The Five Solas of the Reformation: Sola Christus

The Wild Boars rescue

I am going to share a story about 12 boys, 12 boys who were part of a football team called the Wild Boars, these boys along with their coach decided to go explore a cave together as a team.

Little did they know that heavy rains would fall that day and trap them in the cave. These boys was said to be around 4 KM inside the cave desperate for someone to save them, these boys were in there without food, proper drinking water and no communication to the outside world.

Imagine how that would make you feel? Stuck in the dark with your team mates at such a young age desperately wanting to go back to your parents.

These boys would be in that cave for 18 days, it took rescuers 9 days to make first contact with the boys and 9 days to get them out of the cave. Unfortunately two rescuers would die helping to save these boys.

During this whole time inside the cave, the coach encouraged the boys to meditate and pray to keep their mind focused and to encourage them that hope is on the way and their prayers will be answered.

You have to take in that everyone was praying, Buddhists would be praying to Buddha for help, Muslims would pray to Allah for help, Christians would pray to Jesus for help and so on and so forth.

To the 13 boys, they would believe that Buddha answered their prayers and saved them from their dilemma, and to the many other religions, they believe that their prayers were answered by their divine deity, especially Christians.

But when it comes to the doctrine of salvation, how do many religions apart from Christianity receive or earn salvation?

The examples of salvation from other religions.

Hindus

For example the Hindus, Indonesia before was once dominated by the Hindu religion what is their concept of salvation? Well to the Hindus they believe in the ‘Moksha’ which is the ultimate spiritual goal that liberates them from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth or what they call the ‘samsara’.

Now, the path to samsara has various paths, there is the Jnana Yoga (Path of Knowledge), the Bhakti Yoga (Path of Devotion), the Karma Yoga (Path of Action), and the Raja Yoga (Path to Medidation).

Buddhists

For Buddhism, their concept of salvation is the belief of ‘Nirvana’ which is the liberation from suffering and cessation of desires leading to rebirth. Similar to the Hindu idea of samsara. These two religions deals with the cessation of the cycle of reincarnation.

The differences for the Buddhist is that their path to salvation relies on an eight-fold path (right view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration).

They would also need to practise meditation and mindfulness and live ethically to purify their karma.

Islam

For Islam, entrance into ‘Jannah’ or Heaven is granted through the submission to the will of Allah.

They would need to believe and be faithful in the Quran and the Hadith (also dependent on which denomination of Islam).

In doing so, they would also need to perform the five duties or rituals of Islam.

Shahadah: The Muslim creed or the statement of faith, this is the declaration that there is only one God and Muhammad is his prophet.

Salah: pray 5 times a day towards Mecca.

Zakat: Offering to those who are in need.

Sawm: Fasting during Ramadan.

Hajj: Pilgrimage to Mecca.

Although each religion encourages their followers to live a morally and ethical good life and follow a path that encourages faithfulness.

All these religions path to salvation has the element of work, like you have to work to be good in order for you to be saved.

You see, the problem with that is that the reason why you’re doing good things is to ensure that you gain favour of the deity you worship, so you don’t have to suffer the consequences of the punishment for doing wrong.

Imagine what kind of a life where you’re doing good because you have to so you don’t get punished.

Like for example, Buddhism or even Hinduism, both religions have lovely followers but in order for you to get out of the cycle of being reincarnated and living the dream is that you have to balance the books and be on the side of good.

But if you did one bad thing, then you have to balance out your karma to be on the good side. You’re being punished for doing good in some way.

The Bible on the other hand, reveals to us what Jesus says:

John 3:16–17 (NKJV)

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

We don’t need to work to earn our salvation, Jesus already did the work we just need to believe in Jesus to be saved.

The word in Greek for believe is ‘πιστεύω’ which means entrust, be confident, put faith in, rely on, to be trusted, commit in trust. You get the picture, that’s all we need to do, put our life in Jesus and we will find salvation in Him.

And the great way that we can learn more about Jesus, is only in Scripture alone.

Sola Scriptura reveals Sola Christus.

No where else can we find the story of Jesus and the prophecy of His first, second and third coming other than in Scripture.

It is in Scripture alone do we find the character of Jesus and His interaction with His creation and who Jesus is.

Sadly, when it comes to the character of Christ and salvation in Christ, humans tend to think they can monopolies on this and restrict or burden those who do not have much knowledge on Sola Scriptura.

As we understand, the reason why the Protestant Reformers created Sola Christus was to counter the Catholic doctrine that Mary, the mother of Jesus is the mediator between God and humanity.

Corruption of Sola Christus

For Catholics, Mary’s title is called the Mediatrix, which refers to Mary being the intercessory role as mediator in the salvific redemption by her Son, Jesus.

Let me share to you the heresy the Catholic church believes regarding Mary being a mediator and intercessor for sinners.

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, in a document called the ‘Lumen gentium’ it quotes from the Second Vatican council in 1962-1965:

"This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfilment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation .... Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix." - Lumen Gentium pg. 62

So, we have two advocates? Two helpers? Two mediators?

1 Timothy 2:5 (NLT)

5 For,

There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.

We know that this is ridiculous and we thank the Lord that only in Christ do we have an Advocate and He alone is our Mediator.

I mean, Mary played a crucial role in the life of Jesus, she was indeed important, but the Catholic church has gone way overboard after the death of Jesus.

But, it also got me thinking about us as Christians this day? We’re human, and we have the temptation to go way overboard in our theology and also corrupt the image and character of Jesus.

Because if your view and understanding of Sola Scriptura is skewed, then your perception of Sola Christus is also skewed right?

I did share last week about people’s misconception of the Word of God, when God’s Word is misconstrued then their reflection of Christ to the public is based on false theology. Would this be considered taking the name of the Lord’s name in vain?

Think of the beliefs you hold and the traditions you keep, are they Biblical? Is it Sola Scriptura? Is it Sola Christus?

Because what is Sola Scriptura if it doesn’t point to Jesus, the one whom we worship and follow.

Sola Christus = Scriptura becomes flesh

That’s what sola scriptura reveals, it reveals the character of Jesus, it reveals that Jesus is life and that Jesus is God, and became flesh and dwelt among us.

John 1:14 (NKJV)

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

This is the same God who was crucified and died for our sins, was buried and on the third day rose from the dead and is in heaven now interceding for all His people.

Sola Scriptura reveals that Jesus existed before the world and the universe was created, in fact Jesus took part in the creation of all things seen and unseen.

It also reveals that only in Jesus do we find salvation from our sin, salvation from the punishment of sin and salvation from a world of sin.

Salvation in Sola Christus!

Peter declares to the Sanhedrin, after Peter and John were detained because of preaching Jesus:

Acts 4:12 (NKJV)

12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Jesus tells Thomas, after he was confused where Jesus was going.

John 14:6–7 (NKJV)

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”

Only in Jesus can we know who the Father is and again only in Jesus do we find salvation. Nothing that we can do can save us for sola Scriptura has revealed that we have all sinned and fallen from God’s glory (Romans 3:23).

Isaiah 64:6 (NKJV)

6 But we are all like an unclean thing,

And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;

We all fade as a leaf,

And our iniquities, like the wind,

Have taken us away.

Job as he is being hassled by his friends says to them:

Job 14:4 (NKJV)

4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?

No one!

There is nothing in our ability that can save us, no one can save you, not your mother, your father, your grandparents, no one can save you for Sola Scriptura reveals that only in Sola Christus can we find salvation.

Praise God that we have Jesus, He became like us, and He gave His life for us. Jesus is our Saviour and our Friend and Sola Scriptura says:

Hebrews 4:14–16 (NLT)

14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Friends, do you have faith in Sola Scriptura? Do you truly believe what the Holy Scripture says about Jesus? Will you make His Word the foundation of your faith?

Will you put your faith in Sola Christus who is the Sola Scriptura that became flesh?