Salvation: Recognition Sunday The Problem, the Plan, the Solution (Condensed)
Updated: May 14
The Problem and the Plan
God’s Holiness, Man’s Sin, and Salvation Through Christ
The Problem: God Is Holy and Cannot Excuse Sin
Our God is a holy and perfect God. He cannot and will not abide sin, overlook sin, or excuse sin.
Leviticus 19:1–2
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.
Leviticus teaches us that God is holy. The word carries the idea of being sacred, set apart, and completely untouched by impurity. God is not merely better than man. He is altogether holy, separate from sin in every way.
Isaiah gives us a powerful picture of this truth.
Isaiah 6:1–3
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
The angels do not simply say that God is holy. They declare, “Holy, holy, holy.” God is perfectly and completely holy.
Habakkuk also says:
Habakkuk 1:13
Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity.
God’s holiness means He cannot regard sin as a light thing. He cannot pretend sin does not matter. He cannot excuse wickedness and still remain just.
We Have All Sinned
The problem is not only that God is holy. The problem is that mankind is sinful.
Ecclesiastes 7:20
For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
Isaiah 53:6
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Romans 3:23
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
1 John 1:8
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Mankind, God’s own creation, failed God and sinned against Him. Because of sin, man is unclean before a holy God. Every person born into this world inherits a sinful nature, and every person eventually sins against God.
That leaves mankind with a serious problem. If God is holy and man is sinful, then man cannot remain in God’s presence unless his sin is dealt with. Either the soul must be separated from God because of sin, or the soul must be cleansed from sin.
Ezekiel 18:20
The soul that sinneth, it shall die.
Nahum 1:3
The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked.
God is patient. God is merciful. But God is also righteous. He will not simply acquit the wicked without justice being satisfied.
The Plan: God Promised a Redeemer
From the very beginning, God had a plan of redemption.
Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
This prophecy points forward to the miraculous birth of Christ. Jesus was not merely another man born into the world. He was the promised Son, born of a virgin, sent by God.
This connects with what the people of Nazareth said about Jesus.
Mark 6:3
Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
Calling Him “the son of Mary” may have been intended as an insult, implying uncertainty or suspicion about His birth. But without realizing it, they were pointing toward the very truth prophesied in Scripture: Jesus was not the son of Joseph in the ordinary human sense. He was born of a virgin, just as God had promised.
Genesis 3:15: The First Promise of Redemption
To understand the plan of redemption, we must go back to Genesis 3:15.
Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
This verse contains the beginning of the story of redemption.
“I will put enmity between thee and the woman”
The word “enmity” speaks of deep hostility or conflict. This is not a mild disagreement. It is an ongoing struggle between the serpent and the woman, and ultimately between Satan and the people of God.
“And between thy seed and her seed”
The “seed” of the serpent represents those who follow evil and remain under Satan’s influence.
The “seed” of the woman is unusual language. Normally, lineage is traced through the man, but here the promise is connected to the woman. This points forward to the virgin birth of Christ. The Redeemer would come into the world in a miraculous way.
“It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel”
The word “bruise” carries the idea of striking or crushing. The serpent would bruise the heel of the promised seed, but the promised seed would crush the serpent’s head.
This points us to the cross. Christ would suffer, but His suffering would not be final defeat. Through His death and resurrection, He would deliver the decisive blow against Satan, sin, and death.
In one statement, Genesis 3:15 gives us the beginning of three great truths:
The promise of redemption
The conflict between good and evil
The foreshadowing of the Messiah
Salvation Comes Through Believing on Christ
God’s plan of redemption is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The question then becomes: how does a sinner receive that salvation?
The Bible gives a clear answer.
John 3:18
He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
John 6:40
And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
In Acts 8, Philip preached Jesus to the Ethiopian eunuch. When the eunuch wanted to be baptized, Philip answered:
Acts 8:37–38
And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
What a beautiful and simple confession: “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” He accepted that Jesus was the sacrifice God sent for the whole world—the perfect, powerful, merciful Son of God.
In Acts 16, the Philippian jailer asked one of the clearest questions in all Scripture.
Acts 16:28–30
But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
That is the great question: “What must I do to be saved?”
The answer was not complicated.
Acts 16:31
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
The repeated testimony of Scripture is clear:
John 3:18 — believe. John 6:40 — believe. Acts 8 — believe. Acts 16 — believe.
Salvation is not earned by human effort. It is not received by religious achievement. It is not obtained through personal merit. Salvation is received by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Simplicity and Importance of the Gospel
The question is simple: Do you want to be saved? Do you want eternal life? Then you must believe that God provided the sacrifice for your sins, and that sacrifice is Jesus Christ—the Son of God.
For those who are already saved, whether recently or for many years, this truth must remain clear. Do not allow the world, religious tradition, or any respected voice to make salvation more complicated than Scripture makes it.
The Bible teaches that salvation is through belief in Jesus Christ.
Once that truth is settled in the heart, it should change how we look at the people around us: friends, coworkers, neighbors, enemies, children, and grandchildren. The message they need is not complicated, but it is eternally important.
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes unto the Father but by Him. Salvation is found in believing on Jesus Christ, the Son of God.