When Jesus "saves" us, who or what does he save us from?

I have heard a few atheists -- and rarely, one or two Christians -- say that Jesus saves us from the Father. While it doesn't surprise me to hear an atheist cast the Father in the role of the bad guy, when I hear a Christian follow suit then I must speak up. I'm aware I don't have any particular claim to be heard, so I would encourage people to review what Jesus himself said on this matter. If we look at Jesus' prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, as he was on the brink of the events that would save us -- he was praying to the Father to spare him, but only if it were the Father's will. From the Father's answer to Jesus' prayer, we know clearly it is the Father's will to save us. 

For those who hold certain beliefs about the unity of Jesus and the Father, there's a shorter way to the same point: we know that Jesus and the Father are not at odds because we know that God and God's Word (Jesus) are not infighting amongst themselves.

It can help to touch base with Scripture on what we're saved from. Here is a short overview of Jesus' own words on the topic, as recorded in the four Biblical accounts of his life. These are not selected verses, but a word study based on times when words for save and salvation are used in the four gospels.* 

In this world: 

• We may be saved from untimely death or the fear of it (Matthew 8:25; Matthew 14:30, Mark 3:4, Mark 5:23, Luke 6:9, Luke 8:50, John 11:12)
• We may saved (healed) from certain worldly afflictions (Matthew 9:21, Mark 5:28, Mark 5:34, Mark 6:56, Mark 10:52, Luke 7:50, Luke 8:48, Luke 17:19, Luke 18:42)
• We may be saved from our enemies, from those who hate us (Luke 1:71)

In the eternal perspective: 

• We are saved from our own sins or sinfulness (Matthew 1:21, Matthew 19:25, Mark 10:26, Luke 1:77)
• We are saved from death (Matthew 10:22, Matthew 16:25, Matthew 24:13, Matthew 24:22, Mark 8:35, Mark 13:13, Mark 13:20, Luke 9:24, Luke 9:56, Luke 13:23, Luke 17:33, Luke 18:26, John 10:9)
• We are saved from the devil or powers of evil (Luke 8:12, Luke 8:36)
• We are saved from being lost (not home, not belonging, not safe) (Matthew 18:11, Luke 19:9-10)

Scripture's use of the words leaves us free to draw connections among these. For example, how different is it to be saved from our enemies and to be saved from the powers of evil, or from untimely death? How different is it to be saved from worldly afflictions -- especially disease -- and from untimely death? While there are clearly differences between being saved from untimely death and being saved from death altogether by resurrection, there is also some connection between the two. This quick list of what we're saved from still leaves us plenty of room to look more closely and expand our understanding.

What we do not have is anything that would lead us to say that Jesus saves us from the Father. Jesus does not give us precedent to say that we are saved from the Father. The gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John likewise do not give us precedent to say that we are saved from the Father. The old Reformer's note that we are saved from "sin, death, and the devil" is close to the mark, though I might add that we are saved "from being lost." On that view, we're not only saved away from bad things such as sin, death, and the devil, but into good things: fellowship with God, and a home where we are safe and where we belong. The reason that being saved into fellowship with God is a good thing is because God is not the bad guy, but the good guy, in the story of this world. 

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* For those wanting details of the word study, it's a trace of Strong's numbers G4982, G4991, and G4992 in the four gospels, scoping it to times when Jesus is doing the saving, and times where either the verse states what we're saved from or nearby context clarifies that. 

"For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory"

In the older English translation of the Lord's Prayer, the prayer typically closes, "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory." Those words are not in the version recorded in the gospels as coming from Jesus, as is well-known to Roman Catholics who do not include it when praying the Lord's Prayer. I'd never looked into its origins, on the view that as far as closing words to a prayer go, I don't see a problem with it, though it's helpful to know this part of the prayer is an addition to the original prayer. 

Then this week I stumbled across a prayer that is strikingly close: 

"Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all." (1 Chronicles 29:11) This was recorded as David's prayer at Solomon's coronation. 

A search turns up another similar phrase: "You, O King, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the might, and the glory ..." (Daniel 2:37). Though this latter is not addressed to God but to Nebuchadnezzar. 

So the extended version of the Lord's Prayer seems to have taken its additional materials from ancient Jewish prayers, possibly dating as far back as the time of King David. 

Tolkien's lever

"Give me a place to stand, and a lever long enough, and I will move the world." - Archimedes

Many people have wanted to move the world, and lacked that place to stand outside of it. J.R.R. Tolkien solved the problem with Middle Earth: a place outside this world but still near enough to touch it. And through that he moved our imaginations, where we can see civilizations that are beautiful and kind instead of merely efficient, civilizations that grow from compatibility with the natural surroundings. He built a world in which the forest-dwellers write with scripts shaped in the flowing lines of trees and leaves, where mountain-dwelling miners chisel writing with the crystalline angle of minerals, and where to all of them the beauty and integrity matter. Living among these peoples, even simply in our imaginations, gives us the place to stand to see our own world more clearly. 

Memory eternal to Professor Tolkien! 

d. 2 Sept 1973

Controversies in the Church: Different views on the authority of Scripture

The church in this world has a number of divisions, and one of the underlying causes is that there are different views on the authority of Scripture. The extremes can range from thinking vast parts are mythology or self-serving histories (and therefore without authority) to thinking every word is quite literally verbatim from God and therefore inerrant. 

How are we to navigate this field with respect for the Scriptures, respect for the facts, and respect for people who hold different places on that spectrum of views? Is there room for gentleness and reconciliation? (If not, it's our job to create those if we can.) 

"If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not valid." (John 5:31)

Some of the most commonly-advanced proofs for the authority of Scripture are quotes taken from Scripture itself. But that leads to a circular argument in which something is used as its own proof. It might reinforce the beliefs of those who already believe it, but it cannot move someone who does not already believe it. 

"Every charge should be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses." (Matthew 18:16 among others)

There is also some basic disagreement about which side bears the burden of proof. Does the received faith get the benefit of the doubt, or the burden of proof? The answer to that question frames the entire discussion differently: Which side is the accuser, which is the accused? Is Scripture presumed innocent in the absence of clear evidence to the contrary, or presumed faulty and must re-establish itself one point at a time? What about accusations against various parts of Scripture: Do they require any burden of proof, or is any accusation presumed to be legitimate? The secular view, which seeks the de-legitimization of the faithful view, it seems that any accusation is presumed to be legitimate. Does that hold within the church as well? 

"Test everything; hold on to that which is good." (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

I think the reason the different Christian camps are still able to have some dialog is because of the amount of historical or corroborating evidence for various things in Scripture, the number of things that are in fact verifiable or testable. 

In everyday life, we test information against other information, test one belief against another belief, in our human quest for the best and the truest. Scripture encourages this; reason encourages this; experience encourages this. 

How exactly do we test things? 

The one who states his case first seems right, until the other side comes and questions him. (Proverbs 18:17)

Here we come to a bigger obstacle: that people of different views rarely speak to each other. Even more rarely do they seek to understand each other. It is perhaps human nature that we are eager for others to understand us, and less eager to understand why someone might disagree with us. Regardless of where the presumption of innocence lies between worldviews, always to each person their own view seems the one that bears the presumption of innocence and reasonableness. 

Before we can reconcile with each other, we must first desire to understand each other. 

Prayer for our enemies

Some years ago I included a prayer for enemies as part of a longer liturgical service. I'd like to have a stand-alone version of that. It's currently formatted as if a responsive congregational prayer, but can work for private prayers as well. 

Prayer for our enemies

P: The Lord has also taught us to pray for our enemies. Being thankful for his forgiveness, let us pray: (Matt 5:44)

P: Lord, we praise you and give thanks to you, for you are good. (Ps 106:1)
C: Your mercy endures forever. (Ps 106:1)

P: While we were yet your enemies (Romans 5:8-10)
C: You died for us (Romans 5:8-10)

P: The righteous for the unrighteous (1 Peter 3:18)
C: To bring us back to you. (1 Peter 3:18)

P: Lord, have mercy on us. (Luke 18:3)
C: Have mercy on us sinners. (Luke 18:3)

P: Lord, if you kept record of our sins (Psalm 130:3)
C: Who could stand before you? (Psalm 130:3)

P: Do not bring your servant into judgment, (Ps 143:2)
C: For no one living is righteous before you. (Ps 143:2)

P: When I hid my faults (Psalm 32:3)
C: I wasted away. (Psalm 32:3)

P: When I confessed my transgression (Psalm 32:5)
C: You forgave the iniquity of my sin. (Psalm 32:5)

P: You oppose the proud (1 Peter 5:5)
C: But give grace to the humble. (1 Peter 5:5)

P. You, O Christ, came into the world to save sinners (1 Tim 1:15)
C: Of whom I am the chief. (1 Tim 1:15)

P: You have taught us to pray: Forgive us our sins (Matt 6:12)
C: As we forgive those who sin against us. (Matt 6:12)

P: Let mercy be the measure we use for others; (Matt 5:7, 7:2)
C: May their cups overflow with blessing. (Ps 23:5)

P: We remember before you all our enemies: (Matt 5:44)
C: May knowing you bring peace. (2 Peter 1:2)

P: We remember before you all who have wronged others. (Matt 5:44)
C: May your mercy turn hearts of stone to hearts of flesh. (Ezekiel 11:19)

P: We remember before you all who hide secret guilt: (Ps 19:12)
C: Create clean hearts, O Lord, and renew a right spirit. (Ps 51:10)

P: Let the sinners turn back to you: (Ps 51:13)
C: No one will be condemned who takes refuge in you. (Ps 34:22)

P: Let us proclaim your righteousness in the great assembly (Ps 40:9)
C: Let us not seal our lips or hide your righteousness (Ps 40:9-10)

P: Let us speak of your faithfulness and salvation (Ps 40:10)
C: Let us not conceal your love and your truth. (Ps 40:10)

P: Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven. (Psalm 32:1)
C: Whose sin is covered (Psalm 32:1)

P: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; (Psalm 106:1)
C: His mercy endures forever. (Psalm 106:1)

The parable of the shrewd manager, and the license to forgive

Jesus spoke many parables which people praise, from the prodigal son and the lost sheep to baking bread and planting fields. And then there is the parable of the shrewd manager (Luke 16:1-9). Godly commentators may hesitate over the parable of the shrewd manager because the hero is something of a crook. When the manager in the parable finds out he is about to be fired, he calls in his master's debtors and forgives parts of their debts at the master's expense, making friends for himself along the way to secure his own future. 

What makes the man's actions dishonest? He's not authorized to forgive those debts. The master was counting on collecting those debts. 

I suspect that part of Jesus' point for us is that we are authorized to forgive those debts. The master is hoping to forgive the debts rather than collect on them. So why is it we're not out forgiving them? Why is it we're so determined to collect, rather than forgive? 

I expect there is more to be learned from the parable, and that commentators have covered those things. But it's not a bad thing to remember when we read that parable: the master wants those debts forgiven, and we're authorized to forgive them. We might gain friends for God, and secure their futures. 

Update 30 Aug 2026: 

In the parable, the manager is supposed to be collecting debts for his master but forgives them -- taking them off the books, against his master's wishes. In real life, we're supposed to be forgiving debts for our master but insist on keeping those debts on the books, against our master's wishes. So if we are worried that we'll fall out of God's favor and get fired (like the manager in the parable), this could be an encouragement to go on a forgiveness spree. And that would also be in keeping with the rest of Jesus' teachings. 

Essential verses on payment of earned wages, as a topic of justice

I have seen a situation recently in which payment of wages was delayed long after the work was complete. Here are some Bible verses discussing the obligation to pay work-for-hire, and the injustice of improper delay. 

1. The worker is worthy of his hire / The worker deserves his wages. (Luke 10:7, 1 Timothy 5:18)
2. When a worker works, the wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. (Romans 4:4)
3. The wages of the workers who mowed your fields, which you kept back, are crying out against you. (James 5:4)
4. Do not withhold the wages of a hired man overnight. (Leviticus 19:13)
5. You shall give [the worker] his wages on the same day. (Deuteronomy 24:15)
6. The hard-working farmer deserves the first share of the crops. (2 Timothy 2:6) 
7. ... let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with those in need. (Ephesians 4:28)

I wanted to wrap up on a verse that included generosity, and a benevolent use of the wages. 

Take care & God bless