In Christ Alone

Alone

The teaching was one of the five solas of the reformation highlighted to counter a problem with a church that was throwing shade on Christ.

The church at this time was claiming a right that belong to Christ alone.

In the sixteenth century the church had moved from a body of the saved to a place to receive salvation

In 1520, Luther wrote The Babylonian Captivity of the Church, where he attacked the sacramental system of the church. That system, Luther said, represented a captivity that had become its own Babylon, holding captive the people of God from cradle to grave: In the church one was baptized as an infant, confirmed as a youth, married as a mature person, and received extreme unction on one’s deathbed. Each of these sacraments, along with ordination, were seen as conveying grace when administered by a priest. The grace conferred was supplemented throughout one’s life by two further sacraments: regular confession of sin to a priest and the reception of the Eucharist through a priestly Mass.

From cradle to the grave, the Christian was dependent upon the Catholic Church, tethered to the sacraments in order to receive the grace by which one can be saved.

So basically the church had reverted right back to the keeping of laws

Christ Alone for our justification

The Law is good in that brings us to a knowledge of sin but it also reveals Gods holy character. Lev 19:2 and 20:7-8 God commands them to be holy for the Lord your God is Holy.

How would they be Holy and acceptable before God? By keeping His Holy Law.

The problem is because of the mans sin nature he cant keep it, therefore it leads him to a knowledge of his sin and his inability to keep it.

Galatians 3:19–25 “Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one. Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,”

Romans 3:20 “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”

God requires perfect righteousness and we just cant pull it off. So how can we stand before Holy God righteous.

The answer to that is revealed in the gospel of Jesus Christ

Romans 1:16–17 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Break down this passage. Why is Paul not ashamed of gospel? Because its the power of God for salvation? How? Because in it(the gospel), the righteousness of God (the righteousness we all need to stand before God and righteousness required) is revealed for salvation.

If all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, there is none righteous no not one ,and all our works are as filthy rags then how can we obtain this righteousness.

Its made possible only through Christ and Christ Alone spelled out in Romans 3:21–26 “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.””

Christ Alone for our sanctificaton

Salvation doesn’t end at justification. Through justification we are saved from the penalty of sin. We can stand justified before God. So what about the power of sin.

Paul speaks plenty about not continuing in sin and being conformed to the image of Christ. He speaks of putting of the old man and putting on the new man.

This is what we call sanctification. We should be careful here also and not think that because we are saved that we can live our christian life by our on strength.

Sanctification is the fruit of our salvation. Christ said in John 17:17 “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

Our sanctification is only made possible by our union with Christ and that only by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

The fact is you outside of Christ you can’t walk with Christ. Those who are being sanctified start to realize something the more they grow. They see their sinfulness, they see their weakness, their need for Christ. We look at strong christian men and women and attribute it to something of them. The truth is they are strong because they have realized their utter weakness and their inability to please God. I’ve contributed nothing to my salvation but my sin. My justification, sanctification , my christian life is only possible through Christ and Him alone