becomes very important in understanding why we need a Savior, and all about free choice. What happens with free choice? That is the key!

Verse 7: "When the morning stars… [the angels] …sang together and all the sons of God… [higher angels] …shouted for joy? So, we have this:

God created the heavens, the angels and then created the Earth. As we will see they—the angels—lived on the earth; that was their first habitation. After God created the angels, and He really began to reveal His plan to them, something happened, because they didn't like part of the plan of God, because it directly affected them! It would put—in God's plan for mankind—angels underneath the jurisdiction of those human beings who qualify for eternal life. They (the angels) would be their servants.

They were supposed to be servants of God for physical mankind before the advent of Christ's coming. However, something took place.

Let's look at that, and this affects every human being who has ever been. Here is something that describes a very old part of God's plan:

Revelation 12:1: "Then there appeared a great wonder in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and having the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars."

That one verse is a reflection of God's plan that He proposed before the ages of time. Then He created the angels and created the Earth for them. They were happy, joyful and singing and everything was great, until something happened! There was a rebellion.

Why was there a rebellion? Because God did not make the angels robots! God wants free moral agency—independent free moral agency—so that we choose; so that the angels would choose:

• choose to love God
• choose to obey God
• choose to work out God's plan as He instructs them

• What kind of world would you have with robots and artificial intelligence?
• What kind of world would you have if the only thing it could do is repeat back to you what you put in it?

That's what human being are trying to do now, saying, 'Oh how great this is!' They even have artificial intelligence, 'Emily, tell me this or that.'

Verse 2 shows that there has to be a Savior. So, this plan depicted by a woman comes down to the one who was called Mary—or in the Greek: Miriam—who brought forth Jesus Christ.

Verse 2: "And being with child, she cried in travail, and was in pain to deliver."

As soon as the angels understood this, there was a leader, a shinning star; so bright was his glory that he rebelled. How he persuaded the angels who followed him to believe him instead of God.

Verse 3: "And another sign was seen in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns on his heads; and his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth…." (vs 3-4).

When that rebellion took place, then we find in Gen. 2 the earth was covered with a flood to destroy everything that the angels had on the earth. Let's see that. Ezek. 28 tells us partly how the rebellion took place. They had to have free moral agency to do it and to be able to do an awful lot of things. This talks about the prince of Tyre and he declared himself to be 'God.'

Why did he do that? Because of the power behind him who was the one who became Satan! He called the king of Tyre. It says there that he was in the Garden of Eden, the Garden of God. Well, who all was in the Garden of Eden?

• God
• Adam
• Eve
• the serpent

Nobody else was there. After Adam and Eve sinned, God cut off entrance so they couldn't get in there, because at the east entrance of the Garden of Eden He placed cherubim with flaming swords. Here's what Satan was before the rebellion: he was an anointed cherub and a cherub covers the Throne of God.

Ezekiel 28:14: "You were the anointed cherub that covers, and I set you so; you were upon the Holy mountain of God… [where God's Throne is] …you have walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire"—the glorious pavement that is all around God's Throne!

Verse 15: You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created…"

Yes, as soon as God was creating the Earth, they were filled with joy. They were perfect, but there is free moral agency! That perfection can be broken with lust, vanity and greed by free choice.

"…until iniquity was found in you…." (v 15). Aside from the merchandizing that is mentioned there (v 16), what was his sin?

This is why when we study the Bible, we have to do it God's way: here a little, there a little, line upon line, precept upon precept, and put it together so that we get the complete story. In some cases it works out that even one sentence can be part of an isolated prophecy that fits into other prophecies. That's the way God designed the Word of God.

Why did He do it that way? So that when people would read it, if they're not willing to obey it, they would have no understanding! That's called spiritual blindness!

But what came upon us with the Holy Spirit of God so that we could understand it? God's instruction on how to study!

Isaiah 14:12: "How you are fallen from the heavens…"—because they were cast down to the earth (Rev. 12); and a third of the angels believed him.

When they were cast down to the earth, there was a great war! Then the flood covered the whole earth until God was ready to continue His plan and create mankind.

"…O shining star, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations!" (v 12). Yes, that's what he's done to all nations! Look at it!

Verse 13: "For you have said in your heart… [free choice] … 'I will ascend into the heavens…'"

If you as ascend \that means you're going up. Going up from the earth up into the heavens to come after God and fight Him.

"…I will exalt my throne above the stars of God…" So, he was in charge of all the angels on the earth; he had a throne. It talks about that in Ezek. 28; all the precious stones and everything that consisted of what was around his throne.

"…I will also sit upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north" (v 13).

In other words, he saying that he was going up to take over God's Throne. So, this was a great sin!

Verse 14: "'I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.' Yet, you shall be brought down to the grave, to the sides of the pit" (vs 14-15).

• Where will Satan be contained when Christ returns? In the abyss!
• What is that also called? The bottomless pit!

See how accurate all the Scriptures are?

After whatever length of time it was that God caused the first flood to come upon the earth, He re-created everything on the earth in preparation for human beings. A key, important thing is that it revealed a great aspect of the plan of God, part of the way, which is when it came to creating man and woman, God said, 'Let Us…'

Who are the Us? John 17 says that it's the Father and the Son! "Let Us make man in Our image after Our likeness." Isn't that something? "Let him have dominion over the earth."

Think about what a great blessing that was for the earth to be given to mankind. Just like the earth was given originally to the angels. Now God creates it for mankind, everything we need. You read it!

It also says that 'He made them male and female' and told them to be 'fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth.' God is the One Who designed genders.

So, all of those deluded people who think that they are a different gender than they really are, you're only kidding yourself. It doesn't matter how many alphabet genders you may create in your own scheme of things, there are only two: man and woman!

Isn't it a profound thing that God gave the ability for human beings to reproduce themselves? That's an amazing thing! And all the animals and the plants—everything that is living on the earth—reproduces it's own kind!

We also know that when God made the first man—Adam—He made him with His own hands, and then breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being. It says 'soul' in most translations, but a 'soul' is your whole physical body and the physical mechanism within it to make it run. The mind is what God gave for thought, and He also put the spirit of man in the mind so that there would be life.

Then He placed him—the man Adam—in the Garden of Eden and told him to dress it and keep it. God also said that 'it's not good for man to be alone, I will make a help compatible for him.' He took one of Adam's ribs and made a woman and brought her to him. Then we have our first marriage. Adam said, 'She shall be called woman because she was taken from man, from my flesh and bone.'

What does that tell us about God creating Adam and Eve? He created them with a working language! The only persons brought into being that had a language programmed in their brain so God could talk with them and teach them, and they could talk to God.

We don't know how long Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden before the serpent was let loose, but we know God well enough from the Scriptures that He gave them a good amount of basic knowledge. So, before the testing came with the serpent coming into the garden, they must have known an awful lot.

We don't know how long they were there before that occurred. But we know what happened when the serpent came in. He tempted Eve and said,

You won't die, you will become like gods. God hasn't told you that. Well, He's hiding something from you, so if you want it, if you want to know something that God hasn't told you, take the fruit and eat it.

So, Eve took the fruit, and Adam sat there and watched her do it! She ate and came over and said, 'Oh, this is good, try it, you'll like it!' So, Adam ate it!

What is this? This is the improper use of free moral agency to go against the instructions of God to do something that you want instead of what God wants! That's called lust! You can see the whole operation of how this end took place:

• the idea came
• the persuasion came
• the action came to pick'
• the action came to eat
• the action came to give to her husband and he ate

So, sin entered into the human realm!

The first thing that God did before He pronounced His judgment against them—which He did—was to say that there would be a Savior to come. Let's look at that, because right at the very beginning God revealed that there needed to be a Savior. We know from the rest of the Bible, later on, that that Savior had to be One Who was God in the flesh.

Genesis 3:15—concerning the Savior: "And I will put enmity between you [the serpent] and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed… [the final seed would be Christ] …He will bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel."

Because there was sin, there had to be a Savior!

God's judgment came, and He said to the man that the field would bring forth thorns and thistles and 'you will work in the sweat of your brow. In sorrow shall you work and bring forth the labor of your hands.'

To the woman, God said, 'You shall have sorrow in child-bearing.' That goes beyond the child-bearing into child-rearing, and every woman always remembers her children as babies regardless of old they are.

Then they were cutoff from going into the Garden of Eden after that.

Let's read a Scripture that tells us the whole truth. A lot of preachers like to read where it says that Eve was deceived, so therefore we can blame all women from now on for the sin of Adam, because she did it. That's not true! She started it, but Adam could have stopped it at any time. He could have said to Eve:

Hey, get away from the tree! What are you doing touching it? Remember that God said don't touch it!

Adam could have stopped it! He could have used his free moral agency to do so, but he didn't, did he?

Romans 5:12: "Therefore, as by one man sin entered into the world… [human sin] …and by means of sin came death…"—you shall die! The wages of sin is death!

"…and in this way death passed into all mankind…" (v 12).

Every human being from that time on had a death gene and they all die! Even those who have the Holy Spirit of God die the death in faith awaiting the resurrection! It says in Hebrews:

It's given man once to die, as in Adam we all die. Even so, in Christ shall all be made alive!

That's the other half of the story!

"…and it is for this reason that all have sinned" (v 12)—because of having the potential of dying, sin comes right along with that!

Later, Paul labels this as the law of sin and death! We're born with it, and that's the way it is.

How is God going to correct all of this? That's why we need a Savior! That's why we need God, Who then wanted to demonstrate:

• His love
• His justice
• His righteousness

By the One Who was the Lord God of the Old Testament to become a speck of human life and to be impregnated into the womb of the virgin Mary:

• to be born as a human being
• to live
• to have a ministry
• to die a very cruel death
• to take all the sins of all mankind upon Himself
  • that is a Great God
  • that is a loving God

That's why He's got His plan that He's going to take care of all: past, present and future! That's why we need a Savior!

Paul describes it: The human mind without the Spirit of God has the law of sin and death within its very nature! The only thing to change that is through the purpose of God and our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ!

We will see why we need a Savior for all mankind!

(break)

After Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, mankind's nature was changed. As we have talked about, the death gene was given. The environment was changed.

Man nature had some good, and if people would have followed the way of God, they would have had some or more good. But because of their sin, Satan was left to dwell on the earth with them—Satan and the demons. So, this led things to become even worse.

The first great sin was Cain killing Abel. From then on the whole line of Cain was dedicated to Satan the devil and evil. It began the whole cycle of civilizations rising up, developing, becoming corrupt, evil and disintegrating. This happened to the whole earth, because of that.

Let's see the result of human nature rejecting God and following Satan and the demons. You check through history and this repeated over and over again.

Genesis 6:5: "And the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth…" All mankind, men and women, the wickedness!

We're seeing today in this generation again how wicked and evil it can become. In the few generations before us, we saw how evil it could be with WWI & WWII. It became progressively more evil until finally the ones who perpetrated the evil had to be literally destroyed.

But then the Americans made the mistake of bringing as many German scientists as they could over here. So, what do we end up with today? A civilization that is destroying itself! Notice what happens when you give yourself over to evil:

"…and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (v 5). Isn't that what we have today?

Test: take an afternoon, morning or whole day and go through all the television channels that you have coming into your home. Have the Ten Commandment in one hand and your remote in the other hand.

Look at all the things that are going on and how much evil is presented with humor, games and fun. Look at the depth of evil and Satan with the movies and things that they advertise.

So, we have it there!

There was before the Flood, so the Flood had to be given to destroy all mankind at that time. Every living thing except that which God sent to Noah to put into the ark to come to the other side of the Flood.

What happened then? After that it finally got to the point of the Tower of Babel! Let's look at the Tower of Babel and what God saw and what God had to do. Remember that Jesus said, 'As it was in the days of Noah—before the Flood and then later after the Flood—so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of man!'

So, in spite of wiping the slate clean, destroying all human beings except the eight that were in the ark, having a clean start. After a number of generations, they turned their backs on God again. Let's read what the society became like at that time. This also tells us:

• why we need a Savior
• why we need God
• why we need His Word
• why we need His Spirit

Left to ourselves, under the sway of Satan the devil and the demons, there would be no flesh saved alive, as Jesus said!

Genesis 11:1: "And the whole earth was of one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they traveled from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar…. [Iraq today] …And they settled there. And they said to one another, 'Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.' And they had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. And they said, 'Come, let us build us a city… [that's a good idea, let's have a great city] …and a tower…'" (vs 1-4)—men love towers!

Sidebar: What does it say about all the skyscrapers in the cities of the earth just before Christ returns? They all collapse!

"…with its top reaching into the heavens…." (v 4).

Just like today, they want to go up into the heavens. 'Let's go the moon.' We've been there, 'we want to go further; let's go to Mars.' How are you going to do that? We'll have to wait and see if that actually happens; probably might happen.

"…And let us establish a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered upon the face of the whole earth" (v 4).

They knew they were going to have to go where God decided would be the boundaries of their habitation on the various lands of the earth.

Verse 5: "And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men had built.  And the LORD said, 'Behold, the people are one and they all have one language….'" (vs 5-6).

We're at that point today with digital language. The spoken language that is almost universal is English!

"…And this is only the beginning of what they will do—now nothing, which they have imagined to do…" (v 6).

Remember Gen. 6, that every thought of the imagination of man was only evil continually! Here is again, right here:

"…nothing, which they have imagined to do will be restrained from them" (v 6).

• think about that
• think about how powerful the human mind actually is
• think about how powerful it is with the addition of Satan the devil's inspiration and input

So, God confused all the languages and they were went into all the earth. Then God selects one man, because he was the only righteous man, Abram who became Abraham.

God made the promise to him of a child, which happened, and the promise of a Savior that would come through that child later on (Gen. 22). So, all the way through the prophecies of the Bible, we have the prophecy of the coming Messiah.

Then we come to Isaac and Jacob, all the children of Israel, and then we come down to the time of Moses and the children of Israel being brought before God at Mt. Sinai after being taken out of Egypt.

God gave a prophecy again of the coming Messiah, that God would raise One up like unto Moses, a Prophet Whom you will hear, and that's the One Who became Jesus Christ. But even in spite of all of that, in spite of:

• all the promises that God gave to Israel
• all the blessing that He gave to Israel
• all of the good things that He did to Israel:
• forgiving their sin
• dealing with them
• giving them what they needed to live by

They still ended up like it was in Gen. 6!

Human beings, without the Spirit of God—the Word of God and the ability to have the Spirit be put in them—this is what happens to all human beings.

Jeremiah had a ministry of 40 years, and he saw the downfall of all of the Jews in Judea. Every single prophecy that God gave came to pass! Jeremiah gave warning, 'Don't do this… God says, 'Don't do that…' God says:

• don't offer your children to Molech as a sacrifice to Molech
• remember the Sabbath and keep it

But they wouldn't listen!

Jeremiah was the son of a priest from the city of Anathoth, and the men of Anathoth—which then was a Levitical priestly city—wanted to kill Jeremiah for what he was preaching and condemning them for what they were doing.

Jeremiah 10:23: "O LORD, I know… [from living, watching and experiencing] …that the way of man is not in himself…"

• though we like self-reliance
• though we like to go out and do things for our own and do it our way
• though we like to make great things and so forth

But it "…is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his steps" (v 23). He can't do it correctly!

What is in society, and what is brought into our mind growing up is the knowledge of good and evil and Satan the devil and the demons are there.

Always remember that it's not how you start out, it's how you finish! Look what happened to Judea. God warned them and warned them, but instead of repenting, they go worse and worse!

Let's see it! We can take this and we can superimpose it upon the history of every nation that has ever existed. Here's a basic lesson for us to learn and why we need a Savior and why we can't save ourselves!

Jeremiah 17:5: "Thus says the LORD, 'Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the LORD.'" That's quite a thing; we there today!

• How many people are rejecting God?
• How many atheists are there?
• How many even within the so-called 'Christian' world of the churches of this world are really righteous?

There are a few, but their righteousness is only partial, because they only come to God so far and they stop. They're not willing to cross that bridge:

• from Sunday to Sabbath
• from holidays to Holy Days
• from the Lord's Supper to the true Passover

Here's what happens to every society:

Verse 6: "For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes. But he shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land that is not inhabited." Isn't that happening to our nation? Yes, indeed!

Notice the contrast; free moral agency is still available, still there to exercise:

Verse 7: "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose hope is the LORD."

That's for us, brethren! Do we trust in the Lord with all our heart? That's what Prov, 3 says. 'Lean not to your own understanding'!

• that's why we need a Savior
• that's why the world needs a Savior

If you trust in Him, life will be better, even if you're not converted.

Verse 8: "For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters; it sends out its roots by the river, and it shall not fear when the heat comes, but its foliage shall be green; and he is not worried in the year of drought, nor will it cease from yielding fruit."

Apply that to us today. We're living in a society that is becoming progressively more evil, and the evil is deeper than we have ever thought.

Verse 9: "The heart…" This is what God wants changed, and this is why we need a Savior. Remember what Jesus said was the very first commandment, and it's the most important of all. Everything else will come by it:

We need to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love our neighbor as our self!
And then Jesus added:
To love one another as He has loved us!
Then one more:
To love our enemies!

That's far from doing away with the Law, because Jesus said, 'On these two commandments hang all the Law and all the Prophets!'Because everything that God does is based on that!

Remember the Scripture: John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish, but may have everlasting life." Do you see the free choice that is exercised there?

Jeremiah 17:9: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" That's the nature every human being has!

If they're taught 'good' when they're growing up, it won't be so evil. But if they're not taught 'good,' look at what it comes to:

Just like what was in Louisiana recently where four girls went into Walmart and attacked another girl, stabbed her in the heart and bragged about it, and put it out on Facebook for everybody to see. They were 12-15-years-old.

See what happens the human mind and heart when there is no God, where there is Satan the devil and the demons.

Verse 10: "I the LORD search the heart…" He knows the heart and mind; everything about what we do!

"…I try the reins…" (v 10).

God has a special creation within us called reins, that He can tap into any time to know anything that we are thinking, doing, have done or we are contemplating doing.

"…even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings" (v 10).

Verse 13 tells us a little foretaste of what the world is going through right now in rejecting God and worshipping Satan the devil:

• to have all the religions come together
• to have all the governments come together
• to have everybody made to think alike
• to worship the devil
• to worship the beast who is coming
• to worship the false prophet who is coming

Verse 13: "O LORD, the Hope of Israel, all who forsake You shall be ashamed. 'Those who depart from Me shall be written in the earth because they have forsaken the LORD, the Fountain of living waters.'"

Notice what Jeremiah asked the Lord, because he had to live right in the middle of all of this:

Verse 14: "Heal me, O LORD… [from the heart that's deceitful above all things and desperately wicked] …and I shall be healed, save me, and I shall be saved; for You are my praise." That's was Jeremiah's plea!

Now, we won't go into all the details concerning the birth of Christ; we've covered those recently {messages: The Birth of Christ #s 1 & 2}

We've also got a booklet: Prophecies of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament by James Meister; there are 356 of them.

Now we'll look at some things about Christ being our Savior. There's only One Who is the Savior! It had to be God coming in the flesh as a human being, as we have gone through and understood.

Isaiah 45:11: "Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and the One who formed him, 'Ask Me of things that are to come concerning My sons…'" That has to do with two things:

• with Israel
• Jesus Christ

"…and concerning the work of My hands. I have made the earth and created man upon it; I with My hands have stretched out the heavens; and all their host have I commanded. I have raised him up in righteousness…" (vs 11-13).

This is talking first of all about Cyrus to release the Jews from Babylon, but this also goes over to Christ.

"'…and I will make straight all his ways; he shall build My city, and he shall let My captives go, not for price nor reward,' says the LORD of hosts" (v 13).

Verse 15: "Truly You are a God Who hides Yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior" He's hidden to the world, but He reveals Himself to those who are seeking Him!

Verse 17: "But Israel shall be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation…. [past, present and future; that's what God's plan is all about] …You shall not be ashamed nor disgraced even into the ages of eternity." That's talking about eternal life, as well!

Verse 18: "For thus says the LORD the Creator of the heavens, He Himself is God, Who formed the earth and made it; He has established it. He created it not in vain, but formed it to be inhabited. 'I am the LORD, and there is no other.'" Quite an amazing thing, indeed!

Eventually the earth is going to be re-created again for the 'new heavens and the new earth.' So, this verse goes clear out to there.

Verse 21: "Declare and bring near… [that's what we are to do] …yea, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this of old?…." God has!

All the way through the Bible is the message: mankind needs a Savior, and God applies that on an individual basis to every single one of us!

"…Who has told it from ancient times? Have not I, the LORD?…. [Didn't He begin right in Gen. 3? Yes, indeed!] And there is no other God besides Me; a just God and a Savior; there is none besides Me. Turn to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth…"  (vs 21-22).

A prophecy of the Gospel going to all the ends of the earth; the conversion of nations:

• a prophecy of the Millennium
• a prophecy of the 100-year period

See how much is contained in the Word of God! It's layered precept upon precept!

Verse 22: "Turn to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else…. [notice how sure that this is]: …I have sworn by Myself, the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not turn back, that unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear" (vs 22-23)—by the Lord!

That's how it's going to be! Now, let's look at how this is explained in Heb. 1, which is a summary of how God undertook to do it, to bring a Savior. We will see in Heb. 1 & 2 quite a few things that wrap up a lot of the Scriptures together. It shows us that

• God is the One Who is doing this
• Jesus Christ is His Son
• the angels are only servants
• none of the angels who rebelled are going to be saved

Notice how this starts:

Hebrews 1:1: "God…"—because it was God before the ages of time, and then He created the heavens and the Earth.

"…Who spoke to the fathers at different times in the past and in many ways by the Prophets…" (v 1).

What does it say about the Prophets? The Word of the Lord came to:

• Isaiah
• Jeremiah
• Ezekiel
• Hosea
• Joel
• Habakkuk
• Nahum
• Zephaniah
• Haggai
• Zechariah

All the Prophets

"…has spoken to us in these last days by His Son" (v 1)—Jesus Christ!

It tells what's going to be for Him, as well as for us; v 2: "Whom He has appointed heir of all things, by Whom also He made the ages; Who, being the brightness of His glory and the exact image of His person… " (vs 2-3)—character!

That's why we're to grow and overcome, to have the character of God, the mind of Christ!

"…and upholding all things… [notice how important the Word of God is]: …by the word of His own power, when He had by Himself purged our sins…" (v 3).

It's talking all about His life, ministry and everything to do with His crucifixion, death and resurrection, right there.

"…sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high" (v 3). That's something! And He's right there, right now to:

• help us
• guide us
• lead us with Sprit
• help us understand
• help us to come to conversion
• deeper repentance
• yieldedness to God
• loving God more with all our heart, mind, soul and being

Right there; that's Jesus' ministry that He's carrying out!

Verse 4: "Having been made so much greater than any of the angels, inasmuch as He has inherited a name exceedingly superior to them."

That's why when Satan comes along and appears as an angel of light, how deceiving is that? Mighty, mighty indeed! Remember that Christ is exceedingly superior in being, name and authority!

Verse 5: "For to which of the angels did He ever say, 'You are My Son; this day I have begotten You'? And again, 'I will be a Father to Him, and He will be a Son to Me'?" My Beloved Son in Whom I have delight!

Verse 6: "And again, when He brought the Firstborn into the world, He said, 'Let all the angels of God worship Him.'"

Didn't that happen when Jesus was born? Two shepherd boys out watching the sheep, a host of angels came singing 'Glory to God!' They told them to go into Bethlehem and they will 'find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes.' Isn't that an amazing thing, that here the most glorious birth that has ever been of anyone who is a baby, the One Who became Jesus Christ begotten and born of the virgin Mary! So important was His birth that it was the salvation of the world, but He only revealed it to two little shepherd boys. They were the only ones to announce it!

Verse 7: "Now, on the one hand, of the angels He says, 'Who makes His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire.' [they are to be ministering to people] …But on the other hand, of the Son He says, 'Your Throne…'" (vs 7-8). Look at that difference, how much more highly exalted that Jesus is!

"'…O God…'"—Jesus was God before He came in the flesh! He was resurrected from the dead and is God now.

"'…is into the ages of eternity; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom'" (v 8).

Notice how we are to have the behavior. Yes, we are to be merciful for those who repent. But here's what we need to do. This needs to be our attitude, and this is why we have the Feast of Unleavened Bread come up every year.

• we understand that we need to draw closer to God
• we need to get rid of the things of the flesh
• we need to concentrate on the things of the Spirit

Verse 9: "You loved righteousness… [Do you love righteousness?] …and hated lawlessness…" You look at that and see how contrary that is to God!

• we are to get away from it
• we are to hate it
• we are to despise it
• we are not to be partakers of it

"…because of this, God… [think about how that will apply to us also in a lesser degree] …even Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your companions. And, You, Lord, in the beginning did lay the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of Your hands" (vs 9-10).

But imagine what's going to happen when there are all of those who are going to saved—mankind: past, present, future—from the way we view it. When that day comes, notice what God is going to do. There's going to be a new heaven and new earth:

Verse 11: "They will perish, but You remain forever; and they will all grow old like a garment, and You will roll them up like a covering, and they shall be changed…" (vs 11-12).

Imagine how that's going to be. That's hard for us to do, but let's make sure that we're there to see it. That's going to be a thing! Rev. 21 says, 'Behold, I make all things new'—new heaven, new earth, New Jerusalem! That's the end of salvation for us.

"'…but You are the same, and Your years will not end.' But unto which of the angels did He ever say, 'Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet'? Are they not all ministering spirits, being sent forth to minister to those who are about to inherit salvation?" (vs 12-14).

Then it talks about what Jesus did, and how important that this is. This is tremendous.

Hebrews 2:5: "For it is not to the angels that He has placed in subjection the world that is to come, of which we are speaking. But in a certain place one fully testified, saying, 'What is man… [David, Psa. 8] …that You are mindful of him, or the son of man, that You visit him? You did make him a little lower than the angels…'" (vs 5-7).

In the Hebrew in Psa. 8, it is lower than 'Elohim,' or lower than God. The word for angels in Hebrew is 'malak' and 'angelos' in the Greek. Yes, He was made lower than the angels, and yes, we are lower than the angels, so both are true.

"'…You did crown him with glory and honor, and You did set him over the works of Your hands; You did put all things in subjection under his feet.' For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that was not subjected to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him" (vs 7-8)—not yet!

Verse 9: "But we see Jesus, Who was made a little lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor on account of suffering the death, in order that by the grace of God He Himself might taste death for everyone." We know that come upon:

• repentance
• baptism
• receiving the Holy Spirit
• being faithful to the end of our lives
• being resurrected from the dead

Verse 10: "Because it was fitting for Him, for Whom all things were created, and by Whom all things exist, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Author of their salvation perfect through sufferings."

There is benefit that comes from suffering. You learn the value of the righteousness and love of God, and we learn to overcome. It's necessary! Every one of us are going to have a trial to the lowest pit of despair that we may go to, so that we will:

• look to God
• look to Christ
• trust in the salvation
• believe God

God will lift us out of that so we can grow, change and overcome, and really understand everything about God that we're able to through His Spirit and through His Word!

Verse11: "For both He Who is sanctifying and those who are sanctified are all of one; for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren."

Think of that! We are the firstborn, the brethren of Jesus Christ!

• He's our King
• He's our High priest
• He's our Lord
• He's our Master
• He's also our Brother

Verse 12: "Saying, 'I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the Church I will sing praise to You.' And again, 'I will be trusting in Him.' And again, 'Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me'" (vs 12-13).

Verse 14—then Paul says why we need a Savior: "Therefore, since the children are partakers of flesh and blood, in like manner He also took part in the same, in order that through death He might annul him who has the power of death—that is, the devil; and that He might deliver those who were subject to bondage all through their lives by their fear of death" (vs 14-15).

• releases us from the bondage of sin that's within
• releases us from the bondage of sin that's in society through Satan the devil and the demons

Verse 16: "For surely, He is not taking upon Himself to help the angels; but He is taking upon Himself to help the seed of Abraham."

Galatians 3:29: "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." This is not talking just about physical Israel, this is talking about the Church!

Hebrews 2:17: "For this reason, it was obligatory…" Mandatory because of what happened with the sin of Adam and Eve, what happened with the sin of the angels, in order for there to be justice and truth that He partake of flesh!

"…for Him to be made like His brethren in everything… [where He is tempted] …that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, in order to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because He Himself has suffered, having been tempted in like manner, He is able to help those who are being tempted" (vs 17-18).

This is why we need a Savior, a great Savior Jesus Christ Who came to be a man, go through that we do as human beings, to be faithful to God the Father unto the suffering of death, as we will see with the coming Passover. So that

• we might enter into the Kingdom of God
• we might have our sins forgiven
• we might receive the Spirit of God

for all of this to be accomplished! That's why we need a Savior!

Scriptural References:

• 2 Timothy 1:8-9, 6, 9-10
• Titus 1:1-3
• Genesis 1:1
• John 1:1-3
• Genesis 1:1
• Job 38:1-7
• Revelation 12:1-4
• Ezekiel 28:14-15
• Isaiah 14:12-15
• Genesis 3:15
• Romans 5:12
• Genesis 6:5
• Genesis 11:1-6
• Jeremiah 10:23
• Jeremiah 17:5-9
• John 3:16
• Jeremiah 17:9-10, 13-14
• Isaiah 45:11-13, 15, 17-18, 21-23
• Hebrews 1:1-14
• Hebrews 2:4-16
• Galatians 3:29
• Hebrews 2:17-18

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Genesis 2
• Ezekiel 28:16
• John 17
• Genesis 22
• Proverbs 3
• Revelation 21
• Psalm 8

Also referenced:

• Messages: The Birth of Christ #s 1 & 2
• Booklet: Prophecies of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament by James Meister

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 3/1/21

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