"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."
— Matthew 1:21
Evil has risen to great heights in this world and stands in open rebellion against Almighty God. Satan, who is called "the god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4), sought to exalt his throne above the throne of God. Once a high-ranking angel in heaven, he became consumed with pride and rebellion. He deceived many angels and was cast down from heaven because of his sin.
Afterward, he turned his attention to mankind. Through deception, he led our first parents, Adam and Eve, into sin, bringing spiritual death upon the human race.
Was God surprised by Satan's rebellion? Did God have to change His plans because of man's fall? Was God caught off guard?
Absolutely not.
The Scriptures reveal that God had decreed and purposed the redemption of His people before the foundation of the world.
Before the world was created, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit determined to save a people for God's glory.
Psalm 89:3-4
"I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations."
Ephesians 1:4
"According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love."
1 Peter 1:20
"Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you."
2 Timothy 1:9
"Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began."
Acts 2:23
"Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain."
Christ's coming into the world was not God's emergency plan. It was His eternal purpose.
God created Adam holy, righteous, and without sin.
Genesis 2:16-17
"Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
Adam was placed under what theologians call the Covenant of Works. Eternal life was promised upon perfect obedience. Adam was required to obey God completely, in every part and degree.
The covenant is called the Covenant of Works because obedience was its condition.
However, Adam broke God's command. As the representative head of humanity, his sin affected all his descendants.
Romans 5:12
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."
Psalm 51:5
"Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me."
When the angels sinned, God did not provide a Savior for them. There is no redemption for Satan or the fallen angels. God was under no obligation to save mankind either (1 Samuel 2:25).
Man was created in the image of God, but through sin that image has been terribly marred.
The consequences of the fall are devastating:
Jeremiah 17:9
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked."
Jeremiah 13:23
"Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil."
Ephesians 2:1-5
"And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins."
Every cemetery bears witness to the reality of sin.
The moment man fell, God revealed His gracious purpose to save sinners.
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 is often called the Protoevangelium—the first announcement of the gospel.
God promised that a Redeemer would come through the seed of the woman. Satan would bruise His heel through suffering and crucifixion, but Christ would crush Satan's head through His victory over sin, death, and hell.
God's purpose to redeem sinners was first established in eternity and then revealed in history.
Throughout the Old Testament, the Mediator was at work preparing for the salvation of His people. Whenever God revealed Himself to man, it was through the eternal Son, the Word of God.
How were Old Testament believers saved?
The same way believers are saved today—through faith in God's promised Messiah.
Hebrews 4:2
"For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them."
There has always been only one gospel and only one Savior.
Many people speak about salvation without understanding what we are saved from.
The Bible teaches that sinners are saved from the wrath of God.
Romans 5:9
"Being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him."
Ephesians 2:3
"Were by nature the children of wrath, even as others."
1 Thessalonians 1:10
"Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come."
The gospel begins with bad news.
We are not naturally friends of God but enemies of God.
Romans 5:10
"When we were enemies."
Psalm 5:4
"Neither shall evil dwell with thee."
Psalm 7:11
"God is angry with the wicked every day."
The holiness of God demands that sin be judged.
Therefore, faithful gospel preaching must include warnings about sin, judgment, and the wrath to come. There can be no appreciation of the good news until the bad news is understood.
When sinners are convicted by the Holy Spirit, they begin to cry out, "What must I do to be saved?" Genuine repentance includes sorrow for sin, hatred of sin, and a turning from sin toward God.
Like the tax collector in Luke 18, the repentant sinner cries:
"God be merciful to me a sinner."
Jesus Himself answered this question.
Luke 19:10
"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."
And again:
Matthew 1:21
"For he shall save his people from their sins."
Notice the certainty of the promise.
The angel did not say Christ would merely make salvation possible. He shall save His people from their sins.
Who are His people?
They are the people whom the Father gave to the Son in the Covenant of Redemption before the foundation of the world.
The Scriptures describe God's people by many titles:
Genesis 3:15
A people distinct from the seed of the serpent.
Isaiah 41:8
"Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend."
Isaiah 65:9
"Mine elect shall inherit it."
Mark 13:27
"He shall gather together his elect."
Romans 9:25-26
"I will call them my people."
Titus 2:14
"A peculiar people, zealous of good works."
John 10:26-29
"My sheep hear my voice... and I give unto them eternal life."
1 Corinthians 12:27
"Ye are the body of Christ."
Revelation 21:9
"The Lamb's wife."
1 Peter 2:9
"A chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation."
Read John 17 carefully. There Christ repeatedly speaks of those whom the Father has given Him.
Hebrews 7:22
"By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament."
Christ is not merely a Mediator; He is also a Surety.
Moses was a mediator between God and Israel, but he could not guarantee Israel's obedience or pay their debt.
A surety assumes responsibility for those he represents.
Jesus became the Surety of His people. He took their debt upon Himself. He bore their guilt. He endured the penalty their sins deserved.
On the cross, He satisfied every demand of God's justice.
If Christ had failed to pay the debt in full, no one could be saved. But He did not fail.
He cried:
"It is finished." (John 19:30)
The debt was paid in full.
God's justice was satisfied.
Redemption was accomplished.
You are invited to come to Christ and trust Him for salvation.
God has already done everything necessary to save sinners. He has not left the work unfinished for man to complete.
Christ has made satisfaction for sin.
His righteousness is imputed to all who believe.
Death has been conquered.
Hell has been defeated.
The risen Redeemer now sits at the right hand of God, possessing all authority in heaven and earth.
Every obstacle between God and His people has been removed through the work of Christ.
Therefore, repent of your sins and flee to Christ.
Trust in Him alone for salvation.
He came into the world to seek and to save the lost.
And all who come to Him in faith will never be cast out.
"Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."
— John 6:37