One of the most encouraging verses in all of Scripture is Hebrews 7:25: “Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
This verse tells much about Jesus and his love for those who are often viewed as unlovable. It also tells us that he is powerful, that his salvation is complete, and it tells us that no matter who you are or where you have been, Christ can save and keep you forever.
Many missionaries have anchored their hope in reaching people in the uttermost parts of the world to this verse. Indeed, this verse gives the missionary confidence when he witnesses, comfort when he counsels, and assurance when he struggles. Let us take a look at what it means to be saved to the uttermost.
Jesus Saves Completely
When the Bible says Christ saves “to the uttermost,” it means that he saves completely. He leaves nothing left to do, and he does not leave anything undone. His salvation is complete.
Imagine hiring a contractor to remodel your kitchen. You pay him, he tears down the cabinets, lays out some tools—and then disappears, never finishing the job.
Something like this happened to my family while serving in Santiago, Chile. We hired a man to build cabinets for our home, and we paid him up front to complete the job. However, he only did seventy-five percent of what we paid him to do. He left the job incomplete.
Thankfully, this is not how Jesus saves. He saves to the “uttermost,” which is to say he completely saves. He finishes the job. When we come to him, he saves us all the way. Our past sins are forgiven, our present sins are forgiven, and our future sins are forgiven. He seals us with his Holy Spirit until the day of redemption (Ephesians 1:13–14) and secures us a place in Heaven (2 Corinthians 5:1). His work is complete, not partial.
One day, while serving in Santiago, Chile, I went into a barber shop to get a haircut. My family had only been in the country for a few weeks and had just started language school. I entered the shop and asked if anyone spoke English. The owner greeted me and informed me that she spoke English. Her name was Anita. I was excited that Anita could speak English. Honestly, I was concerned about what kind of haircut I was going to get if I had to explain to someone in Spanish how to cut my hair.
As Anita cut my hair, she asked why I had moved to Chile. This question unlocked the door of opportunity to share the gospel with her. I told her that my family had moved to Santiago to tell people about Jesus and how they could have a personal relationship with him. She began to weep. I thought to myself, “What have I done?” Anita went on to explain that she came from a home where one parent practiced Catholicism and the other attended a charismatic church. She shared how she was confused growing up and had a difficult time understanding which parent was correct. She further explained that because of this uncertainty she had just recently started a Bible study with a Mormon and a Jehovah’s Witness.
My heart ached for this lady. She said that what she was receiving in those Bible studies did not seem right and that she did not feel like she was getting the complete truth. I shared with Anita what the Bible said and invited her to attend a service at our church. She came the very next Sunday with her daughters, and they all trusted Christ as their Savior.
Soon, her husband, Andy, trusted Christ was also saved. The complete family was saved, their home was restored, and they brought more people to Christ than anyone else in the church. When Christ saved this family, he saved them to the uttermost!
Because Jesus is able to save to the uttermost, we must be willing to go to the uttermost.
Jesus Saves Anyone
“Uttermost” also means “to the farthest extent.” In other words, no one is beyond Christ’s reach.
Think of the Apostle Paul. Before he became a preacher, he was Saul, the persecutor of Christians. If you or I were picking candidates for salvation, Saul would have been at the bottom of the list. Yet God saved him and used him to write much of the New Testament.
Why? Because Christ saves to the uttermost. No matter how deep the pit, God’s grace is deeper still. That’s encouraging for us, because sometimes we’ll meet people who seem so hard-hearted or so far gone. We must remember—Jesus is able to save anyone.
Jesus Saves Forever
The verse also says Christ “ever liveth to make intercession” for us. That means not only did He save us, but He keeps us saved. The security of the believer is not dependent on the believer, but rather on the Savior.
Christ has promised to keep us. We do not have to be concerned with losing our salvation if we do not do everything completely correctly because we have been saved completely and forever.
If you have flown on a plane, you have probably experienced turbulence. The bumps make you grip the armrest tighter. But what keeps the plane in the air? Not your grip. The engines. The design. The pilot.
In the same way, what keeps us saved is not our grip on Christ, but His grip on us. He is alive forever, praying for us, holding us fast. We are not hanging on for dear life because we know that he is holding us for all eternity.
Jesus Saves
Hebrews 7:25 is a verse worth memorizing, quoting, and applying every single day. It reminds us that there is no one beyond the reach of Christ’s saving power and no sin beyond the reach of His grace. Because Jesus is able to save to the uttermost, we must be willing to go to the uttermost.
Whether you are a missionary on a foreign field, a church planter in the United States, or a Christian sharing Christ in your neighborhood, this verse gives confidence to witness, courage to keep going, and compassion to reach those who seem far from God. The One who saves completely, anyone, and forever is still saving today—and He has called us to tell others of His power to save.
