Jesus the Savior, Part 1

No matter what you're dealing with in your life, it can be traced back to the presence of sin. Dr. Tony Evans says many people who think they have lots of problems really only have one, and the Lord is ready to solve it. Because Jesus Christ didn't come to fix symptoms.

He came to fix causes. This is The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, author, speaker, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, and president of The Urban Alternative. Today, Dr. Evans begins a series on the power of Jesus' names. The Bible uses several of them, and each of them tells us something significant. He starts today with one of Jesus' most familiar and most important names.

Let's join him in Matthew chapter 1. Names matter. When we speak about the name of a person, we're giving their identity away.

If I would ask for Bill, then Ralph would not raise his hand, because if that's not his name, that's not his identity. Because names are more than nomenclature, it has to do with identification. In the Bible, they really mattered, because names were given at the earliest possible time to define the hopes and dreams of a child by their parents.

So the parents would give the child a name to reflect what that child was destined to become, because names mattered. Today, I want to start off with Jesus' personal name, Jesus. Now, the first thing I want you to observe is that Jesus' name was not given to him by his human mother and father.

It says, Heaven sent a message to Joseph and told Joseph, This is what I want you to name the baby that's not biologically yours, but the one that you will raise, and I want you to call him what his father wants him to be named. I want you to call his name Jesus. This word Jesus is his most known name.

It is the name that references him even when other names are associated with him. Now, the word Jesus means savior, rescuer, or deliverer. It means a savior, a rescuer, or a deliverer. The Old Testament name for Jesus was Joshua. Joshua in the Old Testament was the one who delivered the people into the promised land and overcame the enemies in that land. So, Joshua, which name in the New Testament Greek is Jesus, had to do with the person who led the way into the place of blessing and who delivered the people from the enemies that would seek to incarcerate them or hold them hostage.

So, when God wanted to name his only begotten son, he gave him the name of savior or deliverer. The primary reason why God became a man and named his son Jesus is because he wanted to rescue people from their sin. And the reason that that is the primary issue is because one of the reasons he does not rescue us from a bunch of other stuff is because we don't allow him to rescue us from the main thing. What we want is Jesus to rescue us from the peripheral, which is important, which matters, as long as he leaves the central thing alone. And what Jesus wants you to understand is if he can't deal with the central thing, then you can't be called on him for all this other stuff. Because all this other stuff that you and I wrestle with in our day-to-day life is in some way related to sin.

It either is your sin, something you've done that you shouldn't have done where you're now having a consequence for doing it, that's one. Or it's related to somebody else's sin, what they did that negatively affects you. Or it can be related to a contaminated sinful environment in which you live or work or play that's not necessarily caused by you or directly by somebody else, but just because evil has invaded the atmosphere. The flu virus has made its way around and brought a lot of health issues to a lot of people. So one reason you may have flu is that your own immune system may be weak and therefore susceptible. Another reason you can get flu if somebody sneezes in your face, you breathe it in and their sneeze has caused your problem. But another reason you can have flu is that the atmosphere has become so toxic that simply by breathing bad air like secondhand smoke, you just pick it up and it infiltrates you.

But no matter where the flu comes from, it's rooted in the same virus. No matter what you're dealing with in your life, it can be traced back directly, indirectly or environmentally to the presence of sin. Therefore, if Jesus Christ, whose name means savior and whose job description is salvific in nature to save from sin, is not free to deal with sin, then he's also not free to fix the thing you're calling him about.

But therein is the problem. We want Jesus to fix it as long as he doesn't fix that. We have a world today that calls on Jesus to fix the racial problem, to fix the social problem, to fix the economy, to fix the division in the nation, to fix my family. We call on Jesus for everything to which God wants you to know if he can't deal with the main thing, then he may not be able to help you with all the other stuff you're calling on him for since the root of all the other stuff you're calling on him for is directly, indirectly or environmentally tied to sin. So whenever you call the name Jesus, you are asking him not only to deal with the fruit of your problem, but the root of its origin. And if he cannot deal with the root of its origin, then you're saying even if it goes away for a while, it's gonna come back with a vengeance because that which caused it was never allowed to be uprooted.

And so people spend an inordinate amount of time and energy and the money fixing symptoms because they don't want to face sin. Now in order to appreciate Jesus's name and the role that that name brings, one has to have an understanding about the nature of God. God lives in his perfections. Everything about God is perfect. So in terms of his standard, all sin has the same consequence.

All sin has the same consequence. If you went into an operating room in a hospital, you took a handful of dirt and put it in the room in a hospital of a person who had been opened up, they would become contaminated by a handful of dirt. But let's say you just have a little bacteria on a scalpel. Bacteria you can't even see. But it's gotten on the scalpel and it cuts the person. The same contamination that came from a lot of dirt that comes from a little invisible virus would have the same effect because of the nature of the room. So in an operating room, everything has got to be sterilized. The doctors and nurses have to wash their hands all the time because they understand a little virus can produce a messy situation. God is sterilized.

Everything about him is perfect and he cannot dumb down his standard to make us feel better because then he wouldn't be who he is. Therefore, the issue of sin is the big issue that God must address, whether it's little or whether it's great, in order to address all the symptoms that we usually call on him for. Therefore, when you call on God to fix your circumstance, you must equally ask him, is there a sin that needs to be addressed? Because if you call on him about your money circumstance, health circumstance, relational circumstance, emotional circumstance, whatever that legitimate circumstance is, but he is not free to unveil for him to address the sin, then you know you've not invited him to do his job.

It's like having cancer and asking the doctor to give you some Tylenol. What you're asking for won't fix what's really wrong. And a lot of people ask Jesus to fix something that's not really wrong. They're asking Jesus to reverse a symptom, not repair the root of a problem.

Dr. Evans will come back in a moment with a closer look at why asking for the right solution is so important. Stay with us. I'm in the portion of the church where they believe Golgotha was originally located, where the greatest event by the greatest person ever took place. Dr. Tony Evans travels to Israel to experience firsthand the places Jesus walked, preached, and ministered while on earth.

You're invited to relive his inspirational journey in an upcoming big screen Fathom event. We're at the Church of the Nativity here in Bethlehem. I'm seated here in Nazareth. I'm here in Bethany, coming into the Garden of Gethsemane. I'm sitting on the southern steps that lead up to the temple. More than just a captivating travelogue, Dr. Evans discusses the biblical and historical significance of each stop along the way and what it means for us today. As I sit on these steps, I'm reminded of another name of our Savior.

He is the sacrificial lamb that satisfies the wrath of God against you and me. November 15th, 16th, and 17th. Join Dr. Evans for a captivating Journey with Jesus. Visit tonyevans.org for theater showtimes and to learn more. Journey with Jesus is coming to select theaters next week, so be sure to go online today to learn more and reserve your seat. Whether or not you're able to catch the film, I want to tell you how you can bring a small taste of that powerful journey into your home. I'm talking about Tony's beautiful photo book called Experiencing Israel. It's packed with full-color photos that will take you on a virtual guided tour of the Holy Land with insights from Dr. Evans about the geography, history, and people of the land. This beautiful hardcover book is something you'll want to keep on display, but it's also a tool that will bring a whole new dimension to your study of God's Word. If you contact us and request it right away, we'll send Experiencing Israel to you as our way of saying thanks for your contribution toward Tony's ministry.

Along with it, we'll include all 11 full-length messages in his current teaching series, Encountering Jesus' Names. So visit us today at tonyevans.org for details on this special double offer. Or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222.

That's 1-800-800-3222. Tony will come back with more of today's lesson in just a moment. God has an amazing plan for your child's life, and there's no greater joy than helping them discover it. Dr. Tony Evans' Kids Guide series can help, instilling kingdom principles in your child by teaching them how to build others up with their words, understand God's attributes through his names, and engage in spiritual warfare against the enemy. Written for kids ages 8 through 12, these easy-to-read books are filled with biblical truth, aimed at guiding young readers into a deeper love for God and confidence in his faithfulness. And because you can read them as a family, these guides are sure to encourage everyone in your home. Bless your child by helping them discover God's amazing plan for them, so they can unlock their potential for a lifetime of following Jesus.

Learn more about the complete line of kids books at tonyevans.org. And now back to Dr. Evans for part two of today's lesson. And so, his name is Jesus and his job description is to address the issue of the contamination created by sin.

Now why does this matter? Romans 6 23 says the wages of sin is death. But death doesn't mean you stop existing. Death means an illegitimate division or separation has occurred.

Death in the Bible means separation, not cessation, not the ending of something. So the goal of sin is to bring separation, always. To separate us from God, us to one another, you know, whether it's the racial crisis or social crisis, that's all separation. And it's due to sin that winds up being discussed as skin.

So you can save a lot of time dealing with issues in your life, your family, dealing with issues in our society if we just start with the sin issue. And then we can apply it to the skin issue or to the money issue or to the whatever the issue happens to be. Because Jesus Christ didn't come to fix symptoms. He came to fix causes, which results in the repair of symptoms. But unless you're willing to deal with that and face that, you will forever be doing the patchwork of fixing a symptom.

It gets better for a while, then it reappears. The penalty of sin, which is always the same death, has been addressed once and for all the moment you come to Christ. When you have a power of attorney, that means somebody has given you permission to use their name, to act on their behalf because they've given you their power with their name. In other words, if you have their name but have not been given permission to use it, then you don't have legal right for its use. A lot of folk throw out Jesus' name who've not been given permission to use it.

They have not been granted power of attorney. But because they think using the name will give them this magical power, they use the name without the backing of the person. A great illustration of this is Acts chapter 19 verses 11 and following, when there's this demon-possessed person. Paul has been casting out demons.

He's been getting demons out of folk. And the seven sons of Stephen watch what Paul is doing and they say, we can do that because they notice that every time Paul did it, he did it in Jesus' name. So Paul would go up to some folk and in the name of Jesus come out of them. The demons would come out.

Well, they said, we like that. So they want to get rid of the demons. So they go up to the demon-possessed person and say, in Jesus' name, come out of him.

Okay, they used the right name. But when they called for the demon to come out in Jesus' name, the demon spoke up. And according to Acts 19, the demon said, now, Jesus we know. Paul we know. Who are you?

We'll know you. And then it goes on to say, the demons left the demon-possessed person and jumped on them while they're using Jesus' name. In other words, just because you know the name and just because you use the name does not mean you've been given legitimate rights and authority that belongs to the name. That's why 1 John 5 verses 15 and 16 wants you to know it says that you can only use his name if you are doing his will. God's not going to respond to your use of his name if you are not equally concerned with doing his will, because then you're using his name illegitimately. You're using his name apart from his goal, which is dealing with sin. If he says, don't bother calling on my name if you're not committed to my will and committed to my person. So you got everybody calling on Jesus and the demons are saying, who y'all?

We'll know you. So you can use his name without his authorization. And then he has no obligation to respond. So if you're going to end your prayer in Jesus' name, I need you to rescue me, then he has to have the freedom to identify if there is a sin, what sin that needs to be addressed, which frees him up to, number one, forgive the sin or address the sin, and then, based on his will, to address the circumstance. But if you skip his will in the matter spiritually, you've wasted your time with the tagline. In Saint John chapter 16, he says in verse 23 and 24, if you ask in my name, in Saint John 14, verses 13 and 14, if you ask in my name, if you ask in my name, but right in the context of that, if you ask in my name, we better have a relationship. You just can't throw out the word Jesus.

Philippians chapter 2, verse 9 says, And every tongue will confess Jesus Christ as Lord to the glory of the Father. Now, I don't know who you know. I don't know who the Mr. Big Stuff is in your life. I don't know who the names are that make you a name dropper. But I know one name that is above every name. You may know your doctor's name, but I know a healer whose name is bigger than him. You may need an attorney, but I know an attorney who's bigger than that name.

You may need a friend, but I know a friend who's bigger than that friend as long as you keep the meaning of his name. And if you keep the meaning of his name, you will discover that he will invade your life, address the sin according to his will, determine what he will address in the circumstance, and you will discover that his name is greater than every other name. And I love the way he closes by saying, At the name of Jesus, every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus is Lord.

So he wants you to do two things with this name. He wants you to, since everybody now wants to take a knee, he wants you to take a knee. If you really want to take a knee, take a knee for that one. He says every knee shall bow.

But while you're going down on your knee, he says open your mouth. Confess with your mouth you know somebody. You talk about everybody else, you better bring up the name Jesus. You talk about the big people in your life, you better bring up the name Jesus because his name is greater than the human names you're looking at to fix the issues in your life. And when you get that name right, then you'll get to see heaven, visit earth, addressing sin, and changing circumstances, because it's all about the name Jesus. But as we've learned, that name describes a person, a person you can know. The Bible describes Jesus standing at the door of your heart, knocking.

Once you let him in, that relationship begins. But what does that mean? How do you do that? Well, Tony would love to tell you. Visit tonyevans.org today and follow the link that says Jesus. You'll find answers to your questions, a simple prayer that can change your life, and free follow-up resources. Now, if you'd like to have a copy of today's message to review on your own or pass along to a friend, just contact us for details on the title Jesus the Savior. Better yet, get it as a part of Tony's current teaching series, Encountering Jesus' Names. As I mentioned, we'll send you the full-length versions of all 11 messages in this powerful series, along with Tony's impressive photo book, Experiencing Israel. They're our thank you gift when you make a generous contribution to support Tony's ministry here on the radio and around the world. Visit tonyevans.org for details on this special double offer before time runs out. Or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222.

Team members are standing by 24-7 to help you. That's 1-800-800-3222. There are some who think Christ is Jesus' last name, but it's more than a name. It's a powerful description of who Jesus is. Next time, Dr. Evans will dig into what that means. I hope you'll be with us. The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans is brought to you by the Urban Alternative and is celebrating 40 years of faithfulness thanks to the generous contributions of listeners like you.