Why do we need salvation, Pt 5: Christ is the answer
John 3:16-17 16For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
John 14:6 6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Acts 4:11-12 11Jesus is “ ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ 12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
2 Timothy 1:9-10 9He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
God so loved the world
Think about John 3:16 for a moment. When we say Christ is the answer, we’re really beginning with the truth that “God so loved the world.” Think about that for a moment. The world is often filled with division, brokenness, and hostility. If we were writing the story, we might expect God to respond with anger, or to turn His back altogether. But John says something astonishing: God’s response is love. And not a distant, sentimental kind of love. This is a love that gives. It cost God everything to love us in this way—His “one and only Son.”1 The word John uses for “gave” doesn’t simply mean God sent Jesus; it means He handed Him over—to suffering, to rejection, to death on a cross.
That’s what makes Christ the answer. When humanity’s deepest problem is sin—the rebellion that separates us from God—only sacrificial love can bridge the gap. And that’s exactly what God does in Christ. Jesus didn’t come to condemn but to save. Many people today still imagine God as a harsh judge with folded arms, waiting to point out failures. But Jesus flips the script. He says, “I didn’t come to condemn; I came to rescue.” So when we confess “Christ is the answer,” we’re saying that the answer to sin, guilt, shame, and brokenness is not found in trying harder, but in trusting deeper—in the God who loves us so much He gave His Son.
Jesus is the way
But love alone is not vague or generic—it has a direction. That’s why Jesus says in John 14:6:
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
This is one of the boldest claims Jesus makes. It tells us salvation isn’t about following a religious system or climbing a moral ladder. It’s about a Person. Notice Jesus doesn’t say, “I will show you the way,” or “I will teach you the truth.” He says, “I am the way … I am the truth … I am the life.”
That changes everything. If you want to know the way to God, you don’t need a map—you need Jesus. If you want to know the truth about life’s deepest questions—Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going?—you don’t need a philosophy textbook; you need Jesus. If you want real life—life that doesn’t end in despair—you don’t need endless self-improvement projects; you need Jesus.2 He doesn’t just describe the way—He is the way.
And let’s be honest: our culture resists this claim. People want to believe all religions are equal, that “all paths lead up the same mountain.” But Jesus won’t let us water down His words. If He is truly the way, then other paths, however sincere, still leave us lost.3
Far from being narrow, this is actually liberating. Imagine if there were a thousand doors to God—how would we know which one was right? But because there is one door, and that door is Jesus, we can walk with confidence. His exclusivity brings clarity and security.
So when we say, “Christ is the answer,” we’re saying He is the path we can trust when life feels confusing, the truth we can rely on when the world seems full of lies, and the life we can embrace when everything else feels empty.
The only name that can save
Let’s look at the context of the Acts verse for a minute. Peter and John are hauled before the authorities for healing a crippled man in Jesus’ name. Peter doesn’t hesitate for a second, but boldly makes the statement that Jesus is the cornerstone and the only name which can save. Wait a minute, isn’t this the same Peter who denied Jesus three times? Now Peter declares flatly: there is salvation in no one else. Why such boldness? Because Peter knew firsthand that Christ is the answer. He had seen Jesus rise from the dead. He had experienced forgiveness after his own failures. He had been filled with the Spirit. For Peter, there was no other name that could save.3
Let’s talk about a cornerstone for a minute. In ancient days everything had to be done by hand. Often measurements were approximate. But not the cornerstone: Great effort was made to make it perfect because the entire foundation of the rest of the building depended on those cornerstone 90o angles being perfect. In ancient architecture, the cornerstone was the first stone set, the one that determined the alignment of the entire building. Reject the cornerstone, and the building collapses. Build on it, and everything holds together. That’s Jesus.4 Here’s the implication: every human attempt to find salvation apart from Christ will eventually collapse. Other leaders may offer wisdom, but they cannot deal with sin. Other systems may inspire, but they cannot conquer death. Only Christ’s name carries the power of salvation.5
He has saved us for a purpose
There’s something interesting about the 2 Timothy verse. Notice the order: first He saves us, then He calls us. God doesn’t wait for us to clean ourselves up. He rescues us first, then gives us a new purpose. Salvation is a gift of grace, not a reward for performance.
But grace doesn’t leave us unchanged. Paul says God calls us “to a holy life.” In other words, Christ is the answer not just to our guilt but to our aimlessness. He gives us a calling, a direction, a purpose.6 And this purpose is not random. Paul says it was “given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.” That means your life is not an accident. Before God made the world, He had already planned to save you and call you to holiness.
10For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Think of the dignity this gives our lives. Many people today struggle with identity and purpose. But the Gospel answers those questions: Who am I?—I am one saved by grace. Why am I here?—I am called to live a holy life that reflects Christ. Where am I going?—toward the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose.
So when we say, “Christ is the answer,” we’re also saying He is the one who gives meaning to our lives. He rescues us from sin, yes, but also redefines our story with purpose and direction.
Because Christ has destroyed death
Death is the one enemy no human can defeat. It looms over every achievement, mocks every dream, and eventually swallows up every life. Technology, medicine, and philosophy may delay or disguise it, but none can erase it.
But Christ has. At the cross, He took the full penalty of sin, which is death (Romans 6:23). At the resurrection, He broke death’s chains once and for all. The empty tomb is history’s loudest declaration that “Christ is the answer.”
Think of what this means for daily life. When we lose loved ones, we grieve—but not as those without hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). When we face sickness or suffering, we don’t despair, because death does not have the last word. When fear whispers that everything ends in the grave, the Gospel answers: “Life and immortality have been brought to light.”
Believers throughout history have drawn courage from this. Early believers facing persecution sang hymns on their way to martyrdom because they knew death was not defeat. Missionaries risked their lives to carry the Gospel across oceans because they knew eternity was secure. And today, ordinary Christians face hardship with hope because they know Christ has destroyed death.
So when we declare “Christ is the answer,” we’re not just talking about spiritual comfort. We’re talking about ultimate victory. We’re talking about the one who holds the keys of death and Hades (Revelation 1:18), who guarantees that even if we die, we will live (John 11:25).
What about me?
To say Christ is the answer is not to speak in vague generalities. It is to confess a specific, powerful, life-changing truth:
God so loved the world that He gave His Son.
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
His is the only name that can save.
He has saved us and called us for a holy purpose.
He has destroyed death and brought immortality to light.
In a world searching for answers in politics, technology, or self-help, the Gospel points us to a Person. Christ is the answer to our past (forgiveness), our present (purpose), and our future (eternal life). And because He is the answer, we are called not just to believe it, but to proclaim it—so that all may know the God who so loved the world.
For every question we have, every struggle, every confrontation—Christ is the answer. That means doubt, worry, and questioning are not from God, they are Satan’s lies. Christ is the answer when things are going well, and when they are not. So, it is up to each individual to decide, “How will I deal with this problem?”
Footnotes
1. Carson, D.A., The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 205.
2. Morris, Leon, The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971), 641.
3. Keller, Timothy, The Reason for God (New York: Dutton, 2008), 142.
4. Bruce, F.F., The Book of Acts (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988), 103.
5. Stott, John, The Cross of Christ (Downers Grove: IVP, 1986), 69.
6. Fee, Gordon, Pauline Christology (Peabody: Hendrickson, 2007), 373.