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Muslims Asking Christians: Questions & Answer

Question:

Christians argue that Jesus is God since he is said to be the Savior whereas the OT
says Yahweh is the only Savior (cf. Isaiah 43:11; 45:21; Hosea 13:4). This argument
overlooks the fact that although Yahweh is the only Savior he does use agents to
accomplish his purposes. For instance, the Old Testament says that Yahweh used an
Israelite named Othniel to deliver his people Israel. He is even called savior! (Cf.
Judges 3:9; Obadiah 1:21) This shows that when it says that Yahweh is the only
Savior it really means that he is the only Source of salvation without this implying
that others cannot be used by God to bring salvation. In light of this, how does
calling Jesus the Savior prove that he is God especially when he was an agent used
by God?

Answer:

Here are the specific texts that say there are no other saviors besides Yahweh:

"‘You are My witnesses,’ declares the LORD, ‘And My servant whom I have chosen, So
that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He Before Me there was no
God formed, And there will be none after Me. I, even I, am the LORD, And there is no
savior besides Me.’" Isaiah 43:10-11

"Yet I have been the LORD your God Since the land of Egypt; And you were not to
know any god except Me, For there is no savior besides Me." Hosea 13:4

But as the question itself shows, there are others who are called saviors without this
making them Divine or gods:

"And the anger of Jehovah burneth against Israel, and He selleth them into the hand of
Chushan-Rishathaim king of Aram-Naharaim, and the sons of Israel serve Chushan-
Rishathaim eight years; and the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, and Jehovah raiseth a
saviour to the sons of Israel, and he saveth them -- Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's
younger brother;" Judges 3:8-9 Young’s Literal Translation

"Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau; and the kingdom shall be the
LORD’s." Obadiah 1:21 RSV

The problem with this comparison is that it overlooks the crucial differences between
Jesus being called Savior and these others who are thus called. In the first place, God
used these human beings to procure Israel’s redemption from their enemies, that they
were sent to free Israel from oppression. They were not sent to redeem Israel from their
sins or to grant them eternal life, something which God alone can do.
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Second, just as the question rightly inferred, the OT Scriptures emphatically teach that
salvation belongs to and originates from Yahweh:

"Salvation belongs to the LORD; Your blessing be upon Your people! Selah." Psalm
3:8

"But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving That which I have vowed I
will pay Salvation is from the LORD." Jonah 2:9

Yet this is where the proof for the Deity of Christ comes into the picture. The New
Testament says that salvation belongs to and originates from the Lord Jesus as well:

"and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation to our God who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.’" Revelation 7:10

Moreover, the Hebrews Scriptures state that Yahweh redeemed his people from their sins
in order to make them his very own possession:

"Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be
My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine;" Exodus 19:5

"For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you
to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the
earth." Deuteronomy 7:6; cf. 14:2; 26:18

"O Israel, hope in the LORD; For with the LORD there is lovingkindness, And with Him
is abundant redemption. And He will redeem Israel From all his iniquities." Psalm
130:7-8

"They will no longer defile themselves with their idols, or with their detestable things, or
with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in
which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. And they will be My people, and I will
be their God." Ezekiel 37:23

Yet the NT teaches that the Lord Jesus did the same thing that Yahweh did, e.g. Christ
came to redeem his people from their sins so as to make them his very own inheritance:

"She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people
from their sins." Matthew 1:21

"awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior
Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for
himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds." Titus 2:13-14 RSV

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Finally, the prophets announced that believers will find their vindication and
sanctification in Yahweh alone, the One to whom every knee must bend:

"Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them consult together Who has announced
this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the LORD? And there is no
other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me.
Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no
other. I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness
And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear
allegiance. They will say of Me, ‘Only in the LORD are righteousness and strength’
Men will come to Him, And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame. In the
LORD all the offspring of Israel Will be justified and will glory." Isaiah 45:21-25

Once again, the NT ascribes specific functions to Jesus which the OT says belongs only
to Yahweh:

"But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and
righteousness and sanctification, and redemption," 1 Corinthians 1:30

"Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above
every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth
and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father." Philippians 2:9-11 RSV

The foregoing makes one point clear. Jesus isn’t in the same category of saviors such as
Othniel, since he isn’t simply a human agent which God used to accomplish the specific
purpose of delivering Israel militarily from their enemies. Rather, Jesus is the very
Source of salvation whom the Father sent to do what God alone can do: purify a people
from their sins by his holy and undefiled blood, procuring eternal redemption through his
perfect obedience and sacrifice for all who believe in him:

"But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered
through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not
of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own
blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For
if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been
defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ,
who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your
conscience from dead works to serve the living God? For this reason He is the mediator
of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the
transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called
may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance." Hebrews 7:11-15

"By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son
into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God,
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but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins… We have
seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world." 1 John
4:9-10, 14

In light of the above it is not surprising to discover that the NT documents emphatically
proclaim that the Lord Jesus is the Author of life, the very Source of eternal salvation, our
great God and Savior:

"In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men." John 1:4

"All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will
certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the
will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has
given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father,
that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I
Myself will raise him up on the last day." John 6:37-40

"Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to Him, ‘I know that he will
rise again in the resurrection on the last day. Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and
the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and
believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; I have
believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.’"
John 11:23-27

"But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to
you, and killed THE AUTHOR of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are
witnesses." Acts 3:14-15 RSV

"For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in
bringing many sons to glory, to perfect THE AUTHOR of their salvation through
sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one
Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren," Hebrews 2:10-11

"Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and being made
perfect he became THE SOURCE of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being
designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchiz'edek." Hebrews 5:8-10 RSV

"fixing our eyes on Jesus, THE AUTHOR and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set
before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of
the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

"Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a
faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus
Christ:" 2 Peter 1:1

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To put it in a form of a syllogism:

1. Yahweh God alone is the Source of salvation and life.

All scriptural quotations taken from the New American Standard Version of the Holy
Bible (NASB), unless noted otherwise.

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