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Solus Christus

Reformation

Oct 29, 2017


by: Jack Lash Series: Reformation | Category: Reformation | Scripture: John 14:6

I. Introduction  
 A. Read John 14:6 
 B. 500th anniversary of the Reformation
 C. Five solas (or solae) of the Reformation.
  1. Sola Fide (faith alone)
  2. Sola Gratia (grace alone)
  3. Soli Deo Gloria (God’s glory alone)
  4. Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone)
  5. Solus Christus (Christ alone)
 D. Solus Christus is a glorious and beautiful truth central to the entire Bible.
 E. Solus Christus was the heart of the Reformation. The Reformation was all about Jesus. The Reformers perceived that the church had added many things to Jesus, and that other things had been put in His place.
 F. The Reformers did not reject the Roman Catholic Church’s doctrine of the person of Christ. Both sides believe He is the incarnate Son of God: the God-man. The problem was the work of Christ.
  1. The debate between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism & Eastern Orthodoxy (RC/EO) is not over who Christ is, but over how much of a role He has in our salvation and in our lives.
  2. Solus Christus: Christ Alone means that Christ does it all.
  3. Christ isn’t just the first ingredient in human salvation. Christ is the only ingredient.
  4. It is all by Christ, it is all through Christ, and ultimately it is all for Christ.
 G. There is a sense in which all the other solas come together in this one.
  1. Sola Fides (only by faith in the works of Jesus)
  2. Sola Gratia (all by the grace of Jesus)
  3. Soli Deo Gloria (God gets all the credit)
  4. Sola Scriptura (other things add something to Jesus, the Bible teaches Jesus alone)
II. What is Solus Christus?
 A. Our faith must be in Christ’s finished work alone.
 B. People are lost and dead in sins. In ourselves, we can do nothing to save ourselves. God must save and God alone.
 C. The Son of God became human to be able to be identified with us and be our Savior. In that identification as our representative and substitute, He redeems us.
 D. There is a temptation which must be resisted to introduce a human, earthly element into salvation.
 E. But there is nothing we can add to his work; what he has done is enough to pay for our sin, satisfy God’s own righteous requirements, and defeat our enemies.
 F. The gospel isn’t about what we must do, it is about what the Son of God has done for us.
 G. In faith union with Christ, we are clothed in His righteousness, and His work is imputed to us and comes to be counted for us, or counted as ours.
 H. It is true that we are saved by works, but not by our works. We are saved only by Christ’s obedience for us.
 I. It is Christ alone in His perfect life and His sacrificial death on the cross, which fully pays for our sin. We don’t add to what Jesus did in order to be saved.
 J. By raising the empty hands of faith, we are declared righteous before God because our sins are paid in full and his perfect righteousness is ours since we are in union with Him.
 K. Christ alone is our Savior. There is no other way, no other sacrifice, no other works, and no other name through whom we have salvation.  Salvation is completely a result of the works of Jesus.
 L. We have been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. – Heb.10:10
 M. The salvation Jesus offers is not dispensed through the Church.
  1. But Paul says in Romans 10:9 “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
  2. We don’t have to ask a priest for forgiveness; we call upon Jesus directly (see also Rom.10:13).
 N. Solus Christus is the fundamental belief that salvation is found in, by, and through the Person of Jesus Christ alone. His finished work on the cross is, by itself, sufficient for the removal of our sins.
  1. Salvation is not by Christ plus the saints.
  2. Salvation is not by Christ plus any works.
  3. Salvation is not by Christ plus some particular church.
  4. Salvation is not by Christ plus tradition.
  5. Salvation is not by Christ plus anything else.
  6. Christ is the only way to God and His death is the only payment for our sins.
 O. You don’t have to do something in addition to what Jesus has done for you, you simply need to accept what He’s done.
 P. At the time of the Reformation, the church had turned the gospel into a message about what Christ is doing in us, instead of about what Christ did for us. Over the years (and usually millennia in pergatory) God, if you cooperate, will help you become a good enough person to be acceptable to Him.
 Q. But the essence of the gospel is that it’s not about becoming good enough, it’s about what Christ did, it’s about Him doing for us what we could not and would not do. He obeyed. He was crucified. He was raised. He is ascended. He is returning. We are not contributors to this salvation. We’re recipients.
 R. 1John 2:2 He is the propitiation for our sins.
 S. Hebrews 7:25 He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him.
III. It is all about Jesus.
 A. He is the way. He is the truth. He is the life. He is the light of the world. He is the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. He is the door, and if anyone enters by Him, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. He is the Living One, who was dead, and behold He is alive for ever and ever! He is the One who is gentle and lowly in heart and who gives rest for our souls. He is the bread of life and whoever comes to Him shall not hunger. He is the water of life, and the one who believes in Him shall never thirst. He is the vine; we are the branches who bear much fruit if we abide in Him, for apart from Me you can do nothing. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End!
 B. Remember that this is how it’s all going to end: “Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying,  “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.” (Rev.5:11-13)
 C. There are those who would like us to think of Christianity as similar to other religions: revolving around the ideas/philosophies of one man. Islam revolves around the teachings of Mohammed. Buddhism revolves around the teachings of Gautama (the "Buddha"). Confucianism revolves around the teachings of Confucius.
  1. But Christianity is not just a set of ideas, originating mainly from Jesus. Jesus Christ Himself is the center of it all. In His teachings He pointed us to Himself.
  2. Even the Father Himself points to Him: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased. Pay attention to Him!" (Matt.17:5)
  3. It’s not about a church, a leader, a tradition, a worship style, a method, a political perspective, an experience.
  4. It’s about Jesus from beginning to end.
  5. Jesus didn't just come to show us the way; He came to be the way. Jesus didn't just come to lead us to the truth; He came as the truth. Jesus didn't just come to teach us how to live; He came to be our life. "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." (John 14:6)  Jesus didn’t just give salvation. He gave Himself – and became our salvation.
 D. “Reformed people seem to be all about a theology.” There's truth to that. But woe to us if our theology is more than Jesus alone! That's what reformed theology is supposed to be all about. Nothing more.
IV. Application
 A. Assurance
  1. What do you lean on, look to? The sufficiency of Christ’s work?
  2. Hebrews 4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
  3. “Anyone unconvinced that God is appeased by that one atonement in which Christ endured His wrath will never cease to tremble. In short, we must seek peace for ourselves solely in the anguish of Christ our Redeemer." - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion 2.16.2
 B. We need to keep calling ourselves back to Christ and His cross.
  1. Heb.12:2 Look to Jesus! Fix your eyes on Jesus! Cf. Col.3:1-2)
  2. Satan is happy to distract us, not only with evil things, but even with good things. As long as He can keep our eyes off Jesus.
  3. For me to live is Christ – Phil.1:21
  4. Stephen sees Jesus while being stoned – Acts 7:54-60
  5. Esau and Jesus – Heb.12:15-17
  6. “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord... I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings.” (Phil.3:8, 10)
  7. “I would sooner lie on a bed and ache in every limb – with the death sweat standing on my brow, by the month and year persecuted, despised, and forsaken, poor and naked, with the dogs to lick my sores and the devils to tempt my soul – and have Christ for my friend, than I would sit in the palaces of kings – with all their wealth and luxury and pampering – and sin.” —Charles Spurgeon
 C. We need to keep calling the church back to Christ and His cross.
  1. That’s what the church must be about.
  2. Bumper stickers advertizing churches – I don’t want it to be promoting ourselves, but Jesus.
  3. Our job is to lift Him up. His job is to draw people to Himself. (John 12:32)
  4. Colossians 1:18 “He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.”
  5. It’s too easy for a church to have lots of things: buildings and programs and doctrines and dynamic leaders, and not have Christ.