SOLUS CHRISTUS (A topical sermon) If you happened to have been absent last Sunday, you missed our introduction to the FIVE SOLAS of the Reformation: Sola Gratia Solus Christus Sola Scriptura Sola Fide, and Soli Deo Gloria. These are five brief Latin phrases identifying how our salvation is By Grace alone In Christ alone Based upon the Scriptures alone Through Faith alone, and (in the end) With all praise going to God alone Last Sunday we examined Sola Gratia – Grace Alone. Today, on this day when we particularly remember the work of Christ on the cross (celebrating the Lord's Supper or Communion), we remember that it is all about Christ alone. Now, if I were a Roman Catholic, I think I would take some offense at the notion that the Protestant Reformers are credited with having "Christ Alone" as one of THEIR pillars of THEIR faith. After all, I would argue, if ANYONE has consistently LIFTED UP CHRIST, it is we – the Roman Catholic Church. And to some extent I would agree with them. Indeed, in this day and age when so much of Protestantism has become ABSOLUTELY CORRUPT, one can, at times, almost find some solace in the notion that at least the Roman Catholic Church is still preaching Christ and Him crucified. It was about 5 or 6 years ago when I had a wedding in a chapel at the Lancaster Theological Seminary. Not to be confused with Lancaster Bible College, the Lancaster Theological Seminary is a United Church of Christ entity. As both that denomination as well as the seminary are known for being quite liberal, when I arrived at the seminary's chapel for the wedding rehearsal I was a bit eager to engage with someone. A student from the seminary met me at the chapel - a nice fellow who was going to be operating the sound. And so as we waited for the wedding party to arrive I learned a bit about him and then asked him if I might ask him some questions about the school. He said, "Sure!" So I said, "At the seminary, would you hear from the professors that the Bible is the Word of God and that it is true and can be thoroughly trusted? He said, "I don't think you would hear that." "Okay," I said. "Well then, would you hear from the professors that Jesus is the ONLY way to God or to heaven?" And again he said, "I don't think you would hear that." "Okay," I said. "One last question. Would you hear from the professors that Jesus was God in the flesh…that he was truly DIVINE?" And, a third time I heard the same answer, "I don't think you would hear that." I felt so sorry for this fellow, and before we ended I encouraged him to read An All Round Ministry by Charles Spurgeon. Well, there's Protestantism for you! And while I'm not sure exactly what you might hear from a student at a Jesuit seminary, I'm sure it would be closer to orthodoxy than that. So as we examine Solus Christus – Christ alone – this morning, please keep in mind that while it was heralded as a major tenant of the Reformation (and we'll see why in a few minutes), keep in mind that this is a point that may be equally applicable to stress to our modern Protestant churches as it is to the Catholic. But first, let's quickly look at about a dozen unconnected verses that certainly support the idea that Jesus Christ should be regarded as being at the very HEART of our salvation… Matthew 1:18-25 John 1:29 John 3:16-18, 36 John 5:39 John 14:6 John 20:30-31 Acts 4:12 Acts 16:25-31 Romans 8:1 1 Corinthians 2:2 Galatians 2:20 What message compares to the message of the cross? NONE! None even comes close. In Christ "the fullness of the godhead dwelt bodily" it says in Colossians 1:19. What can compare to that? And yet, church after church after church is being sucked into teaching all kinds of things that are really little more than talks on the psychology of self help. Garrison Keillor is a name forever associated with The Prairie Home Companion – a popular and innovative radio show (that has, since Keillor's retirement, in my opinion, paled in comparison to what it once was). Raised a Lutheran in northern Minnesota, here is a quote from Keillor… "I've heard a lot of sermons in the past 10 years or so that make me want to get up and walk out. They're secular, psychological, self-help sermons. Friendly, but of no use. They didn't make you straighten up. They didn't give you anything hard…At some point and in some way, a sermon has to direct people toward the death of Christ and the campaign that God has waged over the centuries to get our attention." (Leadership, Vol. 6, no. 3) It would seem to me that Garrison Keillor must have been paying attention when he was raised in the Lutheran church! For he is exactly right. Now, last Sunday we reviewed what I called "the straw that broke the camel's back" in the time of Martin Luther. That straw – that "last straw" – was the Roman Church's selling of indulgences…passes out of purgatory and into glory. As we saw at that time, this practice had reached such lows that people were, in a sense, being sold ABSOLUTION or FORGIVENESS for yet uncommitted sins! And as we noted at that time, it was this last straw that was particularly behind Luther's nailing of his now-famed 95 theses on the doors of the Wittenburg Chapel. But as much as Luther's 95 theses were a slam against the Roman church for their role in misleading the people into thinking one could BUY one's forgiveness of sins, they were also a slam against the church for the way in which indulgence sales belittled the work of Christ. After all, if salvation can be purchased, who needs Jesus? Well, let us make some points based upon this brief Latin phrase Solus Christus… 1. Only the work of Christ was sufficient to bring about the salvation of mankind. This is the case because only Christ could offer himself as a spotless lamb. The Old Testament scriptures required a spotless lamb be offered to God when sacrifices were made. One could not offer a lamb that was in any way blemished (for example, having a broken leg, a blind eye, or walking with a limp). Jesus came along and John the Baptist rightly said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." Only he could do that, because only he was truly spotless or holy before our Holy God. 2. God has offered mankind only one way of salvation. Many years ago I heard John Maxwell speak at a Promise Keepers event on the topic: Jesus – the only way to God. Maxwell gave, in my opinion, one of the clearest, best presentations of the gospel I have ever heard. And he did so in a very directed manner by answering the charge that some might make AGAINST the gospel when they say "Jesus is the only way to God sounds very exclusivistic…as if Christians are the ONLY PEOPLE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD who will be saved." Maxwell's points – which I wish I could as eloquently state – were simple. Here is what I recall… 1. God is the creator. God made us. God made this world. And God is over it all. On that point there is little debate. 2. God set the rules for our creation. If you want to compare our existence in this world to a game, GOD SET THE RULES. With Adam he made it clear: you break the rules and you will die. Adam (and Eve) broke the rules and they died, bringing death to all of us as well. 3. God had an answer for our planet of rule breakers. That answer was that God would himself bring about a cure for our sin-prone race. That answer was Jesus. 4. While some people have argued that to suggest Jesus is God's ONLY way of salvation sounds exclusivistic, it is, in fact, the only way that God could be INCLUSIVE of the entire world, without showing partiality to one people, or one race, or one language group over another. It was this fourth point that I thought was particularly good that Maxwell made. He said something like, "Some people are okay with Jesus being the way to God for some, but for others they think God should also accept another way. But would that be fair? Would it be FAIR on God's part to say to one person, "Okay, you can be saved by faith alone in Christ alone," but you – over there – you must pray five times a day and give alms to the poor? And you…yes you…asceticism is your way to me. You must give up every earthly pleasure." Maxwell continued, "Can you imagine playing a game where how one player could score, or be counted out, was DIFFERENT than how another player could score or be counted out? Does ANYONE think that would be just or right or good or fair? And what kind of game would that be? It would be pure chaos!" And so Maxwell concluded that the only FAIR way for a JUST and HOLY GOD to save humanity would be to have a single ALL-INCLUSIVE way of salvation for ANY PERSON and EVERY PERSON.