Should Christians avoid calling Jesus their Savior?

Not long ago, Rev. Brent Hawkes stood before his Toronto congregation and urged them to stop using the word “Savior” when describing Jesus. Sadly, I have heard similar sentiments in the 25 years since I became a Christian from being a Muslim all my life. They typically came in the form of urging Christians to refrain from calling God “Father,” or Jesus “the Son.” But Rev. Hawkes was the first time I heard a Christian call on other Christians not to call Jesus “Savior,” and it was stunning.

Then I reflected on my odyssey from Islam to Christianity. Would I have come to Christ more easily if Christians had avoided calling Jesus their Savior? On the contrary — without that truth, I would never have come at all.

I understand the desire to make Christianity more inviting to those outside the faith. But stripping Jesus of His title as Savior doesn’t make Christianity more appealing — it makes it meaningless. If Jesus is not the Savior, what sets Christianity apart from any other worldview? What would make it worth considering, let alone believing?

Some argue that calling Jesus the Savior is offensive or a stumbling block, especially to those from other religious backgrounds, like Muslims. But this completely misunderstands how non-Christians perceive Christianity.

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Muslims, for example, already know that Christians believe Jesus is the Savior — it’s one of the clearest and most foundational Christian claims. To suggest that they are put off by something they already recognize as central to the faith is both naïve and patronizing.

Beyond that, nearly every major world religion already acknowledges Jesus as a moral teacher. Speaking as a former Muslim, I can say with certainty that if Jesus were merely a guide — the term Rev. Hawkes would have us substitute for Savior — I would have had no reason to darken any church’s door to find Jesus. Muslims already believe Jesus was a prophet and a teacher — why would they turn to Christianity if it offers nothing beyond what they already accept? If we reduce Jesus to just another spiritual guide, we make the Christian faith irrelevant. Buddhists already have Buddha, Hindus have Krishna, Confucians have Confucius, and Muslims have Muhammad. The world doesn’t need another teacher. It needs a Savior.

Ironically, the very change some are pushing — to make Christianity more accessible — is what will drive people away. It is precisely because Jesus is Savior that I, and so many other converts, were drawn to Christianity.

And here’s the truth: the people most eager to remove the word Savior are often those who have never lived outside of Christianity. They wrongly assume that those from other faiths will be more open to a softened, less offensive version of Jesus. But those of us who have made the journey into Christianity know better. We didn’t come for a diluted message. We came for the full, life-changing truth.

Rev. Hawkes claims that calling Jesus the Savior is a stumbling block. But the Bible is clear: “The message of the cross is a stumbling block” (1 Corinthians 1:23). Nowhere does Scripture tell us to remove that stumbling block — it tells us to proclaim it.

Of course, there are unnecessary barriers that we should remove to help people hear the Gospel — denominational disputes, secondary doctrinal debates, and so on. But Jesus as Savior is not one of them. If someone stumbles over Christianity, let it be over its central truth, not some tepid shadow of it.

We need to hear from those who have actually wrestled with Christianity from the outside. And when people seek the truth, let’s make sure they find a faith that has flavor and spice and is bold, distinct and unapologetic in proclaiming Jesus as the Savior.