The Need for Salvation – Why We All Need a Savior
Scripture Focus: Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Isaiah 53:6 Have you ever wondered why every human culture throughout history has had some concept of rescue, redemption, or salvation? From ancient mythologies to modern superhero movies, we’re drawn to stories of someone swooping in to save the day when all hope seems lost. But what if I told you this universal longing points to a deeper truth about the human condition? The uncomfortable reality that many refuse to face is this: we’re all in desperate need of rescue. Not from external circumstances, natural disasters, or even other people. – but from something far more dangerous and devastating. We need salvation from ourselves, from our sin, and from the eternal consequences that sin brings. This isn’t popular teaching in our self-help, pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps culture. We prefer messages that affirm our inherent goodness and our ability to overcome any obstacle through positive thinking and hard work. But Scripture paints a radically different picture of the human condition – one that’s simultaneously more sobering and more hopeful than anything our culture offers. The Perfect Beginning That Went Wrong Let’s start where the story really begins, in the Garden of Eden. Let look at – Adam [Man/Mankind] and Eve [Living] walking with the Creator of the universe in the cool of the day. No shame, no fear, no separation. Can you imagine it? Perfect communion with the God who spoke galaxies into existence, who counts every star and calls them by name. Genesis 2:25 tells us they were “naked and not ashamed.” This wasn’t just about physical nakedness,it was about complete openness, transparency, and perfect relationship with each other and with God. They had everything! Perfect bodies, perfect minds, perfect hearts, and most importantly, perfect fellowship with their Creator. But then came Genesis 3. The serpent slithered into paradise with a simple question: “Has God indeed said…?” Doubt. Questioning God’s word. Questioning God’s goodness. And in that moment, everything changed. When Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, sin entered the world like a deadly virus. Suddenly, for the first time in human history, man was afraid of God. Genesis 3:8 breaks my heart every time I read it: “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” They hid! From the God who loved them, who created them for fellowship with Him. Sin had built a wall between God and man that humanity could never tear down on its own. The Disease That Infected Us All Here’s the truth that our world desperately tries to avoid: Adam and Eve’s problem became our problem. This wasn’t just an ancient couple making a bad choice in a garden. This was the fall of all humanity. Romans 5:12 explains it clearly: “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” We didn’t just inherit Adam’s DNA—we inherited his sin nature. You see, brothers and sisters, we don’t become sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners. It’s our nature. From the moment we’re born, we have hearts that naturally rebel against God. You don’t have to teach a child to be selfish, to lie, to disobey. It comes naturally because we’re born with a sin nature. Romans 3:23 delivers the diagnosis that every human being must face: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Not some people. Not most people. ALL people. The morally upright person, the religious person, the kind grandmother who never hurt a fly, the generous philanthropist, all have sinned and fallen short. But let me be even more specific about what this means. The word “sin” in the original Greek is “hamartia” [ἁμαρτία], which literally means “to miss the mark.” It’s an archery term describing an arrow that doesn’t hit the bullseye. God’s standard is perfect righteousness, absolute moral perfection. And every single human being who has ever lived (except Jesus) has missed that mark completely. Isaiah understood this when he was given a vision of God’s holiness in Isaiah 6:5. His response? “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Isaiah was one of the most righteous men of his generation, but in the presence of absolute holiness, he saw his own sinfulness clearly. The Scattering That Describes Our Condition Isaiah 53:6 paints the most accurate picture of the human condition: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” This isn’t just poetic language, it’s a precise diagnosis. Like sheep, we’ve all gone astray. We’re not just lost; we’re actively running in the wrong direction. Every single person has “turned to his own way” instead of God’s way. We’ve made ourselves the center of our own universe instead of acknowledging God as the rightful King. Think about it honestly for a moment. How many of your decisions in life have been made with the primary question, “What does God want me to do?” versus “What do I want to do?” We naturally choose our way over God’s way. We trust our wisdom over His wisdom. We pursue our will over His will. This is what sin looks like at its core—self-rule instead of God’s rule. The Hebrew word used here for “astray” is “ta’ah” [תָּעָה], which means to wander, to err, to go astray. It’s the same word used to describe someone who has lost their way in the wilderness. Without a guide, without a map, without hope of finding their way home. That’s
The Need for Salvation – Why We All Need a Savior Read More »
