I’ll be brief, and save the book for later.
When I read the Bible, I see not just one type of savior, but four. So hang onto your hats while I spell it out briefly, because this may well offend some traditional sensibilities.
The Big-S Savior
Obviously, there is Jesus ― the Savior that practically no one professing Christ would fail to recognize. For the record, here are some quick passages that make this obvious:
Acts 4:11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Acts 13:23 Of this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised.
2 Peter 1:11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Saving Others
As popular as the concept of the “Great Commission” is, this one really shouldn’t be all that hard to grasp, even if some are reluctant to admit it along the lines of the traditional idea that Jesus is the only “savior”. In God’s plan, Christians were a big part of saving other people.
Romans 11:14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them.
1 Timothy 4:16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Acts 11:14 he [Peter] will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’
John 5:34 Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.
1 Corinthians 1:21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
1 Corinthians 7:16 For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?
1 Corinthians 9:22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.
James 5:20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
Jude 1:22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.
Save Yourselves
This one’s really going to rub a lot of people the wrong way, but this is not a matter of opinion; it’s a matter of scripture. Here’s what the word of God says, and it’s hard to deny that people have some necessary role in their own salvation, even though Jesus is indeed the Big-S Savior, as shown above. So we have to decide whether we’re going to listen to these scriptures, or just handwave them away with the stubborn view that the scriptures about the Big-S Savior are the only ones we need to hear, and that we can righteously ignore these:
Acts 2:40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
1 Timothy 4:16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Philippians 2:12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
1 Peter 1:8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Luke 7:50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Many will struggle to admit that in God’s plan, each plays a necessary role in his own salvation, even though Jesus remains the obvious Big-S Savior forever. We might like to simply the gospel message into having just one savior, but here it is in print, folks: In God’s way of thinking about things, believers do indeed “save” themselves in these God-designed ways!
False Saviors, Gods, Christs, Prophets, Counsels, Brothers, Teachers, and Idols
Finally, let’s consider this broader category, which is opposed to the one true Savior, Jesus. Where he is true, they are false. Even so, they promise to enlighten and lead and bless and such, and even to save.
Jeremiah 14:22 Are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Are you not he, O Lord our God? We set our hope on you, for you do all these things.
2 Kings 17:15 They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the Lord had commanded them that they should not do like them.
Judges 10:14 Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.”
Matthew 24:24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
2 Corinthians 11:13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
Isaiah 47:13 You are wearied with your many counsels; let them stand forth and save you, those who divide the heavens, who gaze at the stars, who at the new moons make known what shall come upon you.
Jeremiah 2:28 But where are your gods that you made for yourself? Let them arise, if they can save you, in your time of trouble; for as many as your cities are your gods, O Judah.
Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves….20 … you will recognize them by their fruits.
Galatians 2:4 Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery—
2 Peter 2:1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
Matthew 23:15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are. [Notice that they do not make converts of God, but of hell (Gehenna), so their work is false.]
Conclusion
The popular idea that saving is one-dimensional, and that Jesus is all there is to it, is simply too narrow to fit with what all the scriptures say on the topic. I think it’s about time we broaden our view and accept into our own descriptions of salvation everything the scriptures say about it, admitting that God, Jesus, the Gospel Message, those who speak it, and those who believe and practice it all play a crucial role in the salvation of souls, by the very design of none other than God himself!
